A Distant Magic Read online

  Nikolai whistled softly. "Did many take the British up on their offer?"

  "Many, many. Some were caught and punished, a few hanged, but nothing would stop men from trying. Even slaves of the great American general, Washington, said to be a good man in most ways, ran away to freedom."

  Adia rose from her chair and began pacing the terrace, her steps tense. "My husband and I belonged to the same master, but I was kept in the city and Daniel was on the plantation, so we saw each other seldom. He ran to the British and sent for me when he could give our daughter and me a home. Seven long years the rebellion lasted."

  Nikolai's own experiences provided too-vivid images to go with her flat narrative. She and her husband were very brave, and very strong. "So you won your freedom when the British defeated the colonists?"

  "No." Adia's expression was wry. "The rebels won, and the British left."

  "Britain lost?" Jean gasped. "How did the colonials defeat them?"

  "They cared more. They fought for their homes and property, and the battles were right on their doorsteps." Adia leaned back against the railing, her gaze distant. "Of course the masters considered slaves part of that property. They wanted us back so much that part of the peace treaty demanded the right to retrieve their slaves. As soon as the British surrendered, American slave owners began sending catchers to New York City to seize us and take us back in chains."

  "How did you escape from America?" Jean asked in a hushed voice.

  Adia's expression lightened. "Many British officers thought it wrong to break their word to us even though we were only Africans, so they arranged to evacuate former slaves as well as Loyalists. Most were sent to Nova Scotia, but a few of us, including Daniel and me, were put on ships for England."

  "You have lived in London ever since?" Jean asked.

  Adia nodded. "We almost starved the first year for there was no work, but at least we were free and together. Daniel is a skilled carpenter, and eventually he found a steady job. I work in a bakery. We have a home and another child, a son." Her voice hardened. "But we have not forgotten slavery."

  "So you and your husband founded an antislavery movement?" Nikolai asked.

  "Not us. This is not an issue Africans can win alone, for we have no power. Many think us no more than animals." She chose her words carefully. "White people must be involved for change to come. Indeed, they must lead the change because whites listen best to other whites. In the spring of 1787, a dozen Englishmen, most of them Quakers, founded an antislavery movement, but it is very fragile. Our best seer says that the death of a single man could end the movement for another generation or more."

  "So you have come seeking allies in the battle against slavery," he said slowly. "But why have you traveled back to us? Surely there must be people in your own time who are as willing to give their lives as I am."

  "The willingness to die is not enough. More is required."

  "So you sought mages to help you?" Jean asked, brow furrowed.

  "Magic is one thing we do possess," Adia replied. "There are several thousand Africans living in London. We come of many tribes. My tribe, the Iske, is small, tucked between the Yoruba and the Ife, but we are famous for our great magic. Though I come of a priestly lineage, I was stolen from my home so young that I wasn't trained to use my power. I could do small works—magic helped my daughter and me escape to join my husband—but I was no true priestess."

  With an interested expression, Jean said, "I've found that my magic works best in a crisis. Was that the case with you?"

  "Indeed it was. Desperation is very effective," Adia said with a hint of a smile. "But I have learned much since then, for our London black community is blessed with several true priests and priestesses. They initiated me into my full power, and I became a member of the circle of elders. Given the vulnerability of the antislavery movement, the elders decided to appeal to the ancestors to locate those who can protect and nourish the movement. That is where you come in."

  "Whatever I can do, I will," he said intensely. "But why me?"

  "You are of my blood, Nikolai Gregorio." She closed her eyes as if listening to an inner voice. "We are both Iske. I believe that my grandmother was the niece of your grandmother, so we are cousins."

  "How do you know that?" he asked, startled.

  "My grandmother just told me," she said simply. "When the elders did our great invocation in London, we did not know if we would succeed, nor were we sure what success would look like. I think I was drawn here because you and I are blood kin and the ancestors needed that tie to make the magic work."

  Jean asked, "Will you be able to return to your family in your own time?"

  Adia's expression turned bleak. "I hope so, but I do not know." To Nikolai, she said, "I think the ancestors chose you because you are Iske, yet you also have enough European blood to move among white men. You can walk the streets of London in neighborhoods where a black man would be kidnapped or beaten."

  "He will suit your purpose admirably," Jean observed, "but I doubt I would be any use to you. I am no great mage, and certainly no warrior."

  Adia turned the full force of her dark eyes on Jean. "You are essential, Jean Macrae."

  "How?" Jean asked, puzzled. "I agree that slavery is evil, but I've never had the personal experience of slavery that drives you two. Since I'm not a powerful mage, what can I contribute?"

  "African magic is a balance of male and female energies," Adia explained. "For small magic, a man or a woman may work alone, but for great magical works, such as the guardianship of this movement, the protectors must be two—a man and a woman. Both must have powerful magic. Both must hate slavery and be willing to risk their lives to end it." Her mesmerizing gaze held them both. "And to aid in this great cause, they must be mates."

  Chapter

  NINETEEN

  Mates?" Jean said incredulously. Her gaze shot to Gregorio, who seemed as stunned as she. They both looked away instantly. "Why would that be necessary?"

  "The union of male and female energy creates a power greater than either has alone." Adia studied them thoughtfully. "You also come of very different magical traditions. Those powers will be enhanced if they can be blended harmoniously, but for that to happen, the bonds must be very strong." She smiled. "For a man and woman, the strongest possible bond is the most intimate. If you are willing to risk your lives to end slavery—well, surely it is easier to celebrate life than to end it."

  "Simpler perhaps," Gregorio said, his expression grim. "But not easier."

  Jean looked down at her fists, face flaming. Though she'd had wild thoughts of what it would be like to take the captain as a lover, that was lust and fantasy. Being told they must become mates for the sake of a greater cause was quite a different matter. She felt shocked. Terrified.

  Excited.

  Suppressing the thought, she said, "Adia, you told us you needed people of strong magical power, and I think part of the energy that brought you here was drawn from Gregorio and me. But neither of us is a strong mage. I come of the Guardians, European families with a tradition of power and service. Yet though I was raised a Guardian, I am one of the weakest of my kind."

  She gestured at Gregorio. "He has a potential for great power, but his abilities are blocked so that he can't use them. How can either of us be the type of warrior you need? Even if we became mates, I doubt we'd have anything like the power needed to end an institution as huge and evil as slavery. Much of the world is in bondage, though it is called different names. What can we do?"

  "You will not yourselves end slavery," Adia said, her gaze turned inward. "That will come only when a great mass of people rise up and cry, 'Enough!' Your task is to protect and aid the yeast of the abolition movement so it can make that mass rise."

  "You say this movement was new in your time. Would we have to travel in time to protect it?" The idea did not appeal to Jean.

  "I believe so." Adia smiled ruefully. "I do not have all the answers, you know. I was brought here b
y the ancestors, and they have given me a sense of what must be accomplished. But their methods are...not so clear as one might like. Even my grandmother, whose presence has comforted me since I was taken by slavers, usually only gives me feelings, not clear directions."

  "Magic is often like that," Jean said. "It provides a sketch. We must then figure out how to fill in the missing pieces. And there are far too many pieces missing in what you describe. What would we do in another time? Would we ever be able to come back? How much danger is involved?"

  "All I know is that the magic succeeded in bringing me back to this year without killing me. Apart from that, I have no answers for you. I'm sorry."

  Jean frowned, recognizing the truth in Adia's voice. If she and Nikolai chose to walk this path, they would do it nearly blind. Yet how much did one ever know of the future? Even seers weren't always right. A great goal was worthy of great risk.

  "Tell me more of your Guardians," Adia said. "How is your magic worked? Do you go into trance and join the ancestors? Do you use roots and herbs and rituals?" She touched the pouch slung over her shoulder. "Do you carry a medicine bag?"

  Jean shook her head, wondering how many ways there were to approach magic. "For us, magic usually comes through the mind. One visualizes the desired result and uses power to make it happen. There are mental exercises that help one channel that power. Some Guardians work with potions and ritual magic, but most draw directly on the forces of nature."

  "Your people walk a different path from ours. But surely you must go through initiation to achieve full mastery?"

  Jean's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure what you mean by initiation."

  "One is initiated when one grows from child to adult," Adia explained. "The rites vary from tribe to tribe, but the purpose is to teach the younglings about what lies beyond the world we see."

  Jean's mind flashed back. "Though we don't use the term 'initiation,' when a young Guardian reaches maturity, there is a ritual that involves fasting, testing, and deep meditations. Often the young person discovers the full dimensions of his or her talents during this process. At the end, there is a ceremony where one swears the Guardian oath to use power to serve the greater good." Her own passage had been undramatic. Though she had sworn her oath with great belief and intensity, her meditations had produced no special insights. And, alas, no sudden influx of power.

  "So you do have an initiation." Adia turned to Gregorio, and her expression became troubled. "But I see that you have not been initiated. That lack is what stands between you and full use of your magic."

  "I do know how to use power," he said sharply. "I can knock a man unconscious with a touch." He glanced at Jean. "Or a woman. I can find a slave ship across many leagues of sea. Surely I can do what is needed for your mission."

  She shook her head. "What you can do is only the barest taste of what you would be capable of if you'd been properly trained and initiated. It isn't just that you might need specific magical skills, but that you would need to live with a magical way of seeing the world. You can't do that."

  "Are you saying it is too late for me to be initiated?" he asked harshly.

  Adia's frown deepened. "In theory, no, but it would be far more dangerous at your age. Even with lads of thirteen, there is danger. It is not unknown for young people to die during initiation. Over the years you have left parts of your soul in many places. Those pieces must be retrieved for you to survive the rituals."

  "Was your soul fragmented by your scattered life?" he asked.

  "Indeed it was. The elders were concerned about my survival, and justly so. My initiation was the most difficult passage of my life, far more perilous than the escape from slavery." She hesitated to find words. "Initiation involves...going to different worlds. Seeing different kinds of reality. I know no better way to describe it. The process is painful, confusing, frightening—and dangerous."

  "This is what has been missing from my life." He leaned forward on the bench, vibrating with tension. "I will do whatever is necessary to achieve mastery. Teach me what I need to know."

  Adia's hand curved protectively over the bag that hung from her shoulder. "I can teach, but the danger is in how you experience your initiation. You are a strong man, set in your ways. I fear that you are too much a leader, a man who gives orders and chooses his own path, to flow with the ancestors. Your death would be a tragedy." Her face twisted. "Your loss in one of the other worlds would be...worse."

  "I have risked death many times. I am willing to risk it again." He glanced over at Jean, and his eyes narrowed. "Are you going to forbid me to attempt this?"

  She gave a startled laugh. "As if I could forbid you anything! Don't worry, if you can persuade Adia to allow you to try, I will not interfere." Her humor faded as she remembered Adia's warning. "Though I am oddly reluctant to see you kill yourself."

  "Generous of you." His gaze returned to Adia. "How do I prepare for initiation?"

  "First, meditate on the question of whether you should. Ask your deepest self if you are fit for such a challenge." She smiled wryly. "Do you know how to be still enough to meditate, Captain? I do not ask in jest. One must empty one's mind to hear the voices of nature and the ancestors."

  "I can learn," he said stubbornly.

  "Then practice that, Captain, while I meditate on whether I should send you into such danger. I will not attempt initiation unless I believe there is a chance you will succeed." She stroked the medicine bag again. "I must also seek others of African blood since I will need help to lead an initiation. There are Africans on this island, I think?"

  "Yes, plus some of mixed blood. I shall send Tano to you. He will know." The captain stood, his mouth twisting. "Now I shall go and see if I can find stillness."

  Adia frowned after the captain. "He is a brave man, but he does not realize what he is undertaking."

  "Most of life is undertaken with insufficient knowledge," Jean said wryly. "If he does not successfully undergo initiation, will he have the power needed to aid the abolition movement?"

  "Likely not." Adia wished she knew more. "I do not know which is worse—to permit him to attempt an initiation ceremony for which he is dangerously unsuited, or to send him on a mission that may kill him because he lacks the power to do what is needed. Perhaps it would be best if I do neither."

  "Now that you have shown him a vision of the end of slavery, it would destroy him if you took that hope away," her companion said pragmatically. "Best to teach him what he needs to know to survive. He has a fierce will. Perhaps fierce enough that he can learn even stillness and acceptance."

  "As soon ask fire to become water," Adia said pessimistically. "That can be done by a powerful priest, but I doubt your captain can master himself to that extent. Submission and release are the opposite of his nature."

  Jean cocked her red head to one side. "Would the ancestors have sent you here if we were incapable of carrying out this mission?"

  "You may be the only two who might have any chance at all. That doesn't mean you'll be successful." Adia spread her hands in frustration. "The invocation of the London elders was powerful and desperate. We asked the ancestors for a chance, any chance at all, no matter how remote. I hoped the ancestors would choose Daniel and me. One of the other elders would have taken in our children if we died, and both of us would do anything that might end slavery, even if the chances are ten thousand to one."

  "You're obviously a very powerful priestess, and you have the commitment required. Do you have any idea why the mission didn't come to you and your husband?"

  "Now that I have been brought here, the answer is obvious," Adia said slowly. "Daniel has very little magic. Certainly he is no priest. Also, he is Ashanti, and there are no Ashanti among the elders in London. If there had been a blood tie, perhaps we would have been chosen. Instead, I am here and he is there, a lifetime away." She had considered that they might both go, or both stay, but hadn't realized that only one of them would be drawn through time. At least Daniel was still w
ith the children.

  "So the ancestors might have settled on Gregorio and me as the best of a bad lot," Jean observed. "Would my power increase if I also undergo initiation? Like Captain Gregorio, I have been told that I have abilities I haven't learned to use."

  "You have already been initiated in your tradition. It would be wrong to walk such a different path," Adia said, shocked. "But it is true that you are not fully realized as a priestess. If you like, I will see what I can discern."

  "Please." Jean extended her hands.

  Adia clasped the other woman's small, fine-boned hands and felt an immediate rush of power. Slowly she sank into Jean's consciousness, down to the levels where magic dwelled. "This is curious. There is a...a tangle in your mind that makes it difficult for your power to connect with your will. Such things are not unknown. There are those who cannot speak clearly, and the family that enslaved me had a son who could not learn to read, though he did not lack for intelligence. You have a mental tangle when it comes to using magic."

  Jean frowned. "That sounds right. I've often felt that I have a fair amount of power, but I simply can't summon it effectively. How do I unknot these tangles? Is it even possible?"

  Adia clicked her tongue. "I have no idea. There is so much I don't know. But at least you have been initiated. You have a better chance to resolve your problem than the captain does." She cocked her head thoughtfully. "Are there any kinds of magic that come easily to you? Times when power manages to pass through the tangled ways?"

  "In times of great danger, I have been able to perform strong magic. Particularly when my clansmen and I were trying to escape after the Battle of Culloden. Government troops were everywhere as they sought rebels to slaughter, but I was able to shield my men well enough to get us home."

  Adia was beginning to understand why the magic had brought her to Jean. "So you are a woman warrior?"