The Valley of Lies (Lightkeepers #1)

Chapter FIVE: Ayer

The heavy iron door at Ayer's back opened and closed with a bang. She dropped the scrub brush she'd been holding and turned, muttering an oath. She'd expected to find Edril or Foswida standing there in their finery with some new demand to crowd her already cumbersome schedule, but it was only her brother.

"What is it, Zan?" It was difficult to conceal her exasperation. This wasn't his fault, not really.

She stooped down to pick up the fallen brush, wiping her sweaty forehead and tucking a strand of long black hair behind her pointed ear. Cleaning cauldrons was sweat labor.

"Gee. Good morning to you too, sis."

Ayer sighed and clucked her tongue at him, turning back to the half-cleaned cauldron she'd been working on all morning. Domira had cooked up something downright nasty in the pot and had forgotten to take it off the flame before it burned. The cauldron was caked with thick brown sludge hardened into an impenetrable crust, which had likely started out as one of the witch's favored combinations of bone broth and blood. Hidden like cysts within the crust were pockets of congealed stems, twigs, and brittle bone shards. Reptiles and birds, maybe a rodent or two. The stench was unbearable.

She held out the scrub brush to Zan. "Do you want to trade places? I doubt your humor would remain with you long."

Zan chuckled, drawing out a pouch from inside his long, tattered jacket. "That's probably true. You know, I'm doing all I can." By which he meant, endangering himself to find a way to sneak her out of the Coven. "I need a measure of ground goat hooves."

"Why?"

She set down the rag and brush on the table beside the cauldron, rubbing her dirty hands on her dirty apron. She was filthy all the time, aside from the odd nights when the witches held their Revelries. For those debauched festivities, they'd have Ayer groomed and primped so they could put her on display. But even then she never felt truly clean.

"There's talk of unrest beyond the gate, and farther south the ley lines are reactive."

Ayer sucked in a breath. "Oh Zan, please don't leave. Not while it's so dangerous."

"I'm not leaving Blackwater." His meaning wasn't lost on his sister. Her little brother wasn't guaranteeing he would stay inside the Coven's perimeter, like she'd prefer. Only that for now he needn't journey outside the territory's border. "There are satyrs with information that could prove useful, but they won't be in Blackwater long. They're here for next week's Revelry. I can't miss this opportunity."

"Satyrs? I see," Ayer murmured, her gaze alighting on the grime speckling the ground where she'd dropped the brush. She looked back up, finding her brother's bright hazel eyes on her. "Be careful, Zan. I don't know what I'd do if..."

"Don't worry, the feeling is mutual."

A loose smile played across his freckled cheeks. Ayer forced herself to smile back, even as darkness clouded her mind. It was no secret that Zan spent most of his time risking his hide for her sake. Ayer's days were never easy, but now her concerns intensified. She didn't want her brother getting himself captured or worse on her account. If it would keep Zan safe, she would endure servitude to the witches for a thousand years. She had never asked him to protect her; she'd just given up trying to convince him otherwise.

"You know I always worry," she whispered, taking the brush back in hand. If she lagged for too long, she'd never catch up, and the witches would punish her if she failed to complete her chores.

"What are big sisters for, right?" Zan winked.

Ayer begrudgingly supplied him with the ground hoof powder and sent him on his way. They saluted instead of hugging, a habit they'd adopted so long ago Ayer couldn't recall why. Probably because of her filth.

She went back to work with feverish conviction, all the while worrying what kind of mischief her wild-hearted brother was getting himself embroiled in. Trouble followed that boy everywhere, and she feared it was only a matter of time before his good luck ran out.