Sari walked back to her chair and pulled her phone out of the bag. “Can you download the application for me?” She unlocked the device and handed it to Steven.
“Sure.”
“You look tired,” Syssi said as Sari sat down.
“I didn’t sleep at all last night.”
“Maybe you can have a cot brought in here, so you could take a nap.”
“There is no room,” Steven said. “I don’t want to have to jump over Sari to get to David.”
“That’s okay. I’ll just close my eyes for a few minutes.” She leaned over the bed and rested her head on her arms.
“I’ll stay with you,” Syssi offered. “You can let yourself doze off, and I will guard David for you while you sleep.”
“Neither of you need to guard him. I’m here.” Steven sounded offended.
Syssi cast him an indulgent smile. “Emotional support is no less important than medical care. I’ll stay with Sari for a little bit longer.”
26
Annani
When Annani paused her tale to finish her tea, Oshidu approached her and bowed.
“Would you like me to serve refreshments, Clan Mother?”
Her Odus knew her well, which was not surprising given how long they had been serving her. They knew precisely when she needed a snack, or something to drink, or anything else for that matter.
Annani nodded. “I would also like more tea.”
Oshidu bowed again. “Of course, Clan Mother.”
“So, what happened?” Alena asked.
“Where was I?”
“You said that you could’ve handled it better.”
“Oh, yes.” Annani lifted her teacup and handed it to Oshidu. “My month with Gudbrand was nearing its end, and I was loath to let him go. I did not conceive, which was disappointing because I really had a feeling that he would be the one, but it was becoming more and more difficult to thrall away his memories of my anomalies. Every time I lost control, and he saw my eyes and my skin glow, he reacted with renewed fear, asking me what I was, and each time I made him forget. He became suspicious, but he thought that his memory lapses had been the result of chewing weed.”
Alena lifted a brow. “They’d already discovered that back then?”
“Of course. It was not the same kind that is popular today, but even the ancient, uncivilized people used plants with similar properties to make themselves feel good, and even stronger ones that caused hallucinations. Those were used by shamans and later in temple ceremonies.”
Alena nodded. “Like the Eleusinian Mysteries. The visions and the conjuring of an afterlife were achieved with the help of psychedelic drugs.”
“Precisely. Back in Gudbrand’s time, warriors chewed or cooked the tungboqe weeds to relax after a hunt or to get in the mood for wild dancing or even wilder sex. Those who were more adventurous added the bark of a hazel tree to the cooking pot. Chewing that concoction caused mild hallucinations.”
Oshidu returned with a tray and placed it on the table. “Would there be anything else, Clan Mother?”
“No, thank you.”
He bowed. “It is my pleasure to serve.”
As he left the room, Annani lifted a pastry and took a small bite. “This is almost as good as the ones from Jackson’s bakery.” She put it down.
“Let me guess.” Alena reached for one of the pastries. “You encouraged Gudbrand’s misconception that he couldn’t remember anything because of the weed chewing.”
“I did that subtly, neither denying nor confirming, but I kept a jar of the stuff near my pallet.”
“It seems like you had it under control. What went wrong?”
Annani sighed. “Life is never predictable, and the unexpected should be expected. Gudbrand had a younger brother, Olek. Olek’s wife was nearing the end of her pregnancy and was having difficulties. Astrid suffered from asthma, for which there were no medications back then, and the pregnancy made it worse. She went into labor while Gudbrand was with me.”
Alena’s eyes saddened as she guessed the rest. “Astrid did not make it.”
Annani nodded. “The midwife managed to save the baby but not the mother. In his grief, Olek slipped into his berserker mode, grabbed his weapons, and headed out to find Gudbrand, who he knew was with me.”
“That’s absurd. What did Gudbrand or you have to do with Astrid’s death? I can’t believe that Olek wanted to kill his brother.”
“He was not in his right mind, but I do not think he would have gone that far. He needed to vent his grief and aggression by picking a fight with his brother, which I am sure Gudbrand would have been more than willing to provide. Except, Olek burst into my tent while we were in the heat of passion, and he saw my glowing eyes and my glowing skin and immediately assumed the worst.”
Alena gasped. “Damn.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “My apologies, Mother.”
“Damn is appropriate in this context, my daughter.” Annani sighed and picked up the cup of fresh tea. “Olek screamed, accusing me of being a demoness, and he demanded that I give him his wife back. When I said that I did not have her, he charged at me with his battle-ax. Gudbrand jumped up to defend me. Or so I thought.”
“He didn’t?”
“The thrall I placed on him must have been burned off by the sudden surge of aggression, and Gudbrand saw my glow as well. He yelled at his brother that if anyone was going to kill me, it was going to be him and not Olek.”
“Why?”
“He wanted to spare his brother from Frella’s vengeance. I was supposedly her priestess, and anyone hurting me would have to answer to the goddess.”
“What did you do?”
“I tried to grab Gudbrand’s mind, but he was too enraged, and I could not penetrate his defenses. His berserker must have been triggered by his brother coming at him with an ax, or maybe the culprit was the shocking news of Astrid’s death, or maybe even my glow.”
“Another possibility is that he grew resistant to your thralling because you’d done it too many times. You said that he had a strong personality and that he was suspicious. That alone was enough to resist thralling.”
“Perhaps.” Annani dropped her voice to a near whisper. Even after all the centuries that had passed since the event, the guilt was still there.
“What did you do?”
“I did the only thing I could at the moment, which was to grab Olek’s mind instead. He was enraged as well, but he was not expecting it, or maybe he was just more susceptible to thralling.”
“Who killed whom?”
“Who do you think?”
“I have no idea. Were they equally matched?”
“Gudbrand was bigger and stronger, but he did not want to kill his brother. Olek delivered the killing blow.” Annani sighed. “I was devastated, overwhelmed by guilt and grief, and the same was true for Olek.”
Alena reached for her hand. “Did you love Gudbrand?”
“Love has many shades. I was not in love with him, but I liked him and enjoyed his company. I wanted him to father my child. I did not want him to die so prematurely.”