Tallow

by Karen Brooks

  Tallow rose to her feet. 'I have to wake Pillar, get the dottore –'

  'No!' The word was quiet but firm. Tallow looked down and saw that Katina held her wrist. She could have pulled away, but the urgency in Katina's tone prevented her.

  'Please. Get me m– my satchel.'

  Tallow ran into the kitchen and grabbed Katina's satchel. She tipped the contents onto the bed, revealing a copper-coloured flask. Katina gave a whimper. Tallow uncorked the flask and raised it to Katina's mouth. Much of the ruby liquid spilt over her nightgown, but some found its way between her lips.

  It took Katina a couple of minutes to regain her voice, but when she did, she spoke quickly, as if afraid she wouldn't last long enough to finish what she had to say.

  'Tallow, you have to help me. Remember I said that a Bond Rider can't be away from the Limen too long?'

  Tallow nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak.

  She lifted her hand feebly and indicated her body. 'This is why.' A volley of coughs wracked her frame. Tallow watched in despair.

  'You see, Tallow, time catches up with all Bond Riders eventually. We who defy it and think we've defeated it have just postponed the inevitable. If I don't return to the Limen now, I will die.' She lifted a preternaturally aged hand and stroked Tallow's cheek. 'And I cannot do that yet. My Bond is not complete. There is still work for you ... for me to do.'

  Tears streamed down Tallow's cheeks. 'What can I do?'

  'You must take me to the nearest pledge stone. Someone will come for me.'

  'Pledge stone?' Tallow knew of the ancient stones upon which Bond Riders made their promises. They both repelled and fascinated her.

  'Yes,' whispered Katina. 'A pledge stone. Take me, please.'

  It was as if someone had tied a great weight to Tallow's heart. 'C– Can I not do something? Use my powers to ...?'

  Katina shook her head, her eyes widening. 'No, Tallow. You're not far enough in your training to lay hands on a human yet – not for this.' Tallow bowed her head, afraid that somehow Katina would know what she had done, detect her underhandedness from the night before.

  'Don't think it didn't occur to me,' continued Katina with a half-smile. 'But I think if I let you, you would kill me. That can't happen. Not because of me, but because of you. Listen to me, Tallow.' Katina raised herself on one arm, swallowing a few times at the effort and beckoning Tallow closer. 'Estrattore must never touch a human with the intention to hurt or kill. Do you understand?' She coughed again and fell back against the pillow. Tallow could hear the liquid bubbling in her chest. 'Will you take me, Tallow?'

  Tallow nodded. She didn't have a clue where the ancient stones might be, but she didn't dare argue.

  'When?' she asked quietly.

  'Now. Before the others awake.'

  'How?'

  'How what?' asked a voice. Pillar's sleep-wracked face appeared. Relief washed over Tallow.

  'Pillar!' she exclaimed. 'Look at Katina.'

  When Pillar saw Katina's condition, he leapt forward. 'By God! You said this would happen. Why? Why did you leave it so long?' He folded Katina's fingers into one of his hands and pressed the fingers of the other against her forehead.

  'She needs to get to a pledge stone.'

  Pillar frowned. 'I know where there's one. It's on the other side of the Circolo Canal, on the mainland opposite the Cheese Quartiere. We can get there in less than an hour.' He let go of Katina and began to gather her belongings, randomly throwing them in her satchel. 'Tallow, go and hail a traghetto, quickly. Don't bother with the fermata. There's a set of disused water stairs just outside old Romano's shop. Make it stop there.'

  Tallow hesitated. Unchecked tears streamed down her cheeks. She didn't want to leave Katina's side for even a second.

  'What are you waiting for? Go! I'll attend to her and meet you there.'

  Tallow turned on her heel and raced down the steps and through the shop, flinging open the door. She ran to Signor Romano's candle shop and, sure enough, there was a set of water-stairs, just as Pillar had said.

  She looked up and down the canal, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve. Even though she'd left her coat behind, she didn't notice the crispness of the morning, the snow lying on the pavement or the mist rising off the water. She was too focused on willing a boat to appear. She didn't have to wait long before one of the big old traghettos emerged out of the mist. Waving her hands to attract attention, Tallow began to shout.

  At first the captain, sitting in the stern, ignored her. He'd left the Wood Quartiere before dawn and, after delivering a couple of journeymen and a merchant to the Tanners Quartiere, was keen to get to the main part of the canal where he could make real money. That annoying boy could shout all he wanted; he wasn't going to waste his time picking up a tardy apprentice. But when Tallow's cries became more desperate and a tall man appeared with a frail old woman in his arms, he reluctantly steered the boat towards the stairs.

  'Thank you,' said Tallow breathlessly as she jumped aboard, relieved to see there were no other passengers. She turned to help Pillar, who passed her Katina's satchel and her small leather scabbard. Pillar gently lifted Katina over the railing and placed her on a seat before leaping over himself and scooping her back into his arms. Tallow noticed he'd changed her out of her nightgown and put on her leggings, shirt and coat. There was no disguising what she was now.

  The captain's eyes widened, but he said nothing. The oarsmen began to rise to their feet.

  'Did I tell you to stand? Sit back down. I don't pay you to gawp,' he shouted. He spun to face Pillar. His eyes flickered over Katina. 'Where do you want to go?'

  'The Pledge Stone of Casa di Maggiore.'

  The captain's eyebrows rose. 'Don't be a fool! No-one dares to go there. I'd lose my licence.'

  Pillar didn't say anything. He reached into his pocket and flicked a ducat towards the captain.

  The captain caught it neatly and looked from the coin to Pillar and back again. 'You want to go there badly, don't you?'

  'It's not for me,' was all Pillar said.

  The captain glanced at Katina and grunted. He bit down on the ducat. 'Very well, but you'll bear the consequences if we're caught.' He began giving orders to his oarsmen.

  Pillar took Katina through the stuffy little cabin to the bow, laying her on one of the benches that followed the shape of the boat, resting her head in his lap. Tallow was surprised. She'd never seen Pillar so attentive or tender before. She sat on the other side of Katina, not knowing what to do or what to say. Once again, sadness overwhelmed her. She knew Katina was leaving them. She tried not to be selfish, but she couldn't help but wonder what would happen to her training; what would happen to her?

  Don't leave me, Katina, she pleaded soundlessly, afraid she would never see her mentor again.

  Just then, the captain appeared and flung a blanket at Pillar and an oilskin coat at Tallow. 'You'll need them,' was all he said and disappeared.

  First helping Pillar cover Katina, Tallow gratefully put on the oilskin.

  The journey didn't take long. There wasn't too much traffic on the Circolo Canal at this time of morning. Rowing into the sun, it was difficult to see where they were going, but Tallow tried, anything to keep her mind off Katina and her suffering. Why wouldn't the Bond Rider let her use her talents? Surely she could have helped her in some way – ease her pain; make it so she didn't have to go.

  Along the right bank, houses and shops met her watery gaze. There were even some grand casas lining the canal, rising from their stone bases to form elegant marble cliffs that glinted and shone in the morning light. Servants were beating rugs out of windows, their noses and cheeks glowing red, their breath as they called to each other curling into opaque shapes that gradually dissolved. Beside the fondamenta, vendors glided past, their gondolas laden with meat, fruit, wood and other goods. The distant mainland was dotted with farmhouses, vineyards, olive groves and vast meadows, which rose into the foothills of the snow-covered ranges
of the Dolomites. Cows and herds of longhaired sheep grazed peacefully, unaffected by the frost that coated the grass and their backs. As they drew closer to the other side, Tallow saw a big jetty on the waterfront where workers from the Fishmongers Quartiere jostled for space in their boats. Their voices carried over the water as they argued best prices with the mainland farmers or traded meat and dairy for their ocean fare.

  Pillar looked neither left nor right but attended to Katina, holding her close every time a cough wracked her body, gently wiping the spittle that formed in the corners of her mouth. Tallow watched them out of the corner of her eye, uncertain and confused about Pillar's attentions to the Bond Rider.

  After a while, the captain reappeared.

  'We'll be there shortly. I suspect you'll want us to wait?'

  Pillar nodded. 'Yes, please.'

  The captain grunted and stuck a pipe in his mouth before disappearing into the cabin.

  'Tallow,' Katina whispered hoarsely.

  Tallow jumped to her feet and knelt beside Katina's head. 'I'm here, Katina.'

  'Tallow, I'm so sorry.'

  'What for?' All the self-composure Tallow had worked hard to gain over the last twenty minutes began to disappear.

  'For leaving you. I thought –' She struggled for air. It was a while before she could speak again, 'I thought I'd have longer. We'd have longer.'

  'But you'll –'

  'Shush.' Katina placed her finger against Tallow's lips. 'Now is not the time for you to speak, but to listen.' She paused, her breath coming in great shallow gasps. 'Do not use your talents any more than you've been taught, Tallow. Not yet. You're not ready. That means no human subjects.'

  'But I –'

  'No.' The word was strong. 'Pillar and I have discussed this. If something should go wrong ... no. You mustn't. I will return to you, Tallow, and then we will continue with your training. I'll teach you what else you need to know. You must be ready for what you have to do.'

  Relief flooded Tallow as knowledge that Katina would return began to sink in. Tears brimmed in her eyes. 'You're coming back.' It was not a question.

  'Of course I am ... as soon as I can. But until then, you practise what you've learnt so far. Do not be tempted to take it further. Please. Swear to me you won't. You can't risk discovery. Not now, not when we are so close.'

  Tallow gulped, swallowing her sadness. 'I swear,' she said quickly.

  Katina tried to sigh but it turned into a liquid cough. 'And, whatever you do, Tallow.' She caught her breath. 'Do not touch a pledge stone. None of them. Not yet. Promise me this. Not like before. This time, as if you were a Bond Rider making a pledge.' Katina stared at her with such intensity, Tallow almost recoiled. 'Promise!'

  'Yes. Yes, I do,' said Tallow hastily.

  Satisfied, Katina dropped her hand, the volley of coughs that convulsed her preventing Tallow from questioning her further. What did Katina mean? Why did she make her promise like a Bond Rider? Why would she want to touch a pledge stone anyway? And what did Katina mean when she said Tallow had to be ready for what she had to do?

  They were thrown forward as the traghetto hit the embankment. In the last five minutes, a dense mist had descended, obscuring the view. The captain poked his head out of the cabin. 'I'll wait thirty minutes – not a moment more.'

  Pillar wasted no time. Gathering Katina in his arms, he stooped through the cabin and marched across the plank connecting land to boat.

  'Thirty minutes,' the captain repeated as they passed him.

  'I'll make it worth your while,' replied Pillar firmly.

  Tallow stepped ashore and looked around. Above the mist, the peaks of the Dolomites loomed. It was quiet on this part of the mainland. There were no farms or any other sign of inhabitants. Trees divested of their summer foliage grew right down to the water, their roots plunging into the murky depths. This was a wood devoid of birdsong and the rustle of small animals. There was nothing to distract them from their task. All around, grey tendrils of fog weaved their way through the trees, drifting upon a blanket of air. Gazing back across the canal, Tallow could see little more than a white band of mist. No wonder the captain had agreed to take them. It would be hard for anyone on the other bank to see them from this point.

  'This way,' said Pillar and began forging a path through the vegetation. Tallow picked up Katina's satchel and scabbard and followed.

  They made their way through the wood, the crunching of leaves underfoot disrupting the almost sacred quiet of the area. There was something unnatural about the silence. Tallow tried to focus on where she was going but found her mind drifting towards the dark spaces between the trees. Once more, a sense of being watched returned to plague her. The further into the wood they went, the more the sensation grew: a flickering shadow in the corner of her eye, the impression that someone was waiting just beyond her vision. The cold wind that blew carried with it hollow whispers and soft promises. The hair on the back of Tallow's neck began to rise. She increased her pace.

  The trees ended abruptly and standing in the clearing before them was a huge stone; the fog didn't even venture into its space. Rising from an enormous base to thirty feet in the air, it was the shape of a lopsided triangle. Slowing her pace as they approached, Tallow had time to study the rocky mass. It was grooved from top to bottom and covered in human-made patterns that looked at once familiar and exotic – hallowed symbols that spoke of eons of commitment and trust between humans and Estrattore. Tallow stood in its shadow, trying to gather her thoughts. She was having difficulty concentrating, as if one part of her were here, with Pillar and Katina, while the other was elsewhere, searching, roaming.

  'The Pledge Stone of Casa di Maggiore,' said Pillar softly, his face awestruck. 'We're here, Katina.'

  Katina's eyes fluttered open and she slowly looked around. She nodded and sighed. 'Thank you. Thank you both.' She shuddered. 'Please, put me down here and leave. I will be fine now.' Pillar dropped to one knee and gently placed her at the base of the stone.

  'Leave?' Tallow was incredulous. 'But you'll die if we leave you here.'

  'No, Tallow. But you will kill me if you remain. The Bond Riders won't retrieve me and take me back to the Limen until you're gone. You must go.'

  'Katina –' Tallow turned to Pillar for support. They couldn't just leave her! What if no-one came? But the candlemaker simply took the satchel and scabbard out of Tallow's arms and laid them beside Katina.

  'We can do nothing now but as she tells us. Who are we to question the ways of the Bond Riders?' Pillar's voice was low, his tone both bitter and tinged with great sadness. Tallow was astonished to see tears in his eyes.

  'Katina –' Tallow knelt beside the Bond Rider and wrapped her arms around her. 'Come back to me, please.'

  'I will, Tallow. As soon as I'm allowed, I will. Now go.'

  Pillar gripped Tallow by the shoulder and with gentle pressure, pulled her to her feet.

  Together, without a backward glance, they plunged into the woods.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The Pledge Stone of

  Casa di Maggiore

  WE HADN'T GONE VERY FAR when Pillar stopped in his tracks and darted behind a tree. Peering around the trunk, he indicated for me to do likewise. I joined him, puzzled by his behaviour.

  He pressed his lips against my ear. 'I want to go back, make sure Katina's all right, that this Bond Rider comes,' he whispered. 'But we mustn't be seen.'

  There was something in Pillar's voice that made me think he wasn't quite telling the truth. But why would Pillar lie? 'You can't ... Katina said we musn't. And what about the traghetto?'