get in the mood for wild dancing or even wilder sex. Those who were more adventurous added the bark of a hazel tree to the cooking pot. Chewing that concoction caused mild hallucinations.”
Oshidu returned with a tray and placed it on the table. “Would there be anything else, Clan Mother?”
“No, thank you.”
He bowed. “It is my pleasure to serve.”
As he left the room, Annani lifted a pastry and took a small bite. “This is almost as good as the ones from Jackson’s bakery.” She put it down.
“Let me guess.” Alena reached for one of the pastries. “You encouraged Gudbrand’s misconception that he couldn’t remember anything because of the weed chewing.”
“I did that subtly, neither denying nor confirming, but I kept a jar of the stuff near my pallet.”
“It seems like you had it under control. What went wrong?”
Annani sighed. “Life is never predictable, and the unexpected should be expected. Gudbrand had a younger brother, Olek. Olek’s wife was nearing the end of her pregnancy and was having difficulties. Astrid suffered from asthma, for which there were no medications back then, and the pregnancy made it worse. She went into labor while Gudbrand was with me.”
Alena’s eyes saddened as she guessed the rest. “Astrid did not make it.”
Annani nodded. “The midwife managed to save the baby but not the mother. In his grief, Olek slipped into his berserker mode, grabbed his weapons, and headed out to find Gudbrand, who he knew was with me.”
“That’s absurd. What did Gudbrand or you have to do with Astrid’s death? I can’t believe that Olek wanted to kill his brother.”
“He was not in his right mind, but I do not think he would have gone that far. He needed to vent his grief and aggression by picking a fight with his brother, which I am sure Gudbrand would have been more than willing to provide. Except, Olek burst into my tent while we were in the heat of passion, and he saw my glowing eyes and my glowing skin and immediately assumed the worst.”
Alena gasped. “Damn.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “My apologies, Mother.”
“Damn is appropriate in this context, my daughter.” Annani sighed and picked up the cup of fresh tea. “Olek screamed, accusing me of being a demoness, and he demanded that I give him his wife back. When I said that I did not have her, he charged at me with his battle-ax. Gudbrand jumped up to defend me. Or so I thought.”
“He didn’t?”
“The thrall I placed on him must have been burned off by the sudden surge of aggression, and Gudbrand saw my glow as well. He yelled at his brother that if anyone was going to kill me, it was going to be him and not Olek.”
“Why?”
“He wanted to spare his brother from Frella’s vengeance. I was supposedly her priestess, and anyone hurting me would have to answer to the goddess.”
“What did you do?”
“I tried to grab Gudbrand’s mind, but he was too enraged, and I could not penetrate his defenses. His berserker must have been triggered by his brother coming at him with an ax, or maybe the culprit was the shocking news of Astrid’s death, or maybe even my glow.”
“Another possibility is that he grew resistant to your thralling because you’d done it too many times. You said that he had a strong personality and that he was suspicious. That alone was enough to resist thralling.”
“Perhaps.” Annani dropped her voice to a near whisper. Even after all the centuries that had passed since the event, the guilt was still there.
“What did you do?”
“I did the only thing I could at the moment, which was to grab Olek’s mind instead. He was enraged as well, but he was not expecting it, or maybe he was just more susceptible to thralling.”
“Who killed whom?”
“Who do you think?”
“I have no idea. Were they equally matched?”
“Gudbrand was bigger and stronger, but he did not want to kill his brother. Olek delivered the killing blow.” Annani sighed. “I was devastated, overwhelmed by guilt and grief, and the same was true for Olek.”
Alena reached for her hand. “Did you love Gudbrand?”
“Love has many shades. I was not in love with him, but I liked him and enjoyed his company. I wanted him to father my child. I did not want him to die so prematurely.”
“Could you have saved him with a blood infusion?”
Annani shook her head. “The injury was too severe even for my blood to heal. Besides, I had a huge mess to