The Bewitching Twin(9)

He sighed in relief. “You are an angel.”

Aliss mixed a powder in hot water and stirred until it dissolved. “The potion will also make you sleep.”

“Anything not to feel this pain.”

“How long have you suffered with it?” she asked.

“A few hours, though discomfort preceded it.”

Rogan listened as Aliss probed for more information. He had heard the same complaints from everyone for the last six months and his frustration returned. He could do nothing to help his people, nothing but find them a skilled healer.

After Derek was settled, his eyes nearly closed, Rogan and Aliss left the cottage.

“I will eat now and then rest,” she said, rolling her shoulders back as she walked.

“Have you learned anything about this illness my people battle?”

“It is too soon to say. I need time to see if the potions I give them are effective.”

He shook a fist to the heavens. “If I could see my enemy I would deal him a blow that would have him running.” He threw his hands up. “But this enemy I cannot see. I know nothing about him. He attacks my people silently, without warning, and disposes of them one by one. How do I fight an invisible foe?”

Rogan did not expect an answer. He did not believe there was one.

They sat at the table already prepared with food and Rogan saw to it that Aliss’s plate was filled. She looked too weary to tend to herself and yet she looked lovely. Her beauty had startled him when he first saw her and her exquisite features continued to intrigue him. Her creamy flawless skin was a perfect backdrop for her radiant green eyes and long red lashes. Her plump lips were rosy and her nose pert and they were framed by a mass of fiery red hair that refused to behave in an orderly fashion.

“Derek made mention that he defended your absence and assured the doubtful of your return,” Aliss said.

The shattering of the silence startled him, and he gave a quick nod.

“You were gone long from the village?”

“Yes,” he said.

“In search of?”

“You.”

“Why me?” she asked. “There are other healers.”

He had expected curiosity from her or was it defined answers she searched for? He had heard she was the quiet twin, less likely to argue or challenge, interested only in her healing. He had counted on her intense interest in her work to keep her from delving any further into the reasons for her abduction. But she was far more curious than he had anticipated and he would have to be very careful dealing with her.

“You are far more skilled.”

“Who told you this?”

He shrugged. “Gossip, wagging tongues.”

She did not look convinced.

“True or not, I had to take the chance.”

“Had you tried other healers? What of your own healer? I have yet to meet her.”

“She succumbed to the illness months ago.”

“I am sorry,” Aliss said and looked ready to continue her interrogation.

Rogan quickly leaned over the table, his face near hers. “You are our only hope.”

Anna rushed into the room. “The healer is needed. Tara’s babe has taken ill.”

Aliss scurried off the bench, grabbed her basket by the door, and hurried after Anna.

Rogan sat where he was, elbow on the table, his head resting in his hand, staring at the flames in the hearth.

“You will heal my people, Aliss. The prophetess predicted it.”





Chapter 5



Aliss managed to grab a couple of hours’ sleep before she woke to Anna shaking her shoulder. Ivan had grown worse and Myra, his daughter, feared death was imminent.

The old man was weak yet not at death’s door and she would do her best to keep that door closed to him. She had ordered a special broth prepared and for him to be fed with it at regular intervals, like a newborn who needed constant nourishment.

She had visited with several other villagers; their symptoms mimicked the others’. She had realized soon enough that she needed to study the symptoms and see if she could make sense of them before she could find a way to conquer the malady.

After having seen to all those who were ailing and made sure they rested comfortably, Aliss needed to search the surrounding woods and fields to see what herbs and plants were available to her. The activity would also serve another purpose. She would seek the help of some of the women in her search and befriend them, thus giving her a chance to find out all she could about her abduction.

Aliss chose a good-sized basket from the ones stacked in the corner near the fireplace. She grabbed the dark red wool cloak from the peg near the door and flung it around her shoulders as she hurried outside.

The sky had become overcast in the last hour, causing a slight chill to the spring air and hinting at rain. She would forage for her plants until she felt the first raindrop.