8. Miracle Indeed
”We aren”t interested in talking about it. Now be on your way.”
Jerica had brought us to this equally unremarkable house, claiming it was the residence of the girl who had been healed. But the gruff man who answered the door had crossed his arms across his chest, his jaw set, implacable. His dark eyes were brutal, but it was fear that motivated him.
I hadn”t been forceful or rude, but just the mention of his daughter and how she was healed set his features in stone.
What about his daughter”s recovery made him fearful? Had she recovered at all?
The man moved to close the door. With not one ounce of pride left in my body, I fell to my knees before him.
”Please, kind sir. My sister needs a healer, and I”ll do anything to help her. Anything, anything you can tell me would be a blessing. Please...” He ground his teeth as he looked down on me. A woman moved behind him, and a soft pleading word, Papa, whispered from behind him. He turned only slightly, keeping his large form between us to keep her shielded.
”Your mother needs you out back. Go now.”
His face had softened when it found mine again. Guilt. Or something like crossed his face.
”Get up on your feet, girl,” he said with a sigh. ”Ask the apothecary; they know what you need. I don”t know where the witch is now, but I heard a rumor that she lives in the Bergafas. Now, please leave.” I got to my feet as he retreated and closed the door.
”Wait! In the Bergafas? What does that mean?” I called after him, but it was too late.
In the Bergafas, in a cave near it? Surely not in the volcano itself...
I sighed as I turned to Jerica, giving her a big hug. ”Thank you so much. I couldn”t have gotten this far without you. I”m sure you have more important business to attend to. I believe I have a path to follow now.” She nodded and turned to go, but she asked one last question.
”I don”t suppose Miss Gingel would be up for accepting visitors, even if it were just to say goodbye?”
”I”m sure she would be happy to see you again. She is there with her husband, Arit. Tell them I”m following a lead and will be back as soon as I can.” I was already moving, my feet light as I took off in the direction of the market, waving as I went.
There was no denying the urge to take off running in the market”s direction. I wasn”t sure what part the apothecary had to play in this, but he seemed kind and willing to help. My pace was approaching full tilt when I heard a small voice behind me yelling for me to wait. Skidding to a stop, I whirled around to see a petite, mousey young woman waving at me from halfway up the street. I jogged back to her, annoyed by the interruption.
”Yes, miss? How can I help you?” I asked.
”I”m the one who can help you. My father was trying to protect me. We were mobbed by questions last time, and he”s afraid people will bother me again. He means well. Honestly, I don”t think he”s been the same since it all happened. Every once in a while, he gets a haunted look on his face, and I know he”s thinking about what happened.”
This was the girl. She looked alive, at least. That was a good sign.
”I don”t have long before he finds out I”m gone, but I don”t really remember much from back then. I was only eight,” she said, breathing heavily from her pursuit of me. ”All I know is that we purchased items from the apothecary that the witch needed and then found her in the woods. She lived very near the Bergafas. Said she liked the heat of it. Her appearance did frighten me so.”
I wondered at the nature of her illness, she seemed well enough now.
”Do you remember how the witch healed you?” I asked.
”Not really. I was in and out, delirious most of the time. I remember something about another man. He was strange, and he frightened me as well. I never found out why he came with us, but I didn”t see him again once I was home. I”m sorry, I don”t remember much else. Oh, except she didn”t like being called a witch. She much preferred ”hag,” but I can”t see that there is much of a distinction. Equally bad if you ask me.”
I laughed, ”I would agree with you there. May I ask after the nature of your illness.”
She pulled her arms around her waist, looking down, kicking a small rock.
”No one knew for sure what it was. Mother called it some kind of wasting disease. I was so thin my mother said she could carry me like a doll. I”m surprised I survived the healing process at all.”
I reached to clasp both of her hands in mine.
”Thank you for talking to me. I”m so thankful you lived.”
”What is wrong with your sister, if I can ask?” she looked up at me, concern in her eyes. I realized I”d hardly said it out loud: the nature of Gingel”s injury.
”Her leg was crushed. She”s like you, delicate. I”m positive she wouldn”t have survived an amputation. There…I don”t see any other option but to find the hag.”
A noise from behind the girl had us turning to look.
”I should be getting back. I will think of you and your sister. May the gods guide you on your way.”
I smiled and thanked her again, and she hurried home. There didn”t seem to be much useful information to be gleaned from her, but at least I knew the event happened and she lived. That was enough encouragement for me.
Finally arriving at the marketplace, I waited as patiently as I could in line. They had not been in jest about the volume of business they were receiving. Even with both working non-stop, the line took a good deal of time to address. I was relieved that I had found the end of it, though. No other customers lined up behind me, and I could ask my questions without listening ears.
”Ah! Welcome back, young miss. Please tell me you haven”t exhausted your supply of paupolet already?” He tilted a dubious eyebrow.
”No, indeed; however, that does remind me to purchase more for our journey. My main purpose here is for something more... well, I”m not sure how to put this. I was told about a strange event: a young girl of eight years old, healed by someone referred to as a ”Hag?” There was the indication that items were purchased for this...treatment, from you. This would have been ten years ago?”
The man had bristled at the reference to the Hag. He remembers. The color drained from his already pale face. He tilted his chin down, and he stared into my eyes, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper.
”I can”t recommend this course of action. Yes, it did save the girl, but the Hag is not someone you would wish to have dealings with. I do wonder if she even exists anymore. She had been a yearly customer, but I have not seen her for many seasons now. I would hate for you to send yourself on a fool”s errand down that dangerous path.”
I willed my desperation to paint my face, eyes wide and imploring. ”I don”t have much of a choice now. We never did.”
”What is the nature of the injury?” A solution-oriented man. Good.
”Crushed lower leg on an eighteen-year-old woman three days ago. Delicate constitution. It should have been amputated, but we”ve missed that window, and I doubt she would survive that anyhow.”
”I see,” he said with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck and he thought. ”No, you”ve more than likely assessed the situation correctly.” He looked up at me. ”Paupolet for pain?” I nodded. ”Do you have coin for the Hag? She will not do this for free.”
”I have some. Whether it is enough, I don”t know. I will offer what I have, and she can take it or leave it. I can do no more.”
He looked thoughtful for a moment, then turned to gather a smattering of items and placed them in a small basket.
”Here is what she required last time, with the paupolet. I don”t agree with what the Hag does, but from where you are standing, you have no other options. Be careful. The road is perilous, and the Hag is dangerous in her own right.” He placed the basket in my hands.
”How much for these?” I asked.
”Just go before my wife sees.” His kind eyes sparkled before he winked. I shook my head.
”I can”t take your charity, sir.”
”Please. It was a good harvest this year. The townsfolk are spending money hand over fist. If I can”t afford to be charitable now, I never will. Besides, it would all be for naught if you didn”t have coin enough for the Hag. Go now, and gods be with you.”
He pushed the basket toward me and smiled. I nodded shyly, determined to return someday to repay him.
My legs couldn”t carry me fast enough. Filled with a hope I hadn”t dared to entertain, my poor little heart was now beating fast, spurring me on. I marveled at how easily the pieces had come together. A twinge of suspicion stalked the back of my mind. Too easy? No, it must be the gods” will. Yes. This endeavor must be blessed. I nearly collided with a portly man exiting the Inn in my haste, receiving a blunt curse.
I quickly told Arit and Gingel my tale of the day, discovering that Jerica had just left. Perhaps it was for the best I missed her, I had good news I couldn”t wait to share.
”What now?” Arit was keen on the next steps.
”Now we venture into the forest and find this ”hag” person.” I smiled, grasping their hands. ”I am encouraged. There was little hope that I would find what I needed, but here it is, the proof.”
Gingel smiled at Arit. ”See. I knew all would be well.” She turned to me. ”You never fail us, Elle.” I looked down. That wasn”t true. There had been so many mistakes I”d made since we fled our home—perhaps even fleeing was a mistake. I shook my head. I would not be deterred or disheartened.
”I have one last task for tonight. I”ll ask around about the best road to take to the Bergafas. We leave at first light again.”
Standing to place a kiss on Gingel”s head, I left the basket in the room with Arit and went hunting for information. The closest ear I could see was a barkeep busy with chores.
”There”s no road, not soes you”d know it, Miss. Not many folks venture out that way. No need for it. There might be some poor folk out that forest there, tryin” tah scratch a livin”. But if ya want to get all the way to the black mountain, it”s by foot or horse alone. No wagon”s gunta make it. No, Miss.”
The barkeep was a bit of a slow man; his words labored to make their way out of his mouth, but he was the best source of information I had. Taking Bordus only and selling the wagon would slow us down, but it would give us more coin. The confidence I had upon entering the tavern had begun to erode. There were several parts of this process to which I was blind.
How much coin will the Hag require? Where does she live? Does she still live? Would she just kill us all and take what we have? How long does Gingel have?
That last question could be addressed tonight. I hadn”t seen Eth lurking nearby since we left Brint. There had been too many things to do, tasks to complete. But now, as I completed the sale of the wagon and made my way back to the Inn, I could feel someone watching me. I laughed at myself, wondering if I would be more uneasy if it were Eth or a stranger watching me.
Eth can”t hurt me, or so he claims. It”s still strange that I should fear him less than a ruffian in the dark.
The sun”s rays had not yet abandoned the darkening sky above when my hunt began. As before, I circled the place where Gingel would be and eventually found my quarry. In the dark, he seemed less terrifying, his eyes more human-shaped, set forward in his skull, but his cheekbones still protruded in a ghastly fashion. He remained stationery where I found him; his garment”s almost imperceptible pulsing the only movement.
”Again, you have found me. What answers do you seek tonight?” His voice was smooth, a soft vibration, like the rumble of my father”s chest, as he rocked me to sleep. It was faint, but a smile played at the corners of the thin line of his lips.
”I need to know how much time we have. Would you show me the thread?”
He produced it with ease; only a single loop of slack hung at his wrist. It was difficult to tell how much thread had been wound, but it was certainly diminishing.
”You have been quite busy today,” he said as I tried to calculate the length of the thread. ”Did you find what you were looking for?” His brows darkened but released just as quickly.
I couldn”t tell if he knew what I had done that day or if he was genuinely curious.
His form seemed to float as he moved closer.
He knows.
”Elle, no one has escaped their thread. Take this time to enjoy her company as long as you can. No healing can stop what is to be,” he said, his voice quieter, soothing. I bristled but tried to reply in kind.
”What about the girl? The one the Hag saved? What happened to her thread?” If he could know all, surely he would be able to know that. He paused a moment, tilting his head to the side, eyes closed. A moment later, he raised his eyes to meet mine.
”She had no thread, no guide summoned. The girl would have recovered from her malady in time had the Hag not hastened her recovery. I would not lie to you.”
The air pressed out of my lungs. Color faded from my face as I stood silent, blood pounding in my ears.
No, no, no.
I had been kicked by a colt in my father”s stables at the tender age of twelve, right in the breastbone. I remembered the shock, the pain, but mostly the feeling of panic when the air didn”t rush back into my lungs. Worse by tenfold. I can”t breathe. All this, all the pieces fitting, it couldn”t be for nothing. I refused to believe it. My throat constricted, collapsing in upon itself.
”Elle...” Eth stepped toward me slowly, gliding along the dusted cobble. He lifted a hand, reaching for my cheek, a surprising gesture of comfort. I felt a strange thrill as he approached, and I finally inhaled sharply. His hand pulled back quickly as if his movement was unintended. I shook my head as I stepped back.
”No. It doesn”t matter. If it has never happened before, then I will be the first to do it.”
”It cannot be done.”
I lifted my chin in defiance.
”You will watch me do it.”