After the Fire (After the Fire: Book the First) (11 page)

“Stop
it,” the girl said, seeming to have lost her fear. “You'll
rip the hair from your head.” She sat down next to Eleni and
swatted her hand away from the comb. Gently, she unraveled Eleni's
hair that had wrapped around the comb. Taking chunks of Eleni's hair
in one hand, she carefully picked at the knots with the comb with the
other.

“My
name is Iren,” she said.

“I
am Eleni.”

“I
know.”

The
girl was silent for a long time, the only sound the pulling of the
comb on Eleni's hair. Eleni relaxed into the silence. The last person
that had tended to her hair was her mother, and that was so long ago,
it seemed. A lifetime ago. She had tried to use her fingers when she
bathed, but it wasn't the same.

“You
have so much hair,” said Iren at last, breaking the silence.
Eleni said nothing. “It is so red,” the girl said,
sounding as though she was marveling at it.

“One
cannot help the color of their hair,” said Eleni. When she was
growing up, her hair had been just another bad omen, to everyone but
her mother. Eleni realized that she had been far less lonely in her
box than in the village. Even if she had been allowed in the village,
she thought she probably would have preferred her box.

“I'm
sorry,” said Iren weakly. “I didn't mean anything by it.
It's just...I think it's beautiful.”

“Beautiful?”
said Eleni, frowning. “No one has ever said that before.”

“Everyone's
saying it here,” the girl said. “All the women.”
She laughed. “They think you'll take away their husbands.”

Eleni
snorted. “I want nothing to do with their husbands,” she
said. “I need no man.”

“That
must be exciting,” said Iren, working on a particularly big
knot.

“What?”
said Eleni.

“Not
needing a man,” said the girl. “My people say I need to
get married soon. A woman cannot survive without a man in this
forest.”

“The
men do not seem to be good providers,” said Eleni. “When
was the last time you ate your fill?” Iren didn't answer.
“Better to learn yourself than depend on someone else,”
said Eleni.

“I
don't have the power that you do,” said Iren, almost sadly. “My
mother says I should marry Balyn. That I should offer myself to him.
He is the one whose falx you took this morning.”

“The
weasel?” said Eleni. “Do not marry him. You will starve.”

“I
haven't much choice,” said Iren.

“Everyone
has a choice,” said Eleni. She thought for a moment. “I
will show you. I make no promises, but if I can, I will teach you
about the forest. Have you a weapon?”

The
girl stopped combing and Eleni looked around at her. The girl was
staring at Eleni with something like shock. “Women aren't
supposed to wield weapons,” she said slowly.

“I
didn't ask that,” said Eleni. “I asked if you had one.”

Iren
bit her lip. Finally, she nodded slowly. “It was my father's. A
bow.”

“Can
you shoot it?”

“You
won't tell Magda?”

“Why
would I tell Magda?” said Eleni.

Iren
looked to the entrance of the tent. Voices carried in from the camp,
but they were muted. “I can,” Iren whispered. “I've
been practicing. Since I was a girl.”

“Good,”
said Eleni. “I will tell you when.” She turned back
around so Iren could finish her hair. She finished in silence, the
sound of the comb against the tangles like a hollow pop in the crisp
evening air. When she was finished she lurched forward and reached
her arms around Eleni in an embrace. Eleni wasn't sure what to do,
but a second later, the girl was at the tent opening, beaming back at
Eleni as she left.

Eleni
found Magda at the center of camp. She had taken off her boots and
was warming her feet by the small fire. Black ravens surrounded her.
She smiled when she saw Eleni.

“I
find that it becomes more and more difficult to stay warm,”
Magda said, as Eleni lowered herself to sit on the log next to the
old woman, disturbing a raven that flapped its wings in irritation as
it hopped out of the way.

“Fin
says your kind cannot die,” said Eleni. “Why?”

“Right
to the point,” Magda said. “It would not hurt you to
learn some niceties.”

“Fin
says that, too,” said Eleni.

“He's
right,” she said, looking into the fire. “You must get
along with people to lead them.”

“Why
would I lead anyone?” said Eleni.

“It
is your path,” said Magda. “You are Zaric. You must learn
these things or you will never restore your greatness.”

“You
say I am Zaric,” said Eleni, “but I have seen no proof.”

“You
knew me when you saw me, did you not?” said Magda, turning to
look at her. The hard coldness of her good eye reminded Eleni of the
iron gates back at the village.

“Yes,”
Eleni admitted. “I knew you.”

“Even
though we had never met?” said Magda.

“Yes,”
said Eleni. “But that proves nothing.”

“Has
it ever happened to you before?” said Magda. “This
knowing?”

“Yes,”
said Eleni. “With Fin. Not at first, but I knew him. In my head
he was another name, though.”

“Alaunus,”
said the crone, nodding knowingly. “Your senses are heightened,
too, are they not? You know what is there, in the dark? Even when no
one else does?” Eleni frowned, but said nothing. “Animals,
monsters, even gods. You know they are there before anyone else does.
That is a god's power.”

“I
didn't know Fin was there,” said Eleni. “He surprised
me.”

“Well,
Alaunus has a way with moving quietly. He is of a family of
order
gods. Things become balanced when he is around. Sometimes I wonder if
his feet even touch the ground when he walks. He leaves no step, no
clue that he has been in a place. It is a curious power, and the
Islands are a curious place.”

“If
many have been looking for me, though, why could they not sense me?
You said a god's power was in the sensing. I do not cause balance.”

Magda
laughed. “I should say not.”

“Then
why?”

“Ah,”
said Magda, raising a crooked finger and placing it gently over the
lump in the front of her chest. The necklace thrummed against Eleni's
breastbone. “That is your explanation,” she said. “Anja
has saved your life many times over with that bauble.”

“My
mother?” said Eleni. “What is it?” Her hand went to
the hard, round circle at her neck.

Magda
was quiet for a moment. “I don't know,” she said finally.
“But I can feel the power coming from it. I don't recognize it.
On its face it appears to be of Perun, but the power is different.”

“How
do you know?”

“I've
been alive for a very long time,” said Magda. “And I know
all the gods on the earth. They used to fear me. But the necklace,
Perun hasn't the power to make such magic. Perhaps it is not of the
world.”

“Not
of the world?” said Eleni. “I don't understand.”

“Nor
do I,” said Magda. “But there are many things I don't
understand. The stars, the Underworld, lately I have not even
understood the world itself.”

Eleni
sat in silence for a time. She straightened her skirt and watched the
colors change as the reflection of the fire flickered against them.
“Do you know where she is?” she said. “Where is my
mother?”

Magda
frowned into the fire. “You should not call her that. Gods do
not have mothers.”

“Maybe
I'm not a god,” said Eleni.

Magda
looked at her, her sharp eye clashing with her ancient face. “You
are,” she said. “It is unusual, though.”

“What?”

Magda
shook her head. “You don't look like him. Like yourself.”

Eleni
frowned in confusion. “How can I not look like myself? You are
not talking sense. Nothing here makes sense to me.”

“Your
former self, child. Zaric. He was dark and broad. And you were born a
woman. Small and pale and...” her eyes wandered up to Eleni's
hair. “Red,” she said. “Just like Anja. It does not
work that way. We are carriers to the gods. We do not consider
ourselves mothers. The gods have no mothers. The gods are the gods.”

“You
haven't answered my question,” said Eleni. “Do you know
where she is?”

Magda
smiled sadly. “No,” she said. “I don't know where
Anja is.”

“But
you will help me find her,” said Eleni. It wasn't a question.

Magda's
nostrils flared. “I will never stop looking for her,”
said Magda.

There
was a woman's scream and Eleni heard some men shouting. Eleni whirled
around to see a sleek black shape burst through the men that had come
running with their falxes drawn. The wolf stopped at Eleni's side and
sat calmly at her feet. Eleni reached down and stroked her fur, fully
aware of the uncomprehending glares she was receiving. There was a
collective muttering. Women had come out of their tents, smoothing
their dresses and looking around for the source of the commotion.

“That
wolf is going to cause you some trouble here,” said Magda. But
she reached tentatively down and touched the wolf's thick fur.

Elek
approached them from the crowd, looking angry. Before he could even
open his mouth, Magda was standing and turned to face him.

“The
wolf is Eleni's companion, Elek,” she said, her voice clear
enough to be heard over the whisperings. “It shall not be
harmed.”

The
man with the weasel face that the girl Iren had called Balyn joined
Elek, looking at the wolf like he was dying of thirst and the wolf
was a spring.

“That
is quite an animal,” Balyn said, licking his lips. “A
black wolf.”

Eleni
didn't rise. She eyed the mangy hide slung around Balyn's thin
shoulders. It must have been one of the puny wolves that traveled in
a pack and came down from the mountains sometimes.

“You
will stay away from her,” said Eleni. “She will rip you
apart.”

Balyn
snorted. “I'm a Reiver.
No ordinary wolf could take me down.”

“You
think she is ordinary?” said Eleni. “Have you ever seen a
wolf that came up to a man's ribcage?”

“Obviously
this is no ordinary wolf. The gods will punish you if it is harmed,”
said Magda.

Elek
was looking at the wolf. He didn't look hungry, as Balyn did; only
thoughtful.

“The
children are hungry,” said Balyn.

“Then
go get them some food,” said Eleni. She was beginning to get
angry.

“I
brought back a rabbit,” Balyn said defensively.

Eleni
snorted.

“I
am made for battle, not hunting for a bunch of women,” said
Balyn, his voice becoming high and wheezy.

“That
is not a wolf,” said Elek, so softly that Eleni barely heard
him.

“What?”
said Balyn. “Elek,” he said, his voice low, but loud
enough for Eleni to hear. “These women are trying to change
everything.”

Elek
seemed to tear his eyes from the animal at Eleni's side. The wolf was
gazing at the large man in an oddly steady, calm way. “Shut
your mouth, boy,” said Elek, seeming to notice Balyn for the
first time. Balyn seemed to shrink under Elek's eyes. “Go home,”
said Elek.

“What?”
said Balyn.

“Go
to your tent and go to sleep,” said Elek slowly. “When
you wake, you will go out into the forest. By nightfall you will
bring food for the women and children.”

Balyn
glared at Eleni for a moment, but seemed unable to meet her eyes.
After a moment, he slunk off to his tent. Elek turned to Eleni.

“I
doubted you before,” he said. He nodded, looking thoughtful
again. He looked at the wolf. “My people, we are taught that
women are weak. I doubted that Zaric could come back as a woman. But
I see you now. I see the strength in you. You fear no man. You keep
company with a wolf that is not a wolf. That is something else,
something holy, I think.” Elek licked his dry lips and looked
at Eleni. He shook his shaggy head. “Balyn is an idiot. My
brother's son. He does not know yet the sanctity of who we are or our
brothers the natural wolves.” Elek frowned. Suddenly he
crouched down, his knee to the ground, in front of Eleni. “I
hope you can forgive me. Forgive
us
.”

Eleni
glanced at Magda, whose eyebrows were raised in a look of shock. The
old woman looked down at the wolf and narrowed her eyes.

“There
is nothing to forgive,” said Eleni. She felt a sudden pressure
in her chest and she could feel fire flaring inside of her. She
swallowed it down.

Elek
nodded, as if that satisfied him.

“Why
do you say this?” said Magda. Elek looked sharply at her. “The
wolf,” said Magda. “What do you see when you look at it?”

Elek
looked hard at Magda. “Everything,” he said. Then he rose
and walked away, shooing curious children and men alike back to their
tents.

“What
is he talking about?” said Magda, seeming desperate to know.
“What is your wolf?”

“She
is a wolf,” said Eleni with a shrug. “But something else,
too. I do not know what. It is her business, not mine. She is her
own.”

“Do
you know what just happened, Eleni?” said Magda. “With
Elek?”

“I
do not understand what any of that meant,” said Eleni, looking
at Magda.

Magda
looked at her and smiled a joyless smile. “You have just earned
yourself a powerful ally, girl. The leader of the Reivers
just took a knee before you. They will protect you to their dying
breath.”

“I
don't need protection,” said Eleni.

“You
will, child,” said Magda sadly. “Something is coming. I
feel it in my chest.”

“God-eaters?”
said Eleni.

“Yes,”
said Magda. “God-eaters.”

Eleni
stood and stepped over the log.

“Where
are you going?” said Magda.

“To
hunt,” said Eleni.

“Child,
it isn't safe. I think it's best if you stay here. Let the others do
the hunting.”