Taru spoke, her voice unusually gentle. "We're not sure. There's no record of something like this happening before. But you're right-it's putting a tremendous strain on your body. We think that we have about six days to find an answer before your body burns out." "There is another complication." They all looked at Riqua. "Malesh wasn't successful in bringing you across, but he brought you far enough that you're somewhere in-between. We don't know how strong the bond is between the two of you. Normally, the bond between maker and fledgling is strong enough for the first several lifetimes that to destroy the maker destroys his fledges. They die his death."
The horror of Riqua's statement dawned slowly on Carina. "So if Jonmarc kills Malesh
before we find a way to cure me, there's a good chance that it will kill me, too? That I'll feel
what Malesh feels?"
Riqua nodded.
"Did Jonmarc know?"
Pain flickered in Riqua's eyes. "He knew. But Malesh said he'd slaughter a village every night that Jonmarc delayed."
Carina swallowed hard. "Sweet Mother and Childe." She shut her eyes for a moment, trying to forget Malesh's boast about destroying Jonmarc. Instead, one of the dreams that had haunted her in the darkness returned vividly, taking on a dangerous new meaning. Carina opened her eyes and looked up at Taru. "I had a dream. At least, I thought it was a dream. Now, I'm not so sure. I saw a clearing in the forest, and a crossroads. There was a small village. The forest was dark. And I saw vayash moru fighting in the moonlight. But it was if I was seeing it from a distance. It wasn't a long dream-just a glimpse. I didn't see how the fight ended." Her gaze searched their faces. "Could I have been seeing it through Malesh- through the bond?"
Riqua's expression was somber. "This complicates matters." She turned away. "They were headed for the Caliggan Crossroads. That village is much as you describe." Riqua began to pace. "It answers our question about whether or not Malesh created a bond." Taru looked at Riqua. "Does the bond go both ways? Can the maker see through the fledgling?"
Riqua shrugged ill-humoredly, as if Carina's revelation had thrown off her assumptions. "It depends. I wouldn't expect Malesh to be powerful enough to form so strong a bond. Perhaps it's a fluke because of Carina's magic. What we're doing now, trying to heal Carina, shouldn't be dangerous even if he were to know it through the bond. It might even work in our favor," she said slowly, thinking as she spoke, "if it distracts him from going after Jonmarc." She sighed. "There's no helping it. We'll work around it." "If what I saw wasn't a dream, if it was something I glimpsed through the bond with Malesh, then for some reason, Jonmarc hasn't fought Malesh yet." Carina said. I'm assuming that in a fight, Jonmarc would win and Malesh would be destroyed, which would kill me, she thought. But if they fought, and Malesh won… Carina squeezed her eyes shut tightly against the rest of that thought.
"It would appear so," Royster answered neutrally. If the corollary occurred to him, he did not say it aloud.
Carina set her jaw. "I'll help you search the records. I can't stay in-between like this. And if
we can reverse what Malesh did, before Jonmarc destroys him."
"We must act quickly," Riqua agreed. "Lisette can help you dress. We'll be in the sitting
room. It's become our study. Royster has some ideas, things he's found in some of the old records. They may be worth a try."
Riqua, Taru and Royster filed from the room, leaving only Lisette and Raen. The ghost girl watched from a distance as Lisette helped Carina change and offered her another glass of the blood and milk mixture. Carina regarded it with distaste.
"I know what you're thinking," Lisette said with a sad smile. "But it was the best we could come up with. Riqua didn't think that. as you are now. you could digest solid food. The bit of the Dark Gift you possess hungers for blood. You must keep your strength up." She offered the glass. Carina took it without looking closely and forced herself to drink the mixture, struggling not to gag. She handed the glass back to Lisette. Raen dared to draw closer and knelt in front of Carina, reaching for Carina's hand with her own ghostly touch. Although Raen did not speak, her concern was clear in her face. "Thank you," Carina said raggedly to both Lisette and Raen. "I suspect you kept vigil with the others, too."
"We'll do whatever you need us to do, m'lady," Lisette said, and Raen nodded. "The whole manor is awaiting word."
"There's too much to be done for me to stay in bed." Carina tried to stand and wavered, as
Lisette rushed to steady her.
"You need more time to rest, m'lady."
Carina shook her head. "If Riqua's right, I'll be dead in less than a week unless we find a way to reverse what Malesh did. So I'd better get up and start helping, or I'll have eternity to rest-and I wasn't counting on that just yet."
Carina stood by sheer willpower and managed to stay on her feet. Lisette drew her gently to the window, pulling back the heavy curtains to reveal the courtyard below. It was nighttime, and the courtyard was lit with torches. "Look there," Lisette said quietly. In the center of the courtyard, a group of perhaps twenty people stood singing in the snow. Near them was a pile of objects Carina could not quite make out at this distance. "As soon as word got out about what Malesh did, they started coming," Lisette said. "This morning, there were only ten of them. More come every time I look. They're the villagers, the people you healed, the townsfolk who believe in what Lord Jonmarc is doing to restore Dark Haven. Those things in the snow-they're charms and other gifts. The townspeople brought them. They stand there and they sing, they pray, they chant. Neirin offered them shelter, but they
refused. They say they will stay until you're healed."
Carina watched a moment more, overwhelmed. She clasped Lisette's hand, and Lisette let the curtains fall closed. "It's a lot to take in at once," Carina confessed. Lisette squeezed her hand comfortingly, and Raen stepped closer. "We're here for you, m'lady," Lisette repeated. "Whatever you need-just ask."
Carina slipped in to the sitting room a few minutes later. Riqua, Royster and Taru were hunched over a huge book that lay open on the table, and Royster was translating from a language Carina could not identify. They looked up as Carina entered, and Taru stepped to the side to make room for her around the table.
"Royster brought the books that he could from Westmarch," Taru explained. "You have to understand-Gabriel sent messengers to us two nights ago. We had very little time to prepare, but we each brought what we could. Kolin and Jess have made another trip to the Citadel and to Westmarch to bring more things, now that we have a better idea of what we need. Thank the Lady that vayash moru can move with speed!"
"To know how to heal you, we have to understand what happened to bring you to where you are," Royster said in a professorial voice that might have been explaining the lifecycle of a crustacean. "The thing is-no one has ever really looked at the Dark Gift that way before. We know how people are brought across, but we don't know why it changes them, or how the change happens.
"We're certain that there's magic involved-very old magic. And we think that it works-at least in part-like the shapeshifting magic of the vyrkin, only instead of shape, the vayash moru magic changes the way the body functions. It's all just conjecture at this point," Royster concluded with a sigh. "But it's a fascinating study!"
Taru looked at Royster with affectionate annoyance. "Leave it to the scholar to get lost in his books," she said, but her eyes softened her tone. "If Malesh had been able to bring you across completely, there'd be no changing it. The transformation would be permanent. But you're in the middle-and that's why we think there's a chance to reverse it." Riqua met Carina's eyes. "There is another option. We may find that it's easier to complete the transformation than to undo it."