Woman of the Stone: Modutan Empire, #1

Chapter One

Emerald swayed closer to the one thing she wanted and could never have. A family lived inside an isolated stone cottage on her land. Their firelight shone through the wavy glass of the window, catching the golden highlights of an errant curl of her auburn hair. Unwilling to be discovered outside their home, she stepped aside and raised the hood of her brown cloak. The peals of children’s laughter struck dissonant chords of joy, longing, and crushing sadness within her. Unable to resist, she touched the windowsill and watched them despite the late evening chill of winter.

All right, Benny, quit playing and lay down. Amanda plucked her son from his father’s shoulders and laid him on the bed. Husband, they’ll never sleep this way.

Benjamin stopped tickling the middle child and set the boy on the floor. I think your mother is jealous, Sam. He pried another toddler from his leg. What do you think, Leland? Shall we tickle her?

The boys giggled, and Benny jumped off the bed to join them.

You’d better not. Amanda laughed as her husband chased her around the room.

The little boys, all under the age of five, swarmed in and reached after her.

I love your laugh. Benjamin gathered her in his arms.

She stood on her tiptoes for a kiss.

Emerald imagined she was the squatter’s wife and a certain merchant ship captain’s son was her husband. The image didn’t last because the shame of her unworthiness pierced the tender feelings. She had fallen in love with Liameo Hume and dreamed of marriage until the purity of her hopes had been dashed by an enemy.

The pain deepened as if to split her chest open to reveal the stone where once a heart had been. Drained, she leaned against the wall and slid to the ground. Of course, she still had a heart, that’s why she risked her life coming here tonight. She wasn’t here to eavesdrop on these farmers but to protect them.

The cottage door swung open and Benjamin grabbed her upper arms, lifted her, and slammed her against the rocks of the wall. The hood fell back as her head hit the unyielding surface. Feet swinging, she struggled.

I told you not to come here. You attract flies like manure. He dropped her and cast a wary gaze around the acreage in the darkness.

I don’t stink, Ben, but the flies I draw have fangs. The censure stung. Take your family to safety in the castle, at least during the full moon. She righted her cloak.

His shoulders hunched as he balled his fists and paced. My wife believes in you, and we have nowhere else to go. He kicked a tuft of dead grass visible in the light from the open door. That’s why we’re squatting on your land, but you’re not the ruler of me. He stopped to point a finger. Besides, there has been a fistful of moons since the Wolf Clan came.

She raised a hand. Not as many as you think, and the enemy may attack tonight. It’s the last night of the full moon.

If they come, then it will be for you. He charged and shoved her backward to land with a thud. Go away, thrice-cursed Woman of the Stone. Ben stormed inside and slammed the door.

She stood and dusted off her trousers. Shaking her head to clear the echo of his words, she could not avoid the pain. The epithet had reopened an old wound.

The Wolf Clan sought her life at any cost, but they didn’t have the numbers necessary to threaten Stone Castle. Instead, the fiends lured her out by attacking innocent people. Her compassion would not allow her to let Ben’s family die just because he was a fool. Thus, she stayed despite the danger.

Nestled in a river valley, fog rolled into the fallow fields from hot springs that dotted the area. Like a wave, it hemmed in the low-lying cottage. Emerald did her best to put away the ache Ben’s words had caused as the moisture thickened on her skin.

The moon had not yet risen. Perhaps, the enemy would not come. She drew the hood of her cloak for warmth and strode to the nearest tree line, determined to guard Amanda and the children throughout the night.

Settled in, she remained alert and watched the hazy halo of the moon appear above the trees on the horizon. A wolf howled in the distance. She grappled with a sudden sense of apprehension. There was still a chance it was simply a wolf and no men traveled with it.

The full moon climbed into view to be greeted by a chorus of howls nearby. Her heart raced. How many beasts were there?

The Wolf Clan did not have great numbers. Only two or three men attacked at once, sometimes without wolves at all. This group sounded bigger.

Dread shivered along her spine. Unswerving, she clutched the hilt of an arcane sword on her belt. Malice coiled her arm to sink fangs of power into her flesh. She sensed the will of the sword, and it craved vengeance.

Six men emerged from the forest to the west, each with a wolf companion. One man opened a lantern to ignite an arrow held by another who launched it. The flaming arrow ruffled the air in a blazing arc until it lodged in the thatch roof of the cottage.

Emerald advanced with grim intent. Like a specter from the grave, she held an ancient power these men could not fathom. She unclasped the cloak, letting it fall to the ground.

Moonlight reflected on the shaven heads of the enemy to lend them the pallor of death. Clad in furs and covered in the nightmarish tattoos of ferocious animals, they brandished their weapons and attacked. The wolves surged ahead of them across the field.

Leather armor offered Emerald protection but not much. She drew the sword, aged green with patina. The sharply honed edges flashed copper in the light of the thatch fire. Young and lithe, she slit throats and spilled red heat into the night. The force of her will matched the force of her blade, fueled by the urge to protect the little boys inside the cottage.

The fog embraced her as if comprised of the ghosts of her dead clan. Savoring every slash, she finished the wolves and engaged the first savage man in death’s gruesome dance. With a slice to his carotid artery, she withdrew like a shadow into the fog and reappeared like a wraith not far from another foe.

The valiance of her long-dead people made her bold, though fear iced her veins. She’d never faced this many enemies at once. Even as she parried and struck, the men circled. Terror diffused inside her, and she felt her wrist for the blade concealed in her sleeve. If these men captured her, then she would slide it between her ribs.

The thought crippled her with a memory. At fourteen, she had endured an unspeakable assault at the hands of one such a man, the first she had killed. The experience rippled across her skin with a horrifying sensation as if it were happening again, but she pushed it away. She preferred death before such torture.

The five remaining men capitalized on her distraction. Throat tight, her composure slipped as they cut off any possible escape. Whooping and growling, they stabbed at her, but she blocked and dodged the blows. The bowmen could have killed her with ease, so why didn’t they?

An arrow plunged into the back of the nearest swordsman. The four other men moved to investigate the new threat. Another shaft sank into the eye of an enemy. She slashed the leg of a man and rolled out of sight beneath the waist-high fog.

Two clansmen shouted and charged toward the burning cottage as the farmers fled with their sons. Flames illuminated silhouettes as the savage men engaged them. Ben shot an arrow, but he missed. The cruel warrior struck him in the neck with an ax. Amanda stabbed her kitchen knife into the man’s bicep as another man dispatched her with a crossbow.

The cries of the couple mingled with those of their children, driving Emerald forward. The little boys returned to the cottage to shelter beneath a bed. Embers fell onto the blankets and wisps of smoke swirled upward.

Horrified, Emerald slammed into the crossbowman. He dropped his weapon in the fog. Nothing mattered except defeating these men and saving the children. The roof crackled and sparks flew as the axman pulled Amanda’s knife from his arm.

Arterial spray filled the air with the smell of copper. Emerald slashed his chest, pleased when the furs offered no protection. Rolling to a squat position, she parried the crossbowman’s dagger and stepped behind to draw her blade through his bowels until his spine severed.

The final foe hobbled toward her, dragging a leg due to the wound she had delivered moments ago. She knocked the sword from his hand and struck off his head. With the arcane blade’s desire for blood quenched, it released her. Without hesitation, she dropped it to the earth, glad to be rid of it for a time.

Chapter Two

Smoke filled the squatters’ cottage. Sparks rained on Emerald as she pulled the tender-aged boys from beneath the bed. Blood dripped into her eye, and they screamed before she could wipe her face with the bedding.

I’m here to help you. Climb on my back, Benny.

Hesitant until he saw the flames, the oldest boy clung to her.

Faint from the smoke, Emerald picked up Sam and Leland before staggering into the fresh air. She gained her bearings and followed an animal trail through the woods as she ascended the foothills of the Impenetrable Mountains. The safety of Stone Castle wasn’t far away.

Though her muscles burned, she pressed forward until her home loomed above the tree line. Traversing a meadow, she ducked at the whistle of an unseen arrow. The boys cried, and she gulped air, running until drenched in sweat. Silently, she prayed that Benny could hold on. His death grip around her neck simultaneously reassured and strangled her.

Optimism surged as she burst from the forest to behold the silver fields and black moat around the gray granite curtain wall of the castle. Tiny motes of light swirled in her vision and her head wobbled. The narrow drawbridge lay extended, but the gates stood shut.

Stephan, the enemy pursues. Clear-voiced she hailed the gatehouse.

Her footfalls pounded on the planks of the drawbridge. To her relief, the cumbersome wooden doors opened. Once inside, she collapsed to her knees while two adolescent boys pushed the gates closed and secured the crossbar.

Em, shall we drop the portcullis? Stephan’s flaxen hair shone in the moonlight.

Breathless, she leaned against the gatehouse masonry. The children in her arms trembled with fright and cold. Stephan took Benny and touched her shoulder.

She caught her breath. Sound the alarm and take defensive positions.

Stephan set Benny on the cobblestones and hurried after Rick.

Come with me, Benny. She adjusted her hold on Sam and Leland, lugging the younger boys toward the keep.

With a whimper, Benny followed. Eager to warm the children, she climbed the steps and pushed open the door with a forearm. Benny shivered violently as he came inside and she booted the door closed.

Nina? She set Sam and Leland on the tied-rag rug in front of the fire.

Benny joined them.

Outside, the gatehouse bell rang. Everyone across the border in the foreign village of Meadowgren would be alerted. She held no illusions about anyone coming to help. Their laws forbade them from entering Danalan, but perhaps someone would heed the warning and escape the fate of these boys’ parents.

I’m here, Em. A plain, slender girl of twelve years unfolded from a cushioned chair beside the fire.

A large, leather-bound book fell from her lap onto the wood floor with a thud. She picked it up with haste and placed it in the chair. Glancing at Emerald, she wrapped a shawl around her patched and mended nightgown.

The squatters’ sons need caring for. Emerald knelt by the children and wiped their tears. You’re safe now. Nina will give you something warm to drink.

They’re filthy, Em. Nina held a stern expression.

Very well. Emerald ruffled Benny’s strawberry-blond curls. Feed them, bathe them, and put them to bed.

She had watched over the family since last spring. The look of loss in Benny’s eyes caused her heart to swell, but she refused to allow those feelings to distract her from the responsibility to protect every orphan in the castle. Intent on her duty at the wall, she crossed the room with purposeful strides.

Take a cloak. Nina headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Emerald grabbed one from a peg by the door. She also took a bow and a quiver of arrows. Advanced skill with the longbow enabled her to strike from the relative safety of the curtain wall of the castle. If more of the Wolf Clan dared to attack tonight, then she would delight in ending their lives.

Once outside the keep, she noted the night sky. It would be hours before the dawn stars crept into view. In the morning, the children would likely be safe for another moon cycle because the Wolf Clan preferred to move during the height of a full moon.

Perhaps, they viewed it as lucky. However, her people, before they had been wiped out, had called it a death moon. Over the past forty years, there had been no luck in it for the Stone Clan.

She breathed the frosty air and treaded in silence on the steps up the castle wall. At the top, she approached Stephan where he crouched behind the snaggletooth crenellations. His attention remained focused on the fields.

Have you seen anything?

Startled, he dropped a nocked arrow from his bow.

Suppressing a laugh, she took a position from which she could see an enemy should they approach.

He sighed, and his posture relaxed. No, Em, I think you’re the only fortunate one thus far tonight. He pointed a gloved finger at her face. You have blood smeared on your cheek.

She winced and drew the hood of the short cloak to conceal it. The thought of blood on her skin stirred dark memories of the first man she had killed and the gore on her afterward. She resisted the compulsion to scrub her face with her palms even as her nostrils flared with the remembered stench.

I thought I wiped it away. She scanned the tree line for the enemy but found none. In all seriousness, I didn’t expect an attack tonight. It’s been a long time. She didn’t want to frighten him with the fact there had been more of the savages than normal.

Several moons at least. Nina could say, she keeps track of your close calls. I suppose she was awake, he said.

Reading a volume of text by the fire. Emerald shook her head. I wish she wouldn’t worry.

An icy gust took their breath away and caused them to crouch lower. No arrow could reach this height unless the archer stood in the open, but the frozen gales descending the cliffs of the Impenetrable Mountains provided reason enough to take cover. Stephan was bundled in the knitted over-shirt Emerald had made for him and a fur-lined cloak.

Did the parents survive? He shifted his position to look in her direction.

A young man of sixteen years, slight of build though coming into his strength, he never lacked for courage. It took courage to ask her things. She guarded her secrets well.

No. The white puff of her breath clouded the air. They died bravely.

You mean needlessly. He snorted. You warned the man last spring not to squat, and what did he do? He shoved you off of land he had the nerve to claim as his own. Stephan scowled. The stupid squatter should never have talked that way. Your word is the law. He should have listened.

He saved my life, she said.

Stephan’s jaw fell open and then clamped shut. How?

An arrow to the back of a clansman and the eye of another.

Stephan shook his head. No, that farmer couldn’t hit what he aimed at for all the apples in an orchard. It was your protector, wasn’t it?

I sensed nothing.

I can’t explain that, but I’ve seen someone, Stephan said.

Who?

I don’t know, a shadow. I’ve found footprints. He shrugged.

It’s possible. She frowned in concentration. The angle was slightly off for the arrows to have come from the cottage doorway.

It was him then. Stephan peered at the tree line. I imagine he’s out there right now.

She sighed and knelt, sitting on her heels. She had seen nothing like what Stephan described. Born with a talent for sensing the presence of others, she could avoid conflict. On the opposite hand, she could easily ambush an enemy. Within a certain range, she knew who and where a person was, though crowds confused her.

If it makes you feel better to think so, then fine. What could it hurt to let him believe it?

If she had a protector who ensured she would return home safely, then Stephan wouldn’t worry as much when she took risks. After all, he depended on her, as did all the orphans here. She was the only adult among them, and the heir to Danalan. Without her, the Andolin judge in Meadowgren might send the militia to oust them.

George has seen something too. He says it’s a man with a dark beard. He almost caught him once. Stephan smiled mischievously. I think he’s a mountain man.

Ridiculous. Mountain men are invisible. She was only teasing.

That’s what they say, but Timothy was telling me about his brother—

He’s just a little boy who makes up stories. That’s all we have, Stephan. The mountains are sealed. She didn’t like to talk about the dead.

Stephan arched an eyebrow. Then we sure have wasted an excessive amount of time learning their language.

Point taken. The need to learn languages was politically relevant as well as a tradition.

A ghostly vision clouded her mind as she remembered Ben’s words. Had he truly been so callous and ungrateful? The women of Andolin could not own land, so she comprehended the resentment of the laws of Danalan that made her ruler over everything. Surely, he understood that if she had informed the Andolin authorities, then he would have been executed simply for entering Danalan.

It was clear that dire circumstances had driven Ben and Amanda to leave their homeland. That was why she had decided to let them stay. She understood a similar kind of desperation because most of her twenty years had been a struggle for survival.

All of her family had been murdered, and now she ruled alone. If not for these foreign orphans, then the culture of Danalan would die. Unfortunately, she was not permitted under Andolin law to adopt them unless she married. Thus, she desperately needed a husband. Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to accept any man in that way.

I didn’t care about them squatting. Her voice fell flat.

I did. Stephan hunched his shoulders against another blast of wind.

Grandfather once said my family filled Danalan with crops and herds and passels of children, all boys until my birth. She clenched her jaw. I changed everything.

Well, he told me the Wolf Clan attacked long before you were born. You’re not to blame, Em.

She pressed her lips into a thin line. Stephan was wrong. She couldn’t explain why the Wolf Clan had appeared before her birth, but she knew they had come because of her. A secret shame told her this. The enemy who had stolen her innocence had said as much.

At least you saved the children. Moonlight refracted off the granite walls to illuminate Stephan’s face beneath his hood.

The Stones have always welcomed orphans. She stared across the empty fields. It’s our way.

Would the goodness and generosity of the Danalan culture end with her death? She looked at Stephan’s youthful features, and her hope renewed. One day, he would carry on these traditions in the northern land of Frenland. Beyond the Impenetrable Mountains, he would take his place as king and lead his people to peace.

Chapter Three

Sunrise crested the horizon, and Emerald called the older boys from their positions on the watch to the courtyard for morning drills. A few grumbled, but soon everyone sweated through the paces of sword practice. George, Rick, and Gael displayed consummate skills as they wheeled around Stephan in a mock attack.

Stephan’s speed allowed him to evade George’s longer reach and powerful strokes. Gael and Rick worked well together, but their abilities were no match for the precision of Stephan’s movements. He used tactical knowledge to defend a position and defeated them one by one. His skills rivaled her own which gave her a sense of pride.

The welcome smells of ham and porridge wafted with the smoke from the kitchen chimney and caused her stomach to complain of hunger. She rubbed an eye and yawned. No time for breakfast.

Wash up, eat, and rest, she said.

George, Rick, and Gael rushed to put away the practice swords and leather armor in the gatehouse. Andre hopped off the barrel he’d been sitting on as he watched and ran into the keep.

Are you coming? Stephan unbuckled his armor.

No, I have work to do at the squatter’s cottage. Grave work.

Stephan’s expression sobered. And if Liameo comes to check on you?

Hide. Have the others tell him I’m fine, accept his gift, and bid him a good day. She had successfully avoided a direct conversation with the man for six years.

I hope he brings bacon. Anyway, you should have breakfast before you go. Stephan met her gaze.

There isn’t time, but save something for me to eat later.

I will. He hurried after the others.

Emerald left the castle.

Unafraid of the departed enemy, she strode into the open fields. A steady stride carried her into the forest. She inhaled the bracing air and ran down the valley.

Unencumbered by armor or sword belt, she wore a thin cloak, a white shirt, and brown trousers. She had a short shovel tucked under one arm. At the clearing by the river, the cottage came into view. The gruesome work would exhaust her, but for now, she enjoyed the sunshine.

A shrill cry of a hawk caused her to slide to a halt in the dry leaves. The redolence of earth filled her nostrils. The bird of prey perched atop one of the dead wolves. Blood covered its beak and its feathers were wet. The hawk's keen eye surveyed her as its strong wings bore it aloft.

Emerald swallowed a wave of emotion. Was she as stained as the hawk? She watched the bird fly out of sight.

The brilliant, blue sky pricked tears of regret over things she could not change. Ignoring the remorse, she started the work at hand. The ground remained unfrozen inside the rock walls of the burned-out cottage. This home had once belonged to Uncle Edwin and his family. She pushed past the grief for everything lost and dug a single grave for Ben and Amanda to share.

Ben’s body proved a challenge to drag into place because of his size. However, though Amanda was petite, Emerald found it harder to lay her to rest. Perhaps because Emerald too would likely have died the same way if she had achieved the dream of marriage and children.

Had she placed her trust in Liameo, he would have failed similarly. She had made the right choice not to marry. Sometimes the best a person could do just wasn’t ever going to be enough, not with such forces standing in opposition.

It hurt because Amanda had trusted in the Woman of the Stone. Emerald shook her head, blinking back tears. What had Ben meant by mentioning that belief?

Many people in Andolin expected her to one day rule the fractured Modutan Empire. However, she had no such intention. Grandfather had explained that it would be enough to reunite the peoples by unsealing the mountains.

He had made it sound simple. It wasn’t. The mountains had remained impenetrable for over four hundred years. She had no idea how to fulfill the Legend of the Stone.

With a sigh, she pulled Amanda’s body into the grave. The woman’s faith had been in vain. How many others had to die before people gave up hope?

Emerald preferred to perform the burial alone. She couldn’t sense the spirits of the dead in the presence of the living. She shoveled earth over the bodies and knelt in meditation beside the grave. The stillness of the moment allowed her to feel the couple standing beside her.

The dimly perceived mother smiled. The shadow father extended an open hand. Perhaps, these actions meant they didn’t blame her. After all, they had saved her life. She focused her thoughts on them to express her gratitude and vowed to protect their sons.

A shadow crossed the burned-out doorway of the cottage and dispelled the vision.

Nina told me to bring you breakfast and lend you a hand. Rick extended a cloth filled with what smelled like ham.

Emerald took the appetizing bundle. Thank you. Her mouth watered and she ate every salty bite.

Oh, and she said you would need this. He handed her a bar of lye soap.

She put it in her pocket.

Rick sorted through the ashes inside the walls and picked up a pan, a hammerhead, and a cooking pot. When finished, he ran a hand through his hair, leaving streaks of soot on his forehead and through his dark red hair. She concealed a smile. He was almost grown, but at times like this, she delighted in his innocence.

I should skin those wolves and wash laundry. She climbed from the ground, tucked the cloth into a pocket, and grabbed the shovel as she walked to the field.

Where did the bodies go? Rick followed.

Blood soaked the ground where the men and beasts had died. The animals’ carcasses remained, but the men’s corpses had vanished. Clothes and weapons littered the field.

I don’t know. It’s strange, but that’s how it always is. Only one body had ever been left to reproach her, and that man’s bones lay at the bottom of the well at her grandparent’s cottage.

She carried his dagger on her belt and caressed the hilt. A shiver ran along her spine. She kept the secret because the man’s body had poisoned more than one well that day.

Time hadn’t eased the burden. She ground her teeth and looked at the wolves lying in varied and gruesome attitudes of death. Many bared their fangs with their yellow eyes open.

Without thinking, she massaged her right shoulder. The scars from the night her parents and younger brothers were murdered no longer pained her. However, the memories did.

What’s the matter, Em? Rick studied her as if to read her mind.

My Uncle Edwin lived in this cottage. He saved my life when I was six. The ruins of my family’s home sit west of here. She pointed to where the Wolf Clansmen had exited the trees.

He built a fine home. Rick examined the masonry of the cottage. I see why the squatters chose this place. Even burnt out, it wouldn’t take much to rebuild the roof and frame in the door and windows. He grabbed a hand full of soil and sifted it. This is a fertile land.

Emerald’s thoughts drifted to that day. Her family had gathered around the hearth before bedtime to enjoy warm milk and buttered bread. Father had come home from tending the bees with flowers for the table and placed one in her hair. He had told a story of the work in the honey fields.

Without warning, the Wolf Clan had attacked and chaos ensued. Flashes of fire filled her mind with remembered terror. Her mother had handed her the baby and told her to run into the woods. Before she reached the trees, a crossbow bolt sank deep into Jebby’s side. He died with a terrible cry.

A wolf had charged, its dark body silhouetted by the flames. She still held the boy and tried to shield him from the beast. The animal engulfed her young shoulder in its jaws and shook her like a corn-husk doll in a puppy’s mouth.

The pain of the injuries and the shock of Jebby’s death numbed her mind. Uncle Edwin had rescued her from the creature, but she could not speak. She didn’t talk again for two years.

When Stephan came to live at her grandparents’ cottage, he had fixed something. Maybe she had done the same for him. The bond they shared was born of tragedies but strong with healing.

Em? What is it? Rick looked at her with the deep contemplating gaze he did most things.

Nothing. She shook her head. I’ll skin and you pull teeth.

He nodded, and she handed over a pair of leather-padded pliers and the cloth before they set to the gory work. She saw no beauty in the creatures, not the way the greedy merchants did. The thick, gray pelts retained popularity in Andolin. Though, why Southerners wanted furs she couldn’t guess since the ocean provinces stayed warm in winter.

For whatever reason, the furs fetched a good price in the village when tanned. She needed the money to buy food for the children. Heaving a sigh, she wiped a sweaty brow with the back of a bloody hand.

Gael will love these. Rick held up two long teeth.

His carved pendants are sought after by traders. She cut the hide from another animal. One man told me he takes them all the way south to Andoshi. He said men wear them as tokens of bravery. He had confided to her that men told outrageous lies regarding how they had obtained them, but that seemed too ridiculous to believe.

They should know the truth. Rick extracted the final tooth and tied the cloth. You are the brave one.

Emerald walked over to pick up a notched but serviceable sword. She relived the memories of last night and rehearsed the series of moves used to slay the wolves. She would have failed with this dull, bulky thing.

Sometimes, I think I’m just foolish, she said.

Spotting the slender, copper broadsword, she strode over to take it in her left hand. She compared the blades, ambidextrous. It handled far superior to the steel sword.

The copper weapon looked as peculiar of construction as to have no equal. Two snakes twisted together to form the hilt, with an amber jewel bitten in open mouths at the end and their tails creating the hilt guard. The ancient blade held many secrets. How could copper hold an edge sharper and stronger than steel?

I don’t see how you did it. Six wolves. Six men. Not good odds. Rick picked up a wooden shield from the ground.

No, indeed. She laughed. The squatter shot two men with his bow and just in time, too.

That’s lucky. He leaned the shield against his leg, pulled a short length of rope from a pocket, and tied one end to an arm loop.

She dropped the notched sword and rehearsed the moves with the copper weapon. Each beast had hit the blade and died in a shroud of mist. Skill alone had not accomplished that. Not even the power of the sword could explain it. The Creator had blessed her, but why? She sighed and laid the sword on the ground.

I’ll wash the clothes in the river. Will you take everything else back to the castle? She gathered the filthy furs and clothing from various places around the field where the men had met an end.

Sure, Em. I’ll clean the swords, too. This blade needs to have the nicks filed or it’ll split. I know how. I’m good with metal. He piled weapons onto the shield and dragged it as he added more.

A glint from an object on the ground caught her attention. She crouched to pick up a pendant. Tin and crude, the token had a worn baby tooth mounted on one side and the etching of a girl with a gap-toothed grin on the other.

Emerald had been this girl’s age when the Wolf Clan had murdered her family. Was one of the savage men she’d killed last night a father? She couldn’t believe it and thrust the pendant into the dirt.

Your sword looks fine, but I can’t touch it without pain. Rick’s voice carried across the field.

Surprised, she said, I didn’t know you had tried to handle Dana’s sword.

Emerald carried the awkward pile of clothes toward the boy. He was tall for fifteen. She picked up the copper sword and laid it on the makeshift sled.

Everyone has tried, but only Stephan can. Rick rolled his eyes. The rest of us have a blazing shock the instant we set a finger on the thing. Whoever Dana the Stonehearted was, I bet no one messed with her.

I have a feeling you’re right, Rick. Thanks for the help. Emerald watched him tug the heavy load up the trail toward the castle.

She made multiple trips to carry the dirty clothes and pelts to the river and tossed the heaps on the bank. Filthy, she hung her somewhat clean cloak on the branch of a tree and removed her bloody boots and coarse wool socks. Nearby hot springs fed the river and offset the frigid temperature. Snowmelt from high in the mountains was the primary source, so it remained cold year-round.

She waded in, gasping and shivering. When the water reached her waist, she placed the pelts on a submerged boulder to soak. She secured each one with rocks so the current wouldn’t sweep them away. That done, she squatted and scrubbed the clothing on a rock with a bar of soap. She carried the clean tunics, leggings, and cloaks to hang on the low branches of trees.

The sun climbed high in the sky, causing the air to warm by the time she stripped her clothes for washing. With great efficiency, she completed the task and hung each article to dry. Scars crisscrossed her naked body. Each mark spoke of her training and struggles against a long succession of enemies.

Not all of her scars were visible, but each told a story she didn’t care to repeat. She clenched her jaw in anger because she had once been a joyful child. Now, happiness was not something she considered possible, even though this place reminded her of days lost forever.

Adept, she unplaited her luxurious hair from the confining braid and walked onto an outcrop of boulders. The sound of rushing water soothed her and she dove in, allowing the shock to chase away the gloom. She drew smooth, powerful strokes upstream. When satisfied with her exhaustion, she floated back and swam to the river’s less turbulent edge.

Using what remained of the lye soap, she set to bathing. It didn’t take long before the sliver vanished. Impeccable, she hurried out of the water and wrung her hair. Gooseflesh raised on her skin as rivulets flowed off of her. She wrapped in a short cloak and shivered as she walked home barefoot.

Chapter Four

Emerald utilized her ability to avoid meeting any of the older boys in the courtyard of the castle. The noonday sun shone straight overhead. There was no chance Nina wouldn’t spot her as soon as she strode into the keep because of the mid-day meal. Emerald sighed and entered anyway.

Em, are you naked? The girl stopped handing out porridge to a group of children at the enormous table in the main hall and placed her hands on her hips.

Emerald flushed, unable to suppress a grin. I’m covered. She held the knee-length cloak closed, undressed because she hadn’t wanted to put on the wet clothes she’d washed at the river.

Nina huffed and shook her head. Children of various ages clamored around the table for food. The youngest ones still needed help to eat.

I’ll be back. Have the boys come down? Emerald listened for the answer as she headed upstairs.

The big boys are doing chores. They haven’t slept.

Emerald pulled on threadbare trousers and an often-mended tunic from a chest of clothes. She dressed in the large, sleeping chamber everyone shared. After brushing the dirt from her feet, she slipped on a pair of socks and shoes, enjoying the return of warmth to her toes. She left her hair undone to dry.

Timothy, a year younger than Andre, slept in the bed next to the chest and she reached out to check his sweaty brow. His fever had broken. Good. He was the last to recover from a recent illness that had swept through the castle.

She tiptoed downstairs. Have something, Nina. You cooked it. You should eat while it’s hot. Emerald took the spoon out of her hand and grabbed a seat by the toddler she had been feeding.

As you like. Nina picked up a clean bowl.

Emerald nodded and shifted her attention. Hello, Marta. How are you today?

She mashed