The Youngest Guru

i Vorden affair

  By Hannah Jade Robinson

  Copyright 2012 by H J Robinson

  All characters in this publication are fictitious

  and any resemblance to real persons,

  living or dead is purely coincidental

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  Thankyou for respecting the hard work of this author.

  At the end of book 1, the rise and fall of Tanya vine, Constance Nesbitt is telling Tanya about the dark past and asking for her help…

  Connie took a deep breath. She was about to speak of one of Homestead’s old dark secrets. “When I was only a bit of a girl, about your age, there was this woman, lived on Back Lane she did, to start with anyway.” She shook her head slowly. “Nice old girl she was, once, but she was blessed by the Lady, and she had the Power of casting. Turned out she was the best caster anyone had ever heard of. Forecasting weather, births, crops and so forth. Always right.”

  She took another drink from the mug. “But she wasn’t prima. Not even guru, like me. Guru them days was my Grandma, Floren. Anyway, Prudence, the caster, got ideas above her station and started studying… unsavoury things. Won’t go into it now, but she turned evil on us. Started broadcasting as well as forecasting, stopped my Grandma from seeing. Made decent folk turn on each other, murdered my mum, my old gran and some others as well. I was only fourteen then, but I remember what it was like, the mental stuff as well as the violence that came after.”

  She took another sip and briefly studied her silent audience.

  “It was a dark time for Homestead it was, when we decided enough was enough. All through that long night she was still making us see things that weren’t there, and do things we shouldn’t, but she tired in the end”

  The silence dragged on. Even Sylvie hadn’t heard this before yesterday.

  “Me and Joannie have had trouble seeing lately. Then, when I was in Ibis, my head was alright again.” She looked round her audience again. “We’ve got a caster here, in Homestead.”

  Her eyes locked onto Tanya’s, and she steeled herself for the girl’s reaction. “You’ve got to take Sali Vorden away with you. She can’t come here again, and if she goes bad on you, like her granny’s sister, you’ve got to be strong, and kill her.”

  Here ends book 1

  Book 2 The Sali Vorden affair.

  Relatively speaking

  “No Ma, can’t really remember my gran.” Sali said quietly. Being all of sixteen now, she thought that she had a right to determine her own future and didn’t want to be here, being lectured by Homestead’s crotchety old guru, even if there were honey cakes and a jug of strangely coloured milk laid out on the tartan blanket they were sitting on.

  Homestead’s guru, Constance Nesbitt turned her head slowly, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the afternoon. She had brought Sali on a private picnic to explain, as best she could, the changes that Sali was going through.

  “It all started at Ashers farm,” Connie began. “After the battle, them stupid wardogs had their hands on you, carrying you round like some trophy they’d won at the Spring fair, and there’s you not yet old enough to mix with them.” She paused and took a sip of the fruity milk mixture that Simon had made for them in the Vine’s kitchen. She licked her lips in appreciation. “Lovely. Don’t know why we didn’t think of this before Simon came here.” She paused, “have another cake deary. Growing girls got to eat proper. Anyway, I reckon the dogs passed the…” she paused again as she used the foreign word that Margaret had taught her, “…virus on to you before your time. Reckon that’s why your head’s not right.”

  “But It’s not my fault Ma, and it’s not fair. I don’t want to leave home.”

  “Hush child. It won’t be forever, and when you can properly control this gift of casting that you’ve been given, then me and the others will be able to see again, and you can come back here and be as welcome as ever.” These were Connie’s words, but she was thinking, ‘probably never see you again.’ and, ‘you’ll be somebody else’s problem now.’

  “But I don’t want to be a caster.” She spat out the despised word. “I want to be normal.” She nearly added, ‘like Tanya,’ but remembered in time that Tanya Vine wasn’t really a normal girl either.

  “Tanya Vine’s going back to Ibis, after you and her have done a little job for me, and you’ll be going to live with her. You’ll be alright over there. There’s no gurus West of Guardian’s Nest.”

  Sali’s lips pouted as she thought of moving. Ibis was at least three days walk away. Practically the other end of the world. “Still not fair. Never see my mum again.”

  Connie sighed. She was going to have to do it the hard way. “See the river there? Pretty sight isn’t it? Water tumbling over the rocks, fish splashing in the pools, birds singing in the trees. Us sitting on the grass with the sun warming our backs.”

  Sali looked up in surprise at the unexpected change in the conversation. For a moment, the only sounds were as Connie had described. Then the old guru (seer, witch, call her what you will) spoke again, and her voice took on a different tone. “Ever wondered why none of the old folk come here, when it’s so beautiful?”

  Sali shook her head.

  “Wasn’t like this forty years ago. Last time I was here it was night time. Only the moonlight and torches to see by. Your gran and her sister were here too, and your mum, who was only a baby at the time.” She stared across the river, a far away look in her eyes. “Thirteen of my friends were here as well.” There was a long pause. “Only fourteen of us got back to Homestead,” she added softly.

  A stray cloud drifted across the face of the sun, and the breeze seemed to be a little cooler. Sali shivered.

  “Look at me Sali.”

  “Don’t want to.”

  “Look at me.”

  “NO.” Sali used the voice of command she had found and used on Jade the archer.

  “Think that’ll work with me, do you missy?” She reached down into her soul and reluctantly called on the power she had kept hidden and refused to use since that dark night. “LOOK AT ME SALI VORDEN”

  Sali was forced to look up and her eyes were fixed onto Connie’s, and in her mind she was dragged, kicking and screaming back forty years, to when Homestead’s last caster had gone bad on them.

  Suddenly it was dark and people in the distance were shouting. From sunshine to darkness, from tranquillity to chaos. Sali listened, but couldn’t make out the words, could make no sense of what was happening. Just over the boundary fence, she could see the flickering glow of a large fire lighting up the cottages. She was outside the village then?

  “Ma Nesbitt?” She whispered. There was no
immediate answer, but someone grabbed her by the shoulder. She gave a yelp and turned round quickly, shrugging off the hand.

  “Steady Connie,” somebody whispered, “it’s only me.”

  Sali gaped at the speaker. Although it was dark the flickering light showed her a very familiar face. “What?”

  “Time to go. You’ve got to come with us. You promised to be with us.”

  “Yeh,” Sali gasped, wondering what she was getting into. “I’m coming.”

  The girl spoke louder, “where is she now?”

  Another answered her. “Val said she was heading North, said she’d try to stay with her.”

  “Good. Round up the others Ginny, and me and Connie will catch up with Val. OK?”

  “No problemo, Quincy,” and with that the girl slid away, a dark shadow in the dark night.

  Sali’s mind was reeling and she rubbed her forehead. “So you’re Quincy?” she couldn’t grasp the enormity of what she was seeing and hearing.

  “Don’t go stupid on us Constance Nesbitt, we need clear heads tonight. She killed your mum, sure as eggs is eggs, so keep her out. Fight her.”

  “And that girl, she was Ginny… Brand?”

  The girl called Quincy moved quickly, and