Arc 2: Chapter 14: Heal and Harm
I returned to the manor with the knight-exorcist in tow several hours before dawn. Lights burned in several of the manor’s windows. Vanya met us at the front door, and her eyes widened at the sight of Ser Kross. She dipped into a hasty curtsy.
“How’s Emma?” I asked her.
“Awake,” Vanya said, her eyes returning to me. “She… well, you see…”
“What happened?” I asked, impatient.
Vanya took a step back at the harshness in my tone. Ser Kross frowned at me as well. I ignored his look, though I knew the maid didn’t deserve my irritation. Only, I’d grown tired of constant problems, and long months wandering alone through back countries had degraded my social skills. Or perhaps I was just tired.
“Nothing,” Vanya assured me. “She’s just acting strange. I haven’t been able to get her to rest since the physik’s medicine wore off. You should speak with her, I think.” She glanced at the knight-exorcist again. “I will prepare some tea. And food.”
Ser Kross inclined his head graciously. “That would be lovely.”
Vanya blushed, curtsied, then scurried back into the manor. I let Ser Kross follow her, going in search of Emma. I found her in her room, where she paced like a caged lioness. The window hung open, letting in moonlight and chill night air, and candles burned on various surfaces, little flames flickering in agitation.
“Where were you?” She snapped, without greeting me.
I studied her a moment without responding, stopping at the open doorway. She wore a simple white shirt and trousers, men’s clothes, with the shirt’s sleeves rolled up past her elbow. Her hands were wrapped in dense layers of bandaging. My eyes lingered on the small cuts around her eyes. They made her hawkish gaze seem somehow feral.
“Hunting for your ghost,” I said. “You should be resting.”