Assassin's Curse (22 page)

Jeda had seen bands of gypsies before and, from watching their practice, surmised that this group would do quite well with entertaining crowds.
 
Aside from the marvelous display of agility, he counted himself lucky for happening upon any band of gypsies.
 
One of the customary rules of the road was that a friendly stranger approaching an open campfire was afforded the opportunity to share whatever fare there might be for the next meal.

One less meal I’ll have to cook.

It didn’t take long for the group to notice Jeda sitting in the wagon.
 
The music stopped and the men and women looked over to see who had happened by.
 
A mob of children appeared from seemingly nowhere and rushed the wagon.
 
As alarmed as he was with the youngsters climbing all over the wagon, he couldn’t ward off the children without possibly upsetting the adults.
 
They held a non-stop barrage of questions, asking him where he was coming from, what his name was, what the babies’ names were, and what the mule’s name was, until finally an older woman approached the wagon.
 
The children did not climb down off the wagon, but they did quiet as the woman, who was wearing a deep cowl, stepped up and spoke.

“Welcome, fellow traveler,” she began.
 
“Please join us in our evening repast.
 
The food is near ready and I can assure you it is hot, tasty, and plentiful.
 
Children, stop pestering our guests, there will be plenty of time for questions after we’ve eaten.”

“That would be most welcome,” Jeda replied, setting the wagon’s brake.
 
He tried to look at the woman’s face, but her features were hidden within the depths of her hood.
  

“Might I help you with your children?” the gypsy woman asked, moving closer to look at the twins.

“That won’t be necessary,” Jeda answered a little too quickly.
 
He put his hand possessively on them.
 
“I have them well in hand.”

If the woman was offended by Jeda’s abruptness, she did not show it.
 
Instead, she gave a slight nod of her head toward the fire, indicating that they should join the circle.
 
Jeda did notice her looking intently at the babies as he picked them up.
 
Both twins were awake and looking at the gypsy woman with their golden eyes.

“They look to be of the same age.
 
Are they twins?” she asked.
 
“How interesting, I see they are both gifted with the power.
 
That should prove for some interesting conversation.
 
Please come join us by the fire.”

The woman’s interest in the girls was too much for Jeda after the incident at the Mount View village.
 
The healer’s death was still fresh in his mind and this woman’s interest was too much for Jeda to be comfortable with.
 
Though he had changed Kara’s hair color and she did look different from Kala, the woman had recognized that they both had power.
 
He was not about to stay around long enough for her to learn anything else.
 

“Thank you, but no.
 
I must really travel further on today,” Jeda said.
 
He gave up any thoughts of the gypsies’ hospitality, and decided to leave immediately.
 
There were too many people searching and hunting for them and he could not trust anyone at this point.
 
He laid the babies back in the seat.
 
He would find another clearing further down the road to stop for the night.
 

The woman, noticing his intentions, stepped back with open arms and removed her hood.
 
Jeda found himself staring at a beautiful face surrounded by long, raven tresses and a pair of large, golden eyes.
 
She has the power too,
he thought.

“Fear not, I mean you and your children no harm.
 
I am Natasha, the leader and wise woman of this family,” she said, gesturing to the troupe behind her.
 
“I am sorry if my interest has made you feel uncomfortable, but we get few visitors of such
unique
talent.
 
Please forgive an old woman her curiosity.
 
You are welcome and will be safe here.
 
I give you my word that no harm will come to you while you are our guests and under my protection.”

Jeda did not care a whit about the worth of anyone’s word, but when Natasha said they would be safe in their circle, he felt her words ring true.
 
Whether it was because she showed the signs of power or not, he knew instinctively he could trust her.
 
“Very well, I will take you at your word.
 
My name is Jeda and these are my twins.
 
This is my daughter Kala and my son Kar.”

“Please come and join me at the fire and be part of our family for as long as you are here.”

Jeda undid the straps, picked up the twins, and hopped down from the wagon, following Natasha as she headed back toward the inner camp.
 
Once inside the half circle of wagons, she gave a curt nod to the musicians and they struck up a lively tune.
 
The women began dancing again and the men continued their acrobatics.
  

The children had all climbed down off Jeda’s wagon and had followed him back to the circle.
 
The woman turned to them and motioned them closer.
 
“Now is that any way to treat honored guests?” she asked them collectively.

A few of the children looked down sheepishly and walked over to Jeda.
 
One by one they handed him back the trinkets they had stolen from him and the wagon.
 
He was surprised at how deftly they had accomplished their thefts without him realizing what they were doing.
 
He thought they had been only a bunch of rambunctious kids.
 
As he accepted his possessions back, he glanced at Natasha and nodded his thanks.
 
He believed he had everything back until the wise woman called to one of the older girls hanging in the rear of the children’s ranks.
 

“Keisha, you too,” Natasha admonished.
 
“There will be none of your trickery here tonight.
 
Give back what you took.”
 
Keisha was one of the older girls who had climbed on the wagon.
 
Looking closer at her, Jeda realized that she was not a girl at all, but a young woman.
 
She had been the boldest of them all, coming and sitting beside him on his wagon seat, patting his arm and asking him a number of flirtatious questions.
 
She walked over to him and, reaching into the sleeves of her blouse, pulled out two of Jeda’s throwing knives.
 
She handed them back to him, smiling innocently.
 
He was so surprised that he had to pat his knife sheaths attached to his forearms to make sure these blades were his.
 
Sure enough, he felt two empty cases.
 

How she could have possibly gotten the blades without him noticing was something he needed to discover.
 
As the girl turned to leave, Jeda reached out and touched her shoulder.
 
“Wait a moment,” he said.
 
“If you like these blades so much then I will trade one of them with you.”

“But I have nothing to trade back with,” Keisha replied demurely.

Jeda could tell by the glint in her eye that she was interested in his proposition.

“Ah, but you do have something I am in interested in.”
 
He rotated one of the knives in his hand, twirling it deftly between his fingers, catching the girl’s eye with each spin.
 
“I will trade you one of these blades for the secret of how you were able to get them in the first place.”

Keisha’s eyes widened in surprise.
 
Jeda’s proposal was unexpected.
 
Being a beautiful, budding, young woman, she expected something of a more carnal nature.
 
Lately, she had been getting propositions from men of the cities and villages they entertained and had become quite adept at turning away their advances.

The wise woman laughed, and nodded her approval to the young woman.
 
“Well, finally someone who could actually make my daughter speechless.”

“Do we have a deal?” Jeda asked.

The young woman thought furiously for a moment before answering.
 
The sleight of hand and flirtatious distractions she used to pilfer the knives was no great skill, but if this man wanted to trade for her
secrets,
then she wanted to make the best deal she could.
 
The knives were extremely well made and she could barely contain her excitement at the prospect of owning one.
 
Nevertheless, she looked Jeda straight in the eye and made him a counteroffer.
 
“As the owner of such finely made blades, I am quite sure you’re expert in their use.
 
I will teach you how I took your knives so easily if you will not only give me one, but teach me how you use it.”

It was Jeda’s turn to smile at the brashness of her counteroffer.
 
He had to admit that he found her interesting in more ways than just her sleight of hand.
 
“Very well,” he replied solemnly, holding out his hand in the universal manner of bargainers.
 
“It’s a deal.”

The young woman took Jeda’s hand in hers.
 
Her hand felt warm and soft to his touch and he felt flushed from the contact.
 
He took his hand back grudgingly and looked to see her smiling at the effect she had on him.
 

“Keisha, make our guests comfortable,” Natasha told her.
 
“I will join you momentarily.”

Natasha walked over to a large woman while Keisha led Jeda and the twins to a small table off to one side of the central fire pit.
 
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as they began a heated conversation.
 
Within moments, the second woman came storming their way with Natasha trailing close behind.
 
As the unknown woman approached, Jeda could see similarities between her and Natasha, though she was quite a bit larger and a few years younger.

Keisha leaned over and whispered to him.
 
“That’s my Aunt Mirabelle coming this way.
 
She’s always arguing with Mother about the best way to rule the family.
 
She doesn’t like strangers, especially those that have the power.”

“You’re referring to my twins?”

“Yes, but don’t worry, you’re under the family’s protection.
 
Doesn’t matter what Mirabelle says or wants.”

Before Keisha could elaborate, Mirabelle marched right up to Jeda, looking him over and trying to intimidate him with her size.
 
He nearly laughed at her attempt, but noticed that her eyes were gold-flecked.
 
Their color was nowhere near the vibrant hue of Natasha’s, but she did have some degree of power, though considerably less than her older sister.
 
After giving Jeda the once-over, she moved her gaze to the twins.
       

“So these are the ones I saw,” Mirabelle said, glancing back to Jeda.
 
“How long do you intend to stay with us?”

“They will stay for as long as they want,” Natasha interjected.
 
“I have extended the family welcome to them.”

Mirabelle whirled on her sister, rage clouding her features.
 
“How foolish of you, sister.
 
How could you do such a thing after what I told you about them?”

“You told me nothing that could not be pure coincidence.
 
We meet travelers along these roads every day.
 
Their arrival means nothing.”
 
Natasha pointed at the babies.
 
“Besides they are a boy and a girl, not the twin girls you saw in that crystal of yours.
 
Don’t look for trouble where there is none to be found.”

The alarms in Jeda’s head were screaming while listening to this conversation, but he dared not do anything rash.
 
It would be best to let Natasha control the situation.

“You will rue this day,” Mirabelle screamed.
 
“Mark my words.
 
Their arrival portends the death of us.”
 
With that, she turned and stormed off to the opposite side of the encampment.

“I am deeply sorry for my sister’s outburst,” Natasha said.
 
“Pay her no mind.
 
She likes to stir things up with the
visions
that she claims she sees in her crystal.”

“Visions?
 
What do you mean by visions?
 
She accused us of being the death of you.
 
I don’t understand.”

Before Natasha could reply, Keisha explained it to Jeda.
 
“Aunt Mirabelle has a crystal ball that she stares into that tells her the future.
 
She has
visions
that only she can interpret that show her what is coming our way.”