Witch Song (Witch Song #1)

Chapter 3

3. CHANTER

Brusenna woke to a cold hand against her cheek. Her mother was fully dressed in heavy winter clothing and she smelled like the wind. She held out a folded piece of paper. "If something ... bad happens, I want you to read this letter and do as it says. Do you understand?"

Brusenna nodded. The chill seeped through her clothes as soon as she left the warmth of the quilts to follow her mother into her room. She watched as her mother tucked the letter away in the money box; the same box that contained her dead father's wedding ring. A sense of foreboding filled Brusenna, leaving her body numb with dread.

"I know you think I'm abandoning you, but I'm not. I've asked Sheriff Tomack to look out for you. He's a good man. I've known him for many years."

Tomack's help in the marketplace suddenly made sense. "Is he one of the friends you told Coyel about?"

"One of the few." Sacra started down the stairs, "There's something else I need to show you." Kneeling before the kitchen stove, she wiggled one of the corner bricks. It gave way easily.

Brusenna gasped at the gold glinting beneath it. Dropping beside her mother, she picked up a warm coin and brushed off the soot with her thumbs. In all her life, she'd never held a gold piece before, only the cheaper metal upice. "Where'd you get this?" Betrayal and hurt mingled inside her. How many lies had her mother told her?

Sacra took the piece and replaced it under the brick. "There's gold under the hearth bricks and buried under the hay in the barn, too." She met Brusenna's accusing stare. "I had my reasons for keeping this from you. I'm trusting you not to use these coins—"

"Why not?" Brusenna burst out. "I could wear shoes all year, new clothes, so many of the things I've always wanted!"

"What do you think the villagers would do if they thought we had anything worth stealing?" Sacra's eyes clouded over and she looked away. "There are other reasons. Reasons I'll not tell you. Know this, Brusenna: everything I did was to protect you. Only take the gold if you must leave. Then and only then. Do you understand?"

Brusenna refused to meet her mother's gaze.

"Brusenna?" Sacra chided.

"I understand," she answered coldly.

The log in the fire snapped and Brusenna jumped. Sacra stood quickly. "I have to go. When I return, I'll tell you everything." She pulled a knit cap over her chestnut hair and kissed Brusenna's cheek. "Be safe." She turned quickly, but not before Brusenna saw the tears glistening in her eyes.

Brusenna wanted to cry out, "No! Stop! Don't leave me!" But the words wouldn't come.

Her cheek still tingling from her mother's kiss, Brusenna watched Sacra jog across the field, leaving dark footprints in the frost. She stepped into the forest. The trees swallowed her whole.

Brusenna stood in the doorway until her skin was blotched with cold, but she couldn't seem to shut the door. If she did, her mother would truly be gone and she'd really be alone.

But she couldn't leave the door open forever. With a shiver that shook her to her bones, she pushed it shut as warm tears streamed down her cold cheeks.

***

Taking the tin of salt from the shelf, Brusenna pulled back the cover and stared at the light dusting that remained. Her heart fell. She had to have salt. And the only way to get it was to go into town. Swallowing the bile that rose in her throat, she looked down at Bruke. "There's nothing to help it. I have to go."

Changing into her best shin-length dress, she went into her mother's room. It was hard to believe Sacra had only been gone three weeks. It felt longer. Much longer. She'd spent her fifteenth birthday alone. All day, every day, Brusenna had spent canning and drying their harvest—an overwhelming task without help.