Akashan'te

An Excerpt From: AKASHAN’TE

She didn’t understand why people were afraid of her and her aunts. In town, she’d seen people of many different races treated with respect, even camaraderie. But some treated her aunts like royalty—bowing and scraping, while others made warding signs and turned their backs.

She’d asked this and other questions without receiving a satisfactory answer. No more evasions. When she returned to the cottage, she’d confront her aunts and demand the truth. Were they witches? Was she? Why were their eyes so different and why were people afraid of them? It was past time for answers.

Rowyn tugged off her shoes and stockings, dipped her bare feet into the water and relished the biting chill. An apple and a wedge of cheese would hold her until she got to the inn where she would spend the night. The warm sun lulled her into a drowsy state and she leaned back against a tree to rest.

Suddenly, the familiar nauseating tingle rose in her stomach—but stronger, more urgent. She leapt to her feet and ran downstream, a sense of dread fueling her race through the thick underbrush. As she ran, she heard a splash and a woman’s scream.

Rowyn dashed to a spot where the river churned and formed deep rapids. A young woman stood, crying and wringing her hands. Not too far from the bank, a young man clutched an overhanging tree branch as he reached for a small child flailing in the water. The swift current rapidly carried the child out of reach.

Without stopping to think, Rowyn charged into the water. The current tugged at her pants and tunic as she waded deeper. By the time she’d gone waist-deep, she struggled to stand upright and the child still floated beyond her reach. She lifted her feet and let the current take her, using her arms to guide her as she rushed downstream. She silently thanked Lapis for her childhood swimming lessons.

She glanced up to determine her position in relation to the child. She was close, but not close enough. Wide-eyed, she watched the child go under the water and gasped when he did not reappear. She closed her eyes for a second and wished for strength to overcome the river. When she opened her eyes, the water seemed calmer, her movements easier. At the spot where the child disappeared, she braced her feet against the rocks. Without knowing how she knew, she reached into a narrow vee formed by two rocks and found the child wedged in the opening.

She pulled the baby out of the water. His eyes were closed and blue tinged his lips. She held the child over her shoulder and turned back toward the bank. As she fought tears, Rowyn patted the limp body. How would she tell the parents their son was dead? She wished with all her heart it wasn’t so.

“Please breathe,” she whispered.

She felt a light flutter under her hand and heard a tiny gurgle.

The toddler coughed up water and began to cry. She lifted the child from her shoulder and cradled him in both arms. His eyes opened and his color returned. She smiled and murmured comforting words.

Rowyn felt hands help her from the river. A small crowd had gathered. The young couple rushed to her and she handed the baby to the mother.

“Miss, how can we thank you?” The father extended his hand to her, then gasped. He stared at her face. “My…my lady. I…um…I mean…your clothes…I mean…”

Rowyn realized she didn’t have her veil. The people stared at her, some in fear, some in awe.

“I’m glad I could help,” Rowyn said. “Life is precious and that of a child most precious of all.”

She shivered. Now the excitement had ended, she grew aware of the breeze. Although warm, the wind chilled through her wet clothes. She turned to leave and a path opened in the crowd.

“My lady?”

Rowyn turned back to the young mother.

“My thanks to you. You are truly one of the blessed Others. Your clothes have been ruined—may I offer this cloak?”

She gave Rowyn a deep gold cloak intricately embroidered in shades of green, blue and red. Rowyn held one of the finest pieces she had ever seen.

“This is beautiful. I am honored to accept it. Thank you.” Rowyn wrapped the garment around her shoulders, grateful for its enveloping warmth.

The woman was right—her best outfit had been ruined. As she left the glade, she sensed the people watching her, could almost hear their whispers. She returned to the knoll where she’d rested and quickly settled the veil over her head and wrung what water she could out of her clothes. Fortunately, she’d been barefoot, so at least her shoes were dry. She put them on and made her way back to the road. A dull headache pounded behind her eyes and she hoped she wouldn’t fall ill from her impromptu swim. The bright sun quickly warmed her. Rowyn removed the heavy cloak to give her clothes a better chance to dry. They would be creased but dry and wrinkled felt better than wet.

She thought about the couple. The woman appeared to be younger than Rowyn, yet she already had a husband and child. Rowyn sighed. She doubted if anyone would ever look at her in the adoring way the young man looked at the woman. Usually a young man took one glance at her eyes and ran the other way.

Within a short time, Rowyn reached the huge gates marking the entrance to Mairtree. To her surprise, guards stood there checking wagons and bags. She’d never seen guards at the gates before. As she waited in the queue, she tried to ignore the people who stared at her muddy, wrinkled clothes. Strange costumes weren’t unknown in the city but even the poorest usually wore clean, if threadbare clothing.

“What’s your business in Mairtree?” A guard asked her as he took her bag.

“I’m going to the markets. Is there a problem?” She chewed her lip as he pawed through her things. There wasn’t much in the bag but she didn’t relish the idea of someone else digging through her personal items.

He handed her the bag. “Where will you be staying and for how long?”

“At the Boar’s Head for one night.” He looked at her for the first time and paused.

“Where are you from, Mistress?”

“Cotswold.”

“Any relation to Lady Emerald?”

“She is my aunt. Why?”

“My apologies, my lady.“ His voice softened as he handed her a blue badge. “Wear this at all times. Curfew is at eventide. Do not break it. Turn the badge in at this gate when you leave. Have a good day, my lady!”

CLOSE WINDOW