Elaine Corvidae by The Ghost Eater

Author:The Ghost Eater
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

He went to the bed and sat on it cross-legged. The cats immediately swarmed up, all vying to occupy his lap simultaneously. “In that case, we’ll say it was a compliment.”

“Ah.” She gestured to the cats. “They seem to like you.”

“Yes.” He stroked the fur of a fluffy gray tabby. “I had two cats of my own, before I left Bird Creek. Corn and Bean. They attached themselves to me after I became ghost eater. I hope someone’s looking after them.”

“Ahkan’i warriors keep cats?” she asked incredulously. It wasn’t an image that would have occurred to her.

He smiled slightly. “Some would say that they’re the only good thing the Rhylachans brought to this world. When we were a wandering people, long ago, we had mostly dogs to help us hunt game. But after we settled in the mountains and had to learn how to farm, we found that some cats had meandered into our towns. None of us knew the chants that the settled peoples used to keep mice out of the grain. With the cats, we didn’t need them.” He frowned thoughtfully. “It’s always been thought that cats have great skill, but no Ways. Now, though, I’m starting to wonder if that’s true.”

“Maybe.” One of the cats hopped off the bed and crossed the room to station itself in Gwendith’s lap. She stroked its long hair, feeling its purr vibrate through her fingers. Sitting in a strange manor house with a dead man, petting cats. Who would have thought that could be such a peaceful scene?

“May I ask you something, Gwendith?”

“Of course. Anything.”

He hesitated, as if what he was about to ask was not something he felt comfortable speaking aloud. “I don’t mean to give any offense. I understand Rhylachan customs are different from Ahkan’i, and I can accept that. But I don’t always understand the manner in which they are different. Is Johann or Rowe a Changed One?”

“I don’t understand what a ‘Changed One’ is.”

“Among my people, women go down to the Long Man—the river—when they are pregnant. It brings good luck and good health to the child. But sometimes Rabbit tricks the Long Man into going to sleep and takes his place. Then he’ll reach into the child and swap its ghost with that of another. A male for a female.

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