Assassin's Curse (32 page)

As the twins came out of the back of the wagon, Jeda noticed that Kala was complaining loudly to her sister.

“You hid it, I know you did.
 
Just ‘cause you don’t want to dress up doesn’t mean I don’t want to.
 
Give it back or I’ll tell Poppy.”

“Tell Poppy what?” Jeda asked.

“My pin is missing and Kara won’t tell me where she put it.”

Kara shrugged.
 
“I didn’t take her stupid pin.
 
I already told her a dozen times.”

“But it’s missing.
 
I looked all over and it’s gone,” Kala whined, shooting Kara an angry look.
 
“I know you took it.”

Kara shook her head and rolled her eyes.

Jeda watched the two arguing.
 
A subtle feeling of impending doom traced its way up the small of his back.
 
He had not felt it in years, but it was not something that could be forgotten easily.
 
It stopped him dead in his tracks.

He glanced at both girls.
 
“I’m not sure that this is a good idea.
 
Maybe you should stay here in camp.
 
You can come with me another time.”

Both girls looked at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.

“Da, please,” Kara replied.
 
“It’s just a stupid pin.
 
She probably just lost it under her bed again.
 
You would make us stay back because of a pin?”

“Oh please, Poppy,” Kala chimed in.
 
“Don’t make us stay here.”
 

“I don’t know.
 
I have a bad feeling that something is not right.”

Kala smoothed down her dress and gave her father her prettiest smile.
 
“Poppy, you’ve been saying the same things for years.
 
Be careful where you go, be careful what you wear,
be
careful whom you talk to, stay away from strangers.
 
I’m sorry I brought up the missing pin, but what could possibly happen in the city?
 
After all, we’re going to be with you.”

Jeda smiled inwardly at her argument.
 
He could not help but feel a bit of pride for her standing up for herself.
 
He was trying to accept that they were not little girls anymore, but it was hard not to see them as the two little babies he had raised and cared for all these years.
 
After a few moments of introspection, he finally convinced himself that the
warning
must be a manifestation of his fear of letting them go.

Probably the bond talking.

“
OK, you can go.”

“Oh Poppy, Poppy, you’re the best,” Kala screamed.
 
She was wearing the pink hair ribbons and matching dress that Nana Natasha had sewn for her.

Jeda smiled seeing her so happy and caught her in a bear hug as she ran leaping into his arms.

Jeda looked at Kara. She had a scowl on her pretty face.
 
Two identical twins couldn’t look more different then these two did at this moment.

“Da, do I really have to wear this?” Kara asked
,
pulling at the new shirt Natasha had made for her.
 
It had a slight ruffle sewn in around the neck and shoulders.
 
“Do you expect me to go in public like this?”

“Now Kara, we talked about this,” Jeda gently chastised the young girl.
 
“You’ll have to stop acting like a boy soon enough; you won’t be able to pull it off for much longer.
 
That shirt is more like something a young girl would wear.
 
You have to start getting used to wearing clothes that young ladies wear.”
 

“Yeah, you can borrow some of my clothes,” Kala interjected, smiling innocently.

“Oh great,” Kara sighed.

He did notice that Kara had added an extra piece to her ensemble.
 
She had made a pair of fingerless gloves with matching leather guards that rode up to her elbows.

“Kara, what’s with the gloves and guards?” he asked.
 

“Well, I had to do something,” she said.
 
“This shirt has no sleeves.
 
Where else would I hide my knives?”

It was Jeda’s turn to chuckle.
 
Over the past few years, he had trained the girls on the secret fighting techniques of the assassin guild.
 
If an assassin ever tried to kidnap them when he wasn’t around, then at least they might be able to surprise their kidnapper and slip away.
 
They trained daily with both hand-to-hand fighting techniques and basic weapons.
 
They both excelled at the hand-to-hand fighting, though Kala usually bested her sister, but when Jeda introduced the twins to knives, Kara had become entranced.
 
She practiced long and hard after their regular sessions and, over time, she became deadly expert, nearly matching Jeda with her accuracy.
 
She would never part with her ‘babies,’ the name she’d given the pair of throwing knives Jeda had given her on her last birthday.
 
She kept them under her pillow when she slept; telling Jeda it was
just in case
something happened in the middle of the night.

Natasha came up to the little group with a big smile on her face.
 
“Are we all ready to go?”

Kala grabbed her sister’s hand.
 
Their previous disagreement was forgotten in an instant.
 
“Come on, Kara.
 
We’re going to town.”

Jeda and Natasha followed the girls to the wagon they would use for their trip.
 
The girls and Natasha got into the back.
 
The girls sat on one side, Natasha on the other.

Jeda climbed up on the driver’s seat, clicking the team into motion.
 

I know I’m going to regret this.

The horse team pulled their wagon out of the camp.

Mirabelle rushed out from her own wagon.
 
“Wait, wait, I want to come with you.
 
I have some things I need in the city.”

Mirabelle knew an opportunity when she saw it.
 
Today was her scheduled appointment with Alana.
 
She was to go back for her answer and to possibly set up a time and place for the exchange.
 
She had little doubt the Countess would not refuse her, given the proof she had presented, and was shivering with anticipation at the prospect of getting rich.
    

What better time than today for an exchange?
she
thought when she saw the twins climbing into the back of the wagon.
   

She had originally planned on walking to town, but the supply trip was just too good an opportunity to pass up.
 
If she could get the twins to the coven witch today, then she might actually get the reward as well.
 
She again patted her dress pocket where she had secreted the pin, ensuring it was still safe, and moved beside the wagon to look up at Jeda.
       

“Why don’t you just give me your list and I’ll get them for you,” Jeda replied, barely hiding his dislike for the woman.

“You never find the things I need,” she replied petulantly, noticing Jeda’s reluctance to take her along.
 
“Why don’t you ever let me ride along with you?”

Before Jeda could reply, he felt Natasha’s hand gently rest on his arm.
 
He looked back and saw her nod her head in approval.
 
Jeda rolled his eyes and looked back to Mirabelle.
 
“OK, climb in the back.”

“I’ll need some help getting in the back.”

Jeda’s shoulders slumped in resignation and he climbed down off the wagon.
 
There were no stairs in the back of the wagon to help Mirabelle up, and with her bulk, she could not manage to get in on her own.
 
Jeda climbed into the bed and offered his hand to pull her up, but she could not manage the hop up.
 
Jeda had no choice.
 
He jumped down from the wagon.
 
He would have to boost her up using his shoulder beneath her backside.

Of course, the twins thought this whole affair was hilarious and did not quite keep their smiles and tittering to themselves.
 

“Good morning, Aunt Mirabelle,” Kala said politely to the red-faced woman when she finally made it up into the wagon.

Mirabelle shot her a black look that spoke volumes.

“Sister, I am so glad you’ve come along,” Natasha spoke up in an effort to diffuse the tension.
 
“It will be nice to have intelligent, adult conversation to pass the time.”

The twins, chastised at Natasha’s subtle rebuke, sat back on the bench and looked down contritely.
 

“Thank you, Sister,” Mirabelle replied, feeling a bit mollified.
 
“I look forward to enjoying
your
company as well.”

After Jeda made sure they were all comfortably seated, he climbed back up in the driver’s seat and started the team again.

I’m regretting this already.

Elizabeth entered the parlor to find Catherine pacing and waiting impatiently for her to arrive.
 
Catherine stopped in mid-stride and looked up with questioning eyes.

Elizabeth launched into her answer without the usual pleasantries.
 
“I sent the bird with your answer.
 
The attendant sister at the coven will set up a time and place for the exchange.
 
A promissory note has already been sent to the local
money lenders
so they may gather the requisite amount.
 
It’s quite a bit of money, Catherine.”

“I care nothing for the money; it is of little consequence.
 
I only want my granddaughters back.
 
Eleven years has been too long to wait, wondering all that time if they were even alive.
 
I would be willing to pay twice that amount if it got them back here.
 
When
will the exchange
happen?”

“In good time, sister, but first we have to make sure that the two girls spoken of are, in fact, your granddaughters and that they are safe and sound.
 
We have had too many episodes in the past with false sightings, so please do not get your hopes up high until we are sure.”

Catherine began her pacing again.
 
“But I know it’s them this time.
 
I recognized the pressing of our crest your coven witch sent.
 
I gave those pins to Tomas years ago for the babies’ blankets.
 
There are no other pins like those in the entire kingdom.”

Elizabeth walked over to her sister and patted her arm gently.
 
“Catherine, I’m as excited as you are, but let us not lose our heads.
 
There is no sense in getting yourself worked up over this.
 
If it is truly them, then they will be with us in good time.”

The fact was that Elizabeth was probably more excited than Catherine would ever be.
 
Her fellow sisters had lost track of the
twins
years ago and she had wondered if she would ever find them again.
 
How ingenious of Jeda to have hidden them within a gypsy caravan all these years, constantly on the move, travelling around the kingdom in plain sight.
 

Clever boy,
Elizabeth thought,
maybe too clever for all our good.

Elizabeth began to wonder what the twins might have learned while growing up with the gypsies.
 
She hoped those disgusting wilders had not permanently damaged their potential.
 
She would have some work ahead of her once they arrived at the family estates.
 
They would need to be taught the proper ways to harness their magic before they would really be of use.

“Oh Elizabeth, I can hardly wait,” Catherine said.
 
“Imagine the two girls finally home and safe with us where they can be raised properly.”

“All in good time, sister,” Elizabeth said introspectively.
 
“All in good time.”
 

***

It had been two days since Mave had received the report.
 
At first, he dismissed the information as yet another rambling account of some lowlife trying to collect the Berkshire reward.
 
He had read many such reports over the years and gave them little credibility.
 
Then he saw the copy of the pressing his spy had secreted from the witches.
 
He immediately sent the news and the pressing to Constantine and received a reply back in record time.

Capture the twins and kill the witches.
 
Bring the twins and Brother Jeda to Constantine.
 
Do not fail again.