Mother Lode

by E. Rose Sabin

  When they finished eating, it was still early in the afternoon, and Lina refused to wait another day.

  She assembled her troops, whose numbers had increased. She’d expected to have only Bryte and Teddy with her, but Nia insisted on going. She’d gained strength from the good meals she’d eaten since arriving in such a weakened state the previous evening. Lina still thought Nia should remain behind with the Methenys, but she refused, and Dr. Metheny volunteered to accompany the group while Cara remained in the hotel in the care of Mistress Metheny.

  In addition, Dr. Metheny had recruited the Wilcoms, who were eager to help. Master Wilcom made a joke of the name, declaring, “We will come. How could we not, when Wilcom is our name?” He’d turned to his wife and asked, “Right, my dear?”

  Mistress Wilcom laughed and affirmed her willingness despite Lina’s warning that they would be going into danger. Master Wilcom accepted the pistol that had belonged to one of the guards at the mine, and Mistress Wilcom armed herself with a throwing knife. “I used to be good with this,” she said. “Of course, I was throwing at a target, not a person, and I am out of practice now, but—”

  “You’re too modest, my dear,” her husband broke in. He turned to the others. “She has a strong throwing arm and an excellent aim. She can do far more damage with that knife than I can with this pistol. I have no great skill with firearms.”

  Lina assured the Wilcoms that their addition to the group was most appreciated, especially when she learned that they had a motorcar, one large enough to hold their entire group of now seven people.

  In conference they worked out a scheme that gave a specific responsibility to each member of the group. When each one understood and agreed to his or her part in the plan, they all crowded into the Wilcoms’ car and set off, stopping briefly while Lina retrieved the bullwhip from its hiding place. “It will give us one more weapon,” she told them.

  They traveled on to a spot from which all but Master Wilcom and Dr. Metheny descended from the car to proceed on foot, taking a circuitous route so as not to be visible from the house. The car driven by Master Wilcom and bearing Dr. Metheny continued slowly to the sprawling structure that was home to the Coopers and their orphaned victims. Master Wilcom drew to a stop before the main door into the section of the house reserved for the Coopers’ use.

  Dr. Metheny descended, and Master Wilcom drove off while the doctor walked slowly to the front door. While he dawdled, Bryte, Lina, and the rest took positions at points around the house from which they could not be seen when the door opened. Master Wilcom parked in a spot where the car could not be seen from the house, and headed back to the house on foot.

  Bryte chose a place from which her acute hearing could pick up the conversation that ensued when Mother Cooper swung open the door. Though she was not close enough to catch every word, she could hear what the others, with the possible exception of Teddy, could not. She would not be able to relay the conversation to them, but by use of hand signals that they’d rehearsed, she could reveal whether it was going according to plan or had hit a snag, or even, in the worst case, had put them all in danger so that they needed to flee.

  While from her place of concealment Bryte could not see their faces, she imagined the scowl on Mother Cooper’s face when Dr. Metheny presented himself as a health inspector, sent by the Provincial Council, to check on the welfare of the orphans entrusted to Mother Cooper’s care. Bryte further imagined the flourish with which the doctor presented his medical license and a carefully forged document asserting his authorization to conduct a health inspection of the living quarters and a medical assessment of the resident orphans. Bryte grinned at the grudging assent with which Mother Cooper, after a silence during which she must have examined the proffered documents, admitted Dr. Metheny into the house.

  “None of the dear children are home right now,” Mother Cooper’s words came clearly to Bryte’s listening ears. “They’re all out on a, ah, jaunt in the country with some of their, er, caretakers. You won’t be able to examine them today. It’s unfortunate that your visit came at a time when the dear ones aren’t at home. If you’d given me advance notice … ”

  Bryte had a hard time hearing Dr. Metheny’s response. His deep voice and pleasant conversational tone made his words difficult to distinguish. She picked up enough to know that their plan was going well. The doctor would be assuring Mother Cooper that he did not mind waiting until the children returned, as his inspection of their quarters and the kitchen and dining facilities would take some time anyway.

  Mother Cooper’s voice, in contrast, became more strident and louder so that Bryte clearly heard, “The children won’t be back until nearly dark, sir. They’ll be hungry when they return, so I must have their dinner ready. I need to be preparing that right now, not conducting you through the children’s quarters. I don’t really understand the need for your visit. I was never told, when I agreed to take in the dear ones and give them a safe home, that I would be subjected to unannounced inspections.”

  By this time Bryte had crept to the front door, where she could hear Dr. Metheny’s response despite her concentration on the front door lock. “I would not dream of inconveniencing you, Mistress Cooper,” he said soothingly. Please just admit me to the children’s living quarters and then go back to your work in the kitchen. I’ll conduct my inspection and then find you in the kitchen, where I promise to observe in silence and not disturb you as you work.”

  Bryte grinned as much at Mother Cooper’s sputtered reply as at her own relief at the satisfying click when the lock yielded to her tools and sprang open. At her signal, she was quickly joined by Lina and the Wilcoms. Teddy and Nia had already circled around to the back door. While Dr. Metheny kept Mother Cooper occupied in the children’s sleeping quarters, Bryte to hurried through the main house and got the back door open. Then they all assembled in the kitchen to form a welcoming committee when Mother Cooper returned to begin preparing the evening meal.

  Bryte had wanted them all to wait outside the back door so she could hear what excuse Mother Cooper gave the supposed health inspector for the sparse and unhealthy rations she would be serving the “dear ones,” but Lina had overruled that. They would have no time for indulging whims, she’d said. The group would wait in silence. Still, anticipating the look of alarm on Mother Cooper’s face when she walked into her kitchen and saw who waited there, Bryte planned to yell, “Surprise!”

  Footsteps approached. Bryte tensed. The footsteps were coming from the front of the house, not from the children’s wing. Not daring to speak, Bryte cautioned the others with a hand signal.

  She grabbed Nia’s arm and shoved her behind Mistress Wilcom. Just in time.

  Vee Cooper walked into the room.

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE BEST LAID PLANS …

  Lina used the few seconds Cooper gaped at the gathering before drawing his pistol to raise her whip and flick the gun from Cooper’s hand. Teddy dashed forward and grabbed for the pistol. Cooper kicked him away from it and bent to retrieve it himself. Again the whip struck, this time across his back. He let out a howl and hollered, “Ma!”

  His loud yell removed any element of surprise remaining. Teddy grabbed the gun and retreated toward Lina as Mother Cooper burst into the kitchen. In one smooth motion she grabbed a cleaver from a rack and hurled it at Lina. Before Lina could react, Teddy leaped toward Lina, left arm raised to protect her. The cleaver struck his arm halfway between wrist and elbow. A spray of blood flew across Lina’s face and into her eyes, blocking her view for a crucial instant.

  The sound of a heavy body hitting the floor alarmed Lina. Even as she blinked to clear her vision, the sound of a gunshot deafened her and a burning sensation crossed the arch of her right foot. Blinking again, she saw through a red haze what had happened.

  The cleaver had nearly severed Teddy’s lower arm. The boy had dropped the pistol he’d held in his right hand to clasp his arm. The pistol had gone off on hitting the floor, the bullet pa
ssing over Lina’s foot. Mother Cooper sprawled on the floor, Mistress Wilcom’s knife buried in her throat. Blood streamed from her mouth, and her open eyes were glazing over. Cooper knelt beside his mother, tears rolling down his cheeks. Face contorted with rage, he shouted, “You’ve killed her. You’ll all die for this.”

  Dr. Metheny reached Teddy and drew him back against the wall. Cooper lunged for the pistol lying between him and Lina. He grabbed and raised it, but before he could cock it, Lina focused her power on it. He stared in disbelief at the pistol, suddenly shrunken to toy size.

  “Witch!” he yelled and hurled the pistol at her. It struck her on the forehead. Small though it was, it stunned her. In that moment Cooper bolted for the door. A shot blasted her eardrums. A bullet slammed into the doorframe. If Dr. Metheny was aiming at Cooper, he had been right about not being a good shot.

  Cooper could not be allowed to escape. Despite an aching head, Lina recovered enough from the stunning blow to transform. As a panther she bounded through the kitchen door, followed Cooper’s trail through the house and out the front door. She spotted him running toward the mine. He wasn’t far ahead; she could catch him easily. He would never reach the mine.

  Everything had happened so fast, Bryte could scarcely take it all in. Cooper’s unexpected arrival had thrown their carefully laid plans into disarray. Now Mother Cooper was dead, Teddy’s arm was cut nearly through, and Lina-panther was chasing Cooper. When Master Wilcom lowered his smoking pistol, Mistress Wilcom collapsed into his arms, weeping. Rubbing her back, Master Wilcom murmured into her ear, “There, you had to do it. It’s all right. She was an evil woman.”

  “I didn’t mean to kill her, though,” Mistress Wilcom sobbed. “I’ve never killed anyone. I never thought I could.”

  Doctor Metheny looked up from tending to Teddy’s arm. “She would have killed us. Just think of the children who’ve suffered because of her cruelty and that of her son.”

  “She deserved to die,” Nia stated, anger and bitterness coloring her words. “She enjoyed seeing us suffer. She loved hurting people. So did her son. Don’t waste sympathy on someone as cruel and heartless as she was.” With a dismissive glance at the dead woman, Nia went to Dr. Metheny and declared her willingness to help him care for Teddy.

  “Will Lina kill him, do you think?” Mistress Wilcom asked, her voice quavering.

  Bryte shuddered. The question was directed to her, and she wasn’t ready for it. Lina couldn’t let Cooper reach the mine and warn Rale and the others. In her panther form, Lina would have no qualms about killing, but how could she say that to Mistress Wilcom?

  She didn’t have to. Her hesitation said it for her. Mistress Wilcom burst into another round of crying, and Master Wilcom said, “We thought we could do this without having to actually kill anyone.”

  Dr. Metheny spoke up, his voice sharp with anger, “You knew we weren’t coming to a picnic. We all hoped we could avoid killing, but we brought lethal weapons, knowing we might have to use them.”

  That reminded Bryte of the pistol Lina had shrunk to the size of a small toy. She looked around, spotted it lying on the floor near where Lina had been standing when it struck her. She picked it up and dropped it into her pocket. Lina could restore it to its original size. They would probably need it and anything else they could use as a weapon.

  With that thought in mind, Bryte turned to Mistress Wilcom. “You’d better get your knife. You might need it again.” Bryte regretted those words as soon as she spoke them. She wasn’t thinking clearly. She hadn’t wanted deaths any more than anyone else. And she was terribly worried about Teddy, who was groaning and shivering.

  “I don’t want the knife back,” Mistress Wilcom said. “I never want to use it again.”

  “The boy is going into shock. It’s a good thing I brought my medical bag.” Dr. Metheny spoke without looking up from his examination of Teddy’s nearly severed arm. “Can someone find some blankets to wrap around him? And we need to clear a table to lay him on. I’m going to have to operate.”

  “Don’t take my arm,” Teddy begged in a weak voice.

  “I’m going to take a closer look at it and see whether it can be saved,” the doctor said soothingly. “That cleaver was extremely sharp and cut deep into the bone. You were brave to protect Lina as you did. It could well have killed her, given its trajectory.”

  “I’ll find blankets,” Bryte said.

  “Look in Mother Cooper’s room,” Nia advised, her tone still tinged with bitterness.. “The ones in the wards are too threadbare to be of any use.”

  Bryte nodded and hurried from the room. The doubt in the doctor’s voice indicated little likelihood Teddy’s arm could be saved. If only there were a healer here. She thought of the powerful healing ability some of the magically gifted possessed. Unfortunately, neither she nor Lina had that capability, and she was sure Teddy didn’t, either. Maybe someone in Marquez might have that gift, but it would be impossible to find such a person in time.

  She’d never felt so helpless. As a result of being on her own from an early age, she’d always been confident of being able to handle whatever came her way. After meeting Lina and having had to face some truly terrifying events with her, she felt less confident of her abilities but sure that Lina was capable of handling anything she couldn’t.

  Now that confidence had been shaken by her helplessness in the face of the danger that had arisen with Cooper’s unexpected arrival. Mistress Wilcom had demonstrated the knife-throwing skill her husband had boasted of. Teddy had saved Lina’s life. Lina had acted instantly to disarm Cooper. and had rendered Cooper’s pistol useless. And what had she, Bryte, done? Nothing. She’d been unable to call forth the blinding light that should have come. She’d tried, oh yes, she had. But nothing had happened. At the moment of greatest need, her gift had failed her. And now Teddy might lose his arm. It wasn’t fair!

  She hadn’t expected Mistress Wilcom’s reaction. The woman had seemed so strong and determined. Her aim had been unerring. But now she’d fallen apart. The Wilcoms couldn’t desert them. They were needed. Something had to be done to calm Mistress Wilcom and convince her that by killing Mother Cooper, she’d saved lives. She had to be made to understand what evil the woman had been capable of.

  Bryte searched through the main residence for the warmer blankets Mother Cooper and her son would have. It didn’t take her long to find a stack of them filling a shelf in a linen closet just off the bedrooms that would be Mother Cooper’s and probably Vee and Emmy’s. She grabbed the whole stack and ran with it back to the kitchen.

  The doctor had lifted Teddy onto a long table he must have brought in from the dining room. She handed the pile of blankets to Nia, who immediately tucked two of them around Teddy’s body and set the others aside.

  Mistress Wilcom was still clinging to her husband and sniveling. Very deliberately, Bryte walked to her and grasped her arm. “We need to start supper. When the orphans come back from the mine, they’ll be really hungry. Help me see what’s available to make a meal. We should’ve thought to bring food with us, but we’ll have to use what’s here for tonight.”

  Mistress Wilcom gave her an uncomprehending look. Bryte shook the woman’s arm. “They’ll need food,” she said again. “There should be potatoes in that barrel.” She pointed to the barrel near the stove. “When I was brought here, I had to peel potatoes, and that’s where they were. Let’s check.”

  She tugged at the arm she held. Master Wilcom patted his wife’s other arm. “That’s a good idea, Jada,” he said. “It will calm you. You enjoy cooking.”

  Mistress Wilcom said nothing, but she allowed Bryte to lead her away from her husband.

  The barrel did indeed hold potatoes, but many were rotten and giving off a foul odor. Bryte knew from her previous experience that rotten or not, they would have been peeled and put into the pot to boil. “Let’s sort these and get rid of the rotten ones,” she said. “I’ll get a pot for the good ones, and we’ll toss out the bad.
” Bryte brought over the big pot in which the potatoes were boiled, dragged over a chair, pushed Mistress Wilcom down onto it, and set her to sorting the potatoes. Bryte pulled up a chair next to hers and soon had a lap full of potatoes, which she pared with a knife she found in a cabinet drawer. She tossed the peeled potatoes into the pot.

  She and Mistress Wilcom worked in silence a short while, but then Bryte’s sharp ears caught the sound of a saw through bone. She spoke loudly to cover the sound. “The orphans’ meal probably would’ve just been potatoes, but I hope we can offer them a better supper than that. I know Mother Cooper and her son and the guards had plenty to eat ”

  Nia spoke up from her post beside the operating table. “There’s probably meat in the cold box.”

  “I’ll check.” Bryte dumped the last of the pared potatoes into the pot and went to the cold box. “You’re right. There’s a big roast in here,” she announced. “We can cut it up and add it to the potatoes to make a stew.” She prowled around, opening cabinets and checking shelves. “Here’s a bunch of carrots we can add. And onions! That’ll be a better meal than the orphans have had in a long time. The poor children have been practically starved. We’ll give them a feast tonight.”

  Bryte kept an eye on the doctor and Nia as she talked, not wanting to miss what they were doing while she kept Mistress Wilcom busy and focused on something other than the surgery in progress. She fought back the urge to gag when she saw the doctor drop into a bucket something wrapped in a bloody towel.

  Teddy hadn’t gotten his wish to keep his arm. Not wanting to think about what his reaction would be when he awoke from whatever the doctor had used to put him asleep while he performed the amputation, Bryte forced herself to concentrate on meal planning and preparation.