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little finger. Acid began eating away the flesh.
He was startled by her touch on his shoulder, and he whipped around. "Get
out, " he ordered. "I am working. "
Magelia fled to her room, holding her stomach. The old Magelia, the fierce
Magelia, began to whisper inside her that she might need to protect this child
from more than Ubad.
The night her pains began, Welstiel behaved like the politely concerned man
she had known in the early to mid-months of her pregnancy, before his dreams.
He had the man-at-arms, whose name she never learned, help her into bed, and
he called the serving girl to assist her.
"I will bring the midwife, " he said.
"Her name is Betina, " Magiere told him. "She brought me into the world. "
Even through her labor pains, she could not help smiling at him. He was going
for the midwife himself instead of sending one of the guards. The pains grew
closer together, but she did not cry out. Sometime after he left, she rolled
on her side and looked to the doorway.
Master Ubad stood there, as if watching her through his eyeless mask.
"Stay away from us, " she said.
He glided slowly down the hall beyond the door's frame and out of sight.
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Welstiel seemed to be gone too long, but this was Magelia's first child, and
the labor took time. She felt the child coming and needed to push. The shock
of pain when she tried to do so made the room dim, and she screamed.
The serving girl ran to her side. "What is it, miss?"
Before Magelia could answer, the child inside pushed downward on its own
accord, and she screamed again.
Welstiel hurried into the room, and the midwife, Betina, followed close
behind him. He was carrying a small bundle in a bloody, tattered blanket.
"What is that?" she whispered.
"Get out!" he ordered the serving girl.
The young woman rushed from the room, and Magelia was alone with Betina and
Welstiel.
The child pushed again, and the pain was so sharp, she couldn't speak or
breathe. Tiny knives seemed to cut her from inside, like the child was clawing
its way out. Betina was standing over her, and the woman's face was white, as
if she had been through an ordeal or was ill.
"Magelia, " she said. "Hold on, my girl. Let me see what is wrong. "
Welstiel set his bundle down and crouched beside Magelia near the bed's head.
She felt a rush of wet warmth between her legs and thought perhaps her water
had finally broken.
Betina gasped, and Magelia knew she was wrong.
"Am I going to die?" she whispered to Welstiel.
"Yes. "
"Did you know?"
"I suspected. "
"You must protect the baby, " she begged. "Keep it from Ubad. "
He looked into her eyes and then reached out to grasp her hand. It was the
first and only time he had ever touched her.
"I have planned for this, " he said. "Ubad will never have this child... if
he is convinced it is dead. If you love your child, you will help me. "
She didn't understand what he meant, and her mind went white with pain as the
knives began cutting again. After what seemed like an eternity, she felt the
child slide from inside her into Betina's hands.
"Is it all right?" she asked, growing weaker.
"A girl, " Betina answered. "A healthy girl with your black hair. "
She wiped off the newborn, wrapped it in a soft cotton cloth, and laid it
beside Magelia. Though still blood-smeared, the child was beautiful.
Welstiel stepped around beside Betina, who looked down upon mother and child
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with a forced smile.
He reached out and snapped her neck with his hands.
Magelia thought she had slipped into a nightmare as Betina's body dropped
from his hands to crumple on the floor. Welstiel retrieved the bundle he had
entered with and opened it. Inside was a dead baby girl with dark hair. Its
throat had been cut.
"What have you done?" she whispered.
He pulled the brass ring from his pocket and slipped it onto his finger.
"Ubad will come soon. When he does, tell him that I did this. Tell him I
murdered the child to avenge my father, and then I fled. He will come after
me, but he will not find me. "
She glanced at the ring, which had made the topaz's light wink out when he'd
first put it on in his room months ago. Magelia didn't understand what it
meant, but Welstiel was certain of his ways for dealing with the sightless old
mage.
"I have things to collect for the child, " he said, "and then I promise to
take her out of here. If Ubad believes the child is dead, he will not return.
"
He picked up her baby, and Magelia reached out. Welstiel paused long enough
for her to touch her daughter, and then he turned away to wrap the child in a
clean blanket. He placed the murdered infant at the foot of the bed.
'Tell Ubad, Magelia, and your daughter will be safe. "
"My blue dress, " she whispered. "Save it for her. "
He nodded, and that was all. When he stepped to the door, he looked both ways
before slipping out.
Lingering moments passed, and Magelia fought to keep her eyes open, to hold
out until her enemy showed his face.
A blurred figure of dark robe appeared beside her bed. His cowl drooped down
as he looked at Betina's body and then the dead child upon the foot of the
bed.
"Welstiel, " she whispered, "to avenge his father. You will never have my [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]