Nightsworn | The Whispering Wall #2

Forty Three: Triage

Dela was eating dinner when the Aven burst its banks.

The storm had been raging for two days, and the city had all but shut down until it passed. Inside the temple she felt as though she lived in a fortress, defending against the elements as they battered at the walls. The temple hearths all burned high and sacks of fine grit were pressed up against every door. The cloisters were already under an inch of water and had to be traversed slowly and on tiptoe to avoid accidents on the smooth flagstones. If it rose further, they would be closed off. Some of the older acolytes had had to be moved out of flooded dormitories.

Dela was secretly glad of the foul weather. If they couldn't leave the temple easily, no one else could get in, either. She had barely slept since that man had cornered her in the laundry closet; she had not bathed alone and had always made sure to be in the middle of the line when they left their classes. She hadn't told Lin about the incident, for fear of having it reported to the priestesses. She wasn't sure what she was more ashamed of; that it had happened or that she had done what he'd told her to do, or that she was still frightened that he would come back for her.

She hoped Grace had listened to her note and would not go to meet this person. Eighthday was in a few nights' time. The inns would be open to those who had to work through the storm, but they would be quiet. Quiet, and perfect for covering up something terrible.

Her note on her flimsy practice paper seemed like poor defence against that, but it was the best she had.

A runner, soaking wet and gasping for breath, brought the news to Lady Kerrin at the high table. Dela and Lin watched the boy with wide eyes as he panted up the centre aisle, and exchanged a glance. The messenger was wearing Harkenn's livery; something was badly wrong.

Kerrin read the note and then stood. Maniel and the priestess Cluria, who oversaw the Path of the Confessional, also stood with her, and together they filed out with Maniel and Cluria whispering furiously to each other.

"...the reservoir was so full?" Maniel said as they passed Dela's seat.

"Flooding in Bisa," Cluria murmured, "Kiel help us, I don't think I can take much more of this season's tidings."

They drifted out of earshot. Lin watched Dela expectantly; Dela had always had the sharper hearing of the two of them.

"Bisa is flooded," Dela whispered. "She mentioned one of the reservoirs being full."

"That means the river's burst," one of the other acolytes said sagely. "There must have been a surge or something."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Taria said. "You can't get a river surge past a dam even if it is full!"

"Unless the dam's cracked," said someone else, and that set the whole stretch of the table to uneasy quiet. The reservoirs protected the city from faster-flowing stretches of the Aven from the north, while conserving water in times when the bigger branches ran low or dried out. A crack would be impossible to fix before the weeks of dry weather that came with the light season, which meant that if the river tributaries did surge, Shadow's Reach would be at their mercy.

"Let's hope it isn't a crack, then," Dela said. "I think it's probably just risen too high."

"Yeah," Lin piped up. "Besides, we'll soon find out. The whole city will be underwater before long if it is a surge."

That didn't feel like the comforting statement that Lin had probably intended it to be.

The rest of the day passed almost normally; with the exception of the small lakes occupying the cloister corridors, it felt no different to any other day. There was an uneasiness about the place, but there always was during a storm. The gales roared like a demon when they hit the temple broadside, and heavy sprays of wind-thrown rain rattled at the windows without warning. Messengers darted back and forth through the corridors to report roof leaks, burst pipes or flooded rooms. The temple was a vast building, Dela reasoned, so it would be very hard to keep everything in top condition all the time. Still, it was a little unnerving to hear about so many incidents while the storm was still howling outside. Every classroom was freezing cold; the hot pipes only ran through the living quarters. The heat from the fires burning in every hearth barely touched the chill.