A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness [242]
Sarah snorted and looked daggers at the vampire.
“‘Because you will love him as you love no one else, I tied your magic to your feelings for him. Even so, only you will have the ability to draw it into the open. I’m sorry about the panic attacks. They were the only thing I could think of. Sometimes you’re too brave for your own good. Good luck learning your spells—Sarah is a perfectionist.’”
Matthew smiled. “There always was something odd about your anxiety.”
“Odd how?”
“After we met in the Bodleian, it was almost impossible to provoke you into panicking.”
“But I panicked when you came out of the fog by the boathouses.”
“You were startled. Your instincts should have been screaming with panic whenever I was near. Instead you came closer and closer.” Matthew dropped a kiss on my head and turned to the last page.
“‘It’s hard to know how to finish this letter when there is so much in my heart. The past seven years have been the happiest of my life. I wouldn’t give up a moment of our precious time with you—not for an ocean of power or a long, safe life without you. We don’t know why the goddess entrusted you to us, but not a day has passed that we didn’t thank her for it.’”
I suppressed a sob but couldn’t stop the tears.
“‘I cannot shield you from the challenges you will face. You will know great loss and danger, but also great joy. You may doubt your instincts in the years to come, but your feet have been walking this path since the moment you were born. We knew it when you came into the world a caulbearer. You’ve remained between worlds ever since. It’s who you are, and your destiny. Don’t let anyone keep you from it.’”
“What’s a caulbearer?” I whispered.
“Someone born with the amniotic sac still intact around them. It’s a sign of luck,” Sarah explained.
Matthew’s free hand cradled the back of my skull. “Much more than luck is associated with the caul. In times past, it was thought to foretell the birth of a great seer. Some believed it was a sign you would become a vampire, a witch, or a werewolf.” He gave me a lopsided grin.
“Where is it?” Em asked Sarah.
Matthew and I swung our heads in quick unison. “What?” we asked simultaneously.
“Cauls have enormous power. Stephen and Rebecca would have saved it.”
We all looked at the crack in the paneling. A phonebook landed in the grate with a thud, sending a cloud of ash into the room.
“How do you save a caul?” I wondered aloud. “Do you put it in a baggie or something?”
“Traditionally, you press a piece of paper or fabric onto the baby’s face and the caul sticks to it. Then you save the paper,” explained Em.
All eyes swiveled to the page from Ashmole 782. Sarah picked it up and studied it closely. She muttered a few words and stared some more.
“There’s something uncanny about this picture,” she reported, “but it doesn’t have Diana’s caul attached to it.”
That was a relief. It would have been one strange thing too many.
“So is that all, or does my sister have any other secrets she’d like to share with us?” Sarah asked tartly. Matthew frowned at her. “Sorry, Diana,” she murmured.
“There’s not much more. Can you manage it, mon coeur?”
I grabbed his free hand and nodded. He perched on one of the chair’s padded arms, which creaked slightly under his weight.
“‘Try not to be too hard on yourself as you journey into the future. Keep your wits about you, and trust your instincts. It’s not much in the way of advice, but it’s all that a mother can give. We can scarcely bear leaving you, but the only alternative is to risk losing you forever. Forgive us. If we have wronged you, it was because we loved you so much. Mom.’”
The room was silent, and even the house was holding its breath. A sound of loss started somewhere deep