Wild Magic

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“What’s that… unh!… that girl a yours doin, Rey?” Tears leaked from under her wrinkled horny lids as Reyna cleaned the cuts as gently as he could.

“What she can. What she has to. Like us all. Thi keeps her busy.” He dropped the washcloth on the table and began smoothing on salve from a small ceramic jar. “That should feel better. One of Tai’s specials.”

“Mmp. Heard she was… ahhh… jee-gah!… across here yesterday. Fooling… ahhhh… round that jeezing snake.”

“Can’t talk about that, Pish. Let’s get that shirt off you a minute so I can wind you up like a top, eh Zazi? That’s good. Round and round, Pemmie, not too tight, that’s it. Pish, tell you what. Guomann went across the Bridge a couple weeks ago and isn’t coming back any time soon, so there won’t be anybody to bother you. There’s a cot upstairs you can stretch out on and I’ve got a bottle of water in my bag here. Be safer after dark. Everywhere you go these days those potzheads are infesting the place.”

The room at the head of the stairs was hot and airless, with hardly enough space for the three of them and the hard narrow cot. Reyna and Pemmie eased Utsapisha onto the cot, got her turned on her side with her feet drawn up, her sandals pulled off. She wouldn’t lie on her stomach, said she had too much gut for that.

Reyna pushed sweat-damped gray hair off her face. “Rest now. You don’t have to prove how tough you are, old woman. Just rest.”

He started to straighten, but Utsapisha caught at his wrist. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes slid toward Pemmie standing at the foot of the cot, then lifted with a silent plea to Reyna’s face.

He tapped her hand, turned to the girl. “Pemmie, do a favor, hmm?”

“Vema, Rey. What?”

“There’s a broom in the closet by the washstand in the Idtchen. Go clean up down there so it isn’t obvious there was somebody in here. You know, spread the dust around, get rid of blood drops, that sort of thing. Vema?”

“Vema.” She caught hold of Utsapisha’s great toe, shook her foot. “Behave y’sef, Zazi.” She went out.

When the door shut, Utsapisha tugged her hand loose, sighed. “You a clever one, Rey,” she said hoarsely. “Always were, ‘f I remember right.”

“So what’s this about, Pish?”

“Look, only reason I never went across Bridge, I din’t want t’ live off m’ kin. S’port m’sef on the lane. Over there, who knows? Trouble is, there’s them that stayed with me. Can’t ha’ that any more. Got t’ get out. You tell ‘m, Rey. Tell ‘m I say cross Bridge b’fore mornin. I’ll be coming soon’s I get m’ feet under me. There’s a time for•pride and a time f’ usin y’ head and this’s head time. Dunno what else I c’n say, ‘cept Ahsan, Ahsan, Abey’s Blessing on you, Rey.”

Reyna patted her shoulder. “I’ll take care of it, Pish, I’ll take care of it all. Don’t you worry.”

Reyna stayed a while with Utsapisha, listened to the old woman’s breathing grow slower and steadier as the heat and closeness of the room mixed with the herbs in the salve to send her deeply asleep.

Reyna smiled down at her, shook her head. “Zazi zazou, you are a one,” he murmured. He closed his eyes. We all do what we can, he thought. Faany my Honeychild, why… ah gods, I loathe you all…

After a last look at the old woman, he went downstairs to check on her granddaughter.