The Healer's Legacy by Sharon Skinner

Author:Sharon Skinner [Skinner, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Brick Cave Books
Published: 2012-03-18T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Milvari tarried, waiting for everyone to finish the evening meal. She nibbled nervously at her food, glancing now and then in the direction of her uncle’s library. Each night for the past week she’d sat here, trying to feel brave and waiting for a chance to slip into the hallway unseen. The hall that led from the main room to the library was filled with shadows, a few flickering candles providing the only illumination. Unlike the great room, which was hung with bright oil lamps, the hallway sconces held heavy wax candles. Tonight, as on most nights, only every third candle was lit and thick shadows danced in doorways and beneath the furnishings that lined the walls. Milvari had often lurked in those shadows and knew intimately where the gloom lay heaviest and could obscure even the largest of mice.

As the hall began to empty, she helped clear away the plates and cups from the table. Her mother wouldn’t like it if she knew Milvari was doing kitchen work, but as usual no one in the room took notice. With Tratine gone, Milvari didn’t have to fear her brother’s tattling, and none of the cooking staff had ever told her mother about the times that Brilissa allowed her to help in the kitchen.

Everyone else in the household took little notice of her. Only Brilissa seemed to see her. Most of the time, Milvari sat alone in the corner of the kitchen, out of the way. But sometimes Brilissa would hand her a bowl of something to stir, or a container of flour and a sifter. Neither she nor Brilissa would speak. Milvari would simply set to work. When she finished the task, she would drift back into her quiet corner.

Milvari loved the kitchen. It brought back hazy memories of her father. Winter mornings when he rose early, she’d followed him down the cold hall to the cozy room filled with the scent of baking bread and simmering porridge. He would fix them both tea and hot bread with butter and jam, and then carry her back to bed where he would tuck her in before leaving on his errands. Milvari shuddered. It had been later on just such a morning that the men had brought her father back to the hold, wounded and bloody. Her mother hadn’t let her go to him. The healer tried for days, but none could stay the turning of the wheel. Their morning meal together had been his last.

A log crackled in the grate and she glanced toward the hearth. A few people tarried by the fire, talking in quiet voices. Nearby, several children played a game of Spokes. They laughed and chatted as they took turns dropping slender colored sticks into a circle outlined with string on the floor. She set her stack of plates on the end of one long table and watched in fascination as the children vied to see who could complete the best pattern in one throw. Milvari had

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