Four Summoners Tales Part 16

Doc Adams glanced over, eyes narrowing, then quickly looked away. "I don't know what-"

"I was there. Outside. You left. They kept talking. Arguing, even. Then Browning and Dobbs left. Eleazar wanted to discuss something with them out of your earshot. I'm sure you know it. He sent you away, just as the mayor sent me away when I balked. What did you balk at, doctor?"

The doctor's expression told Preacher he had not balked. Not openly.

"He knew you would," Preacher said. "That's why he sent you off before the subject was raised. Because, like me, you are a fellow of conscience and-"

Doc Adams spun on him. "Good G.o.d, man. Do you never stop? You're like a hound with a bone. Leave it be."

"I will not. I'll ask until I have answers.What's the other cost? What else must we pay for our children's return?"

The doctor turned and resumed walking.

"The old man's dead, you know," Preacher said.

Doc Adams glanced back.

"Rene. Eleazar's a.s.sistant. He's dead."

Again, it was the expression that gave the doctor away. Preacher had expected shock. He didn't see it.

He's not surprised. He's not horrified. He knew, and however it happened, this man-this good man-has no compunctions about it. How is that possible?

The cost.

When the idea hit, Preacher brushed it aside. It was as wildly fantastical as Addie's claims of demons and possession. And yet it clung there, like a burr, p.r.i.c.kling his mind as he caught up and walked alongside the silent doctor.

"That's the price, isn't it? To return life, you must give life."

The older man's shoulders slumped and when he looked over, it was with an expression Preacher saw each week . . . in the face of a paris.h.i.+oner at confession.

"Yes," Doc Adams said. "That is the price. But the old man gave his life willingly. He volunteered."

"And now you need to find a volunteer for each child? Is that what you said to the Osbournes?"

"No, I was told not to tell them."

"Then how does Eleazar expect to get volunteers, if no one knows they're needed? He requires . . ." Preacher trailed off. "That's what they were discussing without you. How to fulfill that part of the bargain. And whatever Eleazar suggested, he knew you would not countenance it. That's why he sent you off."

Doc Adams s.h.i.+fted. "I don't know anything about that."

"I know, which is why I need to find the mayor and Dobbs."

Preacher took off before the doctor could say another word.

Addie Addie had been anxious when Preacher set off in search of answers. Now, almost two hours later, she paced the house, glancing out the windows, stepping onto the porch, and peering down the street.At first, Sophia would tell her to rest, find something to occupy her, not to worry about Preacher. The last few times she'd gone outside, though, she'd come back in to find Sophia standing inside the doorway, waiting for a report. Addie would say she could not see him and Sophia would deflate, only to rouse herself with a.s.surances that Preacher was fine, he could look after himself.

Finally, as the second hour drew to a close,Addie said, "I want to go look for him."

Sophia said nothing, which Addie knew meant she wished to say yes but knew she oughtn't.

"I'll be quick," Addie said. "He's probably down at the hall, talking to the mayor and Eleazar. I'll find him, and then I'll come straight back."

Sophia nodded. Addie gathered her things and went.

Preacher was not in town. Neither was Mayor Browning nor Mr. Dobbs. As Addie learned, Preacher had been asking after them, and someone had last seen Dobbs and Browning heading into the woods, and Preacher had gone off in pursuit.

Addie followed. They'd taken the main trail out of town, which made tracking difficult. She looked for small signs-a broken twig, a boot print in damp ground-and kept her ears attuned. She was no more than a quarter mile from town when she heard Browning and Dobbs returning. She snuck into the forest to watch as they pa.s.sed. Soon she saw them, trudging along, faces grim, not speaking.There was a purpling bruise on the mayor's jaw. She stared at that, then began drawing back farther to let them pa.s.s, when she spotted something on Dobbs's boots. They were light brown, tanned leather . . . and one was speckled red.

Addie crept hunched over through the undergrowth, until she was close enough to see the glistening specks. More on his trouser leg. Blood.There was no doubt of it.

Addie tried to inhale but couldn't force the air into her chest. Her heart pounded too hard.

Mr. Dobbs is speckled with blood. Preacher is missing. Preacher, who dared argue against their plan. Dared suggest it was not the work of G.o.d.

She held herself still until they were gone. Then she dashed onto the path and broke into a run.

Addie tore along the path, convinced she would at any moment stumble over Preacher's dead body. She did not, which only made her more panicked, certain it was out there in the forest, where she would not find it, where scavengers would feast- She took deep, shuddering breaths to calm herself, then began retracing her steps along the path, slower now, searching for any sign that someone had left the path. When she reached the first fork, she heard something. She stopped, eyes squeezed shut as she listened. Then she tore down the secondary path, branches whipping her face, until-

"Addie?"