Chapter Two

Karai sat, reclining on the now clean floor, petting one of the mage cats they summoned to keep the vermin away. With eyes closed, it leaned into the stroking hand, purring loudly. Karai scratched behind its ears; its head tilting to give him better access.

"Karai."

"Hmm?" He looked over at Durkatcha, sitting in the only salvageable chair with a mage cat curled up on his lap, his hand idly stroking its fur.

"I think the elder is hiding something."

"You got that feeling, too, huh?"

"Yeah, I just can't place it." Durka ran his hand through his wild hair.

"Think we should contact our parents?"

"No, not yet. I want to talk to that Trina woman before we do anything else."

"You want me to cast some feelers to alert us when she wakes up?"

"No, we'll wait the old fashion way." Karai nodded, reclining back on his elbows. The mage cat pawed at his hand, demanding attention. He lifted his hand and stroked the cat's soft fur.

A cream colored mage cat, lounging in a patch of light, hissed and spit at the entrance. Karai and Durkatcha looked over at the doorway. There was a soft knock at the entry. Karai stood and answered the door, followed by the cat he had been petting.

At the door stood a bent man, leaning heavily on a gnarled staff.

"What can I do for you?" Unseeing eyes lifted to Karai's face.

"I," he rasped, "need to speak with you."

"Come in." Karai guided the man by the elbow to Durkatcha's chair. Durkatcha vacated the chair, holding the mage cat in his arms. The man lowered himself onto the chair with Karai's help. He placed the staff across his knees.

"What do you have to tell us?" asked Durkatcha. He and Karai sat on the floor before the blind man. A mage cat bounded onto Karai's lap and sat facing the man, ears perked.

"You are in danger," he said simply.

"What do you mean?" asked Karai.

"There is a curse upon your family."

"What curse?" Both young men looked puzzled.

"Death shall come to the Sacazin if they ever return to this village."

"Who are you?" asked Durkatcha. "Where did you get this information?"

"Death shall come." The blind man disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Now that was odd." Durka shifted to sit in the now vacated chair.

"Durkatcha, what was that about a curse? I don't remember Mother or Uncle Mikal mentioning one." Karai frowned at his cousin.

"They never did."

"You think we should contact them now."

Durkatcha opened his mouth, about to reply when a shout came from outside.

"Karai, Durkatcha, Trina's awake and wants to talk to you," Lana called out.

"Let's see Trina first." Karai nodded. They stood holding the mage cats. Durkatcha gently laid his on the vacant chair. Karai attempted to put his down on the floor, but it had other plans. It squirmed out of his grasp, bounding for his left shoulder. Sitting, it securely wrapped its tail around his neck, refusing to budge.

"Crazy cat," muttered Karai. Durkatcha chuckled softly. Karai glared in his direction. Durkatcha continued to chuckle.

"Come on, let the crazy thing be. We need to see Trina." Durkatcha went out the door followed by a grumbling Karai with a cat perched on his shoulder.

They met Lana at the door to the infirmary. She was fidgeting excitedly. She calmed slightly when she saw Karai and Durkatcha approaching. She noticed the mage cat perched on Karai's shoulder.

"Oh, what a pretty cat." She put her face in front of the mage cat. It stared at her stoically. She reached up with her hand, attempting to stroke its soft gray fur. It turned its head away and tightened its hold on Karai's neck.

"Lana, I don't think you should pet it just yet." Karai's voice sounded slightly strangled.

"Huh." She gave Karai's face a side-long glance. Lana noticed his furry collar. "Oh!" She stepped back and the tail loosened slightly. Karai drew in a refreshing breath.

"You said Trina wanted to talk to us," said Durkatcha.

"Yes, right this way." She turned walked into the building. They followed her to the rear alcove where Trina was sitting up in bed, talking to Skylar. "Trina, these are the two young men that broke your curse." She motioned the two men forward. "The tall one is Durkatcha Sacazin and the blond is Karai Koro."

"Thank you. Lana, Skylar, I would like to talk to them alone." The young women left the alcove. Trina turn to the men, motioning them to be seated. They sat on the two available chairs.

"What do you need to talk to us about?" asked Durkatcha.

"I want to thank you personally for breaking that curse." She reached over and grasped their hands.

"Elder Malkin said it was the Nizacas that cursed you," said Karai.

"That liar," she spat. "He blames everything on the Nizacas, he's the one that cursed me."

"Why would he do that?" asked Durkatcha.

"I was trying to get help from my brother, Nicholas. I figured he could contact the Sacazins, if anyone could." The mage cat suddenly leaped from Karai's shoulder to the bed. It curled up next to Trina's hip. "Oh, my." She looked from the cat to Karai. "This is a mage cat, isn't it?" Karai nodded. "It's been years since the last time I saw one. Viola used to have one following her everywhere."

"That one seems to like following me. It's damn annoying."

"Nicholas thought so, too." Trina chuckled softly.

"Sorry to interrupt," interjected Durkatcha, "but why did you want to contact the Sacazins?" Trina turned away from the mage cat.

"I found out who put the curse on their family."

"That's the second time today someone's mentioned a curse on our family."

"What curse are you talking about?" asked Karai.

"You mean Mikal and Viola never told you of the curse." Both young men nodded. "Well, Malkin was the one that cursed Viola and Mikal. As long as they lived in this town the ones close to them would die one by one. Their children were to inherit this curse as well." She paused, looking at the two men. "The Nizacas knew it was someone of this village that cursed their powerful brother and sister. They've been trying to find him with my help."

"We don't carry this curse, do we?" Durkatcha exchanged a pensive look with his cousin.

"I don't know. I wish I could sense curses like Nicholas can. He was the one that detected it in the first place."

"What do we do now, Trina?" asked Durkatcha.

"You bear the family mark of the Sacazin, right?"

"We both do," confirmed Karai.

"When the Nizacas come tomorrow, go with them."

"What about you? Won't Malkin try to hurt you again?"

"He might. I'd go with you but I don't think I can get out of this bed."

"We'll carry you, if we have to. We won't leave you here to face Malkin." Karai face was set in stubborn lines.

"We'll go with them," said Durkatcha.

"And you will, too." Karai's steely voice brooked no argument.

"Thank you, boys." Trina's face relaxed into a pleased smile.

"Trina, I have a question," said Durkatcha.

"What is it?"

"Why did Malkin curse them?"

"I've been trying to figure that one out for over twenty years."

"You mean you don't know." Durkatcha ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"I wish I did. This whole affair is shrouded in mystery." She glanced beyond them at the curtain. "You better go back to your hut. Malkin's coming."

"You want us to contact our parents with this news?" asked Karai.

"Only if you can do it undetected."

"We can." Both men nodded decisively.

"See you tomorrow, then, boys."

"Tomorrow," echoed Durkatcha.

"Bye, Trina," said Karai.

The two men stood, leaving Trina lying in bed. When they turned to leave the mage cat uncurled itself and leaped to Karai's shoulder. Trina giggled softly as Karai left grumbling about stupid cats, followed by a widely grinning Durkatcha. They passed a confused and frustrated Malkin on their way out.

Karai and Durkatcha returned to their small hut.

"Karai, I'm going back to watch over Trina."

"You think Malkin's going to try something, don't you?" Durkatcha nodded.

"I'll leave a double with you."

"Fine, just keep me posted."

"Go ahead and contact our parents while I'm gone."

"Sure thing."

Durkatcha's body glowed a soft, pale blue before suddenly splitting into two fully formed Durkatchas. One of the Durkatchas shimmered slightly before disappearing into thin air, leaving Karai with the double. Karai inspected the perfect double of his cousin, well almost perfect. It could perform basic motor functions, but beyond that the double was hopeless. Karai figured it would be best to have it pretend to sleep. He took the double by the hand and led it over to the bed. With a soft command the double laid on the bed and closed its eyes.

Karai turned to the mage cat that kept following him. It regarded him with bored half-lidded eyes. He pointed at the cat, then at the bed. "You. There." It mewed and turned its back on him. Karai knelt and picked up the annoying beast. The cat hissed when it was dumped on the bed.

He pointed his finger at the cat again. This time he exerted some power and commanded the cat to sleep. It curled up in a ball and fell asleep.

"Finally." Karai heaved a sigh. "Now to contact Mother, Father and Uncle Mikal." He grabbed a charcoal stick and a sheet of parchment and scribbled a brief note. He folded the paper, scribbled an address, then waved his hand over it. The note disappeared in a puff of smoke. Karai sat in the chair waiting for a response and Durkatcha's return.

Durkatcha returned a few Moments later, appearing out of nowhere. He dissipated his double and turned to Karai. Karai gave Durkatcha a questioning look, taking in his wildered than usual hair. "Rough time?"

"Unbelievably. I don't know how many counter curses I cast." Durkatcha flopped down on the bed, jostling the mage cat. It opened its eyes, glaring balefully at Durka, before falling asleep again.

"So Malkin did try to hurt Trina again."

"Yeah," Durkatcha ran his fingers through his hair. "He had quite a lot of power in those curses, too."

"We are definitely taking her with us tomorrow."

Durkatcha sat up on the bed. "Any word from our parents yet?"

"Not yet." Karai pulled a small leather bag from his pack and tossed it to his cousin. Durkatcha caught the bag with one hand and pulled the strings loose. He pulled out a small shimmering kernel, and popped it in his mouth. He slowly chewed the tough little kernel with an audible crunching and grinding. He swallow the masticated kernel and sighed. "Thanks, Karai, I needed that." He glanced inside the pouch. "We're gonna hafta ask Mother to make more senta soon."

"Yeah, nothing beats a good batch of senta kernels." Durkatcha tossed the bag back to Karai. He stuffed it back into his pack. "Wished she tell us how to make them, though."

"The only person she'd tell is Leona, and she's never gonna use them."

"Your sister won't even tell us." Karai stretched, joints popping loudly in the still air.

"We'll just have to ask Mother the next time we see her."

There was a small puff of smoke accompanied by a barely audible poof. Karai caught the faint scent of lavender in the air and chuckled, that was his mothers favorite scent and she put it on everything at home. Karai retrieved from the table a folded piece of parchment. He opened the note and studied the barely legible scrawl that was his father's handwriting.



Karai, there are some things that raise questions in your note. For now follow Trina's advice. The Nizacas should be safe for now. Callista and I will be joining you at their manor in a couple of days. Don't tell anyone that we are coming. Don't do anything rash and stay out of trouble.



"Looks like you'll get to ask her sooner than you thought, Durka." Karai handed the note over to his older cousin. Durkatcha briefly scanned the letter, his eyes widening slightly in shock.

"Mother and Uncle Nick are coming. Man it must be really serious for them to come."

"Yeah, they've never reacted this way before."

"Karai, did ya mention the curse in your note, 'cause he doesn't say anything about it?" Karai nodded. "Does this curse even exist?"

"Let's not worry about it."

"Whatever, Karai. I still don't know about this." Durkatcha fingers found their way through his hair again.

"Neither do I. Let's sleep on it." Karai grabbed his bedroll and spread it on the floor. Durkatcha kicked the mage cat out of the bed and both young men went to sleep.

* * *

"Where's the Koro woman?" The booming voice woke the young men from their sleep the following morning.

Karai stretched and rubbed the back of his neck. Durkatcha meanwhile was rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Karai grabbed his sword from the nail where it hung and strapped it to his back. Both men pulled their boots on and approached the door of their borrowed hut. The door creaked and groaned as Durkatcha pushed it open.

Karai and Durkatcha saw a small band of riders, glaring at the gathered town's folk. The oldest rider, obviously the leader, sat his horse at the front of the band. He glared at Malkin with pure hatred radiating from his eyes.

"What do you want with Trina?" Karai stepped forward, hand on the hilt of his sword. The leader turned towards the young men and laughed. Karai's eyes narrowed as he returned the glare that he was receiving from the rest of the group.

"Don't think that your sword will get you anywhere, boy." The rest of the riders started laughing with their leader.

"I have more at my disposal than just this sword." Karai's voice was almost a snarl.

"You have spunk, boy. Tell me, who are you?"

"Tell me what you want with Trina first," Karai growled. Durkatcha placed a hand on his cousin's shoulder. Karai calmed downed, but continued to glare at the riders.

"That's none of your business, boy."

"Karai, calm down." Durkatcha's voice implored in his ear. Durka turned to the band of riders. "Who are you?"

The leader, ignoring Durkatcha's question, turned back to Malkin, "Give me the Koro woman, Malkin."

"Don't think you can scare me, Sebastian Nizacas. You will never get Trina."

"Don't be so sure of that, Malkin." The entire assembled group of riders and villagers turned towards the hoarse voice that came from the door to the infirmary. There stood Trina, leaning heavily against the door frame. "Karai, Durkatcha, a hand please." The young men rushed to her side, each placing an arm around her for support.

Malkin moved to protest but was brought up short by Trina's harsh voice. "I wouldn't try it Malkin, unless you think you can stand up to the sons of the Sacazins." There was a surprised murmur running through the gathering. Obviously, Malkin and the girls never told the village who the two guest were. The riders could do nothing but stare in amazement at the two young men that their leader had dismissed as just boys.

"Sebastian, the boys and I are going with you." Trina gestured that the boys were to take her to the leader of the Nizacas. They slowly walked over to him, the crowd parting before them. They stopped before the leader. He reached down a hand and Trina, grabbing it, was pulled up to sit before him.

"Are you sure you can ride, Trina?" He peered down at her pale face.

"I'll try, Bastian."

"Karai, go get the senta kernels," Durkatcha told his cousin.

"Right." Karai rushed off to the hut and returned not only with the kernels but both packs and his faithful shadow and the other two mage cats in tow. He handed Durka the packs, took out a kernel, and handed it to Trina.

"Take this, Trina."

"What is it, Karai?" She looked at the small kernel with distaste.

"It's a senta kernel, an energy restorer."

"My mother," said Durkatcha, "makes them." Trina placed the kernel between her lips and chewed the hard senta. Her eyes widened and she sat up straighter with renewed energy. She nodded her thanks to Durkatcha and Karai.

"We don't have mounts for you two." Sebastian looked at the mage cats that followed Karai. He raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Mage cats, huh? Guess you don't need mounts then."

"Nope, we'll just use these cats." Durkatcha turned to two of the cats and passed a hand over them. The cats suddenly to increase in size. The horse pranced away from the large felines, while the villagers screamed in terror. The cats stopped growing when they were shoulder to shoulder with the horses. Karai's faithful shadow jumped to his shoulder and peered about at the frightened towns people with disdain.

Karai grabbed his pack from Durka and strapped it to one of the giant felines. His cousin did the same with his. Both mounted the large mage cats and turned towards Sebastian. "Lead the way." He nodded and turned his horse towards the path. The felines fell into step beside the horse.

* * *

They hadn't gone far when Sebastian turned to the young men. "I don't believe I caught your names back at the village."

"I'm Durkatcha and shorty over there is Karai."

"Hey, I resent that, Durka." Karai glared at his cousin with mock anger. Durkatcha laughed softly at his cousin.

"Trina says you are both Sacazins, but you don't look anything like them."

"That's right." Durkatcha chuckled softly. "I look like my mother, Callista; and Karai looks like his father, Nicholas Koro."

"Your the son of old Nick, huh?"

"Yep, sure am."

"That explains it. Tell me how are Viola and Mikal doing?" He looked eagerly at the young men, like a man starved for information.

"Mother and Uncle Mikal were doing fine the last time we saw them." Karai looked over at Durkatcha. "Though it's been awhile since we saw them, but we didn't hear anything bad the last time we talked with them."

"That's great. We haven't heard from them since they left the area." Trina chose that moment to yawn widely. "Let's hurry and get Trina back to the manor." They kicked their mounts into a gentle lope and raced off to the manor. Karai and Durkatcha wondered about what their parents found so questionable while they rode with the Nizacas. They would have to wait until Nicholas and Callista arrived the next day to get their answers.