Tallow

by Karen Brooks

  THE DOOR CLOSED BEHIND HIM and the small bell chimed. Bewildered by Katina, the money and his tasks – never mind how quickly things were moving in his previously lumbering life – and worried how Quinn might react when she discovered he'd gone, Pillar stood on the fondamenta, gentle rain falling on his face. He watched his neighbours patching their broken windows and shutters; a few were on their rooftops, picking up plants and mending broken tiles. Others called out and he waved vaguely in return.

  He looked back up at his house and workshop. There was no point worrying about Quinn, Tallow or the business today, or for the next few days for that matter. Katina would do what she wanted with whomever she wanted and, as for candlemaking, everyone would be busy repairing the damage left by the storm. They would stay home and burn their stocks of candles. But after that, they would need to replenish what they'd used. Then, even his candles would be in demand.

  Fingering the coins in his pocket, Pillar wondered at how quickly circumstances altered. Once, sudden change had made him ache with despair and anxiety. This time, a sense of freedom welled inside him, something he'd rarely experienced in his forty long years. Change might be a good thing, after all. It was with a skip in his step that Pillar went to the nearest fermata and waited for a traghetto. He would attend to his tasks and get home as quickly as he could. There was work to do and, he thought as Katina's tawny hair and dark eyes flashed into his mind, more importantly, a Bond Rider to get to know.

  IN THE MEANTIME, KATINA AND Tallow cleared away breakfast. They worked in companionable silence for a while, Tallow sneaking glances at Katina out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't believe how, from one day to the next, her whole life had transformed – and this was only the beginning. Remembering the look on Pillar's face as Katina pushed him downstairs, she chuckled to herself. Hers wasn't the only life that was changing.

  She stole a glimpse at Quinn's closed door. Quinn was so subdued: so angry and unable to act upon it. A part of her felt guilty about the cut Quinn had suffered at Katina's hands. But another part of her was glad that Quinn was at someone else's mercy. Tallow's cheeks reddened. It was such a disloyal sentiment; she shouldn't have those kinds of thoughts. Quinn was family, wasn't she? Not for the first time, she wondered what it would be like to have a different family, one that didn't include Quinn.

  Then, something occurred to her. She recalled Katina's conversation with Signor Vincenzo at the taverna yesterday.

  'Katina,' began Tallow hesitantly, putting away the last of the plates.

  'Hmm?'

  'There's something I've been meaning to ask you.'

  'Well, don't stop now,' said Katina good-naturedly, wiping her hands on a cloth. 'What is it?'

  'Yesterday, you told Signor Vincenzo that the foundling you were looking for had a family.' Tallow shuffled her feet, trying to find the right words. 'I ... I couldn't help wondering if that part was –'

  'Oh,' said Katina, sitting down. 'I see. You were wondering if that was true.'

  Tallow didn't speak. She just nodded and looked down at her hands.

  'Tallow,' said Katina softly. 'It's all right, you can look at me. I know what you are and I won't turn away. You have to get out of this habit of lowering your head all the time – it makes people more curious than you realise – especially in a young man your age. All right, about your question. The fact is, I don't know of any specific family you might have.'

  Tallow's shoulders visibly fell.

  'I'm sorry,' said Katina quickly. 'I really am. My questions were just a ploy to extract some answers, a clue to your whereabouts – anything. I didn't mean to hurt you. Don't forget, I didn't expect you to be right there, listening to me.' Katina laughed. 'That was certainly a surprise.' Aware Tallow wasn't sharing her mirth, Katina reached over and took her by the hand. Tallow drew away, but Katina's grip was too firm.

  'But Tallow, while I don't know any of your family myself, what you need to realise is that Estrattore all descend from the same root. Do you understand? Estrattore aren't like the Pillars and Quinns of this world, connected only by marriage and birth. Estrattore are connected by blood, birthright and by the power that they all share. You have a family all right, Tallow; you just have to find them.'

  Tallow looked at Katina carefully. The Bond Rider wasn't simply telling her a story to placate her; she was telling the truth. Tallow could literally feel it; it flowed from the tips of Katina's fingers, along Tallow's arm and nestled in her heart. A smile tugged her lips and her spirit lightened.

  Katina tightened her hold on Tallow's rough fingers and smiled. Tallow squeezed back, her eyes shyly locking on to Katina's. Without warning, Katina's soul opened up to her.

  The long, aching years of Katina's existence – the early thrills of riding the Limen and discovering the limits of life itself, of endless energy – poured into Tallow. Her body shuddered as she shared Katina's resistance and confusion over making her Bond. Her muscles grew taut then slackened as she experienced the curious leeching that occurred every time the barrier between the Limen and Vista Mare was breached so Katina might recapture what she came to learn she'd lost – her friends and family who, unlike her, were susceptible to the passage of time.

  Each time Katina left Vista Mare, the need to return home grew and so she nourished those urges, only to watch family and friends age and die. But when back in Vista Mare, the need to leave became more urgent. Life itself slowly leaked from Katina's bones. The depth of Katina's grief for her brother, Filippo, flowed between them as did her love for her fellow Bond Riders and her horse.

  In her core, the very substance of Katina's Bond emerged. The blood she had sacrificed to the pledge stones, the huge rocks on the mainland upon which all Bonds were sworn, in order that her soul might be freed to fulfil a promise, no matter how long it took.

  Tallow tried to probe deeper, push further, but something blocked her way. It was crepuscular and solid. Puzzled, she moved around it and there, near Katina's very centre, Tallow became aware of something she never expected.

  She snatched her hand away and stared at Katina in shock.

  'I'm there,' she said in a shaky voice. 'I'm inside you.' She pointed a trembling finger at Katina's chest.

  Pale and drawn by what Tallow had unwittingly done, Katina raised an equally shaky hand to her heart, protecting it. 'I know.' Her voice was uneven. She cleared her throat. 'I've lived with you for over three hundred years. I guess I'm the closest thing to family you've got at the moment.'

  Tallow's eyes widened. Three hundred years. No wonder Katina seemed fragmented in a way that only Tallow seemed to be able to see. It wasn't anything manifest – it was inside her. Her energy, her very life-force was stretched way beyond that of an ordinary person's. She'd lived longer than anyone Tallow had ever heard of; she'd been alive when the Estrattore were destroyed. And she'd sacrificed some of her very life blood to the pledge stones in order to find Tallow.

  'You have the blood of the Estrattore in you,' said Tallow quietly. 'I felt it. It called to me.'

  'As I told you yesterday,' Katina said, 'one of my very distant relatives was an Estrattore.' She shook her head. 'They leave their impression where you least expect it. We're Bonded and blooded in more ways than one, Tallow.' She laughed but it turned into a volley of dry coughs. When she had finished, she sat back and smiled. 'I'd hold you, cousin, but I might not live through another encounter. Your powers are remarkably strong. You began to draw from me, extract my emotions, without even knowing you were doing it. I think I'm beginning to understand what you must have done to Pillar.' Tallow's face registered surprise. 'I could tell simply by looking at him that he's been handled by an Estrattore. An untrained one at that.'

  She reached for her satchel and pulled out her flask. 'The sooner we get that particular talent under control, the better. The first thing I'm going to teach you is how to touch people and things without drawing from them, before it kills me – or someone else.' She took a long drink. 'Give me a moment to
recover and then we'll get started.'

  After a few more swigs, the trembling ceased and Katina managed to catch her breath. Tallow watched, alarmed at what she seemed to have caused. But then another emotion coursed through her – something unfamiliar that caused her heart to thump and her eyes to sparkle. She wanted to leap up, throw open the window and shout out greetings to the entire sestiere.

  She wouldn't, of course. Instead, she privately relished every little thrill, because Tallow – the candlemaker's apprentice – wasn't alone in the world. Not any more. For the first time in her life, what she'd always suspected had been confirmed. She had family, not only out there, as Katina had said, but right here, across the room from her, within arm's reach. Cousin, Katina had called her.

  One day, she would find the rest of her family, too. And when she did, she wouldn't have to hide what she was any more. Like the legend said, she'd unite her family and bring them home.

  While Tallow revelled in her new-found joy and waited for Katina to recover, she wondered if she should ask about what else she'd sensed within the Bond Rider. It had sat there, dark and uninviting, closed in ways that other parts of Katina weren't. Instinctively Tallow knew it wouldn't be right to probe further, not yet anyhow.

  All the same she was curious about what it was and, more importantly, what it meant.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The apprentice learns

  a new art

  THREE DAYS AFTER PILLAR SET out with his list of purchases, he returned. Even Quinn, who had remained in her bedroom while he was gone, ventured into the kitchen, curious to see what he had bought with the rider's money.

  Pillar unpacked his parcels and sacks scattering the contents across the table and over the floor. There were blankets, two down pillows, clean breeches, skirts, a couple of blouses for Katina, aprons, shirts, a leather vest and even a pair of sturdy new boots for Tallow. Tallow could not believe her eyes. There were wedges of cheese, pickled onions, peppers, sugar, butter and sacks of grain and flour to fill the empty barrels upstairs. Tallow thought fleetingly of her skinny rats and how happy they would be. There was even a huge leg of mutton and two scrawny chickens.

  It took Tallow a moment as she picked over the various goods to notice that Pillar was grinning at her rather stupidly, his hands hidden behind his back.

  Catching her eye, he swung his arms in front of him, dangling something. It was a pair of spectacles.

  Tallow looked at him solemnly and then at Katina. Katina nodded and Tallow reached for them.

  'Won't hide what you are, you know,' muttered Quinn darkly from the other side of the table.

  'What did you say?' asked Katina. One finger stroked the hilt of her dagger. 'You really need to speak up if you want to be heard.'

  Quinn snarled at Katina but didn't dare reply. Instead, she broke off a lump of cheese and sat nibbling at it by the fire, casting sour looks towards the Bond Rider.

  Taking the spectacles in her hands, Tallow was amazed at how light they were. There were no frames, only a pair of beautiful smoky umber lenses, connected by the tiniest bridge of gold lace. Towards the outer edges of the glass, the lacework continued. Two arms of twisted gold ran at right angles to the lenses, curling at the ends to sit snugly around Tallow's ears.

  'Don't just hold them. Put them on!' urged Katina.

  With barely repressed excitement, Tallow did as she was told. They settled against the bridge of her nose and the whole world changed. The kitchen, lit by sunlight and the glow of the fire, transformed into a world of rich honeys and coppers. Whirling on the spot, Tallow looked at everything with fresh eyes. The staircase was now a deep mahogany, the floor a rust colour, the table held all the subtle tones of beeswax – everything was altered.

  Tallow turned to face Katina who bent down to scrutinise her closely. Under Tallow's fresh gaze, the Bond Rider's large eyes and tanned skin became tawnier, whorls of amber and cherry-brown.

  'They're good, very good,' said Katina finally. 'Have a look, Pillar. Tell me what you think.'

  'Don't be such a fool, Pillar!' screeched Quinn. 'Don't look at him! You know what will happen!'

  'Perhaps you'd prefer to, then,' offered Katina. Quinn sank back into her chair, muttering angrily.

  Pillar stepped forward, swallowing a few times. 'It's all right, Mamma,' he murmured. 'It's all right.' His lips kept moving as he repeated the words like a talisman. Slowly, Tallow turned to face him. The candlemaker studied Tallow's new boots for a while, before finally raising his head and meeting her eyes. His lips froze.

  For a full minute he said nothing.

  Then he nodded, a cautious grin transforming his face. 'They work wonders, they do. No-one will ever know, Tallow. You look like one of those rich boys from Casa Guichio over at the piazzetta – too good for the likes of here.'

  Quinn snorted. 'Don't put those ideas in his head, for God's sake!'

  Pillar opened his mouth to say something else, and then changed his mind and turned to fossick in his bag some more. Only Katina saw him wipe away the tear that had escaped to trickle down his cheek.

  Much later, after they'd all finished a fine meal of chicken, pasta, peppers, bread, cheese and roasted apples, and were relaxing with a glass of mead as evening fell, Pillar asked what they'd been doing while he was gone.

  'I see that the house is restored.' His eyes took in the room. 'Looks very nice too. But ... er ... how's the training going?'

  'We don't want to know!' hissed Quinn. 'If they want to do devil's work, that's their business.'

  Katina began to laugh. 'Shut your ears then, Quinn, because I'm going to tell Pillar. And if you don't like it, or want to hear about it, I suggest you leave.'

  Quinn sat forward in her chair. 'You won't always get away with speaking to me like that, you know. Think you're so mighty and important – but you're not. You may think you know everything, but you don't. How can you? You haven't been part of this world for over three hundred years. If you teach that boy what should no longer be taught, teach him what has been forbidden by the laws of our rulers and by God, then you're a bigger fool than I thought! Even if you had a soul, it couldn't be saved.'

  Quinn took a deep breath. 'If you proceed, then you'll be as trapped as we are,' she pointed at Tallow. 'Even more so since, like your brother, you were stupid enough to Bond to him.' She glared at Katina and took a long, deep slurp of her drink before leaning back into her chair, staring at Katina defiantly.

  Tallow sank into herself with every word the old woman uttered. Katina placed herself between Quinn and the table and raised her voice. 'Training has been going very well, Pillar. In fact, Tallow has progressed a great deal. In just a couple of days, I've managed to teach him the rudimentary arts that all Estrattore learn.' She paused. 'Only, we've struck a bit of a problem.'

  Pillar shifted in his seat. His eyes flickered towards the window. It was shut, as was the door to the attic. He didn't want one word, one whisper to escape. His hand unconsciously slid beneath his shirt to clutch the small wooden carving that rested against his heart. A talisman he'd purchased with Katina's lire, his guarantee against what might happen. 'What's that?' he asked uneasily.

  'I'll tell you what it is!' said Quinn, leaping to her feet. Tallow jumped. 'The problem is allowing this sort of thing to go on under our roof! That's the problem! It's wrong. You should both be hung and put to the flame, not sitting there, drinking my vino and eating my food –'

  'Actually, Quinn, it's my food. I paid for it,' said Katina.

  Quinn spat on the floor. 'I don't give a pig's arse who paid; you're in my house and you should respect my rules, my faith, my God. Tallow's got all cocky since you came with your fine ideas and poisonous ways.' She swung towards Pillar. 'Ever since you left, they've been strutting around here like they own the place. Using my kitchen; walking in and out of the shop, never mind your workshop. Your father's workshop,' she added, knowing what would hurt the most.

  'But I'll have no more of it, I tell you! Fi
rst thing tomorrow, I'm going to the mayor. I'm going to tell him all about you.' She pointed a bony finger at Katina. 'And you.' She faced Tallow but was unable to meet her eyes. 'Believe it or not, I'm sorry, boy.' Tallow wasn't sure whether she was referring to her or Pillar. 'I don't want any part of this, not any more. I'll not have it. It's wrong, now we're aiding and abetting. It has to stop. And I want you, Signora Bond Rider, and your blasphemous talk out of my house.'