The Shadow Ryana (The Shadow Sisters Book 1)

by C. R. Daems

  I lay there, eyes closed, wanting to question my logic, but logic wasn't involved. My actions had become pure unequivocal intuition. I did what felt right not what might be right.

  Forgive me, Sister Morag, but I had to protect the clan.

  I put an arrow or two in each one, took any money they had, released the horses to run free, and left the fire to burn itself out. It looked as much like a robbery as I could make it. The arrows would turn suspicion away from the gypsies, since they didn't use or own bows. I made my way back to my clothes, changed, and walked back to the camp. I slipped past Baldi, who was standing guard. Borin might just have succeeded in killing him. I stopped. Stela sat on a stump looking toward the camp. Or they may have killed Stela. I shuddered. Without realizing how quietly I walked, I stood only a few paces from her when she saw me—and then only because I wasn't in black.

  "Good evening…mother. You're out late."

  "Good evening, daughter. Even in that bright dress, Baldi missed you, and I would have if you hadn't stopped to greet me. Have you finished your business?" she said more like a statement than a question. I nodded. "Sit, Ryana."

  "Lucija insulted and embarrassed one of the three men when she wouldn't bed him for a silver. They planned to kill tonight's guard and another of you in Kadal. I'll leave if you wish." To my astonishment, she hugged me. I felt her tears on my cheek.

  "Daughter, you kill, but only to protect others and without concern for your own safety. Leave? I wish you could stay with us forever. Unfortunately, there's a storm coming, and I'm afraid you're caught in it. Come, it's late. We both need our sleep."

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Kadal—Calion Province

  We drove past wide fields with ripening wheat and rows of turnips, carrots, and onions, produce for Slicci and Zeles, the capital of Calion. The clan planned to stay in Kadal four days but conduct only two performances. The extra time would give everyone a rest from the many days on the road and offered a chance to work on new acts or improve existing ones.

  The ubiquitous thieves and two assassins strolled among the audience. Unless they had a target, I surmised they hoped to get lucky and find the mysterious Shadow—me. The Shadow Sister who had been at Slicci stood off by herself scanning the crowd. If I were right, she was Leela, the apprentice Assassin/Spy to Indira, who was assigned to Zeles. She was good but still an apprentice. I laughed. What was I except an apprentice without a senior Sister for a mentor? I sobered. I was an apprentice but with experience: an apprentice Assassin who had killed many times, and an apprentice Spy who had learned to see the difference between acting the part and being a part of the act. I couldn't help but wonder if my experience was helping me learn to fly or sending me rushing toward the rocks—Sister or rogue?

  For now I had no worry of her identifying me. Besides her being too inexperienced, I wasn't acting like part of the clan—I was clan. Confirming my observation, she ruined her act when she shook her head "no" to a Fire Wizard standing some twenty paces away.

  My head throbbed with questions. Was Leela working alone or with Indira? The fact that she appeared to be on her own suggested either Indira was dead or Leela was working under her direction. Until I knew for certain, I couldn't decide what to do about her. If one or both were in league with those killing Sisters, should I return to Ahasha and report what I'd found, or should I kill them? Would that be revenge or necessary to avoid more deaths? Could there be more rogues? With all my recent experience, I was still an apprentice who needed a mentor. The answers would have to wait until I found Indira, and Leela was my sole link to her.

  The acts went well. Afterward, I went to the fortuneteller tent, a duty I had come to enjoy. To my surprise, the first customer was the Fire Wizard. I shut down my emotions.

  "Yes, Master Wizard." I gave a small bow of my head. "You wish to have your future told?"

  "You're very young. Do you claim to tell the future?" His eyes studied my face as he waited for my answer.

  "There are many possible futures. I can only tell the one I think most likely."

  He laughed. "I've heard you're very talented. The question's whether it's in lying or in seeing that which most can't."

  He was looking for something, but what? He would have to tell me.

  "Someone killed a Fire Wizard in Adak and a Wind Wizard in Kaslos. Who?" His stare intensified. It was a dangerous question. What did he expect? I didn't have a clue. I was tempted to laugh. It felt like one of Sister Rong's games, which drew me like a bear to honey.

  "Most come to me to look into the future. I can only give them a glimpse into the most likely one, although they interpret it as the only one. You're the first to ask me to look back into the past. The past is written in stone but shattered so that the pieces, over time, must be reassembled from the many fragments."

  He smiled. "Yes, I had never thought of it that way. A story does tend to change from person to person. The inverse of the future."

  I nodded. I liked him, although it didn't make him any less dangerous. "Well, can you reassemble the pieces?"

  "Put your hands on the table," I said. This will have to be the greatest lie of my life. He hesitated before complying. When I placed mine over his, he flinched but didn't move them. I closed my eyes and became the Assassin/Spy—two killers dancing with death. "You Wizards are at odds with each other, and allegiances differ from place to place. Your guilds aren't aligned across Hesland. I see fire quenched by land and wind. A third, loyal to the tora, stands to the side. A shadow watches." The Wizard's hands tensed. I waited for him to relax. "I see the wind quieted by land and water. Again, a shadow is there. It's a complex past and only one interpretation." My hands slid off his as I sat back and opened my eyes. He sat with his eyes narrowed, frowning.

  "That's an interesting past, and you're an interesting…fortuneteller. Did you leave out fire because I'm a Fire Wizard and would know we didn't take part?" He gave me a knowing smile. The dance was coming to an end. He was trying to resolve his indecision about me while I tried to decide which course best to pursue.

  "It's one of many possibilities. It's the past I see. You're a Fire Wizard and would know better than I. As you pointed out, I'm very young." I waited. The dance was over. He said nothing as he rose and dropped two toras on the table.

  * * *

  We sat around the evening fire discussing the events of the day as I pondered my encounter with the Wizard and his relationship to…it pained me to think of them as Shadow Sisters. The question was whether I had overplayed my part.

  "Hey, Ryana," Vali waved to get my attention, "tell us about your session with the Fire Wizard. I've never seen a Wizard go to a fortuneteller before. He didn't burn you and the tent down, so he must have been pleased."

  All eyes turned to me.

  "I told him he was handsome, intelligent, powerful, and would be the head of his guild in the near future. I saw it in my glass ball." I gave a big smile and bowed to the laughter and applause.

  "That for two toras?" Yoan asked.

  "He probably thought I would follow him home for that."

  "Alida, yes. You, no," Vali said looking from me to Alida. That got lots of good-natured cheering and laughter. "Sorry, Ryana. I couldn't resist."

  "That's all right, Vali. I'll remember that when someday you fill in for Yoan in our skit." Everyone began cheering and laughing. I was happy for the diversion, as it derailed the incident with the Fire Wizard.

  I didn't see the apprentice Assassin at the next performance. Since she hadn't tried to kill me, I assumed she had moved on to Zeles. The fact that no killings could be attributed to me had them stymied. Where was she? Whom would she strike next? When? Did Ahasha send only one Shadow?

  * * *

  The road to Zeles was heavily patrolled. We were stopped three times by large groups of mercenaries. There were rude remarks and gestures toward the women—including me—but no one was touched. I suspect they knew they could win any confrontation, but a fight would be costl
y—many would die. They would have to fight not only the men but also the women, who knew how to fight.

  * * *

  Zeles—Calion Province

  We arrived in Zeles a sixday after leaving Kadal. The capital of Calion, Zeles was a major city with its extremes of wealth and poverty. The campsite set aside for entertainers, like the gypsies, lay on the outskirts of the city next to the slums. Marku planned to rest for two days to give us time to advertise we were in Zeles.

  A large, diverse crowd turned out for the first performance. Between acts, I scanned the audience. An Earth and a Fire Wizard stood at the back of the crowd with a good space around them. Gypsies weren't the only ones they made uncomfortable.

  Although the city police in their blue and gold uniforms were stationed around the perimeter, I saw at least six thieves and two potential assassins roaming the crowd. The latter were harder to detect in a large crowd. The audience was mixed: a few minor nobles in silk pants and tunics, well-dressed merchants, and commoners in sturdy work clothes. As we put up the amusement tents, I spotted Leela. After looking at the woman standing next to her, she nodded her head toward me. Very sloppy, she needed more training; however, if she had made me as the Sister they were after, maybe she didn't. In either event, I had found Indira, and it was obvious they were working together.

  Toward the end of the evening, Indira entered the tent. My visual and shadow selves fought for a second. My visual-self won.

  "Mistress, how may I help you?" I smiled and looked up with genuine interest.

  I was clan. I told fortunes for money.

  "I hear you're very good at telling the future and the past."

  "Thank you, Mistress. What would you like to know?"

  "What did you tell the Fire Wizard in Kadal?"

  Did she know or did she want to know? And why?

  "I can tell you yours but not someone else's. Besides, he's a Fire Wizard. It would be bad for all the clans to have his guild mad at us. I'm sorry, Mistress." I shook my head, thinking about one flaming the wagons and the men, women, and children burning. My eyes misted. "No, Mistress. Not as long as I live. Please leave."

  She stared for several seconds trying to decide something. She stood and threw a silver on the table before walking out.

  I was clan.

  I smiled, picked up the silver, and dropped it in my blouse. Although I didn't look up, I know she saw. I sent Anil to follow her. So long as it was dark, the apprentice's hawk would be blind. Familiars were tuned to their soul mates, not to other familiars.

  * * *

  Late that night I made my way around the outskirts of Zeles and then slipped into the town. I had studied the young girls in the audience and dressed like one. They tended to wear drab colors. That suited me fine since it helped to make me less conspicuous. I made my way toward the Earth Wizards' guild house. It was a risk, but sitting on my wagon wasn't going to help me discover the opposition's goal.

  "Hey little girl, you looking for us?" two thin, scruffy men shouted. They were back several dozen steps, walking a bit unsteadily. When I kept walking, they began a slow weaving run. I turned at the next corner hoping to lose them, but there was nothing but row houses and nowhere to hide. My options were to run or fight. I decided fighting could alert those looking for me. It wouldn't be hard to lose them the way they were weaving, so I ran, maintaining the general direction I wanted to go. Not too long afterward, they turned around and staggered off. I assumed they had given up because I had entered a better neighborhood, which would be patrolled by the city police.

  The houses were still attached, but they were brick and better maintained. Further along the houses were detached and had gates that enclosed the property; some even had horses and carriages. I ducked into a narrow separation between two properties and changed. Back on the street, I flowed through the shadows. The few persons and police I saw were easy to avoid by keeping to the shadows and using trees and fences to shield me. I doubted anyone would bother a Shadow, but I didn't want to be noticed. Eventually, I arrived at my destination, a single-story house in the center of a multiacre field filled with old trees. The house looked to occupy several acres. Although a single-story structure, it had a dome three stories high. The walls appeared to be a combination of stone, dirt, and thick vines. It made for a strange sight. I found a large tree next to what appeared to be a well-travelled path, scaled it, and sat waiting.

  I began to think it had been a waste of time when a rotund man in a brown robe with vines for trim came walking in my direction. When he was still twenty steps away, I dropped out of the tree. He stopped and the ground began to tremble. Then it stopped.

  "Well, a Shadow Sister. I thought the tree felt a little different. Your stillness and lack of emotions fooled me. I'll have to remember that in the future. Are you here to talk or fight, Shadow of Death?"

  "Shadow of Death?" The title made me shiver. Is that what I had become?

  "Your path seems to be filled with chaos and dead people, maybe even a Wizard." He smiled at something. I could still feel the earth shivering beneath me, waiting on the Wizard's command.

  "Some group is killing Sisters, although we've never supported any employer against a province's sovereignty. It would seem that we're an inconvenience rather than a part of what is happening. The Shadows are upset," I said. He nodded but remained silent. "The Wizards' guilds in the various provinces appear split in their allegiances; however, I believe the Earth Wizards aren't part of whatever is developing. Furthermore, I believe your guild is united. I seek answers and allies."

  "And you're willing too…?"

  "I'm willing to share my findings and commit the Shadows' support to the Earth Wizards."

  "You can do that?"

  I offered my hand. I sensed he would be able to feel Morag's sigil. He came closer and reached for my hand. The ground under me felt ready to explode.

  "Your senior Shadow has placed much faith in one so young. We'll admit you tomorrow at this time. I can't promise you anything." I turned and like a shadow worked my way back to the clan's campground. No one was waiting.

  * * *

  Anil had found little while following the Assassins. The two stayed at a tavern and rooming house called the Sickle. I couldn't determine what jobs they were working at, not that it mattered. They didn't attend the evening performances the next day. I hoped that meant they hadn't guessed I was a Sister. On the other hand, they wanted the information I had given the Fire Wizard or, more likely, what I might know. After the performances and evening meal, I slipped out and into the streets. I avoided the few people I encountered. When I reached the guild property, I made no attempt to hide. It would have been pointless. They could feel the ground and would know I was coming long before I reached the house. As I neared the door, it opened. The same Wizard stood inside. He waved me in.

  "What happens if we decide we don't trust you, Shadow?"

  "I die."

  "That doesn't disturb you?"

  "We'll all die. That's easy. It's living that's hard."

  He laughed, a pleasant sound of genuine mirth. I followed him down a wide dirt hallway past closed doors into a round assembly hall. The floor was covered in a rich, dark soil, and the trees were sculptured into intricately twisted vines and branches to form seats, which surrounded a cleared center area. Each seat, a unique shape and color, held a brown-robed Wizard. My guide directed me into the middle, where a small gray boulder rested, and indicated for me to sit.

  "My brothers and sister, a Shadow has asked to speak to us. She believes we can help her identify the person or people responsible for killing Shadows. She believes our guilds are united across the provinces and that we're not involved in the killings. She's willing to share her findings and commit the Shadows' support of the Earth Wizards." He turned and walked to an empty seat and sat. An older female Wizard in an ash-colored seat smiled at me.

  "The earth tells me you're very young. Press your hand against the ground, please." Her voice
was soft yet like stone. I leaned over, placing my hand on the ground, and remained still, waiting for her to speak. "Thank you. You aren't what you appear or what your enemies are looking for. They are looking for an older, experienced Assassin. Under those blacks, which make you look older and mature, lies a young, thin, senior Assassin/Spy who speaks for the Shadows. Of course, that's impossible…" She stared at me for a long time. "... yet true. The earth doesn't lie. If you're honest with us, we'll share what we know."

  She received nods from the other seven Wizards in the room.

  "I'll be honest except for anything that may expose my identity."

  She nodded.

  "It started in Adak…" Long after I finished, there was silence.

  "I'm humbled. You've taught my brothers and me that…what were your words…dying is easy. It's logical to conclude other Wizards killed the Fire and Wind Wizards, because we assume only Wizards can kill us in a fight. Just as your enemy assumes the Shadows have sent an experienced Assassin.

  "We accept the Shadows' support. It's our belief that there are groups in Tuska and Calion and others that intend a revolution to depose the king. It will be bloody and many will die. That is a certainty. Why are they killing Shadows? We don't know, but the chance you may learn about the plot doesn't appear reason enough. As you guessed, the Earth Wizards stand united behind the king. I'll pass the word that you're a friend."

  A younger man with a bushy beard and round face leaned forward in his chair.

  "We believe one of the Shadows is working with the conspirators. Can you kill another Shadow, or will she be allowed to live?"

  "Two. They will die before I leave Zeles. To answer your question, no, I could not kill another Shadow. The two you speak of have forfeited their right to be called Shadows by my authority."