A Harvest of Ripe Figs Read online

  Rivka scrambled off his back and began helping the other two women to the grass. "And then what? They'd make you sing and everyone would hear how magnificent you sound?"

  "Flattery will get you everywhere," he replied, his wings sinking back into his now-human shoulder blades. Isaac's voice was very deep and sonorous, but when he was a dragon, there was an echoing, harsh quality to it and some of the sweetness was gone. Shulamit was fascinated by the difference.

  Shulamit walked beside Isaac as they made their way through the crowd, continuing the conversation they'd begun during the flight. "So, now that you've heard all the details, what do you think?"

  "Well," said Isaac before taking a breath and pausing, "there are a few different forms of magic that someone could use to get into a workshop without anyone finding out. The most obvious one is shapeshifting. Nobody ever notices my lizard form, so if he could turn into a lizard or a bug or a worm, he'd have every advantage."

  "Would anyone really spend all that time training just to be able to turn into a worm?" Shulamit made a face.

  "Sometime when you're really bored, ask me about Schlomo the Confused. But don't get your hopes up about the jewelers," Isaac was quick to add. "I've been around Gershom enough to know he doesn't have that level of magical training, at least. And that also rules out invisibility, which takes even longer than shapeshifting."

  "Aww, that's too bad. That's exactly the kind of thing I was hoping had happened. I mean, not hoping, but..." Shulamit played with the ends of her gauzy yellow scarf. "So, what else?"

  "You're not going to like the next thing, because it means a lot of problems for the police."

  "I guess that means you don't like it, either, because you are the police."

  "It's possible that someone with magical abilities is selling illegal shifting potions to ordinary people."

  "That would certainly be fabulous," the little queen said in a biting tone.

  "Or illegal mind-control devices," Isaac added. "The landlady—you talked to her?"

  Shulamit nodded. "She didn't seem like she was lying or bewitched. But would I even be able to tell if she was bewitched?"

  "I don't know," said Isaac. "I might be able to tell if it had just happened, but I don't know how much I would perceive if it happened sometime in the past."

  "Rrrrgh. That's why this stuff is illegal."

  "You'll sort it out, Malkeleh!" Rivka interjected cheerfully. "You always do."

  They bought coconuts from one of the vendors and sat down near the front of the crowd. As Shulamit sipped the sweet water from hers, she listened to the voices of her people around her. Some of them were talking about the performer, Esther of the Singing Hands, who was internationally renowned for her violin playing. She came from Lovely Valley, in the southeast of Perach past the mountain range, and had returned to tour her home country after performing in high court of Imbrio. Apparently, she'd made such a splash there that both the Princess of Imbrio's little son and daughter had demanded to take up violin lessons.

  Shulamit, who'd had a raging, awkward crush on Princess Carolina when they were both teenagers, shifted her focus to another conversation on which to eavesdrop.

  The other group of people was talking about Liora, Home City's native violin star, and pointed her out among the wealthy in the crowd. Shulamit automatically followed their hands to the tall, thin figure at the end of the row, wearing over her simple black dress a man's coat with a fitted waist and skirt like Isaac's, only where his was silver, hers was a brilliant scarlet. Something red and jeweled held an explosion of thick, curly black hair away from her face, and she gazed out at the lake dispassionately, as if unaware of how many people were talking about her. According to the audience, at least the ones within earshot of Shulamit, Liora and Esther were passionate rivals. Their reputations certainly contrasted; Esther was purported to be sweet and gentle, whereas Liora was legendary for her flamboyance and flirtations.

  Liora was sitting with the marquis, which was normal. He was her patron, and some people said he was her lover. He could have been her pet ostrich for all Shulamit cared; she'd found him irritating ever since he'd "helpfully" tried to explain to her how she could thin out her thick eyebrows. They were a connection to her father, and for whose sake did she need to be prettier, anyway?

  Servants dressed in blue appeared on either side of the stage and lit torches so that as the sun began to set, people could still see the performance. It was also a signal for the crowd to hush. Then, from the side, a beautiful, plump lady stepped out with her violin tucked under her arm and her bow hanging from one finger. She smiled at the applauding audience, and Shulamit perceived the contradictory emotions of confidence and extreme vulnerability. She was younger than Shulamit had expected; she hadn't realized Esther was only in her early twenties.

  Esther lifted her bow to the waiting violin and began.

  Shulamit's heart was stirred instantly, and she sidled closer to Aviva and felt her own face split in half smiling as the elegant tones painted the air with rich colors of sound. She had the fleeting idea that her great-grandfather, who had been a renowned musician and had written some of the national tunes, was trying to speak to her through the violin. But—wait—it had belonged to his teacher, not to him. For a moment, she had misremembered the story. And in any case, it was unfair to take the credit away from this marvelous young woman who clearly had the talent to create magic with her fingers as real as any spell of Isaac's.

  This was why they called her Esther of the Singing Hands.

  At the end of the performance, after the torrent of cheers and applause, Isaac and Rivka made the way clear for Shulamit to visit with Esther behind the stage so that she could tell her how much she'd enjoyed herself. When she rounded the corner behind the huge boulders that flanked the stage, she saw the violinist surrounded by other admirers, but none so near as the thin but fit young man who hovered protectively and never left her side. He wore his bushy hair in a low ponytail that hung past his shoulders, and she took breaks every so often from greeting her fans to gaze at him with an expression of pure molasses.

  A very large man in every dimension was complimenting her profusely, and when he turned to go, Shulamit noticed a look of scorn in the eyes of the violinist's suitor. He barely waited until the large man had walked out of earshot before saying something to Esther that darkened her expression into a pout. As Shulamit drew closer, she heard Esther saying, "That's mean. And anyway, those were such nice things he said!"

  "I've come to say nice things too," Shulamit spoke up.

  Esther and the man both bowed when they noticed the queen. "Your Majesty! I'm so glad to meet you!" Esther exclaimed. "The Princess of Imbrio talked about you."

  Caught in the unexpected awkwardness, Shulamit blinked rapidly several times before Isaac jumped in and saved her. "Magnificent performance. Such good programming too—not too many of the same style one right after the other."

  "Your hands sang and danced," Aviva agreed gleefully.

  "Thank you for making Perach proud," said Shulamit, who had found her words thanks to the supportive rescue from her loved ones. "I don't know how much longer you're staying in Home City, but I'd love to have you come to the palace and play for my daughter. She's only six months old, but I bet she'd love it!"

  "Oh, Your Majesty! That would be really meaningful for me," said Esther. "My very first audience, when I was a small child, was my baby sisters."

  "See?" said Shulamit, smiling her usual half-smile. "Just like home!"

  "I know we'll be here another few days at least," Esther continued.

  "The only fixed thing on her calendar is tonight's party at the inn." It was the young man, speaking to the queen for the first time.

  "Oh! I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I forgot to introduce Eli. He's—"

  "Eli. I'm her fiancé. I'm studying law." He looked at Esther convivially.

  "—my boyfriend from back home," Esther finished even though he had spoken on top of her
. She grinned and chuckled at him affectionately.

  "Honored to meet you, Majesty!" said Eli.

  "Pleased to meet you. And this is Aviva, and my guards, Isaac and Riv." Shulamit gestured behind her.

  "Yes, the legendary northerners," said Eli, looking them over.

  "So you're going to a party later?" Shulamit asked.

  Esther opened her mouth, but Eli was already talking. "Yes, the innkeeper insisted on it."

  "He's so proud of having me stay there," Esther said with an embarrassed smile. "It's not a very big party."

  "I'm sure he'd be honored if you attended," said Eli to the queen.

  "Thank you," said Shulamit, "but I probably won't, sorry. I have to go home and make sure the princess gets fed." The part she wasn't explaining to a stranger was that it was troublesome for her to eat food far from the safety of Aviva's kitchen because of her peculiar problems digesting wheat or poultry. Most people didn't believe her and thought she was just claiming special ailments out of royal vanity, but then, she hadn't thrown up all over most people.

  As Shulamit peeled away from the couple, she noticed Aviva ending a conversation with the large man who'd preceded her at the receiving line. "Who was that?"

  "Oh, we were talking about the market," said Aviva, linking hands with her. "I said I thought he looked familiar, and he said he'd just come to town and set up at market last week, selling musical instruments."

  "Does he like it here?"

  "Seems to! He travels around, though. More of a hummingbird than a hibiscus."

  They'd waited long enough for the crowd to disperse, so Isaac didn't mind transforming right on the stage. With the most important ladies in his life ensconced safely on his back, he took off into the night sky.

  Several hours later, Shulamit sat in Aviva's kitchen, once again nursing Naomi as the four of them digested their dinner. "She did well with that avocado," she commented.

  "If by 'did well,' you mean she got enough in her mouth to count as eating," said Rivka, "because there was on her face enough green that I am thinking she could be a dragon like him!"

  "Maybe someday she'll follow in his footsteps." Shulamit looked down at the wide-eyed, contented little creature.

  ***

  Meanwhile, far away across the city in the inn near the lake, Esther of the Singing Hands was returning to her room after the party. She crossed the inner courtyard, walking slowly in the dark, and unlocked the door. In the light of the candle that she sat down on the bedside table, she scanned the room with quickly widening eyes. Where was her violin?

  She paced around the bed, craning her head here and there and even stooping to the floor to look under it. Nothing. "Eli!" she called out, wondering if he'd hear her. His room faced the outside, the street, instead of the inner courtyard. "Eli, I need you!"

  Circling the room over and over, she kept looking, unable to believe the evidence of her own eyes. Somehow Eli had heard her and appeared in the doorway. "What's the matter?"

  "Where's my violin?"

  "Did you leave it at the lake?"

  "No! When have I ever done anything like that?"

  "Maybe you were distracted from meeting the queen."

  "No, I remember putting it just there, on the floor by the bed," Esther murmured, her words coming out rapid-fire, "so that if anything happened in the night I'd be able to grab it on my way out of the room. I remember putting it just by that knothole in the floor; I remember thinking how funny it was that it looked like a cat's head." Her voice grew louder. "There's hardly anything in this room—nowhere else it could be. Do you see it? I don't see it!"

  Someone else came to the doorway, and Eli spoke with them under his breath. Esther continued to wheel around the room, hoping that the next time she rounded the bed, it would be there, and all this would be a funny nightmare they'd laugh about later.

  "What's happened?" said the innkeeper. There were servants with him, as well as curious guests who'd been in the courtyard and were attracted by the commotion.

  "Her violin's gone missing," Eli explained in an even tone.

  "What? In my inn?"

  "The door was locked," Esther exclaimed.

  "The lock's been picked," one of the servants pointed out.

  "What?" Heat suffused Esther's face, and her heart sank into her stomach and made her feel sick.

  "I suppose it's been stolen," said Eli.

  "You two, go summon the queen. She's good at this sort of thing." Esther heard the innkeeper talking to his servants from what seemed like a thousand miles away as she sank down upon the bed, uncontrollably sobbing.

  Chapter 3: Esther of the Empty Hands

  "Here, Esther, drink this."

  "Whaa?" What came out of her mouth sounded more like the plaintive moan of an infant than any noise an adult had a right to make. Esther picked herself up from the tearstained arms where she'd been mushing her face and saw that Eli was handing her a cup.

  "Drink the tea. Calm you down. Please?"

  She leaned back into the comfort of his familiar embrace and accepted the offering.

  "The queen is in the lounge," said the innkeeper, who was standing close to the door. Everybody else had gone. "Please come and talk to her. She needs to know what it looks like."

  "You haven't found it?" Esther slowly rose from the bed and groped around for her new blue scarf that had been draped modestly around her bare shoulders during the after-concert party. It had come undone during her crying fit.

  "I'm afraid not," said the innkeeper.

  "No," said Eli, shaking his head. They spoke at the same time.

  Esther peered around the room, feeling as if surely, surely this must be a nightmare. She'd come out of a bed, right? So there was a chance that if she went back to it, she could open her eyes again and everything would be just as it should be, with her fiddle by her side, ready to come to life under her loving fingers?

  Instead, Eli took her hand and led her outside into the darkness of the outdoor inner courtyard, farther into the night.

  Coming back to the inn's lounge after the violin's disappearance left nightmare, nightmare, nightmare echoing in Esther's head in steady, slow beats. Here she'd spent the past few hours, happily talking with the innkeeper's guests and raking in the compliments over a light dinner. The table was still there, but cleared; the potted lime trees were perched in the corners as before. She'd been content here so recently. Now she was devastated.

  Servants had brought in a fresh set of candles, and in their flickering light she once again beheld the Queen of Perach. There was a graveness in the small woman's face, and behind her, her two foreign bodyguards loomed in the shadows.

  "Your Majesty—again, thank you—thank you so much for coming out here so late," the innkeeper gushed with his head down.

  "It's best to check these things out as soon as possible," said Queen Shulamit, "right after they happen, to see things as they are."

  "How did you get here so quickly?" Eli hovered near Esther protectively, one hand near the small of her back. "And here with no trace of the servants who sent for you."

  "As you may have heard, I have a dragon," was the queen's answer.

  "Please, Majesty," Esther said in a choked voice. "It's got to be somewhere."

  "A priceless violin," mused the unmasked guard in a deep voice. "Lots of people would want that somewhere to be their somewhere."

  "What does it look like?" asked Queen Shulamit. "I was at your concert, but I wasn't looking at it up close."

  "The wood is dark brown," said Esther, "and the body is large so that the sound is... is fabulous." She never thought she'd ever had to describe it like this, her—body part, her voice, the way her soul spoke to the world. Surely it wasn't a curved container of dark wood with holes in the top for resonance and a spiraling scroll where the pegs stuck out. How prosaic! One might as well say one's boyfriend was a collection of meat and hair.

  "When did you notice it missing?"

  "I went back t
o my room at the end of the party, and the first thing I noticed was that it wasn't there," said Esther. "The case is hard to miss—"

  "Oh, so it was in a case?"

  "Yes, Majesty. A wooden case, painted with sparkly butterflies. Big, lopsided, sparkly butterflies." Esther grinned despite herself. "When my parents bought it for me, my baby sisters painted the case to surprise me, and to congratulate me. My mother was angry but, you know? I liked it! It looks silly, but it reminds me of them and how much they support me."

  "So the case was gone? Not just empty and lying there?"

  "Exactly. Completely gone." Esther closed her eyes, pressing the burning lids together so that she wouldn't do something silly like cry in front of the queen.

  She needn't have worried. A gentle hand had reached for hers. "I'm going to do what I can." Esther opened her eyes to see the queen turn to the innkeeper. "Who was at the party?"

  "Well," began the innkeeper, licking his lips, "Esther and this Eli fellow... the marquis, of course, with Liora, and that instrument-selling man. All music people."

  "Is the instrument seller staying here?"

  "Yes, Majesty. But he's gone off with Liora back to the marquis' manor to look at something."

  "Everyone will be summoned to the palace in the morning so that I can hear what they all have to say." The queen paced around the room and then looked out into the inner courtyard. "The only way into that courtyard is through this lounge, right?"

  "Yes, Majesty."

  "Was anyone sitting in the courtyard during the party?"

  "There was a rabbi from out of town who's staying here, and some older ladies having an argument... at least, that's what it looked like."

  "Then hopefully one of them saw whoever it was lurking near the door to Esther's room."

  Esther was able to detach a little bit, now that the conversation had drifted from the specifics of the stolen object. It was almost as though it had nothing to do with her and she could pretend everything was normal. But the tears came back when the queen asked to see her room. "Yes... yes, I'll show you where it was."