Pinnacle (ONGOING)

Chapter Twenty-Three

     Later we heard word back that Joan was recovering and resting in the physician's caravan following her surgery. It had been a short procedure, but one that was extremely dire and past due for curing. It was a miracle, I thought, viewing her open maw as she slept, which was newly without the little nodules that burdened her so. I stepped out into the night and resolved to join Rhiannon by the fire.

     There was a celebration going on, as it seemed the community's financial troubles were over, and songs of praise for Saint Sarah were howled into the night.

     "Why is Saint Sarah so coveted? Was she not just the handmaiden of Mary?" I whispered to Rhiannon.

     "Saint Sarah shares a name with the goddess Kali, and the Rom hail from northern India." She explained. "She is also the only black saint; she hails from Egypt it is said."

     "I see." I nodded.

     "She collects alms for the poor too, and us Rom, poor as we are, are in her favor." She smiled, her little white teeth gleaming in the fire. "She is the mother to all those who wander."

     "That is beautiful Rhiannon." I found myself smiling, though not with my teeth as it tended to be indecorous. But there were no English rules here, were there? Of course, the Rom seemed to have a code of their own, but it felt simpler here. Warmer even.

     Across the way I noticed someone had been looking at me then and recognized the man in question as the one from the river whose name I discovered as Sebastian.

     "You remind him of his wife." Rhiannon supplied, seeing my eye study him.

     "He is not dangerous, is he?" I frowned, thinking on the events from earlier.

     "No. He was planning on ending his life tonight if not for his new purpose to aid your child. In his state of grief, he is living vicariously through your trek to motherhood, as his Mircea was robbed of such privileges."

     I paled. "Surely you were the one that did everything with that quick lie about pregnancy. Now the man thinks he's on some kind of dubious pilgrimage. I wonder how long it will take for him to learn of this deception."

     Rhiannon was silent, and I did not say a word either. Could not. Her silence said a thousand things, and through the flames, I saw those dark eyes of Sebastian's turned on me. He gestured to come speak with him in private.

     "I will return shortly." I said and stepped away from the heat of the fire. Visions of Mircea's possessions melting and morphing into a mass of coal as I walked on away from the gathering. Now all that was left was the memory of the woman who haunted the space behind Sebastian's eyes. Would the day come where William was just a pile of burnt trinkets as well?

     "Your man was here." Sebastian said. I had followed him a short distance away, and I huddled further into my shawl that covered my exposed middle.

     "How? You said only Rom were allowed in." I frowned.

     "He has the blood." The words sliced through the air like a rogue zephyr.

     "How do you know?" I echoed, hollow.

     "Freedom was with him, he told me that he knew William's mother. It is how I let them in."

     "How am I supposed to believe any of this?" I guffawed. William? A traveler? Sure, he had a swarthy look about him, but he did not even remember his dreams. How much Romany could the man have in him?

     Sebastian strode forward then and took my hand, placing it on his chest.

     "By the memory of my Mircea, I will see your child to safety. I will not harm you or deceive you. I am your servant as Saint Sarah is my witness and will hold me to this oath."