December 3, 2014

In Which Morgan Is Not the Sort

May 14, 1188

Vera shut the door slowly behind her, not wanting to wake Lucien. Their door had been unlocked tonight, much to Morgan's relief. She'd been able to nudge Vera awake without disturbing the man beside her. Lucien was the heavier sleeper of the two anyway, but not to the point where a knock wouldn't have jolted him awake. Morgan--or whoever needed her--only needed Vera.

"What's going on?"

Morgan swallowed. Thank God it was Vera. Anyone without an inexplicable power of their own would dismiss her as a lunatic. "I have a feeling.

"Someone needs you." As if Vera didn't have enough going on. After who knew how long of trying, she and Lucien had finally conceived their fourth child, still in the delicate early stage of pregnancy. Add this to the lingering shock of her brother's death the month before and her other brother's failing marriage and she was nearly the last person Morgan cared to rouse from what had appeared to be a half-decent sleep. But if she could have helped someone and didn't take that chance, Vera was not the sort of person who would brush that off easily.

Nor was Morgan. "Needs us, I guess. They need me to lead you to them."

"Why me?" Though, something in her worn, tired voice ventured a guess.

"I suppose they need to talk to someone."

"I suppose. Well, I'll help if I can. But if whoever it is doesn't want to talk, I can't reach over to the plane of the dead and drag them here."

A pity. Vera might have wanted another word with her brother. Or her sister, or her mother, or her grandparents. Morgan's husband was there, as was her foster mother, and perhaps her daughter had grown to an age of linguistic consciousness on the other side. Everyone in the kingdom had lost loved ones. Vera might have made a tidy, morbid business if she could summon spirits at will, though Morgan doubted she would have cared for such a thing.

But in this case--she also doubted that the spirit in question would be uncooperative.

"They'll come. I can feel it."

NEXT CHAPTER:

6 comments:

Van said...

Afternoon off. Did some baking. Copious washing later and my hands still smell like butter.

Anonymous said...

Try cutting very spicy onions like shalotts. Your hands smell after them for a week. xD'

"After who knew how long of trying, she and Lucien had finally conceived their first child."

...Uhm, I thought they already had three children together? Were they just figments of imagination? @.@

Van said...

D'oh! Yeah, that's one of those "thought one thing, typed another" typos. This will be their fourth child. Thanks for the catch.

Winter said...

Butter is delicious, though! What did you bake?

Vera looks like she wishes she could have a power that doesn't wake her up in the middle of the night. I would have guessed the spirit was Jadin, but that preview doesn't quite look like a reaction to Jadin. :/

I'm also quietly fascinated by Morgan's nightgown. It's delicate and a little fussy compared to Vera's. Between that and the fondness for purple, maybe Morgan has a secret like of the finer things, though she's not the sort to need them? Or maybe I'm just paying too match attention... probably that.

Winter said...

And not enough attention to spelling, apparently.

Van said...

I made some brownies for the people at school. Exams being next week and all. XD

Vera... probably would rather not have a power that wakes her up in the middle of the night. But it may not necessarily be the spirit she's reacting to there. ;)

Morgan does have rather elegant tastes, though she has a practical side as well. She doesn't need luxuries, but she's not about to say no to a nice nightgown or some purple fabric. Interesting that you mention that, knowing what I know about Morgan's future...