by Anne Bishop
“They see it and they don’t. I wasn’t able to talk to any Shamans, but the shadowmen say this is strange even for this city.”
Lee scrubbed the fingers of one hand over his head. “I’ve seen this before—or something close enough. Landscapes that are visible from a distance but fade as you get closer. If The Temples are a Place of Light, or have a Place of Light within them, then the Shamans are right to get them out of the reach of the wizards and Dark Guide. But the longer no one can reach them, the harder it will be on the people.”
A thoughtful pause. Then the Apothecary said, “There is talk among the merchants of packing up their booths and moving their families to another part of the city.”
“But you found some supplies,” Zhahar said. “So not all the merchant booths were closed.”
“Yes and no. There is nothing for visitors to buy, and the merchants who were loitering in the bazaar weren’t looking to sell anything to outsiders. They were there to quietly trade among themselves to keep their own families fed.”
“What about the rest of the people who depend on those booths to stock their larders?” Lee asked.
The Apothecary shrugged. “It may not be as plentiful or have much variety, but food will find its way to people.”
“Where did you get our supplies?” Zhahar asked.
“There are a few booths run by shadowmen near the entrance to the bazaar, where you waited for me. Those booths were still open, since they aren’t seen by many. My brethren gave me what they could spare, and they told me about a riddle the bone readers were given right after the Shamans were killed that seemed to fit a curious message the fortune tellers read in their cards: a shadowman, a three-sided heart, and a blind man hold the answer to the riddle.”
Lee wasn’t sure if the ground had gone soft under him or if his knees had suddenly gone weak. “What is the riddle?”
“The hope for the city will be found in nightshade.”
Which was another name for belladonna.
Heart’s hope lies within Belladonna, Lee thought. Sebastian had sent that message through the twilight of waking dreams when he’d been captured by the wizards and did what he could to find allies for Glorianna. Were the ripples of that sending still being felt more than a year later?
The Apothecary paused. “I said nothing about my traveling companions, but if you do have the answer to that riddle, we need to keep moving, because the people behind the darkness that has stained Vision will not want you to reveal the answer or reach your destination.”
Lee considered what the Apothecary said. Did the wizards still want him to reach one of Belladonna’s landscapes? If the wizards and Dark Guides who hadn’t been locked away from the world managed to gather in Vision, they could change the resonance of the city enough to take it from the Shamans’ control. They could turn Vision into another Wizard City and manipulate people’s hearts to feed the Dark currents of the world.
Unless he reached the one person who could stop them.
“Beyond general directions to keep me heading the right way, I haven’t asked where we’re going or what you hope to find there,” the Apothecary said. “I think it’s time for me to know.”
“We’re going to find Zhahar’s people,” Lee said. “What happens after that is someone else’s choice.”
Zhahar dunked the rag in the bucket of water, bent at the waist to avoid dripping on her clothes, and wiped her arms. Dunking the rag again, she wrung out the excess water and wiped her neck.
*Your turn,* she told Zeela.
A glance at Kobrah, who looked away. Ignoring each other was the only privacy they could give each other right now. Because of that, and because Kobrah had kept silent about what she’d seen while caring for Zeela, Zhahar had told the other woman enough about the nature of a Tryad to explain the emergence and submergence of her sisters—which simply confirmed what Kobrah had already witnessed while helping care for Zeela.
Zeela’s aspect came into view and gave her arms and neck a quick wash.
*Do you think the Apothecary is having second thoughts about Lee?* Zhahar asked.
=Not second thoughts,= Zeela replied, =but I think he’s seeing something he didn’t expect, and it’s making him uneasy.=
*Does Lee make you uneasy?*
Zeela dunked the rag and washed her arms again. =He’s attracted to you, and you’re attracted to him. But you have to be careful, Zhahar. We’re going back to Tryadnea, and Lee is a man of single aspect. It would be dangerous for you to feel too much for him. It would be dangerous for all of us.=
*I know. But I can have this little bit of time with him, can’t I?*
=You’re risking a bitter future to have a little sweetness now,= Zeela said darkly. =Sholeh, it’s your turn.=
::I don’t want to.::
=Take your turn,= Zeela snapped.
*Don’t yell at her,* Zhahar snapped back.
“What’s wrong?” Kobrah asked.
“Sholeh is feeling shy about coming into view,” Zeela replied.
“The Chaynes aren’t looking,” Kobrah said quietly. “And I’ll turn my back if it helps.”
*Come on, Sholeh,* Zhahar coaxed. *A quick wash. Then we have to go.*
::I don’t want to!::
Zeela swore silently. When Sholeh began sounding like a whiny young girl instead of a sister of an age equal to hers and Zhahar’s, it meant it had been too long since they’d eaten, and Sholeh was becoming disoriented. If they didn’t eat soon, she’d start feeling disoriented too, leaving Zhahar to fend for all of them.
She looked at Kobrah and mouthed, Ask a question about food.
Kobrah nodded. “How does this work for the three of you? One of you can eat for all of you. Sholeh did that when you and Zhahar weren’t well. But you have to wash separately?”
“It’s hard to explain—” Zeela began, but Sholeh, responding to a request for information, suddenly pushed into view. Her lips quivered with the effort not to cry as she dunked the rag in the water and washed up.
“The food one of us consumes benefits all of us, although only the aspect who is actually eating enjoys the tastes and the experience,” Sholeh said, her voice slurring a little. “And the aspect who is eating or drinking feels the effects of whatever is ingested before the others do, since the parts of the aspects that aren’t shared need water and nutrition too.”
“So if you’re thirsty, you all benefit from one of you drinking water, but the one who drank the water will feel the thirst being quenched while the other two know the thirst was quenched?”
Sholeh thought for a moment and nodded. “That’s close to how it works for what is shared. But the surface body is individual, so each of us has to bathe. Otherwise only one smells nice and the other two stink.”
Kobrah studied her. “You feeling all right?”
“A little dizzy. It’s nothing.”
As soon as Sholeh finished washing, Kobrah took the bucket and poured the water on the plants at the edge of the resting place. She wrung out the rags and headed back to the wagon.
Zhahar came into view and followed Kobrah. Sholeh being dizzy wasn’t nothing, but seeing the restless way the men were moving around close to the wagon, she wondered what her companions would say about a necessary delay.
Lee turned as she approached and gave her an odd smile.
“I’ll have to remember that when you get ready for something, it’s woman time in triplicate.”
“Woman time?” Zhahar said, while Kobrah sputtered and the Apothecary choked on a laugh.
Lee grinned at her.
“We’d best be…on our…way,” the Apothecary said, his voice changing from amused to wary as he watched a man ride into the resting place.
“Sholeh needs to eat,” Zhahar said.
“That will have to wait,” the Apothecary said.
Lee dipped a hand in a trouser pocket. As he withdrew his hand, she saw one of the tumbled stones before his fingers curled around it. “Someone you know?” he
asked.
“I know of him,” the Apothecary replied. “There are all shades of shadowmen. He’s one of the darkest.”
“Can he see the dark places the wizards have made in the city?”
“No.”
=If I have to come into view and help fight, do you have my knife tucked in the boot?= Zeela asked.
*Yes,* Zhahar replied.
The man rode over to them at a slow walk, then stopped when he was close enough to talk quietly.
“Apothecary,” he said.
The Apothecary tipped his head in an informal bow. “Knife.”
=Knife? By the triple stars, that means he’s an assassin,= Zeela said. =Or an escort for hire who permanently eliminates any problems a person may encounter on the road.=
The Knife scanned the surrounding trees. “You should have been gone by now.”
“Woman time,” Lee said.
The Knife nodded. “You need to pick up the pace and get out of this part of the city. You’ve got a pair of Clubs following your trail. I’m between you and them, but your still being here means they’re too close.”
“Thank you for the warning,” the Apothecary said. “We’ll be on our way.”
“You’ll have shadows on the journey,” the Knife said.
The Apothecary gave Zhahar a little push. “Ride in the wagon. There are dates, flatbread, and a bowl of soft cheese in the supplies I obtained at the bazaar. You and Lee eat now.”
“Come on.” Zhahar gripped Lee’s arm and tried to lead him to the back of the wagon, but he braced himself and didn’t move.
“Why are you helping us?” he asked, looking at the Knife.
“The shadow places in Vision are my people’s home. We’ve found out enough to know it’s not the nature of Vision but a flesh-and-blood adversary that is taking the shadow places away from us, so we’re not going to give up one more street to these outsiders without a fight. But until we find someone who can see the streets that have already been taken, the enemy is nothing but a wrongness in the air. Some of my brethren and I heard some Clubs asking about an Apothecary’s wagon that had come up from the south. Made us think the shadowman or his companions might be able to find the answer to the bone readers’ riddle. Isn’t that reason enough?”
“It is,” Lee replied. Now he moved with Zhahar to the back of the wagon and climbed inside. Kobrah joined them.
The Apothecary climbed onto the driving seat and urged his horse to walk on.
Lee sat on the bench behind the driving seat, his back against the closed shutter so that he wouldn’t block the light coming from the open shutter. Kobrah found the bags of supplies and made simple meals for all of them.
“Sholeh, you should come into view and eat,” Lee said quietly.
*He’s right,* Zhahar said. *Remember what you told Kobrah? The food will help you faster when you’re the one eating it.*
When she came into view, Sholeh took a bite of the cheese and flatbread, eating slowly while Kobrah handed a folded bread to the Apothecary.
Halfway through her meal, Sholeh, sounding adult again, asked, “What did he mean about us having shadows?”
“Protectors,” Lee said. “People who will make sure we reach your homeland.”
=This isn’t a good time to ask questions,= Zeela whispered. =Just eat your food, all right?=
::But I want to learn.::
=Not now, Sholeh.=
*Not now,* Zhahar agreed.
Kobrah put away the rest of the food, storing it all carefully, since it was all they had for the evening meal. Then she brushed her hands against her tunic and said, “Maybe I should try to sleep.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Lee said. “Hopefully, you’ll have a chance to deliver my message to Teaser.”
Zhahar wasn’t sure what giving a message to a dream friend would accomplish. According to Lee, Teaser wasn’t near enough to help them physically, but he had insisted that Kobrah try to reach the incubus—or be receptive to Teaser trying to reach her through the twilight of waking dreams.
The bunk in the wagon was meant for one person—or two people who were very friendly—so Zhahar came back into view and moved over to the bench next to Lee, leaving the bunk for Kobrah.
She turned partway on the bench so that she could talk to both men. “I’m sorry we took so much time.”
Lee took her hand. “Wasn’t something any of us considered. And it hadn’t occurred to me that the wizards would be able to track us this fast.”
“If there are other wizards near the bazaar—and it seems likely—then the ones in the south could have used a message rider to send orders here ahead of us,” the Apothecary said. “I don’t think the ones who attacked Shaman Danyal saw me, but maybe they did. However they’ve figured out what to look for, you have to do your magic before we’re caught, so we’ll keep moving.”
“Northeast,” Zhahar said. “I’ll be able to tell you more when we get closer.”
“You don’t remember the name of the village that was closest to your homeland?” Lee asked.
Zhahar hesitated, then thought, We can’t afford to worry about secrets. “When I left home, my connection between Vision and Tryadnea was near the Asylum. As each of the Tryad fled the city and their connections faded, that connection slipped. Now it’s somewhere in the northeast. That’s all I know.”
“We’ll find the connection in time,” Lee said. “Your homeland may not end up being connected to Vision, but it won’t be adrift.”
“How can you be sure?”
He gave her hand a comforting squeeze and didn’t answer.
Chapter 22
Standing outside the bordello, Danyal eyed the demon cycle. Then he turned back to Sebastian and said in a low voice he hoped wouldn’t carry, “I can walk to wherever we’re going. Shamans are used to walking.”
“Your hip is still healing, and even though it’s a stationary bridge, it will be better if you travel with one of us this time.” Sebastian gave him a sharp-edged smile. “You faced down wizards and a Dark Guide, and you’re afraid of a demon cycle?”
“The wizards didn’t have talons or that many teeth.” And he hadn’t known about the wizards’ lightning, so he hadn’t been aware of how deadly those men could be.
He glanced at the demon cycle again. The way it had cavorted when it saw Lynnea, it reminded him of the puppies with the pushed-in faces—cute in an ugly sort of way. Add to that the big red eyes and tufted ears, and it looked rather comical—until you took into account all the razorlike teeth, the muscular arms and torso, and the talons that Teaser had assured him could gut a man with one swipe. The cycles, also according to Teaser, had once had wheels and badass riders who had come to the Den to prove they were the biggest, baddest badasses around.
The demons those riders met up with discarded the wheels, ate the riders, and turned the cycles into traveling homes.
Sebastian gave him a friendly slap on the arm. “It already promised Lynnea and Glorianna that it wouldn’t eat you. What more do you want?”
He wanted a gentle horse pulling a cart, but, according to Teaser, the black horses most willing to give him a ride would also want to kill him—and maybe eat him. Teaser wasn’t sure about the last part.
“Isn’t anyone else coming for this…test?” Danyal asked.
“They’re already at the cottage,” Sebastian replied. “Except Teaser, but I think he’s still asleep or traveling in dreams, so I don’t want to disturb him.”
Danyal breathed in slowly and breathed out slowly. He thought about the wind chimes and the quiet morning rituals the Shamans performed to prepare themselves for the tasks of the day.
“All right,” he said.
Sebastian studied him. “Every part of Ephemera seems to work a bit different, but the world does the same thing in every piece of itself. It manifests the heart. So if it turns out that Glorianna can’t figure out a way to get you back to your city, maybe you should consider that you’re not meant to go back.�
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Danyal stared at him. “Not go back? But my people are there. My family is there.”
“Yeah. But if the need to go is stronger than the need to stay…”
Is that what they had thought happened to Lee? That he’d needed to be away from the places his family controlled? “You still tried to find him.” He spoke the thought aloud, not expecting Sebastian to follow his thinking.
But the incubus-wizard followed his thinking quite well. “We found signs of an attack, warnings that something had happened to him. We searched so he would know he wasn’t alone, especially if he was hurt or held prisoner and was trying to get back.”
Lee had been both, because wasn’t the Asylum a kind of prison?
“Come on,” Sebastian said. “We can’t figure out what we can do to help you until you take this test for Glorianna.” He walked over to the demon cycle and mounted, setting his feet on the footrests. Then he looked at Danyal, who gingerly mounted behind him.
The demon cycle moved sedately to the corner, then turned onto the Den’s main street.
As they approached a shop, a little man with glasses stepped outside and frowned at them. Sebastian raised a hand in greeting.
“It will be ready this evening,” the little man chirped. Then he went back inside and closed the door.
“Your robe,” Sebastian said. “He’s less annoyed with you about making something so plain because Lynnea asked him to design a strut outfit that was appropriate for a pregnant woman but would still remind her incubus husband of how he got her pregnant in the first place. Mr. Finch has never had a pregnant customer before, and the challenge Lynnea provided has made up for your lack of adventure.”
“The white robe is a symbol of the Shamans,” Danyal said. “Something easily seen in the bazaar or in a village—and understood by everyone in the city.”
“You don’t have to convince me. Hold on,” Sebastian added as they reached the end of the main street and glided over a span of grass to a dirt lane.
Hold on? Danyal wondered. Why? And to what? Then he grabbed Sebastian’s waist as the demon cycle leaped forward and flew over the lane.
