Startled, Sae reached out and stroked her head. “There, there. Don’t cry now. I’m fine. Really.”
But Yuna didn’t stop. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she kept asking if Sae was all right. Tenderness flowed through Sae with a force that surprised her. Wrapping Yuna in her arms, she said, “It’s all right now. I promise. It doesn’t hurt at all. Please don’t cry.” As she held Yuna’s warm, slippery body tight and rocked her, Sae felt an inexplicable urge to cry herself.
The Echo Master finally returned on the fourth day after their arrival. His eyes widened when he saw Van and his companions. “Well, well!” he exclaimed.
He looked shrunken compared to the last time they’d met, like all the vitality had been drained from him. The lines on his face had increased, and his skin was so pallid that he looked ill. The raven was nowhere to be seen.
“Great to see you made it back,” he said, then he mused, “Odd how these things happen, eh? Ask for somethin’ and you get it.”
Van raised a questioning eyebrow, and Suohl smiled weakly and shook his head. “Sorry, not now. I’m so weak I could fall over. I need a bit of rest first. Let’s talk later.”
There were no patients in the caves now, and Van and Sae joined the staff in the kitchens at dinnertime. They chose to do this because they thought it would be less trouble than having people carry food to their room, but they also found that they enjoyed the opportunity to chat and catch up on the news.
Steam rose from a large pot bubbling on the hearth, carrying with it the delicious aroma of reindeer meat slowly stewed with magi, spring-harvested mountain onions.
“People tend to get sick when the season changes,” Assenomi said. “We were full up with patients until recently, but now it’s as quiet as when the wind drops.” As she began ladling the stew into bowls, a shadow appeared at the entrance—Suohl.
“Smells good,” he croaked. His voice sounded thick, as though he had phlegm caught in his throat, and his face was puffy like that of someone who’d just risen from deep slumber. He walked into the kitchen and lowered himself down near the hearth with a deep sigh.
Sae stood and went over to an urn to scoop some water into a cup. He smiled when she handed it to him and drank it down in one long gulp. After wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, he sighed once more. “Ah! That’s better. I feel more like myself again.” Assenomi passed him a bowl of stew, and he closed his eyes and sniffed deeply. “Mmmm. Love that smell. I’ve been dyin’ for some of this.” He poked the magi with his spoon. “These’re what make it smell so good, but the settlers won’t eat ’em.”
Van remembered that Kiya had never used any type of onion in her stews. “Were you visiting one of the settler villages?” he asked.
Suohl’s expression darkened. “Yup. Seems like I’m always off to one settlement or another these days.” He fell silent and turned his attention to his food, sopping up the stew with chunks of pau, a dark sour rye bread, and cramming this, along with tender bits of meat, into his mouth.
For a while, no one spoke, focusing instead on the hot meal. The sweet reindeer fat mingled with the spicy nip of the mountain onions.
“You seem tired,” Van said at last.
Suohl’s eyes flicked between Van and his bowl. “Mmm. Been a bit rough lately. Ever since Granny Crow took off for the next world.”
Van had guessed as much, but hearing it from the Echo Master caused a cold pang of sadness to slip through him.
Suohl’s eyes remained fixed on his bowl, but his lips twisted. “Still, can’t complain, really. She stuck with me for ten years.”
Little by little, he spoke of his life with the raven. His wife had rescued the animal when she’d fallen from a nest. Together, Suohl and his wife named her “Lady Kaw.” She had been a clever little thing, and Suohl and his wife doted on her as if she were their child. Before they knew it, their souls had become linked with the raven’s spirit, and they heard her inner voice. At times, she sucked in their souls and took them flying.
When Suohl’s wife had perished of sickness, Lady Kaw remained by her side and grieved like a human. Soon after, she began to tease Suohl and help him, just like his wife. He took to calling her Granny Crow and soon began to feel as if his wife were still with him.
“I guess Lady Kaw was keepin’ her promise to my wife. She was always frettin’ about me, ’cuz I’m not much use, really.” Suohl gave a sad smile. “That was one special crow, but I guess carryin’ my soul around must’ve been too much for her. Some crows live as long as twenty years, but she only lived ten.”
Suohl heaved a sigh, then raised his face and slapped his knee as though to dispel the gloom. “But y’know, in the end, that was the life of Lady Kaw. I bet she’s curled up in my wife’s arms in the next world now. They’re prob’ly gabbin’ on about me and havin’ a good laugh at my expense, too.”
Assenomi nodded emphatically as if to say, “That’s right!”
Dinner was over, and Yuna, who’d been amusing herself by rolling a bowl around on the floor, was now fast asleep on Van’s knees. Suohl glanced at Assenomi. She cocked an eyebrow. “Well,” she announced, “looks like a good time for a bath. You just leave the dishes. We’ll do them later.” Then she and the other attendants left the kitchen, talking all the while.