Sergi, her daemon, was fluttering weakly around, trying to reach her
outstretched hands as she cried, "Yambe-Akka!" She was appealing to the
goddess who appeared to witches to take their souls when they died, a
welcoming, happy woman who soothingly guided them to their final
destination.
Linder roughly uttered a hushed cry and dashed to the witch queen's aid, plunging the knife into the angel's shoulder. With a howl, the angel vanished, and Ruta Skadi dropped to the ground.
"I know," Linder whispered hoarsely. "I just realized." He knelt beside the dying witch.
Confused, Kyrie hugged Khan to her, and Serefina put a hand on her shoulder.
"Linder, my son," Ruta Skadi breathed, and suddenly Kyrie understood. Furious at the witch, she took a step forward, then remembered the queen was dying and there was no use in harboring grudges.
"Come with me," Serefina said softly. "We should leave Linder and his mother alone for now." The witch and the girl walked in the opposite direction.
"Ruta Skadi was my grandfather's lover," Kyrie accused. "She shouldn't have slept with Lord Daire also."
The woman shook her head, reminiscing about the affairs of her youth, one intelligent, handsome young man in particular. "Witches cannot marry, Kyrie," she said. "And yet, with our passionate natures, we often fall desperately in love. I did so with Farder Coram, but had to stand silently by and watch as he grew older, took Ma Costa as his wife, and had two children."
"Still…" Kyrie muttered. "Linder is half witch, then?"
"More than half. He has two witches in his background." Serefina smiled sadly.
"Is that how he became the bearer without losing his fingers?"
"Yes."
Kyrie mulled this over. "Wait, did you say he has two witches in his background? Is Lord Daire a witch?"
"No," Serefina laughed. "His grandmother on his father's side is a witch."
"Isn't Ma Costa his father's mother?"
"No…" Serefina trailed off, considering whether or not she should finish the story. She shook her head and threw caution away. "I am his father's mother, and Kyrie Silvertongue, you are half witch also," Serefina replied, studying the girl's face as she absorbed this news, a mixture of suspicion, surprise, and uncertainty.
"You slept with Farder Coram? Lord Daire is your son? I en't a witch," Kyrie replied, jumbling her sentences in bewilderment. "How? My father couldn't have been, and I know my mum wasn't. She didn't fly about on cloud-pine and she never did spells. Pantalaimon couldn't go far from her."
"Yes, I did sleep with Farder Coram, yes, Lord Daire is my son, who I gave to Ma Costa to raise as her own, and are you sure Pantalaimon couldn't?" Serefina gently prodded. "He could, but he didn't want to. Lyra once had to enter the world of the dead, and in doing so, she had to leave her daemon behind. Therefore, she stretched the bond between her daemon and herself so far that she became a witch. That's the main difference between witches and humans… we can temporarily separate our daemons, our souls, from our bodies and spirits, while humans cannot."
Khan, as a lion, was striding beside Kyrie, and she tightened her fingers in his thick mane. "Khan can't go far from me," she replied.
"It comes with time," Serefina sighed. "You haven't been through an ordeal that all witches have to go through in order to have this ability."
"Wait," a voice called, low and heavy, and Linder was beside them. "My… Ruta Skadi is dead, and her body lies by the river. Queen Serefina, I have left it for you to take care of in the traditional witch fashion."
Serefina Pekkala nodded. "I shall do so, Prince." A moment later, she had taken to the air, and the two children were alone again.
"Try it," Kyrie said quickly, and Linder knew what she meant. He sighed, and crouched for a while with the knife in his hand, ready to lapse into the trancelike state from which the worlds were accessible. But it never came.
"It en't me, it's the knife!" he gasped. "It en't the same, it can't do it anymore!" With a moan, he let the knife slip from his fingers and into the dirt. "So, what do we do now?" Linder said tonelessly, hopelessly. He looked up and was taken aback as he saw the glitter in Kyrie's eyes.
"We fix it. By ourselves. With magic," she answered, and he saw that she meant everything she said.
Linder roughly uttered a hushed cry and dashed to the witch queen's aid, plunging the knife into the angel's shoulder. With a howl, the angel vanished, and Ruta Skadi dropped to the ground.
"I know," Linder whispered hoarsely. "I just realized." He knelt beside the dying witch.
Confused, Kyrie hugged Khan to her, and Serefina put a hand on her shoulder.
"Linder, my son," Ruta Skadi breathed, and suddenly Kyrie understood. Furious at the witch, she took a step forward, then remembered the queen was dying and there was no use in harboring grudges.
"Come with me," Serefina said softly. "We should leave Linder and his mother alone for now." The witch and the girl walked in the opposite direction.
"Ruta Skadi was my grandfather's lover," Kyrie accused. "She shouldn't have slept with Lord Daire also."
The woman shook her head, reminiscing about the affairs of her youth, one intelligent, handsome young man in particular. "Witches cannot marry, Kyrie," she said. "And yet, with our passionate natures, we often fall desperately in love. I did so with Farder Coram, but had to stand silently by and watch as he grew older, took Ma Costa as his wife, and had two children."
"Still…" Kyrie muttered. "Linder is half witch, then?"
"More than half. He has two witches in his background." Serefina smiled sadly.
"Is that how he became the bearer without losing his fingers?"
"Yes."
Kyrie mulled this over. "Wait, did you say he has two witches in his background? Is Lord Daire a witch?"
"No," Serefina laughed. "His grandmother on his father's side is a witch."
"Isn't Ma Costa his father's mother?"
"No…" Serefina trailed off, considering whether or not she should finish the story. She shook her head and threw caution away. "I am his father's mother, and Kyrie Silvertongue, you are half witch also," Serefina replied, studying the girl's face as she absorbed this news, a mixture of suspicion, surprise, and uncertainty.
"You slept with Farder Coram? Lord Daire is your son? I en't a witch," Kyrie replied, jumbling her sentences in bewilderment. "How? My father couldn't have been, and I know my mum wasn't. She didn't fly about on cloud-pine and she never did spells. Pantalaimon couldn't go far from her."
"Yes, I did sleep with Farder Coram, yes, Lord Daire is my son, who I gave to Ma Costa to raise as her own, and are you sure Pantalaimon couldn't?" Serefina gently prodded. "He could, but he didn't want to. Lyra once had to enter the world of the dead, and in doing so, she had to leave her daemon behind. Therefore, she stretched the bond between her daemon and herself so far that she became a witch. That's the main difference between witches and humans… we can temporarily separate our daemons, our souls, from our bodies and spirits, while humans cannot."
Khan, as a lion, was striding beside Kyrie, and she tightened her fingers in his thick mane. "Khan can't go far from me," she replied.
"It comes with time," Serefina sighed. "You haven't been through an ordeal that all witches have to go through in order to have this ability."
"Wait," a voice called, low and heavy, and Linder was beside them. "My… Ruta Skadi is dead, and her body lies by the river. Queen Serefina, I have left it for you to take care of in the traditional witch fashion."
Serefina Pekkala nodded. "I shall do so, Prince." A moment later, she had taken to the air, and the two children were alone again.
"Try it," Kyrie said quickly, and Linder knew what she meant. He sighed, and crouched for a while with the knife in his hand, ready to lapse into the trancelike state from which the worlds were accessible. But it never came.
"It en't me, it's the knife!" he gasped. "It en't the same, it can't do it anymore!" With a moan, he let the knife slip from his fingers and into the dirt. "So, what do we do now?" Linder said tonelessly, hopelessly. He looked up and was taken aback as he saw the glitter in Kyrie's eyes.
"We fix it. By ourselves. With magic," she answered, and he saw that she meant everything she said.