Fate Uncertain

by Kim Cleary

  "When I lived, an outing to Brimbank was a marvelous treat, we shopped, watched a show, and stayed overnight sometimes." Evie’s eyes brightened.

  "People abandoned it after the illness killed so many, and now it's a military base." I gesticulated my arms into a wide question. "Why did he rush back to a job and a place he hated?" I wiped beads of sweat from my brow and stabbed the letter again. "He dashed off, scrawled a quick note on paper torn from one of his yellow notepads, and he's shoved it in a used envelope. Glynn hasn't even explained why. He's always so precise with his words. This is not like him. Something is wrong."

  "Aren't you jumping to conclusions?" Evie looped a welcome cool arm around my shoulder. "I know you’re looking forward to seeing him—"

  "It's not just any weekend. It's our anniversary, yet he didn’t mention it." I waved the letter under her nose. "He said he'll make it up to me, but what does that mean? Clearly he doesn't expect to get back to Winterhurst in time."

  I turned away from her, poured myself a glass of water, slouched against the bench, and gulped down the liquid. The amulet. Did it realize something I didn't? Was it telling me Glynn lay hurt somewhere? That he needed me? Evie watched me from the middle of the room. She didn't need to learn about the amulet. It would worry her.

  Glynn needed me. The thought took hold in my brain.

  She glided across the floor and touched my arm. "Can you imagine Glynn voicing disappointment in a letter? He's written that he'll make it up to you, and I'm sure he will."

  Purah returned with the last box, pushed the door shut with his foot, and carried the boxes into the pantry. The noise of scraping cans and brushing boxes echoed through the kitchen as he stacked the groceries. He climbed back up the steps into the kitchen. His long hair hung in a lank ponytail, even he—usually so elegant—looked crumpled, over-heated, and disheveled. I'd almost forgotten I held a schoolgirl crush on him, until I fell for Glynn.

  I mumbled a garbled thank you. At least we would eat well for weeks.

  Purah wiped sweat from his eyes and stood before me. "Bad news?"

  "Glynn returned to Brimbank." I waved the letter toward Purah. "What’s happening? The mayor visited here just a few hours ago, she said nothing about trouble in Brimbank, and I'm sure she would have done if she'd known."

  Purah found a clean glass and filled it with water. "He'll be back, won't he? Do your dinner thing later."

  I reread the short letter, my breath catching in my throat. A few months ago, Purah inadvertently caused the death of my best friend Rose. He’d saved my life when I first left the orphanage. He’d kept his promise to my father and tutored me in basic witchcraft when I arrived, in all my naiveté, at Ravenswood. I'd forgiven him for Rose, but that didn't bring her back. One way or another I'd lost everyone I loved. I lost them, they abandoned me, and they betrayed me.

  Is it Glynn's turn?

  It wouldn't surprise me. After all, I'm a freak who talks with the dead. Perhaps losing everyone I care about is the price I must pay.

  I forced a long deep breath from my lungs to steady my voice. "He says he doesn't know all the details, doesn't know when he'll be back." I rubbed the back of my neck. "They want him to train sergeants to replace several missing, presumed dead."

  Purah and I stood shoulder to shoulder at the sink, and I pondered what little information I knew. If Glynn let someone pull him back onto active-duty, then something big and bad had happened. Glynn wouldn't have gone otherwise. I chewed my lips as I sipped water. Glynn admitted he possessed a rare knack for predicting undead enemies’ actions. Is that why he rushed there? It made sense. He hadn't said it in the letter, but I bet someone high up suspected something undead killed the men.

  I scrunched my shoulders to my ears. "It doesn't sound good."

  Purah lifted his brows.

  I didn't want to state my fears aloud.

  He shrugged. "He's a good soldier, he'll be fine." Purah lowered his tone, used his tutor's voice. "Glynn can't tell you much yet, he doesn't know the full story himself."

  My hand tightened around the single piece of paper. What if he never came back? Warmth seeped from my body. I couldn't lose him. Only two weeks ago, we'd picnicked along the banks of the Wye, gorged ourselves on plump blackberries. We'd lain side by side on one of Glynn's prickly blankets and watched the stars twinkle alive in a slowly darkening sky. I could still feel his lips against my skin, his breath warm against my neck, our hearts beating in time.

  I shook myself away from the sweet memory and back into my hot kitchen. "He should've asked for my help. I'd have gone with him."

  If he'd asked me.

  "Why would he ask your help in a military matter?" Purah scratched his cheek.

  "I'm a necromancer, descended from a long line of sorcerers who specialize in not only talking with but raising and controlling the dead." True, I’d resisted at first, but in the end, I couldn't deny my skills.

  Purah taught me as much as he could, and I'd quickly outgrown his knowledge. Glynn knew what I could do, but he sometimes thought me undisciplined, impulsive. Is that why he didn’t include me in his dash to Brimbank? I took a deep breath to steady my voice. "I'm better equipped to deal with the undead than anyone else."

  Purah squeezed my shoulder. "You appreciate how the army feel about sorcery."

  "They used mages for healing when Glynn last worked in Brimbank." A tight band constricted my chest. Glynn told me about the battle when his old girlfriend died. He'd ordered the mage to heal her, but he hadn't. Glynn wore the guilt of surviving like a coarse hair shirt.

  "The army use men of healing, kept on short leashes." Purah held his thumb and forefinger almost together. "Not young female witches. Definitely not one with startling skills in necromancy and a tendency to rush headlong into danger."

  "I don't rush into danger."

  Evie and Purah exchanged sharp glances. I blew out a long sigh. I didn't chase danger but somehow, as Glynn and Purah often said, I owned a knack for finding trouble.

  Purah plucked a ripe pear from the bowl on the old scratched table. He found a sharp knife from the draining board, sliced the fruit into perfect quarters and handed one to me.

  I bit into it and deliciously sweet pear juice dribbled onto my chin.

  "Glynn will write again." Purah laughed and passed me his crumpled but clean handkerchief. "In the meantime, have you forgotten what's arriving today?"

  Licking the sweet juice from my lips, I pushed the letter away. I'd read it three times, it held no other information.

  "Your goats," Purah said, "four of them, three rather cute females and a randy looking male. I'm forecasting a plethora of baby goats soon."

  My goats, the first step to making this estate I’d inherited self-sufficient. My grandmother kept goats and the old account books showed how profitable they'd been, especially her Ravenswood Manor soft cheese. People still wanted, and paid for good produce. We could make it succeed.

  Glynn's letter pushed their arrival out of my head.

  "Don't expect them to stay in the field you've allocated for them. They'll jump, ram, and eat their way through any obstacle."

  "You've been anti-goat from the start—"

  Purah tapped his fingernails against the tabletop. "Who organized them for you?"

  "You, of course." I swatted his hand. "But you complain about stinky bucks, noise like screaming kids, and horned heads barging into everything. I like to think about the wonderful goat’s cheese, yoghurt and soap we will make and sell."

  "You are such an optimist, my dear." Purah tweaked my ear like an elderly uncle might.

  He looked pleased with himself, probably for changing the subject. Maybe he thought he'd distracted me from Glynn and whatever danger he'd walked into.

  "Revitalize yourself with fruit and we'll finish the gate to keep them in." Purah grinned and winked at me. "I promise you, it won't keep them in."

  I'd been looking forward to settling my new goats into the old barn, introducing
them to their pasture, and watching them make themselves at home. Looking forward to showing Glynn my foray into responsible adulthood.

  That was before the letter.

  My thoughts turned back to Glynn. He wouldn't let me face danger by myself. I wouldn't leave him to his fate either. Glynn could be injured or missing, or worse. He could also look after himself. I forced my breathing to slow and reined in my fears. Worrying wouldn't help.

  Blast this heat! I'd have to leave very early in the morning. This evening, I'd help with the gate. First thing tomorrow, before the sun fried the air, I'd ride into Winterhurst.

  I cast a furtive glance at Purah and Evie. I wasn't rushing into danger. I'd ask a few questions. It wouldn't hurt to try and find out what happened in Brimbank, or discover the easiest way to get there. Just in case.

  Soft ginger-feathered chickens clucked around my feet and pecked at my toes. I brushed beads of sweat from my forehead and scattered feed across shaded stubble just outside my kitchen window. Tuesday morning. The sun hadn't yet risen but already heat rose from the ground in hazy waves.

  "It's time to get moving," I muttered to the hens. They seemed to cluck a warning. Perhaps I was starting to see omens everywhere.

  Purah had already left to circle the neighboring towns. After the debacle with Rose, he'd promised to earn money to help with the upkeep of Ravenswood, and so far, he'd been good to his word. If I wanted to get into town, before the sun seared bare skin into tanned leather, I needed to get going. I scattered the last of the crumbs on the ground and hurried back to the bedrooms.

  Evie drifted on the wide landing outside my room. She smiled, though her shoulders drooped. "If you insist on going, at least wear the sun-hat."

  "I have to go, Evie." An empty feeling wallowed in the depths of my stomach. I hugged her close; her coolness lifted the hairs on the back of my neck and sent delicious ripples of chilled air down my damp back. "How else can I find out what's happening? I'm not waiting here until a newspaper or another letter arrives."

  "You have duties here at Ravenswood, and in town."

  "I'm popping into Winterhurst to see what I can find out. I'll be back this evening, as soon as it's cool enough to ride Splash back."

  "What will you do next? When you can't find answers to your questions, or if you discover something that makes you fearful for Glynn's safety?"

  "I'll decide then." I rifled through my wardrobe absentmindedly.

  Evie nudged me to one side, and found a fine cotton tank top and wide linen pants.

  "What would I do without you?" I found Evie's hands and squeezed. "We could've been sisters."

  "You'd get about looking like a charity case." She squeezed back, her tone radiated warmth. "Unusual siblings given I'm one hundred years' dead."

  "Dead or not, you've chosen to stay here, and I'm glad."

  She kissed my cheek. We were much the same age, but Evie possessed a maturity earned from a lifetime in service. Ghost or not, it pleased me to have her by my side. I hung close to Evie. I could raise Rose anytime I wanted. That's what necromancers did. I pulled the pants up over my underwear and wriggled into the tank top. Early on in my training with Purah, I'd raised Evie, without her permission. The experience was horrible for Evie, a lesson in seeking consent for me. Luckily it worked out, in the end. But not Rose, I couldn't do that to her. We'd never spoken about death and its aftermath. I didn't know what she wanted. I didn't have her consent.

  Evie draped one of my father's old long-sleeved shirts of fine faded blue cotton over everything and arranged the hat on my head. My face seemed to peek from above a bundle of rags.

  We stared at one another for a few seconds, and burst into laughter.

  Evie's face creased with fine lines. "Please do nothing rash."

  "Don't worry. I won’t." I wrapped my satchel across my body and caught sight of Evie's raised eyebrows in the mirror. "Don't look at me like that."

  Evie drifted to the door, hiding her somber face behind a pretend sneeze.

  The stable already felt like an oven. My handsome black and white splashed horse glanced up at me and snickered as if to say it's too hot to do anything.

  I scratched gently between Splash's eyes. "We'll get oats and an apple at the Inn, I promise."

  I squeezed my satchel into a light saddlebag and led him to the edge of the forest. We trotted to the stream that wound its way through Ravenswood toward the Wye River. A longer route than the old road to town, but lined with trees. We used it often in mid-summer; the old bitumen road into Winterhurst was too hot for anyone's feet.

  I wasn't the only one who'd started out early to beat the heat. Only one stall remained in the Inn's stables. I pulled off the saddle, settled Splash next to troughs of fresh hay and cool water, and headed to the lane that led to the town square.

  People in wide-brimmed hats or carrying umbrellas trotted from one shady spot to another. The smell of spicy barbecued meat wafted down the laneway. A woman, her deep voice graveled with use, sang an invitation to sample strawberry and plum flavored iced treats.

  I ran my fingers through my sticky hair. I might have enough small change for one of those iced treats. Jamming my hat back on my head, I scurried toward the market.

  In the middle of the market, I jolted to a stop.

  My mouth dropped open as I stared at the wrought iron newsstand.

  The newspaper headline BRIMBANK UPRISING in bold black capitals filled half of the first page. An empty feeling in my stomach swirled like a snowstorm. What had Glynn walked into?

  Chapter 3

  The headline bored into my eyes. A crowd of people thronged around the Newsagent's table in the middle of Winterhurst market. I pushed my way through a group of shoppers, thrust a new-halfpenny into the pay-box and grabbed the second to last copy of the newspaper. My nose twitched as I stumbled past tables of ripening berries, bottled honey and beeswax, and pungent smoked meats.

  Away from the humming crowd, on a carved bench under a large ash tree, I spread the paper open across my knees. Several soldiers presumed dead. The city in lock-down. No one allowed in or out. According to one lurid article, undead swarmed throughout the abandoned buildings in the old city, their numbers rising daily. Another article mentioned Major Buckley, recently returned to Brimbank, and already successful dealing with a trio of undead.

  Major Buckley? Glynn’s letter hadn't mentioned a promotion.

  A flush of heat rushed to my head. Why keep it from me? There’d be an explanation. Perhaps he received the promotion when he arrived in Brimbank and knew nothing about it when he wrote.

  A gust of hot wind fluttered through the leafy canopy overhead, and flapped the cloths spread over the vendor’s tables. I unclenched my fingers and forced myself to keep reading.

  People still lived in gated communities around the edge of the city. I'd always thought everyone who survived the old plague moved out to towns like Winterhurst to start afresh. Over five pages, in article after article, people clamored for the army to get the situation under control. I sprang to my feet and strode to the lamppost. Sweat ran down my back and stuck my shirt to my skin. Glynn wouldn't just train new sergeants in the background. He'd throw himself in front of whatever attacked his men.

  "You are as pale as your hat. Don’t worry, it’ll be another media beat up, ten times worse than it is." The newspaper editor laid a wrinkled hand on my shoulder.

  "Where did these reports come from?" I met his quiet gaze with my own.

  He rubbed his chin. "The usual places, from the Brimbank office mostly."

  "This reporter, do you know him?" I pointed at the biggest article in the Winterhurst paper.

  "Not that one." He shook his head slowly. "Must be a new guy." He shrugged and moved on to his next customer.

  Something wasn't right. The interviews read like a movie script rather than the way real people talked.

  Media beat up or not, something undead was happening in Brimbank. Staying in Ravenswood wasn’t an option an
ymore. I had to go.

  I could be away for a few days, everyone would manage without me. I scrunched my hand to my hair, my goats would be fine, my responsibilities and duties to the town and the Council weren’t going anywhere.

  Too far to ride Splash. Too far and far too hot. Even if I rode him at night, I'd have to find somewhere safe to leave him during the day. Too risky. The new steam train was running to Brimbank, I needed to take the coach to somewhere with a station.

  Mrs. Crowder, the postmistress, would know how to make the trip.

  My determination wavered. I stumbled back to the bench and flopped against the seat. What if I got there, and Glynn didn't want my help? Didn't want me there with him? What if Glynn left suddenly because he wanted to keep me away? What if the only thing I did well, the only skills I thought I possessed, didn't match my delusions? Had Glynn raced to a battle with a bunch of undead and left me behind because he doubted my ability?

  I shook the tension from my shoulders. If that happened, I'd deal with it. The sun addled my brain, melted my heart so it didn't pump in tune. He'd done nothing to make me think he doubted my strengths, nothing to make me think he didn't want me anymore.

  A cold realization tightened my chest. He'd scribbled a note, avoided talking with me, and dodged my questions. If he thought I'd be in danger, he'd leave me behind in a heartbeat.

  He needed me whether he liked it or not.

  With the newspaper still clutched in my hand, I straightened the strap of my satchel across my chest and marched to the post office. No one stood at the counter, so I banged my palm against the small bell next to the cash register. From behind the store, a chair leg scraped against the floor. Crockery clinked, a wrinkled hand parted faded blue fabric, and old Mrs. Crowder shuffled out from the curtain behind the counter.

  "I must travel to Brimbank." The words tumbled from my mouth.

  Her gaze ran across my face to my white hand still gripped around the newspaper. She lifted her eyebrows for a second, then pulled a binder from under the counter. She licked her thumb and traced a wrinkled fingertip down the page. "The train from New Maidstone will be the quickest for you." The clock on the wall counted seconds that felt like minutes. She flicked to another page. "The early morning coach will get you there. We don't travel between 10am and 4pm in summer. Tomorrow's is full though. You must take a seat on Thursday's coach."