Weaving Man: Book One of The Prophecy Series

by Tove Foss Ford

  Ifor opened the door and stood there looking down at her. With the light behind him, he seemed to fill the entire doorway with darkness.

  “May I talk to Kaymar?” Katrin asked softly.

  “Come in.” Ifor stood aside.

  This suite was one of her favorite places at The Shadows. Menders had given it to Kaymar and Ifor at Winterfest. They had spent much of the winter and spring painting and getting furniture for it. Ifor had beautiful paintings and statues and they made the rooms interesting. There was always something new to see because Ifor changed the art around all the time.

  “Kaymar’s in bed. I’ll have a look to see if he’s sleeping,” Ifor said.

  “Is he sick?” Katrin asked fearfully.

  “Tired. Doctor Franz says he needs to rest in bed for a day or two, his heart is stressed,” Ifor answered levelly.

  “Because of what we did?” Katrin whispered.

  “More being on the train for three days and not getting any sleep – and he had a rough time in Erdahn. What you did today was the icing on the cake, however,” Ifor replied, going to the bedroom door and peering in. He said something Katrin couldn’t discern, then turned to her.

  “Go on in.” He held the door open, then closed it behind her.

  Kaymar turned in the bed and stared at her. He looked weary and angry. He said nothing, only raised his eyebrows.

  “I’m sorry, Kaymar,” Katrin ventured. “I shouldn’t have run away and I’m sorry I spoiled your rest time. I hope I didn’t make your heart worse.”

  “I thought better of you, Katrin,” Kaymar said coldly. “You’re a bright child. You know the rules are in place to protect you, yet you still do stupid things like running away. Anyone could be out there. I know you’ve been told this. Worse still, you get Hemmett to do wrong as well as yourself. He’ll go along because he’ll do whatever you want and he also thinks he has to go along to protect you.”

  “I don’t mean to. It just seems like fun,” Katrin stammered.

  “Of course you mean to. You think you’re clever to get away from your guards and you’re pigheadedly determined to get your own way. I never thought you would act a spoiled brat, Katrin, but you have been this year, and I, for one, am sick of it!” Kaymar snapped.

  Katrin felt her throat stretch tight and turned away, bumbling toward the door. Tears flooded her eyes and burned the back of her nose as she turned the door handle. She bumped into Ifor and swiped at her eyes with her sleeve, looking for the front door.

  “Oh hells,” Kaymar’s voice came from the bedroom. “Catch her, Bear.”

  Ifor’s big hand stopped her and turned her around. “Now then, don’t cry,” he said kindly.

  Suddenly Kaymar was there on his knees in front of her, putting his hands on her arms and then hugging her.

  “There now – oh Katrin, don’t you know that we’re all trying to keep you safe?” Kaymar asked. “We don’t restrict you to spoil your fun, we do it to keep you safe. That’s what this – The Shadows, Menders’ Men, me – that’s what it’s all about, child.”

  Katrin leaned back and looked at him. He was in his nightshirt. There on his knees he looked like a boy not much older than her. There were dark circles beneath his eyes. She could smell the Hetzophian oilwood perfume he used.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, far more genuinely than she had said it to Haakel. Kaymar smiled – and the smile hurt her heart, because it made him look even more tired and sick.

  “All right then,” he answered.

  His nightshirt sleeve had fallen back from his right wrist and she could see not only the thick network of scars on the inside of his arm, but cuts that looked like they were brand new.

  She opened her mouth to ask what had happened but something in her mind told her that no matter what the answer, this was something beyond what she could understand. All she knew was that Kaymar had been hurt – many, many times.

  She looked at his eyes and knew that he saw her curiosity. He was not going to tell her anything. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

  “Menders told me to come right back,” she said. “I hope you feel better soon.”

  “Goodnight,” Kaymar said quietly, rising to his feet. He turned and went back to the bedroom and Ifor saw her back to her own suite, where Menders was waiting.

  “I apologized to Kaymar,” she said, going to stand before him. “He looks sick. And he has – Menders, why does Kaymar have scars all over him? What happened to him?”

  Menders said nothing for quite some time while Katrin waited.

  “Kaymar struggles with many things, but that is his business,” he finally answered. “It isn’t for you to ask or even to wonder about. Now, this has been a hard day for everyone, thanks to you, and I think we’d all like to have an early bedtime. Off you go.”

  She went, wondering how she could stop wondering about those terrible scars.

  ***

  From Menders’ Journal

  Difficulties with Katrin today. She’s been teasing Hemmett for being slow to read. Though I am well acquainted with Katrin’s faults, they never fail to disappoint me.

  Hemmett has progressed with reading through immense determination on his part. He only learned the alphabet after Ifor Trantz carved the letters out of wood, so that he could hold and feel them. Every other method of teaching him failed utterly. I fear this has been damaging to him, as it is becoming obvious that Hemmett feels inferior to others. Much of his clowning is a cover for his insecurity.

  The incident today stemmed from an ill-considered attempt to have the children share lesson time now that my eyes are infected again and I am confined to bed much of the time. Eiren normally tutors Hemmett and sets lessons for him to complete; this method has never been ideal for Katrin, but she has joined them the last few days.

  Admittedly, it is taxing and even infuriating listening to Hemmett trying to read, and it is only his own frustration and sincere effort that keeps Eiren and me from losing patience with him. There is some quirk in his mind that makes it difficult for him to recognize the letters and remember words. He often complains that the letters change shape or change their order within a word. It must be horrible for him. Sometimes he goes bright red with frustration and the sounds he makes trying to work out the words are absolutely tortured.

  Unfortunately, Katrin has no recollection of learning to read, as she has done so since she was tiny. She is too young to understand that Hemmett simply cannot “just try harder”, that he is trying as hard as he can to surmount a nearly insurmountable problem. She has shown impatience before, but today burst out telling Hemmett that if he would only concentrate, he could read, and that the book he was struggling with was one she read when she was four – which is the truth.

  Poor Hemmett fled. Eiren gave Katrin a well deserved dressing down, the first one she’s ever delivered to the Princess. I rose from my dreary sickbed and had Katrin, who needed to be taken down a peg, attempt to translate some sentences in Surelian to demonstrate her own brilliance, deliberately writing them so she couldn’t possibly accomplish the task.

  At first she was very cocksure but after a few minutes realized she didn’t know most of the words. She asked for help. I told her I could translate those sentences when I was four (a lie) and that if she just tried hard enough, she would be able to do it.

  Katrin can be high-handed but she caught on immediately and was very remorseful. She went to find “Bumpy” to make things up with him.

  We shall not continue to have Katrin take formal lessons. It simply does not work, as she becomes bored quickly and indulges in displays of irritation and temper. Time enough for formal schooling later. Hemmett also does not need her around when he’s struggling, as her quickness only increases his feelings of inadequacy. Until I am back on my feet, Ifor will have her help him in his office or have her tend to Menck’s room. Sadly, Menck’s condition is worsening, and he is often bedbound or has to use his invalid chair. It will be a good thing for Katrin t
o do things for someone who cannot do them for himself.

  ***

  Katrin ran out of the house after lessons. Bumpy had stayed behind for special tutoring from Menders. Ever since she’d hurt his feelings about his reading, she left him and Menders alone. She ran into the woodlot, looking at the colored leaves and finding acorns.

  After a while she felt restless. Ever since she and Bumpy had run away to the river it had been forbidden to them. It was autumn now and soon they wouldn’t be able to get down to the river rock until winter was over. That would be months away.

  She suddenly wanted to go down to the river more than anything. She gave a quick look around, saw no-one watching and began to bolt for the thicker woods surrounding the woodlot.

  “Don’t try it,” Kaymar said sternly, right behind her. Katrin jumped in surprise and turned toward him. He said nothing more. Kaymar didn’t waste his time. She knew the rules.

  She turned and walked further into the woodlot, with Kaymar fading into the trees nearby. Then she stopped and turned back, looking for him.

  “Here,” he said, stepping out of the underbrush, his eyebrows raised inquisitively. Katrin took his hand – something she hardly ever did.

  “Want company, Cuz?” Kaymar smiled, giving her hand a squeeze.

  They walked far into the forest, farther than Katrin could ever remember going before. She was wearing some of Bumpy’s old clothes, which Eiren let her do whenever she was going to do something that might ruin her dresses. For a time she pretended that they were heroes going on a quest. Then they just walked, looking at odd mushrooms, collecting leaves and talking about different animals. They sang a round together, Katrin’s treble and Kaymar’s high tenor chiming together in harmony.

  As the song wound to a finish, Katrin sat down on a fallen log. They had walked a long way. Kaymar settled beside her and grinned, something he didn’t often do. He had been much happier since he and Ifor had started living in a suite together. She could remember the year after Kaymar’s friend died, when he hadn’t smiled once, at least not that she had seen.

  “I see riding one little cousin home on my shoulders in my future,” he said. “We’ve had quite a walk, my dear.”

  “I’ve never been this far into the forest,” Katrin said. “I would like to build a house right here. A secret house only I know about.”

  “When I was your age, I wanted to build a house in a tree – in fact, I would still like to,” Kaymar answered.

  “What if the wind blew?” Katrin scoffed.

  “It would have to be a big tree. There are trees in Surytam the size of The Shadows. They wouldn’t sway too much,” Kaymar said. “Imagine a little house in a tree like that.”

  “You should find a big tree and build that house here!” Katrin cried, excited at the idea.

  “Your handsome cousin is far too lazy to do that much hard work,” Kaymar laughed, pulling a small tin from his pocket and offering her a piece of candy from it.

  “You work all the time,” Katrin protested. “You’re always watching me or going to Erdahn for Menders or making things in your shed. You aren’t lazy.”

  “Oh, by nature I’m lazy indeed,” Kaymar replied, reclining against a branch that stuck straight up from the log. “Things like building houses are not for me. Perhaps one day I will hire someone to design and build a tree house for me, while I watch and tell them what to do.”

  Katrin laughed at that. Kaymar could be bossy and she should know. He watched her more than any other guard.

  “We should start back,” Kaymar went on. “Don’t want to be late for dinner. Want a ride, or are you up for more walking?”

  “I’ll walk,” Katrin said, jumping up and taking his hand as they turned back toward The Shadows. She asked him questions about Surytam for a while. Kaymar had been there and could tell about all sorts of strange and interesting things.

  She stopped in her tracks suddenly, sniffing, wrinkling her nose in dismay.

  “A felschat!” she said in horror. Suddenly the air was laced with the pungent odor of the forest dwelling animal, known for marking territory with its scent glands – and for spitting the terrible scent at anything that threatened it. Grey and pudgy, they waddled around the forests and feared nothing, because nothing could stand the way they smelled.

  Kaymar tightened his grip on her hand and hurried. “Yes, and we don’t want to meet up with him,” he said, his voice tense. He pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and held it over his nose. Katrin pinched her own nose shut and trotted along with him, though she looked around curiously, to see if the felschat was nearby. She had only seen one at a distance, when Menders and Eiren had taken her to the river to swim last summer.

  The smell got worse. Kaymar stopped, pressing the handkerchief to his nose and mouth. His face was turning dark pink and Katrin realized he was trying to hold his breath. He looked around, his face growing redder by the second.

  “There he is,” Katrin gasped, pointing to the left. A lumpy, bristly, grey creature with an undershot jaw rustled out from behind a bush, its squinted, reddish eyes roving over them.

  Kaymar took a great gulp of air through his mouth. He thrust Katrin behind him and backed away from the felschat.

  The animal grunted and charged toward them, pumping its jaws as it spewed the foul fluid from its mouth. Katrin began to run but was almost pulled off her feet as Kaymar fell to the ground and lay motionless.

  Katrin looked around for a stone to throw at the felschat but suddenly remembered Menders’ words.

  “If you’re ever threatened by an animal and know you can’t outrun it, make yourself small. Get down on the ground and curl up in a ball with your hands on the back of your neck and don’t move. Even if the animal comes right up to you, don’t move or make a sound. The animal will think you’ve decided not to fight or hurt them and will go away.”

  She crouched down against Kaymar’s side, tucking her head against her bent knees, clenching her hands on the back of her neck.

  She could hear the felschat snuffling around, grunting and waddling through the leaves. The smell was horrible because it was so close. Tears streamed out of her eyes and she huddled closer to Kaymar, pressing her ear against his side, trying to hear his heart beating.

  After a while, she could hear the felschat moving away. She peeked over Kaymar’s shoulder and saw it shuffling through the trees, its clublike tail dragging behind it.

  “Kaymar?” Katrin sat up and tried to shake him. She could see him breathing. He couldn’t have held his breath until he fainted, it was impossible to do. She knew that from the time she and Bumpy tried it. “Kaymar!”

  She kept shaking him until his eyes opened slowly. They looked sleepy, and Kaymar didn’t make a sound, or seem to see anything. Then his eyes snapped wide and he sat up, staring around him. He slapped his handkerchief over his face and started trying to rise.

  “Katrin!” he choked.

  “I’m here!” she cried, tugging at his arm. Kaymar turned, his eyes wild. He caught her close to him, squeezing her tight.

  “Thank the gods,” he gasped. “How long?”

  Katrin pulled back. He was squeezing so hard she could hardly breathe.

  “A few minutes. The felschat went away. I hid behind you and stayed still.”

  Kaymar scrambled to his feet, pulling her up with him.

  “Come on, let’s get away, it’s still thick here, I don’t want to…” he mumbled as they rushed on through the trees. Katrin was busy watching out for roots so she didn’t trip and didn’t notice that they had come to the woodlot.

  Kaymar sank down on a log and wiped his face with his handkerchief. He looked terrible, pale with red splotches on his cheeks. He caught his breath for a moment and then looked at her.

  Katrin was used to Kaymar being what Menders called “flippant” and she was also used to him looking creepy or scary. It never bothered her, because she knew he was good. She had never seen him looking frightened before. She went
to stand right next to him, her hand on his shoulder.

  “Did you faint?” she asked softly.

  “Sweetheart…” he began. He looked around as if he was trying to find something. Then he looked into her eyes.

  “You know the boarhound puppy that has fits?” he asked, his voice gentle.

  “Yes. He falls down sometimes and thrashes around and Menders said he shouldn’t be bred. That’s why Haakel is keeping him as a pet,” Katrin answered.

  “Sometimes when I smell something bad enough, I have a sort of fit,” Kaymar said slowly. “That’s what happened when that felschat spat at us. That’s why I fell down.”

  “I thought you’d tripped at first and knocked yourself out,” Katrin mused. “Then I knew you had fainted. It was like you were asleep. Why does a bad smell do that?”

  Kaymar shrugged. “I don’t know. Neither do the doctors I’ve seen. It’s not just any bad smell. I can walk by a rubbish heap and feel fine. It has to be something like that felschat.”

  “It was so horrible it made me feel dizzy. And as if I was going to be sick.”

  “It makes me feel that way too, but then I faint.” Kaymar put his elbows on his knees and rested his chin on his hands. “I never expected to have a fit when guarding you, Katrin. It doesn’t happen often, and you did the right thing in this case. You do know what to do if anything ever happened to me when I’m guarding you…”

  “Get away and out of sight if it’s a person who’s attacked you. Get up a tree or under something heavy if it’s an animal. Run right back to The Shadows if you’ve been hurt and get help,” Katrin recited firmly. “I’ve known that since I was little.”

  Kaymar looked up at her, looking like himself for the first time since he’d had the fit. His eyes were twinkling with amusement. “As if you weren’t little now, grown up seven year old,” he teased. Then his face grew grave.

  “Katrin, we can’t let Menders know that this happened,” he said softly.

  Katrin felt a terrible cold chill go down her back. This was an important thing, something that Menders had to know. There had been danger and Kaymar had been ill.