by Dana Davis
“Oh, I know who you are. You joined up with the wrong people. Filthy Gypsies.” He spat. “I’m not the one holding you, either. Pim! Blazes, lass! Will you hurry?” The youngling stood next to a tree stump with several fat-burning lanterns. “I’ve been ordered to take intruders captive. ‘Specially Gypsies. I’m disappointed in your choice of friends, lad.” He wrapped an arm around Thad’s shoulders. “But no worry. You’re here now, and I’ll be rewarded for capturing such a powerful lot.”
“If you’re not doing this to us, then who is?” Xiath said from behind him.
“Ah, that for me to know.” Shon smirked and scratched at his head.
Pim ran up with two lanterns in her hands and gave one to him. “Sureyah ready for them.” She took a firm grip on Cass’s arm.
“Whoever is doing this better release us immediately,” Xiath said in a loud voice.
Shon held up a hand to silence him. “I think you won’t talk any more tonight.”
Xiath clamped his mouth shut and fire lit his eyes.
Cass nearly tripped when Pim yanked her toward a home, yellow glow of fire emanating from the windows. A distant remnant of sunset colored the west and the rest of the sky had gone purple.
“Come along, Cass, dear,” Pim said in a syrupy voice. “Don’t want to keep Sureyah waiting. That a fact. I think she might just let me show you to your chores tomorrow. And I hope to return your attentions. That be amusing. Don’t you think so?”
“Pim.” She noticed a bruise near the youngling’s mouth. “Think what you’re doing. Think of Nym. He’s kin, remember?”
Pim spat. “Nym dead to me if he joined the likes of you.”
“That will do,” Shon told her. “Nym just a lad. He couldn’t have found these Gypsies alone. Now, mind your tongue lass, unless you want the back of my hand on that mouth again.”
Cass threw a quick look at Thad. No middling threatened younglings that way. She saw fire in Siri’s eyes this time. These middlings also had no idea that Nym was a grown man now.
Pim frowned as she held her lantern up to Shon. “Wouldn’t be more painful than the bloody hole I had in my leg. Stinking mudworms! I could’ve died out there.”
“Nonsense. Sureyah knew these Gypsies couldn’t pass up a youngling, ‘specially one who needed healing.”
He chuckled and Pim studied him. “That a true tale, Shon. They coddled me like a helpless newborn. I’m surprised that Siri woman didn’t put me to her breast. But it still bloody hurt.”
He shook a finger at her and she jumped. “Well, you shouldn’t have disobeyed my orders to stay out of sight. Then you wouldn’t have got that arrow in your leg. You’re in one piece now. They would never send a quest without a healer. Sureyah told us that, remember. You think I’d ever let anything happen to you?” He offered her a smile with several uneven teeth.
Her eyes widened briefly in what looked like fear, but after a heartbeat, she waved a dismissive hand at him. “Naw. You’re the best husband I could have.”
“That right.” He laughed and Cass felt ill.
Pim stared at him a heartbeat. “Did you have to kill the others? That bloody necessary?” The man gave her a hard look and she took a step away from him. “You should’ve seen the play-acting I did in that old shack. Stupid Gypsies actually thought I saw Death. Imagine that. Put the fear into them. That it did.” They stopped near a large cottage with a thatched roof.
Cass’s anger rose but Siri spoke this time. “Youngling, you have quite a bit of explaining to do.”
“Oh, quiet, Siri. And I’m not a bloody youngling.” Pim squinted at the Elder a heartbeat then rolled her eyes up as though trying to see something. Suddenly she let out a belly laugh, cocked her head, and the black pecan footprint winked out.
Chapter 14
“Now, Saldia!” Haranda ordered.
The shade walker fled the room in her nightdress, and Haranda forced herself to concentrate and made haste in dressing. Panic swelled at the news Ved’nuri delivered from the Netherworld. Candelus had come through more during this last visit, despite the prominent personality of Ved’nuri. The formidable woman had displayed nervousness and anger, something Haranda now felt.
She had managed to dress quickly but her feet were still bare when the others entered the room. Most had on nightclothes. Eletha was clad only in her undergarments. Gypsy rules kept the girl at youngling status but she was no child. Since no one took notice, Haranda decided to wait about chastising the little snip. Later, she would again speak to the youngling about that awful habit. Such unbecoming behavior from a woman, Gypsy or no.
“What’s wrong, Haranda?” Taniras’s hair was disheveled and a blanket drawn around her shoulders. The new-oathed woman had changed so much since becoming the wolf singer and Snowy’s wife.
Haranda admired that strength. It had taken decades to build her own self-esteem among her kin and now she felt herself falter, wondering whether they could really reverse the Energy void and defeat Cholqhuin’s followers. They still hadn’t identified the Netherworld intruders, but at least no one had been attacked since they left the Land of the Goddess. Snowy stepped behind his wife in just his breeches. Hard, dark muscles filled his upper body and Haranda longed for a man’s comfort.
Predula stepped close. “Haranda? What’s wrong? Why did you call us here so early? Are you ill?”
Worry creased the body-healer’s youthful face and guilt flooded Haranda. She hadn’t wanted to lead this quest, or any quest for that matter, but this was her duty to the Vedi, to the Goddess, and she pulled her body straight. “My apologies to all. Ved’nuri came to me in the Netherworld. We’ve lost contact with Xiath’s quest. They’ve sent no messages of late, and Ved’nuri can’t locate anyone’s otherself, including Elder Siri’s.”
“What?” Taniras looked as frightened as Haranda felt. “How is that possible? Elder Siri has strong slumbering Energy. How can Ved’nuri not find her?”
I wish I knew. “I only know what I was told. Ved’nuri was extremely distraught. Her Energy fluctuated more than ever.” The woman was close to birthing. Haranda had felt that too.
Taniras placed an arm around Eletha’s shoulders but the youngling didn’t protest. Instead, she drew her short body up and thrust out that stubborn chin as her fiery hair moved about her face. “Then we must go and find them, Cousin Haranda. They must be in trouble for Cousin Siri not to contact the Vedi.”
“We have our own quest, youngling.”
Eletha narrowed blue eyes then nodded. “The quicker we finish, the quicker we can be on our way and help our kin.”
Haranda took pride in the girl and nodded this time but finishing their task quickly here didn’t seem like a certainty. Her arms and shoulders were still sore from digging in the forest in an attempt to find the text from one of Mistress Norine’s fish stories. They’d had no luck after the marriage ceremony or the day after. They had even rented three more shovels, which Bankari used mainly for building and clearing the streets of debris.
Two days digging and still nothing. Three signs of Cholqhin’s return had already passed and doubt pressed against Haranda’s thoughts. All eyes studied her, waiting for her decision. Why had the Vedi chosen her to be a quest leader? Stop this foolishness, Gypsy Haranda Banwidden. Remember your oaths. “Taniras. Snowy. Eletha. You’ll accompany me to the forest. We’ll keep searching there.”
“Yes, Haranda,” the three said in unison.
She didn’t berate the youngling for dropping the cousin title. “Predula. Take the guards and go shopping. Talk to people. If you begin conversations with a purchase, the Bankari should open up to you even more. If not, remind them of Eletha’s poisoning.” She caught Eletha’s sour look at that statement. “You might make your first stop at the herb mistress’s place.” The body-healer nodded, and Haranda turned to the shade walker. “Saldia. I need you to scout around. Stay in the shadows. Get inside as many private areas as you can. And be careful. We still don’t know who poisoned Eletha o
r why.”
“I will, Haranda.” Saldia raised a brow. “You watch yourself too.”
The shade walker had become so confident, grown so much since her days in the dome. She no longer resembled that bawdy tavern girl, and Haranda smiled. “I plan to, my little shadow. I plan to.” She took in a quick breath and turned to the cook and remaining hunter. “I think you two should inquire about work.” They understood. Haranda glanced at the window in the room she now shared with Saldia. “It’s already dawn. Get dressed and meet for a quick meal downstairs. No point raising suspicion with Mistress Norine. Keep to your routine here as much as possible. I know you’re concerned about Xiath’s quest. I am too. But I want that text. If we don’t stop those idiots from raising Cholqhuin, the rest won’t matter.”
* * * *
Haranda led Eletha, Snowy and Taniras to where they had left off digging, shovels neatly buried beneath leaves and brush. They took up the tools in silence and began moving dirt, careful not to harm the massive roots. If the text was in this forest—and from Taniras’s account of Mistress Norine’s story, she thought it must be—then they needed to locate it. She ignored her sore arms, pushed the shovel into the dirt, and scooped out pile after pile in an outward circle until her arms ached.
“Cousin Haranda,” Eletha said in almost a whine. “Let me search for the bloody thing again. I know I can find it.” The flaming-haired girl had uttered that request since her failed attempt after Taniras’s marriage ceremony.
That first time, Haranda had agreed, but the little treewalker became so exhausted she forbad her to try again. Ved’nuri’s haunting words flashed through her mind. Use your younglings well. She never thought she would have to do that but Ved’nuri had insisted, and desperation tapped at her breast.
She took Taniras and Snowy’s concerned looks into consideration and nodded to them. “All right, Eletha. Get up the nearest tree.”
The little treewalker dropped her shovel and climbed in haste, wedging herself into a niche as one hand caressed a branch. The girl was so fast! Especially in skirts. The red leaf above her head began to spin as she took in the Energy and she closed her eyes.
After several heartbeats, Haranda stepped close to the massive trunk and craned her neck up. “Anything?”
Eletha’s only response was a slight shake of her head so Haranda waited. And waited. The little woman began to sweat. Even she could see that from the ground.
Taniras touched her shoulder. “She’s tiring, Haranda.”
“I know.” Use your younglings well.
Eletha began to sway and her face strained with the weight of the task.
“Haranda.”
She held up an open palm to silence the wolf singer. Eletha began to quiver and Haranda took in a long breath, disappointed that this had failed again. “That’s enough, youngling.” She got no reaction. “Eletha!”
The youngling opened her eyes and frowned. “I can do this, Haranda.” Her footprint still spun.
“That’s Cousin Haranda to you, youngling.”
“I can do this, Cousin. Please. Just a bit longer. I felt something. I know I did.”
Haranda nodded and ignored Taniras and Snowy’s protests with an upraised palm. “Again, Eletha.” They needed that text.
The treewalker closed her eyes again and trembled as her flaming hair moving about. She grunted and her face contorted with the effort of harnessing Energy beyond her abilities.
“That’s too long,” Taniras said.
Haranda ignored her for now and kept her focus on Eletha. The Energy could maim or kill if too much was taken in or held too long in the middling world, but that would take longer than this. Eletha was strong. She was also Haranda’s youngling, her responsibility, despite Ved’nuri’s words. Guilt pushed her into harnessing the Energy and the awareness flooded her. The youngling’s flicker had been replaced with a sharp heat that pulsed and pounded against her senses. Taniras was right. The treewalker couldn’t do this much longer without harming herself.
“Eletha! Enough!” No response. “Eletha!” Still nothing. Haranda raised her right hand and sent a blue spark toward the treewalker’s thigh.
That jolted the tiny girl and she almost fell from her perch. She managed to grab a branch with both hands and hung on, legs dangling. Snowy moved under her but she swung her legs to the branch and crept toward the safety of the trunk. Angry eyes stared down at Haranda. “What in blazes was that for?” One hand rubbed her thigh.
“Didn’t you hear me call you?”
“I heard something. Sounded like an irritated gnat.”
“Come down.”
“But I’m not finished. The text is over there somewhere.” One arm pointed south. “You didn’t give me long enough.”
“You’ve had enough, today. Come down.”
“But—“
“Now, Eletha,” Haranda said in a dangerous voice. The one she used to cower younglings in the Land of the Goddess.
“All right. Keep your underbreeches on. I’m coming.”
This time, Eletha wasn’t as fast and Taniras latched onto the youngling once her feet touched the ground. Those blue eyes had dark crescents beneath and guilt flooded Haranda.
How could she continue to use younglings? Goddess, give me strength. She couldn’t allow the girl to disobey the rules, either, so she sent another blue spark to Eletha’s leg and got a yelp. “And don’t forget my title, youngling.”
“Yes, Cousin Haranda.”
“Let me have a look at you.” Taniras took Eletha’s face in her hands. The Maricari woman often made use of her middling healer training. Much to Haranda’s relief, actually. In her opinion, one could never have enough healers about, especially with inexperienced younglings in the fold. Taniras had no healing Energy but she was as good as any middling. Well trained.
“I’m all right.” Eletha frowned and tried to pull away from the singer but that got her a good shake.
“Be still.” Taniras sounded very much like an experienced Gypsy. She touched fingers to Eletha’s wrist and looked into her eyes. “You’ve exhausted yourself again. I don’t need healing Energy to see that.” Her eyes gave Haranda a brief sideways glance before moving back to the youngling. “And you need food.”
“I’m not a bloody infant.” Eletha sounded tired as she pulled away from Taniras’s grip. “The text is somewhere over here.” She grabbed a shovel and led them several trees to the south. “I almost had the exact location.” Accusatory eyes narrowed on Haranda. “I only needed a while longer.”
Taniras spoke before Haranda could chastise Eletha. “How exactly can you sense the text when our awareness doesn’t reveal it?”
“The trees know. They remember.” That was all she said before she dug her shovel between two protruding roots.
Haranda placed a hand on her thin arm. “No.” She took Eletha’s shovel and leaned it against a tree. “You sit over there and rest.” She nodded to a small clearing and fished an apple from her skirt pocket. “Here.” Eletha started to protest but Haranda raised a brow. The sulking girl took the apple, stomped to the clearing and flopped onto her bottom. “Let’s find that bloody text.” There had been enough delays, and irritation mixed with guilt gave her a headache. Suddenly, the sky grew dark as clouds roiled above. Deafening thunder exploded and rain pounded the area.
“Where in blazes did that come from?” Taniras said above the noise.
“Ground soaker,” Snowy said. “Bankari spoke of them in the tavern. But this isn’t the season for them.”
Haranda faced the man. “Are you positive?”
“Yes, Haranda.”
“The unbalanced weather Ved’nuri spoke of must be spreading.” Another side effect of Cholqhuin’s idiot followers no doubt. Ved’nuri had mentioned odd weather reports from servants all over the world. Haranda’s skirts grew heavy from the downpour. “Well, at least a wet ground is easier to dig.” With that, she pushed her shovel into the mud.
Taniras and Snowy did t
he same. Eletha had climbed a tree and wedged her thin body into a niche. Leaves and branches seemed to bend inward and offer shelter. Interesting. After a while, the rain stopped as suddenly as it had begun and the clouds dispersed, leaving the three diggers up to their ankles in mud. Haranda scooped another pile of the soggy ground and dumped it to one side, but before she could push the shovel into the ground again, something moved beneath.
“What the—” She stepped back and Snowy drew a knife.
When one of the massive roots began to worm, she thought she’d gone mad. Never in over eight decades as a Gypsy had she seen anything like this. The root rolled like a massive wave in the wet soil until something protruded just above it. Haranda watched in awe until it stopped moving, then she leaned her shovel against the trunk and bent down to retrieve the mysterious item that had been dislodged. She rubbed off mud to reveal a glass bottle stopped with a silver cork. Inside was a scroll, wrapped with multicolor cords, cords of Goddess colors. The text. Her heart raced with excitement.
Taniras squealed and looked ashamed at that outburst. Haranda smiled and ran a finger over the silver cork. There was nothing special about it. In fact, it seemed to have been melted into place with haste, leaving rough edges. She studied the massive root in wonder, until she realized how this had happened. She pushed the bottle into Taniras’s hand and raced toward Eletha’s tree, all the while holding soggy skirts above her ankles. The wet, uneven ground caused her to trip more than once, and her heavy skirts slowed her. The treewalker was limp, half her body draped over a large branch, eyes closed and face pale.
Curses flew from Haranda’s lips as she hoisted her skirts to her knees and began to climb toward her youngling. “Eletha!” The girl didn’t respond. Her heavy skirts caught beneath her feet and she slipped, tumbling to the ground.
Snowy helped her up. “You all right?”
“Yes,” she said with impatience and started toward the tree again.
Snowy restrained her with a hand. “I’ll get her. You and Taniras gather the shovels.”
