Мерседес Лэки - Passages

“Does he have any girls left there?”

“Not that I know of. He seems to have taken the term “daughter house” literally, and it’s not as if girls can take anything more than Perpetual Novice vows—”

“—which don’t stop us from marrying.” Lena had taken those vows herself.

Maja thought Lena’s husband had as well. She was so rattled at the moment that she couldn’t remember. She felt movement by her feet and looked down to see something playing with Lena’s skirt.

Lena, totally unfazed, reached down and scooped the animal into her arms. “Dexter! How is my favorite raccoon?”

So that’s where he got to . Dexter had been instrumental in persuading Lena to move into the temple, so he probably did hold a special place in her heart.

It was the middle of the night when something like a pain in her right arm woke Maja. As she sat up in bed, she realized she couldn’t use her arm. She tried to fight down the panic that was her original reaction and then realized that the panic was (a) still there and (b) not hers. She got out of bed, struggled awkwardly one-handed into her habit, and followed the feeling of panic to the stables.

What she saw there changed her panic to rage. One of the horses was not only still saddled and bridled, but the dangling reins were tangled around its right foreleg. Maja, speaking as calmly as she could to the horse, reached up and removed the bridle from its head. Once the whole assembly was on the ground, she could use her left hand to pull it down and hold it so the horse could free its leg. And, thanks be to Thenoth, once the horse could move its leg, she could use her right arm again. It was sore, but Maja told herself that a sore arm was the very least she deserved for not checking everything before she went to bed herself.

She unsaddled the horse and got it fresh hay and water, plus a ration of grain as an apology. Then she went to work with the grooming brush and mentally reached out to the horse to see who—aside from her, of course—was responsible for leaving him like that.

Anders had been riding him, and it was Anders who had simply put him in a stall—before being distracted by Stina and forgetting to return and care for his horse. :Anders is going to care for all of you tomorrow—or today, whichever it is—and I want you to tell me immediately if he doesn’t do a good job. All right?: The horse nodded, and took another mouthful of grain.

Anders started to protest his assignment, but after Maja pointedly explained to him just why she had given him this job, he nodded and went off to the stables. Maja gave out the rest of the morning assignments and was still debating what, if anything, to say to Stina about her part in last night’s shameful neglect, when Stina looked across the courtyard and said, “Who’s that? He’s dreamy!”

Maja looked and realized that her morning had become even worse. “Only if by ‘dreamy’ you mean nightmare-inducing. The first time I saw him he was throwing knives at Lena’s pet finches. Inside, where they couldn’t fly away from him.”

Stina’s eyes widened, and Maja added, “To work, all of you. Now .” They scattered, and she turned to face—what was his name? Algott, that was it.

“Good morning,” he said smiling pleasantly. “Could I speak to whoever is in charge here, please?”

“That would be me.” Maja forced herself not to sigh. I still can’t believe the Prior thought I could do this job. “I was not aware that the Brotherhood of the Bereaved had a presence in this neighborhood.”

“The what?” Algott looked blank, and then actually blushed. “Oh, that. I’d forgotten about it.” He frowned at her, obviously searching his memory. “I don’t remember meeting you.”

“I was the person at the Temple in charge of caring for Aurelia—and Lena. And I have Animal Mindspeech.”

He winced at that. Apparently his memory was returning enough for him to guess what she had seen.

“I was also, as far as I know, the last person your order tried to blackmail.”

“I’m sorry,” Algott said. “I sincerely apologize. It wasn’t a real order; we just started it as a joke.”

“Given that Lena’s brother fell dead at my feet while we were both being questioned about it under Truth Spell, I am well aware of that.” Maja was glad that she at least managed to keep her voice calm and level. “So, what brings you to Thenoth’s Temple?”

“I’m Lady Magdalena’s game warden for this estate—”

“You’re what ?” Maja’s voice was not calm and level this time.

“Yes, Lady Magdalena is a gentle soul, and has shown me forgiveness I can only hope to deserve over time. As to why I’m here,” he continued, “there is a boy in the village named Johan. He’s eight years old, simple, and the son of the milliner. About a year ago he killed some of the godwits for their summer plumage—the feathers are bright orange—and gave the feathers to his mother who made them into hats. She didn’t know,” he added hastily, “but when Lady Magdalena and her husband came here, they saw the hats at the Spring Faire. I knew the godwits were skittish, but I didn’t know why. As soon as I told her, she knew.”

“She would,” Maja agreed. “What happened to the boy?”

“Standard punishment for poaching around here,” Algott said. “Field work. There’s generally someone who can use help.”

“So has he done it again?” Maja asked.

“Oh, no.” Algott looked startled. “Lady Magdalena explained to him that killing birds was wrong, confiscated his slingshot, and arranged for the godwits to leave their feathers in a pile away from their nesting area. That way his mother can still use the feathers.”

“That’s a typical Lena-style solution,” Maja remarked.

“Absolutely,” Algott agreed. “But I’m a bit worried now that the Temple is here. Johan has the firm idea that you have all sorts of exotic birds here, and I’m concerned that he might sneak in here and inadvertently do harm.”

Unfortunately, he has a point; and our walls are designed more to keep animals in than people out. “Let’s go talk to Brother Thomas. He’s setting up the mews and the bird loft. Perhaps he would be willing to give the boy a tour.”

Brother Thomas was willing. “I’ll show the lad what we do here, and either he’ll be bored because we don’t have anything glamorous like His Majesty’s peacocks, or he might decide he wants to help out here. Either way, Sven-August,” he raised his voice to attract the boy’s attention, “will stick with him and make sure he doesn’t hurt anything.”

“Absolutely,” Sven-August said. “I hate it when people hurt animals.”

Maja, remembering Sven-August treating a bird injured by a hairbrush his mother had thrown at it, nodded.

“Sven-August,” Brother Thomas ordered, “walk our guest to the gate and arrange for a time for him to bring the boy. Tomorrow or the day after would be better than today.”

“Yes, Brother Thomas.” Sven-August and Algott headed for the gate.

“You’re doing well, Sister,” Brother Thomas said when they were out of earshot. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

“After what happened to that poor horse last night,” Maja admitted, “I’m tempted to do everything. I know I can’t, but I think I had better at least do stable rounds before bed.”

“No harm in that. I realize that either you or Lena—or Britta or Nalini—could check on all the animals after you went to bed, but you’d still have to get up if you found anything wrong.”

“Like this morning,” Maja sighed. “I feel as if I’ve been up for a full day, and it’s not even noon yet. I can understand why the Prior sent all the girls with me, but having a group of boys the same age is a challenge. I wish we had the Peace of the God here.”