Angel-Seeker

by Sharon Shinn

  “Maybe,” said Obadiah. “But there are thirty or so women who have chosen to come with us today, and their lives will be immeasurably altered—and the lives of their daughters and their sons. I think that is good enough for Gabriel.”

  The old woman shrugged. “Maybe I am too old and have seen too much,” she said in a harsh voice. “I no longer believe in miracles.”

  Just then, the door to the house opened, and a young boy emerged, unaccompanied by the woman sent to fetch him. He looked to be about fifteen, his face sloped and angled just like Rebekah’s, his expression solemn, his body tense.

  “We have already been visited by angels today,” the boy said quietly. “My stepfather has heard your conditions.”

  Obadiah wanted to brush the dark hair from the boy’s eyes, to put his hands on the thin shoulders and transfer some of his own strength into that slim body. But he was a Jansai man, or would be soon, and not likely to welcome easy sympathy from an angel.

  “Jordan,” Obadiah said, “I have a message from your sister.”

  The boy stiffened, and the old woman cried out, then covered her mouth with her hand.

  Obadiah continued. “She is alive, she is in Cedar Hills, and she is under my protection. I will care for her—and her baby—the rest of her life.”

  “You?” the old woman whispered. “An angel? It was you?”

  Jordan’s face was expressionless—not as if he hid fury, but as if he was too afraid to believe, in case the words weren’t true. “She gave me two things to give to you,” Obadiah went on, pulling the items from his vest pocket and offering them to the motionless boy. “This letter and this bracelet.”

  The letter was sealed, and Obadiah had no idea what words it contained. The bracelet was his own, a circlet of silver set with sapphires. It was meant for a man’s wrist, Rebekah had explained, and Jordan knew how much she had loved it.

  “She is—Rebekah is alive?” Jordan whispered, his fingers closing over both tokens.

  Obadiah nodded. “You are to tell your mother as well.”

  “Praise the great good god,” the old woman breathed, and began to cry. Jordan turned to her swiftly, as if to offer manly comfort, but Obadiah was not deceived. Even in the dark, he had seen the glitter of water in the boy’s eyes. When Jordan bent over the old woman, murmuring something into her ear, a tear sparkled across his cheek and fell unnoticed onto the hard earth of the garden.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  The driver clucked impatiently to his horses and tried to maneuver around the broken-down rig in his way. Not that he would get very far very fast even if he was able to pass the wreck. The streets of Cedar Hills were jammed with conveyances of every description—Edori carts, Manadavvi caravans, wagonloads of lumber, and grain and merchandise—all jostling together down the main avenues with a clamor of hooves and squeals and curses. His own course would take him through the completed central district and down to the warehouses on the far edge of town. He was beginning to wonder if he would not have been better off striking out across the unpaved grass and circling the city to its western edge. The horses might have foundered in the slashes of mud and patches of snow, but all in all, he didn’t think he would have wasted so much time.

  “Jovah’s bones! Will you move out of the way?” some irate traveler called out behind him, but he merely shrugged and pointed to the obstacle in his path. Two laborers were grunting over the ruined wagon, trying to pull it to the side of the road, but it didn’t look as if they’d make much progress very soon. He might be here for the rest of the hour.

  The driver took advantage of his temporary pause to glance around the city and see what had changed in the months since he’d been here. There—that restaurant looked new—and surely that shop on the corner had just opened? He thought it had been covered in board and scaffolding last time he’d driven through. He might stable the horses and take a room for a day or two—plenty of new hotels to try out—and spend a little time browsing through the retail establishments. The god knew he got little chance to savor the luxuries of life when he was on the farm or on the road.

  A cluster of young women walked by, laughing and talking, and he eyed them appreciatively. Not quite spring here, but they were all dressed in pale, fluttering dresses, made of the thinnest lace and gauze. Might be more to see in Cedar Hills than cafes and the newest fashionable clothing. That brown-haired girl, she looked like she’d offer a man an interesting time, or that tall blonde, or the one with the dark auburn hair framing a serious face.

  Hold a moment. He knew that face—he knew that hair. He frowned, trying to remember, for he only had a few acquaintances in Cedar Hills, and none of them were quite so youthful. But even though she was half turned away from him, responding to something one of her companions had said, he had the clearest memory of her features, seen at a close and friendly distance.

  And then he remembered. “Elizabeth!” he called out, standing up and waving to get her attention. “Elizabeth! Hey! Over here!”

  At the sound of her name, she turned and scanned the traffic, trying to identify the man who would address her so rudely in public. She said something to the women with her and then crossed the road to speak to him.

  “Yes?” she said, her voice neutral and the look on her face warning him that she didn’t take solicitations from strangers.

  But he was delighted to see her. “Elizabeth! It’s me! Bennie! How are you? It’s been months since I left you here!”

  “Bennie—” she said, and then her face changed. She smiled up at him, turning into a much prettier girl than he remembered. Then again, she hadn’t smiled much on their trip together. “Well, hello! I never thought to see you again. What brings you to Cedar Hills?”

  He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, indicating his cargo in back. “Got a load to deliver. His lordship struck a deal to send hardwoods to the hold. All this building going on, I can’t imagine there will be a tree left in Jordana by the time it’s all over.”

  “So you’re still working for James? How’s everybody back at the farm?”

  He grinned at her. “ ’Bout as you’d expect. Such a ruckus there was when you didn’t come back with me!”

  “I’m sorry. Did you get in trouble? Doesn’t look like they fired you.”

  “Well, your cousin was all set on letting me go, but his wife had a much more realistic view. She said, ‘Elizabeth’s a grown woman and well able to take care of herself. If she wanted to leave the safety of a good home for the uncertainty of life as a—’ Well, you don’t want to hear exactly what she specified there. Anyway, she said, ‘That’s entirely Elizabeth’s decision. We certainly don’t need to lose a good worker because of that silly girl’s behavior.’ ”

  “Sounds like Angeletta,” Elizabeth observed. “I’m surprised she didn’t offer you a bonus for getting rid of me.”

  Bennie grinned. “Who says she didn’t? Anyway, they kept me on. I thought about moving on anyway, since the life doesn’t quite suit me, but his lordship decided I should be his primary driver. And I like the travel just fine. So I’m staying. For a while, anyway.”

  “I’m glad to hear you’re doing well.”

  “And you? Don’t mind if I say that you look wonderful.”

  She laughed. “I don’t mind at all. I feel wonderful. Life has been very good for me in Cedar Hills. Thank you for recommending Tola’s for me. She’s been very kind.”

  “So you found a place, found a job, all that?”

  “Yes. I’m learning to become a healer, and I’ve made many good friends, and—oh, it’s the best part! I’ve fallen in love.”

  “Did you now! So that angel thing worked out for you after all.”

  She shook her head. One of her friends, waiting impatiently across the road, called out Elizabeth’s name, and she held up a hand to indicate that she’d only be another moment. “No. Turns out I didn’t have much luck with angels. But I’ve found someone better.”

  “I didn’t know there was a
nything better,” he observed.

  She laughed again. “Neither did I.” Her friend called to her again. “I’ve got to go,” she added. “It was good to run into you. If James asks, tell him you saw me and that I’m well and happy.”

  “And if he doesn’t ask?”

  “Then make sure you tell Angeletta.”

  Bennie was the one to laugh at that. With a quick wave, she made her good-bye, darting across the street just ahead of an oncoming vehicle. Bennie watched her go, saw her exchange a few animated words with the other women, and kept his eyes on them till they disappeared around one of the newly painted corners of Cedar Hills. No more time to dawdle or daydream, though; the wrecked rig in front of him had finally been dragged out of his way. He snapped the reins, and the horses started forward, picking their way past the ruined wagon. Yes, he thought he might stay in Cedar Hills for at least a day or two. Even if he never caught sight of Elizabeth again, there was so much to see in this freshly built town. It was a city of possibilities, after all.