Moons' Dreaming (Children of the Rock) (54 page)

“
One piece.
”

Pepper and Matti didn
’
t waste any time. Their small hands dove at once into the rustling pile. Vray picked up a piece of the candy and slowly unwrapped it. Chunks of pecan jutted from the surface of the otherwise smooth brown candy.

“
I wasn
’
t sure if you had a sweet tooth.
”

She glanced quickly at the carter. Was the man apologizing? Her unreliable emotions threatened tears, but she mastered the feeling at once.

“
It
’
s a lovely treat,
”
she assured him.

Matti jumped down to the ground. Pepper asked,
“
Where
’
s Tob?
”

“
We had a small delivery for Herri. He
’
ll be home for supper.
”

Jordy waited while Cyril escorted the happily chattering Pepper and Matti from the stable to take their treasure to the house. Then he pulled out a small chest, lifted the lid, and dug past the layers of protective wrapping u
ntil he uncovered folds of rust-
brown wool. He straightened and handed the bundle to Vray.

It was heavy, and far too hot draped across her arm. She held it away from her.
“
A cloak.
”

“
Aye. The weave is plain, but it wears well. I thought you might decorate it to suit yourself, seeing as you have quite a few ninedays yet before the weather cools.
”

“
To suit myself,
”
she repeated.

“
It
’
s for you. A winter cloak.
”
Her continued puzzlement seemed to make him uneasy.
“
Unless you don
’
t like the color.
”

“
I do! It
’
s beautiful!
”
she said hastily. She thought that in a moment she was going to cry.
“
It
’
s just that
…
Do you return from all yo
ur trips with so many gifts for—
for your children?
”

“
I
’
m only bringing things you need, my girl.
”

She clutched the cloak in both hands. The wool smelled faintly of sweet herbs. The man
’
s generosity overwhelmed her
—
how could she possibly express her gratitude?

“
I have to finish the weeding,
”
she said, and fled to the solitude of the garden.

* * *

“
I don
’
t want to be here, you know. What
’
s this one? I
’
ll have more, please.
”

Chasa overheard the girl
’
s precisely enunciated words as he walked past the dining room several hours after the end of dinner. Feather was seated by herself at the big table. Dektrieb placed a glass of wine beside her hand, and started to move away.

“
Just leave the bottle,
”
Feather ordered after taking a long drink.
“
Save you having to run back in here every few minutes.
”

She held up the glass to the light.
“
I like this one.
”

Chasa watched silently from the doorway, not sure whether he was amused or annoyed. Dektrieb did not look happy, but did as he was told. The servant saw him as he turned away from Feather, and shook his head as he went out. It was up to Chasa to see what he could do. He took a deep breath and entered. Several glasses of different shapes and sizes cluttered the table in front of the girl. Two were empty, and four more held various amounts of wine in shades of red, purple, gold
,
and sparkling clear. Each vintage looked to have been tasted. Probably more than once, if the unfocused look on Feather
’
s face meant anything.

Chasa sat down beside her.
“
Hello.
”

She took her attention away from the glass only momentarily. Just long enough to rake a contemptuous look over him.
“
Oh, it
’
s you.
”

“
So it is.
”

“
I want to be alone.
”

She took another long drink. Chasa remained where he was. After a while she spoke again.

“
This is very good.
”

“
Is it?
”

She favored him with another cold look.
“
I just said so. Gods, but you
’
re stupid. Stupid and dull. Not ugly. I
’
ll give you that. Very pretty. Too pretty. Too young and muscled. Muscles and no brains.
”

Chasa winced at her words, but spoke patiently.
“
You
’
re drunk, you know.
”

“
How would I know?
”
She banged a small fist on the table. One of the empty glasses turned over and rolled toward Chasa.
“
I
’
ve never been drunk before. I
’
m just
…
learning new things. Sene wants me to learn new things. So I
’
m learning about wine. It makes me numb, so I think I
’
m going to try it a lot. Do you ever learn new things?
”

“
I try. About wine, for instance. In the morning you won
’
t feel so numb. I learned that several years ago.
”

“
You learned something? It stayed in your pretty yellow head?
”

Chasa set the empty glass upright.
“
Yes.
”

She banged her fist again.
“
That
’
s not fair!
”
She began to snivel.
“
Nothing
’
s ever fair!
”

“
What isn
’
t fair?
”

“
You know things,
”
she told him.
“
You remember things. And you
’
re only a Shaper. Why do you have memories when I don
’
t?
”

Because Jenil
’
s an idiot
, he said to himself.
“
I don
’
t know.
”

Feather
’
s lips drew back in an angry snarl, and she threw a glass at him.
“
Of course you don
’
t know! I don
’
t want to be here! I don
’
t want to be with you! I don
’
t want to hear your voice! It scares me to hear your voice.
”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. More glasses were overturned, wine splashing everywhere as Feather lay her head on her folded arms and began to sob.

Chasa hurried around the table to her, then hesitated to touch her.
“
Why does it scare you, Feather? How can I help?
”

“
Go away.
”
She lifted her head. Her face was stained with tears and wine and she looked thoroughly miserable.
“
I don
’
t want to be here. I want to go back to Garden Vale.
”

“
You can
’
t.
”

She found another glass to throw at him.
“
Why not?
”

“
Because it wouldn
’
t help. You know about us now, and about your family. You can
’
t hide from things you know.
”

“
But I don
’
t remember!
”

He hesitantly touched her shoulder. She shook him off. Chasa took a step back, hands behind his back. He waited for her to throw something else. When she just sat there, looking down as wine dripped from the table onto her skirt, he said,
“
Feather?
”

“
What?
”
she shouted. She got unsteadily to her feet, then slipped in the puddle that had formed beneath the chair. He didn
’
t try to catch her, just let her grab the table instead.

“
Why do I frighten you?
”

“
I
’
m going to be sick.
”

“
It
’
s probably for the best,
”
Chasa assured her.
“
You shouldn
’
t mix so many different types of drinks. Why do I frighten you?
”

She gulped. Her pale complexion began to look decidedly green.
“
Because sometimes I almost remember you
—
but only almost. Like hearing things on the other side of a wall that
’
s too high to climb.
”

She gulped again, and cupped her hand over her mouth. Behind it she said,
“
Go away.
”

Chasa moved toward the door to call for Dektrieb and Feather
’
s maid. As he reached it, he heard her gag and begin to vomit. He wanted to turn back and help her himself, but his bad-tempered, drunken betrothed wouldn
’
t appreciate it. Wouldn
’
t want to hear his voice.

By the Firstmother, Jenil
, he swore under his breath,
this is all your fault! You had no business taking her away
.
So far away from herself that maybe no one could bring her back again.
She had no memory, and there was nothing Chasa could do about it. Nothing he could do but go away.

Dreamers were no use at shaping things. Look what Jenil had done to Feather.

“
For her own good,
”
he grumbled as he marched into his own room and slammed the door behind him. In the soft glow of the bedside lantern he saw that the linens were turned back, the pillows fluffed. It had been a long day, but sleep didn
’
t tempt him. He needed activity. There had to be something he could do, some help he could offer someone. The Dreamers weren
’
t enemies to the rest of the Children of the Rock. They just had no talent for making decisions. They forgot that the people they
“
helped
”
should have a say in their own fate.

His thoughts shifted from Feather to the afternoon
’
s conversation with Jeyn and Ivey. Abstainers who were really phantom cats or dragons in disguise? A terrifying thought, if it were true. Which it couldn
’
t be. Still, there was something odd going on. Abstainers tended to stay away from settled areas. They preferred to hunt and glean in the wilderness, surviving with as little regulation or pattern in their lives as was physically possible. In winter, they sometimes had no choice. If they didn
’
t raid the occasional isolated farm they starved. But it was summer. Recent attacks couldn
’
t have been motivated by need.

By what, then?

Chasa went to the chest at the foot of the bed and took out the sword he
’
d put away only last night. Aage was a great one for presenting ideas, not so great at proposing a course of action. Ivey collected information, but choice tidbits of village gossip and snatches of conversation overheard in a bar weren
’
t much use unless you knew what was behind them. Dad could speculate for the next three ninedays and be no closer to coming up with a solution than they were now. There was only one way to find out what was driving the Abstainers into Sitrine.