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CHAPTER 5
Betty, their brown goat, watched attentively from her pen, occasionally voicing her displeasure at sharing her home, as Je
Sebastian shed his cloak and pack, but kept on the belt with his new weapons. He unstrapped his bedroll from under his pack and spread it out over the mat of straw. Despite Je
As he helped her stack dry kindling, she could see by the dim light coming from the window of the house on the other side of the clearing that sweat beaded his face. He repeatedly scraped his knife down the length of a branch, swiftly building a clump of fluffy fibers. He struck a steel to flint several times, sending sparks through the darkness into the tinder he'd made. He cupped the fluff in his hands and with gentle puffs of breath nursed the slow flames until they strengthened, then placed the burning tinder beneath the kindling, where the flames quickly grew and popped to life among the dry twigs. The branches released a pleasing fragrance of balsam as they caught flame.
Je
The chickens retreated from the growing light into the deep shadows at the back of the cave. Betty's ears stood at attention as she watched Je
The opening in the mountain was simply a place where, in some distant age past, a slab of rock had tumbled out, like some giant granite tooth come loose, to plunge down the slope and leave a dry socket behind. Now, trees below grew among a collection of such fallen boulders. The cave only ran back about twenty feet, but the overhang of rock at the entrance further sheltered it and helped keep it dry. Je
Je
She tried not to think about having to leave their snug home, especially at this time of year. She had known from the first instant she saw the piece of paper, though, that they might.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
"Starving," he said, looking as eager for the fish as Betty was for a carrot. The wonderful smells were making her stomach grumble, too.
"That's good. My mother always says that if you're ill, and you have an appetite, then it can't be too serious."
"I'll be fine in a day or two."
"A rest will do you good."
Je
She could see in his eyes that he didn't know what she was talking about, but he shrugged his understanding of her prudence.
Je
Je
With the knife wetted in blood, Je
As she worked, she mummured prayers under her breath, asking the good spirits to guide her hand. It seemed the right thing to do. She knew that Sebastian could hear her soft singsong, but not make out the words. It occurred unexpectedly to her that it must be something like the voices she heard in her own head. Sometimes, when she drew the outer circle, she heard the whisper of that dead voice call her name.
Opening her eyes from the prayer, she drew an eight-pointed star, its rays piercing all the way through the i
The rays were said to represent the gift of the Creator, so as she drew the eight-pointed star, Je
When she finished and looked up, her mother was standing before her, as if she had risen from the shadows, or materialized from the edge of the drawing itself, to be lit by the leaping flames of the fire behind Je
"Do you know what this drawing represents, young man?" Je
Sebastian stared up at her, the way people often stared when they first saw her, and shook his head.
"It's called a Grace. They have been drawn by those with the gift of magic for thousands of years-some say since the dawn of Creation itself. The outer circle represents the begi
The fire crackled and hissed as Je
"My daughter has drawn this Grace as protection for you as you rest this night, and as protection for us. There is another before the door to the house." She let the silence drag before adding, "It would be unwise to cross either without our consent."
"I understand, Mrs. Daggett." In the firelight, his face showed no emotion.
His blue eyes turned to Je
"And well," Je
Her mother, holding the bowl full of fried fish in one hand, collected Je
Her mother glanced at Je
Holding the bowl out, her mother offered Sebastian some fish, saying, "I would like to thank you, young man, for the help you gave Je
"Sebastian, please."
"So Je
"I was glad to help. It was helping myself, too, really. I'd not like to have D'Haran soldiers chasing me."
She pointed. "If you would accept it, this one on top is coated with the herbs that will help you sleep."
He used his knife to stab the darker piece of fish coated in the herbs. Je
"Je
He glanced up as he chewed. "That's right."
"I find that hard to believe. D'Hara is bordered by impassable boundaries. In my lifetime no one has been able to come into, or leave, D'Hara. How is it possible, then, that you have?"
With his teeth, Sebastian pulled the chunk of herb-coated fish off his knife. He inhaled between his teeth to cool the bite. He gestured around with the blade as he chewed. "How long have you been out here alone in this great wood? Without seeing people? Without news?"
"Several years."
"Oh. Well, then, I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't know, but since you've been out here, the barriers have come down."
Je
"Sebastian," Je
"I like to help people. She needed help. I could tell how much that man scared her, even though he was dead." He smiled at Je
When she gestured by lifting the bowl toward him, he stabbed another piece of fish. "Mrs. Daggett, I'm liable to fall asleep before long. Why don't you just tell me what's on your mind?"