“You done plenty’a good here, Kit. You don’t have anythin’ to prove.”
“Maybe not,” I conceded. “But I think I have to do this for me. Find a way to put it all to rest so I can move on, stop hiding. Besides, I don’t want to bring more ofmytrouble here.”
Ben rested his other arm on the counter so he could lean closer. “We pushed them back once, and we’d do it again.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” I said, more harshly than I intended. I took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “It’smytrouble, and I should have dealt with it a decade ago. This is long overdue. If I don’t face this, it’ll never end. And Ineedit to end. I need this to not be hanging over me anymore. I need to not spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder and wondering when it’s going to catch back up to me, and I won’t run again. I’m so tired of running, Ben. I just want to be able to sleep at night.”
I cast another brief glance at Penny doodling away. “It was always inevitable that things would catch up to me. At least this one’s not calling for my head.” I gave another wan smile. “Small blessings.”
Ben grunted, and the look on his face said everything he was holding back. He thought this was as bad an idea as it actually was.
“Hopefully that’ll cover any upkeep.” I motioned to the bag of coins. “If I’m not back in a year, it’s yours to do with what you will. Sell it and keep whatever you get for it.”
“Not gonna sell your house out from under you,” hesaid. He slid my key into his pocket, then pushed the coins toward me. “And I’m not takin’ your money, either. I’ll tally anythin’ you owe for keepin’ it up, and you can pay me when you get back.”
At least one person believed I might return when this was over. I tucked the money into my pocket. “Thanks, Ben. I appreciate it.”
“Don’t be gone too long. Nobody else here who can run a forge like you.” He broke into a soft smile, but his eyes remained full of worry. “We’ll keep the coals burnin’ for you.”
8
Penny
After four days on the road—first jostled around in a crowded transport cart, and then put on our feet to walk the remaining ten miles to my family’s farm—I was ready to be home. My hips ached, my feet hurt, and my head swam with all the information Kit had spent the last four hours imparting to me. He said I’d need it when we reached the Bone Men’s encampment, but I didn’t know how I would remember any of it.
He hadn’t appreciated when I suggested that I wasn’t going to be there long enough to need to know the specifics of how the cult ran things.
“They’ll expect you to know at leastsomethingabout the cult and Eeus,” he’d chided. “Something other than the rumors of his curse.”
I’d kept to myself the fact that I thought I already knew as much about the Bone Men as I ever wanted to.
When the thatched roof and slanted chimney of my family’s cottage came into view, a smile spread across my face. Reaching over, I tugged on Kit’s sleeve and pointed. “That’s it!”
I considered pulling him along as I picked up the pace, but instead, I raced ahead and left him to catch up.
The sights and smells of home filled me with equal parts nostalgia and sorrow. Excited as I was to see my mother and sister, I dreaded my father’s absence. My stomach churned as I stopped before the door.
The window down the wall was open, so I could have peeked inside and would have if I’d had time before my sister, Sayla, flung open the door.
Blonde curls bounced around her face, and her green eyes glittered. “Pen! You’re back!” She lunged into me, wrapping me in a tight embrace while turning her head not quite far enough from my ear before shouting, “Mother! Penny’s home!”
I could easily see into the living area of the cottage and spotted my mother as she emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. She looked tired, worn down by months of caring for my ailing father, and now by mourning his death. Her graying hair looked paler, and her cheeks were gaunt. Despite that, joy lit her face when she saw me.
“Oh, Penny!” She rushed forward, and I met her halfway, dropping the bag off my shoulder and relishing another warm, welcoming hug. Pulling back, she held me by the arms while looking me over as though I’d been gone much longer than a couple of weeks.
After a brief survey and a fuss over my tousled blond locks, she kissed my cheek. “How was your trip? Successful?”
Our reunion was cut short by a comment from Sayla. “Well, would you look at that.”
My mother and I turned toward the doorway framing Kit’s tall, brawny figure coming up the walk.
Sayla’s smile turned wily as she lowered her voice tosay, “You finally brought a man home, and a dashing one, at that. It’s about time.”
Mother eyed me as well, though she was more surprised than ornery. “I didn’t realize apprenticeships involved house calls.”
Blush warmed my cheeks as I shushed them both. Sayla’s teasing and my mother’s suspicion were not things I imagined Kit would take kindly. I’d had no time to get a letter to them to explain things before my arrival, and I faced a similar dilemma when Kit crossed the threshold before I could speak another word.
“Come in!” Sayla crowed to Kit’s arrival. She followed the greeting with a curtsey and gesture toward the interior of the cottage where Mother and I stood. “Welcome to our humble home. Always a pleasure to have guests.”
