The Humbled (The Lost Words: Volume 4) (73 page)

She would need time before she could hope to find employment for herself, she knew.

Her hand touched her belly. No one could see it yet, but she was with a baby again. That last lovemaking with Calemore. Well, she had stopped taking her special herbs a while back, and her womb turned out to be quite fertile, despite years of poisons in her veins. At first when she had missed her menses, she had felt a deep, primal fear and almost decided to swill laserwort again. But then, she had quickly decided against it. That was
her
baby. Not Calemore’s. He was dead. The White Witch was dead, and she alone would decide how her child would grow. Another son, she knew. It would be another strong, healthy, smart boy.

Her hand trailed to the pocket sagging with the book’s bulk and fished it out. Heavy, beautiful, evil.

Making sure no one was looking, she hesitated only a moment before she tossed it overboard. It flapped open in the wind, tumbled over, and sank with a small splash into the lead-colored spray. The water covered the pages, and it vanished, lost in the ship’s furious wake.

Her eyes went back to the two wizards. Sheldon needed a future.

She had killed the most dangerous thing in the world. She could secure apprenticeship for her son at the Temple of Justice.

Nigella adjusted the spectacles on the bridge of her nose. She ran her tongue over her big teeth. She knew they were big, and did not care. With as much dignity as she could muster in the wailing wind, she stepped toward the two men, the young, lean fellow and the menacing, blue-faced one.

“Excuse me, wizards. I must ask you something…”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Igor Ljubuncic is a physicist by vocation and a Linux geek by profession. He is the founder and operator of the website
www.dedoimedo.com
, where you can learn a lot about a lot. Before dabbling in operating systems, Igor worked in the medical high-tech industry as a scientist. However, he really likes to write, particularly in the fantasy genre, and has been doing so since the tender age of ten summers. You can learn more about Igor’s writing on his book series website,
www.thelostwordsbooks.com
, or you can find him on
facebook.com/thelostwordsbooks
.