Ellida (44 page)

“What?! Is he okay?”

“Aye, he’s fine, dinna fret, Astrid. The wee
bugger’s sort of a celebrity now.”

Dear God!

ONE HOUR later, I was still looking for
Darius. Somebody told me to go to Tariq Arslan’s house, where I
found Jack, huddled over a town map splayed over the table, but my
stepbrother was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Darius?” I asked from the door.

“He’ll be back in a minute. He went somewhere
to make coffee.” Jack’s arm made a vague movement toward an old
coffee maker on the countertop. “Blackout. Half of the town’s
without power.”

“And Morgaine?”

“In the hospital, helping Ingmar and Tristan.
She’s a combat nurse, or at least she used to be in both World
Wars.”

My throat tightened. “Jack, I didn’t even
have time to ask. What are our casualties?”

He gave me a broad smile and pulled me to his
arms. “No civilian casualties! Except Seth and a few of his men,
nobody else was killed.”

An intense relief washed over me. “That’s
wonderful! The wizards cast protective energy shields around
everybody who fought against Seth. It worked so well!”

Jack shook his head as if he was trying to
shake off the image in his head. “Only the shield around you
collapsed. The damn knife broke through it,” he said quietly. “Seth
could’ve killed you if it hadn’t been for those two wolves from
Winston.”

“Do you know their names?”

Jack shook his head. “Didn’t have time to
ask. I just know they’re from Winston. I have to find them. I’m in
their debt forever. God, you were within arm’s reach, but Seth
almost got you.”

I took his face between my hands and looked
into his eyes. “He didn’t. He’s dead now. It’s over. We won the
battle without civilian casualties! Great job, Commander.”

Jack hugged me tight. “You’re welcome, Chief
Commander.”

A MOMENT later a double set of steps on the
porch announced Darius and Maggie. He opened the door for her. She
carried a tray with three mugs. The rich aroma of freshly brewed
coffee filled the kitchen.

“Look who I found in my house making coffee,”
Darius said. He carefully folded the map spread on the table, took
the tray from Maggie’s hands and set it there.

Jack looked at his sister. Adopting his best
Einhamir voice, he drew his eyebrows together. “Margaret Alice
Mohegan,” he said, “I’m very glad to see you because I have a
question to ask. Would you kindly explain your presence here?”

“I’ve brought you coffee, Jack.”

A tiny smile twinkled in his gold eyes.
“
Here
in Copper Ridge, Maggie. If you think you can disobey
my orders without consequences just because you’re my sister, you
are mistaken. You, and your mother and your friend, you’re all
mistaken.”

“Hold on, Jack,” Maggie said. “You ordered us
to, I quote,
stay
with Astrid, right? We did
stay
with her. You didn’t specify the place.”

Darius laughed. “She got you there, didn’t
she?” He had a hearty, resonant laugh that made him look much
younger and happier.

Maggie smiled at him and offered him a cup.
“Thank you Darius. Here, take a coffee.”

Their fingers brushed, and they both jerked
away simultaneously, as if they had touched a live wire instead of
each other’s skin. Darius dropped the cup, which broke and the
coffee spilled on the floor. His shocked eyes fixed on Maggie’s,
wide-open with astonishment.

Astounded as I was, I almost laughed at their
matching thunderstruck expressions.

Jack’s eyes moved carefully back and forth
from Darius to his sister. “Well, well, life sure throws you a
curve when you’re least expecting it, doesn’t it? Bond-mates,
huh?”

Darius took a deep breath and regained his
composure. “Maggie Mohegan,” he said in a low voice, holding her
gaze, “in case anything crossed your mind, I’ll let you know that I
may suffer from the same disease my father had, and if that isn’t
enough, this very morning I committed patricide.”

Blood rushed into Maggie’s head, coloring it
bright red, her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared in anger.
“Nothing has crossed my mind. I don’t even like you!”

“Good!”

“In case something crossed
your
mind,
I’ll tell you this: I do not plan to stay here, and I certainly do
not plan to have anything to do with you. Do we understand each
other?”

“Perfectly. I’m not staying here either.”

“That’s good. Pick a continent, so that I’m
sure I go to the opposite part of the globe.”

So, the light and happiness I’d seen inside
my brother a few weeks ago, that was Maggie, I thought, amazed.

“I won’t let a bond dictate my life!” Maggie
continued angrily. “I’m not bonding material. I’m anti-bond!”

I felt it was time to intervene. “Whoa, whoa!
Hold on, you two. I know you’re pissed off, bonding can do that.
It’s a shock, I know, but you have to take it easy.”

I placed my hand on his upper arm and looked
into his eyes. “Darius, you didn’t inherit Seth’s mental disease.
It wasn’t possible. Jack, you tell him.”

Jack took a deep breath. “I couldn’t tell you
before, and I’m truly sorry. Morgaine wouldn’t let us. Astrid tried
to tell you… Darius, Seth isn’t your biological father. Your mother
was a few weeks pregnant when she was forced to marry Seth.
Morgaine has the proof, if you need it,” Jack finished. His body
visibly relaxed as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his
shoulders.

For the longest moment Darius stood
motionless and expressionless, and then a hot rage lit his blue
eyes as he gasped for air. For a brief second I was sure he would
unleash the fury of his wrath on Jack for keeping the truth from
him, but that passed quickly. He moved his eyes between Jack and
me.

I smiled and confirmed Jack’s words with a
nod, pushing back tears.

The last traces of doubt and anger slowly
disappeared from Darius’ face, only to be replaced with the
untamed, pure joy of a man who’d received a pardon on his way to
his execution.

He’d gotten his life back, a full, sane and
normal life. And Maggie.

His eyes locked with mine. “Who’s my father,
then?”

I briefly told him what I knew. “His name is
Raymond Arnevald. He is—or was—from Malta. He disappeared before
you were born. Nobody knows what happened to him, but we’ll find
out. We’ll talk about that later.”

“Later, yes…” he repeated slowly and, as if
in a light trance, he turned to Maggie. “I need to have a word with
you.”

“I’m so happy for you, Darius,” Maggie said
warmly, all her anger caused by the sudden bonding forgotten. “I
can’t imagine the nightmare you lived in for so long. Now you’re
free to live your life however you like.” She turned to her
brother. “It’s your fault, Jack. Why didn’t you tell him about his
father before we… we brought in the coffee? Darius, let’s pretend
it didn’t happen, please. At least for a while.”

“We can’t ignore it, and you know it.”

“It’s too sudden. None of us is ready for
it.”

“Neither was I,” Jack said. “Yet here I
am.”

Darius took a step closer to Maggie. “Speak
for yourself, Maggie Mohegan. I
am
ready. I’ve been in love
with you for a long time. And it would be great if your brother and
my sister could give us some privacy.”

“From that day in Austin?” she asked quietly,
keeping her amber eyes on his.

Darius nodded.

Jack’s eyebrows shot upward, and he opened
his mouth to say something, but I stopped him with a warning
look.

Darius’s hand reached out and took Maggie’s.
“Austin, your freshman year. You were at that small café near the
University, you sat there with another girl. You were both
laughing. I stopped to say hello, and we talked briefly. I fell in
love with you that very moment. But you were James’ daughter, and I
was the son of his mortal enemy, and possibly an insane man.”

Maggie smiled, keeping her eyes on Darius’.
“You were in a white polo shirt and jeans.”

“You remember?”

“I do, Darius,” she said softly.

I tugged at Jack’s sleeve. “Let’s go. We
really have no business here.”

“Well, okay.” He agreed reluctantly. “Darius,
just a bit of advice before we leave. I like you fine, but this is
my sister who you somehow happened to bond yourself to—”

“Bonded himself to!? What an interesting
choice of words, Jack,” I said, laughing.

“Jack, stop it!” Maggie shouted. “I’m a grown
woman. I can take care of myself. Now leave us! Astrid, please take
him out! This is crazy enough without Jack’s two cents.”

Jack laughed. “I’m the least of your
problems, Maggie. Wait until James hears you’re getting
married.”

Maggie shrieked, on the verge of tears.
“Married? Who says I’m getting married? Are you insane?”

Darius’s arm moved to Maggie’s shoulder,
rubbing it gently. “Don’t listen to your brother, Maggie,” he said.
“He and Astrid have been together for—how long, Jack? Almost a
year?—and it doesn’t seem we’re going to hear wedding bells anytime
soon. We’re bonded, that part we can’t control. But as for a
wedding, don’t worry about it, please. Okay?”

“I’ve proposed,” Jack said defensively. “It’s
up to Astrid now to set the date, but she’s been digging in her
heels. And consider yourself lucky, Darius,” he continued, still
refusing to leave. “Maggie at least knows what bonding is. Astrid
didn’t have a clue. When I explained it to her, she went ballistic
and wanted to run away to Patagonia.”

“Astrid,” Darius said, “go to my Aunt’s house
and ask Amilla to find you some warm clothes. You two are the same
size. Jack, I’ll find you later. I need to talk to you.”

“Time to go, Jack,” I said and pushed him
toward the door. ”I’m sure we can find ourselves a better job than
chaperoning a newly bonded couple.”

MAGGIE AND Darius’s bond was the second one
that day that I knew of, after Ahmed and my mother’s. Being
unconscious at the moment when it had happened, she still wasn’t
aware of it. The next one was between Takeshi and Darius’s cousin
Amilla, a tall, slender redhead with dark blue eyes.

And that was only the beginning of the
bonding spree, as Eamon called it, that struck at least a dozen
other couples that very day.

I stood in the kitchen of Arina’s house with
Eamon and Lily. I decided at this point not to investigate how
these two, together with Drew, had managed to appear in Copper
Ridge the moment the battle was over. We were having a quick break
with a cup of tea when Amilla came in from her room, carrying the
clothes for me draped over her arm: a flannel shirt, warm jacket
and thick thermal socks. At the same moment Takeshi rushed into the
house looking for his mother, and bumped into her almost knocking
her over.

The clothes flew everywhere. Takeshi grasped
both Amilla’s hands to steady her, and then, shocked, bounced back.
Stunned, Amilla took several steps back, and then both of them
crouched down, in a state of total confusion, and started
collecting the clothes.

“What am I going to tell Tina?” Takeshi
murmured before he shook his head and ran out, leaving a speechless
Amilla behind.

“I am oh-so-not touching any girl or women
here, young or old, married or single,” Eamon said in an agitated
voice. “This is insane! I refuse to be a victim of some celestial
joke. Wherever you turn your head, you see couples bonding. It
freaks me out! I’m not ready for this crap! No, no, no! No
touching, no handshaking, no introducing.”

I tried hard to keep my face straight.

“Look what happened to those people,” he
continued, throwing his arms in the air. “They came out of the
battle without a scratch, and ended up hit directly in the heart by
Cupid’s arrow.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Lily said.
“They’ve found their true love. It’s not important how and when.
Besides, you could touch whomever you like. You’re too young for
bonding, Eamon.”

“How can you be sure? Since you know a lot
about it, tell me then what the minimum required age for bonding
is?”

“Maturity, Eamon,” Lily said. She had been
observing Takeshi’s and Amilla’s bonding incident with her
customary coolness. “So you’re safe.”

“Ha-ha, very funny. I bet you wouldn’t mind
getting bonded.”

“Well, I have the first requirement.
Maturity, I mean.”

“Well, I don’t,” Eamon said. “And I’m darn
glad for it.”

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder. He gave
me a wary look, but then relaxed. “All right, you can touch me.
You’re safe. You know what? I’m gonna help your grandmother. She’s
safe too.”

“You sure Dr. Vandermeer isn’t a potential
bonding threat?” Lily asked.

Eamon ignored her and gently patted my bump.
“Here’s another girl I don’t need to be scared of. How’s my niece
doing?”

“Fine,” I smiled.

Eamon’s eyes widened. “Hey, she just moved,
didn’t she? Isn’t she too small for that?”

“She’s just saying hello to her uncle,” I
said. “And she’s quite advanced for her age.”

He gave me a peck on the cheek. “Off I go to
help Ella. You should have a rest, Astrid. By the way, I saw Angie
Flanagan. Henry’s fine, just very upset because Dr. Altman didn’t
let him come here with her.”

“I know. Adam told me. Did you hear what he
did?”

“The little daredevil raised hell to save his
Ellida. Everybody’s impressed. Also, Frances got a healthy
boy.”

“What!!! When!? Who was with her? Is she
okay!? She’s in week 36!”

“Well, not any more. The baby came a bit
early, but they said the little guy weighed six something. Well,
whatever the normal weight is. They are both fine. Anyway, after
Henry’s alarm, Dr. Altman sent the police and ambulance to check on
Frances. They brought her to the hospital and she went into labor
within hours. What else? Aha! Ahmed sent Graeme back home in a
chopper a half an hour ago—”