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“The runestones have been pulled down,” he gasped, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Three of them at the northern end of the village.”
Yana stopped stirring the stewpot, her back so stiff she looked like she might snap in half; the Father’s eyes darkened.
“Get the men to help right them,” he demanded, putting his bible aside and sweeping to his feet. “I’ll be there—”
“Father,” the boy interrupted. “The barrier blessings have been… ah…”
“What?” The Father snapped. “Out with it!”
“Pissed on. The Beasts tore them down and marked them.”
Inexplicably, a grin darted across my face. For once I was glad the veil hid my face.
I could just imagine the Beast of last night petulantly pissing all over the blue barrier ropes.
The Father’s nose wrinkled. “My daughter will bring new blessing ropes. Right the stones first.”
He held in his rage until the boy was gone, then gestured irritably to Yana. “Get the blessed ropes from the chest and bring them to the northern end. I will meet you there.”
What he meant was that he needed to put on suitably extravagant robes to be seen in public. Yana glanced at the stew she was stirring, and opened her mouth.
A typical mistake in this household. The Father backhanded her before she could say a word, and Yana stared at him with blood smeared across her lower lip.
“Now, girl. I don’t give a damn about the stew.” He stormed from the room, swearing under his breath.
I closed the book of hymns and stood up. Yana touched her lip, then examined her wet fingers.
“This is my fault,” she whispered.
I was the one who had sneaked out last night. Who had spoken to a Beast face to face. If anything, this was because of me.
“What makes you believe that?” I touched her shoulder, then lifted a corner of my hood and dabbed at her lip. She was pale, her freckles standing out like splotches of paint, and didn’t move as I wiped the blood away. “You’re one of the kindest people I know, Yana.”
“Because of… something I did.” Tears welled in her eyes and spilled over. “It’s all my fault.”
I shook my head, and dunked the bloodied corner of my hood in the water cistern before returning to my ministrations. “You did nothing to bring this on us. Whatever he tells you, it’s a lie.”
I said it so quietly that an eavesdropper would’ve needed to be breathing down my neck to hear it, but Yana flinched anyway.
“I have to get the new blessings,” she muttered, ducking her head and pulling away from me.
I attended them when we left the church. Yana was weighed down with heavy coils of fresh blue rope, but she wouldn’t allow me to help ease her burden.
She followed the Father with trudging footsteps, her tears hidden by the veil.
The northern end of the village was a road leading to nowhere. The few houses built here had long since been abandoned, and now sat as rotting hulks covered with ivy.
Three runestones taller than a man stood here, but each had been pushed over, leaving dark holes in the earth behind. The ropes had been torn down and scattered across the road, and the pungent smell made it clear the messenger was right. Twelve men were already pushing one of the runestones upright into its hole.
The Father kicked them aside and began intoning the Hymns of Purification for the second time this week. He touched a hand to the stone, nearly bellowing the prayers as the men sweated and labored to right it.
It took most of the morning to put all three runestones back in place, and then it was my duty to tie the fresh ropes around them and give them blessings. The sun was high overhead and sweat coated my face and stinging back by the time the last incantation was done.
That was when I realized that Yana had not left, and had drawn close to me. The men were still here, and staring at us with naked hostility.
Even Father Borodin felt the tension in the air. He waved a hand at them. “They are of my household; it is my duty to administer their punishments and bring them back to the paths of purity.”
The look in their eyes didn’t change. Not for the first time, I felt a deep fear of my kinsmen. I had no doubt that if the Father were not here, Yana and I might be in severe trouble.
