“Okay,” I say. “I go.”
Lady Beatrice kisses me hard on the top of my kog, and it’s such a surprise that my arms go stiff at my side like dead sticks.
“Thank you,” she ses. She lets go of me and twists the key in the lock. Clunk. She pushes the door open and straightaways the outside bites me like hek blades. “Directly across from here are the stables. There’s a mare, ready saddled and loaded with supplies. The external gate is open and the guards distracted; if you’re quick, no one will see you go. Follow the same track we rode along this morning but avoid the forest; it’s dangerous at night. Turn left and cut through the city. The roads should be quiet enough.”
My mouth is openin and closin like a coalfish what’s been pulled out of water. This is all happenin too quick. I’ve got more questions to ask — there’s so much I still don’t know — but she’s in a hurry for me to be gone.
“Whatever happens, just keep traveling north. Don’t stop for anything, especially in the most northern regions of Ingland. The situation there is . . . precarious. Although I have some allies in the north, there are rumors that other people there . . . well, it’s safer not to trust anyone. You have to reach Skye as soon as possible; the lives of everyone there depend on you. Now go, before the sentries return.”
She pushes me through the door, and I’m runnin across to the stables without even the time to say thank you.
I heard the shadow things last night. They were making the horrible strangle sound and it was hard for me to sleep. They were not supposed to be inside the enclave. That was why there was fires all around the wall to keep them out. But last night there was too much rain and wind and it made all the fires not light and go out. That is why the shadow things came in. They couldn’t come in the bothans though because of the inside fires. They went all around the outside. I think they were trying to find a way to put out the fires. If they do that no one will be safe. They are angry at me for not letting them get the Raasay people or the deers. They want to get me the most.
I wished Jaime was here but he is in Scotia. Lenox told me that. I cannot even believe it. He went back to find the Badhbh man. I hope he is okay and the wildwolves don’t get him. Lenox says he will be back soon.
It is morning now and the shadow things are gone. I know that because the sound is stopped. I put on my boots and run quick out of the bothan to see the deers. They are all standing in the loch so the shadow things didn’t get them. That is a big phew. It was Aileen’s plan that they should go in the loch and it is a clever one. The shadow things can’t go in the water. I don’t talk to the deers because my head is still hurting bad and I don’t want it to hurt more.
I go to the cookboth. There is banging next to it. The Wasps are making something with the wood and hammers. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it is a big weapon for killing the shadow things. The Stewer in the cookboth says he’s not allowed to give me anything and I should know that by now. But I am so hungry so I say please and do my bestest pretty smile and he says, “Okay, but only because it’s you.” He gives me a bannock and a big piece of meat. I cannot even believe it! I am so lucky to get the big piece of meat. The bannock is warm and it is delicious yummy. The meat is good too and I eat it all up.
On my way walking back to the bothan I see Maistreas Eilionoir. She flaps her hand at me which means she wants to talk to me. I walk to where she is and we stand under a tree to stop some of the wind being so windy.
“Agatha,” she says, “I’m glad I bumped into you. Did you warn them in time?” Her voice is a whisper one.
“W-warn — who?” I ask. I think she means the Raasay people but I have to pretend I don’t know that because I was not supposed to go there and she will be cross.
“The islanders from Raasay,” she says. “I know that’s where you went.”
Oh, she knows. That is a bad one.
“I . . . I . . . um . . .”
“It’s okay; you’re not in trouble. I wanted you to go there. In fact, I was relying on it. Why do you think I made you count paces outside the enclave?”
What does she mean she wanted me to go there? “You said the counting was an important job,” I say. “You said we n-needed to know how many paces for the — the — to protect against the shadow things.”
“I know that’s what I said, but we didn’t really need to know that. I wanted to make it easier for you to leave.”
What she is saying is confusing in my head. “What — ? But — What — ?” I am not doing good speaking but I cannot make it come out good.
“What Catriona suggested was barbaric — allowing the sgàilean to kill every single person in our enclave: old people, sick people, children . . . The people of Raasay betrayed us, but they do not deserve that fate. However, Catriona has the authority here now, and I could not undermine her without risking severe consequences for our clan. I needed it to look like it was your idea to leave, in case anyone saw you. And it was your idea. I just planted the seed and gave you a little nudge in the right direction.”
I do not know all of the words Maistreas Eilionoir said but I think I understand it.
“But how did you know I would g-go there?”
“Because it’s just the kind of foolish plan only you would attempt,” she says. “And it’s exactly what I would have done if I were forty years younger. . . . I recognize your stubborn determination all too well. After seeing the look on your face during the meeting, I knew if anyone would attempt to get there, it was you. It’s partly why I mentioned your birth parents, in the hope that thinking about them would strengthen your resolve to help Lileas’s parents. You must forgive me, though; I was wrong to speak of it. There are reasons such things are not spoken about in this clan, and we must not talk of it again. But enough of that. Tell me what happened while you were gone.”
I want to speak about my birth parents more now because she reminded me but also she told me I’m not allowed. It is very annoying to me. I wish she never even said about them. Instead I have to say what she asked which is about how the chief of Raasay man wouldn’t believe me and Aileen, and then he locked us up, but then Edme Lileas’s mother helped us escape and we saw the big fire and the Raasay people were saved. I also tell her what Hector said about the lots of Raasay people who are sad about what the chiefs of Raasay did to us.
When I have finished saying it all Maistreas Eilionoir does something very surprising which is she hugs me. She has never hugged me before. I hug her back a warm one. She feels like lots of bones.
“You’ve done well, Agatha. Not only did your actions save lives, but you may have also paved the way for positive negotiations between us and the Raasay islanders. I knew I could rely on you.”
I don’t know what is negotiations but I know it is a good thing so I smile a big one.
“There was a-another thing the chief of Raasay man said,” I say.
“Oh?”
“He said his people lived on this island first, and that our — our clan made them — leave. That’s not true . . . is it?”
Maistreas Eilionoir’s head is a tilt on one side. “Actually,” she says. “It is . . . to a degree. Although it was two hundred years ago or more. Long before even I was born, and we all know how ancient I am.”
“W-why did we make them leave?”
“It wasn’t just us; it was all of the Skye clans. Our ancestors came here from the mainland with everyone else who now lives here on Skye, fleeing a corrupt monarchy and wanting to establish a new kind of community. When they first arrived, the people already living here didn’t want to share the island. Our ancestors fought them for it and won, so the original inhabitants were forced to leave. It’s as simple as that. And like I said, it was a very long time ago; long before Scotia was torn apart by plagues and shadows.
“Whatever the history between our people, it is the enclave that is currently in dispute, which the Raasay islanders have no right to claim. It was built by our ancestors’ sweat and sheer determination, and i
t belongs to us.”
I don’t know what to think about all of that. It is true that the Raasay people were bad to take our enclave but also maybe it was wrong that our ancestor people made them leave because the island was their home.
“Can I go now?” I say. My head is filling up and I want to go back to bed. I am still tired because of all the walking and the talking to the deers and the shadow things that made me not sleep. I have to go to the wall and be a good Hawk to do my duty but first I want to sleep for some more.
“Of course,” says Maistreas Eilionoir. “And stay alert. The air in this enclave is heavy with uncertainty; we must all keep our wits about us.”
A sound wakes me up from my sleeping. It is a horrible sound, but it is not the shadow things. It is a screech one and an animal. It is one of the deers.
My first thinking is the shadow things got them but it can’t be that because it is daytime and the shadow things are not here. I go out of my bed quick to see what it is.
Outside there is a man and he is — What is he doing? He should not be doing that. There is a rope around a deer’s neck and the man is pulling hard. A woman is kicking the deer from behind to make it move. The deer is the one doing the loud sounds. The pulling and the kicking is hurting it.
“Hey!” I shout. “W-what are you — doing?”
I run to them and grab the rope. I try to pull it away but the man holds it hard and he won’t let go.
“What’s your problem?” he says to me. He has big cheeks and nasty teeth.
“Why do you have the rope and — and — pulling on its neck?” I say.
The deer is looking at me and its eyes are scared. It doesn’t have the antlers because it is a girl one.
“Well, it’s not going to want to come on its own, is it?” says the man, and he laughs.
The woman laughs too. Her face is pretty but when she laughs she is ugly.
“Where are you — going?” I ask.
“To the slaughterboth,” says the woman, “Now, get out of our way; we’ve got work to do.”
The slaughterboth? Why would they — ? No. They can’t do that.
“You’re going to k-k-” I can’t even say it.
“Of course we’re going to kill it,” says the man. “Where’d you think your breakfast came from?”
I think about the meat the Stewer gave me. That wasn’t deer meat. Please it wasn’t deer meat. It was a big piece and I ate it all. I’m going to be sick. I am sick. It goes on my boots and on my chin. I wipe it on my sleeve. The taste is horrible in my mouth. I spit out three times.
“Oh, dear,” says the woman. “Looks like you need a lesson in where food comes from.” She laughs again and is ugly again.
The man pulls on the rope and the deer does a sad grunt sound. I try to get the rope again but the man pushes me away.
“If you’ve got a problem, I suggest you take it up with Catriona,” says the man.
“I will,” I say. “Don’t you k-kill that — deer. Otherwise I’ll — I’ll — arghh!” I don’t know what I’ll do and I can’t think of it.
The man shakes his head and laughs which makes me even more madder.
I won’t let them hurt you, I say to the deer.
I have to find Catriona and I have to be quick. They cannot kill the deer; they cannot do it. I run to Catriona’s bothan. I go in and I do not even knock. She is not inside.
“C-Catriona!” I say, even though I know she is not here. I am going to leave but I hear a noise. It is a bump from inside the bothan but there is no one there so I do not know what. The noise does a bump again.
It is coming from the chest. There is something in the chest and it is trying to get out. Is it Catriona in the chest? I step toward it. My heart is too fast. I step again. The chest bumps again and makes me jump. I am not afraid. I step two more steps. What if it is a bad thing and gets me? I have to be brave. I am brave. I put my hand on the lid. It is cold. There are two metal parts for keeping it shut. I lift them up and open it.
Nothing jumps out and gets me. I do a big breath. It is only boring things. I do rummaging through them. It is clothes and a book and a blanket. All boring. So what was it did the bumping? I close the lid and put down the metal parts. I should not be looking in the chest. I should be finding Catriona. She is not in the chest and I knew she wasn’t. Also she cannot see me here or I will be in the big biggest trouble ever.
I leave the bothan. I am thinking where I can look for her when she comes from around the corner.
“Agatha,” she says. “What are you doing outside my bothan?”
“I was l-looking for you,” I say. I hope she does not know that I was inside. Did I close the chest properly? Yes, I think I did.
“Why?” she says. “I’m very busy.”
“The m-man and the — woman were taking the deer to the — the — to kill it,” I say.
“Yes, and?” says Catriona.
“You said you wouldn’t hurt them!”
“No, I didn’t. I said they could come in. I said nothing about what would happen to them once they were inside.”
“But it’s not fair. They’re not for eating.”
She puts her hand on my shoulder then. I hate it and I move so it is off.
“You did everyone in this enclave — both your clan and mine — a great service when you brought those animals through our gates. Our food supplies have been dwindling fast. They were already low, but since the sgàilean were unleashed — since you unleashed them — the situation has gone from bad to worse. We have been so busy gathering the firewood to defend ourselves that all other duties have been ignored, including scavenging and angling. And then you turn up with enough deer to keep us alive all winter. You’ve almost made up for your former stupidity. Almost.”
“But you can’t k-kill them!” I say. “We can’t eat them.”
“Why not?”
“I said — I said they would be safe.”
“When you performed your undùth trick and spoke to them in your head, you mean? Well, perhaps you should be more careful not to make promises you cannot keep. Besides, the deer are safer here than if we hadn’t let them in. Had they been outside the enclave walls last night, the sgàilean would have killed them all. We only need one or two a day. The others will live a happy life, free from worry, allowed to graze on our grass during the day and seek sanctuary in our loch at night.”
She doesn’t understand. She is stupid and mean. If she will not keep the deer from being killed, I have to stop it. I do not say goodbye and I leave. I need to find the slaughterboth but I do not know where it is. I run all around. I ask people and they point and I run again but my head is full of bad thoughts of the deer dying and it makes it hard to know which way to go.
Then I hear the sound again. It is the deer sad pain sound and it is near. I run to it and then I know where is the slaughterboth. I push the door open with both my hands. The man and the woman are there. The woman has a long knife. The deer is in the air. It is upside down and is hanging by one leg. Its head is turning turning and it is scared.
It’s okay; I’m going to save you, I say to the deer in my head. It does not reply. It is too scared, I think. The floor is a sticky one and is red. I do not want to know it.
“Not you again,” says the man.
“Catriona says you have to l-let it down,” I say.
“Oh, really?” says the woman.
“Yes — really,” I say.
“And why would Catriona say that?”
“Because . . . because . . .” I cannot think of a clever why. Then I think of it. “Because she wants to give it to the shadow things. So they get the deers and not the people.” That is a mean thing like what Catriona would think of.
The man and the woman look at each other. “I’ll go and check,” says the man.
“You don’t really think — ?” says the woman.
“I’ll be quick,” says the man. “You’d better let it down for now.”
T
he man leaves. The woman does a huff. She moves a lever around in the circles. It is hard to do with one hand so she needs two hands. That means she has to put down the long knife, which gives me the plan.
Hello, I say to the deer. I am Agatha but you can call me Sun-Leaf. That is my deer name. The deer tells me she is scared of the lady with the knife. I tell her I am going to rescue her and I say to her my plan. She is moving down cluck clunk and spinning. I don’t know if she is listening. Her legs are scrambly trying to get the floor. She is nearly there. It is time to do it.
I grab the long knife and chop the rope that is on her leg. She falls the last way but it is not far.
“No, you d — ” says the woman, but she doesn’t finish the words because the deer does my plan. She runs at the woman and hits her in the stomach with her head. The woman coughs a yucky one and falls onto the floor. I open the door and the deer runs out. I run too and am following. I did it! I saved her so she isn’t dead. We run all the way to the loch so she can be with the other deers but — What? The deer stops and so do I. We can see the loch but it is not right. None of the deers are there anymore.
Where have all the deers gone?
We don’t waste any time. Now that we have an idea where the Badhbh might be, there’s no point in dawdling. Mór leaves to gather a few supplies as Hendry explains to me in more detail what I should look out for and how I’ll know when we’re in the right area. While he’s speaking, my eyes keep drifting across the beach in case Cray returns. If he doesn’t come back before we leave, I won’t get to see him again after all.
Mór returns and throws a pair of gloves at me.
“In case we encounter any imitators,” she explains. “The less skin you have exposed, the better.” She also ties strips of cloth around my ankles, at the point where my trousers meet my boots. “Best not to take any risks.”
The Broken Raven Page 15