‘So you had to bind yourself to him?’ Iwa said, more to break the silence than anything else.
‘Most things in life have their price; you will learn that in time and the Lord Bethrayal extracts such a terrible price for his services.’
And was it worth it, this price that you paid? Iwa knew far better than to ask, as she toyed with the last hunk of bread and wondered what she should say next.
Miskyia paused. ‘You wish for a pact with the Lord Bethrayal, but he does not deal with such as you.’
‘He needs me,’ Iwa kicked the chair in anger – if only she hadn’t allowed Miskyia to take the amulet. At least then she might have something to bargain with. ‘I stole this amulet of his, right out of Krol Gawel’s ship. Without that he’d be forced into the outer dark forever, you said so yourself.’
‘Do not presume that you could ever understand the Lord Bethrayal, or make any sort of deal with him. He will work his own way through the world without let or hindrance from any.’
‘Even from those who help him?’
‘Especially from those who help him, for they will always remind him of how weak he once was and he will never suffer anyone who has seen his helplessness, for he is lord over his domain and all must kneel before him.’
‘He sounds worse than the krol.’
‘But now he is weak. He’ll need your magic to take corporeal form once more. For those moments when he rests between the world and the firmament he will be at your mercy. That is when you could bind him.’
‘And then he’d have to obey me?’
‘He could be ours to command, but it will be dangerous. Bringing Lord Bethrayal back through the firmament will be tricky enough, but to bind him will be more difficult still. He is no mere spirit to be easily caged. Yet, as his consciousness seeps into this world, then you could snare him.’
‘How would I do that?’ Iwa mumbled; she hadn’t a clue about even the simplest of spells. But suddenly the idea that she might save the whole clan began to dawn on her. She could prove her worth. Let Katchka and all the others scold me then.
‘By trusting me,’ Miskyia replied. ‘I can guide your power, but only if you let me.’
‘Won’t that be dangerous for you too?’ But she was too caught up in the idea of saving the clan to think too much of anything else. Why shouldn’t she be the one who’d save them all? All this time keeping my mother’s secret from me, all because they were scared of her magic.
Beware of magic and the craft, that’s all she’d been taught almost from birth, but what if things could be different? However, she still had some reservations about Miskyia, and she didn’t like that pig’s face which hung from the tree and never seemed to decay.
But her mother, could she have been involved in anything so evil? Jarel had lied about her death, what if the clan had lied about her mother too? They could have forced Yaroslav to keep their lies too. That was what hurt the most. They made him keep quiet, or else made up lies for him to believe.
Now, more than ever, she needed to know the truth. They’re all scared, even Wislaw. If only she could get back to Yaroslav and make him tell her. More than ever she wanted to see him free; the idea of what Wislaw might do to him choked at the back of her mind.
‘You must have been very young when you lost her,’ Miskyia said, ruffling Iwa’s hair.
‘I killed her with my birth,’ Iwa replied, a little startled. She hadn’t realised that she’d mumbled some of her thoughts out loud.
‘Perhaps she died to give you life. That’s how she would have seen it.’
‘Except nobody knows,’ Iwa said. She was defensive now, angry too. She wasn’t ready to trust the witch, not with something like this. ‘I’m a moon child.’
‘One who’s born to the darkness and the craft.’ The witch paused. ‘I too know what it is to be alone. But I have always carried my mother in my heart. Sometimes the best memories are the ones which come upon you unbidden.’
‘I have no memories,’ Iwa said, still wishing that she’d not mentioned anything, but, despite herself, something drew her on. She’d never known anyone whom she could talk to, not about something like this. There were others who’d lost a mother, but none in childbirth, not for a while. And even then they’d be born of the clan rather than an adopted child.
‘You carry more about you then you realise. Once I wanted the world to end. She was gone and there was nothing else for me, life held no light. Part of me died that day, but then there are times when I catch myself doing something and think that’s exactly what she’d said or done. And you are far closer to her than you realise.’
‘But you’re lucky, you can remember her. You got to be with her.’ Iwa stopped, the words gummed in her throat. She’d been caught off guard, unprepared for the swell of emotion that now engulfed her. She’d never had the chance to talk about such things, not even with Katchka, much less Yaroslav, who’d always withdrawn when she’d tried to bring them up.
‘Even so.’ Miskyia placed her hand over Iwa’s. ‘You are much more your mother’s daughter than you realise. How could you be anything else? And even if you never knew her, you can find
