The Death of a Brother
The three of us walked furiously on. I am sure that I looked hideous; rage and hate had contorted my face in such a fearsome look that all the peasants we encountered along the way shied away from us. One man even hid in the waving fields of corn as we passed by. I didn't care if people the world over avoided my for the rest of my life: I would not rest until I had my daughter back!
Before long we saw the footprints again. For an hour and more we followed the trail, growing more and more frantic with the passing of time. Then, just as the light faded from the sky and we began to despair of catching up to even the slow-moving, unathletic Clemen and our struggling child while under the cover of Dark, we saw them moving along the path, moving quickly now that Lonara knew that they would return to her parents.
I did not think: there was, in my mind, no time to think. The barbarian had my child by the arm and was pulling her forward. Oh, I suppose it penetrated my frozen brain that it was odd that they moved in our direction, but I was not thinking rationally. I pulled fire from the nether regions of the earth and SHOVED them towards Clemen, even in my insane wrath remembering to channel them away from my daughter.
I am sure that the spell I have just described fascinates all you mages now reading this book, as I used no words to fry my brother-in-law and I was too exhausted to use my own power. What I did was reach out to my Goddess and take her divine strength. I doubt you know how to do this, or even how it is done. Don't worry, I was the one who discovered that it was possible, and it is only possible with your own patron, and then only if they are willing. However, it was really a very simple process, and fascinating to watch. I considered sucking out all but a small portion of the unbearable heat that was now filling his skin so that I could watch him writhe in agony, but the horrified expression on my daughter's face convinced me to make his end swift.
When finally he was dead I ran to my little one and gathered her up in my arms. She cried then, apologizing for the trouble she had caused and promising that she would be good forever if I would take her home again. I shushed her and told her repeatedly that it was my fault, I hadn't watched her diligently enough, but she admitted shamefacedly that she had used a spell to make me forget about her. Nechtè tried then to make her feel better, telling her that she had been good and had listened to her magic lessons well, but Lonara had absorbed the full impact of the trouble her wandering had caused, and she was old enough (barely) to know how seriously she had erred.
Elaina had very wisely kept back during this reunion, but now I pushed her forward. I told Lonara firmly that it was a good thing that she had been captured because otherwise Elaina might not have gotten out. Now we didn't have to hide anymore, the bad man was dead and we were to go back to Cranan with the aunt she finally could meet.
"You didn't really have to do that, Mommy," the little girl said tearfully. "He might have been bad, but he was coming to give me back to you. Maybe he wasn't really that bad."
I exchanged looks with my husband and sister. Now we would never know what Clemen had intended, coming back with our daughter when we had thought he would kill her. Somehow I wasn't too unhappy about it, though.
The three of us walked furiously on. I am sure that I looked hideous; rage and hate had contorted my face in such a fearsome look that all the peasants we encountered along the way shied away from us. One man even hid in the waving fields of corn as we passed by. I didn't care if people the world over avoided my for the rest of my life: I would not rest until I had my daughter back!
Before long we saw the footprints again. For an hour and more we followed the trail, growing more and more frantic with the passing of time. Then, just as the light faded from the sky and we began to despair of catching up to even the slow-moving, unathletic Clemen and our struggling child while under the cover of Dark, we saw them moving along the path, moving quickly now that Lonara knew that they would return to her parents.
I did not think: there was, in my mind, no time to think. The barbarian had my child by the arm and was pulling her forward. Oh, I suppose it penetrated my frozen brain that it was odd that they moved in our direction, but I was not thinking rationally. I pulled fire from the nether regions of the earth and SHOVED them towards Clemen, even in my insane wrath remembering to channel them away from my daughter.
I am sure that the spell I have just described fascinates all you mages now reading this book, as I used no words to fry my brother-in-law and I was too exhausted to use my own power. What I did was reach out to my Goddess and take her divine strength. I doubt you know how to do this, or even how it is done. Don't worry, I was the one who discovered that it was possible, and it is only possible with your own patron, and then only if they are willing. However, it was really a very simple process, and fascinating to watch. I considered sucking out all but a small portion of the unbearable heat that was now filling his skin so that I could watch him writhe in agony, but the horrified expression on my daughter's face convinced me to make his end swift.
When finally he was dead I ran to my little one and gathered her up in my arms. She cried then, apologizing for the trouble she had caused and promising that she would be good forever if I would take her home again. I shushed her and told her repeatedly that it was my fault, I hadn't watched her diligently enough, but she admitted shamefacedly that she had used a spell to make me forget about her. Nechtè tried then to make her feel better, telling her that she had been good and had listened to her magic lessons well, but Lonara had absorbed the full impact of the trouble her wandering had caused, and she was old enough (barely) to know how seriously she had erred.
Elaina had very wisely kept back during this reunion, but now I pushed her forward. I told Lonara firmly that it was a good thing that she had been captured because otherwise Elaina might not have gotten out. Now we didn't have to hide anymore, the bad man was dead and we were to go back to Cranan with the aunt she finally could meet.
"You didn't really have to do that, Mommy," the little girl said tearfully. "He might have been bad, but he was coming to give me back to you. Maybe he wasn't really that bad."
I exchanged looks with my husband and sister. Now we would never know what Clemen had intended, coming back with our daughter when we had thought he would kill her. Somehow I wasn't too unhappy about it, though.