Gail Martin - Dark Haven

The spirits around her began to fade. "No. We'll watch over you until the living come." Hassad's voice grew faint. Jae flew down to land beside Kiara and nuzzled her hand.

Kiara heard the doors crash open and saw torchlight. Through the windows, the faint glow of dawn began to light the room. "Get the healer!" a guardsman shouted. One of the guards went to do as he was bid as the other two ran for Kiara.

"We saw something in the corridor and went to investigate. M'lady, who did this?"

"Ghosts," Kiara managed. She fought the urge to cry out as another wave of pain swept over her. "Gone now."

Kiara heard running footsteps and the guards moved aside. Cerise and Alle knelt beside her. "Macaria went to get a stretcher. What happened?" Cerise gentled Kiara onto her back, noting with concern as Kiara winced trying to lie flat.

"Let's give the queen some privacy," Alle said, taking control of the situation. "You- bring a pitcher of cold water and a pot of hot water. And you-get rid of the broken glass." With the guards occupied, Alle knelt beside Cerise.

"Tell me what you need and I'll do it."

Cerise worked silently while Kiara haltingly told of the attack and her ghostly defenders. "Is it true? Could they take the soul?"

"The old stories say so. I always thought they were just the prattling of old women. But out in the midlands, I've heard the hedge witches tell of ghosts that possessed a babe before its soul was fixed. A changeling. It takes blood magic or a Summoner's power to do such a thing after birth, but there are tales of that as well."

"Hassad didn't think they had succeeded. Can you tell for certain?"

Cerise closed her eyes and laid her hands on Kiara's belly. After a few moments, she shook her head. "Only one life thread for both of you. The soul is not yet fixed."

Kiara let out a deep breath and relaxed. "Thank you." Just as quickly, a spasm caused her to grit her teeth and wince.

"I don't know whether it was the blow to the stomach or the stress of the attack-or whether you were pushing yourself too hard in practice. But we've got to get those contractions stopped before you lose the baby."

"My rooms-"

Cerise shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kiara. There's no time. We'll have to make do."

Macaria arrived with the rest of Cerise's healer's satchels and a stretcher. From the hot water the guard brought, Cerise made both tea and a poultice and began to work. Alle shooed the guards from the room, and they took up their places outside the broken doors. Macaria found a sailcloth tarp in a storage chest and rigged it to shield Kiara from the view of passers by. Alle dabbed Kiara's face with a cool, wet cloth, and Macaria held her hand. For a candlemark Cerise worked, digging through her satchels for herbs and dried mixtures and applying them to ease the muscle spasms. Kiara clutched the agate amulet in her left hand. Finally, Cerise straightened.

"You're going to be all right," Cerise said with a tired smile. "You're both safe. Let's get you somewhere more comfortable."

Alle signaled the guards, who gently lifted Kiara onto the stretcher. Carefully, they made their way up to the queen's quarters. Tris's dogs, sensing something amiss, stayed close. The gray wolfhound, Kiara's favorite, lay down alongside the couch. The mastiff took up a watch at the head of the couch, and the black wolfhound lay at the foot. Jae settled himself on the back of the couch. In the shadows, Kiara saw the dim outlines of Seanna and Ula, standing watch.

"I'm sorry, my dear," Cerise said, taking Kiara's hand. "We've had so many other worries, I never thought to warn you about the spirits."

Kiara leaned back against her pillow. "I knew Tris wasn't sure whether he'd laid all of the ghosts of Jared's victims to rest before he left. He tried but-Goddess!-there were so many."

A knock sounded at the door. Alle opened it cautiously, her hand near the knife hidden in the folds of her skirt. Carroway stood in the doorway, and Kiara waved for him to enter.

"I came as soon as I heard. Are you all right?"

Kiara nodded. "If I remember Tris's story about the night of the coup, I think I met one of your old friends. He said his name was Comar Hassad."

"Hassad was one of Bricen's most loyal guardsmen-and one of the first to die in the coup. He guided us through the forest to that burned out inn, only when we stayed there the first time, it looked solid and quite safe-not a charred shell!"

"If you see him again, tell him 'thank you' for me."

Carroway smiled. "Me, personally, I don't go looking for ghosts. But since Tris left with the army, Hassad's been busy. I've heard tell that the guardsmen have seen him all around the castle. Scared a couple of minstrels out of their wits down on the road by the bridge."

"Seanna and Ula seem to have taken a personal interest in you and the baby," Macaria added.

"I was never so glad to see a ghost," Kiara said, managing a smile. "Jae tried to protect me, but he flew right through the spirits." She shivered at the memory.

"I'd hoped that you'd avoid the problems your mother had," Cerise said. "And I think in many ways, you have. But you've got to be careful." She held up a hand to stay Kiara's protest. "I know that many of our soldiers train almost up to when they give birth. I know the battle healers say such training is safe. But if you have Viata's constitution, you must take care. Your mother was just as excellent a fighter as you are, but she had to be very careful when she was pregnant with you-and even so, it was a difficult and dangerous birth. If you want to continue to train in the salle, you'll have to take it easy-perhaps work on form and stretching instead of whacking our your frustrations on the quintain," she added with a smile.

"Paiva and Bandele have some new songs," Carroway said, standing. "I'll have them come up to give you a private audience once you've had a chance to rest. If you need anything, Macaria can find me." He bowed and left.

Macaria followed him into the hallway, closing the door.

"I'm afraid for her," Macaria said.

Carroway took her hand, and was surprised that she did not draw away. "So am I. When I promised Tris we'd look after her, I wasn't expecting anything like this. I'm starting to wonder where the real war is-out there, or in here."

"We're still no closer to knowing whether it's Curane's people or the Isencroft separatists who've been behind most of the incidents. Now, with the ghosts-"

"Maybe the other minstrels will hear something. Whoever's behind this may overplay his hand. You've got to help keep an eye on Kiara-and an ear open to the palace gossip. I can't do it-I don't dare. People will talk."

"What I said about your reputation with your patronesses, that was a joke."

"The reputation is real even though I didn't earn it. I can't stay close enough to make sure she hears the court gossip. But you can. Paiva's too young. Bandele doesn't have the nose for politics you do. There's no one else I trust to be that close to her. Alle only hears the noble's talk. You hear what's said below stairs, what people in the crowd say when they think no one important is listening."

Macaria smiled. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, and he returned the pressure. "I will," she said. "But stay as close as you can- all right?"

Carroway made a deep courtly bow. "I live to serve, m'lady."

KIARA AND ALLE looked up when Macaria came back into the room. "How's your bard?" Kiara asked.

Macaria looked away. "My bard? He's just worried about you. That's all."

Kiara gave a tired smile but did not argue. She could hear Cerise moving about her room, putting her satchels and medicines away.

Alle sat down in a chair beside Kiara. "I know you don't want to worry Cerise. How are you-really?"

Kiara pulled herself into a sitting position. "In Isencroft, I understood the rules. When I went on my journey, I was sure of my ability to fight-and I had a war steed as well as Jae. On the road last year, heading to Westmarch and then on the way back to confront Jared, I knew I could hold my own, even in a battle. Now- everything's different. We still don't know who's trying to kill me-or whether it's more than one person for different reasons. Tris is at war, and we don't know anything about how that's going. I've never felt this helpless in my life-and I hate it. I couldn't protect Mikhail or Make, and I failed today to keep the baby safe. I've let Tris down-I've let everyone down."