Assassin of Curses: (The Coren Hart Chronicles Book 3) Jessie Eaker (best reads txt) 📖

leave immediately. In the meantime, I’ll start making preparations and review my maps. Short-range portals are very forgiving, but long-range ones are not.” He grinned. “I’ve got to be sure I don’t accidentally put us inside a mountain.”

I agreed a little research might be a good idea.

CHAPTER TEN

Family

 

It was early afternoon when the carriage slowly drew to a halt at the next stop in our journey. Although I longed to stretch my legs, I didn’t immediately move. Instead, out the carriage window, I examined the footpath we had stopped beside and the house beyond—farther up the hill and barely visible through the dense trees. It was little changed since my last visit. Unlike Oddfrid’s, this path was well-maintained. It was even marked with a small wooden sign, expertly embellished with the picture of a goat and the owner’s name.

Lauremarius.

It was my family’s home.

Cabrina impatiently shoved her head beside mine to also see out the window, and I realized I was blocking the others from exiting. I glanced back to see Fumiko giving me a curious look. I think she sensed my hesitation. With a sigh, I steeled myself and opened the carriage door.

As we were leaving Oddfrid’s, I had tried to persuade him to speed up our travels by opening a portal for us to my family home. But he had refused, saying it was too dangerous. He had no beacon to affix the far end of the portal. Instead, he gave me a round crystal orb about as large as my palm, which would open a return portal to his front yard. He made it clear that it contained only enough myst for one trip, so to use it carefully, and not leave anyone behind.

So, we took the carriage to the next destination. One which I was not looking forward to. My step-father’s house.

I would always think of it that way. Mother had been forced to sell the horse stables shortly after my father had died. He had been the one with the business sense, so when he wasn’t there to take the reins, it quickly went downhill. So after a brief courtship, she threw in her lot with my stepfather, Mellen Lauremarius. I guess he was a decent fellow in his own sort of way. He was always nice to Mother, but he and I never really hit it off. It likely had something to do with the way he reacted to my curse, treating me like some kind of diseased person. But it was home. I tried to make the best of it and get along with my new step-sister.

But I guess over that first year, my bad luck had pushed my stepfather just a little too far. I would never forget the late-night conversation I’d overheard when he thought I was asleep. Mother was already well into the pregnancy of what I would later learn was my younger sister. He was quite blunt about it and demanded that she find somewhere else for me to live. It wasn’t long after that I was apprenticed to Master Spraggel.

I was a little bitter about that. Not so much at my stepfather, but with my mother, Octavia. She hadn’t protested one bit at his demand. It was probably the reason I had visited only once since I had been apprenticed and that had been at my baby sister’s first birthday. She was seven years old now.

As we walked the winding path up the hill, the house came into better view. The structure itself was nothing fancy being partially dug into a sharp rise in the land behind it. The house’s flat roof was topped in soil and built to be an extension of the hill. In warmer times, both the hill and the top of the house would be covered in green grass. I grinned. The goats loved it up there. I remembered my first visit and my amazement at the goat looking down on me as I walked in the front door.

But there were no goats in evidence now. They were likely in the barn atop the hill to protect them against the cold and perhaps even predators. Especially the two-legged kind.

We were nearing the house when a woman atop the roof stood up. She was in her mid-years wearing a plain dress and heavy coat. What hair peeked out from her cap looked to be tinted with gray.

And she was aiming a small crossbow at us.

“Halt!” she called. “State your business.”

Fumiko immediately reached for her sword, but I held out a hand to pause her.

I took a step forward. “Hello, Mother,” I said.

She blinked at me in surprise. “Coren? Is it you?”

“Indeed, it is I.” I opened my arms toward her.

She lowered her weapon, but the look of surprise didn’t leave her face. “I can’t believe you’re here. It’s been so long.” She glanced at the others. “I had heard you were doing well.”

“May we approach?” I asked.

She put her weapon down and stepped back, disappearing from our sight atop the roof. But she reappeared around the side moments later and came forward to give me a fierce hug. “It’s good to see you after so many years.” She gave a short laugh. “You’re taller than me now. And from what I’ve heard, a knight. I would never have believed it.” Worry crossed her face. “What about your curse?”

I smiled. “Under control for now. I’ll tell you about it later.” I extended an arm toward the rest of my party. “Mother, let me introduce my friends. You remember Master Spraggel. This lady here is Fumiko, and the one just behind her is Cabrina.” I didn’t give any further explanation about Cabrina—hoping Mother would accept it as part of the queen’s business.

Then I indicated the silent Zofie beside me. “And this is the