15

When Lyra got back to the temple that night, she laid out her clothes from home to wear under her tunic in the morning and packed everything else into her new backpack. She finally got a chance to try on the boots and was pleased to find that they fit her well. Hopefully, the fact that they were so worn in meant she wouldn’t have to worry about blisters. Even though the sandals were too small for her, she tied them to the outside of her backpack just in case something happened to the boots. She didn’t want to have to navigate this new world barefoot.

The question of what to do with her rain boots and jacket from home stumped her at first. She had already decided not to bring them, but it seemed wasteful to just leave them here in the temple, where they would do nothing but gather dust. While she didn’t get the sense that this village was impoverished, it was clear that they weren’t swimming in luxury goods either. In the end, she set them out next to her backpack and decided to see if Cora or Nira wanted them. It wouldn’t come close to repaying them for their help, but at least it was something.

There were more things she wanted to do before leaving, such as sweeping out the temple and washing herself in the river, but that would have to wait until morning. She wasn’t about to try to find her way down to the river in the dark.

She propped open the door at the top of the stairs in hopes that some natural light would make its way down into the basement come morning, and would keep her from sleeping too late. Then she combed her hair and went to bed.

Unlike her first night here, Lyra slept steadily through the night until morning. At some point during the night, the tabby cat had joined her and was curled up, purring, on her belly. Lyra petted the feline for a few moments before forcing herself to get out of bed and start her day.

It was a relief to see that the sun was barely peeking over the horizon when she made it outside. After stopping by the outhouses, her next stop was the river. She brought the soap and comb and her change of clothes and, after following around a bend so she wouldn’t be immediately visible from the path, she braved the chilly, swiftly flowing waters to take what was possibly the fastest and least satisfying bath of her life. At least she felt halfway clean by the time she was done, and she knew her hair would dry quickly in the dry, hot weather.

Back at the temple, she fetched the broom and swept out both the bedchamber and the temple room until no traces of the dirt that she had tracked in remained. After bringing all of her things upstairs and making sure the cat wasn’t in the chamber, she blew out the candle and shut the door at the top of the stairs for what she hoped was the last time.

Then… she was ready to go. Certain that someone would come for her at any moment, she waited in the temple, skimming through whatever books caught her attention. She was nervous about setting out, but also a little excited. Now that she had a plan, the initial terror, dread, and sense of isolation had faded enough that other emotions were beginning to rise. This was a whole new world, and she was curious about it.

She wasn’t looking forward to the weeks-long trip to the city, exactly, not the nitty-gritty of it, but she was excited for the adventure of it all.

“Priestess, are you preparing to leave?”

The words made her jump, and she realized Towr had joined her at some point while she was engrossed in looking through the books. Towr didn’t sound upset, but Lyra still hesitated before answering.

“Yes. I’m going to try to find answers about why I’m here. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“Would you be so kind as to repair my inscription before you go?”

Right. So much had happened since the god initially asked for that that she had almost forgotten.

“Can you show me where it is?”

Towr nodded silently, then floated through the temple door. Lyra had to push it open to follow her. The god was waiting directly outside of it, looking up at the worn letters over the door. Lyra had noticed them on her first day here, but had barely paid them any attention at the time. She squinted at the letters carved into the rock and frowned.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how I would fix something like that. I would need tools I don’t have.”

“I believe your predecessor kept a chisel downstairs. I would be quite grateful. I am afraid that one day my name will be forgotten.”

Towr had stolen her language, but she had also helped Lyra when she needed it the most. Besides, Kel wasn’t here yet. She figured it couldn’t hurt to try to find a chisel and hammer, and while she didn’t have any confidence in her ability to do a professional-looking job, she thought she could probably make the letters readable again.

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“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll see if I can find the chisel.”

She went back down into the bedchamber and re-lit the candle to peruse the shelves full of cleaning equipment and miscellanea. Sure enough, hidden under some of the blank rolls of parchment, was a rusty old chisel.

There was also a folding wooden step ladder, so she carried both things upstairs and set them under the overhang. She hadn’t seen a hammer, but she figured a big rock would work just as well.

She found one the size of her fist by the outhouses. After making sure the wooden ladder wasn’t rotten, she shut the temple doors and set the ladder up outside of them. She had to climb to the very top step to reach the inscription, and wobbled a bit as she got into position.

With the chisel in one hand and the rock in the other, she got to work. It was harder than she thought it would be. The rock was hard enough that she could only break off tiny pieces with each strike, and the dust kept getting into her eyes. Her arms got tired quickly, and she kept having to shake them to get the blood flowing again. But now that she had started, she didn’t feel as if she could quit, and she was slowly making progress. That “T,” once barely legible in the pale gray rock, was now a recognizable letter. Once she was satisfied with it, she moved on to the next letter, then the next. It took her longer than she expected, but by the time she was done, Towr’s name was clearly readable.

“Still no Kel,” she muttered as she climbed down from the stool. Her arms were aching, and she had dust from the stone all over her tunic. She wiped that off and went back inside, intending to return the tools to the basement chamber, but when the cat mewed and rubbed against her ankles, she remembered something else the god had asked her to do.

She didn’t know the significance of naming the cat, and she still didn’t really understand why Towr couldn’t do it herself, but she liked the sweet little gray tabby. The cat had brought her comfort when she was alone and scared; she deserved more than just a name, but she didn’t exactly have any catnip on her.

Lyra glanced down at the chisel in her hand. She did have that can of tuna, and unless she brought this chisel with her, she didn’t know how she would open it without ruining her knife. Besides, the thought of eating what would probably end up being warm, plain tuna out of a can with her fingers while she was on the road wasn’t exactly appealing.

“I think I’ve got something you’ll like, kitty,” she said, opening her backpack. “Just give me one second.”

Opening the can of tuna with the chisel and a rock was a lot messier than she expected, but thankfully she’d had the foresight to take it outside. When she finally got the top peeled back enough to access the contents, she reentered the temple and poured the tuna into the little bowl by the cat’s bed. Stepping back, she watched the cat as she first delicately sniffed the tuna, then started to gulp it down.

“Thank you for keeping me company,” Lyra said. “What should I name you?”

She bit her lip as she watched the cat eat, not sure what sort of name to give her. She thought it should hold some sort of meaning, not something obvious like Tiger for her tabby stripes.

“Sofia,” she decided at last. “It’s a Spanish name, and it means—”

She broke off midsentence, her eyes widening. She still remembered Spanish names — and a few German ones too, now that she thought about it. She still knew Spanish and German! Well, as well as she ever had. Towr had only taken her knowledge of her native language, which she knew the Spanish word for; inglés. She might not be fluent in either Spanish or German, but it was still something from home. Even though it was a useless skill to have in a world without either language, she was so relieved she could almost cry.

“Sofia it is,” she whispered, smiling as she stroked the cat’s back.

“Thank you, priestess.”

Lyra jolted again; she hadn’t realized Towr was in the temple with her.

“Was there anything else?” she asked, standing up. “Is the name okay?”

“It is perfect, priestess.” The god looked down at the cat, and even though with no face it was hard to tell her expression, Lyra thought she imagined real affection in her posture.

“I am grateful for your help. I hope you will return one day, but if not, I wish you well on your journey. I had not realized how lonely I have been, priestess. It has been a pleasure to host you in my temple. If only I knew why the Great God sent you here, perhaps you would not have to leave. To thank you for all that you’ve done for me, I will bestow upon you my Blessing of Learning; Language.”

Before Lyra could so much as take a step back, Towr raised her hand and touched her fingers to Lyra’s temple. Lyra had the sensation of something soft and almost fuzzy, like the physical feeling of the way static sounded, and something indescribable and almost unnoticeable shifted in her core.

She jerked away, but Towr was already done and had returned her attention to the cat.

“What did you do?” she snapped, frantically trying to figure out if she had forgotten anything else.

“I have bestowed my blessing upon you, priestess. May it serve you well.”

“Yes, but what does it—”

Before she could even finish her sentence, the god vanished, leaving the temple empty except for the cat and the smell of tuna.

Shaken, Lyra snagged her backpack from the ground, grabbed the rain jacket and boots, and hurried out of the temple, pausing only to make sure the door was open enough for Sofia to get out.

It was well into late morning by now, judging by the sun, and Kel still hadn’t shown up. Maybe he had gotten delayed saying goodbye to his family, or maybe something else had come up, but it didn’t matter. Lyra was ready to get away from the temple, now.

Still mentally prodding the corners of her mind and trying to figure out what the god had done to her, she hurried down the street toward Cora’s house. Marid was in her yard, hanging pieces of wet clothing on a line, and she called out to Lyra, but Lyra just waved and continued past. She was upset and more than a little frightened, and that feeling only increased when she paused in front of Cora’s house.

She didn’t know why Kel was late, but judging by the shouting that was coming from inside, she had discovered where he was, and there was something he wasn’t happy about.