The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [157]
Katlyn met us at the door of the cottage with smiles and talk of a hot meal and warm beds. Despite everything, it was a happy reunion but for Pavo’s obvious deterioration.
Wrapped in a blanket and shivering from a chill no fire could abate, he was clearly in great pain. His neck and arms were now covered in bruises, a symptom of tissue degeneration. The slightest bump left a livid mark on his skin. Katlyn did her best for him, feeding him decoctions to numb the pain, but they were only temporary measures. Pavo was dying.
“He is content,” Darga sent from where he lay on the hearth. “He is not afraid to die.”
After we had eaten, Katlyn managed to do what we had failed and persuaded Dragon to wash.
Jik, Idris, and Reuvan went off with Grufyyd to organize sleeping quarters in the barn, and Kella went to sort out blankets.
I was glad to find myself alone with Brydda, having had no chance to question him about the soldierguards. His first words took my breath away. “I don’t suppose you come from Obernewtyn?”
I gaped at him.
He nodded. “It was a thought I had earlier, for I guessed you weren’t quite telling the truth when you said you came from the highlands. Then my father said one of the soldierguards had asked about Obernewtyn, and everything came together. I had heard the place was near destroyed by a firestorm.”
“A lie to keep people away,” I admitted. “But useless now.”
“I don’t think they knew anything for sure.”
“They couldn’t have managed to connect us and Obernewtyn at all, unless the Druid … this confirms he’s part of this. We already feared that the Council had been questioning what Rushton was up to. But the Druid is the only one who could have informed them about our disguises.” I blanched. “And if he has guessed we are not real gypsies, he would question all that I told him about Obernewtyn being in shambles. I must warn Rushton.”
Brydda nodded. “It might be safer for your friends to leave Obernewtyn before any investigation. I would be happy to have your people join me. I am sure Bodera will be glad to have you join his rebels.”
“Rushton will have to decide that,” I said. “He is our leader.”
Idris opened the door and asked Brydda to help shift the books from the cart into the shed, because it had begun to rain again. Left alone except for Pavo, I forced myself to accept that he would not survive the journey back.
His eyes fluttered open, and he saw the pity in my face. “Don’t be sad for me, Elspeth.” His voice was barely audible. “I have lived free in a world where freedom is rare. I have pursued work that I love. I have learned much, and I have had good friends and perilous adventures. What man who lives three times my span can say as much?”
I blinked hard and found I could say nothing without crying. I was glad when everyone trooped back in, laughing and talking. Kella called out that she was warming some fement. This prompted Brydda to sing a rollicking song about a drunken seaman. In the midst of uproarious laughter, the door opened and Katlyn entered with a stranger.
The room fell into an astounded silence. The unknown girl was slender as a willow wand, with creamy pale skin and a thick silken mop of flame-colored curls.
Slowly, it dawned on us who we were looking at.
It was Dragon.
“I don’t believe it!” Jik gasped.
I was stunned. Who would have suspected what lay under the dirt? Even clad in a rough hessian shift dress, she was extraordinarily beautiful. And such hair! I had never seen hair that color—like gold and flames entwined. Later, Katlyn told me it had broken her heart to cut it, but it had been so matted and fused with dirt that she’d had no choice.
Dragon’s eyes, blue as the summer sky, flickered round uneasily.
“Don’t stare at her. She doesn’t understand,” I said softly.
Though unable to stop looking, the others sank into more natural poses. Beaming with pleasure, Katlyn ushered Dragon around to my side. Reaching out, I tugged at one springing fiery curl.
Dragon took the