The Weaver's Source

Chapter 26

Grigore took us far, gripping my hand and not stopping as we followed the road west, the road I had been intending to travel on days before. The sun was already beginning to sink as evening crept up and we barely found anyone in the long forest road. Anyone we did see was on horse and tore passed in a cloud of dust, ignoring us completely.

I didn't speak as I tried my best to keep up with his long strides and stop myself from falling over. The wound in my leg was still there and only faintly fixed so pain still pulsed faintly whenever I put my weight on it. Annis hadn't wanted my flesh to become infected before my death I guessed. I clutched Grigore's cloak tighter against me, trying my best not to shudder from the cold but it was difficult. Nearly all of me was on display and my underwear was thin, barely covering what it did, and the cold autumn air puffed out of my parted lips.

My eyes though would wander from the road and flicker over Grigore's face constantly, as if I couldn't help myself. His side-profile was stern with thought but the anger that had been etched there before seemed to have eased away. I was pleased about that and made me tempted to ask how he had found me and how he knew I was in danger. He had been days ahead of me which meant he had turned and come back. I don't know if he dreamt it or felt my danger but he came back for me. Again. Just like he did with the church. He always knew when I needed his strength to protect me and I had a strong feeling that the only way for him to be so aware of my safety is that he was the Weaver to use the magic hidden within me. The old questions of why he left me and refused to accept me thickened my tongue but I held it. I didn't want to ask him anything yet and start an argument. Not until Gerald was buried.

My eyes flickered over to the boy wrapped in cloth. I couldn't see much of him, just his dirt covered clothes that weren't completely covered in the scratchy blanket. I wondered where we would bury him. Somewhere where he wouldn't be disturbed I hoped.

Grigore suddenly took us into the tall thin trees, slowing down now and ensuring I didn't stumble over the roots and rocks littering the brown leaf floor. He kept going for several minutes, leaving the dirt road behind, until he found a small area where the trees had failed to grow. He let go of my hand, letting me stand alone as he placed Gerald's tiny body on the ground.

I let myself sit on my knees beside the corpse and pulled the dark cloth away. Death was now beginning to have an effect on Gerald. His skin was grey now and his body was stiff and beginning to smell. I pushed the hair from his face and let my hand settle on his cheek. If only he had survived another few hours he could be coming with us, seeing the world beyond his terrible village.

Grigore was watching me silently, observing my sad expression and the care I took when I touched the dead boy's face.

"Why didn't my magic work?" I asked suddenly. "I felt no alarm from it when I went into the village. It didn't warn me. Why didn't it?"

"I've heard Source magic only registers threats to itself. Black Annis is human and can't eat it, no matter how hard she tries."

"Annis was a monster." I said thickly.

"No. She wasn't." He sighed when I stared up at him with an incredulous expression. "Witches are just like me, a human born with magic. Females though differ to males. They don't weave spells but have a strange way with herbs and plants which allows them to cure any illness, create any disease, stop death, create hysteria and enforce beliefs."

"And to force people to forget." I said bitterly.

Grigore nodded. "They grow hungry for human flesh and learn that feeding on people gives them strength and extended life. The more they feed, the more powerful they become." He said. "Very few can ignore this hunger and live normally, just working as herbal women and midwives in secluded areas. Those who don't become insane cannibals, devouring any traveller they find. Hags, we call them. Annis was a mixture. She retained her some of her sanity and used her strength to guard a village, but still fed on human flesh to be able to fend off monsters."