He made a low sound in his throat that sounded like a growl. “Stop trying to distract me and show me what you have in your pocket.”
It’d be better if he accepted the charms. There would be fewer questions if he thought that was all she was using to guide them through the woods. Safer that way. Also, she wanted to see how rigid he was in his beliefs. Her mother didn’t like the charms, but she didn’t forbid their use. They needed them to clean the water and keep the firewood dry. To keep the chicken coop free of foxes and prevent the roof from leaking. The Church didn’t like the use of charms either, but even Copper’s saddle had a few charms burned into the leather and it had belonged to a priest. Most people looked the other way.
Time to find out if the captain was like most people.
“It’s nothing, really,” she said. “You can just pretend you didn’t see it. I told you I’d get you to the fort and that’s what I’m doing. Do you really need to worry about how I do it?”
“Yes.” He grabbed hold of her reins, forcing her to stop. “You might be able to safely use charms in Toam. Most of them are harmless enough, if they work at all. Out here the rules are different. Witches can warp your perception of reality. They’re a nexus point connecting our world to the shadow world below. There’s great power there, but it’s a poisoned well. When a witch draws from it, it opens a door that allows evil to seep from that reality into ours. Corruption spreads out from that point like poison, defiling the natural world. It will change you if you let it. That’s what happened to the fae. They grew careless, and it destroyed their entire kingdom. We can’t afford to be careless.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. “It’s just a charm.”
“Charms are connected to that other reality. Anything that has a tie there will be corrupted first. You have fae blood which already makes you more susceptible to the witch’s corruption. Dependence on charms furthers that connection, it forms a tie with the demonic that can lure you away from the shelter of God’s protection. You’re treading dangerous ground.”
Obviously. This was the Black Woods.
“You’re really going to tell me you’ve never used a charm in your life?”
“Never,” he said. Fervently. Righteously.
She smirked. “How many Church relics have you used?”
“The relics are rare. I have two in my possession.”
The witchstone. She wondered what the other one did. She nodded toward his waterskin. “What about the glyphs marked on that?”
“They’re not glyphs. They’re blessings from the Church.”
She stared at him for a long moment. When he showed no sign of recognizing the hypocrisy, she laughed. “What else do you have that’sblessed,Captain?”
“My sword and saddle. All of our weapons are marked.” His jaw tightened. “It’s not the same thing.”
“If you say so.”
His expression darkened. “I’m serious, Rowan. Soldiers train for years before they’re allowed on their first witch hunt. There are academic classes. Exercises. Training with the sword and crossbow. My men are sanctified by the Church. Prepared and protected on all sides. And still they die. I will not allow you to die.”
“A charm’s not going to kill me.”
“I’ll go on without you,” he said. “I’d like your help, but this won’t work if you’re not willing to listen to me. I’ve been on dozens of hunts. I’ve faced scores of witches. If I say the charms are too dangerous, you need to accept my word. Can you do that? I need to know before we go any further.”
Could she? Could she ever truly trust him? Maybe. He hadn’t ever lied to her. She’d seen no sign of trickery in him. He hadn’t hurt her mother because he was cruel, only because he believed in the wrong things. She trusted him to keep his word or she wouldn’t have come out here with him. She trusted him to protect her life to the best of his ability. Maybe that was enough trust.
“I accept that you are far more experienced than I am at hunting witches,” she agreed.
He waited.
She sighed. “All right, I’ll listen to you.”
“Do you have any other charms?”
She thought of the bundle at the bottom of her bag and resisted the urge to squirm in her saddle. The captain must have read the answer on her face. His jaw firmed. “Show me.”
She could tell by his expression that he wasn’t moving until she showed him the damn charms. It was fine. She didn’tneedthem to get to the fort. The trees would help her find the way. And she wasn’t going to sit here having a staring contest until the sun set behind the mountains.
“Fine.” She reached behind her, digging into the bag until she found the knotted handkerchief. She slapped it into his waiting palm. “Here.”
He untied it, frowning. “There must be a dozen in here. Where did you get them all?”
“I’m not telling you that.” She wasn’t letting him brand Tilly too.
