A Walk After Dark Read online

  She gave a small sigh, once again concluding she would have to be “captured” along with Cassandra to prevent any suspicion from falling on her. She gave a small shudder of fear thinking of Ty or Cyn turning their anger or suspicion on her. Being captured meant she would have to leave the comfort of the keep, her books, her favored possessions. But the goal would be worth it.

  She remembered how Eric’s eyes glittered with anticipation when she told him yesterday they would finally move forward with their plans. Waiting quietly was hard for them. That he and his friends could manage it the whole time she was at the keep was unusual. Then again, he, Johan, and Farnes were unusual even by raver’s brethren standards. The three had been killers long before they were injured fighting off a raver attack. Not only did all three survive the attack, but they all also became changers who fully embraced the savage killer instincts of their beasts. Additionally, the three were lovers who rarely took an interest in women or anyone outside their trio. Most importantly, for Melisande, they feared and respected her brother. So long as she didn’t trigger their beasts’ instincts, she could travel with them without harm.

  Rising from bed, she allowed her maid to dress her and then sat to write a few letters. She wrote to her adoptive family saying she was taking Cassandra under her wing, and she was sure it would eventually prove an asset for the family. The letter confirmed her good intentions while holding enough self interest so anyone looking through her things later would believe she had no knowledge of what was about to happen.

  Shortly before midmorning bells, she got her wrap and slipped from her room.

  * * * * *

  The sky above the herb garden hung leaden, the air full of the promise of snow. Melisande paced to keep warm, but didn’t have long to wait. Just as the tower bells chimed, Cassandra strode into the garden.

  If I were really helping her, that mannish walk would be the first thing to go. Melisande allowed no hint of this uncharitable thought to show. Instead, she smiled with gracious warmth like the lady she had been raised to be. “Cassandra, I’m so glad you were able to get away.” She linked arms with Cassandra in a companionable manner and started down the path.

  “Now where to begin…”

  She prided herself on being truthful when she felt it reasonable, so she kept up a steady chatter of actually useful information regarding members of the court. While she talked, she guided Cassandra out of the keep gardens to the wilder paths leading toward the surrounding woods.

  At one point, Cassandra hesitated. “I do not wish to go too far. There are a number of things I need to discuss with Cyn and Ty today.”

  No, I won’t be denied. I must get her to the cover of the trees! “Oh, I do not mean to go much further. Cicely mentioned she has been practicing a new poem she’s written, and I confess, I would just as soon not be the recipient of this gift just yet.” Melisande gave a delicate shudder and shared a look of perfect understanding with Cassandra. What a pity she is both so far beneath me and in my way. “If we just reach the trees where we will be out of sight, we can finish our chat alone.”

  * * * * *

  Cassandra gave a guarded smile in answer to Melisande’s overly friendly manner. What is this woman’s true goal? Is it just so simple as she hoping to use me to gain even more influence at court? Ah, well, I’ve suffered through many tedious negotiations before determining what’s the spark in my neighbor’s fire. I can do this as well.

  The pine and bare-branched oak trees moved softly in the slight breeze. Cassandra felt a chill despite the warmth of her cloak.

  Melisande limped slightly. “Let’s sit on those rocks for a moment before we head back. It feels like a thistle has caught next to my leg.”

  Melisande grimaced and perched gingerly on the edge of a large, partially buried rock before reaching down to feel around her boot. Cassandra sat on a shorter rock next to her.

  “Are there any groups at court particularly hostile to the brethren or…” Cassandra felt a stinging at her neck like the bite of an insect. Puzzled, she raised her hand to rub the irritation, but her hand seemed to waver and dance before her eyes.

  She tried to tell Melisande she felt very strange, but the words wouldn’t come.

  * * * * *

  Melisande watched Cassandra fall back into the waiting arms of Johan. Eric and Farnes stood shaking off their cover of leaves.

  “The dart worked just as you said it would. The weapon she used to defeat one of us has been turned back against her,” gloated Eric.

  All four conspirators shared smiles of satisfaction. The story of how Cassandra had used a drugged dart to bring down the raver that attacked her had become well known at the keep. Melisande thought it only fair to use a similar drug to bring down Cassandra.

  Melisande cut short her celebration. “We must hurry. I don’t know how long a leash Ty will allow before he begins to search for her, especially after his problem with her disappearance yesterday.”

  * * * * *

  While the kidnappers hurried off, riders entered the front gates of the keep. They carried the original letter from Raphael describing the border situation. It would be a while before Ty or Cyn questioned Cassandra’s absence.

  Chapter Ten

  Prepare today that you do not have to spend tomorrow and the next day on repair.

  Not all that is broken can be mended.

  -- The Book of Common Wisdom

  I’m practically finished. I can easily do the rest later, and if I don’t stay long, Mother will never notice I was gone. Molly smiled and quietly left her family’s garden plot to head for the woods. She gave a big sigh of relief when she reached the cover of the trees without incident. Hurrah! She broke into a skip, but stopped when she saw figures coming down the path.

  Damn! They are coming back already. What’s wrong with them? Am I the only one who knows how to have fun? Wait, that’s a stranger in front. Oh, he’s handsome, I would go berry picking with him, but where is Eli?

  She gasped. Roland, Chrissa, and Miranda were carrying a rough stretcher with a body on it.

  “Eli!” She broke into a run.

  * * * * *

  Miranda watched Molly run towards them. She dreaded the young woman’s reaction, but shuddered thinking what might have happened if they had not met her before she wandered into the woods alone. Her arm ached from helping to carry the stretcher, but she didn’t want to stop until they were safely within the village. The normally inviting woods felt threatening today. Every hair on her body quivered with tension. She imagined a raver behind every rock, one coming to attack every time the wind rustled the grasses. She needed to get out of these woods. More importantly, she needed a sheltered spot to care for these injured youthlings. She thankfully noted Raphael grabbing the girl’s upper arms to slow her headlong rush.

  “What happened?” Molly’s eyes swallowed her face when she saw Eli’s pale form on the stretcher. “Is…is he…” She looked pleadingly to Miranda. “What happened? Will he be alright?”

  “Young one, your friends have all suffered injuries from a raver attack. We need to get them into town so Miranda can treat them. Can you help carry Roland’s side of the stretcher?”

  Raphael’s commanding voice appeared to cut through Molly’s panic. After a nod from Miranda, she went to grasp the stretcher by Roland.

  Raphael took Miranda’s side of the stretcher from her and directed his attention to her. “We are very close to the village. I detect no signs of others nearby, so I can help carry Eli the rest of the way in. Why don’t you go ahead?”

  Miranda took her basket and dashed into the village. She met Molly’s mother, Samantha, who was heading toward the path into the woods with a determined look on her face. Thank the gods! Samantha was levelheaded and could help her.

  “Samantha, there’s been a raver attack. Molly is safe. She and a brethren are near the edge of the woods helping her friends get back. I need you to fetch some of the men to help them. Tell them to bring the yout
hlings to Paulus’s house. I’ll be setting up what I need there. Remember, tell them the man with them is a brethren and a friend.”

  Samantha paled, but hearing that her Molly was safe, rushed off. Miranda ignored the questioning looks from other villagers and ran to Paulus’s home. Alone in his house, the widower kept extra medical supplies in his spare bedroom for the village healer to use as needed. Usually, the additional people coming and going from his house just gave him another opportunity to keep up with what was happening in the town. Today it might actually save lives.

  “Paulus!” He was still seated on his porch where she had left him earlier. His startled look caused Miranda to pause and force herself to slow down. “Eli, Roland, and Chrissa were attacked by a raver. They are being helped here now. I need to use your room.”

  Much more spry than his years would suggest, the old man quickly rose and let Miranda inside. In short order, the room’s narrow bed was covered in an old sheet. Cleaning and healing medicines and bandages waited on a long slender table.

  As they prepared, Miranda explained, “All three were hurt, but Eli seems the worst off physically. He is unconscious. Roland is also injured, but less severely. Chrissa is hurt…differently. Could you put water on your stove so I can make her and Roland a relaxing tea and then go get Chrissa’s mother? She should be here.”

  The crinkled face gathered even more lines at Miranda’s words. “I’ll be back with her quickly, and her older sister, too, if she’s close by.”

  Paulus was barely gone when Miranda heard the sounds of a crowd approaching. She hurried to open the door. A cluster of twenty or more people moved down the street. Head councilman Rowe’s voice boomed from the group. “Move out of the way! Let us get through.” The crowd parted at Paulus’s porch to reveal Raphael beside the councilman in front of Eli’s stretcher. Both sides of the stretcher were tightly lined with men, except where Molly stood clenching Eli’s hand in her own. Chrissa and Roland followed, each with an arm protectively thrown around the other’s waist. They looked at each other, but did not make eye contact with anyone else.

  Barring the door with her body, Miranda raised her hands in a halt motion. “Only the young ones, their parents, the stretcher bearers, and Paulus may enter.”

  She directed the men to place Eli on the bed and then sent them out.

  Paulus arrived with Chrissa’s mother in tow. Miranda quietly whispered to the shocked woman what had happened to Chrissa. The young woman now sat between her mother and Roland with a pale face and silent tears coursing down her cheeks.

  Soon Roland’s mother washed his wounds with an herbal solution while Chrissa helped by holding his hands and giving him somewhere else to focus through the painful process. Miranda knew having the ability to help someone else would also be healing to Chrissa. While they did these tasks and parents prepared the teas Miranda directed, she turned her attention to the delicate task of carefully examining Eli.

  The windows of the cottage were open, and all within were silent, listening to Raphael explain what had happened to the crowd, which, a quick glance out the window told her, was growing. Loud gasps from outside the cabin followed the mention of the raver.

  Although her steady hands did not reveal the stress she felt, she welcomed Raphael’s presence nearby. His clear voice gave comfort. She flexed her fingers and went to work.

  “I have just returned from a mission for the brethren studying secret raver activity along the Birne and Isben border. I sent ahead a copy of a report, so even now brethren will be preparing to come to this area. You need to select two of your best riders to go to your lord and report what has happened here to get more aid. Who is lord of this town?”

  Councilman Rowe spoke for the town, “This town is included in Cynbarion’s holdings. It was part of the dowry of his mother, Eupheme.”

  Even in the midst of this crisis, Miranda had to smile hearing Raphael mutter, “Is there nothing that bastard isn’t into?” In a much louder voice, he continued, “That’s fortunate. Cynbarion already has some familiarity with this recent raver problem. He will know how to respond.

  “Can your riders leave within the hour? While I chased away the one raver I know of, there may be others, and the night will make any near here bolder. It’s best to get started while there are still hours of daylight left.”

  Miranda kept working inside while she could hear the sounds of planning just outside the window.

  Thank you, blessed goddess of healing. She quickly addressed Eli’s parents before going to sew up Roland’s wounds. “My initial assessment was right. Eli was extremely lucky with the wounds to his abdomen. The skin was cut, but I can find no organs damaged within. I’ve done what I can to clean and close the wounds. The solution with which I soaked his head bandages will help prevent swelling. You should make a schedule to take turns so someone can sit with him. I’ll need to know if there are any changes.”

  “Miranda, come look at this.” Roland’s mother stared at his bare back. The ragged tears in the skin Miranda had initially seen were markedly improved. “I just washed his back with the solution you gave me, and these gashes already look better. Is this due to your medicine?”

  His mother’s voice was filled with forced hope ‑‑ hope that Miranda would have to dash. “No, Helene, the solution doesn’t have that power.”

  She turned to Roland. “Do you know what this quick healing means?”

  He shared a look of horror with Chrissa, then looked at Miranda and shook his head in denial. But the truth was in his eyes. “I will not be one of those monsters! I would rather you kill me now. Please, can’t you fix it? I was just wounded. It’s barely happened. Can’t you just clean it more?”

  Sadly, Miranda shook her head. Roland’s head and shoulders slumped at her gesture. I can’t let him give into this despair. “Roland, you will not be a monster. You will be able to help fight the monsters. You will be like Raphael, the brethren who’s helping us now. You will be able to help protect Chrissa, your family, your friends…”

  He straightened a little with her words. Helene bit her lip and shared a look of determination with Miranda and Roland’s father. They put comforting hands on his shoulders. Roland, however, only had tear-filled eyes for Chrissa.

  “You will hate me now.”

  Chrissa shook her head, becoming visibly stronger as she responded. “No. I will never hate you, Roland. You won’t be like that thing. You never could be.”

  Miranda cleared her throat. “After Raphael finishes outside, I will make sure he comes to see you. He should also be able to help you with this.”

  She placed a gentle hand on Chrissa’s shoulder. “I need to check you. Please come with me.”

  Chrissa’s hand slowly trailed free of Roland’s. She looked shaky as she rose to her feet with her mother beside her.

  The front door to the cottage opened, and Raphael stepped inside. “How goes it?” His eyes swept over the assembly and settled on Miranda.

  She licked her lips and paused briefly to collect her thoughts. “I was just getting ready to examine Chrissa.” She gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. “Eli appears no worse than we thought initially, but he is still unconscious. Roland’s wounds, on the other hand, are already visibly healing.”

  Raphael’s eyebrows lifted briefly in acknowledgement. He gave Roland a sympathetic look. “So you and I should talk, eh? Don’t worry. Just as when your body changed going from child to man, there was confusion and new feelings, so will there be now. I will let you know what to expect and all the brethren will help you. I’ve already seen that you are a strong and courageous young man. You will make it through this. Just let me have a quick word with Miranda, and then you and I will talk.”

  He pulled Miranda to the farthest corner of the cabin to whisper to her. “I expect Chrissa will be fine physically. The raver’s scent would have forced her body to prepare for him, and from what Chrissa said, he came within her before I arrived.” Raphael looked down, clea
rly finding what he was saying difficult. “The body fluids of changers have healing properties. Any small injuries he did cause would be repaired. Even emotionally, the fluid will act as a…tonic. She will likely surprise you with how well she is able to recover from this experience on all levels. Since so few women have survived raver attacks in the past, this is not widely known. I tell you so you can use the knowledge to help Chrissa, but must ask you let it go no further. ”

  Miranda’s mouth opened and then closed. “How is it I’m a healer and haven’t heard of this? Why do you keep it secret?”

  Raphael ran his hands up and down her arms in a soothing manner, but he looked like the one who needed comfort. His brow furrowed as he sought to explain. “Because we carry an inner beast, there is a wildness to all brethren. A need to be free even beyond what man normally prizes. Already, because our scent arouses, there are some who have sought to keep us as little more than toys for their pleasure. This would add yet another reason to try and enslave my kind. Even worse, there might be those who would have their men deliberately attacked to try to turn them to changers and use their body fluids as a commodity to sell. Many would not survive either mentally or physically. We keep our secrets to protect ourselves and others. Do you understand?”

  Miranda nodded and gave Raphael’s hand a squeeze before going back to examine Chrissa. In spite of what Raphael had revealed, she would still need to do what she could to make sure the girl was uninjured physically and to help her cope emotionally.

  * * * * *

  Outside Paulus’s cottage, the town buzzed with activity. Two riders practically flew on their horses, leaving with missives for Cynbarion and the brethren. Their job was to bring help. Within the town, weapons and watches were organized. They would be ready if more of the ravers came ‑‑ or so they told themselves.

  Chapter Eleven

  Treat even your competitors with kindness; someday you may need their help.