In Her Shadow(12)

Britta pursed her lips. Before she could ask why, Weboshi said, "They left you alone once you donned your cloak, right? An honest mistake. No reason to bring the wrath of the abbey down on them, is there?"

"No, I supposed not."

"Excellent." Weboshi opened the door for her. "Well, go on."

Britta stepped in and closed the door behind her. She'd half-expected the Abbess to be at her nightly communion again; instead, a candle on a desk in the corner lit the room, if dimly. There, the Abbess of Night's dark form hunched, quill in hand, furiously scribbling. She didn't turn around to see who had entered. Britta wasn't sure the Abbess had heard her until the old lady stopped writing long enough to beckon. "Come, New Moon. Sit."

Britta groped around for a place to sit until her fingers brushed against a stoop, so dark in color it faded into the shadows until she was atop it. She sat, a little behind the old woman who had gone back to her writing. "How was it, New Moon?" she asked.

"Well enough, I suppose."

"And how did your future husband strike you."

"As I told Weboshi, a cold fish. Handsome but dull."

"Dull?" The Abbess stopped writing. She put both hands on the small of her back and stretched. She groaned before she hunched back to her scribbling. "I expect you'll find him more interesting than you think."

"Do you know more about him than I do?"

"I know more about a lot of things than you do, New Moon."

Britta grimaced. Why was the old lady so full of herself all the time? No, that wasn't right. She shouldn't think that way. Had Dux Lucius's words about the abbey's loss of power affected her?

"New Moon?" said the Abbess. "Are you listening to me?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I was distracted."

The Abbess set her pen down. Slowly, as if every joint in her body were a rusty hinge, she turned to face Britta. "By what, dear?" she asked. "And make it fast. The dawn comes and we must both to bed."

The Abbess of Night had always seemed so large and intimidating, monolithic in Britta's life. Sure, she was old and stooped, but what she lacked in height she made up for in force of personality, will, and authority. Britta's every interaction with her had been tinged with fear. But now, in the pale flickering light of a single candle, she just seemed like a sweet, frail old thing. Her warm toothless smile and craggy face looked more at home handing out cookies to passing neighborhood children than running an entire religion, a city, and the criminal empire bubbling beneath. She didn't seem so scary, and Britta found the courage to confront her.

"Why did you leave me?" she asked.

"Leave you, New Moon? Whatever do you mean?"

"Alone, with the Governor and his son. I just – you left me, didn't even fight to stay by my side. You abandoned me."

The Abbess of Night pressed a hand to Britta's forehead. Britta's gaze fell to the ground and she found it impossible to raise it again. The fear she'd overstepped her bounds racked her. She trembled under the old woman's touch.

"Oh, New Moon. You think I and your sisters left you like your real mother did? Never. New Moon – Britta – look at me."

Britta forced her eyes upwards.

"Never. I left you alone because I knew you could handle the situation. You didn't need me over your shoulder, or holding your hand."

"You have a lot of faith in someone you never taught to rule." Britta flinched away, stung and surprised by her own words. She expected an equally stinging rebuke from the Abbess, but the old woman only grinned.

"You made it back here in one piece didn't you?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well there you go." The Abbess turned back to her writing.

"'That's all? No explanation?"

"No explanation. That's how I rule, New Moon. When it's your turn, Goddess willing, you can rule however you like. That's what She expects from you – a new regime for a new era. My guidance would only taint you. It's why I've never taught you anything, or even had you accompany Weboshi when she carries my orders into the streets. The Goddess wants a clean slate. Have faith, New Moon, She chose you to lead this abbey for a reason."

"And what reason is that?"

"You're the only person who can do it. Goodnight, New Moon. Sleep well, and may She hide you in Her shadow."

Britta rose. "May She hide you in Her shadow."

***

The Governor tapped the body with the tip of his scabbard. "Who is it?"

"How should I know?" said Lucius.

"Not just some thug, then?"

"No." Lucius bent beside the body. He pulled a sack over the corpse's head, though it failed to cover the bloody gash across the dead man's neck. "There were more."

"More?"

Lucius stood, arching his back as he stretched. He hadn't slept or done his daily exercises. It left him stiff from stem to stern, but he did not complain. To complain was to show weakness. When this was over, he would go, eat, then see to his duties as the new Dux of the local garrison. The soldiers there were expecting him. He should have gone when he first arrived, but it seemed more proper to get Ava settled.

"Yes," he said. "More. In the shadows. Couldn't see them but they were there."