The witch hunter bowed his head like she’d struck him. She would not feel guilty for that. She would not feel guilty for any of this.
They’d both lost their ever-loving minds.
The witch hunter should stay here and recover from his injuries until the reinforcements arrived. Her mother should worry about herself for a change. To most of the people in the kingdom there was no difference between a branded witch and a demon-ridden one. Lots of people thought the brandings should end, not out of mercy, but because they believed every woman accused of witchcraft should simply be killed. Signing up for a witch hunt was the last thing she wanted to do.
Her mother finally turned to her, her blind eyes finding her in that unsettling way she had, looking through her, inside her, to the seething mix of hurt and anger and the annoying sense of right and wrong that she’d never been completely able to snuff out.
“You wouldn’t only be helping him,” her mother said. “He’s trying to save nine men. Not all of them were at Jarn. Nine men lost in the woods that you could help. You’re the only one left here who knows the way to the fort. No one in Sulen is willing to help him. No one here is able. There is only you.”
Damn it.
The witch hunter had pulled away from her mother to sit on the stool beside her. He watched Rowan with an unreadable expression.
“It’s dangerous,” she said.
Her mother nodded. “It will be dangerous, but the witch hunter has the training and experience to deal with that danger. He’ll keep you safe. And God will protect you. I know He will.”
She did think that, Rowan knew. Her mother had always believed that God would protect them, see them through their exile to a brighter future, set their feet upon the path of deliverance.
“That’s not what...” She shook her head. “What if something happens to me? What will you do then?”
Even if she wanted to go, she couldn’t leave her mother alone. If she died out there, her mother would never survive on her own.
“I’ll be fine,” her mother said calmly, folding her hands in her lap. “Tilly will help me while you’re gone.”
Rowan just stared at her mother. The shadows from the fire were not kind. She looked older than she was. Her hair was turning gray and there were lines on her face that hadn’t been there even last winter. Her cheeks were still hollow. She’d never gained her weight back from that last awful cold. Rowan was worried she wouldn’t survive another winter. Not out here where she couldn’t find enough food or even keep the wind from coming through the walls. And that was before the woods went bad.
She’d told the witch hunter they didn’t need his money, but that was a lie. They did need it. They needed it so very badly.
They couldn’t leave Toam without help.
They couldn’t stay if there was a witch in the woods.
She turned to the witch hunter. “How much?”
He hesitated, but only for a moment. “I can offer you two hundred cord.”
She let out a slow breath at the sum. She felt a little dizzy at the thought of it. It was more money than she’d ever hoped to see in her life. She steadied herself against the table.
“I would only need you to track my men as far as you are able and guide me to the ruins,” the witch hunter continued. “I’ll pay you a bonus of two hundred cord if you’re able to locate my men or their remains. You wouldn’t be expected to fight the witch.”
“And if you die in there? Then we get nothing?”
“I’ll write a will. There must be someone in this town able to witness it. That will ensure you are paid no matter what happens to me.” He nodded toward her mother. “I’ll name your mother in case neither of us returns. It will be enough to get her out of here.Enough to buy a cottage in a town closer to the capital where the priests are kind and the people less superstitious. A new life for you both.” He leaned forward, his expression troubled. “For the sake of my men, I’m honor-bound to offer the deal. But I urge you not accept it. It won’t be safe.”
“You’re going to go anyway,” she said. “Even if you have to go in alone. Even though it’s not safe.”
It wasn’t a question. She’d thought he was a dead man just a day ago. Even now, the healer in her said he needed at least another week to recover. But the idiot man was going to march into the woods on his own if she didn’t help him.
She didn’t want to go back into the woods with him, but she didn’t want him to die either, even if he was a bastard. She didn’t want his men to die when she could do something about it. Her mother was right about that. There was no one else in the village who knew the woods as well as she did. There wasn’t anyone else stupid enough to take his offer.
Notstupid. Desperate.
Two hundred cord…more if she found his men.
A new life for her mother.
The witch gone.
