The Innis Forgettance: A Novel by Leah Noel

Author:Leah Noel [Noel, Leah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lebanon Forest Press
Published: 2023-07-02T16:00:00+00:00

28

HENRIETTA, IN INNISCOMBE

Henrietta was up before the sun, sitting knees-to-chest in the doorway, flanked by lanterns and backlit by fire. Neverseen hovered in the forest, their nighttime energy waning with the coming of morning.

Sarah is a Sibyl.

Henrietta’s chest tightened. She clasped her hands together, running her fingernails underneath each other as if to scratch the quick. She should have pressed Sarah—forced her—to speak up. Shake her by the shoulders if need be. But she’d been so eager to reveal the truth of things, she’d yammered on and on, manifesting memories, and the woman silently soaked up the stories—and shared very little in return.

I was a fool! Failed my daughter, again.

She determined to study again the past, fixating on soaking up every detail about the last Sibyl, her capabilities, her limits. She clenched her fists, wishing Sarah had come with her family, so she could get answers. Was Sarah truly intending to give herself over—what other fool’s errand could she have been on, alone in the haunted dark? Did the Neverseen truly seek her daughter?

She stilled, remembering. If the Neverseen sought Sarah, there was another Gifting that could afford her utmost protection. If Porter found the opportunity to Unlock, perhaps a Blinder—one able to obscure a person from a Neverseen—could stick by Sarah, keep her out of their sight. But how many people in Inniscombe would let Porter near enough to Unlock them? By that time, it could be too late.

Might already be too late.

Scuffing on the dirt floor distracted her. She looked. “Morning, Sal. How’d you sleep?”

“Mornin’, Miss Henrietta.” His voice came out in a tired growl. He scratched his beard. “I slept fitful.”

“Hmph,” she said knowingly.

He propped his elbows on his knees and hung his head, massaging his scalp. “I done the best I could all this time, Miss Henrietta,” he mumbled. “And it’s been no jaunt in the field, neither. I couldn’t help my Sarah, for most of our marriage. Couldn’t understand the matter with Porter. Couldn’t make the town treat my family normal. Couldn’t, couldn’t, couldn’t.

“But I could work hard. I could at least keep us fed, and under a roof. I tried t’keep my head up through it all. But my pride’s taken a beatin’.” He looked up and fixed her with a look that bared all his agony. “Then we come out here and you topple me with problems that I can’t fix—or even help—by working hard and keeping my head up. I can’t even fix ’em with my own two hands, because they’re nothing I can touch.” His voice broke. “How’s a man supposed to go on like that?”

Henrietta hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath during the man’s vent. She blew out a heavy sigh. “Oh, how I wish I had something I could say to ease your load. But all I can say is I’m in it with you. Forty years out here, studying our past and our problems… they still bowl me over. There’s no way around it. But I think the way out is through.

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