The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume II

shoulders. A curious rattle replaced the old woman’s ragged breathing. Air and phlegm tangled in Myri’s lungs, too. Katia’s eyes glazed and rolled. Her entire body shuddered once and went limp.
    A vital part of Myri’s talent wrenched away from her body, trying desperately to follow the dying woman into the void. No amount of willpower could control the need to grab her patient’s essence and bring it back to the body that was too weak to support it.
    Utter blackness closed around Myri.
    With a nauseating lurch she found herself back in her own body. She closed her eyes as the hut spun around her, upsetting her tenuous balance.
    Silence filled the too-warm room. Gradually, Myri came back to herself, weak and shaking.
    Karry clutched her grandmother’s hand to her ample breast.
    “I’m sorry, Karry. I have nothing left to try.” Gently, she closed the sightless eyes.
    “Pass easily to your next existence, Granny,” Karry murmured.
    They sat in silence a moment. Karry rocked on her heels, still clutching Katia’s hand. Amaranth purred gentle comfort in her lap.
    “I guess I should leave. This village won’t look to kindly upon the healer who lost a favorite patient.” Myri bowed her head in regret. She liked the people in this little fishing village. She had almost dared hope they would welcome her, let her stay. Maybe even hide her when Moncriith came looking for her.
    Magretha had warned her how often villagers preferred to blame healers for every problem and forget the good they had achieved. Most of Myri’s childhood had been spent fleeing one village or another—often with Moncriith hot on her heels.
    “You don’t have to leave, Myri.” Karry reached across her grandmother’s failing body to hold Myri’s hand. “You saved my Katey and her baby, Katareena. No one else thought to reach in and pull the baby out, ass-backward. If you hadn’t, they’d have died and the Katareenas would end with me. And don’t forget Yoshi’s fever. You cured him last Solstice. We’re grateful for those of us you have saved.”
    “But I couldn’t increase the fishing catch. How many of the men blame me for that? They’ve been drinking heavily for two days, anticipating festival tonight. Some of them get very mean when they are in their cups. We have both broken up a dozen fights a day this winter. Will they turn on me when drink fires their courage?”
    After a long and barren winter, the fish had returned to the bay in the last day or two. But many of the men didn’t want to believe in the fish. They’d rather drink and complain and fight among themselves.
    More and more frequently, Myri heard the men mutter that the village resided under a curse. If Moncriith arrived and pointed to Myri as the cause, the men were ripe to believe.
    She forced herself to think about the pretty flowers and the lilting music nine women practiced by the Equinox Pylons. This village could have been home.
    (We will give you a safe home.)
    “We want you to stay, Myri.” Karry pressed her hand reassuringly. You are welcome to join in the Festival dance tonight.”
    A moment of longing pressed deep inside Myri. She remembered other Festivals. Lilting music guided her steps widdershins around an Equinox Pylon. Men danced deosil in the same pattern. Each pass brought the men and women closer together, brushing suggestively against each other. A hand reached out and loosened the laces of her bodice—all the girls had painstakingly reversed the order of lacing so the simple garment opened from the top. By the end of the dance, several hands had tugged at her clothing, exposing her breasts, heightening the sexual anticipation of the night.
    She clamped down on her desire to join the village in the ancient fertility rites.
    Amaranth leaped from Karry’s lap to prowl restlessly around Myri’s ankles.
    (Betrayal!) The voices came sharp and insistent. (You must leave. Now!)
    “Merow,” Amaranth agreed with the voices. He twitched his ears as if listening.
    Myri walked to the door, looking out at the preparations for tonight’s Festival. She sought a glimpse of something out of the ordinary that might reveal who betrayed her.
    From the safety of the cliff edge, children watched mandelphs sporting in the warm currents just beyond the Dragon’s Teeth, the wickedly sharp rock formation in the center of the cove. Birds danced in the air above them, dipping down to feed among the rich schools of fish. Winter storms no longer drove