Heart Secret.

Robin D. Owens.

To those who enjoy visiting Celta.

Thank you.

Characters.

The Mugworts:.

Artemisia Mugwort: SecondLevel Healer a.s.signed temporarily to Primary HealingHall, who caretakes and lives in the secret sanctuary of Druida City that only lets in the desperate, BalmHeal estate.

Tiana Mugwort: Younger sister of Artemisia and good friend of Camellia Darjeeling DaHawthorn (heroine of Heart Search), a FirstLevel Priestess at GreatCircle Temple.

Sinjin Mugwort: Artemisiaas father, exa"GraceLord Mugwort, ex-judge, author of legal treatises, caretaker of BalmHeal estate/FirstGrove.

Quina Mugwort: Artemisiaas mother, a SecondLevel Healer and caretaker of BalmHeal estate/FirstGrove.

Randa: Artemisiaas Fam.

Garrett Primross: Private investigator and owner of Prime Investigations. Sole survivor of the first people infected with the dreaded Iasc sickness.

Rusby: Garrettas Fam.

Note: Garrettas feral Fam informants are not listed here by name since their numbers are always in flux, but include a gang of cats, at least two dogs, foxes, and the occasional housefluff (rabbit).

The Hawthorns, Garrettas Friends: GreatLord Huathe Laev TaHawthorn: Entrepreneur and Garrettas best friend. Laev is nephew to Lark Hawthorn Holly, a FirstLevel Healer (Heart Search).

Camellia Darjeeling DaHawthorn: Wife of Laev, friend of Tiana and Artemisia. Owner of Darjeelingas Teahouse and Darjeelingas HouseHeart. (Heart Search) Brazos: Laevas Familiar Companion, a young long-haired black cat.

The Healers: FirstLevel Healer Ura Heather: Head of the Primary HealingHall.

FirstLevel Healer Lark Hawthorn Holly: Works at Primary HealingHall and All Cla.s.s HealingHall, niece to Ura Heather (Heart Duel).

GrandLord TaHeather: Retired head of Primary HealingHall, patriarch, father of Ura, MotherSire (grandfather) of Lark Hawthorn Holly.

The Guards: Captain Black Ilex Winterberry: Captain of the Druida City guards, liaison with the FirstFamilies, wed to Trif Clover Winterberry (Heart Quest). He handled the original investigation of the Black Magic Cult.

Fol Berberis: A guard who investigated the original Black Magic Cult.

Rosa Milkweed: A guard who investigated the original Black Magic Cult.

Others/Suspects: GreatLord Muin TaVine (Vinni): The prophet of Celta, who has a Fam (Flora) who was nearly sacrificed by the Black Magic Cult.

Avellana Hazel: Mural artist and prodigy. She has a Fam (Rhyz) who was nearly sacrificed by the Black Magic Cult.

GreatLady Danith Mallow DaAsh: HeartMate of TaAsh, an animal Healer. (HeartMate) A. Gwydion Ash: Second son of GreatLord TaAsh and DaAsh, an animal Healer.

Straif TaBlackthorn: GrandLord TaBlackthorn, FirstFamilies GrandLord, best tracker on Celta, married to Mitch.e.l.la Clover DaBlackthorn. (Heart Choice) Trif Clover Winterberry: Wife of Captain Black Ilex Winterberry, surviving victim of the Black Magic Cult. (Heart Quest) Dufleur DaThyme DaWillow: Wife of GreatLord Saille TaWillow, surviving victim of the Black Magic Cult (Heart Dance), cousin to Captain Black Ilex Winterberry.

Sedwy Grove DaClover: Wife of GrandLord Walker Clover (an.o.ble Hearta in Hearts and Swords), dupe of the Black Magic Cult.

Barton Clover: Brother of GrandLord Walker Clover, head of security of Clover Compound.

One.

DRUIDA CITY,.

421 Years After Colonization.

Late Summer.

Nightmares and a sense of foreboding woke him, so Garrett Primross walked to work as dawn broke hoping the infrequent uneasy feeling of doom was wrong for the first time in his life. In his career as a private investigator, he felt in control. He knew what he was doing. And at work he might be able to avoid or mitigate any disaster that might be looming today.

As he approached the back entrance of his shabby office building located in a lower-middle-cla.s.s neighborhood, a cat hissed and a group of seven intelligent feral cats slipped from the shadows within the alley. Animals that Garrett used as observers and informants, they were able to become Familiar Companions to people if theyad wanted. Most didnat. They preferred the wild and free lifea"with regular meals and occasional petting.

Garrett had contacts within the fox dens and with the rare wild dog.

Gar-rett! the current leader of the ragtag band of ferals shouted loudly in Garrettas mind.

I hear you, he broadcast to the group. Their milling around slightly decreased.

You promised first thing at office, We get FOOD! Black-and-White tom insisted.

I havenat broken that promise, Garrett said.

There is a MAN on OUR front stoop. He has big magic-Flair. He looks like he belongs around here, but he wears clothes that donat smell of him. He wants to talk to YOU.

At a little after dawn, septhours before WorkBell? Not a good sign. How do you know? Garrett asked telepathically.

He said your name to the door, but the door was quiet. Then he looked at Us and told Us, but We ignored him. You can talk to him, but We get Our FOOD first!

Thatas the deal, Garrett agreed, though his curiosity was ruffled. So were the hairs on the nape of his neck that warned of trouble.

The young and slinky short-furred black cat slipped around the corner of the building at the end of the alley. I got close. He did not see Me.

Maybe not, but if the man had great psi powera"Flaira"Garrett would have bet that the guy had sensed the intelligent animal.

He did NOT sense Me with any of his Flair, the cat, also a tom, insisted. He smells like rich.

Garrett grunted. Probably a n.o.bleman. A spot between his shoulder blades twitched and the d.a.m.n foreboding increased. Sounded like a man with a problem. A high-cla.s.s client usually meant a tough problem. The last one had included theft, kidnapping, and murder.

And he smells like a long-eared, ball-tailed housefluff Familiar Companion, the black cat that Garrett called Sleek Black continued.

More interesting, but still not enough data for Garrett to figure out who the guy might be.

And he smells like RESIDENCE.

Only the greatest n.o.bles on the planet lived in Residencesa"Houses as intelligent as these animals, and a lot longer lived. Interested, Garrett asked, What do Residences smell like?

Cats would sometimes answer, but usually not unless they wanted something from him. He made it a point to always be in the credit column with intelligent cats, giving them information without expecting payment. It had irked him at first, then head shrugged and accepted it as a cost of doing business.

This time, again, there were many replies.

Special housekeeping spells for pee, said the brindled tom.

And for puke, said the fat brown tabby female.

Thick, rich, nose-stop smoke smells for rituals, said the leader, sniffing l.u.s.tily, as if proving he could.

Expensive incense, Garrett translated. The twenty-five FirstFamiliesa"descendants of the colonists who had funded the trip from Eartha"all resided in sentient Houses. Garrett ran through the lords mentally, but didnat come up with any reason why a person so powerful would want to hire him.

A yowl went up, followed by more. We get Our FOOD!

Garrett winced. FINE! he yelled back at them telepathically. Stop that caterwauling, NOW.

They did, having learned by experience that when he gave such an order, the consequences of disobedience could be major. Like a delay in being fed.

Now they ringed his feet, staring up at him, narrow-eyed.

He said, I will feed you in the back courtyard. Then head see if he could come up from behind the n.o.bleman and check him outa"begin the conversation on his terms. And whip his inner dread into shape, get control of the problem from the start.

Quiet, the cats trotted after his own soft-footed prowl to the back entrance of the office building. The area was paved with flagstones as old as the building in the optimistic hope that the tenants would have gliders to park. No one who rented in the building was wealthy enough to do so.

He murmured the spellshields down and the locked door open with a few Words. Once inside he tilted his head but sensed no one else was there.

So he went to the small spellshielded storeroom off the one long main corridor. There he kept cat food, treats, a few toys, and a small canister of catnip. Head left the back door open and returned to the courtyard with the bag of kibble and poured the daily amount into the trough.

As if theyad unconsciously expected him to renege on the deal, they all hurried up to the trough with minimal jostling for position and crunched up the food. The cats were his informers and observers, but he knew that more than one of them had gone hungry before theyad become his secret eyes and ears around the city.

Sleek Black finished first and sat back on his haunches, staring at Garrett. Head only joined the band in the spring. Garrett got the impression that the tom might be considering becoming a Fam . . . if Garrett, as an example of a human, impressed the young cat. Garrett figured that the youngster would want a home and a warm hearth when winter came.

The black cat burped discreetly, flicked his whiskers. What do you want Us to do for the food?

Garrett shrugged. Head find out who the n.o.bleman was soon enough. After that, if he felt he needed more information, he could have the cats check the guy out.

Ears swiveled in his direction. As always, keep your eyes open and listen. He continued to speak mentally. He didnat know what the man might be able to hear; his psi power Flair might have gifted him with augmented hearing.

Sleek Black nodded and vanished into the deep shadows of the morning. The rest left the food trough, some stopping to clean themselves, some shooting away like they had their own business or something that might bring them an extra treat from Garrett. Dogs and the other ferals would come to eat now.

Going back inside, he closed and locked the door with a Flaired Word and padded softly along the dingy corridor with offices on either side toward the front door. His sword was heavy on one hip, his blazer on the other. They were emotionally comforting, but theyad never been much use in the three events that had come after the warning dread had hit.

He stopped at the front door and used Flair to make the small window panel in the door transparent on his side.

The n.o.bleman in disguise was younger than he by about a decade. But his young face still had lines beginning to etch deeply in his skin, and his long dusty brown hair showed silver threadsa"careworn. His eyes were a muddy green. He was more even-featured, of course, than Garrett and held himself well. The man was nearly as tall as Garrett, who was a big man, but the guy wasnat as muscled.

Garrett yanked open the door. The n.o.bleman whirled, set into his balance, raised his arms ready to defend.

aGood reflexes.a Garrett nodded to him. aIam Primross.a He gestured the n.o.ble to proceed ahead of him down the hall.

aVinni TaVine,a the man said as he stepped inside. He waved the door shut, but made no other move.

A great n.o.ble, highest of the high. And the prophet of Celta. No one wanted Vinni TaVine to show up on his doorstep with the knowledge of his future in his eyes.

Close up, Garrett noted strain on his face, his sunken eyes. A hint of darkness in the tender skin under them showed TaVine hadnat gotten much sleep lately. Garrett really didnat want to contemplate what might keep a man who saw visions of the future up at night.

The n.o.ble continued in a low voice that held more rough than smooth, aYou must have figured out by now, Garrett Primross, that you are a point the fate of Celta circles around.a Garrettas mouth dried and his bowels went sloshier than head ever admit. aHavenat thought of that much,a he lied. Ever since head lived through a sickness when everyone else around him had died, head been considered unique by most.

aI donat like to try and guide the future.a An unamused smile from TaVine. aBites me in the a.s.s more often than not.a His gaze drilled into Garrett with nearly tangible force. TaVine examined him, shook his head. aBut sometimes I have to take the chance.a His n.o.bly sculpted mouth flattened, he dipped his head in what might be respect.

All of Garrettas nerves twined tight as he waited. The moment took on the gla.s.sy and acute atmosphere of danger.

aYou should cooperate completely with the FirstLevel Healers,a TaVine said.

Healers. h.e.l.l. Garrett didnat like Healers, too much poking from them during the epidemic as he gave blood and Flair to help stop the sickness.

He and the prophet stared at each other for a full moment of silence, until Garrett dragged out words. aThat all?a Vinni inclined his head. More heavy silence. More matched stares. Breath stopped in Garrettas lungs until his ears rang from the lack and he knew from the hair rising on the back of his neck that he had to listen to the prophet. Probably follow TaVineas advice. aI hear you.a The n.o.blemanas head tilted. Garrett felt his own eyes widen as he watched TaVineas eyes change color from dull green to hazel, a better tint for the guy. The n.o.bleas shoulders relaxed and Garrett heard the puff of relieved breath. Then he smiled and his gaze warmed. aYouall do.a He paused and his grin spread. aYou and your HeartMate.a Another dip of his head and TaVine teleported away.

Leaving Garrett to stagger and lean against a wall.

Healers. h.e.l.l.

Head almost forgotten his HeartMate was a Healer, head avoided her for so long. He wasnat a good bet for a husband or father. Not to mention that he still mourned the woman head wanted as a wife.

Healers. HeartMate. Doom. d.a.m.n.

Artemisia Mugwort Panax stood with two FirstLevel Healers in Primary HealingHall looking down at the sweaty and panting boy of six, Opul Cranberry.

The room was tinted a rich cream and furnished comfortably, but it was still in an inst.i.tution and the faint odor of sickness underlaid even the cleansing herbs.

Her heart thudded hard as she waited for the verdict.

aYes, it is the Iasc sickness. The first outbreak weave had in eighteen months,a Ura Heather said flatly.