By the tolling of the bells in the courtyard, Carina knew it was the sixth hour of the morning. Still sore and weary from her encounter with the Flow, she climbed out of bed and made her way to the heavy draperies that completely obscured her windows. Holding her breath, she drew them back and waited for the faint rays of dawn to burn her skin. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. A slash of red and orange lit the eastern sky along the horizon as heavy gray clouds obscured the moon, but the cold, pale light did not burn. It was true. She was fully mortal once more.
Heedless of the hunger that gnawed in her stomach, Carina slipped into a shift and her healer's robes. She knew that Neirin would already be at his desk. She made her way through Dark Haven's upper corridors without meeting anyone, and stopped at the door to Neirin's office. Steeling herself, she knocked. At Neirin's response, she opened the door. Neirin looked up. He registered first shock and then genuine relief. "M'lady. It's good to see you about once more in the light of day. I'm so glad the healing was successful." Carina nodded, and Neirin sobered. "I fear that you did not come to catch up on news." "We need to send guards to Istra's temple in the hills," Carina said. "I saw a vision in the Flow that I believe was a true sending. There may be no survivors. But we owe the dead the honor of a proper burial."
"The mob begins forming at the front gates once it's fully light, and it won't leave until the sun begins to set," he said. "I can slip two men out if we move quickly. Getting them back in may be more of a challenge. It will take them most of the day to journey there and back again, but if they leave within the candlemark, they should be able to return before sundown if they ride hard."
"Thank you." Carina paused. "In Isencroft, it's the custom to fly a gray flag of mourning when there are deaths within a household. Is such a thing done in Dark Haven?" Neirin nodded. "Yes, m'lady. I'll take care of it this morning. We've not done so at Dark Haven for ten years, not since the last lord died."
Carina drew a deep breath. "Thank you." She met his eyes. "How does Dark Haven mourn its dead?"
Neirin gestured her toward a chair and drew a pot of hot water from the coals in the small
fireplace that warmed his office. He poured her a cup of tea, which she accepted gratefully. "The custom is the same whether it's a mortal who dies or a vayash moru who is destroyed. There are eight days of mourning, one for each Aspect. The first four days honor the Dark Aspects. Those who mourn fast from dawn to dusk, and eat an evening meal of cold food without seasoning. No music is played. The mourners light candles and make offerings to the Lady for the safe passage of the souls of the dead. A hedge witch preserves the body so that all may pay respects.
"On the fifth day, the fast is broken. The last four days honor the Light Aspects. A great party is held in honor of the dead, with feasting and much wine. Stories are shared about those who have died, and they grow larger by the telling. Wenching is encouraged among single mourners to bring new life to replace that which was lost. Most families in Dark Haven have a shared crypt where the mortals are buried and the vayash moru seek shelter during the day. If the dead was mortal, the body is interred in the family crypt. If vayash moru, no body remains, and so a suit of the dead person's clothing is taken to the crypt instead." He paused.
"M'lady, I am afraid to ask. But your questions bode ill for the return of Lord Jonmarc." Carina swallowed hard as her throat tightened. "He's not coming back, Neirin. And I'm afraid he won't be the only one."
Neirin drew a deep breath and made the symbol of the Lady. "Dark Haven grieves with you, m'lady. We will begin the fast today."
Carina nodded. "Thank you." She gestured to her clothing. "I assume there is something special I'm supposed to wear?"
"I'll secure what you need and send it to your rooms." He met her eyes. "When the days of mourning are completed, will you return to Isencroft?"
She had wrestled with that question all night. Carina shook her head. "Jonmarc put too much of himself into rebuilding Dark Haven for me to walk away from it. And there are so many people who need a healer. I'll stay, until another lord is chosen." Neirin's eyes told her that he recognized how difficult that choice had been. "This is your home, m'lady, so long as you choose it to be. The staff will honor your wishes with the same faithfulness with which they served Lord Jonmarc."
She bowed her head as she struggled for control, and finally looked up, knowing that Neirin could clearly see her grief. "Thank you."
Taru was waiting for her when Carina returned to her room. "I was beginning to worry," Taru said. She had a plate of biscuits with honey and a cup of dried berries along with a fresh pot of tea. "Now that you're healed, you need to eat to keep up your strength." When Carina hesitated, Taru laid a gentle hand on her arm. "I guessed that you were talking to Neirin about making the Passage Fast. Before it begins, you must eat. It serves no purpose for you to collapse."
Carina nodded, but she found that, hungry as she was, the food had no appeal. The vision she had glimpsed in the Flow haunted her, and any elation she might have felt over the healing was bittersweet at the cost.
"Riqua and Lisette are worried about you," Taru said quietly as Carina picked at her food. "And if you hadn't noticed, Raen hasn't left your room." Even now, Carina could glimpse the ghost girl in the shadows. "We'll stay with you for as long as you need us. Certainly we'll mark the fast and feast with you."
"I told Neirin I'd be staying," Carina said. She looked up as if she expected Taru to argue with her. "At least, until another lord is chosen. I want to carry on what Jonmarc's started. And there's so much healing left to do."
Taru nodded. "I thought you might. But given that ten years passed between the death of the last lord and Jonmarc's choosing, there may come a time when you change your mind." Carina sighed. "The world is changing, Taru. The last letter I got from Cam made it sound as if Isencroft is on the brink of revolution. We have no idea whether healing the Flow gave Tris his victory. Either way, it'll be a struggle to secure Margolan. And even though Jonmarc destroyed Malesh, there's no guarantee that will stop the fighting here. There's still a mob at the gates, demanding that we turn over the vayash moru to them. You know what happened to Kolin. The courtyard is full of refugees. How will we know when it's safe for them to go home? Once the madness starts, how do you contain it?"
Taru looked down. "I don't know the answer to that, Carina. No one does. But having you here at Dark Haven makes a difference. That's all any of us can do-take the step we see, and do what we can."
Carina finished the last of her breakfast and drained her cup. "Let's go down to where the refugees are camped. It will take Neirin's scouts most of the day to get back. And although I'm in no hurry for confirmation, anything is better than watching the candle burn down."
It was nearly sunset when Neirin came to the great room where Carina and Taru were tending the refugees. At Neirin's summons, they left their work and followed him to a small parlor where two guards waited. "Tell me what you found," Carina said, taking a seat. Taru laid a hand on her shoulder in support.
The guard who spoke was a blond man who looked to be close to Jonmarc's age. The other was one of the manor's best trackers. It was the guard who spoke. He had the manner of a seasoned soldier, but his expression was shaken. "There was a great battle at the temple, m'lady. Outside, the snow was dark with vyrkin blood and the dust that remains when a vayash moru is destroyed."
"You're certain the blood was vyrkin?"
The tracker nodded. "Absolutely, m'lady."
The guard continued. "It was clear that the battle continued into the temple. The door was smashed in, and the banks of candles along one wall had been knocked to the ground. Inside, we found the remains of a vayash moru." He withdrew a signet ring from his pocket, and Carina recognized it from Malesh's hand the night of the attack on Westormere. "Did you find anything else?"
The guard hesitated, and then spoke. "We found a pool of blood. Human blood. And this." He opened the sack that lay at his feet and withdrew the pommel of a broken sword. Carina gasped as she recognized Jonmarc's sword and fought back tears. "Did you find a body?"
"No, m'lady. No bodies. And no tracks leading away from the temple. That's the strange part. The vayash moru can fly, but the vyrkin can't. Though I imagine someone could magic away the tracks if they wanted. Not knowing what happened, we didn't think it wise to ride to Wolvenskorn. Weren't sure what our reception would be, barging in without an invitation." "Thank you." Carina's voice was barely more than a whisper. Neirin motioned for the two scouts to leave, and they filed out behind him in silence, leaving Carina alone with Taru. When the door shut behind them, Carina's resolve broke. Taru folded her into her arms, letting her sob.
"It's just as I saw it, Taru," Carina said in a strangled voice. "He's gone."