Barren

by Peter V. Brett

  “No, mam,” Raddock said.

  “Harl Tanner did the fightin’, after Raddock mouthed off to him,” Deardra gladly supplied, drawing a glare from Raddock.

  “Best steer clear of that one,” Sallie said. “Boy keeps me busier than I’d like.” She gave Raddock a strip of leather. “Bite this.”

  No sooner had Raddock taken it in his teeth than Sallie gave his finger a firm yank, setting it back in its proper socket. “Grrrmph!”

  “All done,” Sallie said, wrapping the hand in cloth. “Best go easy on it for the next few days. Should hurt like the Core, but it won’t give you lasting trouble.”

  “Ay, Selia,” Bil Square called as they passed his market stall. Bil and his mother made the best quilts in the Brook.

  “Let’s go.” Raddock put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Nonsense.” Selia shook the hand free, moving over to Bil. He was of an age with the rest of them, shorter than Selia and slighter than Raddock. “What can I do for you, Bil?”

  “Hopin’ you might speak to your da for me,” Bil said. “One of Mam’s quilts went missin’ off the line. Heard from Mabul Grover she saw it on Nile Digger’s bed.”

  This wasn’t the first time someone came to Selia with grievances they were not ready to escalate to her father. Edwar encouraged it. Speaker training, he called it. “Leaving aside what Mabul was doing in Nile’s bedroom,” Selia said, “have you spoken to Nile?”

  Bil dropped his eyes. “No.”

  “Da’s a busy man, Bil,” Selia said. “Speaker’s job is to hold folk to the law, not solve all your problems. Come to me with proof Nile stole your quilt and won’t pay its worth, I’ll take you to see Edwar. But he ent got patience for folk can’t be bothered to try ’n’ resolve their own disputes.”

  Bil nodded. “Ay, Spea—” He checked himself. “Selia. Thank you.”

  “Think no more on it,” Selia said.

  “Never liked that little seamstress,” Raddock growled as they continued down the path. “I tell you he offered to pull me off behind his stall?”

  Deardra laughed. “Ought to let him next time. Maybe then you wouldn’t have to do it yourself behind the bait shack.”

  Raddock turned purple as Selia barked a laugh, and even Anjy hid a smile behind a delicate hand.

  * * *

  The others had drifted off home as the afternoon wore on. Selia walked Anjy back to the school and up to the small apartment by the bellhouse.

  “Ent much,” Selia gestured to the bed, dresser, and writing desk, “but it’s warm and dry.” She pulled the curtain from the window. “And you can see all Town Square from up here.” She grinned at Anjy’s appreciative gasp.

  “It’s wonderful,” Anjy said.

  “Seems an odd way to find a husband,” Selia said.

  “Eh?” Anjy asked.

  “Sending you on your own to work with children instead of just asking help to find a match,” Selia said. “Mam won’t take kindly to you bringing young men up here.”

  “Won’t be a problem,” Anjy said. “Grandfather just thought it best I spend a little time away from Southwatch.”

  “Trouble with a boy?” Selia asked.

  Anjy did not meet her eyes. “Ay, something like that.”

  Selia gave her hand a squeeze. “Don’t owe me explanations and I won’t press, but I ent one to judge. Be your friend, you’ll have me.”

  Anjy did meet her eyes then, flashing a smile that sent a thrill through Selia. She floated down the steps on it, only to find Harl Tanner in the classroom, banging out the erasers, hands white with chalk.

  Selia put her hands on her hips. “Know you’re not allowed in here, Harl Tanner.”

  “Cleaned the blackboard,” Harl said. “And swept the floor.”

  “All well and good.” Selia pointedly took a heavy key out of her pocket. “But I’m locking up now.”

  Harl did not protest, replacing the erasers on their ledge and allowing her to shoo him out the door.

  Selia half turned, keeping one eye on the boy as she locked the schoolhouse door. “Shouldn’t you be off home? Long walk, and the corelings won’t wait.”

  “Need you to talk to your mam,” Harl said.

  Selia slipped the key into a deep pocket in her dress. “Only one needs to talk to my mam is yours.”

  “I’ll do anythin’.” Harl sounded desperate. “Haul privy buckets. Chop wood. Whatever she needs.”

  “None of that makes up for attacking a teacher, Harl.”

  “Don’t know what Da’s like,” Harl said. “Be a week in the outhouse, he finds out.”

  “That’s why Lory asked to speak to your mam instead,” Selia said.

  “She’ll tell him. Knows better’n to keep something like that from him.”

  Selia crossed her arms. “Should have thought of that before you dislocated Raddock’s finger.”

  Harl’s face darkened. “Tell your secret.”

  “What secret?” Selia snapped.

  “That you play kissy with Raddock’s sister behind the schoolhouse,” Harl said.

  Selia felt her stomach clench, but it was followed by a flash of anger. “Don’t threaten me, you corespawned little brat!” Selia stepped in, raising a fist, and Harl shrank back. “I’m not Raddock Fisher. I’ll put your teeth out, and your da will put you in the outhouse for a month for spreading lies!”

  “Ent a lie,” Harl said. “Seen it.”

  “Who will folk believe?” Selia demanded. “Speaker’s and schoolmam’s daughter, or the little rat who spits on the floor and attacks teachers?” She gave him a shove. “Run on home before you make things even worse for yourself.”

  Harl’s nostrils flared and his eyes slitted. Selia could see he was readying to attack and put her fists up. “Try it.”

  Instead, Harl spat on the ground, turned, and ran, smacking the wardpost in frustration as he headed up the road.

  There was a rustle of cloth, and Selia glanced up to see the curtain of Anjy’s room move.

  * * *

  Selia started awake at the ringing of the great school bell. Her room was pitch-dark, but she groped until she found her dress and pulled it on, stumbling out the door even as her father burst into the common. The hearth had burned down to embers, but she caught a glint of metal in the dim glow and knew Edwar was pulling on his armor.

  Selia put a taper into the fireplace and lit a lamp, moving quickly to help Lory with the fastenings. “What’s happening?”

  “Schoolhouse wards are lit up like a Solstice bonfire,” Edwar said, “and there’s smoke in the air.”

  “Corelings?” Selia’s heart went cold. Anjy was in there, alone.

  “Must be.” Edwar stuck an arm through his shield and snatched his spear off the mantel.

  I locked the door. The thought flickered in Selia’s mind, and before she knew it, she was reaching for the spare shield. It was wood, not steel like her father’s, but its wards were strong. “I’m going with you.”

  “Like night you are.” Lory stepped in front of the shield, arms crossed. “Let your father handle this.” Edwar went to her, and she kissed him hard on the mouth. “Come back to us.”

  “I love you,” Edwar told them both, then turned and faded into the night. Selia and Lory stared after him, catching glimpses of his hunched form in the flashes of wardlight and the evil orange glow coming from up the road.

  But then Selia heard Anjy’s scream, and staring wasn’t enough. Before her mother could stop her, she snatched up the spare shield and ran into the night.

  “Selia Square! Get back here!”

  Selia ignored her cries, running as her father did, low and quiet. Lights were appearing in windows as folk looked to see what was happening, but none were foolish enough to leave the safety of their wards.

  She caught up to her father as he crouched by the broken fence. One of the wardposts was broken, but there was no sign of flame. It had simply been shattered, allowing demons into the schoolyard. Selia counted thr
ee—two flamers and a looming rock—but their cries were sure to draw others. Against the moonlit sky, Selia glimpsed a wind demon circling the lamplit bellhouse atop the school where the great bell continued to clang.

  If she’s ringing the bell, she’s alive, Selia thought. Ent too late.

  “Corespawn it, Selia!” Edwar growled. “I told you to stay inside.”

  “Anjy’s all alone,” Selia said.

  “And I would better be able to help her without you.” Edwar spat, but he didn’t argue further.

  “What are the demons waiting for?” Selia asked.

  “The flamers have set fire to the house, but the wards are holding for now.” Edwar lifted his spear. “Keep your shield up and follow close.”

  The rock demon lunged at the great schoolhouse door, but the wards flared, and it was thrown onto its back. “Now!” They ran for the door, Edwar’s shield on his left arm, Selia’s on her right. One of the flame demons leapt at Edwar, but it was no more than twenty pounds, and he batted it aside with his shield. The wards flashed, and the coreling was knocked across the yard.

  The other flame demon spat fire at Selia, but she had her shield ready, deflecting the firespit as she ran. It bounced off, but a glob of the sticky stuff landed on the hem of her dress, and the cloth blazed.

  Selia shrieked, stumbling as they reached the schoolhouse steps. Edwar kept his wits, hauling her up the steps past the wardnet. He stomped on the skirt and swung his spear, the long blade slashing away the burning section. Then he reached a gauntleted hand for the door. “Locked.”

  “Got the key.” Selia fished it from her dress pocket, but when she tried to put it in the lock, the metal was hot and burned her unprotected fingers. She cried out, dropping the key.

  “Flame’s on this side of the building,” Edwar said.

  “We can go around back . . .” Selia ventured.

  “Not with demons in the yard,” Edwar said. “Step away from the door.”

  He went to the window first, putting the steel-capped butt of his spear through the panes. Then he put up his shield and gave the door a heavy kick from his armored boot. Wood splintered and caved, but the door held. He took a step back, raising his shield, and smashed through, crashing to the schoolroom floor.

  Selia felt a blast of heat as fire coughed from the doorway. Smoke began to pour from the broken windowpanes. She soaked her kerchief in the rain barrel, tying it about her face before she darted in. Inside, fire was spreading through the classroom, greasy smoke thick in the air. The heat was nearly unbearable. But no doubt it was worse for Edwar. His armor might have protected him from the burning door, but soon the metal would heat and cook him alive if they did not escape.

  “Keep close to the floor!” Edwar shouted, and Selia hunched low, gulping the cleaner air as they made their way toward the stairs.

  “Anjy!” Edwar boomed. “Anjy Watch!”

  There was no reply, the bell continuing to clang as the girl desperately hauled on the rope in hope of rescue. There was a crash as the rock demon made another attempt to cross the smoke-weakened wards. The whole schoolhouse shook and the porch railings snapped. The coreling howled as magic arced like lightning across its body, but it pressed on through. Edwar himself had smashed the next line of defense, and the giant demon shattered the doorway as it burst into the classroom.

  “Go!” Edwar gave Selia a push toward the stairs as he got to his feet. “I’ll lead it out the back!”

  It seemed a mad plan, but as the rock swiped at her father, his shield blazed with magic, turning the blow. He jammed his spear into its open mouth and the demon howled with pain, biting down and shattering the weapon. It spun, lashing at him with its heavy tail, but the wards on Edwar’s armor lit up. He was knocked aside, but kept his feet, banging his heavy gauntlet against his shield, drawing the demon after him as Selia hurried up the stairs.

  But the rock was not the only threat. The flame demons scurried after Selia like dogs chasing a cat, leaving fresh fires in their wake.

  The smoke was less thick on the second floor, drawn by the draft from the broken door and window, but Selia knew that would not last as the flames spread. “Anjy!” she screamed.

  The ringing slowed as she approached the rope room. Selia pulled on the door, but it was barred from the inside. She pounded her fist against the wood as the demons closed on her.

  The door opened as a demon leapt at her. Selia braced behind her shield and shoved hard, knocking it back long enough to fall into the room. Anjy slammed the door shut and dropped the bar, but a pair of talons pushed like nails through the wood, and Selia knew it would not hold.

  “We’re trapped!” Anjy cried.

  “Up the ladder to the belfry!” Selia cried. It might only delay the inevitable, but where there was life there was hope. Anjy recovered her wits and began to climb. Selia slung her shield over a shoulder and followed as the door blackened and another blow cracked the boards.

  A final press, and the two flame demons burst into the tiny rope room. Smoke followed in their wake, drawn to the open shaft. The corelings attempted to climb the ladder, but even nimble flamers could not scale the rungs without hands. They clawed the walls instead, scaling the sheer face nearly as fast as the young women could climb.

  “What now?” Anjy cried as they made the belfry. Below, the town spread out before them, a light in every window, but no one coming to help.

  “Haul up the rope.” Selia pulled the shield off her shoulder, watching the demons climb. Even amid the smoke and darkness, their glowing eyes and mouths marked them clearly.

  She waited as Anjy pulled the rope, muscles knotting as the glowing eyes grew closer, closer. Selia waited until they were almost upon them. The lead demon hawked fire and closed its eyes to spit, and in that moment she threw her shield. It struck the demon full in the face, flame wards flashing as it knocked the demon from its perch. The demon fell into the other, both of them tumbling back down into the rope room with the precious shield.

  The demons were unharmed, rolling immediately to their feet and leaping back onto opposite walls, climbing again.

  Selia snatched the rope from Anjy, hurling it over the rail and down to the sloping roof. The bell rang again as she pulled it taut and hopped up to sit on the rail and swing her skirts over. “Follow me.”

  Anjy looked over the rail doubtfully. The rope was enough to get off the tower to the roof, but it would not see them safely to the ground. She froze.

  Selia put out a hand. “Trust me.”

  Anjy took the hand and Selia hauled her up, leading the way down the rope. A wind demon shrieked from above as their feet skidded against the steeply sloping shingles. There were wind wards cut into each tile to keep a demon from landing on the roof, but they would not stop it from snatching one of them up and winging away.

  Selia took a few quick steps, then released the rope, wrapping her arms around Anjy. “Let go!”

  Selia could not tell if Anjy complied or if it was her own sudden added weight that cost Anjy her grip, but they fell away even as a wind demon struck the warded shingles where they had just been.

  The demon’s shrieks matched Selia and Anjy’s as all three tumbled down the roof, but Selia had angled them carefully. She and Anjy dropped over the lip and fell just a few feet, landing on the more gently sloping picnic awning under which she and Deardra had shared kisses what seemed a lifetime ago. The breath was knocked from them, but Selia grabbed at the gutter as they rolled from the awning edge. Her arms screamed and her grip could not hold, but she broke their momentum enough for them to hit the ground bruised but unbroken.

  Anjy opened her mouth, but Selia slapped a hand over it, hauling them up and putting their backs to the hot schoolhouse wall as she scanned the yard. There was a crash from inside and the whole building shook. The rock demon roared, and she suddenly remembered her father, fear gripping her. Had her foolish insistence on coming along cost Edwar’s life?

  But then one of the doors to the c
ellar slammed open, and Edwar climbed out with a groan. Inside, she could hear crashing and roars, but the cellar was cramped, and the demon would need to dig its way out.

  Edwar caught sight of them as Selia ushered Anjy his way. “Creator be praised.”

  * * *

  Lory shrieked at her when they got back, but she did it with her arms wrapped around them both, tears streaking her face. Then she calmed, lips tight as she examined them, cleaning, stitching, and binding scrapes and cuts.

  “You’ll sleep with Selia until we get things sorted, Anjy,” Lory said when the work was done. “Get some rest. Going to be a long day tomorrow.”

  They went into Selia’s room, and Anjy threw her arms around her the moment they were alone, sobbing. Selia guided them to the bed and sat, holding her until the shuddering eased.

  Anjy looked up at her, her big eyes wide and beautiful, wet with tears. “Wasn’t trouble with a boy.”

  “Eh?” Selia asked.

  “Why Grandfather sent me from Southwatch,” Anjy clarified. “It wasn’t a boy.” She put her hand on Selia’s, soft and gentle. “It was a girl.”

  She lifted her chin, and then Selia was kissing her, and everything they’d been through was forgotten in the rush of realization.

  Anjy was a square girl, too.

  * * *

  “Night,” Anjy gasped. “Where’d you learn that?”

  Selia moved up to lie by her side. Both were sweating, even in the chill night. “Got a tanned bottom for walking in on Da doing it to Mam. Heard her tell Sallie Trigg it was a trick he learned on his Messenger travels.”

  “That’s . . . some trick. Don’t know how I kept quiet at the end,” Anjy said. Selia laid her head against the young woman’s chest, listening to the rapid beat of her heart. “You do that with Deardra?”

  Selia stiffened, but Anjy put a gentle hand on her head, stroking her sweaty hair. “It’s all right.”

  “Heard what Harl said?” Selia asked.

  “Ay, but didn’t have to,” Anjy replied. “Saw how you two look at each other, way you touch. It was like that with Sementhe.”

  “Girl who got you sent from Southwatch.”