Rainhorn (The Weirkey Chronicles Book 2)

by Sarah Lin

  "It's nothing different than I've said." Though, even as he spoke, he questioned if he had really been completely forthcoming with them. "Any information at all about the Artifacts of Elghiera, or the ancient soulcrafter himself. I probably found the stories you mentioned before, but don't rule anything out. Then anything about the Landguard - it's not very likely, but if we can learn anything about why they're so paranoid about outsiders, that might save our lives later."

  She could easily have dismissed it as too abstract or relevant only to him, but Nauda accepted his words with a nod and began to help in the search. Actually, she proved to be a great help, since she showed no hesitation in approaching librarians directly where Theo preferred to search alone.

  After an hour spent mostly futilely, Theo sat back and wondered if this had fundamentally been a mistake. This search needed to be undertaken carefully and thoughtfully, not rushed into while on the run from unknown opponents. Only the fact that they might not be able to return to Nlukoko for a long time made him refocus on the task.

  What he found most frustrating was that the books the librarian brought him about Elghiera seemed to take him even less seriously than the myths he'd found before. There was a long chapter that put forth a theory that "Elghiera" was the mythical version of a real historical figure who had been essential in creating the very first weirkeys. Though the ring Theo had owned in his first life had never been usable as a weirkey, it had seemed aligned with some worlds more than others, and it had helped him in the pale white realm. What if it was a key in search of a lock?

  The chapter would have been fascinating on its own terms, but as an answer under pressure, it was horribly disappointing. In fact, everything he read just made him angrier, wading through unnecessary information when he'd been killed because he didn't know enough. What should have been an enjoyable experience was reduced to futile scrabbling after a retreating goal.

  "I think I have something." Nauda hadn't said anything of the sort during their search, even for potentially useful finds, so he immediately looked to her. She raised the book so he could see the title and smiled. "This is specifically for Archcrafters who believe they might join the Landguard. Unfortunately, it's more about ideas of community than specific techniques or advice."

  "But it has information about the Landguard? When was it published?"

  When Nauda blinked at him, he remembered that of course the book wouldn't have a publication date or anything of the sort. Whatever word she heard, she overcame her confusion fairly quickly. "The binding is very new, but a few other people have read it. He mentions a city that was founded ten years ago, so it's at most a decade old."

  "Sorry, it doesn't matter. What's the important part?"

  "It says that, while the Landguard is able to deal with military threats, it's struggled to deal with other types. Harmful addictive substances from other worlds, for example. The book emphasizes all the different threats, but the important part is that they've also received support from other worlds, information about dangerous outsiders that they might not be familiar with."

  For the first time in so long, Theo felt like he was getting somewhere. He leaned closer. "And?"

  "It doesn't say anything about who, but some sort of benefactor gave the Landguard both information and sublime materials if they promised to increase their usual duties. Specifically, they needed to locate and hunt down any outsiders who might be dangerous to the Nine Worlds." Nauda paused and shrugged with the book in hand. "Unfortunately, it doesn't say much more than that. The book is more about how awe-inspiringly important and serious the Landguard is, as opposed to little details like what they do. Does that help?"

  "It's more than I've ever had before." Theo sat back and considered what that changed.

  When he'd first arrived, he'd been afraid that Vistgil would pop out of nowhere and kill him again. That had never happened, and now he had a plausible theory. Vistgil and whatever organization he might represent couldn't afford to police billions of people across all the continents of the Nine Worlds. But they knew that unplanned outsiders might arrive, so they established broad policies against them.

  That was assuming that Vistgil or an ally had been the one responsible for influencing the Landguard, but Theo couldn't really bring himself to doubt that. On his previous visit, just a century ago in Nine Worlds time, the attitude toward outsiders had been entirely different. The people of Tatian had actually been especially welcoming toward people from beyond the Nine Worlds, curious to hear their tales. Theo had never met anyone else from Earth, but he'd met people who were widely known to be from some distant world.

  If his assumptions proved true, that meant he was dealing with less of a hunt and more of a conspiracy. What Magnafor had said suggested that others were coming across, perhaps with greater frequency than before. And whoever didn't want that process to happen had struck with surgical precision, their trap designed to annihilate people returning to the Nine Worlds with plans to ascend quickly.

  Questions of why were pointless because he simply didn't have enough information, so his mind wandered in another direction. If this arrival had been accidental and unplanned, had the first been coordinated? Vistgil had known exactly how he almost died on Earth, despite claiming it was a meaningless accident, and had somehow met him immediately. Every possible explanation for that just left him with even more questions.

  "Theo?" Nauda had closed the book and now just looked at him. "I know this information is important to you, but I don't know what else we can try."

  "I think that will be enough. We should get moving." As he rose, Theo reached down to rub her arm. "This helps more than you know, Nauda. Thank you."

  "I think you'd do the same for me." That was all she said before sweeping back toward the entrance. A warm thought, and decidedly not a Tatian one.

  Back outside, they discovered Fiyu lurking in the shadows next to a newly painted sleigh - it was now a rich red color that would blend in with Tatian foliage, and more importantly didn't look nearly so Deuxan. Fiyu herself hid among their supplies as though she wanted to hide herself with her stealth technique, but she popped up when she saw them.

  "The paint is not dry yet. Is there anything else we need to do?"

  "We could always use sublime materials." Nauda glanced between them, then shook her head. "I still have enough Deuxan stone, and I don't want to mix types on my second floor. I could use some metal ore, perhaps. Do you need anything, Fiyu?"

  "Oh, I am fine. I will remain here, by the sleigh."

  Since she seemed determined on that account, Theo and Nauda set off again, this time walking to the nearest market that sold sublime materials. He wasn't eager to spend their money on materials that were probably second rate compared to what they would soon access, but he had to admit that lack of materials had been a choke point for him.

  Thinking through all the potential problems, Theo decided to purchase some of the springy branches that Nauda had used to ascend. It was unlikely that he would reach Archcrafter soon, but it was good to be prepared. Nauda purchased a number of supplies for mixing sublime cement, which was always a practical choice.

  They had to search longer to find anything of quality, but eventually they came across some sublime metal that the merchant called sunbronze. Like many sun-related Tatian materials, it felt potent, though not Archcrafter-tier. It would have fit his old blueprint better, but he thought he could find a place for it, while Nauda was sure that she and even Fiyu could use it to polish some of their chambers.

  Since it was unlikely that they would find anything of immense value, and he was growing antsy, they headed back to the sleigh. Along the way, Nauda blended into the crowds to gather information and rumors, but when she rejoined him, she only shook her head.

  When they returned, they found Fiyu perched on one of the seats, running a finger along the new paint curiously. The red would have stood out starkly on her dark clothes and she'd reloaded the sleigh, however, so it seemed that it
was essentially dry. When she felt their presence she smiled and looked up.

  "Hello. I think it is almost all dry, so we could leave if we want."

  "That's good." Nauda folded her arms and frowned over all the supplies they'd gathered. "Does anyone have anything else they need to do?"

  "Senka does!"

  Everyone flinched as the imp suddenly hopped up onto their sleigh. Though Theo's first impulse was to roll his eyes, he immediately realized that her presence meant something much worse. "Senka, exactly how did you get here?"

  "Ummm... Senka was eating and then people were yelling your names. Senka was a bit confused by all the words, but there was a mean fumpet and a really angry fumpet. They said they needed find you and Senka also needed to find you! So Senka sneaked into their flying boat thingy and we went back over here so Senka came to find you."

  They listened in horror, almost made worse by the childish nature of the story. Theo jumped forward, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Senka, are you saying that Deuxans have already followed us here?"

  "Umm, yes? Senka thinks so. There were lots of words but they said that you might get away so they wanted to talk to some Lord fumpet and lock something up."

  Nauda groaned, but she also leapt into the sleigh at the same moment. "They're trying to lock us in, and probably get us reported as thieves to the whole guard. We need to move."

  "Is it already too late?" Fiyu asked, shifting to a better seat and pulling Senka onto her bench.

  "Hopefully not, thanks to Senka. The Lord of Nlukoko is too proud to meet with just anyone, especially anyone without a significant rank. But I don't know how long that delay will last, so we should get out of here as soon as possible."

  "That's now." Before he'd even properly sat down, Theo lowered his hands to the controls and began navigating out of the city. This could be closer than he'd wanted, and he could only hope they had time.

  If it really came down to it and the bridges out of the city were closed, he was fairly certain that the sleigh could move directly across the lake. The guard might have some sort of barrier they could raise, but with gravitational fields he could probably send the sleigh over them. The real problem would be if they actually got Ariano on their side - an Authority could shoot them out of the sky in an instant.

  "Was Senka helpful? Huh? Huh? Senka thinks she was helpful. You gonna thank Senka or you gonna be a sporping fumpet?" She started to clamber up onto his shoulders, but he pushed her back.

  "We can hand out the thanks when we're safe." Theo pressed down harder on the sphere, willing them to escape Nlukoko.

  Chapter 25

  Even after they discovered there was no sign of the city locking down, their exit from the city worried Theo. The guards would no doubt include some Archcrafters, and above all they couldn't afford to bring higher authorities - and Authorities - down on them. But in the end, Fiyu had persuaded him to try her stealth technique, which she had been strengthening.

  Theo made the sleigh weightless, allowing the levitation materials to lift them well above the surface, then Fiyu extended her sphere around the entire vessel. With those combined, they avoided the bridges entirely and glided over an empty part of the lake. Though he worried the entire time, and watched the ripples extending beneath them despite his best efforts with gravitational fields, in the end they slid out of Nlukoko and into the northern wasteland.

  "Well done, Fiyu!" Nauda beamed up at her as Fiyu sat happily in the central seat.

  "The walls are completely reinforced with the reflective bark, and I've completed my central carving. The chamber is finally complete." She folded her hands in her lap and lowered her head. "I will focus on attempting to resist Archcrafter observation while you move us away."

  Though Theo's imagination conjured sleds racing after them or Authorities rising out of the city, he didn't see any sign that they had been followed. Far from being a tense chase, they cruised away from the city peacefully until Nlukoko vanished in the distance.

  That took less time than it normally would, because the ground only became more twisted and hilly as they continued. The sleigh wanted to remain a constant distance above the ground, which meant they ended up weaving up and down the hills. He saw a few scraggly trees at first, but vegetation receded and even the ground seemed leeched of life.

  It was so alien to Tatian that he wondered if this region had been damaged in a past battle between powerful soulcrafters. The Landguard might be formidable, but they couldn't prevent all collateral damage. He wasn't completely sure about the details, but he knew that the strongest soulcrafters could have a radical effect on the world around them, creating effects that, if not permanent, could last for generations. Perhaps this was a blighted zone, perhaps even tied to Nauda's past.

  "Sporp!" Senka let out another nonsense exclamation and he tried to ignore her, but a moment later he heard Nauda's intake of breath and turned back to look.

  A silver mote winked in the distance, another sleigh rising and falling over the hills. No, when he watched more carefully, he realized that there were two silver vehicles in pursuit.

  "Don't worry, everyone." Nauda hefted her staff while putting on a false smile. "I'm sure that's just a friendly Deuxan group that happens to be going on a picnic in the same direction."

  "He can see us." Fiyu wilted in her seat. "I thought we were so close to invisible..."

  "It isn't your fault, Fiyu." Though Nauda turned back to give her a real smile, she soon focused behind them again. "I'd bet that Esaire is on that sleigh, and I think he has a full chamber dedicated to an Archcrafter-tier observation technique. That, or he has some entirely different way to track us."

  Though Theo eyed Senka suspiciously, her face actually looked concerned, and she had been the one to warn them. He decided to cut through Fiyu's unhappiness and get her focused on what mattered. "We don't have time to figure out his observation technique now, the question is if he's gaining on us. I was already going as fast as the sleigh can manage, so just judge his speed."

  It wasn't long before he got an answer from Nauda. "I think he's gaining, but extremely slowly. Their sleigh seems to be faster, but they're not navigating the hills as smoothly."

  "Then let's increase that advantage." Theo again wished that he could apply gravity directionally, but instead removed their gravity as they arched up the next hill. The sleigh shot into the air before he removed the field, skipping the valley entirely and instead landing on the next slope.

  Unfortunately, with his attention on driving, he couldn't reduce their momentum perfectly, so the impact was a bit jarring. Fiyu gasped as she was jolted from her seat, only just gripping the next to reduce the shaking. They needed something else...

  "Nauda, can you use your binding technique on the sleigh?"

  "Not enough to fly or anything like that..." Nauda still hefted her staff and picked up her broken fork. "But you just want to reduce the impacts, right? I'll see what I can do."

  It took them several jumps to coordinate properly, but soon they managed it: instead of weaving up and down the hills, they skimmed over the top of each. The sleighs didn't lose much momentum on inclines, but their path was still a straighter line. Behind them, the silver sparks began to recede into the horizon, only occasionally winking from between the hills.

  "Do you think they'll follow us forever?" Fiyu asked. Now that Nauda had adjusted to catching them each time they came down, she was able to answer smoothly.

  "They've already left their home world, negotiated with Nlukoko, and come this far." She shook her head slowly. "I doubt their determination will run out, but their supplies might. They're probably underestimating how far we intend to go... I'm not sure what will happen."

  "What matters for now is reaching the gate," Theo said. "If we actually reach a hub city, their authority won't mean anything, plus we can disappear into the crowds."

  "I'm not sure it will come to that. We have a long way to go."

  Part of Theo had been slightly d
isbelieving Nauda, assuming that she'd overestimated the distance in her mind, but as the hours wore on, it became obvious why they'd needed a vehicle. Even flashing forward at their current speeds, they didn't seem any closer to their destination. Judging from the food she'd brought along, Nauda expected the journey to be much longer.

  As the journey continued, Theo taught the others how to use the control spheres. Fiyu seemed confused by their design, but rapidly became skilled at sliding around the hills, while Nauda grasped the basics right away but didn't seem to enjoy driving. They couldn't maintain their pace skimming over hills for long, so they slowed down and watched the horizon.

  The days stretched on and they fell into a strange rhythm. They traded off driving, sleeping, eating, and soulcrafting to maintain their pace day and night. Once, at the top of a very large hill, Nauda caught a glimpse of a sleigh still following them, but they remained in the lead. When Theo and Nauda were both awake they returned to skimming, just in case their pursuers had other tricks up their sleeve. Overall, it seemed that they might make their escape successfully.

  Three days into the journey, Theo finally saw a black structure on the horizon. After so long over dead land with no sign of Tatian civilization, he was eager to examine it... until he realized that it wasn't a building.

  "Pull up, up!" Nauda had been partially asleep but now pounded on his back in abrupt panic. He acted without thinking, sending their sleigh high into the sky.

  The building unfurled, enormous jaws lunging into the sky toward them.

  Theo had no time to look at it, just cast another gravitational field to send them higher. Fiyu partially rose and unleashed a hail of bolts with one hand, but they dissipated against the beast's rocky skin. The jaws slammed shut beneath them and the beast fell back down, leaving Theo to desperately shift fields to keep them from slamming back to the ground too violently. Being so high might make them visible to their pursuers... though they had a much bigger problem, including in the literal sense.