The innkeeper emerged from the kitchen and walked over. "You're in luck. We have two rooms available at the moment. Each is set up for two singles. Will that be a problem?" she asked, looking at Rai.
"If you prefer, Rai, Ponar could stay with me," Somnu offered. "I have a bed I'm not using anyway."
And leave you alone to grill him? Not a chance! "We'll be okay, won't we, Ponar? Besides, we're likely to sleep away most of the day, and I'm sure you don't want to be tiptoeing around your room all morning to keep from waking him up," Rai replied, smiling sleepily.
Rai felt an odd prickling sensation run up her back and neck, causing her hair to stand on end. She recognized it at once: someone was trying to invade her feelings, her thoughts. Rai looked at the innkeeper, who appeared exhausted and bored. Not a likely candidate for the Core, Rai thought. She looked around the room but didn't see anyone else lurking in the corners. That just left one other option besides the Durmah: their old friend Tinker Somnu.
Ponar shot her a puzzled look but wasn't about to protest out loud. Rai smiled back, thinking of how tired she felt. Somnu raised an eyebrow, looking both surprised and a bit put-off by her reply. "You're sure? It wouldn't be any bother," Somnu replied.
Ponar picked his bag up off the floor and slung it back over his shoulder. "Thanks for the offer, but she's got a good point. I wouldn't sleep as well wondering if I was keeping you from something."
"If you insist. Just remember that I'm in room fourteen--in case Rai kicks you out for snoring too loudly!" Somnu replied, inciting weak smiles out of everyone but Rai and the innkeeper.
Fear gripped her, slithering like a snake through her belly. Rai knew she'd better do her best not to think or say anything, so she avoided looking at Somnu and instead busied herself adjusting her weighty cloak. If she was to believe Graeber, the entire Core shared this ability along with their mutual hatred of her.
"We're ready to head up now. Is the room ready?" Rai asked the innkeeper, anxious to end the conversation.
"It is, Mistress Durmah. If you'd like to follow me?" she asked.
"We'll be up for a little while," Meik said. "Laan and I will give Somnu the short story tonight, and let you two fill him in on the rest tomorrow."
"You bet," Ponar replied.
"See you in a few hours!" Rai said to Meik, Laan and Somnu. She felt the fluttering touch in her mind again and thought of the first cheery and meaningless thing that came to her mind; cleaning the sclern gore from their wagons after fleeing the hordes along the Northern Pass.
They followed the innkeeper to upstairs in the back of the room and down a hall to a room with a number five chiseled into the door. The innkeeper unlocked and opened the door, and then handed Rai the key. "Sleep well. I'll make sure the staff knows to not disturb you."
Rai walked into the room, noting that it was a bit less pleasant than the guest rooms back at the Durmah Waystation in Kiya's Grace. The room was small, with the two single beds pressed up against opposite walls, and a small window at the far end, with a table and chair arranged beneath. There were no decorations on the walls unless you counted coat pegs, and the blankets on the beds were dark blue heavy woolens. A single, unlit candle graced the table.
"Thank you, ma'am," Ponar replied. "I hope your night passes well." He shut the door behind them.
Rai dropped her knapsack onto the floor beside the table and hung up her cloak. She reached up and drew the curtains closed, blocking the diffuse, glowing light from the street lanterns below. The quiet darkness of the small space offered an illusion of safety Rai desperately craved.
Ponar lit a match, surprising Rai and causing her to jump. "Sorry about that," he said, leaning forward to light the candle, brushing his arm against hers in the cramped quarters. "You seem a bit on edge. Do you want to talk about it?"
Say nothing, to anyone. Graeber's words echoed again in her mind. "I don't even know where to start," Rai replied, collapsing down onto the closer bed. "I'm sure with a good night's rest I'll feel better in the morning--wait, afternoon. Whatever." Rai rolled back against the wall, anxieties about the Juggernaut, Tinker Somnu, Guardian Graeber, and the Core fighting for dominance in her mind. She rubbed her fingers against her temples, desperate to calm down.
"I'm certain you will," Ponar replied, hanging up his cloak and travel bag on two of the pegs. "I know I will." He sat down on the opposite bed and removed his boots, vigorously wriggling his freed toes. "You want to explain why you were so adamant with Somnu that I stay with you?"
Rai held her tongue, not sure of what to say. She'd grown to trust Ponar and had almost managed to see past their mutual, if silent and unexpressed, attraction to each other. Almost.
"Well, I somehow doubt it's because of my charming wit and good looks," Ponar continued. Rai chuckled and wondered if Ponar noticed the panicked edge to her mood. "Look, you know you can trust me, don't you?" he asked, leaning forward, elbows perched on his knees.
"Of course I do," Rai replied. "It's just, besides that Guardian, only you and I know what happened back there with the Juggernaut. Until I can understand it a bit more, I'd rather not discuss it with anyone else. Does that make sense?"
"But don't you think talking about it might help?" Ponar replied.
Rai shook her head. "I need some time to think it over on my own, that's all." She ran her hand along the blanket, trying to flatten a puckered crease.
"Why do I get the impression you're waiting to talk about this with that Guardian first?"
Rai met his gaze, realizing she should have expected this question. "Why would you say that? I told everyone that nothing happened back at the lake." Rai rolled to her side on the bed, hoping to avoid further questions.
"You can't go to sleep wearing your boots. Let me help you with those." Ponar knelt next to her bed and pulled off her boots one at a time. "I can't speak for my uncle or cousin, but I didn't believe you then, and I don't believe you now. I guess the Guardian caught up with you and threatened you. Am I right?" he asked.
"No, no, he didn't threaten me," Rai replied. Well, not exactly.
"But he did catch you snooping around the mound?" Ponar pulled off her other boot and placed it next to the other one at the foot of her bed.
"I didn't say that, Ponar. You're twisting my words around!"
Ponar reached up and brushed a lock of hair away from her face, and then rested his hand on hers. This contact opened a conduit between them, sending a shiver down Rai's spine. His concern for her washed over her like a series of waves, pushing and pulling her deeper into his thoughts.
"Meik and Laan might buy this act, but I don't, and I'm not going to, especially after how the Guardian talked to you after we ran into the Juggernaut out there. I'm worried about you, Rai. And I think you're worried too."
Rai couldn't argue with him but was at a loss for words on how to explain things without putting herself at greater risk. She also knew she should pull away and break the physical connection. However, she remained in contact, worried he might misinterpret any disconnection as her shutting him out even further. Their friendship demanded she treat Ponar better.
"You're right, I am worried. No, it's more than that. I'm terrified. I am in way over my head in something I don't understand, and I don't even know where or how to begin explaining all of it."
"You open your mouth and words come out, one at a time until you're done. I can help you, Rai," he pleaded. "As can Meik, Laan and Somnu ... "
"NO!" Rai yelled.
Ponar pulled away, startled at her response. "But ..."
Rai reached out and grasped his hand with both of hers, face flushing with the strength of her emotion. "Promise me that you won't say anything to Somnu, Ponar. Nothing of your suspicions or what happened with the Juggernaut."
"But, why? He's a good guy." Confusion filled Ponar, and Rai felt his palpable resistance to her request.
A tear rolled down her cheek and onto the pillow below. She had to convince him. Her very life could de
pend on it. "Please Ponar, I beg of you, don't tell him what you know," she asked with every fiber of her being.
Rai felt Ponar concede to her wish, although he didn't understand her reasons. "I'll do as you ask for now. But you need to tell me what's going on, all right?"
Rai nodded. "I will, but not right now. I'm too exhausted to think straight." She could worry later about how to keep that promise. Always later.
"Well, that we can agree on," Ponar replied, smiling down at her. He released her hands and picked up a blanket at the end of her bed and laid it over her, tucking it over her shoulder and under her chin. "Get some sleep. We'll have plenty of time to figure this out when we're both well rested."
Rai tried to force a smile, but it wouldn't come. Instead, she closed her eyes and shut out the world, if only for a brief time.
Chapter 9
“Do you have any idea what you're asking from me?" Chieftess Raza's icy glare conveyed her mood perfectly despite the grainy quality of the video transmitter. "And it's the middle of the night!"
"I know full well what I'm asking," Graeber replied, wishing he could lower the speaker volume without Raza noticing. "Once the girl is safely back in Raven's Call ..." he began.
"Again with the chaperoning?" Raza rolled her eyes. "And then what?"
"And then I'll go help Bauleel with this Zebio situation before it gets out of hand," he replied.
"Out of hand?" Raza yelled. "Honey, it's been out of control for weeks now while you've been wasting your time on this little personal mission of yours." Graeber held his tongue and steeled himself for his sister's impending rant.
"And that's not all!" Raza continued. "While you've been oh so busy Terem has been running around killing dozens of Technicians and Guardians. Who knows who else is at risk? We also have the medicinal contamination of plague anti-infective issue on our hands, as well as the matter of the Juggernaut arrival. How, exactly, do you expect me to keep covering for you to the Core?"
"I thought you were going to tell them I was investigating the medicinal contamination? We were able to locate the source at the Stime Sept's farms and begin cleanup procedures," Graeber replied evenly. "This demonstrates how I've been working towards the Core's goals."
"We? Are you even listening to yourself? You're lucky the girl didn't blow your cover with the Guardians on site. And yes, it's wonderful that we know where the contamination started, but who did it? For that matter, we don't even know if only one site is involved for certain. I've had a few queries as to your investigation, but then you take off across the Northern Road with the Durmah in tow as if you didn't have a care in the world."
"I gave explicit instructions to the Guardians in charge of the cleanup before I left. They were to test all of the farmland throughout Barrow's Grove and report any additional findings. For the record, I was able to locate supplementary information on my trip across the Northern Road," he explained.
Raza was not appeased. He could hear her foot tapping with impatience. "I'm waiting."
"I inspected the storehouses at Harper's Sorrow," he said. "There were a total of six missing and unaccounted for aqueous dispersal units."
"At least you had a reasonable excuse for taking off like you did, then," Raza replied. "You're confident of that count?"
"Very. Those storehouses haven't been used since the settlement days. Precise records tracked the usage and location of all terraforming equipment. In fact, most of those devices have transponders which allow for simplified tracking. It would appear that those six missing units have either had their transponders removed or disabled because the database lists them as missing."
"Do you have any idea what you're implying?" Raza asked, her voice a mere whisper.
Graeber nodded. "Only members of the Core have access to those storehouses. Plus, one must assume a certain level of knowledge and skill to set up and manipulate the dispersal units. Therefore, the poisoner must be one of our own."
Raza frowned. "That's gonna go over like a ton of bricks. But, at the least that helps explain what you were doing up there...conveniently in time to run into the Juggernaut. Oh, that reminds me, have you checked your transmittals lately?" Raza asked with a raised eyebrow and pursed lips.
"Not since I alerted you to the Juggernaut yesterday," Graeber answered. "We traveled straight through to Resounding Cliffs, and I came up here to call you as soon as I arrived."
"In response to your alert to the Core," Raza sighed, "Matriarch Natre has called a conclave."
Graeber could barely control his anger. "Who's next on her hit list?"
"It's not like that, brother," Raza replied. "It's been your choice, and right, to not attend the conclaves these past few years. But you need to understand that the Core hasn't executed anyone since then. Those were exceptional circumstances, which you need to accept."
"You, of all people, should know better than to ask me that," Graeber growled.
Raza held his gaze for a moment and then shrugged. "You have to attend this meeting. I can't stress it enough, Graeber. If you don't, there will be fallout you won't be able to avoid."
"What more can they do to me?" he demanded.
"Uh, plenty!" Raza replied. "No one's actually dead yet, remember? If anyone takes a closer look at your activities, they might just guess what you pulled off."
Graeber rubbed his fingers against his temples. "I'm not sure that'd be the worst case scenario anymore."
"What's this I hear? Could my brother have made a mistake?"
"That's not what I said, Raza!" he roared.
Raza's brows narrowed. "Of course not. Then what, you just changed your mind? Or has there been a problem I should know about?"
Graeber sighed, defeated. "Rai's too capable. Too smart. Bauleel's modifications left Rai crippled, and yet she keeps managing to do things her mind and body shouldn't remember how to do," he admitted, against his better judgment. "I don't think there's a damned thing I can do to convince her to stop trying, and it's wretched to watch her keep searching for someone she can no longer be."
"I take it you've had some frank discussions with her?" Raza asked.
He nodded. "Rai had gotten too close to the truth. I had to warn her and convince her to stop trying to figure out her history," Graeber explained.
"You couldn't convince her to keep hidden to protect her own hide?"
Graeber shrugged. "Since when could I convince that woman of anything unless she'd already decided it for herself?"
Raza smiled weakly, compassion evident in her gaze. "What will you do next?"
"Just as I proposed. With your official permission, I'd like to take her back to Raven's Call, and then go and join Bauleel in her hunt. If I have to attend the Core's conclave along the way, then so be it."
"Are you sure you can trust the girl to behave in your absence?" Raza asked.
"I've tried to impress upon her the seriousness of the situation. If she won't listen, then it doesn't matter whether or not I'm around to protect her." He raked a hand through his hair. "Where is this conclave, anyway?"
"It hasn't been decided yet, but I'll push for Raven's Call. It's a central location, and it'll look like I'm catering to Natre's whims. Plus, it'll help to justify your trip there with the Durmah," Raza conceded.
"I appreciate that," Graeber replied.
"You better. Do me a favor though?"
"Name it."
"Show up and explain your activities, well, the legitimate ones anyway, to the Core. I can't keep doing it for you. At the very least they will want to understand every detail relating to your findings on the Luna berry poisoning at the Stime Sept farmlands. They have the right to hear such a grave accusation of a potential saboteur within the Amenoi ranks from your lips," she argued.
"Yeah, that'll be fun," he growled, still enraged by the charges that had called for the execution of Kilawren. Would his accusations fuel the fire to the next such hunt?
"No, it won't. But look on the bright side," Raza said. "The
Juggernaut may wipe us all off of the face of the planet tomorrow, and then all of these other worries will be just a memory."
"That's a cheerful thought," Graeber growled at her, knowing that, for the Juggernaut, such behavior wasn't at all beyond the realm of possibility. "I'll see you soon, Sis."
"That's Chieftess Raza to you, brother dear. Stay out of trouble, will you? Well, no more insanity than you already generate daily by breathing." Raza flashed him a sarcastic smile and terminated the video link before he had a chance to defend himself.
Graeber departed immediately for the Cheote Waystation. If he was lucky, he might get a few hours sleep before they set off for Raven's Call in the morning.
“I think that Guardian of yours is a bit addled in the head, thinking he can get special dispensation to travel during the Guardian Chieftess' lockdown!" Somnu laughed, shaking his head over the apparent improbability.
"I'm sure you're right, Somnu," Meik drawled. "And after these last few days, I could use some time to sit around and not worry about anything."
"I doubt any of us will be going anywhere anytime soon, which suits me just fine! I've been running all over too, and it'd be a nice change of pace to spend some quality time with friends."
Laan leaned in, concern evident in his furrowed brow. "I can't stop worrying why the Juggernaut are here. Knowing they're nearby, well, if we do get some sort of special privileges then I for one would jump at the chance to get back home."
Somnu shook his head. "I still can't believe your story! The fact that you came across the Northern Pass, right when they happened to be in that area, well, it's just an amazing coincidence."
Guardian Graeber stepped up to the table, startling all three of them. "Are you implying the Durmah intended to cross paths with the Juggernaut?"
Dreams Manifest Page 8
