Page 387 of Warlords, Witches & Wolves

Chapter 2

"And this is my heart," Mother said, placing Rossa's hand on her breast. Through the layers of linen and wool, Rossa could barely feel the thump of her mother's heart. Not like when her hand was against her own skin.

If she could just reach through the wool and linen…

Rossa bit down so hard on her lip that it hurt. She opened her mouth to cry out, but then she felt it. The deep drum of her mother's heart, as it squeezed and expanded inside her.

Fascinated, she focussed on the heart, and the blood pumping through it. Streaming out in a thousand directions, keeping her mother alive. She could look, but not touch, the memories from her ancestors told her. To touch was to kill, and an enchantress never used her magic for evil.

"They come! They come!"

The shout from above, followed by thunderous footsteps racing to the bottom of the tower sent Mother's heart fluttering like a bird's wings.

"What is it, Raphael?" Mother asked.

The healer man who lived in the topmost tower room stuck his head through the tapestry into Mother's chamber. His eyes were fever-bright. "I don't know, but there's a large party coming up the road. Maybe they've come to tell us it's safe to go home!"

His head disappeared and Rossa heard his feet on the stairs once more.

Mother said a bad word. "Stay here in the tower, Rossa. I will come fetch you when it's safe."

Rossa nodded.

Mother left.

Rossa grew tired of sitting alone in Mother's chamber, so she pushed the tapestry aside and climbed to the top of the tower, where Raphael kept watch. She wasn't sure what he watched for, but she knew it made him frown and sigh a lot.

But when she reached the top, she couldn't find Raphael, and she was too short to see out the windows.

She repeated Mother's bad word. Several times. But it didn't lift her any higher. She said the bad word again, then headed down the stairs. She'd be able to see the road from the bailey.

It was a long climb for her short legs, but Rossa kept going. She wanted to see the party.

There was no one in the great hall, but someone had left the doors open, as if they knew she was coming. Giggling, she broke into a run. After only a few steps, she tripped on the uneven flagstones and went sprawling.

Pain flared in her shin, and Rossa let out a yowl.

"Rossa?"

That was Mother. Mother would take her to the stillroom and cover her in smelly herbs and bandages and she'd miss the party. Rossa jumped to her feet and raced for the doors.

"Rossa! Get back here! Rossa!"

Mother could not run as fast as her. This was a race, and Rossa knew she would win.

Daddy was in the bailey, and he always caught her. Rossa ran straight for him. Sure enough, he scooped her up in his arms, sending her soaring like the eagles higher up in the mountains.

But there was a horse coming, heading straight for Daddy. Focussing on the still-stinging graze on her shin, Rossa held up her hand to stop the horse.

The horse rose up on his back legs, almost like he was dancing. The fat man on his back rolled off and landed in the dirt.

Rossa giggled. She'd never seen a man roll like a ball before. Oh, but the horse did not like dancing. Rossa reached out, touching the horse's back, so he set his hooves on the ground again. Only she hadn't reached with her hand, but with an invisible hand made of magic.

The fat man got up and said things to Daddy and Mother. Daddy stiffened, his arm tightening around Rossa while his other hand went for his sword.

Daddy only used his sword on evil men, he'd told her. To cut out their evil hearts. That meant the fat man was evil. Would his heart look different to Mother's?

Rossa reached out, just to look, not to touch. The evil man's heart was different to Mother's. It looked like it was straining, not strong enough to pump the blood, which didn't stream like Mother's. There was a dark lump trapped inside.

Was that what evil looked like?

Mother shouted for a healer, drawing Rossa out of her reverie.

The evil man had collapsed on the ground. As Rossa watched, his evil heart beat slower and slower until it ceased beating altogether.

Rossa didn't need to ask if the man was dead. Daddy wore one of his hidden smiles, the sort he wore when Rossa did something funny that Mother didn't like, and he had to hide his smile from Mother.

Rossa gave a little nod. She wasn't sure how, but her father had killed the evil man. Stopped his heart dead.

One day, she vowed, she would be just like him. Evil men would fear her, and good people would come to her for help. Just like Daddy.

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