Free Red Moon by Elizabeth Kelly Page A

do you
mean, girl?”
    “You need to trust me.  I might be able to save his
life if you will trust me.”
    Mrs. Lanning froze.  “You cannot possibly trust her,
Lord Tristan.  She’s a witch!  She will mutter a spell that she says
will heal him but it will destroy us all.  We do not have time to - ”
    “Shut up, Mrs. Lanning!”  Tristan suddenly
roared.  He stared at Avery.  “Save his life.”
    She nodded and he watched as she slipped under the blanket
next to Marshall.  She wiggled out of Tristan’s t-shirt, and tossed it
aside before wrapping her naked body around Marshall’s.  She kissed him
several times on the face and mouth before resting her forehead against
his. 
    She winced and Maya said worriedly, “Avery?  Are you
okay?”
    She nodded.  “He’s badly injured.  This is going
to take a while.  I’m sorry, Maya.  It may be too late.”
    Maya nodded, her eyes filling with tears as she rubbed
Nicholas’ back through the sling.  “Please try.”
    She took Tristan’s arm. “Leave them alone for a bit. 
She won’t hurt him, I promise.”
    He nodded and stood up, glancing at her bleeding arm. 
“Did a faerie bite you?”
    She shook her head.  “No, m’lord.  Sophia, she –
she turned and attacked me.  She is still in the carriage.  I wasn’t
sure what to do.”
    He swore violently and struggled into his pants before
crossing to the carriage.  Maya hurried after him.  He opened the
door of the carriage and peered inside.
    Sophia was sitting naked on the floor, her legs drawn up and
her thin arms wrapped around them.  She raised her head and stared at him
with a tear-stained face.  “I’m sorry, papa.  I did the bad
thing.  I didn’t mean to do the bad thing.  I was so scared.  I
couldn’t help it, papa.”  She moaned.
    “It’s okay, Sophia.”  He soothed.  “It’s not your
fault, baby.”
    “I hurt Maya.”  She began to sob brokenly and then Maya
was pushing him aside and shoving Nicholas into his arms.  She climbed
into the carriage and Sophia scrambled away from her, cringing and covering her
head with her arms.
    “Don’t spank me, Maya!  I’m sorry!”  She sobbed.
    She flinched and cried out when Maya scooped her up, but the
young woman simply hugged her against her chest.  She sat on the seat and
picked up a blanket.
    “Shh my Sophia, shh.”  She wrapped the blanket around
the young girl and began to rock her back and forth.  “Don’t cry my
love.  You’ve done nothing wrong.  It’s okay, everything’s okay.”
    She began to sing softly to the young girl and, with a
watery gasp, Sophia wrapped her thin arms around Maya’s neck and clung tightly.
    “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Maya.”  She whimpered.
    “Of course you didn’t, my love.  I know that.  It
was very scary and you can’t help what happens when you’re afraid.”
    She continued to rock the young girl and, still holding
Nicholas, Tristan quietly closed the carriage door and returned to Marshall and
Avery. 

Chapter
7
     
    Maya stood next to Tristan and stared down at Avery and
Marshall’s entwined bodies.  Tristan glanced at her and she answered the
question in his eyes.  “Sophia fell asleep in the carriage.”
    She reached for the sleeping baby in his arms and he handed
him to her.  She quickly tucked him into the sling.
    “How is he doing?”  She murmured.
    “He’s been starting to move and crying out a bit.”
 Tristan replied.
    She breathed a sigh of relief.  “That’s a good sign.”
    “What is she?”
    “She is not a witch, m’lord.  I swear to you.”
    “That’s not what I asked.”  He spoke impatiently.
    “She’s a healer.”
    “A healer?”  He frowned.
    She nodded.  “Yes.  She can touch people and heal
their sicknesses.”
    “What do you mean?”
    She shrugged.  “I mean that if someone is hurt or sick,
Avery can touch them, hold them and something inside of her heals them.”
    He stared at her.  “Has she always been