Kendra frowned. Her best wishes hadn’t worked. The ground vibrated with the marching soldiers. Sunlight glinted off the metal trimmings of their crimson and gold uniforms. Cheers of welcome rang out from the street. Window shutters clacked open. Musicians played giddy songs they normally reserved for evening dances.
One of the horses pooped in the street. That summed up what Kendra thought of them all. She turned away and folded the last of the inn’s sheets off the line where it was strung in the side yard. While patrons streamed out the front door, Kendra picked up her linen basket and went to the back.
Nobility traveled with too much, making themselves targets for anyone with itchy fingers. And this traveler wasn’t just any noble. Crown Prince Terrance, heir to the throne of Brend, was escorting the court magician to their little backwoods village for reasons Kendra didn’t like to think about. He brought far more soldiers and servants and wagons than anyone else who had ever come. They had already filled the street, and the royal carriage hadn’t even made an appearance yet.
She entered the kitchen where Nukwah, the innkeeper’s wife, was dropping chopped potatoes in the evening’s stew pot. She asked after Kendra’s twelve-year-old brother. “Where’s Jerryck?”
“I told him to go play in the woods and keep out of sight.” Kendra headed up the back stairs that led from the kitchen up to the second floor.
“That cold snap is predicted to start tonight,” Nukwah called up the stairs. “He can’t stay out there for the entire week they’re here.”
“He can start a fire to keep warm,” Kendra muttered.
She wrenched open the door to the linen closet and stepped inside. Leaning over to plop down the basket, her hair slipped forward over her shoulder. Perhaps she should have wound it up into a tight bun to make her face look more severe. She could also have used ashes to smudge light shadows under her eyes and in the hollows of her cheeks. Then she could claim weariness and beg them to leave.
But that was dishonest. And if she tied her hair up, she couldn’t see the colors that reminded her of her papa. She lifted the hair to her nose and scented the lavender her mama had taught her to put in her cleanser. No. She wouldn’t strip herself of these memories. Not even for this occasion.
Memories were all that was left of her papa and mama. They were dead and gone these past eight years. Jerryck had been so young he barely remembered them at all. And if Nen and Nukwah hadn’t been kind enough to take the two of them in… Kendra shuddered.
“Excuse me?” One of the patrons interrupted her, standing at the door to the closet.
Kendra flipped back her hair, cutting off the memories. “Yes.”
“If I slip you a bit of extra gold…”
“Your agreement upon arrival was to vacate the moment the royal company arrived,” Kendra cut him short.
“But the prince—”
“ –is just accompanying Court Magician Heldavio.” Kendra left the closet, closing it behind her.
The guest sneered, waving his hands dismissively. “Prince Terrance is the one who’s most important.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if that were true? Kendra kept her hands behind her back, splaying them flat open to keep from digging her nails into her palms. “If you wish to stay here, you’ll have to take that up with him.”
“I won’t even get close to the prince,” the guest said.
Kendra imitated the guest’s sneer right back at him, waving her hand dismissively in his face for good measure. “Not our problem.”
She ducked back down the stairs to the kitchen. The patron followed her, calling, “Wait!”
Dashing past Nukwah, she went back outside to gather an armload of wood, Jerryck’s job. She looked over to the trees that loomed above the rooftops of the village houses. He had better stay out there. The longer, the better. Maybe this magician would give up if her brother took too long to get back in. It had worked for a few of the others who had come for him when her wishes had failed to keep them away.
A fresh cheer from the village square drew her attention. The noise and stink of all the people pressed through the air. She clutched the wood closer in her arms and peeked around the corner of the inn. The royal carriage rolled up the street, with its gold edging and scrolled carvings gouged into the wood. More soldiers surrounded it. Gold pins on their collars marked them as Coraline Palace Elite.
Kendra’s stomach lurched. Her breath hitched. Court Magician Heldavio was in that carriage. Regrets and indecision rooted her to the ground. Maybe she should have run away with Jerryck for good this time, gone to the tribes in the Chemwanitz Mountains, like her mama was doing when she first stumbled into this village.
Shouting wafted out of the kitchen on the aroma of Nukwah’s stew. “I will spread word to every merchant in this district that you evicted me for no cause.”
Kendra ripped her feet from the ground and lugged the wood inside. Nukwah stood face to face with the stubborn patron, hands on her hips, gripping her wooden stirring spoon. “Then I will also spread word to every merchant in this district that you tried to renege on your oral contract with us. You go right ahead and try to ruin our reputation. It’ll turn back on you so fast you can consider your business finished. “
“I have an ailment I wanted to ask the court magician to see to.” The man massaged his left shoulder. “You know his reputation for healing magic.”
“Changing your story won’t change our minds,” Nukwah said.
The patron wrung his hands and affected a desperate expression. “Where will I stay?”
“Most of the prince’s envoy is making a camp just outside of the village.” Nukwah repeated what her husband Nen had already told every patron, while Kendra dumped the wood into the bin between the cook fire and the oven. “If you hurry, you might still have a place with them.
Kendra grabbed her tray and bustled out to the common room. Going from table to table, she loaded it up with dishes of partially eaten food and half full mugs. People had rushed outside too quickly. Wasteful.
The difficult patron pelted out of the kitchen, sprinting through the common room. Nukwah chased him halfway out, brandishing her wooden spoon, shouting, “Don’t you ever set foot in here again, you hooligan.”
The man fled out the door and through the gate, losing himself in the crowd surrounding the square. Nukwah laughed. She always did that when she got the better of someone showing too much cheek. Then she took Kendra’s full tray. “I’ll get these. You wipe down the tables.”
Kendra stared at her fingers still curled around the edges of the tray. She mentally ordered her hands to let go. But they wouldn’t obey. Nukwah lowered the tray to her hip, shifting it out of Kendra’s grip. Then she placed one hand on Kendra’s cheek and asked, “Are you all right?”
“I don’t know how to make this one go away.” Kendra hugged herself. “He’s powerful. He has the ear of the king. He’s bringing the king’s son. He’s going to take my brother. He’s going to figure me out. And I don’t know how to stop him.”
“Shh, shh, shh.” Nukwah draped her free arm around Kendra’s shoulders and squeezed. “Calm down. We’ll get through this, just like always. One advantage you have that you never had with any of the others, you’re fifteen now. No one can take your brother unless you either give permission or go with him. “
“They’d take him to the palace,” Kendra stated the obvious. “If I went, we’d probably never see you again. I can’t leave you and Nen, not after everything you’ve done for us.”
“Don’t be silly.” Nukwah squeezed again, then turned with the tray to the kitchen. “The palace has far more opportunities than this little village. Don’t hold yourself back on our account.”
“What if I get found out?” Kendra asked.
Nukwah paused in the doorway to the kitchen. “You’re good at hiding your abilities. Keep people from finding out.”
Elite guards poured into the inn’s courtyard. They growled, pushed, and prodded, chasing people out as the royal carriage drew near. Kendra had run out of time. She couldn’t prevent this visit, but she could at least help Nukwah and Nen put on a good presentation. She snatched the cleaning rag and swiped crumbs from the tables.
The gaudy carriage stopped in the yard. The guards snapped shut the gate. Innkeeper Nen stood out there to greet them. The mayor stood next to him, beaming as only an inconsequential minor noble could, showing off every one of his crooked teeth. The largest of the guards, the one with the gold braid around his left shoulder, opened the carriage door.
Kendra gaped at the guard. Until now, Nen was the largest man she’d ever seen. This guard had a chest the size of a water barrel. His boots could double as shovels. His hands could easily have wrapped all the way around the mayor’s scrawny head. His shoulders bulged so much his neck disappeared into his collar. Next to him, Nen looked average.
“Welcome, welcome.” The mayor stepped forward holding his arms open. The big guard glared, blocking anyone from getting close to the carriage. The mayor stopped moving but kept talking. “I’m the mayor of this humble village. I cannot begin to describe our delight that you have chosen to honor our home with a visit.”
A raspy voice spoke from inside the carriage. “Move, Heston. Let me get out of this damn thing.”
Kendra inched closer to an open window of the inn, twisting the cleaning rag in her hands so hard it doubled up on itself like a wound cord. The carriage rocked and jostled. Bony, age spotted hands reached out and gripped both sides of the doorway. A man poked his face out. His beard was trimmed short under his chin and sheared almost to stubble on the hollows of his cheeks. His cheekbones stood out at sharp angles and his skin was olive colored, marks of a southerner. His wrinkles had wrinkles. Yet his graying hair and beard still had a lot of dark streaks. All in all, he looked both older and younger than any other old person Kendra had ever met.
The big guard put an arm out. The old man leaned on it and put his feet on the ground. He stayed bent over until he put his hands on the small of his back and pushed. Slowly, walking his hands up his spine inch by inch, he straightened. Then he sighed. “Ahh, much better.”
A much younger man watched him from the carriage doorway. It had to be Crown Prince Terrence. He had the black hair of the people on the coast to the west and the pale skin of people living near the mountains to the east. His eyes slanted, showing northern heritage. But his cheekbones were just as sharp as the old man’s. That was southern heritage. No wonder people said the prince was a good visual of every corner of the country.
“You’re taking too long, Heldavio,” he said. “Let me out too.”
“Don’t get snippy, boy,” the old man said without moving to make room.
Terrence laughed. “Are you getting senile now? I’m not a boy. Or did you forget about my birthday last month? I’m fifteen now. A man!”
“Fifteen is hardly grown.” The old man sauntered out of the way, finally allowing the prince outside. “And if you want people to treat you like a grown man then start acting like one.”
Kendra’s fingertips when numb, her grip loosening. The cleaning rag twirled around, untwisting itself only to start winding back up in the other direction. She stepped backward to the middle of the common room. This magician would take guff from no one, not even the crown prince. She had no chance against him.
She dropped the rag back into its bucket in the corner and pulled out the broom standing next to it. She dragged it across the floor, gathering the crumbs she had brushed off the tables. There had to be something else she could do, another approach that would work.
Posting a letter to politely ask the court magician to stay away hadn’t worked. The courier had refused to send it. He had started doing that when he found out that the letters she was posting were asking magicians not to come, to keep them from taking Jerryck.
That was when she had started using her wishing ability on magicians, even though her mama had warned her not to. If she wished hard enough for a magician to leave her brother with her, more often than not they turned away before visiting the village. Not this one.
She had sent her brother off to the woods. Several magicians had given up and left when she couldn’t produce him within a couple of days. Unfortunately, Jerryck didn’t always cooperate and came back sooner than he should. He was always drawn to large commotions in the village. He always stayed on the edges and played pranks on people, then immediately regretted it and was the first to jump in to help if anyone got hurt. These visitors were making enough of a commotion that someone could get hurt without any of Jerryck’s pranks. Then he would expose himself to help, and that would be the end of trying to hide him.
Nen came in. Kendra stopped sweeping. Elite guards came in behind him. Then the magician. The mayor stepped in backwards, gushing and gawking. He babbled more welcomes and pleasantries at the prince coming in behind him. Terrance looked around the common room, completely ignoring the mayor.
Magician Heldavio looked Kendra in the eye. “You’re the sister? Kendra is it?”
She nodded. Heldavio said, “Jerryck’s not here. Is he?”
She shook her head. Heldavio chuckled, smiling with only half his mouth. Terrance frowned. “Didn’t anyone tell him my father’s magician was coming for him?”
“He didn’t go on his own,” Heldavio said, still holding Kendra’s gaze, still halfway smiling. “You told him to leave. Didn’t you?”
Kendra’s grip on the broom handle turned her knuckles white. “No one tells Jerryck what to do and expects him to obey. Not if they know him.”
The mayor’s lips drew away from his crooked teeth in a snarl. “That boy does everything his sister tells him. She’s the only one who can ever get him to behave like a civil human being.”
“Only if I can catch him and make him,” Kendra said. “Sometimes he runs faster than me.”
“He obeys me and Nukwah,” Nen said.
The mayor pointed at Kendra. “Only because she tells him to.”
“Are you trying to get us to leave him here?” Terrance pulled out a random chair and plopped into it. “I thought everyone in this village wanted him gone.”
“One way or another, I’m having this boy for my apprentice.” Heldavio also picked a chair, one of the softer ones. “If he stays, I stay.”
“You can’t stay here. Father won’t allow it.” Terrance tipped his chair back on its hind legs and propped his feet on the nearest table.
Guard Heston reached over and flipped the feet off the table, nearly pitching the prince from the chair. He caught himself and stood, slapping his hands on the table. “You said you’d be nice if I was polite.”
“I said if you were respectful.” Heston’s voice was so deep it vibrated through Kendra’s bones.
“Don’t put your feet where people eat,” Heldavio said. “That’s neither polite nor respectful.”
While everyone was focused on the prince, Kendra set the broom back in the corner and slipped into the kitchen, away from the magician. What work could she throw herself into? There had to be something. Labor always cleared her head. And it made a perfect excuse to avoid talking to the guests.
There was always laundry, cooking, and dishes to do. She preferred cooking and dishes to laundry. The stew pot bubbled over the fire. She gave it a stir, tasted it, and added a generous dose of salt. The spring was too early for a good supply of greens. They still made do with what was left over in the cellar. She stirred some more, paying attention to what vegetables it already had and what it lacked. Reaching up, she retrieved a garlic bulb from their diminishing braids. She broke it into its separate cloves and began mincing just as Nukwah came up from the cellar with a basket of onions.
She set the basket down and took the knife from Kendra. “I’ll get this.”
Kendra plucked up an onion and picked at the papery skin. “I don’t want to go back out there with him.”
Nukwah took the onion from Kendra and set it back in the basket. “Nen wants to set some tables out in the front yard for our regulars this evening. If you help, that should keep you busy enough. Hopefully the magician will leave you alone.”
“You think we’ll still be allowed to serve the regulars?”
“You don’t think royalty will eat stew, do you?” Nukwah laughed gently. “We’ll serve it to somebody. Go on. Help Nen set up outside.”
Kendra avoided Heldavio by going out the back and around the inn through the side yard. Several of the elite guards milled about, their horses following some groomsmen down the street. Ogling villagers lined up at the short, decorative fence that marked the inn’s front yard.
Nen was already hauling out one of the smallest tables. Kendra hurried over and grabbed the side of the table opposite to him. They set it down off to the right, near the fence. Nen headed back in, saying to her, “I put the seats by the door.”
She stepped inside just enough to pick up one of the knotty pine benches and quickly carried it back out. One of the guards stepped up behind her, sniffing at her hair, nuzzling her neck, wrapping his arms around to grab hold of the bench, touching her hands with his. “Let me help you with that, sweet.”
Kendra froze, wishing with all her might for this man to leave her alone. Heston’s deep voice vibrated from the inn’s doorway. “Off her. Now.”
The guard let go and stepped away from Kendra, backing off with his hands up. “I was just offering to help.”
“Go help with security at the camp,” Heston said. The man dropped his hands, his face turning into a glower. Heston added, “Unless you want a sparring lesson.”
The guard turned and left through the gate. Heston raised his voice. “Same will go for anyone else who hassles our hosts.”
“Really?” Terrance asked from where he leaned out the open window. “Anyone except me?”
Heston merely stared at him, blank faced. Terrance grimaced and withdrew from the window. That was when Kendra saw Heldavio also standing there, where he watched her. She grimaced too. Did he know now about her wishing? Her mama had said it was magic. And magicians killed women who could do magic.
She turned her face away from him. Everyone outside the fence stared at her. The villagers knew, even if they couldn’t prove it. They also knew that Jerryck would have gone dangerous crazy if he’d seen that guard touch her.
They all turned as one at the sound of bells and jangles coming up the street. The mayor’s nephew rode into the square with all his cronies, making as much noise as possible and grinning at the attention it got them. Kendra groaned. Could this day possibly get any worse?
Flashes of light banged and popped all over the square. The paving stones sizzled and crackled beneath the horses’ hooves. The animals screamed, reared, and bucked. The cronies went flying. Landing one after the other, they quickly rolled away from the slashing hooves of the spooked animals.
“That little brat!” The mayor’s nephew somehow remained seated. Some of the villagers dashed up to try and calm the horses. He screamed at them, “Go find that kid. I’ll give him a walloping this time that he’ll never forget. Where’s his snotty sister?”
Kendra ran around the corner of the inn out of sight. She got to the back just as someone jumped out the back gate, leaving it swinging ajar. She sprinted after them. That better not be Jerryck!
It couldn’t be Jerryck. The commotion in the square was ongoing. He would be sitting where he could concentrate and watch people react to his mischief. He had several spots he liked to use for it. She headed for the nearest one, the one that had the best view of the square. It was a near straight line from the back gate, behind the baker’s shop next to the inn. The roof on the far side sloped down near a water barrel that made for an easy climb.
Prince Terrance stood by the water barrel, laughing and pointing out to the square. “There’s still one on his horse. Can you make a louder noise like a trumpet, maybe scare it into rearing again?”
Jerryck leaned his head over the edge of the roof. She couldn’t see his face, but he was the only one in the village with the same color hair as hers. And she knew his voice. He chortled along with the prince. “I sure can. Watch this.”
When he straightened up he saw Kendra heading his way. His smirk disappeared. He jumped down to the ground and shouted to the prince, “Run!”
Kendra tore after her brother. He paused just enough to see which way the prince went, looked back at her, then headed in a different direction. The hesitation was all she needed to catch up and tackle him. Tweaking his ear, she hauled him to his feet and marched him back to the inn.
He hollered the entire way, in through the back gate, across the yard, and into the kitchen where Nukwah still worked on the stew. There, Kendra dumped him on a three-legged stool. “I told you to go to the woods. I did all your chores for you. Just so you wouldn’t have to be here. What were you thinking?”
Jerryck rubbed his ear. “I did go. Sort of. I saw the mayor’s nephew coming into town with all his stupid friends. They always pick on you.”
“What were you doing close enough to his house that you saw him coming?” She crossed her arms. “That’s nowhere near where you were supposed to go.”
“I stayed out of sight.” Jerryck pouted. “They’re mean to you. It’s not right. I should protect you from them.”
Heston burst in through the back door hauling in the prince in much the same manner Kendra had brought in Jerryck. Terrance protested much louder though. “Let me go! Let go this instant!”
Nukwah stopped stirring and stared. Kendra’s mouth hung open. Were the guards allowed to manhandle royalty like that? Or was this large man breaking protocol? Either way, if he worried about punishment it didn’t stop him. The two of them crossed the kitchen to the common room. Nukwah kept the door open, poking her head through to watch the spectacle. Kendra couldn’t keep herself from watching as well. In the middle of the room Heston let go. Terrance went sprawling.
Magician Heldavio stepped close. He helped Terrance back to his feet and said, “Stop trying to take advantage of chaos to run away. This is your last warning. Do it again and I’ll have to tell your father.”
Terrance pulled away. “My father can go and—”
“Tsk, tsk,” Heldavio clucked his tongue, wagging a finger at him. “Remember, your father is my friend.”
Terrance left Kendra’s line of sight, stomping his way up the main staircase. Jerryck moved behind her. She turned just in time for him to stick out his tongue at her before he disappeared up the back stairs. Resisting the urge to march up behind him to box his ears, she told herself it would do no good. He would only be more likely to misbehave later on.
She peeked back out into the common room to see if maybe Heldavio hadn’t notice Jerryck. The magician was looking right at her. He asked, “Does your brother always behave like this?”
“Usually,” she said.
“Hmm. I’ll have to think on the best way to work with him.” He went back to his soft chair. That was it. No scolding her for not keeping Jerryck more in hand. No threats about punishment. And no questions about the wishing she’d done out front.
Kendra blinked. Had her mama and Nukwah been wrong all this time? Surely not, else why had her mama been running for her life when she had come to this village? Did Heldavio really mean her no harm? Or was it possible that he hadn’t noticed what she did?
She tiptoed closer to the common room. A few of the elite guards were picking up tables and benches, carrying them outside under Nen’s direction. None of them looked happy about it. Every once in a while, one of them would eye Heldavio, then quickly hurry about his task. Once Nen was satisfied, Heldavio smiled and said, “Much better. Now go open the gate. Our hosts don’t need to suffer lack of business just because we’re here.”
Kendra ran outside and went around to the front. People poured in through the gate, so many there was hardly room for their regular evening customers. They immediately shouted food and drink orders at her. She scrambled to serve them.
She ran back and forth, over and over and over. Smatterings of conversation reached her. People plotted preparations for the upcoming spring plant. They drank through their discussion of the cold snap the scryers said would last over the next few days, the last one expected for this season before spring started in earnest. Most of all, they talked about the distinguished guests. What would the prince want for entertainment during his stay? Would the magician be willing to see to some of the ailments that bothered many of the villagers, furthering his reputation for magical healing? And everyone hoped this would be the magician that finally took Jerryck away. They always stopped that talk when they saw her near. She caught it anyway. She gritted her teeth and squashed the temptation to dump their hot stew in their laps and pour their drinks over their heads.
After a couple of hours, there were a lot of thumping noises coming from upstairs, followed by fits of boyish laughter. It stopped when Nen dragged Jerryck down the back stairs, scolding him for egging the prince into causing trouble. Kendra didn’t dare ask what he’d been up to this time. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
Jerryck planted his feet in the middle of the kitchen, refusing to budge any further. Any other man in the village might have tried to box his ears. Nen had more patience, probably from dealing with unruly customers for so many years. He just frowned at Jerryck and said, “You’re here, you’re going to help. Start by filling the wood box for the oven. Then dry the dishes and do whatever else Nukwah and Kendra need.”
He didn’t push the issue or stay to make sure Jerryck obeyed. He just left him there, ignoring his defiance. That deflated him. He dragged his feet, shuffling outside to the woodshed.
He made three trips, carrying one piece of wood each time. Then Kendra lost her patience and reached out to smack him. She missed. He was too quick. He scuttled away from her and ran to the woodshed, loading up his arms properly.
As Jerryck dumped the wood into the box by the oven, Terrance came down the back stairs. He looked around. “Oh. So, this is a kitchen. My father hasn’t ever let me go to the kitchen at the palace.”
“You came through here once already,” Kendra said. “Didn’t you see it then?”
“I wasn’t looking,” Terrance said.
“I wouldn’t either.” Jerryck picked up the towel and started drying dishes. “It’s pretty boring in here. Nothing but work to do.”
Terrance sat on the three-legged stool and Jerryck dove into regaling him with tales about the magic tricks he pulled on people who picked on Kendra. The wood box was only half full. Instead of arguing, Kendra hauled in more wood, filling it herself. At least Jerryck was drying dishes while he talked. If she didn’t interrupt him, maybe he would keep working.
The prince’s guards didn’t seem to mind him being in the kitchen. Heston stood by the doorway keeping watch where he wouldn’t be in the way. Terrance threw in a few tales of his own about annoying people he thought deserved it. Kendra cringed. The last thing Jerryck needed was new ideas on how to annoy people. And still, she didn’t interrupt because he kept working and wasn’t causing any trouble.
When the sun went down, the temperature plummeted. Normally, people came to the inn, pushed the tables and benches against the walls, and used the space to dance the evening away. Women put away their daily tasks and used the time to gossip with their friends. Men laid down their hunting weapons, or their tools, and relaxed in the merriment. Tonight, despite the cold, they gathered in the square, like they did in warmer weather.
Heldavio came to the kitchen and said, “I hate to be a bother, but I don’t suppose you have a way to keep my bed warm tonight. My bones and joints don’t like this cold. Perhaps an extra blanket or two?”
Heldavio wouldn’t be the only one who would want his bed warmer, and they didn’t have enough extra blankets for every one of them. Kendra told Jerryck to light up the outside oven, where he could get coals for the warming pans in the beds. It was an outlet for his magic abilities, making the fire and stoking the coals to the proper temperature. For some reason, he always complained anyway.
Tonight the prince did all the complaining for him. “Does he really have to? We were having fun.”
“You’ve been having fun all afternoon,” Heldavio said. “That’s long enough. Let the boy be about his responsibilities.”
Many of the prince’s servants and guards stayed in the inn, rather than in the encampment erected outside the village. Kendra ran up and down the stairs helping them all into their rooms. Jerryck trudged around placing warming pans under the mattresses of the beds. Anytime he moved too slowly she snarled at him as she passed.
On one of her many trips up the stairs Nen said to her, “Spilled wine, third door from the end. North side.”
That was the one that housed the prince’s personal attendant. Kendra dug into the closet by the stairs and pulled out the mop. She clucked her tongue with disgust. A servant who cleaned up messes ought to know better than to make one.
When she navigated the people loitering in the hall and found the servant sopping up the mess with one of his own shirts, she swallowed her disgust. She rushed in with the mop. “Don’t do that. You’ll stain your shirt.”
“The shirt’s what I first spilled it on.” The servant held it up and glared at it. Then he sighed and wadded it up into a ball. “I’m so sorry. I know you’re busy, and now I’ve made more work for you.”
“I can soak it, try and get the stains out,” she offered. “I’ve got a special mix my papa taught me with herbs he used to collect.”
Relief flooded the man’s face. “Would you? That would save me a good bit of coinage.”
A roaring crackle exploded out of the room at the end of the corridor, the inn’s best guestroom. Someone ran away screaming, “Fire! Fire!”
Kendra and the servant both tumbled into the hall. Heston was dragging the prince out of the best room. He was shouting, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I told him to. It’s my fault. Don’t let him get hurt!”
Black smoke billowed out the top of the doorway. Haze filled the rest of the room. The bed was ablaze. And Jerryck stood right there beating at it with his bare hands.
Kendra’s heart thudded. Her feet moved. Arms reached for her. She ducked them, knocking into someone she didn’t see. She lurched at her brother, wishing with everything she had for his safety.
She jerked him away, putting herself between him and the flames. The heat seared her back. Burning stench filled her nose. He screamed, “Your hair!”
The temperature dropped. Water splashed from everywhere and nowhere. Everything drenched. The fire sputtered and died. Jerryck sucked in a gasp of air. His eyes rolled up and he went limp.
No. No! NO! Kendra shook him, flicking water with every move. “Not again. Don’t do this again.”
Nightmare memories wrenched her back to childhood. Out in the woods where their parents gathered herbs for their papa’s healing remedies. Their half-eaten bodies. The ashen remains of the griffin that had killed them. The first time he had used magic, he had engulfed that griffin in a fireball and killed it.
His first time using magic had nearly been his last time. She couldn’t help him. Not when he went this far. He would sleep himself to death.
“Kendra.” Nen’s voice brought her back to the present. “Let go.”
Someone peeled Jerryck out of her grip. Heston picked him up, carrying him from the room as carefully as a porcelain doll. Nen put his hands under Kendra’s elbows, lifting her to her feet. He guided her from the soaked, charred room.
He took her past all the gawkers in the hallway. They went down the back stairs to the kitchen. She sat on the same stool where she’d dumped Jerryck earlier. He wiped tears from her face that she hadn’t even known were there.
She swiped at the tears. “Why would he do this? He knows he can’t do magic too strong.”
Nen reached behind her and brought her hair forward. Blackened ends stuck out all over the place. “Your hair caught fire. It scared him.”
She flipped her hair back. “He’s more important than stupid hair. I’m going to cut it all off and walk around bald to keep him from ever doing this again.”
“Don’t be rash,” Nen said. “It’ll upset him when he wakes.”
“Will he?”
“Heldavio is taking care of him. You know his reputation for healing spells. Jerryck’ll be fine. Don’t you worry.” He turned her on the stool, brushing her hair to the side. “Now let me see your back, make sure you’re not burned.”
The heavy clomp of boots came downstairs and Heston entered the kitchen. He asked. “Is she hurt?”
“Not that I can see,” Nen said.
“Good,” Heston said. “Heldavio wants her. He’ll double check.”
Kendra stiffened. They wanted her to go face the magician? Panicked, she asked, “Where’s Nukwah?”
“Cleaning up the mess from the fire,” Nen said. He took her hand, drew her to her feet, and led her up the stairs.
Kendra placed one foot in front of the other, wishing for the journey to take years. It didn’t work. Within a couple of minutes, she stood in front of the door to the magician’s guestroom. Nen opened it and nudged her inside.
Jerryck was lying on the bed, still sleeping. Heldavio sat beside him, hands hovering over him. He glanced up at Kendra’s entrance, then returned his focus to her brother. She had no sense of magic, not the way Jerryck did. He always knew when someone was using magic. She never did. She had no way of knowing for certain what exactly Heldavio was doing, if it was helping or not.
“Good thing you did passive magic in there,” Heldavio said. “Or things could have gotten much worse. “
“With the fire?” she asked. “I didn’t use any magic, passive or otherwise. Women don’t use magic.”
“You absolutely did,” he said. “You kept that fire tamped down. The entire room should have caught in the time it burned, not just the bed. And you kept your brother from taking injury from it. I can’t find a single burn on him. Are you burned at all? Other than your hair.”
“If you’re going to accuse me of magic and burn me anyway,” She said, “who cares if this fire hurt me?”
“Jerryck will care,” Heldavio said. He looked up at her again. “And I’m a healer, not a murderer. I don’t kill women just because they were born with a gift.”
“Just every other magician?”
“Not every magician. Unfortunately, most of them do, the fools. “
“Why should I believe you don’t? Are you going to tell me some sad story about how a woman you loved was killed because she could do magic?” One magician had tried that with her after he had talked with the villagers who were most adamant that she could do it.
“As a matter of fact, my wife was killed. Along with my third apprentice, who tried to defend her. It was a long time ago, but I’ve never forgiven the people that took them from me. Not that I believe you’ll take my word for it.”
She crossed her arms. “You’re right. I don’t.”
“Smart girl.” He smiled with only half his mouth, then leaned in closer to Jerryck. “Do you know what I’m doing with your brother right now?”
“No.”
“I’m using a technique magicians are forbidden to use,” he said. “My grandfather taught it to me. He learned it from his father, who learned it from a shaman who didn’t want to take part in the war going on between them at the time.”
“So what?”
“So if I ever try to kill you, just go tell everyone what I’m doing. They’ll kill me too.”
“What’s to keep me from telling everyone now?”
“Because I can help you.” He sat up straight, still keeping his hands over Jerryck. “If you come to the palace and someone accuses you of doing magic, I’ll be the one consulted. All I have to do is laugh at the notion. My word goes far.”
“I imagine so, since you’re the king’s court magician.”
“Beyond that, my word has weight with others who set the rules magicians are bound to.”
“Then why would anyone believe it if I told people what you’re doing right now?”
“Whether or not other magicians believe you is not as important as whether or not they’ll take the chance it’s true. A magician performing shamanism is a very serious charge.” Jerryck stirred under Heldavio’s hands. Heldavio looked at him, moving his hands a bit further away. “I meant what I said earlier. One way or another, I’ll have your brother for my apprentice. Considering my age, he’ll be the last apprentice I ever have. He has potential you don’t even know of, and I would have a difficult time explaining to you. I will stay here if I must. But I would prefer to remain in the palace.”
“Because it’s more luxurious?”
“Because the king is my friend,” Heldavio said. “He and his son are ever at odds with each other for reasons neither of them wants to admit. And Terrance needs a friend, whether his father thinks so or not. He doesn’t have any. Except for Heston, everyone is intimidated by his position. Your brother doesn’t seem to have that inhibition for some reason.”
“He doesn’t pay attention to other people’s positions,” Kendra said. “In fact, he usually doesn’t pay other people much attention at all, except when he’s pulling off some mischief, or if he thinks someone is going to be mean to me. He has no idea how mad people get with him.”
“Then he needs to learn to curb his mischievous tendencies. I can help with that.”
“What he needs is family,” Kendra snapped at the old man. “I’m all he has. Every magician who’s come to try and take him away has told him to leave me behind. They said he can never marry, never have a family of his own.”
“Ridiculous,” Heldavio said. “Utter nonsense spouted by fools. Cowards who are afraid they’ll have a daughter who inherits his talent for working magic.”
She’d been wrong earlier. Not her mama. Not Nukwah. They’d been right. This old man was basically confirming all the warnings they’d ever given her.
“Tell me something,” Heldavio said. “Did you use your magic to try and keep us from arriving here?”
Kendra swallowed. Her shoulders stiffened up and she couldn’t keep her lips from pressing tight together.
Heldavio chuckled. “I thought so, from the first time I saw your abilities. We ran into all sorts of trouble on our way here. All of it seemingly coincidental, of course. But when so many coincidences pile up, I tend to start believing they’re not entirely coincidence. I had to use active magic to push through to arrive, because a lot of people in our caravan were trying to convince me to turn back.”
“Including the crown prince?”
“Oh, no. He’s enjoying his time outside the palace. Perhaps a little too much. Some of the problems we ran into were him. I certainly hope when he matures a little, he’ll find a good woman who can handle him. Then he’ll likely settle down and become the leader I can see deep inside him. Kind of like how Jerryck will only reach his full potential under your influence.”
Some of the tension lifted from Kendra. “You think so?”
“I know so,” Heldavio said with a nod. He leaned forward. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to train with me also? I can teach you how to use your skills in ways that are less detectable.”
“Me?”
“Of course, I would have to ask your assistance as payment.”
Kendra slumped. “You want me to keep Jerryck under control.”
“I want you to help me smuggle women away from the influence of those that would harm them.” He looked around the room. “I still would prefer to do that from the palace. No offense to the comfort of this inn. But I’m much more accustomed to the palace.”
“And the king is your friend?”
“That too. Will you come with me? You and Jerryck both?”
Kendra looked at her brother. He stirred, rolling over, sighing in his sleep.
She had been more than wrong. This really was the magician that would take him away from this village. This was the one who would help him learn how to use his talents in a way that didn’t risk his life.
“We’ll go with you,” she said, letting a slow smile dare to spread.
