Page 14 of Highland Slayer
Behind him, an unearthly howl rose and he turned in time to see Titan ripping the bolt from Kaladin’s shoulder. It was really his upper arm, but the moment he did it, Rodion slapped a rag over it, something he’d had in his saddlebags, to stanch the blood flow. He went over to his brother, kneeling down beside him as Rodion and Mateo were trying to stem the blood.
“It’s not serious,” Titan told him. “They caught him in the meat of the arm, but we should rinse it with wine or ale to keep the poison away.”
Estevan was relieved to hear that. He raked his fingers through his dark hair wearily. “Good,” he said. “I dunna want tae spend any more time here than necessary. As soon as this rain stops, we depart. Wound or no wound.”
Titan couldn’t disagree. “There is something odd about this place,” he muttered. “These women… they are not nuns, Es. But the woman we brought here—she’s speaking a language I’ve heard before.”
Estevan looked at him. “Where have ye heard it?”
“North,” Titan said. “You have heard it, too. It’s the language of the Northmen.”
Estevan frowned. “Are ye sure?”
Titan nodded. “Aye,” he said. “Rodion has heard it, too.”
Rodion was focused on the bloody rag he was holding against Kaladin’s arm. “I heard it,” he said. “You know that language, Es. The princes of the isles are all around your father’s earldom. Or, at least, they used to be. Did you not recognize what she said?”
Estevan shook his head. “I admit, I wasna listening closely,” he said. “It sounded like…”
“Låt mig vara,” Rodion said. “Think—do you know those words?”
Estevan thought hard. It was true that the language of the Northmen wasn’t a stranger to the Highlands, and when he’d been very young, he’d had a friend who spoke the language a little because his parents were exiles from the Northman lands.
Låt mig vara.
“Leave me?” he finally said. “I think that’s part of what she said, but I dunna know the rest. It has been a very long time since I’ve heard that language spoken.”
“I do not know if the mother abbess knows,” Rodion said. “She’s been with the woman since you left, trying to calm her, but she does not seem to know her words.”
Estevan looked across the sanctuary, where the white-haired woman was indeed bent over the cot of the injured lady. The woman seemed to be listless because he could see that she was squirming about, lifting a hand every so often.
“Should I offer tae communicate with her?” he said. “I dunna know how much good I’ll be, but I can try.”
“Mayhap you should,” Rodion said, looking over to the injured woman also. “It might help establish some trust here. And mayhap they’ll be willing to provide us with a little food.”
He had a point. They’d been traveling all day and were hungry. With a nod, Estevan stood up and went over to the area where the injured woman was now lying with her hand over her eyes. The white-haired woman and a couple of other women were in a huddle, whispering amongst themselves. But that all ended when they caught sight of Estevan.
“I dunna mean tae intrude,” he said when he saw that he had their attention. “But I think I may know her language.”
The white-haired woman looked at him in surprise. “You do?” she said. “Why did you not say so before?”
Estevan shook his head. “Truthfully, I wasn’t sure,” he said. “She was speaking quickly and I simply dinna recognize what she was saying. I can try tae communicate with her if ye want me tae.”
The white-haired woman looked at the woman on the makeshift bed. She had settled down now and was sleeping fitfully, so after some deliberation, the woman with the white hair shook her head.
“Let her sleep,” she said. “If you are here in the morning, mayhap we can try to communicate with her then. But for now, she needs sleep.”
“As ye wish.”
“What language is it?”
“The language of the Northmen.”
That seemed to bring the woman pause. She eyed him dubiously for a moment, deliberating as to whether he was right. She didn’t seem to think so, but she wasn’t going to outright disagree with him.
“I suppose we shall find out on the morrow,” she said. “Return to your men. We shall speak upon the morning.”
Estevan nodded, but he didn’t leave. “As ye wish,” he said. “But we’ve not eaten all day. Can we pay for a meal?”
