Dream's Shadow

June 1591: Unpathed Waters

Summary: Diana attempts to safeguard those who will be left behind when she and Matthew return to the 21st century.

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Susanna's House, London. June 1591.

Susanna Norman handed Diana a mug of steaming hot herbal tea. "Does he know yet?"

"That we're leaving?" Diana shook her head. "We decided to wait till just before our departure before telling him and Annie." She kept her voice low so there'd be no chance of Jack overhearing her.

Diana had brought him along for what would be one of her final sessions with the witches of the St. James Garlickhythe gathering. She and Matthew had agreed to return to the present time in a week. She could have easily postponed their departure, but Matthew claimed any further delay would only make the inevitable farewells that much more painful.

She'd known from the beginning that they could only stay for a short while in Elizabethan England. As it was, they'd lingered much longer than they'd anticipated. Once they returned to the present, Matthew's current self would reappear in the Elizabethan timeline. He'd know nothing about anything that had occurred during the intervening months. Her Matthew was relying on his friends and family to ensure that his Elizabethan counterpart remained ignorant of what took place.

His father Philippe was aware of the situation. He'd prepared a letter for his Elizabethan son, requesting he go to the court of James VI, King of Scotland. That was to minimize the risk of Matthew meeting anyone who had seen his modern self over the past eight months. Philippe would eventually arrange for Matthew to leave the British Isles and start a new life in Amsterdam.

For vampires, having to pick up stakes to settle somewhere else was a routine occurrence, but it didn't make the partings less painful. Two matters remained to be resolved—the children. For Annie, the solution was straightforward. She was a witch. She didn't realize Diana was from the future but she knew that Diana was only a temporary resident in London. Susanna was her aunt and would ensure she'd be provided for. Annie had learned valuable skills during her time in the Roydon household. She was old enough that she could go into service for someone else.

Jack was more problematic. He was a penniless orphan with no known kin and too young to fend for himself. Susanna lived under fairly comfortable circumstances, but she already had two sons of her own plus a husband in poor health.

The boys were currently upstairs playing with Jack and the puppy Lobero. The canine mop had been an instant hit with them. John was the same age as Jack. Diana hoped their friendship would ease the loneliness Jack was bound to feel. But both John and his elder brother Jeffrey were witches. Jeffrey had particularly strong potential. Jack had little understanding of what it meant to be a witch. The training they received was alien to him.

With a racket that only three boys could make, they dashed down the staircase and tore into the parlor with Lobero at their heels.

"Where are you off to?" Susanna asked.

"Jack's never explored the neighborhood," Jeffrey said. "We'll be back before you finish your session."

"Can we take Corra with us?" Jack asked pleadingly.

"You most certainly cannot," Goody Alsop said, her years not diminishing one whit the crackling power of her words. The physically frail witch was in her eighties. Like Diana, she was a weaver of spells—the only other one in England still alive. Goody was her mentor in the art. "There will be no panicked outcries about dragons flying overhead in broad daylight."

"But Corra's a firedrake!" Jack protested as if that would make it less frightening. Meanwhile, the fire-breathing object of his desire clacked her tongue in approval from her position on top of Susanna's cupboard. Diana's familiar would dearly love to go outside and play as well.