Assassin's Curse by Debra L Martin, David W Small Read Free Book Online

heartless bastard in her plans?   
    “You should be getting feelings back in your arms and legs about now, but know that I could kill you before you could move an inch.   For that matter, I could have killed you while you lay unconsciousness.”
    Though Jeda realized what the witch said was true, he still played along.   “Why didn’t you?”
    The woman scrutinized him again and moved closer to him.   He cringed as she laid her bloody hands on his head, believing this was the start to a painful end.   Instead, he felt an odd sensation penetrating his mind that was not exactly painful, but nothing remotely comfortable either.   Jeda wondered if this was what it felt like to die.   After a few moments, Miriam released him and sat back.     
    “I knew a little boy named Jeda when I was young.   He was my cousin and his father’s name was Jacob.   We all called him Uncle Jake for short.”
    Jeda refused to acknowledge the comment, but it shocked him nonetheless.   His earliest memory of his childhood was of his loving father Jake.   His father had died in a terrible fire, leaving Jeda orphaned and bitter at a very young age.   It took a moment before he realized what Miriam had done.   “You read my thoughts.”
    Miriam laughed at him through her pain.   “How can you be an assassin and yet be so stupid?   Nobody can read thoughts.   Even the most powerful of witches can only get a general sense of the person she is touching.   No Jeda, I wasn’t reading your thoughts, but I was looking for something inside you, something that your mother would have left with you: her witch’s bond.”
    “My mother died giving birth to me,” Jeda retorted.   “I never knew her or whatever this bond is you’re talking about.”
    “And yet, you still know her,” Miriam said, seeing the truth of it in his eyes, “though you never met her, you instinctively know what she felt like.   She died giving you birth and her bond.   The feelings you have when you think of her is what remains of her bond.   That is what I was looking for and found when I touched you.   I don’t know how you survived the fire that killed your father or what happened to you over the years, but you are that little boy I knew long ago.   You are my little cousin Jeda and my girls and I need your help.”
    Jeda chuckled at the absurdity of her statement.   “Cousin or not, I came here to kill you, not help you,” he replied, not believing a word that this mad woman was saying.  
    “Oh, you’ve accomplished that; I don’t have long to live.   But don’t you find it strange that you, my cousin, were assigned to kill me at the same time that I needed someone I could trust to get my babies to safety?   I don’t believe in coincidence; I believe in fate.”
    Jeda watched Miriam struggle to her feet and drag the crib containing her girls over next to him.   He tried to move while her attention was diverted, but he remained paralyzed from her blast.  
    “What are you doing?” Jeda asked.   “I didn’t come here to hurt the babies.   I am to deliver them to a noble house.”
    Miriam shot Jeda a cold stare.   “Let me guess, The House of Berkshire.   That’s not exactly the type of safety I had in mind.”
    “How did you know which house I was talking about?” Jeda asked.   Only he and the masters knew the details of his assignment.   No one else knew he was to deliver the children to the Countess of Berkshire.
    “That bitch,” Miriam replied, adjusting the crib in a position that was directly beside Jeda.   “She thinks I killed her son, Tommy, but I didn’t.   He was the love of my life and my fiancé.   He’s the one you resemble.   You could be his twin brother.”
    Jeda’s senses immediately went on high alert when he felt something stirring in the air.   Miriam reached down and grabbed his hand.   He struggled against her touch but to no avail.
    “I don’t know if this will work, but I must try.