Chapter 30
‘Trust me, this will get us there so much faster and I’ve practically walked my legs into little stumps. See?’ Sunay stuck out one leg dramatically. ‘Please, Elver, think of my shoes.’
Elver hesitated before the steps. The coach was the biggest she had seen, with enough seats inside for around ten people, and at the front were two powerful black horses with white socks.
She had pulled her hood up over her head, but there was no avoiding the fact that the cabin was crammed with humans.
They would be able to see her scarred face and her yellow eyes, and even worse, she would have to expend so much energy to avoid touching them—because humans certainly didn’t seem to have any sense of personal space.
It was dusk, the temperature around them dropping swiftly, and she could see from the expressions of the people already inside that they would dearly like her to stop dithering and get in so they could close the door.
It’ll get us there quicker , she told herself. Which means I’ll be home all the sooner.
She bent her head to the sack in her arms. It was just possible to see the faint green glow of the cub’s eyes.
‘We have to get in a human carriage now,’ she whispered. ‘Are you going to behave yourself?’
Can I bite them?
‘No.’
You are very boring. The cub yawned. I will make things more exciting. I will jump out, and bite.
‘Listen.’ Elver pressed her head into the sack, so that her nose almost touched his. ‘This is a big scary thing for me, okay? Being this close to humans. So I need you to be brave for both of us. Just be brave and very… quiet. Can you do that for me?’
It was too dark to see, but she felt the cub’s feathers puff out with self-importance.
I will do it. Because I am very brave and tough.
Elver closed the neck of the sack and nodded at Sunay.
She followed Sunay up the steps, which were then folded away by the driver.
The humans inside were a varied bunch, as far as she could tell; there was an older couple, one of whom was wrapped with enough blankets and shawls to see them through the darkest winter in the Jih Forest; a broad-shouldered woman with a broken nose and large, labourer’s arms; and a family—a mother, father, and three smallish children.
She and Sunay found seats in the corner, where Elver attempted to hide herself away as much as possible—she could already see the smallest kid staring at her with big, blue eyes—but Sunay leaned forward and greeted everyone in the carriage, merrily introducing herself and solemnly shaking hands with each of the children.
With a lurch and a mild protest from one of the horses, the coach started on its way.
Elver placed the sack on the floor between her feet, giving the cub a surreptitious pat as she did so.
‘I should tell you all that I am a mage dedicated to Tisk, lord of tales, tricks, and tribulations.’ Sunay produced a large silver coin from somewhere within her sleeve and spun it expertly across her knuckles, making it flash like the moon.
The children immediately turned their attention away from Elver to the mage.
‘So this carriage ride is truly blessed.’
‘It had better be,’ said the broad-shouldered woman mildly. ‘I’ve got work in the next village and I can’t have any tricks delaying me, magpie.’
‘Of course, of course,’ said Sunay, bowing her head. ‘I merely offer some minor entertainments to keep us merry on the journey.’
‘At what price?’ asked the older man. His voice was dry, but he was smiling faintly as he spoke.
‘Why, only your souls…’ Sunay paused, then laughed uproariously.
‘Just kidding. Any godly trinket you might have on you would do. My lord isn’t fussy.
’ She made the coin dance and the children began to tug at their mother’s skirts until she gave her husband a meaningful look.
He sighed and pulled a small item from within one of his bags.
It was a tiny carving of a mouse inscribed with letters too small to make out. He passed it to Sunay.
‘We had this token of Milik the Small for our cottage—it kept the mice out of the pantry, but we’re moving, so I don’t suppose we need it any more.’
‘Perfect,’ said Sunay. She tapped the top of the wooden mouse’s head and suddenly it was real, eyes like little beads of black glass, nose twitching inquisitively.
The children gasped, and when Sunay held out her hand towards them, the mouse turned several somersaults before transforming into a silver button, which she passed to the littlest kid.
The child cradled the button in her hands as though it might turn back into a mouse at any moment.
Elver caught herself smiling. Annoyed, she looked down at her own boots.
Something in the carriage seemed to shift then, and several conversations broke out.
The mother of the children brought out a number of sweet buns from her own bag and passed them around the little cabin, while the old lady who was so thoroughly wrapped up against the cold bent to tie the laces of one of the children.
The woman with the broken nose leaned towards Elver with a smile, holding out a small silver bottle which she had produced from somewhere within her coat.
‘Want a sip? It’ll keep you warm.’
For a long second, Elver didn’t move. The human woman was completely at ease with her, despite the way she looked, and was offering something of her own for no reason that Elver could see.
Carefully, so as not to brush the woman’s fingers with her own, she took the bottle and had a cautious sip.
It tasted of honey and elderberries. When she passed it back, the woman winked.
‘My name is Halla,’ she said. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
‘I am Elver.’ She cast about desperately for something to say. ‘The drink is… very good.’
‘Thank you.’ Halla flushed with pleasure. ‘I brew it myself and I always take a little with me when I’m away for work, especially when it gets cold. I deal with timber, you see, and I’m out in all weathers.’
Halla offered the bottle to the elderly man, and got chatting to him too, and Elver felt a strange mixture of relief and disappointment.
It occurred to her that Artair would have loved this; would have been thrilled just to sit and hear other people’s stories.
He was so curious about the world. Through the window to her left she could see warm lights burning in the darkness.
They were passing through a village or a town, and these were the welcoming lamps of a human space.
For the first time that she could remember, she felt almost comforted by it.
When Sunay paused for a moment in her relentless charming of the children, who were now arguing amongst themselves over who got to hold the mouse button, Elver leaned over and spoke into the mage’s ear, as close as she dared.
‘Do you still have the Frozen Heart on you? Can I… look at it for a moment?’
Sunay’s dark eyes found hers immediately. They were twinkling with amusement.
‘Missing him already, are you?’
‘I don’t—’
‘I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you,’ said Sunay without pausing. ‘I popped that little trinket inside Artair’s pack, so wherever he is now, that’s where the Frozen Heart is.’
‘I…’ Elver’s skin prickled all over. The thought of him seeing the vision that was contained in the clay heart filled her with horror. ‘Why did you do that?’ She cleared her throat. ‘I mean, don’t you sell Tisk’s used-up tithes in your shop?’
Sunay shrugged. ‘I just have the feeling that Artair—or maybe even the other one—might need it before long, that’s all.’
At that moment, there was an angry shout from the coach driver. Halla half rose in her seat.
‘What’s going on? Does he need help, or something?’
A second later, his cry was answered by two screams from the horses, and the carriage lurched alarmingly one way and then the other.
The children screamed too, clutching at their parents, and suddenly they were all falling sideways into the wall of the carriage, belongings flying everywhere.
Elver landed awkwardly a second before Halla crashed into her, knocking all the air from her lungs.
I can’t touch her , she thought, panic and anger closing her throat. I mustn’t touch any of them.
There was a chorus of shouts and cries as the carriage came to a stop, punctuated by the crying of the children.
Next to and slightly beneath her, Elver heard Sunay swearing colourfully.
She reached out for the sack, which was still somewhere near her feet, and placed her hand on the rough hessian weave.
Beneath it she could feel the cub’s heart beating wildly.
‘Are you alright?’
I am being brave , said the cub, too quickly. Not like all these shrieking humans.
The window of the carriage was now above them, providing a glimpse of the night sky.
As Elver watched, there was a flash of blindingly bright light, there and gone again in an instant.
Her stomach turned over and she began scrambling towards the door, climbing over the others as best she could without pressing any part of her skin to theirs.
She had a terrible feeling she knew what she’d see outside.
Behind her, Sunay was trying to comfort the children as well as help the old lady to her feet.
Someone had grazed themselves—Elver could smell the blood.
She pushed the door until it swung open, and slowly raised her head out of the opening.