“Aww,” Nina couldn’t help murmuring. “Look how cute and chubby…”
“That is my son, Therron.” The witch sounded proud. “The image of his father—both his fathers.”
Nina looked at her uncertainly. “Both his fathers? But how…?”
“Look.” The witch directed her gaze back to the cauldron. In it, Nina saw the baby begin to cry. As he did, his pale blue eyes turned blazing red, and a sudden darkness filled the room.
The witch in the cauldron looked around fearfully and then back at the baby in her arms. The little boy had begun to wail and struggle as the darkness in the room grew. The witch tried to hush her child frantically.
“No, little one—no Therron,” she whispered, rocking him. “You’ll call to him. You’ll bring him to us. Hush, my darling…hush.”
Suddenly, the darkness filled the room completely, and there was a terrified scream. Then the cauldron went blank.
“What was that, and why did you show it to me?” Nina demanded, looking at the witch.
“That was when Therron was taken from me.” The witch looked down at her long white hands.
“But what did you mean when you said he had two fathers?”
“Exactly what I said. You see, before I lived out here in my lovely hovel, I had a place in the town. In fact, I came from some of the best blood. All the young men wanted to bond with me.” The witch smiled, as though remembering. “But what none of them knew was that I had a secret—a power no female should possess. I have a Touch Sense, you see, just like a male of my kind.”
“Um…okay,” Nina said doubtfully.
“What? Reddix never told you about the Touch Sense all the males of our kind possess?”
“Well, he told about his RTS…”
“No wonder he didn’t speak of the Touch Sense, since his doesn’t work.” The witch laughed nastily. “Never mind then, just know that it was considered wrong and abhorrent for a female to possess such a power. I dared tell no one—except the male I loved and chose to give myself to.”
“And who was that?” Nina asked in bewilderment.
“That would be Redan, second in command of the Clans of the Touch Kindred.”
“But if he’s second in command, doesn’t that make him…”
“Reddix’s father. And he is father to my son as well. Therron is Reddix’s brother—well, his half-brother, anyway.”
“But does he know? Does anyone know you had his child?” Nina asked, fascinated despite herself.
The witch shook her head. “When I revealed my power to Redan, thinking he would love me enough to keep my secret, he cast me out instead. So I never told him of our child. And I’ve been living in this charming swamp ever since.” She smiled angrily.
“But…” Nina shook her head. “I still don’t understand how Therron could have two fathers. Unless you, uh married…er bonded again?”
“After my Touch Sense was revealed, no man of any clan would have me.” The witch lifted her chin proudly. “I had to make my own way. After my exile I determined to do whatever I could to get revenge. But other than my Touch Sense, I was powerless. In order to gather power—to gain my magic—I had to make a rather unpleasant bargain with a Shade.”
“I’m sorry—a what?” Nina shook her head—this was getting weirder and weirder.
“A creature of darkness—a demon which lives in the cold emptiness of space. I had to lie with this creature—to open myself to him in order to receive his power.” She shivered. “But the encounter…changed the child within me. Even as a baby Therron began to show traits no normal Touch Kindred baby should. And when my demon lover learned of this, he took the child from me. He took…took my son.” She looked so stricken as she said this that Nina felt sorry for her.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
“Don’t be. After years of searching, I have found him—look once more.”
Nina peered into the cauldron again. At first all he could make out was darkness—a dark room with only one small light at the far corner. Then the picture became clearer, and she saw a stone wall with the statue of a man in chains in front of it. The statue was huge—larger than life—and the artist had depicted each massive muscle in loving detail. Nina would have almost thought it was alive except that it didn’t move, and it was as gray and dusty as the wall behind it.
At the statue’s feet flowed a tiny, clear stream of crystalline water. Nina could hear the tinkling sound of the water clearly in the magic cauldron mirror. She leaned closer, heedless of the frigid air drifting up from the cauldron…and that was when the statue opened his eyes. Pale blue with the same cat’s eye slit as the witch, they seemed to stare right through her.