The Path to Destiny: Tia's Folly (9 page)

           
“
Where are we?
”
She immediately demanded to know.

           
“We are on the island of Lesbos,” Helena crooned
soothingly, approaching her with a smile. “Only women can come here. It is our
sanctuary and our safe place to give birth.”

           
“Oh.” It was the only thing Tia’s exhausted mind could
think to say.

           
“Come. Let’s go eat and then we will talk more.”

           
Once again following the Centaurs, Tia had to wonder what
the midwives thought about her coming to them for help. So far, they appeared
to be happy –almost anxious - to help.
 
She could only hope that they had the ability.

She
was guessing Helena knew Bylan could feel that she was pregnant with his child
and would be able to trace her whereabouts. That guess was solely based on the
Centaurs’ immediate reaction to finding out that she was pregnant with his
baby. The Warlord would stop at nothing to possess this child once he knew
about it. Considering she had left Falkerie land the day before, Tia had no
doubt he was trying to find her at this moment. This placed her and anyone
around her in danger.

           
“Leave the horse here.”
 
Helena wrinkled her nose in disgust at Tia’s horse.

           
“I must see to him,” she told the Centaur.

           
“One of the lesser mares will see to it,” Helena replied
with a grimace. “We may not like them but we do not believe in abusing
anyone…not even our idiot ancestors…of a sort.”

           
Gingerly dismounting, Tia followed her on shaky legs into
an odd dwelling that was built into the side of a large cliff. Walking through
a brightly lit tunnel, she surveyed her surroundings curiously. Every now and
then, there were smaller tunnels that joined with the larger tunnel the
Centaurs were leading her through. Trying to look down one of them, Tia
realized her view was blocked by strategically hung beaded curtains.
Interestingly, she saw each curtain had a unique design. It didn’t take long
before she realized the design of the curtain was a way of identifying what was
down the tunnel.

Abruptly,
the group turned into one of the smaller tunnels. Passing though what felt like
a small maze of curtains, she nearly moaned in appreciation as tantalizing
smells greeted her making her realize exactly how hungry she was. Stepping
though yet
another
beaded doorway,
she saw rows of tables that were the perfect height for a Centaur who was
seated. Meaning they came up to her chest while she was standing.

           
“We have benches for guests.” Helena indicated a special
table - obviously reserved for the head of the herd - equipped with stairs to
assist the shorter beings in climbing onto the benches.

           
“Thank you,” she replied, gingerly taking a seat.
Immediately, Tia felt like a little kid again as her feet dangled from the
bench, far above the floor.

           
Moving to the opposite side of the table, Helena settled
herself to join her guest for dinner. With a clap of her hands, other mares
began bringing food and drink to their table. Everything from fruit and
vegetables to nuts and sweets were set on the table before them. Quickly
finishing their task the mares moved on to the rest of the rooms occupants.

           
“I know why you came to us,” Helena informed her. “The
only thing we can do for you
is
share the specialness
of this place with you.”

           
“So, I will die birthing this child?” Tia bit her lip as
she said the words, her heart sinking in her chest.

           
“No, but this child will kill you out there.”

           
“What? What do you mean?”

           
“This child is half Phoenix,” Helena explained gently.
“Without the healing powers of this place, you will
die
giving birth to this child.”

           
“So this place
can
save
me?” Tia held her breath waiting for the reply, not daring to hope until she
heard the words.

           
“Of course.
There is
nothing
the Centaurs don’t know about
giving birth.”

           
“What do I need to know about birthing a Phoenix?”

           
“A Phoenix child lives and dies by the flame.”

           
The breath rushed from Tia’s lungs.

           
“Here you have a
chance
at life.” Helena looked sadly at the beautiful Druid. “But I cannot promise you
will survive. I will not even guess if it is safer for you to have the child or
get rid of it now. I simply do not know.”

           
“And if I survive-?”

           
“You will be barren. If you have this child full term or
end the pregnancy now, it doesn’t matter.”
 
The Centaur was trying to be gentle but her words ripped through Tia’s
heart.

           
“Maybe-” She winced, trying to think of a way out of
this. “Maybe the Gods will see fit to heal my womb.”

           
“You won’t have a womb to heal.” Helena leaned forward
and grabbed Tia’s hand. “Your womb will be scarred and it will die. If we do
not remove it, it will fester and you will have gone through all of this for
nothing.”

           
Tears rolled down Tia’s face as she thought of all of the
children she would never be able to give Roland. Lowering her head into her
hands, she hunched over herself and cried. Many minutes passed before she could
admit to herself that she also cried for the child she was carrying. Taking a
few deep breaths, Tia lowered her hands and took the cloth proffered to her.
Wiping her eyes and blowing her nose, she realized she felt a little better for
having let out some of her tears.

           
“What is your decision?”

           
“I don’t understand.” Looking the Centaur in the eyes,
Tia furrowed her brow in confusion.

           
“What do you plan to do with your pregnancy?” Helena gave
her a tight smile that looked more like a grimace. “Do you want to have this
child, or do we end the pregnancy now?”

           
“I never wanted to end the pregnancy,” Tia clarified. “I
am here to try to save my life so I can protect my child.”

           
“I understand.” The Centaur looked down at her plate and
continued eating. “We will prepare with a ceremony to ask the Gods to bless you
and watch over you. If that is okay with you, we will do the ceremony
immediately after dinner.”

           
“That sounds wonderful.”
 
She felt hope for the first time in a long time. If the Centaurs said
they could save her, they could.

           
“Good.” Helena smiled blandly.

           
The pair ate their dinner in silence.
 
Tia was grateful for the time to think and
get her emotions in order. Normally, a Druid would meditate before a ceremony,
but as she was a guest here, she thought it was best to let them proceed in
their matter of fact way.

           
After dinner, Helena explained what was to happen to her.
While Tia appreciated knowing the details, it left her feeling queasy to her
stomach. She felt bad that the life of the poor ewe and her unborn lamb were to
be sacrificed to protect her and her child…Tia just wasn’t sure she could
handle seeing
an
ewe sacrificed and her unborn lamb
burned to death. For the only thing the lamb to ever know be pain...She just
wished there was some other way to go about this.

With
a clap of her hands, the mares all came to Helena and they led Tia through
another beaded door and down another corridor. Turning into one of many rooms
–of course with a beaded doorway - Tia looked around with a feeling of unease.

           
One entire wall boasted a sacrificial altar. Candles of
all shapes and sizes lining the altar had been lit and were dripping wax down
the sides onto the floor. In the center of the altar was a large, solid-gold
bowl that had been painstakingly engraved with the images of unborn beings. On
the opposite wall was another large altar that had also been decorated with the
image of unborn beings next to a table of frightening tools.

           
Tia said nothing as she was stripped naked and washed
with warm water and soap. As they were bathing her, she absently wondered why
they needed to clean her before they covered her in the ewe’s blood. Gently
tugging her arm, the midwives gestured for her to climb onto the table using a
set of stairs set off to one side. Hesitantly, she complied with the request,
shivering as she sat down and her bare flesh met with the cold stone.

           
“Where is the ewe?” Tia asked as she realized the animal
was nowhere to be seen.

           
“Being prepared,” Helena assured her as she motioned for
her to lie down.

           
As soon as she lay down, the midwives circled the table.
With a nod from Helena, four of the midwives took hold of her limbs and one
placed her hands on her shoulders. Closing her eyes, Tia had a sudden flash of
visions. They were of a small, blonde haired, green eyed little girl holding
her arms out to her.
I am your destiny
,
the child whispered to Tia. Standing behind the little girl, she could see the
Gods standing in a semi-circle and suddenly she knew what the Centaurs were
about to do.

           
“Stop!”
Tia cried, her eyes
flying open. “The Gods want this child!”

           
Immediately, all of the hands on her body tightened to
hold her down. Helena laughed at her obvious distress.

           
“We have begged the Druids for assistance for five
hundred years and you have ignored us,” Helena sneered reaching for one of the
evil looking tools. “Now that you are here, do you really expect us to just
allow
you leave while you are carrying
the
Warlord’s
child?”

           
“Please!” Tia felt tears running down her face. “I had a
vision from the Gods! This child is my destiny! Please, stop! You cannot do
this!”

           
“
You
cannot
stop us,
Druid
. According to your own
laws, we could murder you and no one could avenge your death. Be thankful we
only intend to kill the Warlord’s spawn!” The Centaur placed one hand on Tia’s
abdomen and cruelly inserted a hooked item into her vagina.

           
Tia screamed in pain and tried to pull herself away from
the unforgiving tool. She felt as though her guts were being ripped from her
body; as though they were tearing her apart from the inside out. Still
screaming, Tia looked down between her legs that were being forcefully held
apart to see Helena pull her womb from her body still intact.

           
“Put it back!” Tia begged incoherently, shock quickly settling
in. “
Put her back
!”

           
“Sew her up and put her insides to right,” Helena
offhandedly told a waiting midwife as she hurried over to the sacrificial
table.

           
Tia screamed as the other midwife took Helena’s place and
shoved her hand inside of her body, but Tia’s eyes followed Helena. She watched
in horror as the Centaur placed her womb in the golden bowl and then used a
knife to slit it open, baring her unborn child to the elements.

           
“I give this child back to the Gods and vow to kill any
offspring of the accursed Warlord,” Helena called to the Gods as she began
stabbing the unborn child over and over.

           
Flames erupted from the bowl with such force and heat it
drove the Centaur back as Tia’s child was reclaimed by the flames. All of the
midwives burst into cheer even as Tia’s screams turned into sobs.

           
“It isn’t perfect but it will do,” the midwife in charge
of sewing Tia up declared with a grin. “Tell your bonded you cannot bond for
three moon cycles.”

           
Tia went limp as she watched her child burn, the flames
reflecting in her eyes. A growing anger towards the Gods built in her heart. If
they had sent the visions sooner, her child would still be alive; she would
have known this was a trap!

           
Efficient as always, the mares cleaned her up, got her
dressed, and transferred her to another room to sleep. Even though she was
unable to get the image of her child burning out of her head, Tia’s exhausted
body went to sleep.

***