The Crow God's Girl (40 page)

The day dawned gray and cool, a wet
mist drenching the land. The rain brought out the colors of the stone walls of the broken House so that Kate could see the veins of rich blue-gray and deep red-brown of the rock. The crows gathered around, just a simple people now in their plain clothes getting wet in the mist. The crow king was like a rakish peacock in comparison, with his outlandish outfit, the horsehair headdress limp and bedraggled.

They were all there to see off her emissary, because everyone knew what was at stake. She turned to Grigar. He stood next to the horse, reins loose, a simple pack hooked to the saddle. She hated to send him away so soon, but he was the best bet to travel to Brythern on her behalf, to engage the army that would be their salvation. “I have another commission for you,” she said. She held out another oilskin package for him. He took it with a flicker of surprise. “When you go through Red Gold Bridge, ask for Arrim the guardian,” she said. “Give this to him. He’ll know what to do with it.”

It was her journal. After writing the letters that would save Temia, she took out the last of the paper, closed her eyes, and laboriously finished her letter to her parents. It took her almost all night, drawing each character with great effort. It had been so long since she had written to them, she had lost most of her ability to write in her mother tongue. Whenever she opened her eyes to check her progress, she couldn’t read anything, so she had to hope that her words would be legible to them.

She told them everything–being jilted, her journey with the crows, her reinvention as Lady Temia. Her imprisonment and her escape.

I know that I just made you more worried than ever. But this is just the beginning, and I want you to know that whatever happens next, I’m going to meet it with courage and faith. You always taught me that I could do anything I put my mind to and that I had a great future ahead of me. You taught me that I could change the world. Well, here I am, changing the world.

I love you, Mom and Dad. I’ll never forget you. Love, hugs and kisses,

Kate, Lady Temia.

A person couldn’t go through the gordath. But maybe Arrim could make an exception for a small package of letters. Maybe the gordath wouldn’t even notice them if they were left out in the woods to be swallowed up by accident. It wouldn’t hurt to try. Grigar took the package and stuck it in the pack with the other letter. He hugged Ossen, tousling his sister’s hair, and shook his brothers’ hands. He then turned and gave Kate a hug too and a kiss on the cheek, nothing to let anyone know of their conversation.

“Fare well,” she managed when he let her go and mounted up.

“Stay safe,” he said, with a crooked little grin. He clucked to the horse and cantered off.

Kate felt the eyes of Ossen and her brothers on her. She turned to look at them.

“What?” she demanded.

They were grinning.

“I knew it,” Ossen said, matter-of-factly. “I knew you and Grigar had been mooning over each other.”

“What did I tell you, girl,” Balafray rasped. “All you needed was a man and you would forget the boy.”

So much for subterfuge. She rolled her eyes and went back to watching the mist-shrouded land. Crow god go with you, she thought. It felt natural to say it this way, as if she had always been one of the crows, even if she didn’t like to camp, and didn’t like to travel by herself. It didn’t matter. These were her people, her family, and Temia was her land.

This was where she wa
s meant to be.

End

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for reading
The Crow God's Girl
. To read more about the Gordath Wood series, please visit my web page and blog at
http://www.patricesarath.com
for excerpts and news. And if you enjoyed
The Crow God's Girl
, let me know. I love hearing from readers.

Ride on!

Patrice Sarath