Alchemy of a Witch: Part Four: Distillation and Coagulation (A Dark Root Ancestry Book 4) by April Aasheim

Author:April Aasheim [Aasheim, April]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-08-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

You’re my Star, a stargazer too, and I wish that I were Heaven, with a billion eyes to look at you—Plato

(MORGAN)

It was the Sabbath and the approaching nightfall would be blessed with a full moon. Several women who sought out Berta for blessings, curses, and healings, had come to the farm to attend the evening’s monthly ritual. Some arrived early--by as much as a day--so Berta fed them broth and wine and put them to work--harvesting turnips or picking the remaining fruits to be preserved. Most were older, missing hair and tooth, complaining of cricks and pains. But they all worked hard, each feeling indebted to Berta in some way or another.

“Kyla, are you sure you won’t stay overnight?” Berta asked a young local woman who was due to deliver her first baby any day.

Kyla was pleasant-faced, with long pale hair, kind brown eyes, and a ready smile. Still, she had a secret--her baby was fathered by a man she would not name. Kyla’s mother wanted to raise the baby for her, not only to avoid scandal but to keep the fanatics from taking her daughter away. Fornication or adultery might not get her burned at the stake anymore, but one could still be banished. Because of Kyla’s situation, Berta arranged for Morgan to discreetly pick up and return the young woman in the back of Minty’s cart.

“I would love to stay, Berta,” Kyla explained with a warm smile. “But I want my child to be born at home, as I was, and my mother before me.”

Kyla suspected she would die giving birth; she’d confessed it more than once. Or worse, that her child would die. Berta assured her it was just motherhood jitters, but her eyes were always haunted whenever Kyla spoke on it, so Morgan suspected there was reason to be concerned.

“If I go into labor, I’ll send Father to fetch you,” Kyla assured them.

“I could cancel the meeting,” Berta said.

“No. The wards need to stay up, and I understand you’ve been perfecting your weather-calling ritual.”

Berta blushed, then shot Morgan a spiteful glance, knowing she must have been the one who told on Berta. “I suppose she even described how my dancing looked,” she accused.

Morgan gave Kyla a quick head shake, hoping she wouldn’t answer. The two had laughed the entire trip to the farm, as Morgan recounted Berta’s stiff and stompy moves in perfect detail, even hopping off the cart to demonstrate.

“I’ve heard there is a lot of hand waving and hopping about. But don’t worry, sweet Berta, I shall keep your dance a secret to my grave,” Kyla smiled. “Though the world will know soon enough tonight. Or at least your coven will.”

“We’re not a coven, dear,” Berta gently reminded. “We’re a council.”

“Yes. And if it will help your dancing later, you can drink my share of the wine. Someone will have to!”

As Morgan moved to help Kyla into the back of the cart, she caught a strange look in Berta’s eyes. Envy? Wistfulness? Grief? She followed the old woman’s reminiscing gaze, to Kyla’s round belly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.