Enfri nearly dropped the bundle of linen bandages she held. She quickly shoved them onto the stack of poultices she had laid out for Jin. It was imperative that Enfri act natural, as if what Jin just said hadn't about stopped her heart.
Again? she though in astonishment. But that's impossible.
She turned and bobbed a shaky curtsey to Jin. "The... honor's all mine. I wouldn't have thought you'd remember me."
Jin sat unmoving at the table, giving no sign that she was aware that she had said anything out of the ordinary. Her blue, beast-like eyes were unblinking in their scrutiny of her host.
"Is there any reason I shouldn't?" she asked. "My uncle spoke highly of your skills, Sky Woman. His wound healed before the month was out. By the time we returned home, he hardly had a scar."
Enfri swallowed. Before the month was out, she should have been nothing more than a faint memory.
Why? Why can she remember me?
Deebee's ward should have removed her from their thoughts. Instead, she was remembered by the very people the spell was cast to protect her from. It wasn't fair.
Enfri felt as if the spirit of death was at her shoulder. Jin knew enough to condemn her. She had seen Enfri's blonde hair. She knew that Enfri lived in Sandharbor and was the daughter of a soldier named Yora. That name would have been known to the royal assassins eighteen years ago. Was that all Jin needed to suspect the truth of what Enfri really was?
"I'm happy your uncle recovered," Enfri said. She hoped she wouldn't start sweating. "I trust he's well?"
Jin nodded. "He is."
Winds take me. Why are you here?
Enfri turned her back to Jin and continued putting a pack of supplies together. The poultices were the kind meant for cleaning open wounds. She included several vials of her starling grass tonic, a spool of catgut thread, yards of linen bandages, rubbing alcohol, antiseptic, strips of willowbark, a bundle of vex sprouts, dried spark blossoms cured for burning, and a bottle of essenroot and nightshade painkiller.
Enfri recalled a detail of Jin's last visit. She held out the bottle for Jin to inspect. "What of this?" she asked. "Gain didn't want it last time."
Jin narrowed her eyes at it. "That's the anesthetic?"
Enfri nodded. She was rather impressed by Jin's vocabulary.
"No, thank you," Jin said. "Willowbark is sufficient as a painkiller."
That was interesting. Willowbark acted as a blood thinner, relieving certain kinds of pain. It was an excellent remedy for headaches and sore muscles. Enfri even chewed on strips of it to relieve menstrual cramps. Why would Jin want willowbark but not essenroot? Enfri placed the bottle into a pocket of her dress.
Enfri sat in Grandmother's rocking chair and pulled a sheet of parchment from her shelf. She found an inkpen and wrote down the proper way to use the medicines.
"You're thorough," Jin observed.
"Some of these herbs can be dangerous," Enfri replied. "Spark blossoms are addictive, and even willowbark can be harmful if you chew it too often. I've come to suspect that's how my grandmother died. The chemical that relieves pain can damage your kidneys with overuse."
Enfri heard Jin shift in her seat. "I'll remember that," she said. "Tell me, Enfri, are you an arcanist?"
"No," she answered a bit too quickly. Enfri cleared her throat. "No, I'm not. I've been told my great-grandmother was a witch, but there aren't any arcanists in Sandharbor anymore. Why do you ask?"
"You speak like an alchemist, of chemicals and their properties. Their kind of magic draws power from natural reagents. Alchemists concern themselves with the brewing of potions and transmuting materials. It seemed like what a sky woman does."
Enfri tapped the inkpen against her lips in consideration. "It does. I've only heard a few stories about them, so I'm not very familiar. Is it true that alchemists make healing potions to seal a wound in moments?"
The way Jin cocked her head to the side gave the impression that she was amused. "Yes. I've used some myself. I'm told the process of making them is lengthy and requires expensive materials, as well as a significant portion of the alchemist's ether. I've never seen those potions sold for less than five gold marks."
Which would mean they'd be all but useless in Sandharbor. Only a handful of villagers ever traded in gold, and Enfri doubted she had the means to create and distribute such things at a loss. Still, the knowledge had value for its own sake. It was a shame that she didn't know of any alchemists she could learn from.
To be an arcanist, Enfri mused. Mother would have a fit.
The thought was far from unpleasant.
Enfri abruptly remembered who she was talking to. Jin's voice still carried that hypnotic quality. Dangerous. It was all too easy to forget what she was.
If she meant me harm, I'd already be dead, Enfri told herself. The assassin that murdered Father didn't even give a warning.
Even knowing that, Enfri didn't want to lower her guard. One slip, and things could turn deadly. Perhaps Jin didn't know of Yora or the search for his kin in Sandharbor. Perhaps she did, and she simply hadn't put the pieces together yet. In either case, Enfri couldn't allow Jin to find out anything more that would point towards Enfri's Aleesh heritage.
Enfri finished her written instructions and added them to the pile of Jin's supplies. She wrapped them into a burlap sack, then set them by the door. After forcing a smile on her face, she turned to Jin.
"That should be enough for a long journey. Now, I offered you a meal. I think it should be ready by now."
Jin inclined her head. "You're very kind. Thank you. Might I assist?"
"I can manage."
The lid of Enfri's pot was rattling from escaping steam. She retrieved a wooden bowl and ladled in a generous portion. The stew was thick with barley, carrots, onions, and potatoes. Enfri hadn't skimped on the pork, either.
"Forgive me if I'm out of line," Jin said. "Your back. Is it an injury?"
"No," Enfri said softly. "I was born this way. It must seem strange to you, seeing someone like me on their own." She placed the bowl on the table in front of Jin and handed her a spoon.
Jin nodded her thanks. "Perhaps, but not in the way I think you mean."
Enfri drew her brow together. "How so?"
"In Althandor, the city herself, we have many people with disabilities. Either they are cared for by their kin, or they are provided for by the crown. Whether noble or pauper, no one need suffer alone."
Enfri served herself and sat across from Jin. "Perhaps that's the difference. I never really thought of it as suffering. It's just how I am."
Jin watched her without blinking. It was unsettling.
"It's inconvenient, certainly," Enfri said after clearing her throat, "but not so much that I can't manage. I've been alone for five years, and I've handled it all well enough."
"Completely alone?" Jin asked. She raised a single eyebrow.
Enfri clenched her fists in her lap. Something about the question put her on edge.
"There's my neighbors," Enfri said. "They... keep their distance."
"Even the blacksmith's apprentice? You seemed friendly when I was last here."
While Jin's expression never changed from that calm facade, Enfri heard a prying note enter her voice. The question interested her more than Enfri believed it warranted.
What is she aiming towards? Enfri wondered. Is she trying to get me to admit to something? Winds, could she suspect something about Deebee?
Enfri's breath caught in her throat. Deebee. If she returned and found Jin here...
No, Deebee was cautious. She wouldn't come bursting in while in the form of a wolf or something, her fangs bared and ready for a fight. She would remain close, somewhere hidden, and watch. Deebee might already be nearby.
Jin continued her study of Enfri. She hadn't touched her stew yet.
"The Smiths and I are on good terms," Enfri said to answer the question. "Though, I couldn't say we're close."
"I see," Jin answered. She put her elbows on the table and folded her hands. "May I?"
A blessing. Enfri nodded her assent and folded her hands as well.
Jin closed her eyes and recited a prayer. "Merciful winds, we give thanks. Blessings to the traveler. Blessings to the host. Blessings to Althandor, mother and crucible, master and servant. Until our land is one beneath the skies."
"Until our land is one," Enfri echoed. She watched Jin take a spoonful of stew and take a bite.
After the stew touched her tongue, Jin went still. Slowly, she chewed and swallowed. "It's... good," she said. "More... herby... than I expected." Jin coughed and tapped her fist against her chest.
Herby? Well, there goes my opinion of her vocabulary.
She couldn't help herself. Enfri covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Her other hand gestured towards the racks of herbs drying around the room. "What did you expect?"
Jin looked down at her bowl and smiled. She actually smiled. An honest one, even. It was a wonder that such a thing was possible.
"Just you wait," Enfri said. "Tomorrow you'll feel better than you have in months. You'll be praising my name for days."
The smile faded and was replaced by something else that Enfri couldn't quite identify. Worry? Reluctance? "I expect I will."
Jin ate another spoonful.
So far, she had been polite. Respectful, even. Jin had eaten Enfri's food and placed her weapon against the doorframe. By every tradition held sacred in this part of the world, she was no immediate danger to Enfri.
"Might I ask..." Enfri hesitated. The question died on her lips.
"Of course," Jin said. "I asked you several questions. It's only fair."
Enfri bit her lip. She made herself speak up before she lost her nerve. "Your eyes. No one else I've ever met has eyes like you and the others."
Jin looked up at her. The slit pupils contracted slightly. "When we leave Althandor," she said in a quiet voice, "many of my family choose to hide their eyes. My cousin wears his cowl. My sister behaves as she does partly to keep it hidden."
Enfri could believe that. Most men wouldn't be looking at Maya's face. Many women, particularly common folk, were likely to turn away beneath her haughty stare.
"It is easier to hide our eyes," Jin continued. "People are often afraid when they see them. They think us to be monsters, some manner of fey or shifter."
"I... believed something similar," Enfri lied. "At least, I thought you might have nymph blood or something."
Jin's expression softened. "Perhaps we do. I don't know for sure. It's been this way for generations."
Enfri wondered if Jin was humoring her or if she was being truthful.
A large part of being a sky woman lay in the diagnosis. If every symptom couldn't be explained by one known illness, then it was probable that two were the cause. Deebee only said that the eyes marked the elder bloodline of Althandor. That didn't necessarily mean that their strange eyes were a result of it.
"You don't hide yours," Enfri said.
"No." Jin tilted her chin proudly. "As you said, it's just how I am. I will never be ashamed to be me."
Enfri felt her heart beat a little faster.
"My mother was overjoyed when she saw I was born with these eyes. It meant I had the gift."
"The gift?" Enfri asked.
Jin nodded. "Not everyone in my family has eyes like mine. Those that do have a stronger potential for magic."
"You're an arcanist, then?"
"A sorcerer, the rarest of the five."
Enfri had little more than a layman's knowledge of the five varieties of arcanist. Wizards, who could shape magic through study and intricate gestures; scriveners, the masters of runes of power; witches, who entreated the spirits with pacts and incantations; alchemists, the brewers and transmuters; and finally the sorcerers, who drew forth magic from their inner power and will.
It made sense that someone who held one of the first bloodlines would be a sorcerer. Jin's blood was probably brimming with magic.
"I'm sorry," Jin said. "I didn't mean to frighten you."
Ha!
Enfri shook her head. "No, I just never really met an arcanist. I'm not afraid of magic, or anything like that. What sort of... I mean, what can..."
Jin smiled again, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. There was a knowing in them that made Enfri want to hold her breath. "In theory, a sorcerer can cast any spell of the seven known schools. In practice, we specialize. My talent is in wards."
Enfri felt a lump in her throat. "I'm not familiar with wards."
"A barrier to hold the elements at bay, a spell that masks my presence from being perceived, or wake me from sleep if someone approaches." Jin picked up her bowl and scraped the last bit of stew into her mouth. When she set the bowl back down, her eyes never left Enfri's face. "There are even wards that could remove my name and face from the memory of an entire village."
Enfri felt as if her blood had turned to ice water. She glanced at Jin's sword leaning against the doorframe. Would a sorcerer even need a weapon to kill?
Jin rose from her seat and came around the table.
Enfri couldn't move. If she hadn't been so terrified, she'd have suspected it was magic keeping her in place.
Jin reached slowly towards Enfri and brushed fingers against her shawl. "I accepted guest-rights, Enfri," she said. "This is the safest place in the world for you."
Enfri mumbled something, she wasn't entirely sure what. Some pleasantry thanking Jin or something foolish like that. She couldn't think. Her mind went blank. Even the fear was smothered. She couldn't feel anything but her heart pounding and Jin's fingertips on her cheek.
Slowly and deliberately, Jin took hold of Enfri's shawl and pulled it off.
"Golden hair," Jin said almost to herself. "It's a rare sight in this corner of the world. At first, I thought you a child of the frozen lands, or perhaps a Teulite a long way from the steppes. That would not explain your darker skin. Melcian blood, or Espallan perhaps."
She bent at the waist and brought her face close to Enfri's. Jin's gaze traced over her, cataloguing every last detail.
"It was your eyes that gave me pause," Jin continued. "Althandi eyes. You have the look of our nation, but there's something else. Even now, I can't be certain."
"Certain of what?" Enfri asked.
Jin straightened. She took a step back, unblinking and calculating. "When last I was here, you said your father was named Yora and that he died in Teularon. Tell me of him."
"I... can't. He died before I was born. I never met him."
Jin frowned. "Surely your guardians spoke of him. Where was he from?"
Enfri shook her head. "I... don't know. He was born in Sandharbor. His mother was a refugee. I don't know where she came from either. If anyone knew, they never told me."
"What did Yora look like?"
She knows. Winds take me, she knows everything.
Enfri couldn't tell the truth. That would condemn her in an instant. Her wits had left. She couldn't think of a lie that would save her.
"He was dark haired," Enfri managed to say. She heard the frantic desperation in her voice. "Dark skinned. People say he was from the desert tribes, but Mother said that was a lie. She said Father was Althandi. I don't know anything else."
Jin got an angry look on her face. She came towards Enfri again and held up a lock of her hair. "If he had dark hair, then explain this," she demanded.
"M-my mother. She had blonde hair."
Jin went still. Her fury vanished so abruptly that Enfri thought she must have imagined that it had ever been there. Then, Jin reached behind her and pulled forth a piece of parchment.
"This is the testimony of Falthis, my third-cousin and the one who last had the task given to me. It says, 'The spearman's widow is named Mierwyn, Althandi by blood, sky woman by trade. Black of hair, fine boned. Claims to be childless. Sufficient evidence to corroborate. Yora has no remaining blood kin.'"
Jin let the parchment fall to the floor, and she sighed. Her voice was cold and final, like the ringing of the bell at a funeral. "You lied to me, just as your mother lied eighteen years ago. The only reason to do so would be to hide something. I have no more doubts."
Enfri gripped the edges of her chair. The wood cut into her palms, and her knuckles turned white. "Why are you doing this?" she whimpered. "What do you want from me?"
"The blood of Shan Alee must be purged," Jin said. She outstretched her hand, and her sword leapt into the air from the doorframe as if by its own will and flew into her waiting grasp.
Enfri fell out of her chair. She scrambled on her back, trying to get away. There was nowhere to run to. Jin stood between her and the door. She was snared like a fox in a hunter's trap.
The roof's thatching burst downwards with a thunderous crash. Out of the tattered straw and broken beams came a menacing growl, low and dangerous. A great, massive wolf with silver fur stepped out from the debris. Deebee's eyes were locked on Jin, and her fangs were bared in a fierce snarl.
"Stand back, assassin," Deebee roared. "Any closer and I'll rip you apart!"
Jin hardly moved. Unconcerned. Unafraid. "So there is a dragon," she said. "The spearman was bonded, and the creature remains."
Deebee skirted the room, inching closer to Enfri. She walked in a crouch as if ready to pounce in an instant.
Jin stared down at Enfri. "By the decree of the crown, all Aleesh are sentenced to die." She turned her back to Enfri and Deebee. "However, I am bound by guest-rights. You offered hospitality, and I accepted. As I said, this house is now the safest place in the world for you."
"What?" Enfri shouted. "You... won't kill me?"
Deebee reached Enfri and stood protectively over her. Jin ignored them both as she put her sword and scabbard back on her hip.
"Guest-rights last until the dawn," Jin said. "You have that much time to prepare yourself. I expect the dragon will fight to defend you, but it is a forgone conclusion. Five other assassins surround this place."
She turned to look at Deebee sidelong. "Unless you break custom and attack me now. If so, we will fall upon this place with fury and spellfire."
"Get out," Deebee snarled.
Jin picked up the pack of medical supplies and dropped a handful of silver marks in their place. She slung the pack over her shoulder and opened the door. "Until the dawn, Sky Woman. I advise you not to run. Guest-rights do not extend beyond your threshold."
She stepped through the door and closed it gently behind her.
Deebee swiftly became her regular form. She hopped over Enfri to inpect her. "Are you hurt, girl? Have you been cut?"
Enfri couldn't speak. She stared at the door and felt the life leaking out of her.
"Did the assassin take any of your blood?" Deebee shouted. "Enfri, answer me!"
Enfri looked at her hands. They were scraped from scrambling over the floor, but she was otherwise unhurt. She felt numb, but she was certain she didn't have any injuries. "No," she whispered. "I'm alright."
"You're positive? I can't let her leave with even a drop of your blood."
Enfri nodded. She hugged her knees to her chin and shivered. "They know," she said. "They found out about me."
Deebee began leaping about the room as if searching for something. "That monster wasn't lying. I saw others while I hunted. The old one, Gain, appears to be leading them. He's fifty yards east of here. The wolf-faced one is to the north. The elder sister and a man I don't recognize are to the south. Another woman is to the west. Six assassins in total."
Gain, Maya, and Dashar were here. Two other assassins, too. Why would Jin come into the house alone? Why did she accept the food Enfri offered her? Why even hold to the guest-right tradition? They could have just killed her. No one would have ever known.
"Fool," Deebee muttered as she picked through the straw. "Blustering, blazing idiot. Winds and flames."
"Deebee?"
"I should have been here," Deebee growled. "You were here with the assassins coming closer while I was moonstruck and doe-eyed in the frozen lands."
She was blaming herself. Enfri wouldn't have any of it. "Stop that," she demanded. "Jin surprised me, too."
"I should have turned my dreams towards you sooner," Deebee insisted. "I could have been here and seen them coming. We would have been leagues from here by the time they arrived, and they'd have only found an empty house."
"I said stop it," Enfri cried. "Could. Should. Would. That's not helping!"
Deebee hunched her shoulders and slunk back to Enfri's side. The tiny dragon hung her head. "I'm so sorry. I failed you again. I'm the worst guardian a dragon can be."
Enfri picked Deebee up and held her close. "I won't hear such words from your mouth. The only thing I'll ever blame you for is what you did to my roof."
Deebee looked up at the gaping hole her entry had put in the thatching. She snorted. "I might have been overzealous."
"I guess even you aren't perfect."
Deebee nuzzled closer. "Bite your tongue."
A quiet laugh escaped from Enfri's throat. It was perhaps a strange thing to do while assassins surrounded her house like tomcats at a mouse hole.
It was still early into the night. Dawn was a little more than ten hours away. Then, they would come.
Enfri felt hopeless tears form in her eyes. She didn't know what to do. Any way she thought about it, she was about to be murdered for the same reason her father was.
"Can you fight them?" Enfri asked hoarsely.
"No. Fighting just one would be a coin toss. Six is impossible."
"What can we do?"
Deebee jumped out of Enfri's arms and stood on a broken beam. She held her head up high and smiled for Enfri. "Gather your things, girl. Only the essentials. We're going to run."
"Run? How? I won't get ten paces before they catch me."
Deebee returned to her search. "Because of your back, I know. Best get that brace on. You move quicker with it than without it."
Enfri made herself stand and do as Deebee said. "I don't see how this will make any difference."
"Would you rather stay and wait for that monster to come back?"
If Enfri did, perhaps Jin would allow her a trial, take her before the king and give Enfri a chance to plead for mercy. At the very least, Jin might make it quick and painless. The thought was shoved aside as soon as it entered her mind. "No," she said. "Absolutely not. I'm not going to be some meek, little rabbit in a snare."
"Well said. That's the pride of Shan Alee I hear."
The brace took only a few moments to fit into place, then Enfri grabbed a bundle of vex sprouts and shoved them in her pocket. Those were soon joined by a few bandages, a bottle of antiseptic, and a smattering of other basic supplies.
Enfri glanced at the shelves of Grandmother's notebooks. It was a shame to leave them, but Enfri couldn't risk being burdened by even one. So much knowledge— a lifetime's worth— and chances were that the assassins would burn it all.
A walking stick and two water skins made up the rest of Enfri's supplies. She gave her house one last look, both to make sure there was nothing else she'd need and to say goodbye to the only home she'd ever known. There was little hope of her ever coming back.
"So," she said once she finished, "what now? Start hobbling into the trees and pray for the best?"
Deebee made a soft noise of triumph and held something up. She was standing over a shelf that had been knocked over when she came bursting down from the roof. "Don't be ridiculous, Enfri. Dragons always have a backup plan."
Enfri knelt next to Deebee to get a look at what she held. It was so small that she could hardly tell Deebee held anything at all. Whatever it was came from Grandmother's shelf of curios.
"Small as a grain of sand," Deebee said. "Strong as the sun."