by Jeff Wheeler
She swallowed, leaning back against the pillows, and told the story of their journey through Pry-Ree and the arrival at Tintern Abbey. He listened carefully, waiting with great curiosity, great interest on his face. She spoke of their return, Dieyre’s betrayal, and the flight through the Bearden Muir. He listened carefully, saying nothing until she was finished.
“The Aldermaston of Tintern,” he whispered, his eyes gazing down at the bed. “He knew you? He…recognized you?”
“Yes, but he would not say who I am. When I am well, I should like to go back and speak to him. I wish he had told me what he knew.”
The Aldermaston grunted. “He cannot, child.”
Lia looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“I am sure the Medium binds his tongue. So they have gone to Dahomey.” He sighed deeply. “That is where it will begin. That is where it will start.”
“What?” Lia asked, her stomach coiling with worry. “The Blight?”
He nodded. “I saw it in vision. I saw what Aldermastons in many countries have been seeing. We have all seen the colors of the leaves changing, predicting the passing of a season. But I have seen the result. I have seen the skeletal trees remaining when all the leaves have fallen. It is a Blight greater than any other we have known. A sickness and plague that will destroy everyone. Everyone. Not a man, woman, or child will survive it when it comes. Its devastation will be complete. Total. It will be the end of all kingdoms.” His look burned into hers. “I have seen it in my mind. There is only one way to save ourselves and that is to abandon these shores. The exodus has already begun. The Aldermaston of Tintern told you of it.”
“Yes,” Lia said. “There are boats. They are building ships. Some have already departed. But why Pry-Ree? Why were they given the warning first? Why is it that you did not see it coming?”
He rocked slowly back and forth, his expression pained but thoughtful. “Pry-Ree was a proud kingdom. Too proud. You have heard Martin speak of it. That they succumbed swiftly to their fate and their princes all were killed. I would disagree with part of his assessment. Many of their princes were strong with the Medium. They knew what was going to happen. The people did not heed their leaders, and so the leaders were taken away. The people focused on earning coins through trade and bringing in the latest spices and metals from other realms and not on learning from tomes. So the Medium abandoned them in their hour of need. As a result of their humiliating defeat, they have learned humility. Only by being broken were they able to see that their aim was fixed on the wrong course. The humility of their people gave their Aldermastons vision. Some pine for the old days of glory. But in the end, it is the fall of Pry-Ree that will save us all.”
Lia shivered with the thought. “What must we do then?”
“We must ask them to save us.” His face twisted with pain and regret. “But do you see the trouble, Lia? We are too proud ourselves. We, the conquerors. Can you imagine someone like the Earl of Dieyre asking that forsaken people for help? Begging aid from a nation so humbled? They who hate us and we hate them? Some would rather die. Most will not even believe the situation is so dire. They will not believe because they do not want to believe. Because it would alter their view of the world.”
She remembered something Ciana had told her once. We are slow to believe that which if believed would hurt our feelings.
He shook his head with sadness. “I will do what I can to tell the other Aldermastons. With our kingdom on the cusp of war, there is much to distract us from this threat.”
“Have you told Demont?” Lia asked.
“No, I wanted to tell you first,” he said. “You know the way to Tintern Abbey. With the orb, you can lead a remnant there. Perhaps that is your purpose.” He smiled at her fondly. “Have you felt your strength returning? Muirwood is strong with the Medium. You will heal faster here than anywhere else you could go. Not because Siara is such a good apothecary. The Abbey itself strengthens the mastons who swore their oaths here. You will be walking again soon. And you must. Your journey has not ended here.”
“You said the Blight would begin in Dahomey?” she asked. “Do you know where?”
He nodded, his face grave with inner pain. “Yes.”
The insight struck her like a blow. “It begins in Dochte Abbey, does not it? It will begin when that Abbey falls?”
The Aldermaston said nothing for a moment. His face hardened like stone. “But they will be warned first. They will be warned.” He sighed deeply.
“You know something that you cannot tell me,” Lia whispered.
A half-smile was her reply. Slowly, he rose from the bedside.
“What will you do with Scarseth?” she asked curiously. “Will you send him away with the other prisoners?”
He paused. “What do you think I should do with him?”
“I do not know. Maybe we should keep him here.”
“And his voice?” the Aldermaston asked, his expression inscrutable.
“He may know where Colvin’s sister is. There is much he could tell us. If we showed him mercy.” It felt right to her, even after all he had done. It felt right to show him mercy.
He looked back at her, his eyes piercing. “You would show him compassion? He who has betrayed you and tried to kill you? Who may betray you again?”
Lia swallowed, realizing the Aldermaston’s question was more towards himself than her. Had not Scarseth done both to him as well? There was a history between the men. A history of anger and distrust. “That is what I think we should do. If he seeks forgiveness.”
The Aldermaston gave her a wary smile. “Very well, Lia. For your sake. The Medium presses heavily on me now. You are unfit for your duties. There is time to heal and rest. Do you know what position he always craved when he was a wretched here?”
She shook her head.
“He wanted to be a hunter,” came the reply. “Maybe it is time he had the chance.”
* * *
Lia stood at the edge of the hill, looking down at the vast lake in front of her. Muirwood and the village were completely isolated from the roads. Trees were submerged. Water lapped on the grass lower down. A few hawks swirled in the sky, drifting on a lazy wind. It looked so different than what she had seen all her life and she said as much to her companion, Seth.
“Even without the lake, it was different than when I was here,” he offered, pointing towards the forbidden portion of the grounds. “There was a cemetery there. Some were dug into the hillside, even.” He grinned and then winced at the memories. “When I was a lad.”
Lia had difficulty walking fast, but at least she could put her weight on her leg again. It was sore every night, but she tried to walk further and further each day. When she gained her strength fully, she wanted to be ready to cross the Apse Veil to Dochte and Tintern. A bandage wrapped her palm and it hurt when she clenched her fist, but her fingers worked and the pain lessened each day.
She called him Seth now, instead of Scarseth, which is the name he was known in the Abbey during his time as a wretched. Seth Page.
“I have been meaning to ask you something, Lia.” He looked down at the grass, uncomfortable. Since the Aldermaston had restored his speech, he was more soft-spoken than she remembered. More observant. Sometimes his expression looked tortured.
“What is it?”
“How is your leg feeling?”
“You wanted to know how my leg is feeling?” she asked, confused.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I was asking if you wanted to rest a bit. The kitchen does not seem very far, but you were starting to limp more back there. I wanted to talk to you.”
She nodded and slowly sank into the grass on the edge of the hill, staring out the expanse of water. He joined her, but did not look at her. Wrapping his arms around his knees, he also stared towards the setting sun. “The Aldermaston said you knew how Martin died.” His voice was stiff, controlled.
There was a pain in Lia’s heart at the mention of him. “I d
id not see it happen,” she said.
“But you heard it.” He sighed deeply. “I did not think anything could kill that man. I remember the first time I saw him. It made an impression, I tell you.”
“The Aldermaston in Pry-Ree called the creature a Fear Liath. Colvin called it a grey-rank.”
Seth hissed at the word. “Ssssttt. A grey-rank. Of course. Worse than a black bear. Fast too, so I have heard. I was surprised to learn he had died. But a grey-rank could do it.”
Lia turned to look at him. “I also remember the first time I saw Martin. In the kitchen.”
He smirked. “No, you do not remember the first time, Lia. You were just a baby. But I remember that night.”
Something chilled inside of her. “What do you remember about it?”
“I remember it because Martin cried. Never saw that old buzzard cry before. It was not long after the fall of Pry-Ree. That was sixteen years ago.”
“But I am only fifteen,” Lia said, confused.
He looked at her. “Really? I remember it very well. But maybe I am wrong. It was a long time ago.”
“Why did Martin cry when he saw me?”
Seth looked back out at the lake. “What do you know about him?”
Lia thought for a moment. “He is Pry-rian obviously. A hunter. He was working for the Aldermaston for years before I was abandoned here. Pasqua told me that. He had been in Muirwood for…I do not know…say four or five years before that?”
“I remember when he came,” he said softly. “He was the captain of the Prince’s guard. The Pry-rian ruler’s guard. They rode down from Bridgestow to Comoros but they stopped at Muirwood with their retinue. All of the guardsmen had the same uniform. Leather girdle and bracers, like you wear. A gladius instead of a long sword. They all had bows as well. Dangerous men, all of them. The Prince and the Aldermaston had several long conversations together. They went into the Abbey too, for the Prince was a maston.”
Lia’s heart surged with fire. The flood from the Medium was choking her breath. Pieces of the story began to fit together in her mind, interlocking like sculpted stones. “I did not know he was part of the Prince’s guard.” The Aldermaston had already told her the story of the Pry-rian prince who had come to Muirwood on the way to Comoros.
“Yes. But it was odd that he left Martin behind. I mean, as captain of the guard, why stay behind at Muirwood when your master is treating with his enemies in Comoros? I do not know why it happened. Only that Martin became the Abbey’s hunter and sought an apprentice.” His look darkened. “A position which I felt should have been mine.”
“But you were the Aldermaston’s page instead? You delivered his messages…”
“And carried his laundry to the lavenders, and fetched this and fetched that.” His voice was thick with resentment. “How I hated it! Always being told where to go and what to do. But Martin was free to roam the Bearden Muir. He would be gone for days at a time and I could not wait until he returned. When Jon was named as the apprentice, I was sick with envy. It was the Aldermaston’s choice of course, and he knew how much I wanted it. But he would not give it to me. But still, I took every advantage I could to befriend Martin. He…he was like a father to me. He taught me little skills and tricks. Not as much as he taught Jon. After he was chosen, I scorned him though we used to be friends. When we were younger, I would thrash him because I was bigger and stronger.” His eyes focused on nothing at all, lost in the memories and the feelings. “But when he turned thirteen, I could not hurt him anymore. He grew strong and quick with all the things Martin taught him. The fights we used to have ended badly for me. My best weapons were words. How I would spit them at him! But he learned to keep tight rein on his feelings. That was something I could never do.”
Lia listened with enormous interest. “I never knew you two were rivals.”
He shook his head. “He never told Martin about what I did to him. He was quiet, that one. Always kept things inside. He adored Ailsa Cook, but he never told her. She was my age, but he was daft over her. Do you remember her working in the kitchen when you were little? She was taught by Pasqua and helped tend you and Sowe. She was always good with babies.” He sighed. “I should have been as wise as Jon. Ailsa was a good girl. She was a friend to everyone. But I loved one of the learners. My one advantage of being the page was delivering messages to the cloisters. I was teased, of course. Makes my ears burn to remember some of the things they said to me. But there was one who I would have done anything for. She and her friends sighed about Jon. Every month he seemed to sprout more and more. But he was so quiet. He would say nothing to any of the girls. I had always been a good talker. If I were the hunter, if I were the one who wore a gladius and leathers and roamed where I chose, things would be better. I believed that. But I was wrong. I was so hateful, so angry with the Aldermaston for not choosing me. I blamed him for my own failings. Every snub was his fault. Every mocking look by the girl I craved was because of him.” He sighed. “I will tell you the rest. I already confessed to the Aldermaston. When he asked me to be his hunter now, all these years later…well, you can imagine I hardly feel worthy of the privilege. But I need to have it out. I have been carrying it so long.”
He looked down at the grass.
“Tell me,” Lia whispered, touching his back comfortingly.
He looked at her, his face burning with shame. “The Aldermaston was right not to let me be the hunter. I was already disloyal to him as a page. He should never have trusted me, yet he did.” He rubbed his eyes and stared back out over the lake. “I would wander around the Abbey at night, stealing things. A treat from Pasqua’s kitchen. Something from the learners. I got very good at keeping quiet, at skulking around in the dark. At night, the grounds were mine – to wander where I chose, like a hunter. As I got older, I began to do worse things. Spy on people. I would break little pieces of the window so that I could listen in on conversations. I knew when all the learners were studying, and I would go through their belongings. Sometimes I would steal from them. I wondered if the Aldermaston suspected, but he never accused me. No one ever caught me, I supposed. But it did happen eventually. The night I left Muirwood.”
Lia swallowed, waiting patiently for him to reveal himself.
“As I told you, I used to wander the grounds at night. I knew what happened after dark. I knew which learners stole away into the cemetary to kiss each other…and worse. I knew the secret habits of the Abbey. Who was brought in to see the Aldermaston at night to face punishment for their offenses.” He closed his eyes. “I knew many of their offenses and felt smug that I was never caught for mine. You grew up in the kitchen. You know that nearly everyone uses the main door. I used to climb the ridge of the rear door and look in the windows. You and Sowe were little, but I would try and catch glimpses of Ailsa. I was bored, nothing more. That night, she was bathing.” He shook his head, his face grimacing with shame. “And Jon found me. He thrashed me. He thrashed me good. I had never seen him so angry. He said he had seen me on other nights. He knew all along what I was doing. I thought I was being clever. He would tell the Aldermaston, he said. Worse, he would tell Martin…Martin – who I admired more than any man…who I loved as a father. I was sick with shame. I could not face them. So I left Muirwood, bleeding. I left with its scars on my face and in my soul…and hence my nickname.” He clenched his hands into fists and trembled with the pent-up emotions. “Of course, I turned the shame into accusation. I could not live with myself. It was the Aldermaston’s fault. If he had let me train with Martin, then Jon would not have found me out. The more I thought about it, the more I hated him and then everything about the Abbey. I left without completing my years of service.”
Lia felt pity for him. She had never known. No one had ever breathed the story, least of all Ailsa. “Where did you go?”
“I wandered the Bearden Muir a little. But I was good at sneaking around and stealing. I went from town to town, earning my coins with my fingers but mostly with my wits. I had a
good memory, you see. I could hear something once and remember it. I mingled with the dregs of this kingdom and then took it into my head to sell what I knew to the sheriffs. I worked for Almaguer, who was always looking for a way to disgrace the Aldermaston. He hated Muirwood. So did I. Anytime a maston passed through the country, he would pay handsomely to know about it. I did not care about what happened when I told. I tried to ignore the whispers that they were being killed, one by one. I knew the sheriff was a part of it and I hoped that someday he would be strong enough to bring down Muirwood.” His teeth clenched and he shook his head. “Before Winterrowd, I was pretty good at my games. I was always looking to turn a profit. Sell information to Almaguer and then try to sell freedom to one being hunted. Or to deliver a message for the condemned. The night I dragged the Earl of Forshee…I knew I had someone important, though I did not know who it was. He was not just a maston…I knew he was a nobleman as well. They were starting to gather in this Hundred. I abandoned him at the kitchen, ready to earn my fee again. But somehow, you were the fox and I was the cub. When Almaguer arrived to claim him, he was gone. Oh, I was nearly killed for my treachery. I searched the grounds but could not find where you had hidden him. I was so afraid Jon would find me, I had to be very cautious. So I went back to you, to trick you into revealing him. Do you understand what the curse did to me? I could not speak! That was the way I earned my bread. The way I deceived people. I have spent a year not being able to speak. The medallion was the only way I could communicate, but only those who used the Medium could understand my thoughts.”
“When we met in the tunnel beneath the Pilgrim, you wanted me to open it. I thought you were going to kill me.”
“No!” he said, shaking his head violently. “I knew you could free me! When I discovered the Leering in the woods, the one you used to destroy Almaguer, I knew you were powerful with the Medium. Very powerful. You would be strong enough to destroy the medallion. I knew that. And so did the Queen Dowager. When she discovered me with the remnant of the king’s army, she took control of me. She is powerful too. I was forced to do her bidding. She wanted me to bring you to her. I never wanted to hurt you, Lia. Not when I knew how much Martin cherished you. I knew he did because he cried that night. The night you were brought to him.”
