The Veil Weavers by Maureen Bush Page B

storm?” I asked Brox. “You and Vivienne and the crows?”
    Brox snorted with laughter, a rough hoff hoff . “Of course. We do not need caves. We will be fine. We will stay nearby, and make sure Gronvald doesn’t come.”
    I shivered – I’d forgotten about Gronvald. Trusting that Aleena and the crows would warn us if he did show up, I followed Maddy inside.
    The cave was musky and dark and warm. Woven grass mats covered the floor, and baskets and pouches of reed and grass were set along the walls.
    A crowd of otter-people followed us in. They collected their things and left quietly, leaving us alone with the grey-haired otter-person, a younger otter-woman almost as tall as me holding a baby, and two small otter-children.
    “This is my daughter Reynar,” said the grey-haired one, “and her children, hnn . Baby Folens, and twins Drenba and Dreylac.” Reynar had rich red-brown fur and pale skin, as did little Folens. The twins’ fur was bright red-gold, and their skin had a golden sheen.
    Reynar nodded, but said nothing. The twins peeked at us from behind her. Maddy smiled at them and they ducked out of sight.
    “I am Greyfur,” said the grey-haired otter-person.
    “Greyfur?” asked Maddy. “We know another Greyfur.”
    “ Chrrr . You are lucky,” she answered. “Greyfur is name of respect for all old enough to have grey hair.” She pointed to a corner of the cave vacated by those who’d left. “You may sleep there.”
    We placed our bags and blankets on the mats, and started to strip off our snowy outerwear.
    Greyfur said, “Leave clothes, tss . Eat first, outside. We do not light fires inside!” I could hear Eneirda’s scorn of humans in her voice.
    Somehow the otter-people had managed to light a fire in the snowstorm, tucked out of the wind against the cliff wall. Soon they were grilling fish threaded on sticks – small trout, I guessed.
    Maddy and I were ravenous. Although we don’t usually like fish, we devoured this. The otter-people ate, too, but they ate their fish raw.
    The small fire provided enough light to find our way back to the entrance to the cave, but once inside it was too dark to see. Maddy and I stumbled around until, finally, we stood still in the middle of the cave.
    “What is wrong?” asked Greyfur.
    “It’s dark,” said Maddy.
    “Yes, hnn . Is night. Is not dark in human world at night?”
    I laughed. “Yes, of course it is, but we have lights. We don’t see well in the dark,” I explained, finally understanding the problem.
    “ Hnn ,” she said. “Humans.”
    “Josh, could you use your firestone?” Maddy asked.
    “Would that be okay?” I asked Greyfur.
    “If magic to spare, better to warm cave for Folens.”
    There was so much unsaid in her sentence, but without being able to see her face, I couldn’t interpret it. If I had magic to spare – did that mean they did not? They didn’t have enough magic to keep their babies warm?
    I pulled the firestone out of my pocket and let magic flow into it, just enough for a soft glow. Maddy and I found our corner, and pulled off our jackets. It was warmer than outside, but not warm enough for little children.
    The twins stared as we peeled off layers of clothes, curiosity and horror in their eyes. Maddy laughed and held out a mitten. Hesitantly, they touched it. She slipped it on her hand, took it off again, and gave it to them. They took turns trying it on.
    While they played, I let magic fill my body and radiate throughout the cave. As I thought of warmth, the air temperature slowly rose, until a gust of wind from outside blew past it. I walked to the entrance to the cave and drew a barrier of magic just thick enough to stop the wind.
    When I turned back the twins were staring at Maddy, eyes huge, mouths open. Maddy was kneeling beside them, coaxing the elastic out of her ponytail. Slowly, she ran her fingers through her hair, working out the tangles. Drenba and Dreylac crept closer, fascinated.
    While they stroked