First Comes The One Who Wanders

by Lynette S. Jones

  “I’m watching over you.”

  “Good.”

  With that, Leilas closed her eyes and drifted back into sleep. Tightening his hold, Joshuas settled in for the long morning in the saddle until they stopped for lunch.

  Daina had abandoned the main trail through the mountains, opting instead for a much less traveled path. It was slower moving through the undergrowth that was encroaching on the trail, but Joshuas knew, as Daina did, that it would be safer to take the path less traveled. They’d be far less likely to encounter stray traffic and less likely to have to come up with an excuse for why they were traveling or worse, fight. It would take them a day longer to reach their destination this way, but they’d be more likely to get there in one piece. Brenth’s assurance that they would reach Menas has eased Joshuas’ mind a great deal. He knew Menas. If one of them with the gift said something would happen, it happened, perhaps not always as they interpreted it, but it happened.

  At least it wasn’t raining. In fact, it was a beautiful day. The weather was cool, but not cold, and the sun was shining. Nature was putting on its best face after the depressing day they’d had yesterday. It was a balm to his weary body and spirit.

  The mountains that cut through Preterlandis were sharp, jagged and bare at the peaks, but they were covered in forest at the lower elevations. The forest was thick and had turned to reds, yellows, and oranges parading its new wardrobe for the season, heralding the Autumnal Equinox. It was the time of year when the dark crafters were at their strongest. It was the time of year when humans typically mounted their strongest attacks against each other, with the help of any dark crafters who were willing to fight with them, against the sanctions of the councils. And since the dark crafters were fighting, that meant that light crafters were fighting, too. As Master Greyan was so fond of saying, a balance must be maintained.

  Peran had died during just such a campaign. But Joshuas wasn’t going to think about his son. He’d thought about him enough for one day and felt all the guilt he was going to allow himself to feel. Peran had made his own choices. He’d allowed his son to be a man and faced the consequences. It was all a man and a crafter could do, all he was expected to do. He was going to do his best to enjoy the day and the feel of Leilas’ body next to his. It might be the only time he was allowed this pleasure, even if he shouldn’t be enjoying it under the circumstances, even if worry was blunting the enjoyment.

  “Who the hell are you and why are you holding me?” Leilas awoke with a start and instantly started struggling. Joshuas barely had time to tighten his grip on her as well as his horse that snorted and bucked at the commotion on his back.

  “A friend,” replied Joshuas as he had before.

  “Friend, my eye. You are wearing the insignia of one of those nasty light crafters. Let me go, or prepare to fight.”

  Joshuas wrapped one arm around her to hold her arms down, and covered her mouth with the other. He would have to take his chances with the horse. If Leilas started fighting him in his present condition, he wouldn’t stand a chance of living through the battle.

  Leilas thrashed about until she’d knocked both of them from the saddle. Joshuas barely kept his hold on her as they hit the ground, but he’d had battles like this before. If she couldn’t make her runes in the air and if she couldn’t speak the spells, she couldn’t use magic against him. He was fairly certain he could win a physical fight and he’d prefer to keep this struggle in that arena. He could feel her trying to bite him, but he didn’t let go as she used all her might to free her arms. Luckily, he’d fallen on top of her and had the advantage of weight.

  Sinking her teeth into his hand, Joshuas let go with a yelp. Leilas instantly began to speak a spell. Joshuas warded it at the same time as his hand went back to her mouth. “Leilas. It’s me, Joshuas. I’m here with your mother and your brother. Think. Can you remember? We’re on our way to Menas. You were attacked and you were poisoned, can you remember?”

  Leilas struggled futilely against Joshuas as he held her to the ground. This wasn’t going well at all. If Leilas was going to go mad on them, it would be much harder to get her to Menas. Joshuas had considered this possibility, but he’d hoped it wouldn’t become reality.

  “Here is some rope,” whispered Brenth, handing Joshuas a length of rein he’d cut from one of the halters, “and a gag.” Joshuas raised his eyebrows at Brenth’s actions, but he took the rope. Brenth took a step backward as Joshuas began wrapping the rope around Leilas’ wrists. As soon as Joshuas drew his hand away from her mouth, Leilas began to speak a spell against him.

  “I never said it would be easy getting her to Menas,” said Brenth, finishing what Joshuas began as Joshuas once again clamped his hand against her mouth. “I just said that we would.”

  “It must be difficult to have to watch your sister go through this.” Joshuas took the gag from Brenth and tied it tightly around Leilas’ mouth. Leilas kicked at him as he stepped away from her.

  “Mother and I have seen her like this before. Maybe this time will be harder, because I know what’s coming. Sometimes that makes it harder.”

  “Leilas was like this when she came out of the Echoes?”

  “Even though Master Frey was able to save her from madness, we still had to live with the effects for some time. It would crop up at the oddest moments. For one whole season, you never knew when you talked with Leilas if she would hug you or try to kill you.”

  “I suppose I should have expected this reaction to the poison from the dark crafters. If she succumbed to madness once, she’d probably succumb to it again.”

  “She won the first battle.” Brenth watched his mother dismount and lead her horse to where they were standing. “She’ll win this one.”

  Daina wrapped her arm around Brenth and gave him a hug. “Let’s hope you’re right.”

  “She’s strong,” said Brenth.

  “She’ll need to be,” remarked Joshuas, taking his attention away from Leilas, and tending to the bite marks on his hand.

  As soon as his eyes left her, Leilas struggled to her feet and began to run. Cursing, Joshuas took off after her, tripping over a root as he lunged for her. She was fast, even with her hands tied behind her back. They’d disappeared several hundred staff-lengths into the forest, before he was able to tackle and stop her.

  “You’re becoming a royal pain in the ass, princess,” he told her, as he roughly dragged her to her feet, breathing heavily from the unexpected exertion. “And if I thought for one second you’d remember a single word I told you, I’d tell you exactly how big a pain.”

  Grabbing the rope around her wrists, Joshuas half-walked, half-dragged the defiant, struggling Leilas back to the spot where Daina and Brenth were waiting. He’d have liked to shake her for what she was putting them through. But he could hardly blame her for her actions while under the influence of such a powerful poison.

  “Do you have any more of that rope?” He asked Brenth as he pushed Leilas to the ground and returned her glare.

  “We can use all the harness from Leilas’ mount. I doubt she’ll be using it anymore this trip.”

  “I’ll get it for you.” The queen turned to the horse and taking her short sword from its sheath cut off the leather thong near the bit. Handing it to Joshuas, she bit her lip as he hobbled Leilas’ feet together.

  Joshuas wanted to explain that it was necessary, that Leilas had to get to Menas. But he knew it was unnecessary. They knew. They just didn’t like it any more than he did.

  “Are we ready to continue on, then? The sooner we get going, the sooner we’ll reach someone who can help her.”

  The queen nodded, Brenth made a strange noise in his throat as he helped his mother onto her horse. Joshuas took that to mean yes as well. Leading Leilas to his horse, he threw her unceremoniously across the saddle and climbed up after her. When he was comfortable, he rolled her over into his lap and wrapped his arms around her as she struggled. “Better get used to it woman. We have a long way to go
and you aren’t going anywhere.”

  Leilas threw daggers at him with her eyes and then resigned herself to her fate. Or so she wanted him to believe, thought Joshuas. She was simply waiting for him to let his guard down and then she’d try again.

  Why did it have to be the madness? And could she be the Chidra if she was mad? Nothing in the prophecies said anything of madness. So, either she got better or she wasn’t the Chidra. Digging his heels into his mount, he followed after Daina. If those were his choices, then he chose the former, because he wasn’t willing to lose Leilas quite so soon after finding her.

  CHAPTER 5

  The weather was changing as quickly as Leilas had changed on him. A cold wind had picked up and was blowing dark clouds in among the mountains. They were descending on the path that Daina was following. They’d be soaked in less than an hour. Joshuas cursed the luck that seemed to be following them on this journey. Since the moment he’d entered the School of Sky, nothing had happened the way it was supposed to happen. It was rather a unique experience for him. Usually, he had extremely good luck.

  Leilas moved in his arms and he looked down from the threatening sky into her eyes. Although her eyes looked feverish, she was no longer looking at him with hateful insanity. “Are you feeling better now?” Leilas nodded. “If I undo the gag, will you promise not to yell spells of unbinding at me?” Leilas nodded again. Joshuas leaned down near her face. “Because if you try, I’ll gag you up tight and you won’t get the chance again until we reach Menas.”

  Joshuas untied the gag. “But I’m not willing to go running after you again, so you stay bound.”

  “You should’ve left me in the cave. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about me at all.”

  “I would have worried. And I’ve never left anyone behind, under any circumstances. It’s one of my biggest failings, at least, according to Greyan. I’m forever upsetting the balance.”

  “If you’re such an important crafter, why have I never heard of you before?”

  “I haven’t been an important master among crafters for almost four centuries. Even crafters, with their long memories, tend to forget or discount someone if they stay quiet long enough.”

  Leilas nodded. “I suppose that’s true. Also, I suppose Master Frey had his own motives for teaching me some things and not others, not always pure motives I’m beginning to discover.” Leilas closed her eyes and Joshuas could see her struggle to keep control. She’d won against the darkness for a little while, but she’d tire and it would once again gain the upper hand. His stomach wrenched at the thought. He would have given anything to be in her place. But that wasn’t the way it was destined to be.

  “There are many masters who have their own motives. Sometimes those motives are noble, sometimes the masters believe they’ll help the world. Greyan believed his ideas would help bring peace to the world. It didn’t happen that way.”

  “And that’s why you dropped out? Because you disagreed with Greyan’s decision and he wouldn’t listen to your counsel?”

  “I found myself fighting for something I didn’t believe. I’ve always been a wanderer and rather than fight for a faulty cause, I decided to go find my own causes.”

  “And in doing so, you upset Greyan’s balance. Do you ever wonder if what’s happening now is occurring because you upset the equilibrium?”

  “No.”

  “Just no?”

  “You wouldn’t understand. I’m not important in the overall scheme. So what I do or don’t do has no impact on the equilibrium.”

  Leilas turned her head so she could search his face more intently then leaned her head against his chest. “You’re far more involved than you or Jayram or those other forces –I can’t quite name yet– know. You’ve convinced them you aren’t important, perhaps that’s to your benefit.”

  Joshuas was pretty sure she’d started to ramble again and that she was sinking back into the blackness of madness. “Is this another one of your prophecies? Did you see this in the mists as well?”

  “No, I learned this is the darkness. I’ve been here before, when I was in the Echoes. This darkness isn’t madness, but it is foreign, frightening and it’s easy to lose your way. I pray in my saner moments I won’t get lost again.”

  “You’re doing a good job so far.” Joshuas ran his hand across her face and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, beautiful, green eyes that saw too deeply into his soul.

  “But my journey has barely begun. I’d forgotten. The more you try to fight, the more you risk madness.”

  “What are you talking about, Leilas. You must fight this.”

  Leilas closed her eyes and shook her head. “That’s where you’re wrong. You must accept the darkness.”

  “You have to fight, Leilas.” Joshuas vehemently spoke the words into her ear, but he knew she couldn’t hear him. Her body had relaxed back into unconsciousness and she was once again beyond his ability to reach.

  Clenching his fist in frustration, he pulled her body closer to his and willed her to fight. Brushing her hair out of her face again as the wind blew it into her eyes, he also brushed away the first drops of rain. Then wrapping her as best he could beneath his cloak, he settled in for a miserable afternoon’s ride.

  ~~~

  Throwing the hood of his cloak over his head as the inevitable rain began to fall Brenth shifted in his saddle and tried to find a comfortable position. He wasn’t used to riding all day and these horses and their rigging were not of the quality to which he’d grown accustomed. Glancing ahead, he assured himself that his mother seemed to be all right. Then he checked to the rear to reassure himself they were alone on this deer path his mother had insisted on following before he settled back into his musings.

  He wished he could talk to his mother. But she had more pressing concerns than his vision of some canyon. She was worried about Leilas and she was worried about her reception in Menas. Brenth frowned in Joshuas’ direction. He wished he knew more about this man. He wasn’t sure whether he should trust this crafter who’d mysteriously injected himself into their family and their business for no reason he could understand. Surely, it wasn’t out of the goodness of his heart.

  Brenth had to wonder if his vision had something to do with this magik. He’d never seen this particular scene in his mind before, not until this crafter arrived. Why was his mother so willing to accept him? And Leilas? Leilas never accepted anyone that readily. And yet, she’d taken to this man instantly. Did that mean he was someone who could be accepted at face value? Or did Joshuas have some hold over his sister that he didn’t understand?

  Brenth wished he knew. He’d like to talk to someone about what he’d seen. He didn’t understand the significance of the canyon. He’d definitely understood the evil that had been there. It had been palpable and it had been focused on Leilas. But there had been good as well. It had been less defined and harder to pin down. What did it mean? Usually, when he saw something, the meaning was clear to him. This time, it wasn’t clear at all. It was almost as if this vision hadn’t been intended for him, and yet, he’d seen it so clearly. Brenth sighed in frustration and glanced in the direction of his mother. Then he looked behind him again. He’d been given a job to do, and that job meant that his dilemma would have to wait. Resting his hand on the hilt of his short sword, he tried to calm his mind by concentrating on the scenery that was passing by. The forest was aflame with color and the trees pressed in around them as they carefully made their way along the almost nonexistent path. As he concentrated, he found a picture forming in his head and he pulled back to the path in surprise. He must’ve let his feelings project, because he saw his mother turn back and look at him with concern in her eyes. Her motion triggered a similar response in Joshuas and suddenly, he was the focus of attention.

  “What is it, son?” Joshuas asked the question, glancing down at the limp form in his lap to assure himself she was still all right.

  “We’re riding into danger. We must turn back, quickly.�
��

  “This path has been safe for as long as I’ve been alive,” his mother replied. “This is a safe part of the forest, protected by the Dryads.”

  Brenth shook his head in confusion. “I see small, dark ugly creatures and catlike people, very near and I don’t think they want us in their forest.

  “Where?” Joshuas threw his gaze all around them. “I don’t see anything but trees. And I don’t feel anything.”

  “They’re coming up out of a hole, pouring out. There are lots of them, more than we can fight,” he answered Joshuas’ next question before he could ask it. “We need to get out of here, now.”

  Joshuas threw a questioning look at the queen and she shrugged helplessly. “We could cut straight through the forest, but I can’t guarantee where we’ll end up if we do.”

  Brenth chaffed at the unnecessary delay. He could feel the evil coming closer. “We need to go, now.”

  “Then go.” Joshuas urged them. He pointed in a direction perpendicular to the one they were following. “I’ll take the rear. Avoid clearings or paths and hope our luck changes for the better. I’m not particularly in the mood to be fodder for goblins.”

  “I thought crafters were supposed to bring good luck,” said the queen before she plunged into the tangled brush covering the ground in the direction Joshuas had pointed.

  “That was before I volunteered to be your daughter’s keeper.”

  “They’re looking for me,” whispered Leilas, and Joshuas looked down in surprise to find her awake and lucid. “They can feel me now. You won’t be safe as long as I’m with you. Loose me and let me ride in the opposite direction. Then you’ll be safe.”

  “Not a chance, Princess. Good, bad or indifferent, we’re in this together.”