Wolverine's Daughter by Doranna Durgin

Author:Doranna Durgin
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 0671578472
Publisher: Baen Publishing Enterprises
Published: 2000-01-07T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Dried, fed once more, and finally warm again, Kelyn thanked the women—of the men, there remained little sign—and this time, though the conversation remained limited to the few words necessary to accomplish their tasks, she felt their acceptance. They didn't yet know what to make of her, of that she was sure, but they seemed willing to let her be as she was.

That was fine. She didn't think she'd ever quite understand them, either—with their prim privacy curtains and brazen coupling dances. The realization turned her thoughts to Endre. Annoyed afresh that he'd avoided her so neatly since the previous day, she found herself equally wistful at losing the chance to talk to him before she departed.

Kelyn left the area with stalking caution, and avoided a soldier who had been posted to an uneasy watch at the border of the Darks. She entered the Darks in a new spot, avoiding the main street, and wound her way through alleys and side streets. She encountered only a handful of beggars, each of whom took one look at her—and the glower she fixed on them—and decided she wasn't worth the trouble.

Near day's end, she approached the inn from the back—there were bound to be soldiers out in the market, and even if they weren't looking for her, they'd probably be glad enough to find her—and spent another night in the barn. In the morning, with her belongings jammed up against the ceiling rushes, she braced the scowl of the old woman to inquire after Kila. The woman closed the door in her face. While Kelyn stared at it, scowling and wondering how hard it would be to force her way in, she reappeared, towing Kila by the ear.

"Take her out of my way," the old woman grumbled, shoving Kila out the door with that very grip on her ear. Kelyn caught the girl as she stumbled, and righted her; the door slammed in both their faces.

Kila rubbed her ear, but the tears in her eyes didn't spill down her cheeks. "She eats rat dung for breakfast, that's why she's so mean."

"Makes sense to me," Kelyn said, and didn't bother with niceties. Children didn't care if you got straight to business. "Do you want to earn a copper bit?"

"How?" Kila put grubby hands on her stick-straight hips and stared up at Kelyn, tilting her head back to squint at Kelyn's face. "What do I have to do?"

"Take a message for Thainn to the fortress gate."

Her eyes widened. "To the gate? They'll snatch me up! They'll put me to work in the smelly chandlery, or the kitchens!"

"They've already got plenty of people in their chandlery," Kelyn said, with no idea what Kila was talking about. "And if you do this right, you'll meet Thainn."

"Why don't you do it?"

"Why do you think? They'll lock me up before I even get a chance to talk to him, and probably never tell him I'm there."

"He'll lock you up."

"Not once he hears what I have to say, he won't.

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