Witchling (Curse of Kin) (21 page)

“Oh, Roman.” I gave into happy tears this time. “I’ll never let anything hurt you again. You are my bestest friend in the world, buddy, even when you are being a pest. I’ll never stop saving you, ever.” I picked him up and cuddled him again, this time more gently.

Dad and Jasper looked over at us with tears in their eyes.

Just then, Dr. Peters walked into the room. “Well, young man. You have caused quite a stir.” He approached Roman. “Could you folks give me a little room here so I can check out this little bloke?” he asked.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Mom said and moved back to the chair on the other side of Roman’s bed and sat down. Dad, Jasper, and I stepped out of the room, looking in through the door as Noel checked Roman’s vital signs.

He signaled us back in the room when he had finished.

“Everything looks fine to me at this stage,” Noel said. “I need to run some tests before we can say for sure, but I would be inclined to give him a clean bill of health. We can set up the tests for early tomorrow, and I’ll talk to you again at that time.”

He turned back to Roman. “For now, young man, I want you to have a quiet night and not hassle the nurses. Then maybe you can go home tomorrow.”

“Yes sir.” Roman looked solemnly at the man who delivered us.

“I think that we can move you into a different room, though. One without so many noisy machines. How about that, Roman?”

Roman scrunched up his face as if he was considering the idea. “Okay, but only if Nera can stay with me,” he decided.

“That’s up to the nurses I’ll see what I can arrange.”

“She can spend the day with you tomorrow, buddy,” Dad said. “How about I stay tonight so Jasper can take Nera and Mom home for a good sleep? They can come back tomorrow morning.”

“Jack, I want to stay,” Mom said.

“No, my love. Roman is okay and you need some sleep. Look at yourself. You have black smudges under your eyes, and you are pale and tired. You have to take care of yourself. Jasper can bring you back in the morning. I want you to go home and have a good night’s rest.”

“I’ll sleep over, Hannah,” Jasper said. “We can all come back in the morning as soon as you are ready. We are all tired, and you know you will sleep better in your own bed than that chair in the corner. Come on, Nera, you too.”

***

I tucked my exhausted mother into bed as if she was the child. I sat on my father’s side of the bed, brushed Mom’s hair from her face, and smiled down at her. “I don’t know what we would have done if Roman hadn’t woken up, Mom. Even though I call him the serial pest, you know I love him to bits.”

“I know, sweetheart. It’s great that Roman thinks it was you who saved him. It’s good for him to have you to look up to. Your father and I never had a relationship like that when we were growing up.”

“I must call Brie and Sully in the morning,” I said. “They will be wondering why I didn’t call them today, and I would hate for them to hear about Roman from someone else.”

I stroked my mother’s hair for a little longer. When her eyes began to droop, I kissed her forehead and crept out of the room. Jasper was sleeping in Roman’s bed tonight, but I could hear him in the kitchen, so I went down to see him.

“Time for one last cup of tea before bed, girl dear, what do you think?”

“Sure, Jasper. Why not? I really don’t think my brain is ready to turn off just yet anyway,” I said. I plunked myself in a chair at the kitchen table.”I’m so glad that Roman is going to be okay. I really can’t believe that I had anything to do with saving him, though. Are you sure that it wouldn’t have happened anyway?”

“Fairly sure, Nera. If you looked at the life support machines he was attached to, you could see the brain wave pattern was fairly flat. Dr. Peters didn’t point that out, but it was there. You certainly did save your brother. There’s no doubt in my mind at all.”

I dragged my fingers through my hair and then rubbed my eyes. I still had my doubts, but they could wait.

***

The quiet morning sounds woke me from a troubled sleep. I could hear hushed voices from the front yard and crawled out of bed to look. Jasper stood out on the footpath, and it looked like he was arguing with Bones. Hugo stood between the two of them, his head moving from side to side as they spoke.

What is all that about?
I strained to hear what they were saying as I pulled on my clothes.

I started toward my mother’s room but could hear the shower running so I headed downstairs to the kitchen instead. Once my toast was made, I leaned against the kitchen bench to eat it. I gazed out the window to the yard, now quiet and peaceful, such a world away from yesterday.
Funny how life can change in a second
. I dusted toast crumbs off my hands.

Jasper came through the front door, a cranky look on his face, mumbling to himself, his long dark hair framing his normally handsome face. “Good morning, girl dear. Sleep well, did you?” he asked, a quick smile lighting his face when he saw me in the kitchen.

“What was all that about, Jasper?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

“Nothing, nothing.” He headed for the kettle.

“You were arguing with him. I heard you.”

“Who’s arguing with whom?” Mom walked into the kitchen, looking refreshed from a good night’s sleep.

“It was nothing,” Jasper said, giving me a quick glance out the corner of his eye. “The paper guy forgot your delivery again. I had a word with him about it. Now, who wants tea and toast before we hit the road to see our wee man?”

Mom smiled at me behind his back
. I will get to the bottom of that later when she wasn’t around.

“Yes, please,” Mom said. “I slept like a baby last night and now I’m starving. I called Jack before my shower and Roman had a good night, so everyone is feeling much better. The doctors should be around about eight so if we can get there by then, it would be good. Jack thinks that the tests will be all clear. The nurses have already done some of them, he said. Roman seems to be very much himself this morning.”

“That is a great relief.” Jasper handed her a cup of tea. “Now let’s eat and get up to the hospital.”

“I’m going to give Brie and Sully a quick call before they get on the school bus and find out what happened from someone else. Then I’ll be with you.” I grabbed the phone and went into the hallway to speak to my friends. I could still hear Mom talking to Jasper.

“I’m very proud of my little girl, Jasper. She would do anything for her little brother. I know she would. If she hadn’t felt that connection to Roman, we wouldn’t have him now.”

“How very true my dear, how very true,” he replied.

***

It was with a different sense of purpose that we headed to the hospital.

Dr. Peters was with Roman when we arrived at his room.

“Well, Hannah, in my opinion, you can take this young man home. Everything appears to be fine. I suggest you keep him quiet for a couple of days, if you can. Then everything can go back to normal. If you feel he has any problems, give me a call or bring him back in. I really don’t expect to see you though, Roman.”

“Thanks, Noel. We appreciate all you have done.”

“All we did was stabilize him. He did the rest himself. You guys take care,” he said and left the room.

“Well, young man, give me a hug.” Mom opened her arms wide.

“Want Nera too,” Roman insisted with a cheeky grin.

“I want you too, buddy.” I gave him a big squeeze.

“Let me go. That’s too tight.”

“Never, Roman. I’ll never let you go again.”

C
HAPTER
E
IGHT

After school, Brie, Sully, and I ventured over to Jasper’s to see what was happening in the land of the curse. I had been too scared to leave Roman for the last few days, and he’d protested that I was smothering him. I couldn’t win.

Hugo pushed his way into the kitchen first to claim what he decided was his reward for the run over to Jasper’s. Jasper was in the kitchen having an intense conversation with Bones when we walked in.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I looked from the frown on Jasper’s face to Bones, who was grimacing, his arms crossed as he looked at Jasper.

“We were just discussing the week’s events, girl dear.”

“And?”

“I feel it is time to push your learning, Nera,” Bones said, turning toward me. “Jasper doesn’t want to rush you. I, however, disagree with him.”

“Is this what you were arguing about the day after Roman fell in the river?” I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck prickling.

Both men looked at me, then quickly at each other before coming back to me.

“Well, was it?”

“Yes, it was,” Bones replied.

“Why? I mean, not why you were arguing, but why would you suddenly want me to learn faster? Before you wanted me to take my time and come into my powers properly.”

Sully and Brie inched closer. I could hear Sully sucking in short, sharp breaths, and Brie was pulling at her hair, twisting it around her fingers. Their tension was on a par with mine.

“With what is happening, Nera, I feel that we have no choice.” Bones was paying way too much attention to his fingers while he spoke. “I think Edrith is already here and is the one causing the problems. Jasper does not agree with me, hence the arguments.”

“I do not agree because it is not certain.” Jasper shook his head. “My main concern is that if we push Nera too hard, she will burn out. We can’t afford to risk her like that. There will not be another chance if we lose her.”

“I still don’t get it. What makes you think Edrith is here already?” I was getting nervous.

“I think it was her that caused harm to Brie and Roman,” Bones replied. “Remember we said she could hurt those around you. She has started.”

“Why?” I asked with alarm.

“Probably because now they know that you are stronger than the others and won’t be so easily disposed of,” Jasper replied. “Your powers have come through very quickly. I suppose they were thinking that you would be weak like all the girls before you.”

Bones spoke again. “What it means is that you are stronger than any of us had hoped for or expected. They were expecting a weak battle, and once again they expected us to lose. Your mother has fallen with twins by your account. You also have Roman. All these factor into your powers. You can draw off them and harness their energy if you need it. You just need to know how,” he said. “I am the only one who can help you. That is why I was chosen, because of the skills that only I have.”

“But I thought you were a Wiccan too, Jasper,” I said.

“I am, girl dear, but Bones is the only one who has any powers that match yours. There are things he can teach you that I know nothing about. He was your grandmother’s apprentice too, you see. There are things that he alone knows. He is your protector because at the end of the day, he is the only one who can be. You know the rules of the curse now, Nera. I will help you all I can, but it will be the two of you against them.”

I glanced back to Bones, feeling uncertain. “Why do you think it was the other side? Couldn’t it have just been an accident?”

“No, I don’t believe so. It’s not the first time they have tried to erase Roman,” Bones said. “Unfortunately, it’s this time that they very nearly succeeded.”

“What are you talking about? There haven’t been any other accidents, have there?” I looked at each of them in turn.

“Nera, remember when you found Roman that time we went camping. He got lost. He was a small boy of three. He couldn’t have gotten to that mineshaft by himself. It had to be them,” Jasper said.

I remember that Mom had been hysterical that day. We had gone camping up in the woods by the national park. We had been setting up our tent when we noticed that Roman wasn’t with us; he had slipped away. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. Roman had been found miles away from where we were, and we couldn’t understand how he had gotten so far. He was such a little guy, and it seemed impossible. Now I could see it clearly. I can’t believe I had forgotten that incident. With a sick feeling churning in my stomach, I tried to place any other incidents that could be attributed to the Others.

“What you have to realize, Nera, is that your circle is larger than your predecessor,” Bones said. “When you factor in your brother and the babies.”

“That’s right,” Jasper agreed. “I did tell you that Brie and Sully would be in danger too, but it’s not just because they know about the curse now. It’s because they are more than likely connected to you through the family tree. That is something Bones is working on. Distantly as it may be, it is still a connection and that puts them in danger.”

I looked at my two best friends.
Could they both be involved in this curse as well? Things just get better or worse, whatever way you wanted to look at it.

“Things that have happened to you both may have appeared like an accident, but that is not always the case. Sully would probably be more affected than Brie, because she has always been here. He had to be put in the position that would force him to come here because this is where it all started.”