The Spirit Gate Read Free Page B

expecting another child. There’ll be no room for my son and me. I need to rent a
cottage.”
    “So.
Kovar finally got rid of you, did he? A thing he’d been wanting since the day you all moved in, to
hear him talk.”
    Kassia ignored him. “One
room will do nicely. Near the river.”
    Now he did look at her—a brief, flicking glance through glittering black
eyes. “I would
think, Mistress Telek, you would dislike the river as much as it seems to
dislike you.”
    “I
love the river, Mister Trava. It reminds me of my home and family. Do you have
any houses for let?”
    He nodded. “Some.
Near the river they’re
cheap, too. Not many are willing to live along there now.” He turned to face her, his eyes assessing. “You have money?”
    “How
much?”
    “Twenty
rega. Paid every fourth Matek.”
    “Twenty
rega for a one-room cottage by the river?”
    “A
fair price I think . . . for you.”
    Kassia’s
hands, tightened into fists, struggled with the reins of a temper threatening
to bolt. “For me?”
    Trava shrugged his huge shoulders. “It’s
possible, you know, that after you’ve
lived in the place, no one else will let it. There’s still ill-will here for you shai and not a few
who think you’re
a jinx. So, I think twenty’s
fair. What will you do to make a living? It can’t be easy trying to peddle herbals to people who’re afraid you might
poison them.”
    Kassia bristled, fists clenching. “What matter what I do for a living, sir, if I pay
my rent on the day?”
    “None,
I suppose.” He cocked his head to one side, reminding her of a foraging bear sizing
up a bee hive. “Though
for you, Little Mistress, I think there could be most lucrative work. Even down
by the river.” He glanced over her head, making her turn to see where his eyes
traveled. Behind her, at the booth’s
carved and painted arch, the two young men she had parted to enter still
watched her, though they pretended to study plows and handcarts. “These up-towners seem
to find you most interesting. Perhaps they’ve heard rumors of the shai and have never seen one . . .
or touched one.”
    Face crimson with fury and embarrassment, Kassia whipped her
head around to face Trava again. “If
I rent a cottage from you, I will pay with money honorably earned.”
    “Ah,
well, honor! Honor has no price . . . it is worthless. You are
alone in Dalibor, Mistress. You need . . . protection.” He pursed his thick lips looked her swiftly up and down. “Perhaps we could enter
a partnership of sorts. There might not be any need for you to pay rent at all,
in a manner of speaking. I’ve
no wife, as you know—”
    In two breaths he had gone from suggesting she turn whore to
implying he might marry her. Kassia threw back her head and laughed, the sound
cascading out to catch the ears of everyone within hearing. She laughed till
her eyes watered and her ribs hurt.
    Ursel Trava blinked at her from beneath his mahogany thatch
and tugged at his beard. “What?
What? Why do you laugh? I’m
serious. You could have a fine house then—my house. You should count yourself fortunate to
have such an offer.”
    Not trusting herself to speak, Kassia covered her mouth and
squinted up at him through tear-dazzled eyes. She had no reply to him, save her
laughter. She shook her head and turned away.
    “You
need a husband, Kassia Telek!” he growled at her back. “You
need a man!”
    No , she thought, when at last she could think. But I
do need work. Because I do not have twenty rega for a cottage, even by the
river .
    oOo
    It did not surprise her to find, when she left the
marketplace, that the two young men followed her. It did not surprise her, but
it angered her. They were finely dressed, both of them, and wore the bright
little felt caps and matching leggings that were rumored to be the fashion in
Tabor. Kassia was not afraid of them, for she could sense from them no ill
intent. Still, their crude interest made her uneasy, and when she was in