Hunt!Snapper cried, woofing in excitement.
Not now,Cenric responded.Later.
Snapper made a low grumbling sound, but he stayed beside the horses as he was told.
They came upon Old Aegifu’s lands as the sun was just touching the distant mountains. Her flocks of sheep were being brought in by the gaggle of shepherdesses, their sheep dogs harrying the animals to and fro. They came down off the hills in a stream of white, brown, and black.
Several of the girls called out to them. One ran toward the cottage tucked among the trees.
Cenric was usually recognizable on his large chestnut stallion. Bada stood out, even from a distance.
By the time they reached the cottage, Old Aegifu was waiting for them, leaning on her cane. She had been his father’s older sister, though Cenric had never figured out just how much older.
Her hands were knotted with age and her back stooped with a lifetime of labor, but her eyes still glittered bright as a polecat’s. She stood in the doorway of her cottage, shawl drawn tight around her shoulders.
Aegifu and her girls kept bees, geese, sheep, and spun some of the finest cloth in Ombra. They were far enough inland with the mountains at their backs that few people ever came this way by accident. And it was too far for raiders from the coast to venture.
“There you are!” Aegifu called. “I’m pleased to see you, Alderman Cenric.”
Cenric might be alderman of Ombra, but the way the old woman spoke the title had unnecessary emphasis. Sometimes, he wondered if Aegifu was taunting him with it. She’d given her allegiance suspiciously easily when he had landed in Ombra two years ago with a band of warriors to retake the shire.
Geese scattered before Bada as he and Kalen’s horse drew to a stop.
Aegifu inclined her head, bowing to Cenric. “I am most grateful, lord. Thank you for troubling yourself with the likes of me. You must doubtless be very busy.”
Friend!Snapper trotted up to the old woman.
Aegifu, whatever her opinion of Cenric, did stoop to pet his dyrehund, murmuring sweet nothings as she stroked the dog’s back. Her own dyrehund had died some years ago and she hadn’t gotten another.
Cenric dismounted Bada, lashing the stallion’s reins to the fence outside the farmyard. “Busy, lady?”
“It took you two days to respond to my request,” Aegifu said. “I know you would only do such a thing if you were most busy.”
Snapper spotted something in Aegifu’s garden and rushed over to investigate.
Cenric decided not to tell his aunt he had been in Ungamot fetching a new bride. She’d find out eventually, but the fewer words he had to exchange with this woman, the better. “Where is Nettles?”
Aegifu’s mouth snapped shut. She was probably offended by his terseness, but Cenric didn’t care. “In the barn.” She pointed to the low structure with her cane. “Killed two lambs before the girls were able to get the rest out. They locked the doors and we’ve been waiting ever since.”
From the outside, all Cenric could see was the sealed doors of the barn. “Is she responding?”
Like Cenric, Aegifu could speak to the dyrehunds. Morgi’s blessings passed along the father’s bloodline, so while Aegifu’s children hadn’t inherited it, she had.
“She isn’t speaking, no.”
“How do you know it’s Nettles, then?”
“I know your brother’s dog when I see her.” Aegifu raised her chin and sniffed as if he had just paid her some great insult.
Cenric jerked his head at Kalen and the boy followed. With a little luck, they might be able to deal with whatever was in the barn and head back to the longhouse tonight. Though it would be dark, it might be worth the risk to see his wife tucked into his bed.
The barn was a low building with stone walls and a thatched roof. It housed a hundred or more sheep and Aegifu’s collection of geese and goats in the winter.
Cenric marched toward the doors of the barn. They were thick and sturdy, meant to protect the animals from the cold. A bar had been placed across the front, sealing it shut.
“Snapper!” Cenric shouted.
His dog came running, leaping over the garden fence.Cenric?
