"Watch Stephan and Jinissa's love flourish and restore faith"
Jinissa knew she should have turned and walked away. She
knew if she acted to save the child, her "gift" would be
discovered. Already suspicious of strangers, the
townspeople would not react favorably to evidence of
witchcraft. But if compassion is to be her downfall so be
it, she cannot allow the child to die.
As she had suspected, she is immediately imprisoned.
Jinissa is a woman without a country. Her own people fear
her because of the circumstances of her birth. She had been
sent to Lendiil to spy, in lieu of execution. She had not
done her job well. Now she faces torture and execution at
the hands of strangers. The people had decided that
hanging for witchcraft was much too swift a death. They
would add spying to the charges; flogging and branding to
the punishment. She is bound and a sigil (collar) is placed
around her neck to contain the magic, so that she cannot
escape. The sentence is commuted by the arrival of Lord
Stephan, who is on a mission from the king. Aside from
being the kings closest friend, Lord Stephan has a
particular hatred of the Calavrian witches. The blaze
that fires in his eyes when he looks upon Jinny makes her
wonder if she shouldn't have taken her chances with the
villagers. Yet the journey would be a long one and she
would take any chance she could get to escape. Lord Stephan has good reason to despise the Calavrians.
He'd been set up by a young witch and been mercilessly
beaten without being given an opportunity to explain. He
had joined the King's guard as an honorable means to end
his life when he'd been befriended by the future king. His
honor is above reproach, he will fulfill his promise to
King Randell and deliver the witch at all costs. The journey is long and perilous. Even with the hatred
Stephan is compassionate man. After her first attempt to
escape, Jinny does not fight her captivity, but does what
she can to make the journey pleasant. Before long the
blaze is Stephan's eyes is caused by a different emotion.
Nature conspires against them. With death certain, Stephan
must decide whether to take a leap of faith and release
Jinnisa's magic. He knows she will honor her promise to him
to face the king for her "crimes", but can Stephan live
with the consequences? His honor is on the line, but so is
his heart. How can he make such a choice? It was a pleasure for this reader to watch Stephan and
Jinissa's love flourish. The love relationship went beyond
the physical, destroying old wounds, and restoring faith.
King Randell, the only real secondary character, is a
delight as well. Witch's Journey is pure romance, two people left alone to
discover each other's virtues, overcoming prejudice and
learning to trust. The tale personifies compassion, the
journey is of the heart. A recommended read. Copyright March 2001
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted January 21, 2002
|
