Part 69 (1/2)
Griane watched her to be sure she knew what she was doing. ”You've a gentle touch.”
”She let me help her gather plants. And tie them up for drying. I even helped make infusions-simple ones. But then . . .” Hircha's voice trailed off.
”Then the raiders came. How old were you?”
”Nine.”
She groped for Hircha's hand and squeezed it. After that, they harvested the plants in silence, lulled by the chorus of frogs and night insects. When Hircha finally spoke, her voice startled Griane.
”I liked knowing what each plant was used for.”
”Aye. There's a comfort in plants.”
”Does . . . does Faelia help you?”
”Faelia wouldn't know Maker's mantle from mugwort. She's a hunter.”
”Lots of girls snare rabbits and birds.”
”Aye. But Faelia's brought down a deer.”
Hircha digested this in silence. ”My tribe didn't allow women to hunt with a bow.”
”Nor does mine.”
Another silence, longer this time. ”Does Darak know?”
”There hasn't been time to tell him. Everything's happened so fast. Nay, leave the rest. I must remember to tell Sali about them before we go.”
Together, they walked back toward the village. It was a soft, warm night. The smell of peat smoke mingled with the faint odor of decay from the Death Hut. By habit, Griane paused outside the birthing hut, listening for sounds, but both Catha and the babe must be sleeping.
She paused again beside the tribal cairn and rested one hand on the rocks. She had barely finished her prayer when Hircha blurted out, ”Did Darak tell you he'd asked me to come with you?”
”We discussed it beforehand. Have you made up your mind yet?”
”I don't want you to take me just because you feel . . . obligated.”
She peered at the girl, trying to read her expression. Finally she gave up and said, ”I told you when you first arrived that our home was yours. And I meant it. We haven't had much time to get to know each other. I see someone who is young and strong and tough-minded. A little free with her tongue. A bit like me, I suppose. I'd like to have another woman around. Especially one who knows something about healing. And you get on well with the children.” With them, at least, Hircha could let down her guard and dare to show affection. ”Both Faelia and Callie seem to like you.”
”Darak doesn't.”
They did seem uncomfortable with each other, but Darak would never have suggested that Hircha come with them if he disliked her.
”He's afraid I'll hurt Keirith.”
”Will you?”
”I don't know! I don't want to hurt him. It's not like I'll try to.”
”Good.”
There was a long silence. Griane curbed her impatience and waited.
”I hated him,” Hircha said in a low voice. ”Keirith. I didn't want him getting too close. Because if you let people in . . .”
”Sometimes, they'll hurt you. Even the ones you love. If you're afraid of people getting close, you should stay here. Even in a village this small, you might be able to manage that way. But not with five other people. We'll need to trust each other. And we'll have to risk far more than our hearts if we're going to survive.” Griane hesitated, then decided to ask the question that had been on her mind since Hircha had arrived. ”Do you love Keirith?”
Hircha's head jerked toward her. ”Nay.”
”Does he love you?”
”I . . . I don't think so.”
”But you're friends.”
Hircha considered. ”Aye. I guess we are.” She sounded surprised but not displeased.
”I think you can help each other. You both understand what it was like in that place.”
”Darak-”
”Is his father. Keirith still needs a friend. And so do you.”
The G.o.ds only knew what the raiders had done to the girl. She still wasn't sure if it had been wise to ask her to join them. But she'd seen the longing in Hircha's eyes when she listened to them arguing and weeping and laughing together. Hircha needed a home and a family and a place to belong.
Griane bent down to pick up a rock and placed it atop the cairn. ”The bones of my mother and father are inside. And my sister. My aunt and uncle. My son. Aye, I had another boy. He only lived a few moments . . .”
And only after a moon could a child of the tribe receive a name. But she had named him in her heart and that was how she remembered him in her prayers. Rigat.
”I'm sorry I won't lie with them. But a body is just flesh and bone and blood. It's the spirit that matters. And the heart.”
Darak might understand that, but understanding and accepting were very different.
”It's hard . . . when the body is before you every day.”
Lost in her thoughts, it took Griane a moment to realize Hircha was talking about Keirith-and the man whose body he now wore.
”I know it's Keirith inside,” Hircha said. ”I can see that. Not just in what he says but the way he walks, the gestures he makes. His kindness.”
She must have known the other man well. Darak claimed she had feared and hated him, but Griane suspected there was more to it-and that Keirith knew what it was. There may not be love between them or desire, but there was a bond. The kind that formed when people shared tremendous adversity and survived. And that could only help them both in the hard times ahead.
”None of us can wipe out the past,” she said quietly.
”No matter how much we might want to. All we can do is acknowledge it-for better or worse-and move on.”
”Aye. But it's not easy.”