THE DAUGHTER OF GETH
by
John Joseph Doody
ISBN 978-1942391-25-8
Copyright 2015 John Joseph Doody
All Rights Reserved.
Cover Artist: Suzannah Safi
Illustrations: Kerry Doody
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any format or by any means without express written consent from the publisher. This book in electronic format may not be re-sold or re-distributed in any manner without express written permission from the publisher.
First Publication, November 2015
Published in the United States of America
Published by: eTreasures Publishing, LLC
4442 Lafayette St.
Marianna, FL 32446
https://www.etreasurespublishing.com
This book is entirely fiction and bears no resemblance to anyone alive or dead, in content or cover art. Any instances are purely coincidental. This book is based solely on the Author’s vivid imagination.
Prologue
Morning Toill
The old woman woke in her rocking chair and rubbed her eyes. A yellow sliver of light shone through the narrow window onto the old plank floor of her tiny home in Geth’s eastern city. She stood and shuffled, bent at the waist, to a little table with two chairs where she performed her magic and read futures for paying customers.
She sat with a grunt, lifted a flowered box from beneath the table, and then hoisted it above her head and shook it. She set it on the table and opened it. Peering inside, she gasped. “Today is the day. I didn’t realize it had come so soon.”
Struggling to her feet, her back crooked and bent, she stared at the floor. As she hobbled to the splintering plank door, the boards creaked beneath her. She dragged the door open on its rusted hinges. Outside, the Geth sun had risen above the leaning stone buildings, and her alley was empty of passersby.
Enjoying the quiet, she crooked her weathered face up at the green sky, and the silhouettes of the six moons peeked from behind a bank of white clouds. “Yes, he will be here today. I am certain.”
Dirt crunched under hurrying feet and echoed against the stone buildings. She cast an irritated glance in the direction of the intrusion. A young Gethite with long, tangled hair, wearing a jacket fashioned from animal skins, and a pair of hide boots, hurried toward her direction. Many workers in the downtown market took this shortcut from time to time…the bravest ones only.
He slowed when he spotted her, and then he hesitated, as if he considered turning back.
“Read your future, young Gethite in my alley? A hundred thousand krachnards.”
He shook his head. “I have no money, mother. I’m just trying to get to work in the city, and I’m late.”
She hissed. “Then I’ll curse you for disturbing me.”
He chucked her a coin, and it landed near her foot. She scooped it up from the stoop, eyed it, and stuffed it in a pocket of her black dress. “The next time you pass through my alley, bring me the rest of my hundred thousand krachnards, or I’ll curse you.” She let out a long, bubbling fart and put her hands on her hips. “Someone’s playing my song.” She cackled.
The young Gethite scurried down the alley.
She cocked her head and peered at the sky. “The Thieves Guild pilot is coming. My dreams are always true.” Dancing a jig, she sang, “I’m so pretty, oh so pretty…”
“You’re really not that pretty.” A small girl wearing a worn but clean brown dress to her ankles stood before her.
The girl stood barefoot, and she had probing green eyes and silky hair. The old woman had seen her many times before, crossing her alley, but this was the first time she spoke to her. “I’m a man magnet, small fry. How old are you?”
“Twelve…going on thirteen.” The girl frowned. “Does it hurt to be bent like that?”
The old woman shook her head and farted.
“Can you do that anytime you want?”
She smiled slightly “Why are you sneaking around my alley?”
The girl frowned. “My papa says your name is Morning Toill. You’re a witch…maybe the last witch on Geth. He says to stay away from you, and not to make you mad or you’ll curse me, but I don’t think he really believes in curses. I’ve watched you threaten to curse people, and they give you money. I think your curses are real.”
“I’ve seen you many times in my alley, and you have never spoken to me,” the old woman repeated, her voice cracking. “Why today are you speaking to me?”
The girl stepped closer and opened her hand. She carried a gold coin. “I’ve worked very hard to save this much money. I want you to curse someone for me.”
“Who would that be?”
“A boy,” she said. “He called me ugly, and he spat on me. His name is Jaffe Lod, and I hate him. I want something terrible to happen to him.”
“What is your name?”
“Elle Aliee.”
“Does your papa wear merchant’s clothes and work a produce stand in the center market?”
She nodded.
“I have seen him once or twice, and he is a decent man, even if he doesn’t believe in my curses. I will not curse the boy.”
The girl clenched her fists. “Why not?”
“My curses never lift, Elle Aliee. Your hatred for the boy is wrong. I sat on the lap of my father Geth, and he taught me that a curse outlives a change of heart, so I am very careful who I curse.”
Elle Aliee’s eyes widened. “You knew Geth? How old are you?”
“I don’t know my age.” The old woman frowned. “He kissed my cheeks every night at bedtime when we still lived in the palace. The place is long gone now.” She farted. “That was an accident. Take your money and give it to the family of Jaffe Lod. This will solve your problem.”
Elle Aliee shook her head. “I hate him. I’d never give his family anything.” She turned to go.
“Wait. I have something for you.” The old woman hurried inside, then rummaged about in an old trunk until she found what she looked for. Soon she hobbled back to the top step.
With her jaw clenched, the girl waited. The old woman stretched out her hand and in it was an old, brown ragdoll.
“What’s that?”
“Geth gave this to me,” the old woman’s lower lip popped out, “because I was his pretty little princess. His favorite of all his many, many children. He was a very busy man, but you’re too young to understand that.” She grinned. “Take her. Her name is Leonna, and she is great company.”
Approaching cautiously, Elle Aliee reached for the doll.
The old woman grabbed her hand. “Take your money to the boy’s house, and your problem will leave.”
Elle Aliee jerked free with the ragdoll in her hand, turned and ran.
“Take care not to lose that doll…and stop sneaking up on old women.”
Another intruder appeared in her alley—a tall Gethite wearing a hide jacket and pants. The old woman knew this one. He does not fear my curses, and his heart is as black as pitch. Nonetheless, when he neared her house she called to him, “Give me ten million krachnards, and I will tell you your future. Otherwise, I will curse you.”
He paused and folded his arms. “I have heard your mother died giving birth to you, daughter of Geth. Being this close to you I can see why such a deformed and hideous baby would kill its mother. Geth should have suffocated you the moment he saw you.”
She pointed a crooked finger at him. “Ober Kile…you’re a traitor.”
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nbsp; He glared at her, opened his jacket, and the morning light glinted off a silver weapon in his waistband. He let his jacket fall over it again and grinned. “There’s what I think of your curses, old witch. Perhaps I’ll come back and pay you a visit, and we shall see which is stronger…my laser or your curse.”
She backed into the doorway and watched him strolling along, shoulders back as he laughed. Once he had gone, she sighed and peered up at the sky. “Today you will come and see me, Thieves Guild pilot.”
She turned and scuffled into her house. “It is as good a day as any, for an old woman to die.”