The Healer's Legacy (15 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Milvari huddled at the bottom of the ravine, shivering, her wet skirt weighing her down. Her face and arms burned from the branches that had lashed her as she ran, and her knees were scratched from the fall. She’d dropped her cloak as she scrambled between the trees and now she shivered in the cold night air. Should she ask the hunter to send the frightening animal away? Could she?

She shrank back. She was such a fool. Her mother was right, she wasn’t good for anything. She had so wanted to be like the hunter! Strong. Brave.

“All right, Kel. I guess you’ll have to go.” The hunter’s voice seemed filled with disappointment.

“N-no. It’s all right.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes.” Milvari tried to sound confident, but her voice came out a high-pitched squeak.

“All right, Milvari. Try to climb up. Just go slowly.”

She reached up, trying to find a handhold, but the rocks and gravel loosened, a shower of dirt tumbled down on her. She coughed.

“Are you all right?” the hunter asked.

Milvari spit dirt out of her mouth and then almost laughed. Her mother would be mortified. She grew braver at the thought of her unladylike plight. “I’m fine,” she called out. “Except I keep slipping back down. The rocks are all loose.”

“Try moving farther along the ravine. The embankment might be more solid.”

“But I can’t see.” Milvari’s budding courage wavered.

“Try to feel your way. Stretch your arms out to the sides and use your fingers to guide you. It might help if you close your eyes.”

Milvari squeezed her eyes shut. Reaching out with her left hand, she inched her way along the bank until her fingers touched firm ground. “I think I found a solid place,” she called.

“Good,” the hunter said. “Keep talking so I can find the spot above you.”

Keep talking? What should she say? Milvari had been told over and over by her mother not to speak unless spoken to. She’d already said more in the past few minutes than she had in months.

“Milvari?” Her name floated down to her, rousing her from her thoughts.

“I’m here. But I-I don’t know what to say.”

“Try telling me what you recall about the plants we found in the field. Do you remember?”

“Oh yes!” She went over every plant and the properties associated with each. The shape of the leaves, the color of the flowers, the places where they grew. The words seemed to jump out of her.

“Milvari,” the hunter interrupted from above, “you need to try climbing up now.”

“I’m sorry,” Milvari’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. Had that been her rattling on like a child?

“Don’t be. I’m very impressed. You seem to remember everything I taught you. Come along, now. Give it another try. I’ll be here to give you a hand at the top.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

They left Vaith and Kelmir at the edge of the forest. Milvari sat behind Kira, wrapped in Kira’s cloak and clinging to her as if she feared she would fall off Trad’s back. Kira reached down and patted the girl’s cold wet hands.  “We’re nearly home,” she said to sooth Milvari’s fears.

They drew near the hold. The heavy gate stood open to the night. Lanterns were lit and hung along the tops of the walls, causing strange shadows to bounce and weave. People rushed about in disorder. The hold looked like a roiling kettle about to boil over. Kira urged Trad on. Whatever was going on, Holder Tem would be relieved to have his niece safely back inside the walls of Tem Hold.

They rode through the gate and Kira halted Trad in the main yard. Someone called Milvari’s name. A shadow loomed across the ground as the stable door slammed opened and light spilled out. Kira recognized the silhouette. Holder Tem strode forward to meet them. He folded his arms across his chest, an angry aura billowing around him.

Kira tensed. Milvari’s grip tightened and she leaned out to look past Kira at the irate man standing before them.

In the light from the lanterns, Kira saw the muscles in the holder’s jaw working before he spoke. His words scraped through clenched teeth. “It’s late to be out, Hunter.”

She gripped the reins in her fist and steadied her nerves. She let every trace of emotion fall away from her face. Keeping her eyes on the muscular man, she reached back to help Milvari dismount. Still shivering, the girl clung to Kira’s arm as she slid off the horse’s back to stand before her uncle. She seemed small, huddled in Kira’s heavy cloak.

Kira slipped out of the saddle to stand beside the young girl. Fear tingled its way along her skin. She put a hand on Trad’s shoulder to steady herself. The holder stared at her and she wanted to run, to escape. Memories of the way Toril had glared at her before the beatings returned, mixing with the pounding of her blood. Her breathing grew shallow. A part of her knew Milos Tem had never given her any reason to fear him, but neither had Toril. At first.

“I am sorry if we worried you, Holder Tem.” Her mouth was dry and she hoped he wouldn’t hear the fear in her voice. Her fear had always enraged Toril, driving him to greater brutality. “I had intended to have your niece back before dark, but we had a small mishap.”

Milvari glanced up at her, then looked down again. Kira hoped Milvari wouldn’t spoil the lie. It was only a small tale, after all, and might save the girl some trouble.

“I can see that,” the holder snapped. “Milvari, go inside.”

“But Uncle—” she began, looking directly at him.

His eyes grew dark and his jaw tightened, and Milvari dropped her head.

“Go, now.” His voice was low, but seemed to hold less anger. “I will speak to the hunter alone.”

Milvari drew off the cloak and handed it to Kira. “Thank you,” she said. “I look forward to our lessons tomorrow.” She glanced at her uncle, lifted her chin, and set off toward the main building.

As Milvari walked away, Kira steeled herself, waiting for the storm of the holder’s anger to unleash itself. But Milos stood mesmerized, staring toward the hall long after the girl had gone inside. When he turned back to Kira, his eyes shone in the lamplight. “I don’t know what has happened,” he said, his voice as quiet as a mountain lake at dawn. “I cannot condone that you have put my niece at risk, but I—” He glanced back toward the hall.

The holder’s face seemed to change before her eyes. The worry and anger appeared to melt away, leaving a mingled expression of sorrow and joy. For a moment, her fear fell away. Then his face resolved into its usual stern countenance and the moment passed. Kira wondered if the change she had seen had only been her imagination.

“In the future,” the holder said, “you will notify me if you plan to take my niece out of the hold for any reason, and you will not have her outside these walls after dark.”

His tone was harsh, but Kira heard something else. She heard the sound of her father’s voice when he scolded her for venturing too far from their cot. The voice that warned of danger, the voice that feared for her safety, the voice that wished to protect. It warmed her to know the holder felt that same way about his niece. “Yes, Holder Tem.”

He started to leave, but his shoulders stiffened suddenly and he rounded on her. “And you will not take her out to hunt at any time!”

Kira started. Trad shimmied sideways with a high whinny, pulling her around and nearly tearing the reins from her hand. Kira stroked his mane, speaking quietly to him. When she turned back, the holder had gone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Kira entered the hall and strode briskly to the table where Milvari waited. Her young student had paper and ink laid out on the table. Milvari glanced up at Kira’s approach. Worry darkened her face.

“Good morn, Milvari,” Kira said. “Is something wrong?”

Milvari dropped her head and let her hair fall forward. She reminded Kira of the frightened child she had been after the death of her parents. With a gentle touch, she raised the girl’s head so she could see her face and gave her a reassuring smile. “Milvari, please go and let your uncle know that we will be going outside the hold for our lesson today.”

Milvari’s eyes grew round. “But—”

Milvari swallowed hard, but she didn’t turn away from Kira. “What if he gets angry?”

Kira put her hand on Milvari’s shoulder. She understood the girl’s fear. But the holder had not acted out his anger in physical violence. “He was angry last night,” she said softly, “and no one was harmed.”

Milvari’s eyes glistened. “But what if he sends us away from Tem Hold?” Her voice trembled.

Kira was caught off guard by the question. “Why would he do that?”

Milvari’s lower lip quivered. “Because I’m not a proper lady and he won’t be able to find me a husband and he doesn’t want to have to take care of us forever,” she blurted.

“Oh Milvari, I had no idea.” She sat beside the girl and put an arm around her shoulders. “Did he really say that to you?”

“No,” Milvari said. “He didn’t say it. She did.” She turned to Kira. “Do you think—?”

“She?”

“Mother. She’s always telling me what a burden we are to him. How angry he is when I don’t behave like a proper lady.” Her dark eyes flashed. “It’s not true, is it? He’s not like that at all. Is he?”

Kira thought about the concern the holder had shown for his niece’s safety. “No,” she said. “I don’t believe he is.”

“Why does she say those things?”

Kira shrugged. “I cannot say.”

“I hate her!” Milvari jumped up and ran from the room.

Kira wanted to go after the girl, but something told her that Milvari needed time. Betrayal by a loved one was a hard pain to bear, and Milvari felt betrayed by her own mother. Kira could not understand what would make someone lie and say such things to a child.

Kira wondered what would happen now. Her plan to teach Milvari more about plants today hadn’t gone very well. She opened the book of animal drawings and turned the pages distractedly. The renderings were realistic, the accompanying descriptions penned in a neat hand. Each animal was depicted in its natural environment, its habits described in detail. It reminded her of the scrolls she had produced during her time with Heresta. She had worked hard to make her drawings as accurate as possible. She would go over them with her mentor and refine them until she knew the plants intimately. The person who had drawn the animals in this book knew them and understood them well.

“I had hoped Tratine would be interested enough to want to improve his skills in letters.”

Kira jumped, letting the book fall shut.

Holder Tem moved from behind her.  “I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, picking up the book and leafing through it.

He stood a hand’s breadth away. So near that the warmth of his body caressed her skin. She shifted in her chair.

“It was my field guide,” he said. “My father had me make it when I was near to Tratine’s age. He used it as a tool to interest me in my lessons.”

So, the precise drawings were his. She waited to see if he would say more, but he was absorbed by the little book. His face was calm. The stern, angry holder was gone, and the caring man she had glimpsed the night before stood beside her. Kira was mystified. She felt her head tingle, realized she was staring, stood and walked to the window. The tingling was like the pull from Vaith or Kelmir when they wanted her attention, but with a subtle difference. There was no clear message. It was like a faint whisper drifting on a summer’s breeze. A whisper so quiet it could not be understood.

Outside, gauzy clouds drifted across a pale blue sky. It would have been a perfect day to take Milvari out to gather herbs. Kira hesitated. Why should she fear to do what she had earlier suggested be done by Milvari? “Holder Tem,” she began. His silence made her turn to face him. He was staring past her out the window at something distant.

“Holder Tem?”

He dropped his gaze. His face flushed. “Your pardon,” he said. “I must have been daydreaming. Not appropriate behavior for a holder, I’m afraid.” He handed the book to Kira and his face settled back into its familiar severity. “What do you require, Hunter?”

“I’ve discovered that your niece has a keen interest in the lore of plants.” Kira phrased her words with care and watched him closely. “I see that you understand the importance of inspiring young people to learn, and I would like your permission to foster her interest.”

“And why should she be taught such lore?”

“Merely as a way to strengthen her interest in her other lessons, I assure you. To encourage her as you thought this might encourage Tratine.” She held up the book.

“I see. And you feel that this is the best way for Milvari to learn?”

Kira looked him in the eye. “Yes.”

He stared back at her. The strange tingle edged its way along her scalp. She ran her fingers through her hair and the sensation faded.

“All right,” he said finally. “You may take her outside the hold for afternoon lessons as weather and time permit. But only until her mother returns. There are some battles not worth fighting.”

Kira smiled in surprise at hearing one of Heresta’s sayings on another’s lips. “Thank you, Holder Tem. I know that Milvari will learn much.”

The holder began to say more, but then he merely shrugged and walked away.