The Wolf and the Shield by Sherry Weaver Smith

Author:Sherry Weaver Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pauline Books and Media
Published: 2016-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

A NEW DEN

After checking Aisling again for injury and finding none, Kieran tethered her in the forest. He pulled up the hood of his cloak and turned his hurt face away from the few people he met on the way to Ida’s home.

Kieran climbed up the small dirt ridge that the men had long ago dug around the farm. A stick fence ringed the top. Ida’s brothers had led their animals out to pasture, so the sheep and cattle pens were empty. A few huts held carts and tools. Her family had built the main house of woven twigs and mud, just like Kieran’s, but it was larger. The thatched roof, an upside-down cone made of stems from cheerful yellow gorse flowers, guided all the rain down onto the ground outside.

Ida was checking on one of the lambs as the sun began to come out. As soon as she saw him, she asked, “What happened to your face?”

Kieran wasn’t expecting her to ask so quickly. “Ran into a tree?” he added a questioning tone at the end of the sentence, though he had not meant to.

Ida stared at him for a moment. “Come with me inside. Everyone is away.” Ida and her brothers lived with a foster family, friends of her parents. In Ireland, parents often sent their children to live with other families in order to build strong friendships.

Inside, Ida turned her back and spun around with her hands hiding something. “The secret healer.” She opened her hands. “A puffball.” A cloud of spores spewed out. “This mushroom will stop the bleeding.”

Kieran began to doubt his decision to ask his friend for help. She dabbed the foul fungus on his wound. It felt like a giant worm. He tried not to sneeze from the puffing spores.

“Good.” She took the moon-white mushroom away and opened a small box. She pulled out a palm-sized bowl and a wooden mallet.

“You don’t need to hit me with that, do you?” Kieran joked. Anything was possible after the puffball.

“No, of course not.” Ida smiled. She pulled some drying herbs hanging from the ceiling. “I grew these myself from seeds I found in plants at the edge of the forest. I planted them in a good patch of earth. Now they come in handy.”

Ida mashed the herbs and wrapped them in a small scrap of cloth to make a pasty medicine. She reached up to hold it against his wound. Kieran heard steps outside.

“Someone’s coming,” Ida said. “Hold this against your face.”

Ida’s oldest brother came in. He grabbed a well-made spear. He nodded a brisk greeting to Kieran.

“A hunt?” Kieran asked, feeling his stomach sicken.

“Looking for wolves tonight,” he said and left.

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