Chapter Eleven

                                    

                                          
It was a feat for Niccola to feign ignorance the morning after her trip to the Talakova. Sleep deprivation certainly helped. Between the time distortion, the long trip back to the Bel Ilan manor, and the number of tasks Lady Selah expected of her before the family awoke, she'd not even snagged a nap before the fire needed stoking and a kettle set on the stove to boil. Niccola knew it would likely be a long day. But all that was worth it when Leah proved first to fling wide her curtains come daybreak. Her shriek echoed through the house.
"Mother! Look outside, quickly!"
Footsteps all across the upper floor moved to the windows. It was not long before Leah thundered down the stairs, her brown skin pale as if she'd smeared ashes on it. 
"Niccola!" she ordered, her high, petulant tone not managing to disguise the fear in her voice. "There is a whole flock of crows in the front tree. Go chase them off; Esther and I need to go shopping today."
Niccola treated her to a chilly look. "And what, disrespect any of those who might be lapsed barrowers? Do you know what bad luck that is for this house?"
A noise of distress escaped Leah. It was impossible to know which crows were ordinary crows and which were barrowers who'd defaulted on their Crow Moon obligations at some point in the past. The Talakova's time distortion ensured the birds lived far longer than one would expect of them, and folk wisdom dictated that those who'd once been human flocked to places that had once been familiar to them. For all the Bel Ilans knew, the lapsed form of a Calisian necromantic could be perched outside their home at this very moment.
Leah stormed off. Furious whispering in the sitting room indicated conspiracy with her sister, whose sharp tone indicated agreement with Niccola's warning. The argument went on for some time before Lady Selah marched in. 
"What is this, now?" she said. 
"Mother, we want to go shopping."
Lady Selah huffed. "Then go. Are you afraid of a flock of birds? Have you forgotten the ball?"
Silence marked the sisters' discomfort. Niccola perked up, suddenly intrigued. She had not expected Lady Selah to dismiss her daughters like this. Distrust of magic and superstitions about its associations increased linearly with class, and no one in this house cared about her nobility more than Lady Selah. 
Esther chose her words carefully. "Mother, I don't think it would reflect well on us to play games with chance like this."
"Nonsense. What of chance? What are the chances that one of those birds is of malicious origin?"
"They're the eyes of the Talakova," whispered Leah.
"Who told you this?"
"Lady Efrat and her son. Mother, all the people in the Belman party speak about this. Have you not been listening?"
Another awkward silence followed that proclamation. Niccola's mind galloped to process it. Lady Selah had her quirks, but this indicated for the first time that maybe there was more to the story. Was she not highborn herself? For all her care about appearances, her daughters seemed more attuned to the Calisian elite than she was. 
Niccola had thought she would have to goad them herself, but the Lady was doing it for her. She rather liked this turn of events. 
"I have been listening," Lady Selah bluffed. "I simply disagree with the neuroticisms of Lady Efrat and her son, and all the rest of them. The crown prince of Calis is holding a ball in a day's time. No daughter of mine will compromise her preparations out of fear of a flock of birds."
Niccola clenched a fist in triumph. With that, she had the timing of the ball. She was still missing other critical information, but at least now she knew what timeline she was working with. She returned to feigned cooking while Lady Selah continued to argue with her daughters. It took some time for Leah and Esther to cave, but cave they did. They took only a small breakfast before hovering at the door, reluctant to exit it. Lady Selah kicked them out.