Chapter 173

Vin sputtered and coughed as I dumped the bucket of water over his head.

“Wakey wakey,” I called cheerfully.

He jerked upright and scrambled backward away from me like I was about to gut him. Confusion flashed across his face first. Then recognition. Then absolute panic.

He scrambled even faster.

“You probably don’t want to go that way,” I told him calmly. “One of my other daughters is out there.”

He froze mid-crawl.

I nodded sympathetically. “Yeah. Moss is out there.”

His face went pale.

“So,” I continued, “why don’t you come back over by the fire, warm up, and we have a calm, rational conversation?”

His eyes darted frantically around the room searching for an escape route. They settled briefly on the door behind me.

“Vel’s out back,” I informed him.

His gaze slowly returned to me, and for a moment I genuinely thought he might burst into tears.

“No one’s going to hurt you,” I assured him. I lifted a steaming bowl from beside the hearth. “I even brought homemade food. My girlfriend’s an incredible cook. You should try it before it gets cold.”

I set the bowl near the fire.

“I also brought you some clean clothes.” I gestured toward the neatly folded set I’d conjured back in the demesne. “Hopefully they fit. And there’s a fresh blanket there too if you decide you want to stay here afterward.”

I sat down on an old stool that creaked alarmingly beneath me and gave him time to decide.

It took awhile.

Every time his eyes drifted toward the stew, his stomach growled loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear. Water continued dripping from his soaked hair while the cold autumn air slowly worked its way through his clothes.

Eventually hunger won.

He crept cautiously back toward the fire like a frightened animal approaching a trap. Every movement I made caused him to tense. So I stayed perfectly still. Friendly. Patient.

The moment the first spoonful hit his tongue, his entire posture changed.

He devoured the stew.

Not quickly out of greed, but desperately, like someone trying to convince himself the food wouldn’t suddenly disappear if he ate too slowly.

When the bowl was empty, he clutched it protectively against his chest while still chewing the last chunks of meat.

“Pretty good, huh?” I asked with a grin.

He nodded reluctantly.

I reached behind me and pulled out a plate of honey-browned apple crumble - one of my favorites among Mirri’s many unfairly delicious desserts. I held it out toward him steadily.

He accepted it carefully.

And something in my Faith shifted. It was tiny. Barely perceptible. A faint tug. Like a single thread being drawn carefully through cloth. Pull too hard and it would snap.

Vin shoved a massive bite into his mouth and exhaled shakily through his nose as he savored it. Then another piece vanished just as quickly, his cheeks bulging as he chewed.

I chuckled softly.

The resemblance to Elise’s eating habits was surprisingly strong. Though honestly, considering how long both of them had spent starving, maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise.

By the time most of the crumble had vanished, Vin finally noticed the spoon sitting on the plate. He immediately used it to scrape up every remaining crumb, every nut, every trace of apple, cinnamon, butter, and honey.

I gave him a few minutes to digest.

“So now what?” he asked hesitantly.

“I just want to talk,” I replied. “Ask a few questions. Then we’ll be on our way. You can come with us if you want. Or not. I can take you to Crownreach, Spellmarch, or Highcoin.”

He nodded slowly.

“So,” I said, “you’ve been here for two weeks. Why?”

Vin looked away from me toward the fire.

“Came here with the Covenant of Mercy,” he said quietly. “They came ta my village - Graincross. Brought food. Healed folk. My mum…” He swallowed hard. “My mum had a fever. Real bad. They help her.”

His fingers tightened slightly around the plate.

“So when they asked fer volunteers ta help? Folk who wanted ta make a difference?” He shrugged weakly. “I jumped at it. They seemed like good people. An’ I weren’t nobody. Just a shitty farmer. Sixth son. No talent fer nothin’.”

His voice dropped softer. “Thought maybe that was my chance ta matter.”

He stared into the fire for several moments before continuing. “And at first I did do good. Brought food ta villages. Dug wells. Hauled supplies. Honest work.”

Then his expression darkened. “Then they says we’re goin’ ta a secret place where they git supplies.” He shook his head. “It’s secret ‘cause they don’t want no un ta steal it, ‘cause then they can’t give it ta the poor.”

His jaw tightened. “So they blindfold us. Load us onta wagons with crates an’ barrels. Take us ta a place like this.” He gestured vaguely around the cabin. “But not this un. A different place.”

“I help dig a huge hole. We bury crates, barrels, all kinds a stuff.”

His breathing slowed uneasily. “Then they says we’re goin’ ta another secret place. Blindfolds come on, we git in the wagon, and we come here. I dig another hole an’ we bury more crates an’ stuff.”

He swallowed hard. “Then I overhear some of ‘em talkin’ about the red place.”

The way he said it sent a chill through the room.

“An’ I don’t like the sound a that ‘cause a the way they’re sayin’ it,” he admitted quietly. “Said they need more flowers or somethin’. Said there’s this real dangerous bastard tryin’ ta fight ‘em. Killed a lot ‘a folk. Hurt a bunch a folk.”

His eyes flicked toward me uncertainly. “And these fellas didn’t sound scared exactly…” He rubbed nervously at his arm. “But I git the feelin’ people in charge were shakin’ in their boots. A man don’t scare that many folk ‘less somethin’s gone real wrong.”

“The next mornin’ everybody starts rushin’ ‘round. Burnin’ books. Burnin’ papers. Packin’ wagons. Tearing the place apart.”

His voice lowered further. “I go down inta the root cellar ta make sure nothin’s git left behind.”

He stopped.

The fire crackled softly between us.

“It stank,” he whispered. “Blood everywhere. Chains on the walls.” His face paled at the memory. “I knew somebody died down there. Probably lots a somebodies.”

His breathing grew uneven. “So I ran.”

He laughed shakily at himself. “Got lost in the woods fer hours. Found a road eventually. Followed it…” He looked around the cabin miserably. “Ended up right back here.”

Silence settled over the room.

“There weren’t nobody left. But every time I tried ta leave…” He rubbed at his arms again. “I git this feelin’ somethin’s watchin’ me out there. Waitin’ fer me.”

His voice cracked slightly. “So I stayed.”

I nodded slowly. “That,” I told him gently, “is exactly the kind of thing I needed to know.”

I leaned forward slightly. “And I think we can help each other.”

* * *

Vin didn’t know where the first waystation was, but he had been there. Blindfolded or not, that still meant something - even if he didn’t realize it yet.

Eventually, I called Vel back into the room.

Vin panicked immediately. Again.

But the moment she spoke, something in his brain seemed to short circuit.

“It’s alright, Vin,” she said softly. “I’m not going to hurt you. None of us are.”

Her voice had changed completely. Gone was the flat, predatory bluntness she normally used. This was warm. Gentle. Careful.

“Do you recognize my voice?” she asked. “I spoke to you while you were hiding in the cabinet. You trusted me then, didn’t you? Before you knew what I looked like?”

She smiled at him - small and soft, her lips hiding her teeth completely. It looked so sincere that even I started questioning whether she was consciously doing it or if it had become instinct.

“It’s still me,” she assured him. “You can trust me. Even if I’m not what you expected.” Her smile shifted into the faintest smirk. “Honestly, you aren’t what I expected either. You’re younger.” Her eyes flicked over him briefly. “More handsome.”

Then she batted her eyes at him.

I nearly swallowed my tongue.

I cleared my throat hard enough to hurt. “Right. So. Let’s go through this step by step.”

Vin’s eyes remained hopelessly fixed on Vel.

“You’re from Graincross,” I said. “That’s in Caldris?”

He nodded absently.

“Where’d you deliver supplies before the blindfolds?”

“Haytrade,” he answered without looking away from her.

Every time his eyes flicked toward Vel, she rewarded him with another warm smile.

“And that’s still Caldris?”

Another nod.

“What came after that?”

He frowned slightly as he thought. “Uh… Barterfield, I think. Then Oatvale. Then Wheatbarrow.” He scratched at his jaw. “After that they blindfolded us. Dunno where we went next.”

“That’s alright,” I assured him. “You’re doing fine.”

Vel crouched slightly beside the hearth, close enough to keep his attention entirely on her.

“How long did it take to reach the first secret place?” I asked.

“Two days. I think.”

“When did you arrive?”

He hesitated. “Mid-mornin’? Maybe?”

“When you were traveling there, where was the sun?”

He thought harder this time. “On the right, I guess.”

“Did that change?”

“A little?” He frowned. “Later inna day I think it was behind us.”

“Was it ever on the left?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Did you hear anything?” Vel asked gently. “Birds? Water? Animals?”

Vin blushed immediately.

“I, uh…” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I think there was a stream or river near the end a the first day. Maybe bigger’n a stream. Went over a bridge.”

Vel’s smile widened slightly, bright enough to warm the entire room.

“You’re very observant,” she told him softly. “And very good at this.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

Where the hell had she learned this?

“What about smells?” she asked. “Smoke? Crops? Flowers? Animals?”

He blushed even harder.

“Fields most a the first day,” he said. “Cabbage, I think. Smelled awful. Real strong.” He wrinkled his nose at the memory. “Then later there was manure. Fresh. Farmers probably fertilizin’ fer winter. I’d guess rye.”

I glanced at Vel. That was surprisingly useful.

“And the second day?” she prompted.

“There was this smell early in the mornin’,” he said slowly. “Sharp. Like wood shavin’s.” He frowned harder. “Then… maybe an hour before we got there…”

His face twisted. “Gods, the stink.”

“What kind of stink?” I asked.

“Like rotten eggs,” he answered immediately. “Strong enough ta make yer eyes water. But it only lasted maybe half hour.”

Vel and I exchanged a quick glance.

“That’s fantastic, Vin,” I said honestly. “Seriously. That helps a lot.”

He looked mildly stunned by the praise.

“One last question,” I continued. “How long did it take to get from there to this station?”

“That un’s easy,” he said. “We left early mornin’ and got here after dark.”

* * *

Vin decided we could drop him in Highcoin and he’d make his own way back to Graincross from there.

Personally, I suspected he agreed mostly because it meant spending a little more time around Vel.

Too bad for him. I gripped his shoulder and stepped us both to Highcoin without the two-week journey that should have separated those places.

The world folded. Then unfolded again just outside the city gates.

Vin nearly collapsed.

There was no sensation when stepping - no wind, no lurch, no feeling of movement whatsoever. One moment you were somewhere. The next you weren’t. Apparently his brain didn’t appreciate that very much.

He staggered sideways, caught himself on the stone wall near the gate, and stared at the city in absolute horror.

“I…” He swallowed hard. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“Do it over there,” I told him with an uncomfortable grin.

I thanked him for the help, pressed a couple gold coins into his hand so he could get back on his feet, wished him luck, and stepped back to the others before he fully recovered.

The moment I returned, I looked at Vel.

“You are a very scary woman,” I informed her seriously.

She tilted her head slightly, confusion flickering across her face. “I was attempting to gain Vin’s trust,” she said. “It seemed effective.”

“Oh, it was extremely effective.” I laughed softly. “I thought we were going to spend hours trying to pry information out of him. Then you smiled at him twice and suddenly he was describing crop rotations and wind direction.”

Vel blinked.

“I have never seen someone put another person at ease that quickly,” I continued. “You were incredible.” I pointed at her accusingly. “That’s why you’re terrifying.”

Understanding slowly dawned on her face. Then she smiled.

Not the careful little smile she’d used on Vin. A real one. Small, but unmistakably proud of herself.

That, more than anything else, felt strange coming from Vel. She rarely seemed to think about herself at all, much less take pride in what she’d done.

Honestly, I was happy to see it.

I slipped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed lightly.

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s grab the others and see if we can reach the last waystation before dark.”