Spark (Legends of the Shifters) (26 page)

“
I
paid for her to have him as a trainer. Little did I know that the
headmaster had taken Kuris under his wing as his own son. He allowed
Jane to have him as her trainer, and when Jane showed promise, he
sent her on a quest—”

“
The
same one I’m on right now,” I broke in in horror.

She
nodded. “Yes. Don’t believe a word of what that man says.
Where you are going…it’s a death trap. You should turn
back around right now. Although…you might have a better chance
with Roland. Poor Jane went by herself.” Matilda swallowed
hard. “And she didn’t come back.”

I
felt really sorry for Matilda, but I was anxious to know about my
mother. “And what of—”

“
Your
mother…of course. I’m sorry. I’ve not told anyone
about Jane for a long time.”

I
nodded in sympathy.

“
Your
mother had you four years after I had Jane. You got along pretty
well, but Jane was too old for you. Burton took up a job as a worker
on a ship, and we moved here, to Achron. I was sorry to leave Olivia
and Burton was sorry to leave Garrett.” The names echoed
through my mind. “The next thing we heard, you all died in a
fire. That was why I was so surprised to see Kuris. And that is why
I’m so surprised to see you.”

My
hope was doused like a flame under a stream of water. “So my
mother and father are dead for certain?” I asked.

She
nodded. “I’m almost certain of it. If they weren’t,
they would have come and told us. They would have kept sending us
letters. They would have found you.”

I
went to the table and sat down, resting my elbows on the table and
lifting my hands to cover my face. Despite my best efforts, tears
streamed through my fingers. Matilda came along and hugged me. It
comforted me, especially when I felt her own tears drip on my head.

I
dropped my hands and took a few deep breaths. She stopped hugging me
to look at my face.

I
tried to come up with a different topic. “And how do you know
Roland?” I asked.

She
smiled, and wiped her tears away with shaking hands. “It was a
few years ago…perhaps two. Burton took him to and from Kislow.
It takes a while to get there, but the first time they crossed
together, Roland disappeared. They ran into each other when Roland
was on his way back, and Burton asked about it. Roland told him the
truth: that he was a sea serpent and had been in a hurry. Anyway,
Burton said he would take him back, and on the way, Roland fell sick.
We took him in until he got better, and we formed a sort of
relationship...not replacing the son we'd lost, but family all the
same.”

I
smiled, glad that there was something positive to talk about.

Matilda
sighed. “But life is getting easier as time passes. Perhaps not
for you yet…but it will eventually.”

I
nodded, and took in a deep breath. “What were their second
forms?” I asked.

She
looked into the distance as she answered, “Olivia was a
Pegasus. Your father was a griffin like Kuris. They both quested for
the kingdom, and Garrett even got raised to captain before he died.”

She
looked over at me. “Now I'm curious. What is your second form?”

“
A
phoenix,” I replied.

“
Hm,”
she said. “Must be pretty rare. I've never heard of the thing.
What does it look like?”

“
Well...it's
a bird with feathers the color of fire,” I said.

“
That's
fitting. Your mother always called you her little fire flower.”
Matilda stood. “Well, I’d better start cooking lunch.
Burton will probably come home for it, but even if he doesn’t,
I still have to eat.”

I
smiled at her. “Would you like some help?” I asked. I had
no idea how to cook, but I could do something simple, like chopping
up vegetables. Elna had asked me to do that when she was short on
staff.

Matilda
shook her head. “No, I’d better do it. Burton is a picky
eater.”

I had
to admit that I was a little disappointed. I could've used the
distraction.

Instead,
I sat at the table and twiddled my thumbs until a knock sounded at
the door.

“
Come
in!” shouted Matilda.

It
was Roland. “I was just wondering if you were done with Ivy,”
he said.

“
Oh,
yes, yes. I’ll bet the poor girl is bored by now.”

I
smiled. I had too much to think about to be bored, but Roland didn't
know that.

“
Would
you like to come?” he asked me.

“
Yes,
I’ll come,” I answered, standing.

Before
we stepped out, Matilda shouted, “Be back for supper!”

Roland
and I smiled at each other as he shut the door. “So what did
Matilda want to talk to you about?” Roland questioned as we
walked.

I
shrugged. “Private matters,” I answered. I wasn’t
sure how much he knew, and I didn’t want to betray Matilda.

He
frowned at me and didn’t reply. After a while of walking, I
realized that I still had no idea where we were going, and I hoped
that it had nothing to do with throngs of people. “Where are we
headed?” I asked.

“
I
don’t know,” Roland replied truthfully. “I figured
we could just go on a walk.”

I had
to admit, it was nice to have nothing to do. We had an unexpected
break in a time of turmoil.

The
ocean came into view again, but this time there were no docks. Just
the beach. I was tempted to go put my feet in it, but the water would
be freezing cold. Although the day was warmer than I was used to, it
was still too cold for swimming. I sat down and kicked off my boots,
sinking my toes into the sand. Roland sat down next to me and slung
the bag from his shoulder.

“
And
now for lunch.”

I had
forgotten about the food that Rema gave us. Roland pulled out the
bread, cheese, and meat.

I had
already had bread today, so I reached for a piece of dried meat and
started to chew on it. Nearby, a few seagulls landed, cautiously
coming closer to see if we would give them anything. I tossed a piece
of bread out for them, and they all raced at the same time to grab
it, but only one was successful. He flew off a few feet until he had
swallowed the whole thing.

“
You
know what?” Roland asked.

“
What?”

“
You
might’ve saved some people’s lives in that fire earlier.”

“
W
hy
do you think that?” I questioned.

“
Nobody
else drew their blade to cut a hole in the tent. They were all in a
panicky state of mind… Including me.”

I
stared at the seagulls and shrugged. I ate a little more of the food,
but I didn’t really feel hungry. The food was put away after
Roland had had his fill. The bell chimed once. It didn’t seem
like it was only one o’clock. It seemed like it should be three
o’clock at least.

I
stood up and grabbed my boots. I would have to wait until we got off
the beach before putting them back on, otherwise they would get sand
all through them. Roland followed me. I retraced our steps back to
the road, where I wiped my feet off and slid my boots on.

“
Let’s
go back to the market,” I suggested. “We could get
something to contribute to Matilda’s meal.”

“
That
sounds like a good idea,” Roland said. “I think it would
be much appreciated.”

I let
him take the lead, as I still didn’t know quite where I was
going. Achron was the largest city I'd ever been to. I definitely
wouldn’t be able to memorize the roads unless I lived here for
a while.

The
market was surprisingly less crowded than it had been before. The
fire-dancer’s tent had been burnt to the ground, and all that
remained of it were ashes. Two men were already scooping them up into
a wagon.

Unlike
in the village, most of the merchants stayed behind their stand and
waited for their customers to come up, although some of them did
advertise what they had by shouting it out to the crowd.

“
What
should we get for her?” I asked Roland. He knew what she liked
better than I did.

“
Well,
all the times that I’ve eaten at her house, she only made a
vegetable broth. Perhaps we should make a trip for the butcher’s
shop and gift her with that.”

I
looked at him speculatively. “Is that what
she
wants or what
you
want?”

He
laughed. “Probably both.”

“
What
about a pastry or something?” I asked.

He
considered this. “While that is a good idea, Matilda will
probably make her own. She likes to bake.”

“
Fine,”
I said sullenly. “Meat it is, then. But you’re going to
carry it.”

“
Of
course,” he said.

We
purchased a nice cut of beef at a butcher's shop and hurried to get
it to Matilda so she could prepare it in time for dinner.

Once
we found her house again, Roland knocked on her door. She opened it
in a hurry.

“
Oh,
hello,” she said, smiling. “I didn't expect you back so
soon.”

“
We
hurried so we could get this to you,” he answered her, lifting
the parcel in his hands. She seemed to notice it for the first time.

“
Oh,
Roland, how thoughtful!” she said, taking the parcel. She
brought it inside and we followed her, shutting the door behind us.

“
It
wasn't me,” Roland said, taking a seat at the table as Matilda
got out a cutting board and a knife.. “Ivy thought of the idea
to give you a gift.”

Matilda
turned her smile to me. “Thank you very much. Burton will be
especially thankful. 'A sailor needs to eat his protein', as he
always says.”

I
blushed and sat next to Roland. “It is the least we could do
for you, since you're feeding us dinner.”

“
Of
course,” she answered.

She
sliced the meat into little pieces and put it into a pot of boiling
broth. As she stirred it in, she said, “I was wondering...where
are you and Ivy going to stay, Roland?”

“
I
was thinking we might stay at The Dairymaid,” he said.

She
wrinkled her nose. “The Dairymaid? I've heard that their
bedrooms are tiny and overpriced.”

“
Do
you have any other suggestions?”

“
Yes,”
she said, smiling. “You should stay here.”

Roland
shook his head. “I don't want to be any more of a burden then
I've already been.”

“
Ha!
You are not a burden,” Matilda scoffed. “Don't you know
how lonely it's been with Burton out at sea and no one else here in
the house?”

We
were all silent while Roland pondered this.

I
even surprised myself when I spoke up. “We'll be happy to stay,
Matilda,” I said.

Roland
raised his eyebrows at me, but Matilda grinned from ear to ear. “Of
course! Ivy will get the cot, but Roland, dear, we'll make you a
comfortable pallet on the floor.”

Roland
sighed.