Heart of the Goddess: Chapter Two (pt 3)

Birth (pt. 3)

Brille leaped across a small creek at the edge of a copse of trees, heart racing. The temple was three miles behind him now. The young lady sent to fetch him had only said that his child was not born and that Naugri requested his presence. Naugri would never have sent for him unless….Visions of his wife, Tamina, and their child dying propelled him forward.

The soldiers guarding the castle gate jumped to their feet as he approached, their game of dice forgotten. Brushing past the puzzled soldiers, Brille crossed the outer courtyard and plowed through the main entrance. A sputtering torch at the top of an ancient, stone staircase cast dim light into the foyer. Brille’s chest burned as he rushed up the steps.

Tamina screamed; her voice echoed through the stone halls, piercing through Brille’s dark thoughts. His heart leapt and he cursed himself for not coming sooner. He took the remaining stairs three at a time.

"Tamina!" Please let her be safe.

Turning left, he plunged into a small, dark corridor. Brille knew every twist, turn and shortcut within the old stone halls. A faint orange luminescence at the far end marked the entrance to the kitchen, where the Great Hearth had burned continuously for five hundred years. Soon the kitchen would be bustling, but now all was quiet. From the kitchen a hidden passage led straight to the east wing…and Tamina.

Blinded by the half-light of the Hearth Brille barely notice the flash of light on metal in the hall in front of him, but a faint voice in his head warned him of the danger. He threw himself against the wall. Air whooshed by his ear, followed by a resonating clang of metal on stone. A warm trickle of blood ran down his cheek onto his neck. His eyes darted about trying to catch a glimpse of his attacker, but he saw nothing.

“Run!” screamed the voice in his mind.

Brille ran, dimly aware that the voice had not been his own.

* * *

Naugri bolted to her feet, sucking in a rapid, startled breath. Tamina looked up at her with tired, concerned eyes, but Naugri barely noticed. She had to act quickly.

"What do you see?" Tamina said.

Naugri's eyes rolled back so that only the whites showed and her arms dropped limply by her side. "Your husband…in danger," she said in a far away voice.

"What?"

"Assassin!"

"What do you see, old woman?"

"Run! Run swiftly, Brille."

Tamina moaned as another wave of pain gripped her.

"Good. The knife, grab it…not there…yes…now hide. Excellent. Be silent, or he will hear you. Quiet…quiet…nearly there…wait…wait…Now!"

"What's happening? Please Naugri, tell me."

"Aaaahh!" Naugri’s frail body suddenly lifted off the floor and flew backward as if struck a tremendous blow. She slammed into the wall behind her and hung there like a tapestry brushed and left askew. Gasping, she clutched at her throat; her feet flailed uselessly.

"Naugri?" Tamina huffed.

Whatever force held Naugri released her and she dropped to the floor. "Severed," Naugri croaked through ragged breaths. Her head hung low, a marionette with her strings cut.

"Severed?"

Naugri did not look up. "Link…with Brille…cut."

"Speak plainly you old witch!"

"Old witch?” A fit of coughs interrupted Naugri’s words.

"I didn't mean-"

“Always I am the old witch until one of you royals gets desperate, yes, then I am old wise Naugri." Naugri grimaced. She had not meant to sound so harsh. The girl was frightened, that was all.

"Please, Naugri.” Tamina said.

Tamina was weakening. Naugri could hear it in the girl’s wavering voice. “Yes?”

"The way you spoke of my husband…it just…I spoke without thinking.”

Naugri still had not lifted her head. Her voice was a harsh whisper. "Yes, yes. You never mean what you say."

“Forgive me."

"Mmmm. I sensed great darkness in the moment of separation. And great evil."

"Is my husband-"

"Dead?"

“Yes.”

Naugri breathed, summoning her own courage. "Don't know. The link was severed, but he was alive when I could see."

"When you could see?" asked Tamina.

"Mmmmm, yes child," said Naugri, lifting her wizened face to the young woman.

Tamina gasped. "Your eyes. They’re all white and…bleeding. Dear Goddesss, what’s happening?"

Naugri fumbled to her feet. Hands outstretched, she bumped into the bed. “That’s not the worst of it, child.” Her voice wavered and she paused to swallow. “The Goddess help us, I’m totally blind.”