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sounds. She drew her thumbs over her brows to relieve the dull ache behind her eyes. If she could talk
back to those who had passed, maybe she could help them cross over.
She had to try or go mad. Rhia eased herself out of bed, not bothering to be quiet, since Marek would
hear her anyway.
 Where are you going? he mumbled.
 To Coranna s for chamomile.
 I ll get it for you.
 She d rather have me, not you, creep in on her while she s sleeping.
 She won t hear if I do it.
 The baby needs fresh air.
He didn t argue. Outside, she trod over the rope bridge in silence. The cloudy night was pitch-black, but
she knew which boards to step over to avoid telltale creaks. She lifted the rusty latch to Coranna s door,
jiggling to release it, then reached inside to silence the hanging doorbell.
Rhia crept along the wall to Coranna s herb shelves. By touch she found the clay jar of chamomile and
picked it up, so as not to make herself a liar. Then her fingers slid along the highest shelf until they
encountered a smooth wooden box the length of her foot. She pulled down the box and opened it.
A white cloth lay in the center; she squeezed it to make sure the bundle of dried herbs was inside.
Coranna had used it to speak with the dead thanapras, it was called.
She took a cautious sniff of the bundle. The heady scent made her dizzy. She remembered the baby, and
wondered how the thanapras would affect him or her. It might not be safe.
She sighed and closed the box, then set it back on the overhead shelf, a bit too loudly.
Coranna s snores stopped.  Who s there?
 It s me, Rhia said.  I can t sleep, so I came for chamomile.
Coranna shifted in her bed.  How can you not sleep? You should be exhausted.
 Don t you hear them?
 Who?
 The dead. The ones we just buried.
Coranna sat up, or at least it sounded like she had.  You hear distinct voices? Voices you recognize?
 No.
 Then how do you know who it is?
 Who else would it be? They died violently, and they must want justice, like Etar did.
 You re probably right. Coranna s voice was muted, and Rhia remembered how stricken the older
Crow had been when her friend Etar had died, then lingered instead of continuing to his peaceful rest. He
had crossed to the Other Side only after Coranna had convinced him they would investigate what he
knew to be his murder.  But their killers are far away. They might never find justice.
Rhia fumbled her way to the bed, banging her ankle on a chair leg.  Can we at least bring them peace?
Convince them to cross over?
 It s more complicated than that. Coranna shifted over to give Rhia room to sit.  On rare occasions,
when people die, they take a piece of a living person s soul with them.
Rhia took a moment to rehear what Coranna had just said.  They take soul pieces to the Other Side?
The skin on her nape felt like it wanted to crawl down her back.
 Not exactly, Coranna said.  Crow won t let soul thieves cross over all the way. Such malevolence
would pollute His peaceful realm.
 Why would someone do that?
 Out of spite, often from a grudge or a heartbreak. It s a way to gain power over someone or take
vengeance on them.
 Do the living know that they re missing a piece?
 Sometimes they hear the voice of the dead person, but usually they just feel different, incomplete. The
symptoms vary depending on which part of them has been stolen.
 They have to live that way forever?
 Until the dead soul thief lets go. Sometimes they do it on their own, or a Crow person convinces them to
give it back.
Growing up in Asermos, Rhia had known no Crows, and it seemed as if every day brought a new
awareness of their duties and powers.  Whose souls do the Kalindon elders hold?
 Probably the soldiers who slaughtered them. Each man is no doubt lying awake now, hearing the voices
of those he killed.
 Good. Rhia bit her lip, trying to quench an ember of bitterness.  Not good for the Kalindons, of
course. Can the soldiers talk back?
 No. Only second-and third-phase Crows can speak to the dead, and even then only with the help of
thanapras.
 But I spoke with Nilo after he died, without thanapras.
 He was your brother. Sometimes loved ones can connect to us in a way others can t. She took Rhia s
hand an effusive gesture for the reserved old woman.  I ll speak to the elders, urge them to let go and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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