The Curse of the Blessed

Chapter Fifty-Seven

They set Reed free long before the next market day, but I didn't have much time to see him until then. Mam kept me as busy as she could. All the tasks she gave me were essential, yet I got the feeling she was giving me some of her share in an attempt to keep me away from my friends.

We weren't talking—or talking much, at least—so I didn't bother to ask her. I knew I couldn't trust her answers.

She'd told the Head Man about Lark's sister the day after Reed had gotten out. The Head Man hadn't done anything to her. Yet. But he'd visited the family and issued a warning to them all: if anything happened as a result of the actions of any of their family members, the whole family would be held at fault. Lark had been the one to come and tell me this. Her family wasn't sure whether or not the Head Man knew that her mother was Blessed, too, but they were all treading carefully.

Market day dawned bright and early, beginning with Mam's knock on my door. We brought out our wares, and as usual, she sent me to buy the supplies she needed.

With a sigh, she added, "I can't control you, Fyra. Maybe I shouldn't expect to be able to. You came back from the wilderness with a bit of the wild still in you."

Mam looked down at her hands, which shook, and curled in a way that probably should have made me pity her. To me, though, they looked a little too much like claws.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't go to see your friends," she continued, "but I know I can't stop you. All I ask is that you're careful."

"Careful?" I asked. "What, careful like you were when you sent me to complete an impossible quest?"

The hurt that showed in her eyes made me instantly wish I could take it back.

"I'm sorry, Fyra. I know I made mistakes." She shook her head and turned away. "I don't deserve to ask anything of you. I'm sorry... I..." She walked away and sat down behind our table.

I stared at the coins in my hand. For a moment, I had a sense of deja vu—this whole adventure had started like this: with some coins, and the need to buy things. How quickly it had spun out of control. How quickly it had twisted, until it was darker and more broken than I could have ever imagined.

I shoved the coins into my pocket and went to start buying supplies.

While I was standing in line at a stall selling needles, I felt a light tug on my sleeve, and I turned to see a small boy standing there.

"Do you need something?" I asked.

He nodded and pressed a bit of paper into my palm. "I'm Ahen." He nodded toward a house across the street. "I live there."

"Oh," I said, not understanding.

He darted back into the crowd, and he was long gone by the time I remembered the scrap of paper he'd put into my hand. I unfolded it and read it.

I think I'm a Blessed, it said. I need help. My powers keep happening when I don't want them to. Help me. Is there a way to train me in secret, or to get me out of the town, to other Blesseds?

I stared at the note in shock for a moment.

"Fyra!" said the woman selling the needles. I looked up and realized that the line in front of me had trailed away, and I was holding up everyone behind me.

Smiling sheepishly, I said, "Sorry. I got lost in thought."

"Well, don't do that." The woman shook her head. "Head in the clouds. What were you daydreaming about, anyway? Your adventures? Was it so much more interesting out in the world than it is in our safe little village?"