The Lost Tohunga by David Hair Page A

and clues were traded or stolen, murders arranged and carried out. Most thought her defeated. But she knew of one way back. Te Iho … her last hope.
    Venn didn’t even know! He thought this war was all about property and wealth. But Puarata had been more than rich and influential; he had been the mightiest tohunga makutu ever known, and Venn was no Puarata, not in the field of makutu.
    To truly inherit Puarata’s mantle required Puarata’s secretlair: Te Iho, The Heart . Puarata had told her of it, but had never taken her there. Without Te Iho, victory or defeat was incomplete. She was now certain it wasn’t in the Ureweras. Best of all, Venn did not even know it existed. Venn can rot in the Ureweras , she told herself. Let him think me defeated. I shall return, possessing might undreamt.
    A flicker in the mirror caught her eye, and she turned in fright. There was a man there, in the glass, staring back at her. A man clad in velvet with a foppish hat and furs at his throat, like some Renaissance potentate. His furrowed, clean-shaven visage was framed in long, silver hair that floated strangely, as if underwater. ‘Hello, Daughter,’ he said laconically. ‘Feeling sorry for yourself?’
    Her world lurched. ‘ Father? ’ She had tried hard to forget that mental warning that had saved her from Rothwell a year ago. She had almost convinced herself she had imagined it. Almost. ‘Father?’
    â€˜Donna, my dear. You look anxious. Let me help you.’ His voice sounded pained, sympathetic. ‘Let me restore you to what you once were.’
    Too many emotions flooded her: hatred, for what he had done to her; betrayal, that he had failed her; contempt, that he had been so foolish as to go up against Puarata; anger; bitterness. ‘What are you? Some kind of ghost?’
    â€˜No ghost, Daughter, for I did not die. I am merely a prisoner, here in the darkness.’
    â€˜A prisoner,’ she breathed. Her fury at him welled up. ‘The mighty Asher Grieve, trapped? I hope you rot there for eternity!’
    Asher’s eyes narrowed. ‘Trapped, aye,’ he hissed.‘Imprisoned and bled dry by your lover , because you betrayed me, you ungrateful little sow. After everything I gave you.’
    â€˜Everything you gave me?’ she echoed derisively. ‘You gave me away! I was eight, Father . You gave me to that bastard, and he destroyed me!’
    His lip curled. ‘Destroyed? Fool! We made you, my girl. You were ignorant of your potential. We freed it! You were to be co-ruler of this world when I became king! As I would have if you hadn’t turned on me. You sided with him , and condemned me to this prison!’
    â€˜Why should I have sided with you, you monster? You sold me! Did you expect to get me back for free? For some kind of deluded family loyalty?’
    Asher Grieve’s face twisted nastily. ‘Loyalty? Yes, I expected loyalty from my only acknowledged child! Especially as I sought to free her from the man she claimed to hate so much! I had every right to expect a daughter’s loyalty. I took a bed-wetting cry-baby and gave her the tools to rule . But poor little Princess Donna didn’t like getting her hands dirty, and didn’t have the guts to seize her chance — our chance!’ He leant towards her, as if straining against some invisible bond. ‘I would have made up for every hurt he inflicted upon you, but you didn’t have the courage to see it through!’
    She flinched at each word, her legs wobbling. ‘Did you have a point to make?’ She wished her voice didn’t sound so quavery.
    He lifted his right hand, clutching a walking cane with a crystalline lion’s head on the tip. ‘Yes, my daughter, I do. You are seeking Te Iho. You cannot be victorious without it.’
    â€˜I know that,’ she replied scornfully.
    His face floated closer, until it almost filled the mirror. ‘You