Order of Swans (The Blue Swan Duology #1)

Chapter 12

12

Kaley didn’t ask the men what they did with the broken body of the witch—but there was black smoke pouring out of the stove’s chimney in what was left of the cute little cottage. They’d been happy to see Hansel and Gretel’s father come for his children. Kaley ran to tell him that he needed to watch out for his new wife, the children’s stepmother.

Sojee followed her and translated. The father said quite a bit to Sojee before he took his children’s hands and led them away. Kaley asked what the man said. “The woman is dead,” was all Sojee replied, then he went down the hill and said no more. She thought about how the stories said the stepmother had died but not how. From the look on the faces of the father and Sojee, it wasn’t a “natural” death.

As Kaley went down the hill to join the men, Tanek came around the burned cottage holding a haunch of venison. “I found this in the back.” He was smiling broadly. He took his other hand from behind him and held up a bottle of wine. “There’s a shed full of these bottles and they are Pithan’s best.”

“Ah,” Sojee said, “true, but Selkan has the best beer.” He looked at the big piece of meat. “Can you cook it?”

They looked at Kaley.

“Because I’m female, I should know how to cook? Do the laundry? Scrub the toilets?”

Yet again, they gave her a blank stare. They had no idea what she was talking about.

“Yeah, I can cook it,” she said. “I saw a firepit over there, and there’s a spit.”

“You will spit on it?” Sojee asked.

“Translation error.” She was laughing. “Do you guys know how to uncork the wine?”

That seemed to translate well as Tanek stuck the cork between his teeth and twisted. The bottle opened.

In jubilation, they raised their arms and gave a shout. They’d saved the children and found wine and food. It was good to be alive!

As the men wrestled the meat onto the big skewer and built a fire, Kaley rummaged in the ruins of the house and found tall mugs. She discovered a stream not far away and used it for washing the mugs and herself. She stripped down to her tank top, cleaned up as best she could, then put the dirty sweatshirt back on. Her tank top was a bit too revealing since she’d inherited her grandmother’s ample bosom.

Tanek found the garden hidden behind the trees. The three of them stood there looking at it with smiles. It was beautifully kept. There were carrots, potatoes, onions, fat tomatoes, long green beans and four kinds of lettuce. Everything was ripe and ready, not bothered by seasons. “More magic,” Kaley said. “The old witch certainly lived well.”

“She had to have a backup for when she ran out of—” When Sojee saw the look on Kaley’s face, he didn’t finish.

Kaley found the skillet she’d almost used as a weapon, and with fat from the meat, she fried the potatoes with sliced onions. The men looked at her as if she were performing magic. “I learned it from camping with my dad.”

Kaley insisted that the contents of the jars in the cottage be destroyed. While the meat cooked, they drank wine and cleared out the house. She didn’t look to see what was in the jars as she tossed them to the men. They found a shovel, dug a hole and emptied the contents into the earth. They put the empty jars on top, like a reminder of the horror that had been.

Finally, they were able to sit down on the grass and eat. They were on the side of the cottage that was still standing and it made a pretty background.

“Such evil in such beauty,” Tanek said. He had a metal plate full of meat, potatoes with onions, and chopped salad. He looked at Kaley. “You said that in this expedition, you are the useless one. You said to me, ‘You are the leader and I’ll always respect that.’”

Kaley wasn’t sure what he was getting at but Sojee did. “We could have left you behind,” he said to Tanek, and he nodded in agreement.

Their compliment was so sincere that Kaley felt her face turn red. It was oh, so very pleasing. “Who wants more potatoes?” She refilled the plates of both men.

“You’ve seen our country and our lives,” Tanek said. “What about your life?”

With all the wine, his face had softened. The man she’d known until then would never have asked such a personal question. “It’s not very interesting. My mother died just days after I was born, so I grew up with my grandparents and my father. He has a car repair shop. I have no idea why, but I’ve always been fascinated with folktales.”

“Like the one of the gingerbread house?” Tanek asked.

“Yes, exactly like that. My plan is to teach. And I’ll never stop researching.”

“But you came to Bellis instead,” Tanek said.

“I’m here so I can write a new paper,” she said. “The first one was turned down so I need some new stories.”

Tanek made no reply to that, just looked down at his food.

“Have you found the stories you need?” Sojee asked.

“Oh yes. One or two more and I’ll be ready to go home. I miss my father and my grandparents terribly.” She looked at Tanek. “We have that in common.”

There was a look of question from Sojee.

“My grandpapá was Haver Beyhan.”

Sojee’s eyes widened, then he put his hand to his heart and bowed his head. “I salute you.”

“You didn’t tell me he was famous,” Kaley said.

“I am wearing his boots.” Sojee’s voice was full of awe. “And his shirt, but it is burned.” He sounded sad.

Kaley was thinking of what Tanek had told her. “You must have been miserable when he died.”

There was silence from the two men.

“What am I missing?”

“He disappeared,” Tanek said. “He went out and never returned. He—”

Sojee cut him off. “With wine, you can cry as easily as laugh. We’ve had too much happiness today to go the other way. Our young friend seems impressed with your jumping skills, so you must show her.” He looked at Kaley. “Swan Men can do that. It’s left over from long ago.”

“It’s weakening,” Tanek said. “Grandpapá could soar a foot higher than me. Even my father is better than I am.”

“Ridges fading?” Sojee asked.

Tanek nodded.

“Okay, you two. Let me in on this. Ridges that are fading? What does that mean?”

“Show her!” Sojee said. When Tanek didn’t move, he said, “She likes the front of you well enough, so she shouldn’t be shocked by the back of you.”

Tanek gave an expression of disgust then shrugged. He drained his mug of wine, stood up and removed his shirt.

Kaley’d had too much wine to be able to suppress a sigh—which made Sojee laugh.

“Go on, Swan Boy. Turn around.”

Tanek seemed to take a breath for courage then turned. On his splendid, muscular back were two dark brown, curved—as Sojee called them—ridges. They were about a foot long and stood out more than an inch from his skin.

It took Kaley a few seconds to understand. “They’re where wings grow,” she said. “We have body reconfiguration, too. Do you attach wings for a costume?”

Sojee laughed. “It’s where the wings used to be when his ancestors were great soaring birds.”

“They grew there?” she asked in astonishment.

Tanek nodded. “They were soft when I was born, then yes, they grew.”

“Go on!” Sojee drained what had to be his fifth mug of wine. “Let her feel what they’re like.”

Tanek knelt in front of her, his bare, broad back inches from her face. She ran her hands over the ridges. They seemed to be made of horn, like on a cow—or more likely on a buffalo. Since Kaley had had three mugs full of wine—her excuse anyway—her hands wandered downward to his waist, then up to his shoulders, then out to his arms. His warm brown skin was deeply shaped by hard muscle.

“I cry for relief!” Sojee said as he refilled his mug. “I hunger for my own island where there are women. Many of them.”

Kaley came out of her trance caused by touching Tanek. “Sorry,” she murmured. “Inappropriate of me. I didn’t ask permission. I—” She picked up her mug to hide her embarrassment.

Tanek stood up and both men were staring at her.

“You say strange things,” Sojee said.

Tanek was looking at her in an odd way. “She is empowered!”

“What does that mean?” Sojee asked.

Kaley started to make an effort to explain, but she laughed. “I have no idea. I thought there was going to be a show of leaping. Or is it swan soaring? Whatever it is, I’d like to see it.”

Tanek left his shirt off, stepped a few feet away, then gave a couple of spinning leaps. They weren’t nearly as high as what she’d seen him do when he was fighting the witch’s fire. Part of her wanted to urge him to put more effort into it, but instead, she smiled. He made her think of a warrior who would miss the target on purpose to prevent others from knowing his true skill. When it was necessary, Tanek had leaped much higher, but then maybe adrenaline had spurred him on. Actually, she liked that he wasn’t a showman.

When Tanek sat down, Kaley turned to Sojee. “What about you? What are your special skills?”

He poured himself more wine. “I can pick things up and put them down. And I can break things.”

“Like my grandpapá,” Tanek said softly, his voice full of memory.

“Of course he could,” Sojee said. “He was a big man. Like me.”

His voice was so full of pride that they laughed, then the men turned to her in expectation.

“I cooked this meal,” Kaley said, but the men kept staring at her. “I’ve been a human Ping-Pong ball and played Tarzan across roofs. That should be enough.”

The men said nothing but they looked away, disappointment on their faces.

“I have a remarkable ability to remember stories. I can tell you folklore tales from Russia, China, India, the Vikings, Scotland—” She broke off because they were looking bored. “Okay, you asked for it.” She stood up. “Jobi found a yoga teacher in our building and we had many sessions. I was very good at it. He wasn’t.”

The men had no idea what she was talking about.

She crossed her arms to remove her voluminous sweatshirt, but paused. “Do you mind?”

“I do not,” Sojee said solemnly. “But our Swan Man may not survive.”

Kaley removed the top and bottom so that she had on leggings and the low-cut tank top. Maybe it was the wine, but she wanted to show that she did have some physical abilities that the men probably did not. Unlike Tanek, she did want to show off.

The grass was soft and lush and she went a few feet away. She knew the men were staring at her. As Jobi had promised, he’d taken away her soft “academic body” and put some strong muscles on her. She hesitated, thinking about what poses to do, then she gave a little smile. Her first pose was “Sleeping Swan.” Front leg bent, back leg extended, head on the ground.

She began a succession of poses, each one requiring more strength and flexibility. When she reached back to put her hands on her toes, making her body into a backward circle, she was pleased to hear them gasp. She did leg up, leg down, head at her knees. There were more. A bound swan. Shapely swan neck. She ended with the most difficult, a Hamsasana, a full swan pose. Her body was straight, rigid, then she lifted up on her hands, body supported by her upper arms, her feet off the ground—and held it for a full minute. It was a show of strength, balance and endurance.

She came down, put her arms into a reverse prayer pose, her eyes closed for seconds, then she opened them. The men were staring at her in awe. It was gratifying! “Sure you wouldn’t rather hear a story?” she asked.

The men laughed loudly, and she felt as though she’d passed some test to be a partner with them. She started to put her concealing clothes back on, but Sojee said, “They look very dirty. You should wash them and leave them to dry.”

“I see,” she said, her mouth twitching in merriment. “You like the yoga clothes.”

“Yes,” Tanek said. “Yes.”

Laughing, she picked up her sweats and turned toward the stream.

“What is this?” Tanek was holding up the necklace that had fallen out of her pocket.

She told them how she’d used it to open the cage to release the little boy.

“It doesn’t look like a key,” Sojee said.

“When I put it on, it got warm,” Kaley said.

Sojee frowned. “I’m not sure I like that.” He put the necklace on and waited, but it did nothing. He took it off and handed it to her.

Kaley put it on and Sojee said, “It’s quite handsome.”

The necklace turned a pale pink and got warm. “How odd. Did you lie?” she asked.

“Yes, he did,” Tanek said. “It’s ugly.”

The necklace went back to dull gray and got cool.

“Tell me what you thought of me at yoga,” Kaley said.

“Easy for anyone to do,” Tanek said. “And I didn’t enjoy it at all.”

The necklace turned red and it was so hot that Kaley lifted it off her skin.

Sojee slapped Tanek on the back. “That was one of the greatest lies ever told.”

At that, the necklace turned back to cool gray.

“How interesting,” Kaley said. “I think I should start asking you two questions about everything and see what the necklace has to say.”

“I think you should put it in your pocket and leave it there,” Sojee said seriously.

When the necklace stayed gray, Kaley laughed. He was telling the truth. “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen you scared. I should wear it all the time. Anyone want to help me with the washing?”

“We need to clean up here,” Tanek said.

“And you wonder why men and women were separated.” Smiling, she went to the stream and washed her two pieces of clothing.

When she returned to the ruin of the gingerbread house, the fire was out, and the men looked ready to leave.

Tanek said, “We should go. It’ll be safer if we stay the night inside the walls of the homestead.”

“Are you afraid the king’s men will find us?” Kaley asked.

“Possibly, but this woman could have friends.” Sojee looked at Tanek. “I would be honored to stay in Haver’s bedroom.”

“So would I,” Tanek said.

“You two will have to tell me about him,” Kaley said. “Maybe the little light will help us find out what happened to him.” She’d meant it as a joke but both men halted and stared at her.

“What light?” Tanek asked.

“Oh. Did I leave that out of my stories?” She knew very well that she had.

“You did.” Tanek was serious. “What light?” he repeated, but this time with more urgency.

She told them about being directed to Collan’s house.

“In that rain?” Tanek asked. “The light was in that storm?”

She didn’t understand why he was getting upset. “Yes, and today it was in the house. I could hardly see for the smoke. It...” She paused. “Maybe I didn’t tell you because you’ll think I’m crazy. I hallucinated that I was seeing a little woman, a fairy, a pixie, something. She showed me the necklace then demonstrated that I was to put it on. I’m sure that smoke was full of toxic gases, but if she wasn’t real, how did I know to touch it to the cage?” She looked at Tanek for him to answer, but he didn’t reply.

Instead, he ran into the forest and was soon out of sight.

“Where’s he going?”

Sojee looked at her, but said nothing. When he glanced down at her necklace, she knew he was asking for a level of trust that was difficult for her. Whatever Tanek was doing, Sojee was not going to tell her. “Will there ever come a time when you two tell me everything?”

“Yes,” he said.

When the necklace stayed cool and gray, she took it off and put it in the little pocket made to hold her phone. “So where is he going?”

“Urgent call of nature,” Sojee said.

It was such a blatant lie that she laughed. “I need another mug of wine.”

“Me, too.” Sojee filled her mug and held it out to her.

She raised it. “To lies that cover the truth. May they always be for a good purpose.”

They drank to that.