EPIC: Fourteen Books of Fantasy (59 page)

The thought astounded me.
I can bring someone back from the verge of death.

I tried to embrace that future, specifically, a time when I would allow someone to touch me so I could heal them. But all I could see was my uncle breathing hard and pushing me under the water.

I put my hand against my brick wall, looked down at the ground, and slowed my breathing, reminding myself that I was only thirteen, still a child, not a woman. Maybe when I was older, it would be easier.

No one but Mother, Jemely, Varago, Emala, and Klawdia could know I was a healer and maybe Frooby, if I ever saw him again. The thought produced an idea, and I went back downstairs.

In the storage room, I searched through different types of material. I put several over my eyes, and most blocked my sight entirely. Eventually, I found a black cloth that was both stretchy and lightly threaded, allowing light to pass through. When I pressed it against my eyes, I could see between the stitching and could clearly make out the storeroom objects. To make sure it hid my eyes completely, I looked around the room for a mirror. When I found one, I peered into it, and my stomach did a little flip.

I could see myself for the first time.

I allowed the black fabric to slide down my nose, revealing my eyes. The gold. Uncle Garrad must have looked into my golden eyes and seen only relief. Something crashed to the floor behind me, making me spin around to see a pewter goblet rolling around on the floor. I put a hand to my chest and took deep breaths.

I went back to the mirror. The golden fire surrounding the black of my pupil was littered with scattered, glowing amber dots. But my eyes weren’t only the colour of flame. They glowed in a way that made me look wild. I touched the edges of my jaw, which had long lost its baby fat. My arms were skinny. The roots of my long hair were golden. I went to the kitchen and retrieved a skinning knife. I looked at it for a moment, remembering Father clutching a similar one on the night he’d stabbed Uncle Garrad.

I used the knife to cut the black material into long strips. I went back to the mirror in the storeroom and tied the newly cut blindfold around my head. For the next few days, I would pretend that I still couldn’t see. Healer Euka would not know that I had unstitched my eyes, so if she saw me outside, she would not be able to notice any changes. But it was too risky to continue going to school, and I was sure Mother would agree.

I could never leave Borrelia without first saying goodbye to Emala and Frooby, a duty I would carry out at midday.

Later that morning, I told Mother of my plan to go say goodbye to my friends at school. She insisted on putting another rinse of the black dye through my hair and that I take Jemely, who had recently returned from the tailor. I agreed with Mother’s suggestion, especially the part about Jemely coming with me as I was scared of Healer Euka and Mayor Vawdon.

Mother said that the letter to sell Garrad’s hill shack had been sent through to Juxon City and that we should expect the sale of the property soon. Being a merchant, Mother seemed to know unusual things like that.

Before leaving the house, I found a suitable walking stick in the backyard and used it to aid in my appearing to be blind. When Jemely and I stepped out into the sun, there was a mild twinge of pain in the corner of my eye. I held onto Jemely’s arm and twisted my head from side to side, moving as I did when I was blind. Sometimes, I would close my eyes to remember just how to act. The blindfold I’d created worked perfectly in filtering much of the sunlight.

In the town square, no one paid any attention to us. People looked at me and then looked away. A few greeted Jemely. Most people wore trousers and dresses. Some had on coats, and the occasional older lady wore a feathered hat or neck scarf.

The town square was framed by several large and many smaller buildings. Some looked new; most looked old and run down. The use of the buildings was divided between shops and homes; some were both. Jemely whispered in my ear, telling me who lived in each one and what the person did as a job or what they sold. Stalls overflowed with goods and merchandise.

For the first time, I saw Varago’s house. It was two stories, had a white and brown exterior, and a heavily thatched roof. Smoke rose from the chimney, and several people waited outside. The council hall, the largest building in town, was next door. That building was one-story and all stone, with a high roof and stained-glass windows. Strange stone beasts hung from each side of the roof. Their tongues lolled from their mouths, and their wings stretched to the sides. I eyed the building nervously.

Jemely, sensing my tension, picked up the pace. Two men guarding the entrance gave us lingering looks. Remembering my lesson from Mother earlier that morning, I knew their narrowed eyes and unwavering eye contact meant they were suspicious of us. But then, maybe I was being overly fearful.

‘Do the soldiers serve Mayor Vawdon or King Erageo?’ I whispered.

‘The mayor,’ she said. ‘The mayor has to go to Juxon now and again to report on the town. Sometimes we get Juxon officials visiting here, though.’

Next, we passed the smithy, Fara. A group of soldiers stood around her while she worked, and she was smiling and laughing with them. Her hair was black and short, and she wore men’s clothing that revealed labourer’s arms. If not for her soft features, she could pass for a boy. She waved at Jemely and me, and I resisted waving back.

I tried to keep focused on the road ahead, but the trees that had lost most of their autumn leaves rocked in a gentle breeze. I couldn’t look away. I marvelled at the clouds, at the sun, at the cloud-covered Borrelia mountains, which loomed over our town like the pines towering over houses. The sight made me happy. We approached the two school buildings, which were smaller than I’d imagined. I wondered if I had imagined everything as if I were still the girl of six.

Many children played outside, and I realised I didn’t know what Emala looked like. The pines behind our school were thick and put the yard into deep shadow. Beyond them was the Borrelia mountain base. Between the school buildings was a thick patch of grass, sparsely decorated with little yellow flowers and attending butterflies although patches of mud peeked from between the green. That was where the children gathered and played.

‘Jemely, can you see Emala?’ I asked.

‘Yes. She’s looking at you.’

‘She is?’ I searched the many children and finally spotted a brown-haired girl with a round face.

Jemely gestured to her. Emala pointed at herself, and Jemely nodded. Emala shook her head.

‘She doesn’t want to come,’ Jemely said.

I let go of Jemely’s arm and tapped my walking stick on the ground, trying to imitate how I used to walk.

As I moved closer to Emala, she gave me a puzzled look. ‘Adenine, what are you doing here? I thought you were leaving.’

‘Leaving?’ The boy—Jark—punched my arm playfully. ‘Where are you going, Ads?’ He stood a few inches shorter than me and appeared well fed.

‘Can we talk alone?’ I asked Emala.

‘Girl talk! Ew,’ Jark said.

‘You’re acting different,’ she said. ‘You’re not…’ And then a look of recognition came over her face. She grabbed my arm and led me behind a school building. Jark tried to follow us, but she yelled at him to go away. ‘Show me,’ she said.

I checked around the yard, then raised the blindfold. Her mouth fell open, and I quickly replaced the material.

‘They actually glow gold. I can’t believe I know a healer. It was weird. I could tell that you could see. Your head, it moved different, you know? Usually you tilt it around. And the walking stick. You didn’t search as much as you usually do; you were less cautious. I’m so happy you can see again. Oh, but I should tell you now. Father banned me from speaking to you. I heard him talking to Healer Euka last night. They’re going to try force Capacia to sign the register today. Since she’s your aunt, she has the right. If she signs it, you’ll have to go to Juxon City first, and she’ll go with you. If Capacia doesn’t sign it, Father might arrest her. He was just here looking for you.’ She covered her mouth with her hands.

‘What?’ I asked. The idea of Mother being imprisoned alarmed me.

‘Yes. I’m so sorry. He’s probably at your house
now
.’

‘But I just came from there.’

‘I don’t know what you should do, Adenine. Why don’t you go home to Phrest?’

‘Phrest isn’t my home.’

‘What? But your mother lives there, doesn’t she?’

‘Capacia is my mother.’

Her jaw dropped. ‘So… Capacia… your aunt isn’t your aunt… she’s your mother? That means… she did this to you? She had your eyes stitched together?’

‘Yes, but for my own good.’

‘Father said he’d never seen you before though. Where did you live all this time?’

I looked away from her and watched a beetle crawl under a leaf. ‘Here. In Borrelia. I stayed inside my house. Always inside. I’m going away, though. I’m here to say goodbye.’

She hugged me, and I was momentarily startled by her affection. I patted her back once, and she sniffed and shook her head.

‘This is terrible,’ she said and wiped away a tear. ‘Go make sure your aunt… Capacia doesn’t sign that register.’

I nodded and ran back to Jemely, not caring if I looked blind or not.

‘So?’ Jemely asked.

‘They’re at the house. The mayor. Healer Euka.’

She linked her hand around my arm and pulled me back to town via the eastern side, behind the houses that framed the town square. I told Jemely the story on the way there, and she said we should sneak around to the back door. Once there, we dropped to our hands and knees and crawled closer. There wasn’t a sound.

Jemely whispered, ‘I’ll go inside. They might be upstairs. Stay out of sight.’

She carefully opened the door and disappeared inside, taking care that the door didn’t bang behind her.

Mother must be upstairs
. I decided that I wanted to hear the conversation too. I crawled up to Mystoria’s back door and pressed my ear to it.

‘Adenine is a healer,’ the mayor said. ‘We all know that now. Since you are not her mother, we cannot blame you for the unfortunate abuse of her eyes.’

‘I had no idea,’ Mother said. ‘But I’d like proof before you take her anywhere.’

‘Proof? How can we prove she’s a healer without seeing the colour of the eyes? There is the matter of her hair. You’ve been dying it, I hear. Healer Euka has seen the stitching; surely you have too.’

‘Belief is not enough to take a young girl from her family and send her away with strangers of…’ Mother paused, and I heard the creak of her chair. ‘… questionable motive.’

‘Meligna is a wonderful place to live,’ Healer Euka said. My heart sank when I heard her speak and knew she stood in my home. ‘I only have the best intentions for the girl. She’ll be well looked after. Her father is dead, and her mother lives in Phrest. It seems she has coped with loss so far.’

‘The implication being she’ll cope with more? Such as the loss of her virginity, perhaps?’ Mother’s tone was icy.

Jemely guffawed. ‘Hah, good one, Capacia.’

‘You must sign this register, Capacia,’ the mayor ordered. ‘We must take her.’

‘I will not sign it until Adenine has decided whether she wants to go. Since you cannot prove whether she is a healer or not, you have no right to take her anywhere.’

‘I will get the proof,’ Healer Euka said. ‘Don’t let this woman dye her hair again, and there’ll be proof enough. Let me spend time with her, and we’ll all see what she is.’

‘Forgive me if I don’t have confidence in your intentions,’ Mother snapped.

Healer Euka gave a derisive chuckle.

Mayor Vawdon said, ‘The only solution I can find here is that we have the thread from her eyes removed so that we can see whether she is a healer. I’ll contact the local doctor to arrange the procedure.’

The local doctor would be Varago
.

‘He need only do one eye. If the colour is gold, we’ll have our answer.’

‘There’s no need,’ Mother said. ‘All right, I give in. I will tell you what you want to know. It’s true; she is a healer. Please, give me a few days to talk her around to the idea of going to Meligna. She’ll do it.’

‘Capacia!’ Jemely cried. ‘How could you?’

‘Quiet, Jemely. She isn’t your family.’

‘She’s as much my family now as she is yours.’

‘Two days,’ Mayor Vawdon said. ‘And no longer. You’re not a stupid woman, Capacia. You best assist me in this. There are other ways to find out if she is a healer. Furthermore, failure to comply with the law—’

‘Yes. I understand,’ Mother interrupted.

‘I’ll set two of my men to watch the house.’ Healer Euka offered.

‘This is my town, and these are my citizens.
I’ll
set my
own
soldiers to watch the house,’ Mayor Vawdon said bluntly.

Why had Mother admitted what I was? It sounded as if she was buying time, but in doing so, she had given them the confirmation they desired. I guessed they considered it a certainty anyway. I heard footsteps, so I crawled back along the floor and hid around the side of the house. Frooby had not been at school. I had to see him before I left. Mother had a plan, and whatever it was, we didn’t have much time for it to work. I watched Healer Euka and Mayor Vawdon leave, and I decided to take a longer route to Frooby’s house.