Orin Wanderwood's Arc

Chapter 21 of 26

By dawn Orin's stomach had gone from ache to knot. Kate had not eaten since the shed. Lily's lips were dry. The purple potion held her breath, but Lady Moon had said a body still needed food to knit. Two days in the cave without water or bread would leave Lily too weak to walk when the potion set. Orin looked at the passage. He looked at Kate. "I'll go up," he said. "The house has a well. There was a garden." "The creature," Kate said. "North until dawn. It's dawn." He touched Lily's foot through the blanket. "An hour. No more." Kate nodded once. She stayed by the tent. Orin climbed the cellar stair and eased the trap up. The house smelled of old rain. He crossed to the door, unbarred it, and stepped into gray light. The yard was empty. The tapping was gone. He ran the path to the well and drew a bucket. The water came up clean. He set it aside and pushed through the tall grass toward the back of the house, where his mother had kept rows once. He remembered onions. He remembered a smell like torn leaves. The patch was still there. Someone had tended it. Neat rows of cabbage, chamomile, sage, carrots pushed up through dark soil. Small wooden markers stood at the head of each row. A ribbon of smoke rose beyond the hedge. He found the wagon parked at the edge of the field. Round-roofed, painted, Marrow's name burned into the board above the door. A hooded girl sat on the step cleaning a knife. An old woman stood beside her with a basket of green tops. "You're alive," Marrow said. She did not stand. "We came looking for the house. Found her instead." The old woman set the basket down. "Elara Rootwhisper," she said to Orin. "Marrow said her friend was thin. You're thinner." "My sister is below," Orin said. "She can't move for two days. We have no food." Elara looked at him a long moment. "Then I feed her," she said. She did not ask about below. She filled a cloth with carrots, a wedge of cabbage, a jar of broth from her wagon, a stoppered flask. "Broth first. Small sips. The cabbage cooked soft. The flask is for you and the woman with her. Chamomile. It will hold the hunger." Marrow handed him a loaf wrapped in paper. "Bread. Don't argue." Orin's throat closed. He took the bundle. "We camp here till you come up," Marrow said. "Dog's watching the road. Anything taps, we know." He carried the food and the bucket down the cellar stair. Kate saw the bundle and put her hand over her mouth. Lily stirred at the smell of broth. Orin knelt at the tent and tipped the first spoon to his sister's lips. She swallowed.