The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood #2)(48)
Maia and Suzenne linked arms and started walking toward Jon Tayt’s lodge, for that was where they normally met Dodd for a walk in the gardens. They had not gotten very far when Maeg called after them.
Suzenne and Maia both turned to look, surprised.
Maeg did not have her typical sneer. In fact, she looked almost . . . worried.
“What is it?” Suzenne asked her, wrinkling her brow.
Maeg swallowed and pulled them both aside. “News from my father,” she said in a low voice. “I should have told you this sooner, but he asked me to account for both of you each day and to warn him if either of you ever left the abbey.” She looked pointedly at Maia. “There are rumors that . . . that a killer has been sent to murder you. The same man who poisoned your mother.”
The words unleashed a sudden shock of coldness in Maia’s heart. In her mind, she could see the kishion’s partial ear, his angry frown. Maeg looked very ill at ease, though her eyes were on Suzenne. Any danger that threatened Maia would also threaten her one-time friend.
“Thank you for telling me,” Maia said.
Maeg nodded, glancing down at her shoes. “Just do not wander far. I told Father that you spend a good deal of time in the Queen’s Garden. I think it would be wise if you stayed out of sight.” She glanced at Suzenne and frowned, her words stalling. She turned to leave, but then stopped to look back. “Captain Carew,” she said. “He is the captain of the guard. Father said he is here to protect you. He is inspecting the grounds. Do not be surprised if he speaks to you. He is loyal to your father, to be sure, but he is also loyal to Crabwell. You should know that.”
She turned to leave again, but Maia caught her sleeve.
“Thank you, Maeg.”
The other girl shrugged off the thanks and walked away, joining her friends and leaving the pair with their worries.
A strained silence descended between them as they walked to the lodge. It was strange. Maia’s father had hired the kishion to protect her on her journey to Dahomey, yet also with instructions to kill her if she were captured. They had traveled together a great distance, his moods often mercurial and savage. Would he seek her out to murder her now, after so much had passed between them? Then again, the kishion himself had warned her that he was not to be trusted.
When they reached Jon Tayt’s lodge, they heard the sound of splitting wood. They rounded the corner to find Dodd putting another piece of wood on the stump. He paused when he saw them, wiping sweat from his brow. Maia had noticed a difference in him since he had started working with Jon Tayt. He was more tanned, his shoulders were broader, and his confidence with the axe as a weapon had also increased. Of them all, he could stick the throwing axes better than anyone except Jon Tayt himself, which he demonstrated often in the little competitions they had outside the hunter’s lodge. His collar was loose, exposing the glint of the chaen beneath his shirt. He hurriedly set down the axe and brushed his hands on his pants.
“Always wood to be split,” he said with a grin. “Jon Tayt is out riding with Captain Carew, hawking, I think. One of the escorts rode back early looking for some arrows, which I fetched for him. He thought I was a helper.” He chuckled at the mistake. “It is strange seeing so many soldiers on the grounds, most of them armed. I am grateful Jon Tayt showed me how to escape the grounds quickly. That knowledge may prove crucial very soon.”
“Maeg just told us that a kishion was sent to kill Maia,” Suzenne said worriedly. “Captain Carew is here to protect her.”
Dodd looked troubled and surprised. “So am I,” he said. “And so is Jon Tayt. I would like to see a kishion get through all of us. Do not fret, Maia. The Medium often warns of danger before it happens.”
“It did not warn my mother,” Maia said, still feeling conflicted over the situation. “We were going to the garden, Dodd,” she said tiredly. “Come with us. The flowers are blooming, and the blossoms are nearly gone. It is beautiful.”
“Of course,” Dodd said with a smile. Standing between them, he hooked his arms through theirs, and they all walked to the walled garden Maia’s mother had had constructed.
The air smelled of daffodils and purple mint. Bees were everywhere, tasting the sweet nectar of the blossoms, and the sun hung lazily in the sky, barely beginning its descent. The oaks surrounding the grounds were full of fresh green leaves. The last whispers of winter had vanished almost overnight, and the Cider Orchard was full of apple buds, each day swelling larger and larger. Spring was a magical time of year, a time of renewal and rebirth. Birds and chicks, feathery nests, tottering lambs—the world made new again.
They reached the walled garden and Maia used the Leering to open the door. The garden was in full bloom. All the effort they had poured in with Thewliss over the winter had resulted in a beautiful spread of plants and garden vegetables that ripened under the warm rays of sun. The door shut behind them, bringing an immediate feeling of peace and serenity.
“What kind of flower is that?” Dodd asked, stepping forward to one of the garden boxes full of tiny blue flowers with intricate yellow middles.
“Thewliss called them mouse ears,” Maia said. “They have a formal name, but I do not recall it.” She remembered “mouse ears” because it reminded her of the brush she had discovered in the mountains of Dahomey, mule’s ear, which smelled strongly of mint. The little blue flowers were a favorite of her mother, and the bed was thick with the small, five-petal flowers.