The Sea Thy Mistress by Elizabeth Bear

Author:Elizabeth Bear
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy, science fiction
ISBN: 0765318849
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 2010-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

50 A.R.

On the Twenty-third Day of Summer

Aithne stretched into her pack, turning to rest it on a sandstone outcrop. “Remind me again why we’re walking?”

Aethelred laughed at her. “Because it’s hard to trip across people with problems if you fly.”

She sighed and yawned, scratching under her eyepatch. Then she glanced up at the overcast and shook her head. “Might rain.”

He thought it might be time to bring up a topic he’d been considering. “Aithne?” He winced when he heard his own tone.

She let her hand drop to her side. “What?” He’d set her on edge, too, which he hadn’t meant to do.

“What do you think about taking a side trip. Visiting our mutual friend?” He, too, tilted his head back to study cloud formations that seethed like boiling laundry. He grinned to himself at Aithne’s understatement.

She leaned back against the boulder and sucked her lip. “Fuck. Aethelred…” She looked over at him, uncertainty in her eyes. “If I could have stood the pity for a second longer, old man, I would have gone with him when he moved out. It’s not like I was attached to the house.”

Aethelred glanced down, studied her profile—the scars, a pierced earring winking in her lobe. A hard crease indented her forehead between her brows, and he realized he’d never seen her cry in all the years they’d spent tromping the countryside together. He thought about Cahey’s scars, and doubted deeply that it had been his pity she was reacting to.

“It’s been a long time, you know. He’s not your ex-lover anymore; he’s not the man who saved your life. He’s just a guy you used to know. And I’m not getting any younger. I’d like to say good-bye.”

She blew a puff of air out her nose. “I never told you much about that, did I?”

“I know enough. I know Cahey.”

“Yeah, but … Hel, Priest, I never should have let him walk away like that.”

“You were in love with him?”

She shook her head, but he didn’t think she meant no. “I was … It was good he left. Or I would have started needing him, and I don’t want to need people that way. He’s … No. He was exactly what I needed, for about thirty seconds. Now, I don’t know. We’ve been traveling, you know? It’s not like I’ve had a lot of time for relationships.”

“Well,” Aethelred said, feeling suddenly very old. “I hear tell he’s not doing so well. Selene sent me a message on ’screen. Asked me to stop by. What say we walk in that direction?”

“He needs help?” Like she didn’t believe him. No, like she didn’t believe Cahey would accept the help even if he needed it.

She was probably right.

The freeloading old cat peered over her shoulder. Aethelred just nodded, keeping eye pressure on her until she turned around and met his gaze. “Selene thinks he may not make it out of whatever trouble he’s into.”

She grimaced and thought about it. Then, white-faced behind the freckles, she said, “Which way

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