Healer (Brotherhood of the Throne Book 2) Read online

  “Yowan,” Duchess Avery said. “You would not be here other than for something of grave importance, but I fear Kane is correct. I cannot focus on anything else.” Avery started to pace. “Laurel, could you please ask for some tea? I need to compose myself.” She led the way toward the two long settees that sat across from each other, a large low table between them.

  Avery Kerrich sat down, Laurel beside her. Clift sat on the other side of Laurel and Neal stood beside the duchess. Kane, Brenna and Yowan sat across from them. Kane shook his head when he realized the two women had no idea their men had arranged the seating in order to protect them. The tea arrived and Avery poured it with shaking hands.

  Kane felt Brenna nudge his foot with her own. She looked at him then at the group opposite. Kane smiled. He and Yowan had instinctively mirrored the duchess and her party, with Brenna tucked between the two of them.

  “You find something amusing in all of this, Kane?” Neal Ravershaw said sharply.

  “Yes, actually, I do,” Kane replied calmly. He wasn’t about to back down but nor did he wish to antagonize the man.

  “As do I,” Brenna said. “If you haven’t noticed, we seem to be well supplied with consorts ready to protect their women.”

  Avery looked around the room and laughed. “I believe you’re correct, Brenna.” Her eyes narrowed when she looked from Yowan to Kane. “Shall I assume that Yowan’s tale will explain why you, my dear are sitting with two?” Kane nodded and she continued. “That must wait. My first concern is my duchy.”

  Avery sat up straighter. “When traveling through Comack we came across many, many stories of followers of the old gods being mistreated. They are being overcharged for goods and underpaid for their services. Whole families are converting to the One-God in order to save their livelihoods. Even I was treated poorly - inns would not rent us rooms, merchants refused to sell us goods and it took four days for us to find a ship that would sail us from Dryannon to Smithin.”

  Kane nodded. “It was starting when I journeyed through in late winter.”

  “You know something of this?” Avery demanded.

  “Yes. Again, it’s connected to Yowan’s tale. I think Duke Thorold has allowed the High Bishop to spread hate against followers of the old gods.”

  “But why? Is this also part of Yowan’s tale?”

  Kane nodded.

  Avery looked from him to Yowan, her gaze sliding right over Brenna. “Then you best tell it, Yowan.”

  Yowan cleared his throat, ready to start his tale but Brenna interrupted.

  “You will have people ready along the borders, won’t you duchess?” Brenna asked sharply. “And you spoke to Duke Ewart as well? Laurel told you?”

  “About your Seeing?” Avery said. “Yes and I passed it along to Ewart. Interestingly, he didn’t take it very seriously until I told him it came from a young woman from Kingsreach whom my daughter was schooling in magic.” Avery looked at Brenna speculatively. “Why would that matter to him? But yes, my borders have all been alerted. Tents and healers and other supplies will be moved there toward midsummer. Does your Seeing have anything to do with what’s happening in Comack?”

  “I’m not sure, Duchess.” Brenna shrugged. “It just seemed like a question I had to ask just then. Sorry Yowan, please tell your tale.”

  “All right. This tale starts over two thousand years ago,” Yowan said. “With King Wolde and his daughter Aruntun. All here know about Aruntun Seeing the end of Soule and the end of Wolde’s line.”

  “Yes, of course,” Avery said. “The prophecy of the one who reunites the blood.”

  Kane looked up, startled. He’d thought only the Brotherhood knew about that.

  “You didn’t think Aruntians would forget any of her visions, did you lad?” Yowan said to him. “But what some at this table don’t know is that Aruntun’s Seeing was taken seriously elsewhere and a secret group was formed,” he continued. “The Brotherhood of the Throne - whose only purpose was to wait for the prophesied one to arrive and save Soule.”

  “And this Brotherhood has survived all these years?” Avery asked. “Surely at some point in the last two thousand years one of them would have let their secret slipped.”

  “Perhaps they did,” Yowan sipped his tea. “But mayhap they weren’t believed. Nonetheless, the Brotherhood did survive all those years in secret. You’ve known Brothers most all your life, Avery.”

  “You’re one of them,” Avery said. “Even when you were younger?”

  “Aye,” Yowan replied. “Since I was thirteen. But I became more involved, after.” Yowan bowed his head.

  “My uncle was at the heart of the Brotherhood,” Kane said.

  Avery’s brows rose in surprise.

  “Before his death Uncle Feiren was head of the council. In fact, it’s one of the reasons why he was killed.”

  “Thorold tells a different story. Your uncle was caught slipping poison into the king’s wine. The records show that even Feiren didn’t deny it.” Neal’s voice was sharp.

  “It was an antidote,” Brenna said. “It was poison but it was to counteract the one Thorold was already giving him.”

  “When we first met you said Feiren had been giving the king an antidote.” Avery placed a hand on Neal’s arm when he would have spoken. “But you forgot to mention that it was a poison.”

  “Are you a healer duchess?” When the duchess shook her head, Brenna continued. “No, and I knew that. Most people who are not healers would have the exact same reaction as Neal Ravershaw if told them a poison was being given to someone. So I kept that information to myself.”

  Avery sighed deeply. “Yes, we might not have been quite so accommodating if you’d told us that. There is no denying the king is ill, and very likely from unnatural causes.” She looked over at Neal. “Even you agree with me on that now.” Neal nodded, his face grim.

  “How does this connect to the problems in Comack?” Clift asked.

  “Down through the millennia,” Kane said. “The Brotherhood has been very good at keeping our existence secret but in the past few years Thorold has uncovered information that reveals that we follow the old gods.” Duchess Avery seemed willing to believe him but Neal Ravershaw looked skeptical. “Thorold has enough evidence to prove we exist but he does not know who we are. We,” Kane paused, “that is, the working council of the Brotherhood, believe the attacks on followers of the old gods are aimed at weakening the Brotherhood.”

  Clift nodded. “That would explain the timing. Up until now Thorold has never allowed the church to do anything to disrupt trade, but this persecution does just that.”

  “We believe Thorold has engaged Langemore in trade without the king’s knowledge.” Kane drained his tea and pushed the cup away from him. “We also think he has discussed other opportunities.”

  “What other opportunities?” Avery asked. “The trade he takes away would be bad enough.”

  “The king of Langemore has a daughter who is an appropriate age for Beldyn.” Kane said.

  “Do you have any proof?” Neal asked.

  A cup rattled in its saucer as Avery set it down with shaking hands, her face pale. “I don’t need proof,” Avery said. “That is exactly what Thorold has done. All along he’s wanted the crown. If he gets his way he’ll rule Soule and heavily influence Langemore. Aruntun will be forced to deal with him or go hungry.” She shook Neal’s hand off and rose to her feet, pacing the room. “I’ve been so blind. All these years I’ve known that Duke Thorold was manipulating the king and I just let him. It didn’t affect me and mine, so I thought. I’ve neglected my sworn duties in order to spend my time comfortable in my own land.” She stopped behind Neal and put a hand on his shoulder. He reached up and covered it with his own. “I’ve been such a fool.”

  “It’s nothing any of us could have foreseen, Duchess,” Kane said gently.

  “That’s where you’re wrong!” Avery whirled on him. “My own family, my own daughter, has the Sight and yet we never bothered to
look. We Aruntians always thought that if we let others manage their affairs they would in turn let us manage our own. But if Brenna’s Seeing is any indication we are about to suffer terrible consequences to that line of thought.” Avery sat down, straightened her shoulders and faced across the table again.

  “What else must I know?” she asked. Her gaze went from him to Yowan, once again sliding past Brenna, before darting back and resting on her. “We come back to you Brenna. Why do you sit there in the protection of two consorts, one of whom not so long ago was the Captain of the Kingsguard as well as a key member of this Brotherhood?”

  Kane glanced at Brenna and smiled at the grin that spread across her face.

  “You’ve guessed by now, haven’t you?” Brenna asked. “I’m the one prophesied.”

  “But it was Aruntun’s prophecy,” Laurel said. “She wouldn’t be able to have a vision about another Seer,” Laurel said.

  “But Aruntun was the strongest Seer who ever lived,” Brenna replied. “You taught me that yourself, Laurel. Besides, whether I am the answer to the prophecy or not isn’t as important as whether I can unite the Brotherhood, Aruntians, Falladians and any of the other good people of Soule behind me to stop Thorold.”

  “But you are the prophesy, Brenna,” Yowan interrupted. “You have the bloodlines.”

  Kane agreed with Yowan - Brenna was the heir. But Brenna was also correct, that didn’t matter unless she could convince all of Thorold’s opponents to rally behind her. With both Duke Ewart and Duchess Aruntun supporting her, there was hope.

  “Yes,” Brenna said. “I seem to have all four of the bloodlines.” Kane followed Brenna’s gaze to Avery. “My father was Alastair, the oldest son of Duke Thorold. His mother was the sister of the old Duke of Fallad, Ewart’s father,” Brenna said.

  “But Alastair died young leaving no heirs,” Avery said. “Thorold was devastated by his death.”

  “Alastair died young,” Brenna agreed. “And there were no official heirs. Thorold didn’t know Alastair had even fathered a child until recently. My mother was an indentured servant, a healer, brought in to care for Thorold’s first wife. That’s how she met Alastair.” Brenna paused and looked around the table. “My mother’s name was Wynne and her mother was Madelay Trewen, an indentured healer out of Aruntun. Your sister.”

  “That can’t be right.” Avery stood up again, her eyes fixed on Brenna. “Madelay was a Kerrich, not a Trewen. Besides, if Madelay was indentured all she had to do was let us know and her debt would be bought out.”

  “I believe Brenna,” Yowan said. “I believe she’s the daughter of my child, mine and Madelay’s.” Yowan gripped Brenna’s hand in his. “And before he died the man who raised me told me my father was King Bodan. I didn’t believe it until now.”

  Duchess Avery of Aruntun slumped back into her chair. “Can it be true? Neal, Laurel, what do you think?”

  Neal Ravershaw raked his gaze over the group and Kane almost smiled when not only his and Brenna’s chins went up, but Yowan’s as well.

  “There are too many coincidences for it to be chance, Avery,” Neal said finally. “I think the prophecy is at work.”

  “And Madelay is alive,” Kane said. “We have word that she’s an indentured servant in Comack.”

  “My sister,” Avery whispered. “After all these years she’s alive? We must get her. Neal, you’ll need to go.”

  “Yowan, Brenna and I will find her,” Kane said gently. “We’re leaving as soon as we find a ship.” He met Neal’s gaze. “The fewer who go the better our chances.”

  “Kane is right,” Neal said. He squeezed Avery’s shoulder. “And I need to return to Kingsreach with you.”

  “What if they can’t get her?” Avery asked. “I want all the power of the Aruntun Duchy behind this. Duke Thorold has my sister!”

  “And doesn’t even know it,” Brenna said. “If he knew he’d have used her against you years ago. We don’t want to give him that chance now, not when he and the High Bishop are turning people against followers of the old gods.”

  “I agree,” Laurel said. “I also think there’s more than one prophecy to consider. Why did Madelay call herself Trewen rather than use her real name? Even in Comack they’d know the name Kerrich.”

  “I’ve given that a lot of thought since I met Brenna.” Yowan ran a hand over his gray hair. “I think she knew. Madelay didn’t have the true Sight but it’s in her blood same as it’s in all of yours. From what I know sometimes those without true Sight have visions.”

  “It does happen,” Laurel said. “Although the visions usually aren’t clear.”

  “But what if it was clear?” Yowan asked. “I know something was bothering her before she left but she never told me what it was. She just kept saying that her calling required her to journey. I think the name Trewen is part of that.”

  “I don’t understand what significance my name has,” Brenna said.

  “It’s an old story from long ago in the Kerrich family,” Laurel said. “For most of my family’s rule there has been a living Seer as well as a healer. These two women usually don’t become duchess as these roles are seen as far too important to allow the mundane tasks of ruling get in the way.” Laurel smiled at her mother. “But the legends have it that there will come one who is both Seer and healer - one who unites the Kerrich family gifts - the True One who will save Aruntun from despair and destruction.”

  “You think Madelay is the True One?” Kane asked.

  “No, but I think she may have had a vision about the True One,” Laurel’s gaze moved from him to rest on Brenna. “About the circumstances of her birth.”

  “Oh no, you don’t think I’m the True One?” Brenna asked.

  Laurel smiled sadly. “You are a Kerrich who is both healer and Seer and your name, Trewen sounds very much like True One. I don’t think Madelay’s naming was a mistake at all.”

  Brenna sat back, stunned. Not again. “I hope you’re wrong,” she said to Laurel. “I’m tired of being part of prophesies.”

  “Don’t worry too much,” Laurel said. “A key to the legend of the True One is that she will reunite Aruntun’s mortar and pestle with the family. Until that happens both you and the duchy are safe. Those items have not been seen for hundreds and hundreds of years. Kerrich women have spent their entire lifetimes looking for them.”

  Brenna sunk further into her chair. Obviously none of them had looked in the wall of the library at the Collegium. She sighed. She hated this - first the Brotherhood, now the Kerrich’s. Was she destined to be manipulated by forces set in motion thousands of years before she was even born? Even Kane was hers due to some magic or other. She looked at him and he took one of her hands as if to apologize. But he was hers and she wouldn’t have met him if it wasn’t for the Brotherhood’s prophecy - she wouldn’t change that. Maybe this new prophecy would have some benefits as well. She bent down and grabbed her pack and opened it up. Reaching inside the secret compartment she took the mortar and pestle out and placed them on the table.

  “They found me,” Brenna said.

  Avery and Laurel stared at the tabletop their faces pale.

  “May I?” Laurel asked. She was already reaching across the table. When Brenna nodded Laurel gently picked up the two items. She closed her eyes and simply held them against her chest. “It is them - I can almost feel Aruntun in these.” She sent a wide-eyed gaze around the table. “How and where did you find them?”

  “I was in the library at the Collegium in Kingsreach,” Brenna said. “I felt their presence.”

  “They were in the library?” Laurel frowned. “I’m sure the library has been searched by Kerrich’s in the past.”

  “Yes, well, they were hidden,” Brenna said.

  “They were in a wall,” Kane interrupted. “We had to remove one of the stones to get them out.”

  “You felt them from behind a stone wall?” Laurel looked at her, puzzled.

  Brenna glanced at Kane, who nodded. She might
as well tell them everything.

  “I have a special affinity for the material they’re made of,” Brenna continued. “It’s old steel and it has magical properties that I can manipulate. Like this.” Brenna reached out and let the mortar and pestle glow slightly. Surprised, Laurel gently put the items down on the table.

  “I can feel that magic.” Avery’s eyes were on the now bright mortar and pestle. “It’s the same magic I felt the night before we found you on the border.”

  “Aruntun’s mortar and pestle aren’t the only things made of old steel.” Brenna placed her knife on the table and reached out and let it glow. “This knife is old steel – it was passed from Madelay to my mother, to me. As well, the Brotherhood has old steel weapons. I am connected to all of them.”

  Brenna watched the boats bob up and down on the sea from her perch on a low stone wall. She and Kane had come down to the docks as soon as they’d awoken. Well, she smiled, as soon as they’d gotten out of bed. She stretched and yawned, sensing Kane close by, along with Yowan. It was the first day of the Spring Festival and the Aruntians were celebrating Ush. All over town the bounty of Ush was displayed - the first crops of the season - green stalks of asparagus and tender lettuces - were for sale on every street corner, and spring flowers were tied to every door handle, cart and fence post in town.

  Even the small boats that raced each other in the harbor, white sails billowing in the wind, even they were decked with yellow and purple flowers.

  Kane and Yowan were arranging a ship to take them far north into Comack. The ship’s owner was a Brother - he was the same man Kane had traveled with in the winter. He was also the one who had delivered the duchess to Smithin the day before, and poor as trade was, he was more than willing to forgo his usual trade route in order to take them north.

  Brenna relaxed, letting the warmth of the sun warm her skin. She smiled, thinking that it was almost time to drag Kane back to their room. There was no guarantee they would have the luxury of a real bed and a separate room on the ship so she planned on making the most of it while they had one. She frowned - she’d need to visit another healer or an apothecary before they left and make sure her supply of wild carrot seeds was enough to take her through the next six months, at least until she could harvest some herself in the fall. She and Kane had enough to deal with without her being with child.