Nobody's Goddess Read Online Free Page A

Father’s hand in hers. “Honey, you’re filthy. You were out there carving. Wash up first. Then you can do the dishes.”
    Father did as commanded, and Elfriede sent me a dejected look before stepping outside. “Bye, Mother. Bye, Father!” She left me out of her farewells.
    “See you soon, dear!” called Mother. She faced me, her hands on her hips, her mouth poised to issue an order.
    Watching Father wash up gave me an idea for how to deflect the next thing out of her mouth. “How come Father still obeys your orders?”
    Father blushed and went back to pouring water over his hands in the sink and rubbing them together. “I don’t.” Right .
    Mother raised a finger and walked over to the cupboard, removing a picnic basket. She rummaged through one of the clay pots and pulled out a roll. I heard it clink as she tossed it into the basket. She looked around at the counter next to the sink and plucked a wedge of cheese from a bowl. Someone—or maybe the mice—had started biting into it. Mother covered the top of the basket with a black cloth and dropped it on the table in front of me. “Why don’t you bring these to Ingrith, and see if she wants to attend? We’ll meet you at the Great Hall at dusk.” She took my head and bent it gently forward to kiss the top. Good thing she hadn’t smeared bacon grease into it.
    I grabbed the handle of the basket gingerly with two fingers, almost feeling sorry for Ingrith if that was the extent of the gifts someone would offer her. It was little better than what the men in the commune got. Mother began to turn around but stopped suddenly, waving a hand at me. “And don’t cut through the fields. Take the pathway. We don’t want you getting your dress all dirty.”
    I think mud would blend right in with this monstrosity just fine . “Okay. Love you.” I peered over her shoulder before I turned to leave. “Love you too, Father.”
    Elbow deep in water and plates, Father grunted.

 
     
    Swinging a basket around with two fingers was an excellent way to break those fingers, which was helpful if you were looking for an excuse to get out of working for a few days. But since the Returning had that covered for me, and my fingers were starting to stiffen in what looked a bit like a hook, I gave up and began to carry the thing properly. Having a hook hand was all I needed the next time someone made a comment about how no man would ever find the goddess in me.
    Down and up and down and up again, among the violet lily-covered fields, I followed the dirt path that ran from the woods and the castle to the center of the village and out again in all directions. There were no houses between mine and the edge of the village, none but Jurij’s, the Tailor Shop on the eastern outskirts.
    Maybe if I hide my face behind the basket I could pretend I don’t see it. Lifting the basket that high made my arms sore. But then again, it did house at least one rock-hard biscuit.
    I stepped on the dog’s paw before I even realized she’d run out of the Tailor Shop to greet me. We both yelped as I tumbled.
    The basket went soaring out of my arms … and into the arms of a man with a male face carved from wood, complete with exaggerated pointy wooden ears that stuck out straight sideways. It was the mask a man only wore on the morning of his Returning.
    “Whoa!” The muffled voice was all too familiar. He bent forward to pick up the partially bitten cheese wedge, which had landed on the back of Bow, his golden dog. “Cheese is generally a fine gift for a Returning, but … ” He held up the wedge with one hand like it was the carcass of some dead squirrel Bow had brought him. “The fur-covered, half-eaten variety is not quite to my taste.”
    I grinned and snatched the cheese from him, blowing on it to get rid of all of the hairs. “I don’t know. I hear furry cheese is an excellent cure for missing eyes.”
    “Amusing.” Jurij’s creepy wooden face tilted to one side. “My eyes are here