Chapter 19
Together again
Smoke was still rising in several places from the scorched wasteland that had been Burnt Wood, but there was a gentle breeze blowing from the West, taking the haze towards the sea and away from Tanya’s vantage point on a ridge about three kilometres from Homestead. In the light of early dawn, she could see no movement anywhere, but several black shapes to the North suggested that the cattle were still here. Dead or alive? She had no idea. Turning her head to look over her shoulder, she gave a low whistle, then motioned for the others to join her.
There were only nine of them now. Pansy, Flossie and Polly had been natural choices to join Tanya in the two day run overland from Toogood Farm, but there had been arguments between the others about who would go and stay. Marco was bitterly disappointed that Tanya wouldn’t let him go as well, but all the girls agreed, he was too precious to be risked in another fight. In the end, Evelyn and her sister Annie with their two eldest, Caroline and Marianne were elected to go to Homestead as well. As they were setting out, they were joined by Margo, Jenny and Firenza from Ibis. That made eleven, but during the first night, Evelyn had taken a bad fall and sprained her ankle, so they had pulled and pushed her up into a convenient tree, and Jenny had volunteered to stay with her.
They were very tired, having only stopped twice to get a couple of hours sleep, and reluctantly left the comparative comfort and safety of the ridge for the long exposed walk across the open fields.
They were simply dressed, and ready to fight. No flowing colourful robes this time, only padded leather jerkins and round helmets, plus bows, swords and spears. What they had lacked on Toogood Farm, Polly and Margo had borrowed from Ibis’s armoury.
They had nearly reached the West gate.
“Gate’s open,” whispered Flossie trembling slightly. The last time she had been here had been two years ago, when she had run in terror from the bloodbath that had been the battle on the green, and had been the only survivor.
“Take the forge and cover us,” Tanya whispered, and indicated that the archers, Margo and Firenza should go with her, as well as Polly and Marianne.
They started to run now. Tanya leading Pansy, Annie and Caroline towards the Vine. At the last minute, she veered off and stopped by the door of the cottage next door. There were animal noises coming from inside.
“Ready?” She just breathed the word.
The others nodded and held their swords and hunting knives high.
Gritting her teeth, Tanya lifted the latch, and shouldering open the door rushed inside, the others following on her heels.
“Tanya?”
“Mum?”
“Tanya?”
“Simon! Where’s the bloody wolfs then?” Then turning round quickly, she grabbed Caroline by the shoulder. “Outside you. This is no fit sight for girls.”
Pansy and Annie followed them outside, giggling with relief.
“Never saw a man move so fast before,” laughed Annie. “Wait till the girls at home hear this one.”
“Never saw a woman go so red before either,” replied Pansy, and they walked laughing across the green to collect the others from the forge.
“Well Tanya Vine,” said Ma Nesbitt, smiling broadly. “You’re a credit to your family, and no mistake. Your mum’s a bit put out though, you bursting in on her like that.”
It was the first time that anyone in Homestead had managed to smile since they had run home on the day of judgement, as it was being called. The missile launched by Hind had been seen by Connie Nesbitt’s party returning to Homestead, and they had completed their journey as quickly as they could, in fear of what they would find there.
Tanya scowled. “Making babies at that time of day. Should be ashamed of themselves. Ran ourselves fit to drop, and for what?”
“No no Tanya. That’s not the point. You thought you was needed, so you came. Didn’t need asking twice, and for that we all thank you.”
Tanya still scowled, but Pansy butted in. “Just think Tan. You nearly stabbed him. He nearly got your sword up his arse.”
Slowly Tanya’s face relaxed and she started laughing softly, but very quickly the taverna was filled with peals of hysterical laughter.
Simon appeared in the kitchen doorway to see what the fuss was about. The laughter rose to new levels and red faced, he retreated, slamming the kitchen door shut behind him.
Rule number one
Later that day, after the weary girls had rested, Connie called some of them back to the Vine for lunch.
The old guru put down her spoon. “It’ll not be easy, but we’re going to rebuild Homestead. The whole village is looking a bit weary now.” She had seen the grand houses in Ibis and wanted to make her home town a better place to live in. “Land will heal itself in time, but this place needs a helping hand.”
Sylvia licked her lips and reached for her mug of cider. “Reckon we’ll need help ourselves Connie, we’re getting shorthanded. Can’t afford any more strife or accidents.”
Tanya looked up from her bowl of stew frowning slightly. There was something bothering her. “We can come over and help out from time to time Ma,” she offered, then lowered her spoon again.
“Well that’s right neighbourly young Tanya, but first, there’s two more jobs for you.”
Tanya looked up in surprise, “what will they be then Ma Nesbitt?”
“First, I want you to see if you can find them dozy dogs for me. Young Caren has seen something important in their drawings that they seem to have missed, or forgotten.”
Tanya pulled a wry face. More work for the grumpy guru. “What then?” she asked.
Connie took a deep breath. She was about to speak of one of Homestead’s old dark secrets. “When I was only a bit of a girl, about your age, there was this woman, lived on Back Lane she did, to start with anyway.” She shook her head slowly. “Nice old girl she was, but she was blessed by the Lady, and she had the Power of casting. Turned out she was the best caster anyone had ever heard of. Forecasting weather, births, crops and so forth. Always right.”
She took another drink from the mug. “But she wasn’t prima. Not even guru, like me. Guru them days was my Grandma, Floren. Anyway, Prudence, the caster, got ideas above her station and started studying… unsavoury things. Won’t go into it now, but she turned evil on us. Started broadcasting as well as forecasting, stopped my Grandma from seeing. Made decent folk turn on each other, murdered my mum, my old gran and some others as well. I was only fourteen then, but I remember what it was like, the mental stuff as well as the violence that came after.”
She took another sip and briefly studied her silent audience.
“It was a dark time for Homestead it was, when we decided enough was enough. All through that long night she was still making us see things that weren’t there, and do things we shouldn’t, but she tired in the end.” She looked round briefly at all the sunburned faces. Would they
condemn her?
“Took fifteen of us to catch and drown her.”
The silence dragged on. Even Sylvie hadn’t heard this before yesterday.
“Me and Joannie have had trouble seeing lately. Then, when I was in Ibis, my head was alright again.” She looked round her audience again. “We’ve got a caster here, in Homestead.”
Her eyes locked onto Tanya’s, and she steeled herself for the girl’s reaction. “You’ve got to take Sali Vorden away with you. She can’t come here again, and if she goes bad on you, like her granny’s sister, you’ve got to be strong, and kill her.”
Tanya’s spoon dropped to the table as she quickly stood up. “Sali.” she shouted, but her mind said ‘Saaaliii.’
“Steady,” said Sylvia, “Sali’s a good girl, probably never happen.”
“No,” shouted Tanya. Her mind was filled with ‘Wooolf, Hooome, Saaaliii.’
“I’m a cannibal,” she yelled in horror, and knocking the bowl of goat stew to the floor, rushed outside to be sick.
Ma Nesbitt watched the horrified girl as she dashed through the door, then turned to Sylvia with a smile on her face. “Took it rather well, I thought. Didn’t she?”
Here ends book 1
Thankyou for getting this far, and
I hope it was not too painful for you.
Next in the series :
Book 2 The Sali Vorden affair.
In which Sali grows up too quickly,
Tanya takes up archery again,
then Walter goes to church
and gets married to all the women of Lakeside.
Contains some bad language, violence,
and several passages of a sexual nature.
I have tried to edit them out
but the plot does not work without them.
Sorry.
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