“Well, I always felt that way about that bridge, just not as strongly as I did today,” Abi replied. “I’ve always hated it, always hated crossing it. It always felt . . .” she thought about her feelings for a long time, trying to pick the best words. “. . . like there was something wrong about it. That it was sick in some way. Or like an instrument that was out-of-tune, except that the consequences of being out-of-tune were going to be much worse than a horrible rendition of a song.”

“You mean you heard things?” the graying man asked. She shook her head.

“No, it was definitely a feeling, inside. I never heard anything but the same things other people heard. This was something I felt, except I always knew it wasn’t me feeling it, it was the bridge. The bridge was wrong. I don’t know if it was built wrong, or grew wrong over the years, but by the time I was old enough to cross it, it had gotten to that point.”

The three of them locked eyes, and she was pretty sure they were Mindspeaking. Good, I’d rather they did that than talked in front of me as if I wasn’t there. The tea was very good; something with a lot of rose hips in it, and a little mint, and a generous dollop of honey. Now that she was warm, she didn’t mind being here. Mind? It was far better than being out in that miserable rain. From the sound of the drops outside the window, in fact, it was getting worse. If they’d gotten to the shop, even Kat would have been drenched by the time they got back. Did she make the Herald go with her to the shop? I bet she did. So she’s drenched. Poor Kat.

No one had died, that was the important thing. She actually felt very good about how things had worked out. No one had died, Kat was safe, and she’d personally been responsible for all of that! Not that she wanted a medal or anything, but it did feel really good to know she’d saved peoples’ lives. This is probably how Papa feels when he does the same thing. If so, she wouldn’t mind doing it again. Only maybe without bridges collapsing.

The Heralds interrupted her thoughts. “Are there any other places where you’ve felt like you felt about the bridge?” the woman asked.