AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Aunt Glynnis.” Conor inclined his head in greeting. It was a mistake. It felt as if his brains had shifted. He rubbed at his temples in a hopeless attempt to ease the pain.
“They told me you’d come home,” she whined. “I was worried sick. Just be gone a day or two, you said. Then nothing. They told me you’d died, but I wouldn’t believe them. I prayed to the Almighty Father for your return. I knew I was right to do so. I knew he’d answer my call.”
Conor understood now, and his heart went out to her. Twenty years had passed, yet she remained frozen in time, waiting for the husband and son who’d disappeared—taken, some said—to return home.
“It’s good to see you,” he said,
letting the fantasy continue.
“You’re beautiful as I remember.”
She blushed, then worry filled her face. Her hands worked her robe faster and faster. “Did you bring Richard with you? Is our little boy here?”
“I’m sorry, Glynnis. He…he couldn’t come with me.” Her face wrinkled with grief.
“Richard away and now his brother Simon’s gone as well. Conor’s driven him off, Talan. He wants Simon dead. He’s touched with the devil’s mark. Like so many of this house.”
He let the words wash over him, knowing it for the madness it was. He had faded memories of a sweet, shy woman who carried sugared almonds in her pockets for the children and snuck bones for the dogs. But that was a long time ago. Before Talan left her alone among his people. In a world she didn’t understand and could never accept.
A young maidservant skidded up breathless to the door. “Mrs. Bligh, mum. There you are.” She took Glynnis’s arm. “Come along. It’s time for your supper.”
Glynnis pulled away. “I’ve prayed for the absolving of your sins. I’ve begged the Lord to fill you with the Holy Spirit and drive out the evil that you carry. It’s not your fault. But you must help him do his work. You must let him heal you. For a future in his kingdom…” She grew vague, worried at her skirts as if she were confused.
The maidservant gave them a sympathetic look. Gripped her mistress’s arm more firmly. “Come, Mrs. Bligh. Master Jamys will fix you up nice with a tonic for them nerves.”
“Talan? Help me get away from them.” She held out her arms to him, beseeching him. Conor’s gut churned at the desperation in her voice. “Take me with you. I can’t stay here any longer. Not among this evil.”
“Mrs. Bligh?” the maid whispered.
Glynnis’s arms dropped uselessly to her sides. She allowed herself to be led away, keeping her gaze on Conor until the last.
He rubbed a hand down his face. Sat back with a groan. “She’s worse.”
Gram nodded in agreement. “Yes, and yet she’s been more among us these last few weeks than in all the years since Talan and Richard disappeared. She bears watching.”
Conor pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll add it to my lengthy list right after conquering Asher and winning the girl.”
“So you do want her.” She offered him a satisfied smile. He blew out a breath. Plowed a hand through his hair. “I don’t want her dead. But I see no other way.”
She closed the book, tapped the cover thoughtfully. “Still, you search the teachings.”
He stretched his neck to work the stiffness out. Pushed back from the table to stand, trying to shake off the gloom Aunt Glynnis had left behind. “I thought one of the tales might offer some hope.”
“And?”
“I haven’t found it yet. But there’s an entire library to wade through. And I’ve only two weeks to come to a decision.” He scanned the rows of shelves. God. It would take him months—years—to read through this clutter.
She rose to stand beside him. “You are only one man and one pair of eyes. It goes against your nature to do so, but ask for help. There is one who knows this library and its contents better than she knows her own children.”
“Mother.”
“She would help you if you asked.”
“I doubt it. And I wouldn’t blame her.”
“Of course not. You are too busy blaming yourself.” She took him by his shoulders. Her head barely came to the middle of his back, but her grip was strong as steel. She aimed him at the door. “Go to Niamh. Speak with her. She mourns her daughter. But she misses her son.”
Conor strode toward the library. What he was looking for, he didn’t know. Why he was looking, he refused to examine. There was only one way to satisfy the curse placed on the reliquary. Ellery’s blood. So why waste time searching for another course?
