Chapter 14

He stopped at other houses on his way to the Surf and Sleep. At every house he found similar scenes. It had happened throughout town. There had been injuries, and he brought some of those with to see Margaret and Elsa. Several houses had been unoccupied, with the residents relocated to one of the inns. He did not have time to secure every house, so he spent little time on the empty ones.

There was a crowd gathered at the Surf and Sleep. Margaret and Elsa were out on the street tending to wounds. Buckets and pots of water had been brought out for washing. Agmar was tending to the worst, with Lynna hovering at his side. He headed towards them first.

The scene was fairly orderly, and he beamed with pride at seeing his townsfolk band together. He suspected that Margaret deserved a fair share of the credit, and that Agmar had already played a part. Avern decided to spend the rest of his time here, rather than at home. I should have been here already.

A young girl ran past him with a bundle of bandage cloth, sidestepping around him nimbly. He let her go past. She ran her burden over to Margaret, who took them with a gracious nod.

"Sorry I wasn't here sooner," Avern said to Agmar. He felt strange apologizing to the man.

"Do not worry, we are tending to them as they arrive. Captain Alder has been gathering young men to make rounds through the town in what he so delicately calls 'a clean-up mission.'"

"An apt enough term. I did a little of that myself on the way in."

"But you're unharmed, father?"

"Yes, Lynna, I'm fine. At least until you see the mess I left in the kitchen." He laughed, and she ran up and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, wondering what she might have already been through this morning. There were far more eggs here than at home. He supposed there could have been quite a battle here.

"Has anyone heard from Mary or Lloyd yet? I expect they had the same scale of problem as here. And what about Jacob Bentz, he probably had a good store of eggs as well," he suggested.

"Not directly, but some of the injured were sent here from Lloyd. Captain Alder went to Lloyd's Beds and Mister Bentz's first, and then on to Mary's. He was going to send word if he needed our help.

"Actually," Avern said, seeing a familiar figure heading towards the inn from further down, "I think I see Mary now. I'll go see what news she has. Excuse me." He almost stopped mid-stride when he saw his daughter give him a wink and try not to smile. He gave her a small frown and shook his head, and heard her sighing as he continued away from the group.

As he and Mary walked closer to each other, he could see that she wore a different dress than the day before, but it already had blood spotting it, and her sleeves seemed to have been somewhat soaked in it. He picked up the pace, wondering if she was wounded or someone else.

"Mary! What happened?" he asked, once he was close enough for her to hear her clearly without him having to yell.

"Nara, Hosef's wife, is dead," she answered flatly. "Marcus and I tried to stop it, but we couldn't get the damned things off before they tore open her neck."

"Marcus tried to help Nara?" he replied skeptically, as the two came face to face and stopped in the street.

"Don't even go there, Mayor," she spat out his title as if she were swearing at him instead. "Marcus and Nara may have had some difference of opinion, but he would never just stand by and watch while someone died like that. He was there helping only a second or two after I was!"

She seemed angry and frustrated, ready to put up a fight, and he wasn't entirely sure it was entirely due to Nara's death. A part of him wanted to try and comfort her, but instead he settled for trying to calm her down.

"Mary, I wasn't accusing Marcus of anything, I promise you. Why don't you tell me what has happened so far this morning." He waited a moment, and was relieved to see her take a deep breath and continue more calmly, explaining the events of the morning. He realized, as she spoke, that they were going to have to deal with one another a lot more over the next few days. If any of her frustration was caused by him, he'd be better to deal with it now. He wasn't going to wait for some ancient evil to tip her over the edge and find out she really hated him the hard way.

"Wait a moment, will you Mary? I'll let Margaret know about Hosef and Nara, and she can make arrangements. I've more to speak to you about, however. In fact, there's a study inside the Surf and Sleep that we've been using somewhat office-like. Perhaps you could wait for me there?"

"Alright." She looked a bit startled at the request, but nodded. "Can I ask what this is about, Mayor Mordan?"

"Actually... it's personal." He walked away abruptly, not wanting to continue such a conversation in the middle of the street, and headed over to Margaret to fill her in on the pertinent details from Mary's account. He tried to keep his voice low, so that the news of Nara's death might not travel so quickly through town.

"Sounds like there's little to do about it now," Margaret said afterwards. "I can have someone go fetch Hoseph and bring him here, where we can care for him. The poor man."

"I think he'll have far too much company in that regards, Margaret." Avern rubbed his forehead. It was starting to ache. This is going to be a very long day. "Thanks for taking care of him. Let me know if you need anything."

"You know I will, Mister Mayor," she teased. He half smiled, raising a hand in mock objection. He used the hand to clap her lightly on the shoulder. He turned to the study, a thick, mucousy dread thickening in his throat.

She was inside looking out the little window. She turned when he came in. She looked no more happy to be there than he felt.

"So what's this personal matter, Avern?"

"Let's not make this harder than we must." He indicated chairs, and sat in one of them. She followed suit.

"I have not treated you well lately," he said reluctantly.

"I have no argument with the first half of that."

He took a deep breath, suddenly feeling lost. "I've always felt uncomfortable about that one night, Mary. And now Lynna knows about it. I think we need to talk."

"I see."

"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?"

"In the same manner you've ever made anything easy for me?"

"Mary..." He fell silent. He had known what to say only moments ago, but now those moments seemed an eternity away. I've defended you and your girls on several occasions, he wanted to say but could not.

"This isn't the point," he insisted. "But there's trouble coming. It's an angry trouble, and we've seen what it can do once there's a foothold for anger or wrath or fear. I guess I need to know how angry you are with me, Mary. What's going to happen?"

She was silent for a moment, looking at him as if she was sizing him up, and he suddenly felt as if he wasn’t meeting whatever standards she was setting. He found himself breaking eye contact and studying some of the book covers on the shelves without really seeing them at all.

"I’m not angry at you, Mayor Mordan. I’m angry at myself."

He looked at her again, confused.

"I don’t understand."

"I think a part of me believed that you’d see me with less… distaste after that night. But, instead, you’ve actually managed to be even less forgiving than you were before. Ironic, I suppose, since I doubt you remember much of it at all." She frowned and shook her head, and this time it was she who broke eye contact to look at some random point in the room instead of him.

"Although I can see the validity of the fact that your… inn… brings additional business to this town, Mary, I have never approved of the type of business you are in. It was never my intent to end up there that night, and though I appreciate your kindness, I cannot say that -"

"My kindness?!" she interrupted him, looking at him again with her eyes blazing. "Would you like to know how many men I’ve shown such kindnessto since moving to this town, Avern Mordan? One. You may see me as a whore, but I’ve been busy running a business, and trying to bring these girls to a place where they can work safely, without being beaten or cut up, and maybe one day move on to something better themselves! You may have noticed that I’ve not had the same girls working for me the entire time I’ve been here. At least you would know that if you stopped complaining about us long enough to get to know us. I’m sick and tired of this town looking down on the people who work for me, and I’m sick and tired of you treating me like some copper-piece whore!"

"Mary!" She stood up from the chair and turned her back on him, but not before he’d seen her eyes welling with tears. He waited a moment, trying to absorb what she had said. He could tell there was more she wasn’t saying, and suddenly wished he had Lynna’s ability to read thoughts. "Mary? It wasn't my intent to offend you. I have had my concerns about my daughter being raised in the vicinity of - "

"In the vicinity of what, Mayor? You never let that girl out of your sight as it is, how could you possibly imagine that my girls or i could corrupt her in any way?"

"DAMNIT MARY!" Avern had had it with her continually interrupting him and making assumptions. "Do not interrupt me again! And, for crying out loud, will you look at me? How dare you judge my parenting skills, when you're not a parent yourself? I've kept my daughter safe for damned good reason!"

She suddenly whirled around to face him, her cheeks glistening with fresh tears that were still falling from her eyes.

"Oh, so it's alright for you to judge me, when the only time you've been close enough to get to know anything about me you were so piss-drunk you can't remember even half of what happened! But if I judge you it's wrong? Thank you Mister Mayor, for setting me straight!"

He slapped her. He didn't know what came over him just then, but the next thing he knew his hand tingled slightly from the impact and her face had taken on a look of hurt and shock. He instantly wished he could take it back.

"Mary... I -"

"Don't speak to me." Mary turned and stormed out of the room without looking back.

Avern stood there for a moment, stunned at what had just happened. He wanted to run after her and make it right, but wasn't sure if that would be possible.

It tore at him. He couldn't just let it go, so he went after her. It felt as if every eye he passed was on him accusingly. Some people also looked towards the front door, so he went that way, trying not to look like he was bolting.

By the time he got outside he was sweating. The sky was overcast, and dark clouds were starting to fill the sky. Out toward sea there were flashes of lightning. The air was unseasonably cold.

Mary was on the street. She was stopped cold in her tracks. Her head was tipped back, looking up. Avern focused on her, moving towards her before she had a chance to notice him and run.

He ended up behind her. She still had not moved. He wanted to touch her, wanted it to be a comforting, apologetic touch. He held back, not wanting to startle her out of her thoughts. But he did need her attention.

"Mary?" he whispered.

In a flash she whirled, lashing out with a punch that knocked him flat on his back. Her cheek was too red with the imprint of his hand, and both sides of her face were wet with tears.

She collapsed as if dropped and flopped to the ground. She put her head in her hands and the sobs came in force.

He sat up, shocked by what had just happened, and rubbed the side of his jaw where her fist had struck. Not knowing what to do, he glanced back to see that most of the people standing outside the Surf and Sleep were watching them with looks of surprise. He could see a couple of people whispering to eachother, near the back, and Agmar was headed towards him with Lynna right behind, and Stott following her. Avern decided to wait for Agmar, instead of risking making things worse. Mary just continued to sit there, sobbing.

"This will not do," Agmar said flatly as he arrived next to them. "Both of you, get up and follow me." His voice was stern, and Avern felt as if an invisible force was pushing at him from underneath, encouraging him to get to his feet. He did so quickly, not wanting the wizard to haul him to his feet magically, as he didn't think the townsfolk would take well to seeing that. He didn't know if Mary was feeling the same encouragment to stand, but she seemed to do so quickly as well.

"I have been counting on the two of you to be able to resist the coming evil and watch over the others, but it appears that whatever unresolved dispute you have will need to be resolved immediately in order for that to happen. Come with me. Now." He turned, and headed off, not looking back to see if they were following, although Avern felt himself being pushed ever so slightly and fell in behind him, ignoring the stares of the townsfolk nearby. Lynna's eyes were wide and surprised, before she turned away and fell in behind Mary. Stott just looked confused.

They stopped when they reached Avern's own house, much to his surprise. Agmar gestured at the front door.

"Inside. Both of you. I suggest you stay out of rooms with sharp objects, as the growing strength of the evil force has already been showing itself through you both, and if you continue as you are right now you might just kill eachother. I will keep a light touch on this house, in case something very bad starts to happen, but otherwise you are on your own. Figure out what the problem is and fix it. I do not have time to babysit while you two dance around beating eachother senseless."

"Agmar -" Avern started to protest.

"No," Agmar stopped him, "Inside. Go." He pointed at the house, and the door opened before them. Mary quietly moved through the door, tears still running down her face, though she tried not to look at Avern as she passed. Avern stepped through the doorway and then turned back to say something, but Agmar already had his hand up.

"I will handle the morning meeting. The afternoon and evening ones as well if I must. You won't be coming out until the two of you have resolved this. I'm locking you in."

With that, the door slammed shut in front of Avern's surprised face.

"What?!" He tried the door handle, but it wouldn't even turn, much less open the door. He realized, with some measure of shock, that windows all over the house were closing themselves as well. Mary looked as stunned as he felt. She ran to one of the windows, but it wouldn't budge when she tried to lift the sash.

"They're leaving!" she said from the window. She sounded scared, which surprised him. He moved to one of the overstuffed chairs in the room and settled into it heavily. He knew better than to run around trying to find a way out. He found himself smiling slightly, as he remembered an instance where his wife had locked him into their bedroom so he could think about what he'd said that had upset her so much. He wondered if stubborness was a common trait amongst wizards.

Mary suddenly looked at him accusingly, putting her hands on her hips. She had tried to open the door and both the windows in the front room at this point.

"You're just going to give up?!"

"No, I'm going to wait until you're ready to talk. I already know it's no use trying to get out of here. I was in a similar situation once before."

"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?"

He sighed, feeling heavier in the chair. It creaked under him when he sat up straighter.

"Lynna's mother locked me in a room once. To think over what I'd said. I'm not good with women, Mary. But I'm sure you know that."

She snuffled and pulled a kerchief from a pocket to wipe her nose. There was a small couch angled towards the chair. She sat in it. He turned in his chair to face her better.

"Look, Mary... We're both upset. We're both frustrated, maybe we're both a little lonely--and we're probably both more than a little scared. On top of that, you're obviously more deeply hurt by something. I think maybe it's more than just what I said. I think maybe I just opened something up that I didn't know was there.

"But I think I understand where Agmar is coming from. The town needs us. We're no good to them like this.

"So I'm sorry for the things I've said. And I'm sorry for the way I've treated you. You've deserved better. You still deserve better. And I'm going to mess up again. I'll say something, or look at you wrong. I won't mean to. Really, I won't. I don't look down on you, Mary. I don't. I know it prob'ly doesn't seem that way.

"But a lot of people do. I'm supposed to be representing the beliefs of the town, and so I've probably been treating you the way I suspected they wanted me to.

"And I've kept people at a distance. I know I have. Ever since Lynna and I came here I've worried that she would accidentally do something in public, or read someone, and people would find out. Maybe you can imagine the nightmares a father can have in my position."

"She's kept her magic to herself rather well I think. Maybe you don't give her enough credit. She's old enough to take care of herself you know," Mary said quietly.

"My wife was trained to use her magic, and she ended up stoned to death in the street, Mary. I will not lose Lynna that way as well."

"Lynna's a young woman, ready to blossom. But she's so intent on not letting you down that she's been hiding herself away. Not just her magic, Avern, but her intelligence, her beauty - all of her - afraid to step out and enjoy life a little. She can't let anyone know about her magic, so she's not really let anyone know her at all. I'd bet she's more lonely than you are, Avern."

"Who do you think you are, to tell me how to raise my daughter anyway? Just because you have a houseful of girls who are desperate enough to sleep with anyone willing to pay the price, you feel you know everything on raising one? It's different when it's your own, Mary." He could feel the anger rising up in him again and fought to keep calm, despite his irritation.

"I had a child once." She said it so softly, he almost didn't hear her. She wasn't looking at him while she spoke, but her eyes were sad and distant, her gaze directed in the general vicinity of one of the front windows.

"The last place I had steady work at before I came here was a bar and brothel in Pigort City. There was a brawl one night. I don't remember what started it, but it ended in fire. She was upstairs, sleeping in our room, when I last saw her. I couldn't get to her. People held me back, pulled me away. She was six when she died. Getting pregnant was an accident, but I loved her more than..." she paused for a moment and took a couple of slow breaths before continuing.

"Every girl that comes to work in my inn, every one of them are orphaned or hurt by the time I find them. They can't replace my daughter, and I don't think of them as such, but I know that they've lost. I would have wanted better for my Larina. So I try and give these girls a chance instead. By the time I get them, most of my girls have given up on hope. I may like to turn a profit, but I also spend about half that money on books for them to learn from and on a couple of occasions I've been able to send them off to apprentice in learning a more respectable line of work. Most of my girls seem to enjoy working for me, because I've tried to teach them that it doesn't have to be forever. But every time someone points a finger and calls one of my girls a whore, it puts doubt into their hearts. I'm getting tired of this uphill battle, Avern. It hurts more each year."

Her head drooped, and she seemed to be staring at the handkerchief in her hands as tears rolled freely down her cheeks. Avern found himself sitting there, stunned, for a moment before trying to say anything.

"Mary, I -" he began.

"I knew about Lynna's magic. And your wife. You told me that night. While you were drunk. You said a lot of things you probably didn't mean for me to know. I thought maybe something compelled you to tell me, but I know now it was just the alcohol. I'm sorry if I assumed or expected more than I should have, Avern. I'm sorry." She put her face into the handkerchief in her hands and cried quietly into them, her shoulders shaking. Avern found himself moving from his chair to sit beside her on thd couch. He tenatively touched her arm.

"I never meant to hurt you. I didn't know how to act, honestly. My wife could read my thoughts. Even if I said the wrong thing, she usually knew what I really meant by it. Tell me what it is you want from me, Mary. What should I have done or said?"

"Avern... It isn't like that. It isn't just one thing. It's a string of things."

"I'm so sorry," he said, pressing her arm a little with his hand. She put a hand over his.

"On one hand, you did let me and my girls set up here. You do that, not just you, but the whole town. You take anyone in. But although I don't generally feel unwelcome here--nobody's ever tried to make me leave, anyway--I still never felt entirely welcomed. I pour my heart into this town, Avern. I do. I love this town. And in return I'm...tolerated."

"Mary, that's not fair," he said, finally pulling her to him and hugging her. "Remember the hurricane two years ago? How many people did you take in? How many people did you feed? I know you didn't charge anyone for anything. I also know about how much of the tab at Bentz's you paid. Don't think I didn't notice.

"Trust me, Mary, if something happened to your inn, the town would be there in a heartbeat to help rebuild. Some don't understand, some may disapprove of what you do, but that's not the same as disapproving of you."

"But you're worried about that with Lynna, aren't you?"

"More than I have words for."

"Maybe you should make sure they find out. Make them find out on your terms, rather than by accident, when they're unprepared."

"I don't know. Now's not the time, don't you think? The town needs me, and now's not the time to muck with that."

"You arrogant fool," she teased into his chest. "The town needs the town. It needs a mayor. And you need them. But whether they know it or not, they need her, too. You and she are part of the town, not separate parts. This town gets through things together, Avern. You have to stop excluding yourselves."

"I don't know how to do that, Mary."

"If this town is willing to let me be a part of it during times of trouble, then you should be able to be a part of it easily enough. They like you during non-troubled times."

"I just don't know how this is all going to play out, Mary. I know what you mean when you say you love this town. I love it too. But in the pantry there are bags packed for the likely backlash when they find out about Lynna. Agmar has said he will try to protect her, but in the end I fear we will have to leave."

She pulled away from his chest and gave him a long, hard look.

"You can't just leave. You're the mayor."

"In the last town, where my wife died - we had friends. There were people in town I thought we could have trusted to side with us. All she did was heal someone, it wasn't as if she was doing anything showy or arrogant, and they killed her anyway. I won't let that happen here. If that means I have to leave this town behind in order to protect my daughter - I'll do what I have to do, Mary."

"How many, who have already found out, have rejected her, Avern? Hmm?"

"You weren't there to see Bruckert Tallet's reaction when he found out about Agmar. And he's not the only one who's displeased."

"They don't know Agmar," she replied. "He hasn't been living here for years and years. Lynna has. And the people of this town place their trust in you. They made you mayor, after all."

"And what happens when they find out I've been lying to them about my daughter all these years?" He sighed and closed his eyes, a weariness settling over him despite the early hour. One of her hands was still holding lightly to one of his, and her thumb traced small circles on his skin. They were both silent for a moment, thinking.

"What brought you to my inn that night Avern?" she asked quietly. "Even drunk, I never expected to find you there."

He kept his eyes closed, to try and keep himself honest in his reply.

"I was alone. I wanted - I wanted exactly what you gave me that night."

"Then why didn't you come inside?"

"I got there and realized that all the girls were - well - girls. Some are barely older than Lynna. The thought of that alone nearly sobered me up." He opened his eyes and looked at her. She seemed to be studying his face.

"You didn't want me then?" She said it very softly, but he knew how loaded the question really was. Somehow he managed to convince himself to just remain honest in his answer, and take the risk.

"Mary, I didn't - I didn't think you'd want me."

She shook her head at him, and he saw tears welling in her eyes again. He couldn't think of any other way to stop them. All words seemed to have left him. So, instead, he leaned in and kissed her.