Kitabı oku: «The Demon Cycle Series Books 1 and 2», sayfa 9
Leesha pulled herself up to her full height, taller than Stefny by inches, but she still felt like a mouse before a cat. ‘I have committed no sin,’ she said.
‘Hah!’ Stefny laughed. ‘The whole town knows what you and Gared have been up to in the night. I had hopes for you, girl, but it seems you’re your mother’s daughter after all.’
‘What’s all this?’ came Bruna’s hoarse rasp before Leesha could reply.
Stefny turned, filled with haughty pride, and looked down at the old Herb Gatherer. ‘This girl is a whore, and I won’t have her in the Creator’s House.’
‘You won’t have?’ Bruna asked. ‘Are you the Creator now?’
‘Do not blaspheme in this place, old woman,’ Stefny said. ‘His words are written for all to see.’ She held up the leather-bound copy of the Canon she carried everywhere. ‘Fornicators and adulterers keep the Plague upon us, and that sums this slut and her mother well.’
‘And where is your proof of her crime?’ Bruna asked.
Stefny smiled. ‘Gared has boasted their sin to any who would listen,’ she said.
Bruna growled, and lashed out suddenly, striking Stefny on the head with her staff and knocking her to the ground. ‘You would condemn a girl with no more proof than a boy’s boast?’ she shrieked. ‘Boys’ bragging isn’t worth the breath that carries it, and you know it well!’
‘Everyone knows her mother is the town whore,’ Stefny sneered. A trickle of blood ran down her temple. ‘Why should the pup be different from the bitch?’
Bruna thrust her staff into Stefny’s shoulder, making her cry out in pain.
‘Hey there!’ Smitt called, rushing over. ‘Enough of that!’
Tender Michel was hot on his heels. ‘This is a Holy House, not some Angierian tavern …’
‘Women’s business is what this is, and you’ll stay out of it, if you know what’s good for you!’ Bruna snapped, taking the wind from their sails. She looked back to Stefny. ‘Tell them, or shall I lay bare your sin as well?’ she hissed.
‘I have no sin, hag!’ Stefny said.
‘I’ve delivered every child in this village,’ Bruna replied, too quietly for the men to hear, ‘and despite the rumours, I see quite well when things are as close as a babe in my hands.’
Stefny blanched, and turned to her husband and the Tender. ‘Stay out of this!’ she called.
‘The Core I will!’ Smitt cried. He grabbed Bruna’s staff and pulled it off his wife. ‘See here, woman,’ he told Bruna. ‘Herb Gatherer or no, you can’t just go around hitting whomever you please!’
‘Oh, but your wife can go around condemning whomever she pleases?’ Bruna snapped. She yanked her staff from his hands and clonked him on the head with it.
Smitt staggered back, rubbing his head. ‘All right,’ he said, ‘I tried being nice.’
Usually, Smitt said that just before rolling up his sleeves and hurling someone bodily from his tavern. He wasn’t a tall man, but his squat frame was powerful, and he’d had plenty of experience in dealing with drunken cutters over the years.
Bruna was no thick-muscled cutter, but she didn’t appear the least bit intimidated. She stood her ground as Smitt stormed towards her.
‘Fine!’ she cried. ‘Throw me out! Mix the herbs yourself! You and Stefny heal the ones that vomit blood and catch demon fever! Deliver your own babies while you’re at it! Brew your own cures! Make your own flamesticks! What do you need to put up with the hag for?’
‘What, indeed?’ Darsy asked. Everyone stared at her as she strode up to Smitt.
‘I can mix herbs and deliver babies as well as she can,’ Darsy said.
‘Hah!’ Bruna said. Even Smitt looked at her doubtfully.
Darsy ignored her. ‘I say it’s time for a change,’ she said. ‘I may not have a hundred years of experience like Bruna, but I won’t go around bullying everyone, either.’
Smitt scratched his chin, and glanced over to Bruna, who cackled.
‘Go on,’ she dared. ‘I could use the rest. But don’t come begging to my hut when the sow stitches what she should have cut, and cuts what she should have stitched.’
‘Perhaps Darsy deserves a chance,’ Smitt said.
‘Settled, then!’ Bruna said, thumping her staff on the floor. ‘Be sure to tell the rest of the town who to go to for their cures. I’ll thank you for the peace at my hut!’
She turned to Leesha. ‘Come, girl, help an old crone walk home.’ She took Leesha’s arm, and the two of them turned for the door.
As they passed Stefny, though, Bruna stopped, pointing her staff at her and whispering for only the three women to hear. ‘You say one more word against this girl, or suffer others to, and the whole town will know your shame.’
Stefny’s look of terror stayed with Leesha the whole way back to Bruna’s hut.
Once they were inside, Bruna whirled on her.
‘Well, girl? Is it true?’ she asked.
‘No!’ Leesha cried. ‘I mean, we almost … but I told him to stop and he did!’
It sounded lame and implausible, and she knew it. Terror gripped her. Bruna was the only one who stood up for her. She thought she would die if the old woman thought her a liar, too.
‘You … you can check me, if you want,’ she said, her cheeks colouring. She looked at the floor, and squinted back tears.
Bruna grunted, and shook her head. ‘I believe you, girl.’
‘Why?’ Leesha asked, almost pleading. ‘Why would Gared lie like that?’
‘Because boys get praise for the same things that get girls run out of town,’ Bruna said. ‘Because men are ruled by what others think of their dangling worms. Because he’s a petty, hurtful little wood-brained shit with no concept of what he had.’
Leesha started to cry again. She felt like she’d been crying forever. Surely a body could not hold so many tears.
Bruna opened her arms, and Leesha fell into them. ‘There, there, girl,’ she said. ‘Get it all out, and then we’ll figure out what to do.’
There was silence in Bruna’s hut while Leesha made tea. It was still early in the day, but she felt utterly drained. How could she hope to live the rest of her life in Cutter’s Hollow?
Fort Rizon is only a week away, she thought. Thousands of people. No one would hear of Gared’s lies there. I could find Klarissa and …
And what? She knew it was just a fantasy. Even if she could find a Messenger to take her, the thought of a week and more on the open road made her blood run cold, and the Rizonans were farmers, with little use for letters or papermaking. She could find a new husband perhaps, but the thought of tying her fate to another man gave little comfort.
She brought Bruna her tea, hoping the old woman had an answer, but the Herb Gatherer said nothing, sipping quietly as Leesha knelt beside her chair.
‘What am I going to do?’ she asked. ‘I can’t hide here forever.’
‘You could,’ Bruna said. ‘Whatever Darsy boasts, she hasn’t retained a fraction of what I’ve taught her, and I haven’t taught her a fraction of what I know. The folk’ll be back soon enough, begging my help. Stay, and a year from now the people of Cutter’s Hollow won’t know how they ever got along without you.’
‘My mother will never allow that,’ Leesha said. ‘She’s still set on me marrying Gared.’
Bruna nodded. ‘She would be. She’s never forgiven herself for not bearing Steave’s sons. She’s determined that you correct her mistakes.’
‘I won’t do it,’ Leesha said. ‘I’ll give myself to the night before I let Gared touch me.’ She was shocked to realize that she meant every word.
‘That’s very brave of you, dearie,’ Bruna said, but there was disdain in her tone. ‘So brave to throw your life away over a boy’s lie and fear of your mother.’
‘I am not afraid of her!’ Leesha said.
‘Just of telling her you won’t marry the boy who destroyed your reputation?’
Leesha was quiet a long time before nodding. ‘You’re right,’ she said. Bruna grunted.
Leesha stood. ‘I suppose I had best get it over with,’ she said. Bruna said nothing.
At the door, Leesha stopped, and looked back.
‘Bruna?’ she asked. The old woman grunted again. ‘What was Stefny’s sin?’
Bruna sipped her tea. ‘Smitt has three beautiful children,’ she said.
‘Four,’ Leesha corrected.
Bruna shook her head. ‘Stefny has four,’ she said. ‘Smitt has three.’
Leesha’s eyes widened. ‘But how could that be?’ she asked. ‘Stefny never leaves the tavern, but to go to the Holy …’ She gasped.
‘Even Holy Men are men,’ Bruna said.
Leesha walked home slowly, trying to choose words, but in the end she knew that phrasing was meaningless. All that mattered was that she would not marry Gared, and her mother’s reaction.
It was late in the day when she walked into the house. Gared and Steave would be back from the woods soon. She needed the confrontation over with before they arrived.
‘Well, you’ve really made a mess of things now,’ her mother said acidly as she walked in. ‘My daughter, the town tramp.’
‘I’m not a tramp,’ Leesha said. ‘Gared has been spreading lies.’
‘Don’t you dare blame him because you couldn’t keep your legs closed!’ Elona said.
‘I didn’t sleep with him,’ Leesha said.
‘Hah!’ Elona barked. ‘Don’t take me for a fool, Leesha. I was young once, too.’
‘You’ve been “young” every night this week,’ Leesha said, ‘and Gared is still a liar.’
Elona slapped her, knocking her to the floor. ‘Don’t you dare speak to me like that, you little whore!’ she screeched.
Leesha lay still, knowing that if she moved, her mother would hit her again. Her cheek felt like it was on fire.
Seeing her daughter humbled, Elona took a deep breath, and seemed to calm. ‘It’s no matter,’ she said. ‘I’ve always thought you needed a knocking from the pedestal your idiot father put you on. You’ll marry Gared soon enough, and folk will tire of whispering eventually.’
Leesha steeled herself. ‘I’m not marrying him,’ she said. ‘He’s a liar, and I won’t do it.’
‘Oh, yes you will,’ Elona said.
‘I won’t,’ Leesha said, the words giving her strength as she rose to her feet. ‘I won’t say the words, and there’s nothing you can do to make me.’
‘We’ll just see about that,’ Elona said, snatching off her belt. It was a thick leather strap with a metal buckle that she always wore loosely around her waist. Leesha thought she wore it just to have it at hand to beat her.
She came at Leesha, who shrieked and retreated into the kitchen before realizing it was the last place she should have gone. There was only one way in or out.
She screamed as the buckle cut through her dress and into her back. Elona swung again, and Leesha threw herself at her mother in desperation. As they tumbled to the floor, she heard the door open, and Steave’s voice. At the same time, there was a questioning call from the shop.
Elona made good use of the distraction, punching her daughter full in the face. She was on her feet in an instant, whipping the belt into Leesha, drawing another scream from her lips.
‘What in the Core is going on?!’ came a cry from the doorway. Leesha looked up to see her father struggling to get into the kitchen, blocked by Steave’s meaty arm.
‘Get out of my way!’ Erny cried.
‘This is between them,’ Steave said with a grin.
‘This is my home you’re a guest in!’ Erny cried. ‘Get out of the way!’
When Steave did not budge, Erny punched him.
Everyone froze. It wasn’t clear that Steave had felt the punch at all. He broke the sudden silence with a laugh, casually shoving Erny and sending him flying into the common room.
‘You ladies settle yur differences in private,’ Steave said with a wink, pulling the kitchen door shut as Leesha’s mother rounded on her once more.
Leesha wept quietly in the back room of her father’s shop, dabbing gently at her cuts and bruises. Had she the proper herbs, she could have done more, but cold water and cloth were all she had.
She had fled into the shop right after her ordeal, locking the doors from the inside, and ignoring even the gentle knocks of her father. When the wounds were clean and the deepest cuts bound, Leesha curled up on the floor, shaking with pain and shame.
‘You’ll marry Gared the day you bleed,’ Elona had promised, ‘or we’ll do this every day until you do.’
Leesha knew she meant it, and knew Gared’s rumour would have many people taking her mother’s side and insisting they wed, ignoring Leesha’s bruises as they had many times before.
I won’t do it, Leesha promised herself. I’ll give myself to the night first.
Just then, a cramp wracked her guts. Leesha groaned, and felt dampness on her thighs. Terrified, she swabbed herself with a clean cloth, praying fervently, but there, like a cruel joke of the Creator, was blood.
Leesha shrieked. She heard an answering call from the house.
There was a pounding at the door. ‘Leesha, are you all right?’ her father called.
Leesha didn’t answer, staring at the blood in horror. Was it only two days ago she had been praying for it to come? Now she looked at it as if had come from the Core.
‘Leesha, open the door this instant, or you’ll have night to pay!’ her mother screeched.
Leesha ignored her.
‘If you don’t listen to yur mother and open this door before I count to ten, Leesha, I swear I will break it down!’ Steave boomed.
Fear gripped Leesha as Steave began to count. She had no doubt he could and would splinter the heavy wooden door with a single blow. She ran to the outer door, throwing it open.
It was almost dark. The sky was deep purple, and the last sliver of sun would dip below the horizon in mere minutes.
‘Five!’ Steve called. ‘Four! Three!’
Leesha sucked in her breath and ran from the house.
6
The Secrets of Fire 319 AR
Leesha lifted her skirts high and ran for all she was worth, but it was over a mile to Bruna’s hut, and she knew deep down she could never make it in time. Her family’s cries rang out behind her, the sound muted by the pounding of her heart and the thud of her feet.
There was a sharp stitch in her side, and her back and thighs were on fire from Elona’s belt. She stumbled, and scraped her hands catching herself. She forced herself upright, ignoring the pain and driving forward on pure will.
Halfway to the Herb Gatherer, the light faded, and the new night beckoned the demons from the Core. Dark mists began to rise, coalescing into harsh alien form.
Leesha did not want to die. She knew that now; too late. But even if she wished to turn back, home was further away now than Bruna’s hut, and there was nothing in between. Erny had purposefully built his house away from the others, after complaints about the smell of his chemicals. She had no choice but to go on, heading towards Bruna’s hut at the woods’ edge, where the wood demons gathered in force.
A few corelings swiped at her as she passed, but they were still insubstantial, and found no purchase. She felt cold as their claws passed through her breast, as if she had been touched by a ghost, but there was no pain, and she did not slow.
There were no flame demons this close to the woods. Wood demons killed flame demons on sight. Firespit could set a wood demon alight, even if normal fire could not. A wind demon solidified in front of her, but Leesha dodged around it, and the creature’s spindly legs were not equipped to pursue her afoot. It shrieked at her as she ran on.
She glimpsed a light ahead; the lantern that hung by Bruna’s front door. She put on a last burst of speed, crying out, ‘Bruna! Bruna, please open your door!’
There was no reply, and the door remained shut, but the way was clear, and she dared to think she might make it.
But then an eight-foot wood demon stepped in her path.
And hope died.
The demon roared, showing rows of teeth like kitchen knives. It made Steave look puny by comparison, all thick twisted sinew covered by knobbed, bark-like armour.
Leesha drew a ward in the air before her, silently praying that the Creator grant her a quick death. Tales said that demons consumed the soul as well as the body. She supposed she was about to find out.
The demon stalked towards her, closing the gap steadily, waiting to see which way she would try to run. Leesha knew she should do just that, but even had she not been paralysed with fear, there was nowhere to run. The coreling stood between her and the only hope of succour.
There was a creak as Bruna’s front door opened, spilling more light into the yard. The demon turned as the old hag shuffled into view.
‘Bruna!’ Leesha cried. ‘Stay behind the wards! There’s a wood demon in the yard!’
‘My eyes aren’t what they used to be, dearie,’ Bruna replied, ‘but I’m not about to miss an ugly beast like that.’
She took another step forward, crossing her wards. Leesha screamed as the demon roared and launched itself towards the old woman.
Bruna stood her ground as the demon charged, dropping to all fours and moving with terrifying speed. She reached into her shawl, and pulled forth a small object, touching it to the flame of the lantern by the door. Leesha saw it catch fire.
The demon was nearly upon her when Bruna drew back her arm and threw. The object burst apart, covering the wood demon in liquid fire. The blaze lit up the night, and even from yards away, Leesha felt the flash of heat on her face.
The demon screamed, its momentum lost as it fell to the ground, rolling in the dust in a desperate attempt to extinguish itself. The fire clung to it tenaciously, leaving the coreling thrashing and howling on the ground.
‘Best come inside, Leesha,’ Bruna advised as it burned, ‘lest you catch a chill.’
Leesha sat wrapped in one of Bruna’s shawls, staring at the steam rising off tea she had no desire to drink. The wood demon’s cries had gone on a long time before reducing to a whimper and fading away. She imagined the smouldering ruin in the yard, and thought she might retch.
Bruna sat nearby in her rocking chair, humming softly as she deftly worked a pair of knitting needles. Leesha could not understand her calm. She felt she might never be calm again.
The old Herb Gatherer had examined her wordlessly, grunting occasionally as she salved and bandaged Leesha’s wounds, few of which, it was clear, had come from her flight. She had also shown Leesha how to wad and insert clean cloth to stem the flow of blood between her legs, and warned her to change it frequently.
But now Bruna sat back as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, the clicks of her knitting and the crackle of the fire the only sounds in the room.
‘What did you do to that demon?’ Leesha asked, when she could stand it no longer.
‘Liquid demonfire,’ Bruna said. ‘Difficult to make. Very dangerous. But it’s the only thing I know that can stop a wood demon. Woodies are immune to normal flames, but liquid demonfire burns as hot as firespit.’
‘I didn’t know anything could kill a demon,’ Leesha said.
‘I told you before, girl, that Herb Gatherers guard the science of the old world,’ Bruna said. She grunted and spat on the floor. ‘A scant few of us, anyway. I may be the last to know that infernal recipe.’
‘Why not share it?’ Leesha said. ‘We could be free of the demons forever.’
Bruna cackled. ‘Free?’ she asked. ‘Free to burn the village to the ground, perhaps. Free to set the woods on fire. No heat known can do more than tickle a flame demon, or give a rock demon pause. No fire can burn higher than a wind demon can soar, or set a lake or pond alight to reach a water demon.’
‘But still,’ Leesha pressed, ‘what you did tonight shows how useful it could be. You saved my life.’
Bruna nodded. ‘We keep the knowledge of the old world for the day it will be needed again, but that knowledge comes with a great responsibility. If the histories of the ancient wars of man tell us anything, it’s that men cannot be trusted with the secrets of fire.
‘That’s why Herb Gatherers are always women,’ she went on. ‘Men cannot hold such power without using it. I’ll sell thundersticks and festival crackers to Smitt, dearly, but I won’t tell him how they’re made.’
‘Darsy’s a woman,’ Leesha said, ‘but you never taught her, either.’
Bruna snorted. ‘Even if that cow was smart enough to mix the chemics without setting herself on fire, she’s practically a man in her thinking. I’d no sooner teach her to brew demonfire or flame powder than I would Steave.’
‘They’re going to come looking for me tomorrow,’ Leesha said.
Bruna pointed at Leesha’s cooling tea. ‘Drink,’ she ordered. ‘We’ll deal with tomorrow when it comes.’
Leesha did as she was told, noting the sour taste of tampweed and the bitterness of skyflower as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Distantly, she was aware of dropping her cup.
Morning brought pain with it. Bruna put stiffroot in Leesha’s tea to dull the ache of her bruises and the cramps that clutched her abdomen, but the mixture played havoc with her senses. She felt as if she were floating above the cot she lay upon, and yet her limbs felt leaden.
Erny arrived not long after dawn. He burst into tears at the sight of her, kneeling by the cot and clutching her tightly. ‘I thought I’d lost you,’ he sobbed.
Leesha reached out weakly, running her fingers through his thinning hair. ‘It’s not your fault,’ she whispered.
‘I should have stood up to your mother long ago,’ he said.
‘That’s undersaid,’ Bruna grunted from her knitting. ‘No man should let his wife walk over him so.’
Erny nodded, having no retort. His face screwed up, and more tears appeared behind his spectacles.
There was a pounding at the door. Bruna looked at Erny, who went to open it.
‘Is she here?’ Leesha heard her mother’s voice, and the cramps doubled. She felt too weak to fight anymore. She couldn’t even find the strength to stand.
A moment later Elona appeared, Gared and Steave at her heels like a pair of hounds.
‘There you are, you worthless girl!’ Elona cried. ‘Do you know the fright you gave me, running off into the night like that? We’ve got half the village out looking for you! I should beat you within an inch of your life!’
‘No one’s beating anyone, Elona,’ Erny said. ‘If there’s blame to be had, it’s yours.’
‘Shut up, Erny,’ Elona said. ‘It your fault she’s so wilful, coddling her all the time.’
‘I won’t shut up,’ Erny said, coming to face his wife.
‘You will if you know what’s good for ya,’ Steave warned, balling a fist.
Erny looked at him and swallowed hard. ‘I’m not afraid of you,’ he said, but it came out as a squeak. Gared snickered.
Steave grabbed Erny by the front of his shirt, lifting him clear off the ground with one hand as he drew back his hamlike fist.
‘You’re going to stop acting like a fool,’ Elona told him, ‘and you,’ she turned to Leesha, ‘are coming home with us this instant.’
‘She’s not going anywhere,’ Bruna said, setting down her knitting and leaning on her stick as she rose to her feet. ‘The only ones leaving are you three.’
‘Shut it, you old witch,’ Elona said. ‘I won’t let you ruin my daughter’s life the way you did mine.’
Bruna snorted. ‘Did I pour pomm tea down your throat and force you to open your legs all about town?’ she asked. ‘Your misery is your own doing. Now get out of my hut.’
Elona rounded on her. ‘Or you’ll do what?’ she challenged.
Bruna gave a toothless smile and slammed her stick down on Elona’s foot, bringing a scream from the younger woman’s lips. She followed the blow with one to the gut, doubling Elona over and cutting her outburst short.
‘Here, now!’ Steave cried. Tossing poor Erny aside, he and Gared rushed the old woman.
Bruna seemed no more concerned than she had at the wood demon’s charge. She reached into her shawl and brought forth a fistful of powder, blowing it into the faces of the two men.
Gared and Steave fell to the floor, clutching their faces and screaming.
‘There’s more where that came from, Elona,’ Bruna said. ‘I’ll see you all blind before I take orders in my own home.’
Elona scampered for the door on all fours, shielding her face with her arm as she went. Bruna laughed, helping Elona out the door with a powerful blow to the posterior.
‘Off with you two!’ she shouted at Gared and Steave. ‘Out, before I set you both afire!’ The two men fumbled blindly, moaning in pain, their red faces awash in tears. Bruna swatted at them with her stick, guiding them out the door as she would a dog that had peed on the floor.
‘Come back at your peril!’ Bruna cackled wildly as they ran from her yard.
There was another knock, later in the day. Leesha was up and about by then, but still weak. ‘What now?’ Bruna barked. ‘I haven’t had this many visitors in one day since my paps sagged!’
She stomped over to the door, opening it to find Smitt standing there, wringing his hands nervously. Bruna’s eyes narrowed as she regarded him.
‘I’m retired,’ she said. ‘Fetch Darsy.’ She started to close the door.
‘Wait, please,’ Smitt begged, reaching out to hold the door open. Bruna scowled, and he drew the hand back as if it had been burned.
‘I’m waiting,’ Bruna said testily.
‘It’s Ande,’ Smitt said, referring to one of the men hurt in the attack that week. ‘The wound in his gut started to rot, so Darsy cut him, and now he’s passing blood from both ends.’
Bruna spat on Smitt’s boots. ‘I told you this would happen,’ she said.
‘I know,’ Smitt said. ‘You were right. I should have listened. Please come back. I’ll do anything you ask.’
Bruna grunted. ‘I won’t make Ande pay for your stupidity,’ she said. ‘But I’ll hold you at your word, don’t you think for a second I won’t!’
‘Anything,’ Smitt promised again.
‘Erny!’ Bruna barked. ‘Fetch my herb cloth! Smitt here can carry it. You help your daughter along. We’re going to town.’
Leesha leaned on her father’s arm as they went. She was afraid she would slow them, but even in her weakened state she could keep pace with Bruna’s slow shuffle.
‘I should make you carry me on your back,’ Bruna grumped to Smitt as they went. ‘My old legs aren’t as fast as they once were.’
‘I’ll carry you, if you wish,’ Smitt said.
‘Don’t be an idiot,’ Bruna said.
Half the village was gathered outside the Holy House. There was a general sigh of relief as Bruna appeared, and whispers at the sight of Leesha, with her torn dress and bruises.
The crone ignored everyone, shoving people out of the way with her stick and going right inside. Leesha saw Gared and Steave lying on cots with damp cloth over their eyes, and swallowed a smirk. Bruna had explained that the pepper and stinkweed she dosed them with would do no permanent damage, but she hoped Darsy had not known enough to tell them that. Elona’s eyes shot daggers at her from their side.
Bruna went straight to Ande’s cot. He was bathed in sweat, and stank. His skin was yellowed, and the cloth wrapped around his loins was stained with blood, urine, and faeces. Bruna looked at him and spat. Darsy sat nearby. It was clear she had been crying.
‘Leesha, unroll the herbs,’ Bruna ordered. ‘We have work to do.’
Darsy rushed over, reaching to take the blanket from Leesha. ‘I can do that,’ she said. ‘You look about to collapse yourself.’
Leesha pulled the blanket away and shook her head. ‘It’s my place,’ she replied, untying the blanket and rolling it open to reveal the many pockets of herbs.
‘Leesha is my apprentice now!’ Bruna shouted for all to hear. She looked Elona in the eye as she went on. ‘Her promising to Gared is dissolved, and she will serve me for seven years and a day! Anyone with an ill word to say about that, or her, can heal their own sick!’
Elona opened her mouth, but Erny pointed straight at her. ‘Shut it!’ he barked. Elona’s eyes bulged, and she coughed as she swallowed her words. Erny nodded, and then moved over to Smitt. The two men went and spoke quietly in a corner.
Leesha lost track of time as she and Bruna worked. Darsy had accidentally cut into Ande’s intestine while trying to excise the demon rot, poisoning him with his own filth. Bruna cursed continually as she sought to undo the damage, sending Leesha scurrying to clean instruments, fetch herbs, and mix potions. She taught as she went, explaining Darsy’s errors and what she was doing to correct them, and Leesha listened attentively.
Finally, they had done all they could, and stitched the wound closed, wrapping it in clean bandages. Ande remained drugged into a deep slumber, but he seemed to be breathing easier, and his skin was closer to its normal tone.
‘Will he be all right?’ Smitt asked, as Leesha helped Bruna to her feet.
‘No thanks to you or Darsy,’ Bruna snapped. ‘But if he stays right where he is, and does exactly as he’s told, then this won’t be what kills him in the end.’
As they headed for the door, Bruna walked over to the cots where Gared and Steave lay. ‘Take those stupid bandages off your eyes, and quit your whining,’ she snapped.
Gared was the first to comply, squinting in the light. ‘I can see!’ he cried.
‘Of course you can see, you wood-brained idiot,’ Bruna said. ‘The town needs someone to move heavy things from place to place, and you can’t do that blind.’ She shook her stick at him. ‘But you cross me again, and blindness will be the least of your worries!’
