Leaf and Stone by Erik Marshall

Author:Erik Marshall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tangled Sky Press

Kay counted each breath as it left her lips. She'd only learned how to count to ten, so she just kept doing that, over and over again. She'd taught Tim to do it, too. Maybe he was doing it with her like she'd said, maybe he wasn't. The important thing was that he was quiet.

The rest of the house was quiet, too. Da had eaten most of the bread and some of the cheese, and he'd drank all of his jug. And more when Kay had gotten it for him. Better that he be far into his mug rather than still awake and aware. He'd been quiet out there for a while, so Kay pushed herself up.

“Start gettin' your stuff together,” she whispered to Tim. “We're leavin’.”

He was too scared to say anything, he just nodded and got busy. Good. They'd wasted enough time. She limped to the door and listened. Nothing still.

Her door squeaked softly as she pushed it open and a noise out in the room made her freeze. Another count of ten, her breathing mixed with the rapid pound of her heart. Standing like this made everything hurt, and she knew that she was hurt bad. Part of her wanted to climb back into bed and pray that everything would be better when she woke up, but she knew it wouldn't be. Everything just got worse.

As slow as she could, she crept out. The fire was still going in the hearth, its dying flames making the shadows flicker and dance. Pa sat there in front of it in his chair. Mug fallen over, his head slumped to the side.

Soft snores came from him, and Kay thanked the gods for that. They had to be careful, quiet. Otherwise, he'd come after them, drag them back.

Kay went into Pa's room first, took his blanket. It was the thickest in the house, the most comfortable, made from spun goat hair and dyed green. She'd always liked green. It was heavy and smelled like him, which almost made her put it back.

Instead, she went over to the chest where Pa kept his clothes and took the gloves and a few heavy shirts and trousers. They were far too big for either of them, but Kay reckoned they'd grow fast soon. Better have clothes too big than too small.

She put them in the center of the blanket, then folded the sides up and brought it out in the kitchen. There wasn't much food in the house, but she took the rest of the bread and cheese. One of Pa's jugs, still sealed with wax — she thought that maybe Shell would want that, or she could find someone to trade it to.

Then, she picked up the knife. It was big and heavy in her hand, its blade sharp enough to cut through tough roots without much trouble. Holding it, she felt powerful. Strong. Almost brave.

A loud roar made her squeak and drop the knife, twisting toward the fire with her hands already raised.

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