Blood Bargain

Sixteen: In Which Snow Falls

Kaz walked slowly back towards Ellie's house, fully expecting to cross paths with her on the way. He had a feeling she was used to things like this with her grandmother, but it was amusing to him as an outsider.

As predicted, he found her rushing back down the path, muttering under her breath with an enraged look on her face. Kaz couldn't help but smile— it was endearing seeing her angry, and he liked the way the sunshine caught her silver hair.

She practically skidded to a stop in front of him, one hand on his shoulder and panting from running.

"Dammit," Ellie sighed between breaths. "I miss all the good stuff. What did she say?"

"She's smart, I'll give her that. Good intuition," he said, adjusting his hat.

"Kaz," Ellie said, eyes narrowing. "What did she say?"

"Oh, this and that. Nothing bad." Kaz shrugged and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets while they walked back towards Ellie's house. He took her hand almost reflexively, pleased when she didn't pull away.

"Granny took me in when my momma passed," Ellie said slowly. "I was real young. Never met my daddy, but Granny said my blood called out to her just like his did, kin to kin. She tracked me down when momma died and brought me back here."

"I like her," Kaz said as soon as the door to Ellie's house closed behind them. "I can see where you get your attitude from."

"How dare you suggest I am anything but a sweet Georgia peach," Ellie said in mock indignation, batting her eyelashes innocently.

"You're a wild mountain rose is what you are," Kaz said with a snort. "Prickly when you want to be, but you can grow and thrive and climb wherever you want."

Ellie stared.

"What?"

"It's just... That was... Sweet."

There was a strange little confused frown on her lips, and the thought crossed his mind that he wanted to kiss it away. That would hardly be practical, though, and instead he shrugged off his jacket to avoid thinking any more about Ellie's mouth, hanging the coat on a hook by the door. As he turned, he noticed the corner of an envelope peeking out of one of the jacket's inside pockets.

"Oh," Kaz said suddenly, glad of the distraction. "This is for you. Granny said she picked it up on her way home." He fished the slightly crumpled letter out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Ellie. She tore the envelope open and plopped down on one of the kitchen chairs to read, elbows resting on the table and an adorable crease of concentration between her brows.

"It's from Miriam," Ellie said softly, eyes scanning over the page. "Should'a guessed. Was due for a letter from her."

"I remember you mentioned her once," Kaz said, taking a seat beside her.

"Mm. She's my pen pal up in Virginia. She's a real sweetie," she said absently, eyes still locked on Miriam's writing. After a long moment of scanning over text, Ellie put the letter down, worrying her lower lip with her teeth as she sighed.

"Bad news?" Kaz raised an eyebrow.

"Her kids are growin' up fine, but there's been a lot of violence towards the Black residents up there. She don't feel safe, and I can't say I blame her." Ellie sighed, folding up the letter. "Don't wanna leave the mountain, though, and I can't say I blame her for that, either. It's home."

"So she's... stuck?"                                                                     

Ellie sighed, shaking her head. "It's hard to find anyone that will sell land to a witch, a woman, or anyone with darker skin, much less someone who's all three at once. I offered for her to move in here, but she's against Council-ordained witch communities, and even if she wasn't... There's a good chance they'd find a reason to deny her application for residency just because of her skin," Ellie spat. "If I had the option, I'd find a place for us all up here, but... I honestly can't afford land right now, even if anybody would sell."