Forty Three: Triage

Dela was eating dinner when the Aven burst its banks.

The storm had been raging for two days, and the city had all but shut down until it passed. Inside the temple she felt as though she lived in a fortress, defending against the elements as they battered at the walls. The temple hearths all burned high and sacks of fine grit were pressed up against every door. The cloisters were already under an inch of water and had to be traversed slowly and on tiptoe to avoid accidents on the smooth flagstones. If it rose further, they would be closed off. Some of the older acolytes had had to be moved out of flooded dormitories.

Dela was secretly glad of the foul weather. If they couldn't leave the temple easily, no one else could get in, either. She had barely slept since that man had cornered her in the laundry closet; she had not bathed alone and had always made sure to be in the middle of the line when they left their classes. She hadn't told Lin about the incident, for fear of having it reported to the priestesses. She wasn't sure what she was more ashamed of; that it had happened or that she had done what he'd told her to do, or that she was still frightened that he would come back for her.

She hoped Grace had listened to her note and would not go to meet this person. Eighthday was in a few nights' time. The inns would be open to those who had to work through the storm, but they would be quiet. Quiet, and perfect for covering up something terrible.

Her note on her flimsy practice paper seemed like poor defence against that, but it was the best she had.

A runner, soaking wet and gasping for breath, brought the news to Lady Kerrin at the high table. Dela and Lin watched the boy with wide eyes as he panted up the centre aisle, and exchanged a glance. The messenger was wearing Harkenn's livery; something was badly wrong.

Kerrin read the note and then stood. Maniel and the priestess Cluria, who oversaw the Path of the Confessional, also stood with her, and together they filed out with Maniel and Cluria whispering furiously to each other.

"...the reservoir was so full?" Maniel said as they passed Dela's seat.

"Flooding in Bisa," Cluria murmured, "Kiel help us, I don't think I can take much more of this season's tidings."

They drifted out of earshot. Lin watched Dela expectantly; Dela had always had the sharper hearing of the two of them.

"Bisa is flooded," Dela whispered. "She mentioned one of the reservoirs being full."

"That means the river's burst," one of the other acolytes said sagely. "There must have been a surge or something."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Taria said. "You can't get a river surge past a dam even if it is full!"

"Unless the dam's cracked," said someone else, and that set the whole stretch of the table to uneasy quiet. The reservoirs protected the city from faster-flowing stretches of the Aven from the north, while conserving water in times when the bigger branches ran low or dried out. A crack would be impossible to fix before the weeks of dry weather that came with the light season, which meant that if the river tributaries did surge, Shadow's Reach would be at their mercy.

"Let's hope it isn't a crack, then," Dela said. "I think it's probably just risen too high."

"Yeah," Lin piped up. "Besides, we'll soon find out. The whole city will be underwater before long if it is a surge."

That didn't feel like the comforting statement that Lin had probably intended it to be.

The rest of the day passed almost normally; with the exception of the small lakes occupying the cloister corridors, it felt no different to any other day. There was an uneasiness about the place, but there always was during a storm. The gales roared like a demon when they hit the temple broadside, and heavy sprays of wind-thrown rain rattled at the windows without warning. Messengers darted back and forth through the corridors to report roof leaks, burst pipes or flooded rooms. The temple was a vast building, Dela reasoned, so it would be very hard to keep everything in top condition all the time. Still, it was a little unnerving to hear about so many incidents while the storm was still howling outside. Every classroom was freezing cold; the hot pipes only ran through the living quarters. The heat from the fires burning in every hearth barely touched the chill.

"It happens every year and it's miserable every time," Lin grumbled, as they moved through the corridors from their anatomy class to scripture. Dela's friend had pulled her hands deep inside her sleeves and her voice trembled with her chattering teeth. "Was it this bad when you lived down south?"

"No," Dela admitted. Her first experience of the storms in the Reach had been an eye-opener. "They usually blew themselves out by the time they got to us. But there was usually thunder and lightning, too. Don't shelter under a tree on the plains in the storm season."

"I'll bear it in mind," Lin said. "Is that snow?"

Dela glanced out of the window. The rain had transformed into a blinding flurry of white. Her heart sank. "Yes."

They walked to class in silence. Snow was dire news; Dela was relatively new to the city and even she knew that. Snow would put a stop to any business that might have weathered the rainstorm, and make recovery attempts and demon rescues all the more challenging.

"Does snow stop rune nets from working?" she asked, as they lined up outside their next classroom.

"No," Lin said. "Not if they were stable already. It might ruin some weaker ones, but the storm would've done that anyway." She frowned. "Are you thinking of Unspoken again? It's starting to get a bit worrying."

"No," Dela snapped. "I was thinking about how difficult it's going to make things if we're needed in the city."

Lin didn't look all that convinced, but they were ushered into the room then and didn't have a chance to take it further. Dela sat down and got out her supplies from her carry bag, putting them down with more force than necessary. On the next desk along, Lin mirrored her. They glared at each other.

Dela looked away first. She pulled out a sheet of practice paper and began to write the dates and aims that the priestess had written on the blackboard. In her distraction she fudged several lines and blotted others, building up into a quiet rage that made her concentration even worse. She didn't understand Lin's attitude; she didn't think she was doing anything wrong by wanting to know more about the Unspoken than the rumours that flew around about them. None of the hearsay was flattering, and yet she'd never spoken to a demon hunter who wasn't polite and helpful – or at least helpful, she thought, since she had met Lord Harkenn's favourite Whisperer and polite wasn't a word she'd have used.

Part of her knew it was mostly resentment over Kerrin's favour; or at least she thought it was. But that wasn't her fault, either – she studied hard, and wanted to be helpful. She had no control over what Kerrin or Lin thought of that.

She settled into her work, finding her breathing rhythm to calm herself. She'd talk to Lin later and clear it all up. It was going on for too long without being addressed.

Just as she had resolved to do so, the classroom door opened. Maniel stepped inside and the priestess immediately stopped her writing on the board and stepped aside. The Cleric walked to the front of the classroom and looked gravely round at them all.

"I'm looking for volunteers to help with the shelter effort at the flood sites," Maniel said. "Due to the dormitory flooding some of our older acolytes have fallen ill with a fever and won't be coming. We would not normally ask a class of your age to help with such an undertaking, which is why it is volunteers only. You will be helping Lady Kerrin and the sisters of the Medica run a triage shelter and keep the paths clear."

Dela's arm twitched. Anything was more interesting than scripture, and Lady Kerrin always had interesting stories to tell to keep people's spirits up in times like this. She wasn't fond of snow – it wasn't common on the southern plains - but she wanted to go. When the storms passed, there wouldn't be any outings for weeks on end, as the light season was the temple's busiest. She glanced at Lin, who looked for a moment like she was going to ignore Dela's beseeching stare. Then she sighed and put her hand up. Dela's shot up next to her.

"Are you so upset that Kerrin likes me?" she asked earnestly, as they bundled into their winter cloaks and practical trousers in the dormitory room they shared. Her boots were still stiff from their last outing; she'd have to oil them later so the leather didn't start cracking.

Lin glanced at her. "No, of course not."

Dela frowned. "Then why do you seem so angry when I mention her?"

"Because you mention her so much," Lin said. "It's a bit strange, Dela. She's not your Ma. And the other girls take it wrong."

Despite the barb in her friend's words, Dela remained calm. "Wrong how?"

"Because..." Lin struggled for a moment. "Because it sounds like you're bragging that she's noticed you. You get to go on all the special trips to castle and talk to the Unspoken. You're always there when things happen." She sighed. "Not everyone came here as willing as you did, Dela. For some of us it's drudgery, and we can't wait to gain the robe and see the world. Make a difference. And you do it without even trying. You don't even seem to know it, either."

"I don't want anyone to think I'm bragging," Dela said in a small voice.

Lin shrugged. "I know you aren't. The other girls talk about it, though. It gets me into trouble when I defend you, and you're never around to notice."

"Why would that get you into trouble?" Dela had had no idea that this might have been the reason Lin was so reticent. She had thought it was Lin who had the wrong idea, not the other girls. She didn't have enough to do with most of her class to have noticed any difference in their manner towards her, and as a Varthian entering the Kelian priesthood, she had long learned to tune out the whispering when she passed.

"Because sometimes it involves fighting." Lin did up the last clasp on her cloak and scowled. "You think I end up in Contemplation so often because I don't work? You know I work hard, Dela."

She did. The whole thing made more sense now. The joy at finding out Lin didn't dislike her after all was tempered by shame. "I wish you'd told me."

They walked together out of the dormitory, joining other girls as they hurried towards the entrance hall to meet Maniel. "I didn't think it would help anything if you knew the other girls were talking. I hoped maybe that if you thought it was me who thought those things you might, you know...rein it in a bit."

Trust Lin to slip a backhand into what had otherwise been a pleasant conversation. Dela schooled herself not to react. "I appreciate you looking out for me, Lin." She chuckled. "Please stop putting yourself in Contemplation for my sake. I'm used to it, remember all those times I got teased for being a Varthian barbarian in my first year?"

"That was so out of order that Maniel got involved," Lin said, shaking her head, but she was smiling as well.

"I'm not ashamed of it," Dela continued. "I will be more careful in future, but no amount of gossiping will make me ashamed."

They fell into a companionable quiet. Dela sensed that they had gone some way towards healing the rift, but she wasn't entirely convinced that Lin wasn't a bit resentful – her comments had frequently struck a bit too close to home to be contrived. She was just grateful that her friend was trying to set it aside. She had never had a friend like Lin before, which made her all the more guilty when she thought of how much she hadn't said. She had no idea what Lin would do if she found out about the attack in the laundry closet.

The city streets howled with wind and stinging sleet. Within minutes Dela's clothes were wet and every inch of exposed skin hurt. Conversation was impossible over the noise of the gale slapping against buildings and whistling through the alleys, and it was all Dela could do to keep sight of the group. She and Lin linked arms as they staggered along, focused on the huddled figures of the pair in front. Only a few feet ahead, Maniel was little more than a silhouette that drifted in and out of focus.

The sleet soon turned to flurries of snow, piling in doorways and gusting around their faces. Many times Dela and Lin had to catch each other as they slipped on frosty cobbles and icy puddles. Dela felt like she'd done a day's work before they'd even reached the shelter in Bisa. It was not a short journey, one that they would normally have hired carriages to make, but in these conditions it was safer to walk. They passed few others; most houses were shut and barred against the onslaught, leaving tantalising glimpses of warm fires flickering in the windows.

"Should've stayed in class," Lin said through chattering teeth, in a rare lull in the wind. They had reached the Medica in Bisa. Lights blazed in the windows and glinted off the swilling debris-strewn water that lapped and swirled in the surrounding streets. It wasn't high around the Medica's square as the river was too far away, but the fact that the water had made it this far at all was a testament to how bad things were elsewhere.

The bottom floor of the Medica had been abandoned as a treatment centre, and was being used instead to store blankets and food rations. A hum of voices was audible from the upper floors, but as they stepped inside the wind hit the building face-on and drowned them out again. Someone screamed, shrill and abrupt. The windows rattled in their frames.

"Night take me," Lin muttered, glowering at the stairs. Dela looked up and saw an Unspoken descending towards them.

"I won't mention it again when we get back," she said, before Lin's scowl could set. "I promise."

"Thank you for coming," the Unspoken said, and with a jolt Dela recognised his voice. This was the physician she had met in the castle. "I'm afraid we are in sore need of bedside vigils and ah, more discreet services."

"My older acolytes will take care of the dead," Maniel said. She turned to the group. "How many of you have been on a vigil?" Dela raised her hand with a few others. This was her calling, she told herself resolutely, ignoring her shudder of nervousness. She was meant to do this, and fear had no place at the side of a deathbed. Maniel counted quickly. "There aren't many and they are young, but here are my charges who can help with last rites. Ladies, please follow Nika and do your best where you are needed. The rest of you will help with food, supplies and shovelling."

Dela glanced back at Lin as she left. Her friend nodded her encouragement, and relief blossomed through her. Lin didn't hate her.

That was all the reassurance she needed.

She followed Nika up the stairs with the small number of other acolytes who had been to a vigil before. She undid her heavy winter clothing as she went, and left them on a rack with those of the other girls at Nika's suggestion. The upper floors were packed; it was clear the storm had started taking its toll long before the river burst the banks. Many people she saw in the beds were old, taken ill with cold or shock. In one corner of the large hall, a set of canvas dividers had been set up for delicate or serious cases.

"Demons?" she asked Nika. The other girls looked at her in amazement, as if it was such a brave thing to talk to a demon hunter like he was another human.

"Unfortunately, yes." Nika sighed. "A Listener was trapped by the rising floods, found a weak net and broke into a house with adjoining walls. It had rampaged through three of them before one of my colleagues got there. Five deaths, three seriously injured, two in shock." He shook his head. "Please, come. There are three patients who have requested a vigil from Kiel."

Dela followed him through a corridor into another hall. This hall was much more peaceful, without the bustle and chaos of the triage centre. This was where patients were moved to have peace in the final moments. She sensed it the instant she stepped through the door, and was reminded so strongly of the atmosphere in that little back room on Wick Row that she half-expected to look up and find Arlen glaring at her from the corner. She blinked and shook the feeling away. Her nerves were just frayed still from her encounter in the baths.

She didn't recognise Lady Kerrin at first as she rose from one of the bedsides. The High Priestess was dressed in practical man's garb, her hair braided down her back and plastered to her skull with damp. Kiel's supplicating hands still flashed in gold from the heavy pendant around her neck, and she had been wearing her golden stole to sit the vigil. At their entrance she removed it and came towards them. She moved with strong purpose, lips set. Dela's admiration for the woman welled anew, and her cheeks heated to think of what Lin would say to her reaction.

"Thank you for coming, ladies," Kerrin said quietly. "I will handle them from here, Nika."

The Unspoken bowed and turned to hurry away. "Thank you, my lady."

Kerrin smiled sadly at them. "Taria, Lucine, Kell, please take a bed each and provide what comforts you can. The rest of you may wait and dry yourselves here for a while. I suspect you will be needed before long. Dela, a word please."

Dela's disappointment at not being chosen turned to apprehension, as it always did when Kerrin wanted something from her – especially now she knew she'd done something wrong. She followed the Head of the House out of the hall and into a small side-room, trying her best to ignore the whispers that followed. Lin had been right; now that she knew what the other girls whispered about, it was hard not to hear it. She kept her chin up and did not look back.

Kerrin let her inside the room and shut the door softly behind them. Two chairs stood against the wall inside; these the lady pulled out and set opposite each other. She sat, and gestured for Dela to take the other.

"I take the safety of my charges very seriously, Dela," Kerrin said. "You understand this."

Dela nodded, even though it required no answer. Her heart had sunk to somewhere deep in her gut.

"Your friend Lin has confided to Maniel that she's seen bruises on your arms. Bruises that look like finger marks."

Night take me, Lin.

"Oh, that..." Dela said, giggling nervously even though she wanted to cry. "I get cold."

"Dela, I wasn't born yesterday." Kerrin frowned lightly at her. "If there's something going on, I'd like to know. You might not be the only one struggling."

She thought Dela was being harassed by another acolyte. Dela wasn't sure whether that was a relief or not; she couldn't say it was true, because then she would have to name someone, and she couldn't name someone because none of the other acolytes had been harassing her. Was this why Lin had been getting so defensive?

"It's not the other girls," Dela said. She wanted to escape.

"Is it one of the priestesses? I won't tolerate such discipline in my classrooms."

"N-no, my lady. I...there was... There was a man in the washrooms." Kerrin's eyes widened, but Dela struggled on. "He didn't...do anything like that, but...he trapped me in the laundry closet. He wanted me to take a note to someone. He had a knife, he said he'd come back if I didn't do it. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry..."

"Dela!" Kerrin cut through her babble like a knife. The words that had seemed impossible to contain moments before suddenly refused to budge from her lips. She was crying and confessing a sore misjudgement on her part in front of the Head of the House... "Slow down. I'm not angry with you."

Dela sniffed. "Please don't send me home, miss."

"No one's sending anyone anywhere." Kerrin leaned forward in her chair. "I want you to describe to me exactly what happened and what this man looked like. Who was the note for?"