by Dana Davis
Saldia’s heart stopped, or so it felt that way. “You what? What if someone at Beir Lake saw you?”
“No one saw me except Tsianina. I could hear her but she couldn’t hear me. Somehow my Energy tapped hers and she used her nightsight to locate me. The others didn’t know I was there until she told them, and they still couldn’t see me.” She chuckled. “Tsianina thought she’d gone mad at first. Anyway, I traveled that far in just one try with those delicious trees out there.” Her voice held longing.
“That doesn’t excuse your behavior. You took a chance, risked exposure. That was stupid.” But impressive.
“No one ever accused me of obeying rules, Saldia.”
“Well, I’m just glad you weren’t discovered by the wrong people. Here.” She handed the ribbon to Taniras. “Make certain that shows.”
Eletha straightened her back. “I’m not wearing ribbons like some idiot fancy-girl.”
Saldia raised a brow at the little treewalker. “You’ll do as you’re told or you’ll do it for a lot longer than one moon.”
“I don’t know why you insist on humiliating me. You were my sisters. Both of you.”
“Yes.” Taniras tied a bow in Eletha’s frizzy hair. “And I wanted to pummel you even then.”
The treewalker laughed and held the skirts out. “Well I must say, Saldia, you surprise me. This is good.” She plucked at the lace of the oversized bodice. “Very good.” Was the little woman mad? Though Eletha was only five years younger than Saldia and two younger than Taniras, she looked like a child, even in a dress. But at least she appeared a girl now. She stepped to the body length mirror. “I believe I prefer a sparking blanket to this.” She sighed.
“That’s the point.” Saldia hid a grin. “Shall we go to midday meal?”
“I don’t suppose I can have mine up here?” Eletha took in both women’s gazes and shrugged.
Taniras flanked the little treewalker as Saldia led them out of the room and down the stairs. Taniras deposited Eletha into a chair next to Predula and crossed to sit with Snowy.
Saldia sat the other side of the treewalker and watched the couple a heartbeat. She wondered if she would find a mate as superb and handsome as Snowy someday. LaNel brought bread and cider wine to the table. She was about to pour a mug for Eletha but Saldia stopped her with a gentle touch on her arm. “She will have milk.”
LaNel eyed Eletha a heartbeat then threw her head back in mirth. “Very well,” she said in a boisterous voice. “Milk!” She laughed on her way to the kitchen.
Haranda and the others chuckled, including a few strangers who were seated in the dining area. Eletha’s freckled face grew as red as her hair and she grumbled as she slouched in her seat.
Predula leaned close. “When you next decide to disobey the rules, you might want to make certain Saldia’s not the one who finds you.”
Haranda, who also sat at the table, looked pleased. Brak entered and sat underneath the stairwell, as usual. He glanced at Eletha and raised a humorous brow but the treewalker didn’t seem to notice. Saldia watched the man a heartbeat. He was broad, tanned and muscular in his sleeveless tunic, not as large as a Bankari man, but then she didn’t think many men were as stalwart as those from Bankar. His quiet nature appealed to her, especially after all her years in taverns around bawdy men, but he’d never said a word to anyone except Mistress Norine and her daughters. And he didn’t begin a conversation.
LaNel returned and placed a large mug in front of Eletha. “Milk! Just as ordered!” She gave Eletha a slap on the back, laughed, and disappeared into the kitchen again.
Eletha frowned. “I’m not drinking this. I’m not an infant.”
Haranda leaned toward her from across the table. “You’ll do as Saldia tells you or you and I will have a session, and then you’ll drink two mugs of milk.”
The little treewalker pursed her lips at Haranda. “When my status changes, I’ll be sure and return all the attentions I’ve received.” Her Gypsy footprint burned steady above her head. Before anyone could scold her further, she tipped the mug back, downed the milk in a few large gulps, and swiped an arm across her mouth. She grinned and Saldia shook her head. Eletha’s face grew crimson again and Saldia smiled at her. That’s when she realized something was wrong. Suddenly, Eletha grabbed her stomach and doubled over onto the floor before anyone could catch her.
“Eletha!” Predula was at the treewalker’s side immediately with Haranda.
The cries brought Mistress Norine and LaNel from the kitchen, both with stricken looks on their faces.
Predula had her hands on Eletha’s throat and forehead. “Poison.” She gazed up at Mistress Norine. “I need some putrid root.” That request was a cover. The body-healer had already begun mending Eletha.
Mistress Norine turned to her daughter. “Get the herb mistress.” LaNel nodded and ran out the door. The tavern mistress turned to one of the other servant girls. “Where did that milk come from?” She picked up the mug and sniffed it.
The broad girl went pale. “Old man LeDere’s goat. The cat had some this morning. She’s fine.”
Eletha coughed and wretched, emptying her stomach on the wooden floor planks, while Predula supported her.
“Good, Eletha. Again.” Predula placed a hand on the treewalker’s stomach, forcing her to vomit two more times.
Mistress Norine was calming her other patrons. “It’s all right. I’ll get to the bottom of this. Sit. Drinks on the house.” She latched onto another of her girls. “Get your fathers. They’re still at the docks.”
The girl nodded and dashed out.
Three patrons left the tavern but the rest stayed, including Brak. The burly man stepped to the table. “Give me the mug, Mistress Norine.” He inspected it with eyes and nose. “It might have been coated before LaNel poured the milk. I’ll find out where the poison came from. I wager the culprit hasn’t had a chance to get very far. But you throw out the rest of the milk just to be safe. And wash all the dishes. Who knows how many were tainted.”
“Thank you, Brak.” The tavern mistress, with shaky hands, and her servants began collecting everything from the tables.
The Gypsy guard, Bar’kobin stepped to Brak. “Eletha is my responsibility.”
“Very well. You have the right to punish whoever did this.” Brak stared down two other patrons as they attempted to leave and forced them to sit before he went out into the street with Bar’kobin on his heels.
“Let’s get her upstairs.” Predula spoke to someone behind Saldia.
Saldia moved aside when Snowy placed a hand on her shoulder. The Maricari man scooped Eletha up in his arms and headed upstairs with the other Gypsy kin on his heels. Mistress Norine came behind them, making apologies, and offered free food and board for the remainder of their stay.
Haranda turned to the woman, who was as pale as she possibly get, given her days in the sun. “Thank you, Mistress Norine. I’m certain you had nothing to do with this. We accept your apology and your offer of food and board.”
The tavern mistress looked relieved. “Very well. I’ll send the herb mistress up as soon as she arrives.”
“Thank you.”
Mistress Norine turned back toward the stairs.
Saldia opened the door for Snowy then followed him inside and to the large bed, where he placed a moaning Eletha. The kin gathered around and tried not to crowd Predula. Taniras fetched a wet rag from the washbasin and dabbed the sweat from the treewalker’s face, while Haranda retrieved the chamber pot from beneath the bed and held it near Eletha, who retched again and tried to get up. Predula held her down but she fought against the restraint.
“Saldia,” the body-healer said. “Hold her. She mustn’t move around too much. I’m not finished with her.”
“Yes, Predula.” Eletha was surprisingly strong given her size and exposure to the poison, and Saldia sat on the bed to use her full weight in order to keep the treewalker still. “Eletha Lavine. You look at me, girl.”
Elet
ha stopped struggling and gazed at her with pale blue eyes. “Saldia? My stomach hurts. Son of a goat.”
“Keep talking to her.” Predula concentrated on her patient.
“Guard your tongue, Eletha. Or I might curl your hair and put ribbons all through it.”
“This is your fault. If you hadn’t forced me to drink that bloody milk—” She groaned.
Guilt crept into Saldia’s gut. “I had no idea.”
A woman with a bag of herbs ran into the room, and Saldia recognized her as the same one who’d comforted the dead boy’s mother in the street. She was as large and dark as any Bankari woman with graying hair pulled back in a leather lace.
Predula turned to her. “This girl has been poisoned. Do you have any putrid root?”
The herb mistress nodded and shoed Snowy and the others against the wall. She latched onto Taniras. “I’ll need some hot water and cider wine.”
Taniras took the order as though she had been doing it all her life and disappeared out the door.
Saldia held Eletha in place as she tried to get up again. “You stay put.” The herb mistress mixed her potion once Taniras returned, and Saldia held Eletha’s mouth open as Predula poured the mixture into her.
Eletha spat and coughed as Predula ordered her to take more of the drink. “Tastes bloody awful.”
When the herb mistress placed her hands on Eletha’s legs and began shaking them, Saldia gave a troubled glance to Predula, but the body-healer shook her head. Eletha drank the remainder of the liquid and heaved everything left from her stomach into the chamber pot that Haranda held. Soon, the little treewalker went limp and fought Saldia no more. She simply lay back on the bed and closed her eyes.
“Predula?” Saldia was no healer and couldn’t tell whether Eletha would be all right. And it was her fault. She had ordered the girl to drink milk.
The body-healer placed a warm hand on Saldia’s arm. “She’ll recover.” Her gaze moved to the herb mistress. “Thank you for the putrid root.”
“Call me LaSheen, healer. You all right, child?” Saldia realized that LaSheen was speaking to her. “You look a fright. Very pale. Perhaps you should lie down.”
That chafed and brought even more guilt to the surface. “No, thank you, Mistress. I’ll stay with my kin.” She focused on Eletha and brushed the girl’s red locks from her sweaty cheek. She seemed to be sleeping now.
“If you approve, Healer,” LaSheen said to Predula.
“Yes. Saldia is well. Just a bit shaken like the rest of us. I would like to talk herbs with you. If you have a while.”
LaSheen smiled and wrinkles creased the skin around her eyes and mouth. She smoothed her skirt. “I would be honored.”
Predula leaned into Saldia. “Keep a close watch on her. We’ll be in Haranda’s room.”
“Yes, Predula.”
The small body-healer left with LaSheen, dwarfed by the Bankari woman.
Haranda motioned Snowy to close the door.
Taniras wiped the treewalker’s face. “Who knows about us? About Eletha? We’ve been very careful not to say or do anything to draw suspicion.”
Saldia’s mind seemed to work as fast as Eletha could climb a tree. “I don’t think the poison was meant for her. The mug LaNell gave her was one the family uses. It didn’t match the others on the tables. Many tavern owners keep a family cupboard with dishes for their personal use. I believe someone is trying to harm one of Mistress Norine’s brood.”
Haranda eyed her. “If you’re right, then we have two things to concentrate on now. I like that woman and I don’t think she’s involved in this. I also don’t intend to have another of our kin injured.” Her eyes flickered to Eletha then fell on Taniras. “You and Saldia stay together. I want Snowy with you too. The rest of us will continue what we came here for. Once Eletha is well, she can join us. This incident has given us one advantage.”
Saldia stared at the woman. Was Haranda mad? “How can you say that?” There was no advantage for poor Eletha.
Haranda lifted a brow. “We can now question anyone without raising suspicion of our identities. I don’t think anyone in Bankar will refuse our questions once word gets out about Eletha. And I want whoever did this caught and punished.”
Saldia nodded. She had to clear her head. Haranda was right. The Bankari would open up to them just to keep suspicion away. From Mistress Norine’s reactions, she doubted anyone in this small sea city wanted that kind of attention, to be known as a poisoner of women. Bankari revered women, at least, what Saldia knew of them.
“We’ll watch Eletha.” Taniras spoke to Haranda. “Don’t worry about us. With Brak and the others looking out for the tavern, I doubt anyone will try anything soon.” She cocked her head in a way that reminded Saldia of Haranda. “In fact, I saw some dogs on our way in. I’ll see if I can get cooperation from them. They might be able to smell the poison. Or at least find out something about the poisoner.”
“That’s a very good idea, Taniras. Take Snowy with you, though. And don’t be too long. Predula’s in the next room but I don’t want Saldia here alone too long.”
There was a knock on the door and Snowy opened it.
Mistress Norine stood there with a basin and some rags. LaNell was with her, water pitcher and mug in hand. “Thought you might need these, Mistress Haranda.” She motioned LaNell to the side table, where the girl placed her things. “I washed these myself.” Mistress Norine shooed her daughter out. “My girls are taking care of the patrons. I’d like to stay here awhile.”
The Gypsy smiled and nodded. “Thank you. I’ll be back in a bit, Saldia.”
“We’ll be fine.” The rest left and Saldia studied Mistress Norine, who had a troubled look on her dark face. “She’ll recover, Mistress. She emptied her stomach.”
“I’m very glad to hear that.” The tavern owner gave her a relieved glance. She dipped a cloth into the water and washed Eletha’s face and neck. “She’s a tiny one, no?”
Saldia chuckled. “Yes. But she’s a grown woman.”
Mistress Norine inspected Eletha’s arms. “Not much here for hauling nets.”
“She’s stronger than she looks. And she enjoys fishing.” It was all she could do not to laugh. Mistress Norine was no doubt thinking of her sons. Eletha wouldn’t like the attention she would most likely get once she recovered.
“Does she have a husband?”
“No. But she grew up with nine brothers.”
Mistress Norine’s eyes widened. “That’s impressive. She must know how to handle men. My youngest son would be a perfect match for her.”
“I’ll be sure and give her the message when she’s well.” Saldia smiled.
“You do that, love.” The woman seemed more relaxed now.
Eletha slept and Mistress Norine left to empty the night pot and check on her tavern. When she returned, the treewalker was asking for water and Saldia poured her a mug.
“Mistress Norine?” Saldia had been thinking up a way to get more information about the texts. “Eletha loves strange tales and I know every city has at least one. Would you tell her a story while I get her more comfortable?”
The woman beamed. “Oh, of course, love. Bankar is full of tales, especially the strange things that go on at sea.”
Chapter 10
Taniras had returned just as Mistress Norine ended one story and began another. It hadn’t taken much Energy for her to get the local dogs to search for whoever had poisoned Eletha. The mutts recognized every person in the city and every other smell, as well. Poison didn’t sit well with them, either. Dogs weren’t as simple-minded as goats but keeping their attention took some effort. They were distracted by every sound, smell and movement. They would bark their throats raw if they found anything, and no one would suspect any tampering from a Gypsy.
The treewalker had some of her color back but she was still pale, and Taniras longed for healing Energy. She forced that thought away and concentrated on Mistress Norine’s tale, this one about the gr
eat fisherman and his wife who spotted Kapgruff long ago. She gave Saldia a knowing glance when Mistress Norine mentioned the name of the fish.
“Their statues stand in the village circle.” The tavern mistress seemed to enjoy telling this tale. “Since that day, long ago, we Bankari keep a light burning off one of the docks to attract the demon fish, in hopes of capturing him.”
At least now they knew where Kapgruff might make an appearance. And since he was the fifth sign of the coming of Cholqhuin, no one would see him just yet. There had only been one sign so far. They still had a chance to locate the texts and stop whoever tried to raise the ancient god of the underworld. That was the priority right now. She thought Saldia’s idea of learning strange Bankari tales was an excellent one and was pleased to join in. They hadn’t heard anything related to the texts, though, so she decided to try another tactic once Mistress Norine finished this one.
When the Bankari woman took a breath at the end, Taniras spoke. “That was an amazing tale, Mistress.”
“Thank you, love. I don’t tell it as well as most but I do like it.”
“I heard one in another city about an ancient scroll that was charmed and had the ability to disappear.” That was a complete lie but she needed to get the woman off the fish stories.
Saldia raised a brow but Taniras ignored her.
Mistress Norine chortled. “Why, love. We have a similar tale here in Bankar.”
Taniras nodded and smiled. Now they were getting somewhere. “I’m certain Eletha would love to hear it.”
The little treewalker gave a mischievous grin. “I’ve never heard anything about charmed scrolls. Sounds like a bloody interesting tale.”
That lighted Mistress Norine’s eyes and she patted Eletha’s arm. “Well, you deserve whatever I can do for you, love. There was a magical creature that lived beneath the sea, a creature with the top of a woman and the lower body of a fish. She fell in love with a Bankari sailor. But, alas, he had eyes for another and rejected her. One day, as he leaned over his trawler to bring up his net, the creature reached up and yanked him into the water. She was strong and nearly drowned him, but he got away and climbed back onto his ship. The creature was so distraught she swam to the underworld and brought up the demon fish Kapgruff to guard her waters. Bankari waters. After that, no one caught anything worth eating.”
