The Ghost Bride Read online

  "Well, then," he said. "If that's what you want, pumpkin." Then he turned toward his mother. "Can we talk?"

  "Mother was going to leave now," I said. "I was accompanying her toward the exit."

  "I think I'll make a bit of time to talk with my son," Mrs. Novak said. "In private. I hope you don't mind, Amy."

  "Of course, Mother," I said. "I'll be going home, then. See you tomorrow, darling."

  I tiptoed and kissed Martinus in the cheek and quickly headed towards the door before he kissed me back or something.

  When I woke up, coming back from the Academy, I felt I could move again, as the healer promised. I sat up, leaning on the pillows when I saw Yllana's message. She wanted to hear the full story. I called her.

  "What happened?" she asked, eagerly.

  I told her the whole encounter, as she giggled.

  "I hope his mother tells him to stop with this nonsense," I said.

  "Just take into account," Yllana said. "That this strategy may backfire. If his mother decides she likes you as a daughter-in-law…"

  "You think that might happen?" I asked, nervously.

  "Who knows," Yllana said. "Martinus has two single older brothers. She's been trying to marry them off for the last decade. Martinus is a bit young for marriage, but she might be desperate enough for grandkids to accept anyone as a daughter-in-law."

  "Well," I said. "Martinus still doesn't know I'm in Marn, and neither does his mother. I can hide from them until they find somebody more suitable for him."

  "I wouldn't put too much hope on that," Yllana said. "Since they haven't found anybody for his brothers in the last ten years."

  "What happens if she approves?" I asked, as the horrifying thought dawned on me. Now, instead of facing just Martinus' scheming, I'd have his mother's meddling too.

  "She has fewer mechanisms to influence you, since you're an orphan," Yllana said. "But I'd expect she'll start a full-blown charm offensive. Maybe try to dazzle you with their riches."

  "Well, I won't succumb to that," I said. "I'm a simple working girl. I've always worked for what I have and never taken the easy path."

  "Where are you working?" Yllana asked. "Since you came to Marn, I mean. Did you find a job? And where do you live?"

  "I did," I said. "I will start working as a nanny this week. Living in Kaffale House."

  "Kaffale? Are you taking care of a magical baby?" Yllana asked, her voice full of incredulity.

  "Yes," I said, starting to be on edge. Was there something I didn't know? "I'm starting soon. Is it that hard?"

  There was a pause.

  "You'll see," Yllana said. "Taking care of magical children can be hard. It all depends on how well you get on. I don't want to discourage you."

  "You're scaring me," I said. "I have to work for at least a month. They gave me an advance I already spent on my clothes."

  "If you need help," Yllana said. "I can lend you some money."

  "Thanks, Yllana," I said, touched. "But you've already helped me so much. It wouldn't be right. Besides, everybody's been so nice to me in this house. We'll see how it goes."

  "Anyway," Yllana said. "You know you've got me. But for now, I need to go. Mother is curious about why I needed Mrs. Novak's number. God help me, she might think I'm interested in one of Martinus' brothers."

  "Bye," I said, as Yllana hang up.

  I then got out of bed, my body still sore. I needed to wash up. Where was the bathroom?

  Today was my first working day. Or rather, night. After the healer scanned me, waving her hand, making me lay, sit, and stand, and declared me recovered, Captain Kaffale brought me a pile of documents.

  "This is your new ID," he said, giving me a crystal with my photo and what looked like my ethereal body scan. "This is your bank account number," he said, giving me a booklet with my name and a string of numbers. 'Headrig Bank', it said on the front page. So far, the account had 13 ducats. The leftovers of my advance after I blew it up on a wardrobe (that was a necessary expense). "And this is your work contract," he said, giving me a single sheet of paper.

  I took it, carefully reading the document. It was fairly straightforward. The salary, as discussed, 5000 ducats a month, with the mentioned advance. The working time, 40 hours a week, and overtime that paid double. My work schedule would accommodate my class schedule in the Academy; as agreed, I would work the night shift, taking care of the baby while the family slept. There was a trial period. If the other side found we didn't fit in the first month, they could break it off, and I could keep the advance. If I broke it, I would have to return whatever was left owing. The family would have to provide food and board for as long as I worked for them, and it wouldn't count towards my wages. I would need to tell them three months in advance after the trial period if I wanted to quit. The contract period had no end date.

  It was as good as it gets. I signed.

  "You shouldn't leave the house for a while," Captain Kaffale said. "Since Mahalat may come to kidnap you, and Azrikam will try to find you, too. But Kaffale House is big, and you can walk in the park whenever you want. Just don't get out of the fence. And if you want to get out, do it with a companion and tell the Colonel in advance."

  I nodded. I wasn't too eager to see my crazy father or the uncle who kicked my father out of the family, either.

  4

  Emere was waiting for me outside the office.

  "I'm so glad you're OK now, Amy," she said. "And that you can start working. I am so looking forward to sleeping the night."

  "I've never stayed entire nights with babies," I said. "Just a few hours at a time, babysitting. But don't they need food every four hours or so?"

  "You can wake me up to feed Erynn," Emere said. "But even sleeping four hours without interruption will be a relief. She needs constant attention, as she is developing her magic. It's like teething, but worse. Come; I know your shift doesn't start yet, but I think it will be good if you get familiar with her in my presence."

  She brought me to the nursery, where a big, burly man that looked a lot like Captain Keffale was rocking a baby in his arms, pacing around the room.

  "This is my husband, Ion," she said, introducing him. "Ion, this is Miss Amy Laurendeau, Erynn's new nanny."

  "Thank God," Ion said, handing the baby to me. "We are in so much need of help. I hope you can manage her."

  "I'll try," I said, carefully holding the baby. She still couldn't hold her head, so I had to rest her chin on my shoulder while making sure she had space to breathe.

  Ion left.

  "He will sleep," Emere said, sitting in the armchair. "Between work and the baby, he's pretty tired."

  "She seems OK now," I said, as Erynn quietly rested on my shoulder, looking around with interest.

  "That's until she gets fuzzy," Emere said. "And starts complaining. Or gets tired but can't get asleep."

  I held the baby in my arms, pacing around the room. So far, she wasn't complaining. But she was getting heavy, so I placed her in her cot and sat next to her, spinning the mobile on it. She giggled, releasing bubbles out of her mouth as she laughed.

  The bubbles looked fascinating. I'd never seen bubbles this colorful. I grabbed one, and it stayed on my hands, like it was solid, not popping. I moved it around.

  Emere, who had been about to relax, had sat up, ashen-faced.

  "What is this?" I asked her.

  "That," she said. "Is Erynn's first magical outburst. You're holding a concentrated ball of her magic."

  "Is it bad for her?" I asked, approaching the ball to my face, trying to see what was inside. It was just so… fascinating. Beautiful. Appetizing. I tried to resist the urge, but I couldn't. Despite myself, under Emere's terrified face, I swallowed the bubble, feeling my mouth fill with a sweet sensation, and, as it went down my throat, filling my belly with warmth.

  "No," she said. "But for you… Why did you eat that?"

  "I felt like I had to," I said, trying to explain the urge I felt. "It was a need. A compulsio
n. It was just so pretty and fascinating."

  "And you feel alright?" she asked, less panicked.

  "Well, yes," I replied. "I feel pretty well. Warm inside, like after an enormous meal."

  "In that case," Emere said, "I have nothing to worry about. It seems you an Erynn will get on with each other brilliantly."

  I wasn't sure what had happened now, but it seemed like I just did something I wasn't supposed to do. But it was OK. There were so many things about magic I didn't understand, I guess.

  "I'll leave you for now," Emere said. "If you don't mind working some extra hours. I'd like to get a bath. And rest a bit. Call me if she's hungry."

  "Sure," I said. I needed those extra overtime hours, since I had no money. "But what about my dinner?"

  "Ion will come to relieve you," Emere said, "and you can come to have dinner with the rest of the Kaffales."

  "Great," I said. "And how do I contact you if I need to?"

  "Just say my name," she said, pointing at a big, red onyx crystal near the cot. "I'll be able to hear you through that."

  It made sense that they would have a baby monitor. That helped me relax a bit; they weren't people who would just leave a baby with a stranger with no monitoring.

  "I'm sure Erynn and I will get on well," I said, spinning the mobile again. She smiled, moving her little fists. It was so cute. "Could you show me where her nappies are?"

  "In the bathroom," Emere said. "The changing table is also there."

  The baby was adorable. It was also the calmest baby I'd seen. After blowing a couple of bubbles, listening to a song, and grabbing my finger, Erynne got asleep. I gently loosened the grip and started pacing around the room. Why did Emere get so scared? And why was I feeling all itchy inside? Were the magical bubbles bad for me? If so, what was I supposed to do with them?

  It seemed like there were so many things I didn't know about magic. And how would I figure them out?

  As Emere Kaffale left Erynn's bedroom, she tensed, letting go of her fake smile. She called her brother-in-law's vizor while walking toward her husband's office.

  "Aegisthus," she said, when he answered, as she came into the office where her husband was looking at what was happening in the nursery. "Come to Ion's office right now."

  And she cut off, before he could say anything. She then collapsed into a chair next to her husband, who offered her a glass of an ambery, strong liquor. She'd been avoiding strong alcohol while breastfeeding, but after today's scare, she felt the need for some relaxation, so she downed its contents, feeling the burning liquid's sweet taste.

  "Did you see?" she asked Ion, who nodded. "I almost thought this could end up badly. Aegisthus said she was a high magician, and that it would be safe… But I must admit I didn't believe it. Why would a girl like that work as a nanny for sixty thousand ducats a year? But I went along with it because I thought it would be so good if it were true… Until today, when I thought our girl had almost killed somebody, I didn't even realize how dangerous it could have been."

  "As you can see," Ion said, "Aegisthus was right. She is a high magician, and she can handle a baby's outbursts. Although she has a slightly peculiar way of getting rid of excess energy. And our baby was never in danger."

  "But that girl could have died, Ion," Emere said. "She was holding enough concentrated magic to create a minor explosion, and she was just toying with it in her hands. And then she just ate it."

  "Aegisthus must have known," Ion said. "Or he wouldn't have offered this. He's not the kind of person who would risk the lives of others just because their magic is weaker. But he owes us an explanation."

  * * *

  By the time Aegisthus came, his brother and sister-in-law had calmed down enough, watching their baby smiling and releasing her excess magical energy while Amy absorbed it all.

  "What happened?" he said when he came in. "You said it was urgent."

  "Yes," his brother said, pointing at the observation screen. "Can you explain that?"

  Aegisthus looked at the scene, unperturbed.

  "I told you she could do the job," he said calmly.

  "Yes, you said so," Emere agreed. "And I believed you. Or I thought I did. Until I saw Amy with a ball of concentrated magic in her hands. Aegisthus, I thought she would get injured in front of my daughter's eyes." Emere pointed at the screen, where a replay of the scene was shown. "Look."

  He watched the scene where his niece released, for the first time, a concentrated ball of magical energy, which Amy took into her hands as if it was nothing. Like any other member of the family would have done, confidently and without harming the baby. The way she absorbed it was more typical of small children than adults, true, but even he absorbed energy through the mouth when he was exhausted.

  "When you told me she was a high magician," Emere said, "I thought she was from one of the more junior families. But the amount of energy she's able to absorb, Aegisthus. That could only be if she belonged to the older families."

  "She does," Aegisthus said. "But I can't tell you which one. It's part of the secret, you understand."

  "How could that be?" Ion said. "I haven't heard of any female disappearance in the last thirty years. And, considering the number of families we're talking about, it would be really hard to hide even a secret pregnancy."

  "Her mother was an ordinary woman," Aegisthus said. And before they asked anything else, he added. "And I can't say anything else about how that occurred."

  "Did she grow up with her mother?" Emere asked.

  "Yes," Aegisthus replied.

  "So she didn't grow up in a magical family," Emere said. "And she's never dealt with a magical baby. When you told me she had experience with children, I thought it would be magical babies. A magician taking ordinary people's children just seemed like such a waste of resources."

  "Amy grew up in an isolated world," Aegisthus said, "with no magicians. Where would she get experience taking care of magical children?"

  "I noticed she was wearing strange clothing," Emere said, "but I assumed she was in one of the outer worlds of the Confederacy. I never thought her world wasn't even in the Confederacy. I should have realised that. But you should have told us directly, instead of giving vague explanations. You just brought an inexperienced, young woman to take care of our child, who could have been harmed as soon as Erynn had her first outburst. Which she had just now."

  "And which resulted in no harm to anybody," Aegisthus said. "I told you she needs the protection of this house, and you accepted that. She'd have been in even greater harm if left on her own. Besides, you've been telling me you need help with Erynne for weeks. So I thought she could be that help."

  "I was trying to get you to help," Ion said. "Not someone else. And you should never have put us in a position where our baby could have harmed another person. That was wrong."

  "I helped, didn't I? And now you and Emere will finally get to sleep for a change. I've seen Amy's ethereal body scans. She's a high magician, like all of us. The worst that would have happened would be her getting drunk on energy," Aegisthus said. "And if I told you, would you have allowed her to work for you? And I had to get her somewhere safe. You know how safe this house is."

  "And why didn't you send her to her family?" Emere asked.

  "It's complicated," Aegisthus frowned. "Politics, basically. But don't worry; it's not like we're keeping Amy from seeing her family. She knows who they are, and she doesn't want to talk to them."

  "And you haven't done anything to convince her?" Emere said.

  "Let's say I have doubts about her family," Aegisthus said. "They've shown they care a bit too much about their reputation."

  "I can guess who they are," Emere said. "There are only seven options, after all. She's not a Kaffale, nor is she a Gwendolen. I don't think she's a Yaldai, either, or your Colonel would never have allowed her to stay with us. So it's one of the seven left."

  "You can try guessing," Aegisthus said, "but I'll never confirm or deny any of your gues
ses."

  He then stood up, trying to avoid further questions.

  "This is all I can tell you," he said. "And I'd like you to keep it secret. A girl that belongs to one of the ten most powerful magical families in Marn suddenly appearing would be one of the greatest scandals."

  "We understand," Ion said.

  Aegisthus left the room, knowing his brother and sister-in-law would now try guessing Amy's identity. And wondering what they would do once they did. It wasn't so hard, after all. She had the Morad eyes.

  I should have taken a book with me. My employers insisted, for some reason, that I stay with the baby all the time (it was in the contract), but she just slept most of the time after we played and I changed a nappy. I took out the vizor and started listening to the lecture recordings. I usually absorb the information better in written form, but I didn't have my notebook with me, either. Erynn didn't seem to mind the monotonous voice. I guess it's good as white noise.

  After I re-listened to two of the Magical History lessons, Emere's husband, Ion, came.

  "You can go for dinner," he said, sitting next to the baby. "While I watch her. It's the first time I see Erynne sleep so well."

  "She seems to sleep very well," I said. "She's been asleep for the last three hours. I think I'll bring my notebook here tonight. And could I borrow some books from your library?"

  "Assuming you'll get to read while looking after Erynne is optimistic," Ion said. "But sure, go ahead, take all the books you want."

  I nodded.

  "Where do I go for dinner?" I asked. "I still don't know the house."

  "Follow the corridor," Ion said. "And go downstairs. You'll see the dining room to the right."

  5

  When I came into the dining room, the table was full. An elderly couple was sitting at the head of the table. Captain Kaffale was sitting to their right, while Emere and a younger couple were sitting to their left. The seat next to Captain Kaffale was empty, so I assumed it was for me.