The Storm Witch

by Violette Malan

  KERIA AND AMAIA ARE STILL HOLDING HER HANDS, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE NOT CHILDREN HERE, AND THEY ARE NOT FRIGHTENED.

  “DOES SHE LOOK YOUNGER TO HERSELF HERE?” DHULYN ASKS THEM. “IS THIS HER MENTAL IMAGE OF HERSELF?”

  “THIS IS HER TRUE SELF,” KERIA SAYS.

  “JUST AS YOU ARE YOUR TRUE SELF,” AMAIA ADDS.

  “AND WE ARE OUR TRUE SELVES.”

  “I HAVE ALWAYS SEEN HER OLDER. A MATURE WOMAN AT WORK In HER LABORATORY.” WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? DHULYN WONDERS. WHAT FUTURE, OR WHAT PAST, HAD SHE SEEN, IF THIS YOUNG WOMAN IS THE TRUE SELF OF THE STORM WITCH?

  THE MARKED ARE MOVING, THE CHILD IS SITTING UP, YAWNING. ALL FOUR TURN TOWARD DHULYN AND THE OTHER SEERS. ELLIS HEALER RUBS AT HIS FACE, EXHAUSTION WRITTEN In EVERY LINE. RASCON MENDER HAS A HAND On HER SIDE, BREATHING AS THOUGH SHE’S BEEN RUNNING. JAVEN FINDER LOOKS AS THOUGH SHE MIGHT START CRYING.

  THEY WINK OUT OF EXISTENCE.

  THE STORM WITCH LOOKS AT THE PLACE WHERE THEY WERE, HER MOUTH OPEN, HER BROWS DRAWN TOGETHER. SHE LOOKS UP AT THEM.

  DHULYN ISN’T SURE WHAT TO DO, BUT THE TWINS ARE TURNING AWAY, TOWARD THE THINNER PART OF THE THICKET THAT WILL LET THEM OUT INTO THE PATH OUTSIDE, AND SHE TURNS TO GO WITH THEM. SHE SEES THAT XENDRA’S PLAYTHINGS ARE NOW GONE. THERE IS ONLY A WATERSKIN, A PILE OF INGLERA SKINS, A SMALL PACK OF FOOD. THE SPACE IS BECOMING ONCE AGAIN THE PLACE WHERE DHULYN HID AS A CHILD.

  “WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” THE STORM WITCH IS On HER FEET. SHE’S WEARING LIGHT BLUE TROUSERS, A PALE YELLOW TOP WITH SHORT SLEEVES. THERE ARE SMALL GOLD STUDS In HER EARS, AND HER FEET ARE BARE. HER CROPPED HAIR IS DISHEVELED, SHORT SPIKES STICKING UP In ALL DIRECTIONS. HER GRAY-GREEN EYES ARE ROUND, THE PUPILS TINY POINTS.

  “WE GO BACK TO OUR OWN PLACES NOW,” KERIA SAYS. “YOU SHOULD DO THE SAME, STORM WITCH. YOUR RULE OVER THE CHILD’S BODY HAS ENDED, YOU MAY RETURN TO YOUR OWN PLACE.”

  “YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!” SHE TAKES A STEP TOWARD THEM, HER HAND LIFTED. SHE LOOKS AT DHULYN, AS IF TRULY SEEING HER FOR THE FIRST TIME. “PALEDYN! YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME. I HAVE NOWHERE TO GO.” HER HANDS REACH OUT. “I WON’T GO BACK TO THE WEATHERSPHERES, I WON’T. YOU DON’T UnDERSTAND, I’LL GO MAD!”

  DHULYN WONDERS IF THE GIRL ISN’T ALREADY MAD. “CAN SHE REMAIN HERE?” BUT THE TWINS ARE ALREADY SHAKING THEIR HEADS.

  “THIS IS A REAL PLACE, A VISION PLACE, BUT IT IS TEMPORARY, A BUBBLE,” KERIA SAYS.

  “IT IS YOUR VISION, DHULYN, AND WITHOUT YOU, IT WILL NO LONGER EXIST,” AMAIA SAYS.

  “ONCE WE LEAVE HERE, THE BUBBLE WILL COLLAPSE.”KERIA TURNS TO THE WITCH. “WE ARE SORRY,” SHE SAID. “BUT YOU MUST RETURN TO YOUR OWN PLACE.”

  “BUT THE WEATHERSPHERES ISN’T MY PLACE, I DON’T BELONG THERE.” SHE TURNS ONCE MORE TO DHULYN. “YOU KNOW THAT. YOU KNOW WHAT I REALLY AM. MY WORLD—MY PLACE—DOESN’T EXIST ANYMORE. YOU KNOW THAT.” HER FACE HARDENED. “YOU HAVE TO HELP ME. IF YOU DON’T—IF I GO BACK TO THE SPHERES, I SWEAR TO YOU I’LL—I’LL BRING On An ICE AGE AND YOU’LL ALL DIE. I’LL DESTROY YOU ALL. THE WHOLE WORLD. I’VE DONE IT ONCE ALREADY.”

  DHULYN FEELS A SINKING In HER STOMACH. THE GIRL IS MAD. THAT’S CLEAR.

  “YOU DESTROYED THE WORLD?” SHE SAYS, STRIVING TO KEEP HER VOICE REASONABLE AND CALM. “YOU? In WHAT FASHION? THE WORLD STILL EXISTS.”

  “NOT MY WORLD,” THE WITCH SAYS. “MY WORLD’S GONE. THE PEOPLE, THE BUILDINGS, THE KNOWLEDGE.” HER VOICE HITCHES, AND HER EYES STARE. “EVERYTHING. GONE. LITTLE FRAGMENTS, SCRAPS OF STONE, BITS OF METAL. THAT’S ALL THAT’S LEFT.”

  “AND YOU DID THIS? BUT TIME ALONE WOULD DO IT, YOU DID NOTHING.” DHULYN LIFTS HER HEAD. THERE IS A SOUND FROM OUTSIDE THE THICKET, A SOUND SHE KNOWS VERY WELL. “A HORSEMAN COMES.”

  The motion of the Crayx under him began to change from a smooth gliding through the water to short, rhythmic movements, like the prancing of a particularly well-schooled horse. Then he saw that it was, in fact, a horse he was riding, a coppery-shaded roan, with an oddly pale mane. They were riding down a hunting trail in a rough forest, thick with underbrush. It was winter here, and he could see old snow drifted up here and there. The horse followed the trail steadily, heading directly for a thicket of pines growing so closely together that their branches formed a kind of wall. The horse shouldered its way into the thicket, and Parno raised his arm to keep the branches out of his face.

  The final branches parted, and he saw Dhulyn with the White Twins, and a young, fair-haired woman.

  “YOU ARE JUST In TIME, MY SOUL.” DHULYN’S HEART SWELLS WITH THE SIGHT OF HER PARTNER. SHE REALIZES THAT BEING PARTED FROM HIM, SHE HAD BEEN AFRAID THAT SHE WOULD NOT FIND HER WAY BACK. THAT SOMEHOW THE NECESSITY TO KEEP THE STORM WITCH FROM THE CHILD WOULD KEEP HER FROM RETURNING. NOW THAT PARNO IS HERE, SHE STANDS STRAIGHTER. WHATEVER COMES, THEY WILL FACE IT TOGETHER.

  “THE WITCH IS TELLING US THAT WE SHOULD FEAR HER, BECAUSE SHE’S DESTROYED THE WORLD.”

  “MY NAME’S CARCALI, FOR THE ART’S SAKE, NOT ‘THE WITCH.’ ” FROM THE HARDNESS OF HER FACE, DHULYN KNOWS THAT THE WOMAN IS AFRAID, AND THAT HER FEAR IS TAKING THE FORM OF ANGER.

  “YOU’LL HAVE TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF A LITTLE BETTER, CARCALI,” PARNO SAYS, AS HE DISMOUNTS. DHULYN WONDERS WHERE THE HORSE CAME FROM, AND WHY IT IS SUCH An UNUSUAL COLOR. IT TURNS ITS DARK, VERY ROUND EYES On HER AND SHE SUDDENLY SEES THE TRUTH. THE HORSE IS A CRAYX, AND THAT IS HOW PARNO IS HERE. AT LEAST . . . SHE SQUEEZES HER EYES SHUT, BLINKS. SHE STILL DOESN’T SEE QUITE HOW.

  “THE SUN WAS TOO HOT, AND EVERYTHING WAS GOING TO BURN AND DIE. CARCALI SAYS. “ALL THE PLANS AND SOLUTIONS THAT PEOPLE WERE COMING UP WITH WERE JUST WAYS TO BUY US MORE TIME. NONE OF THEM WOULD HAVE SAVED THE WORLD. I FOUND A WAY—I THOUGHT I’D FOUND A WAY TO COOL THE SUN, TO REVERSE THE PROCESS THAT WAS MAKING IT HEAT. BUT THEY DIDN’T AGREE, THEY TOLD ME I WASN’T READY, THAT THEY WOULDN’T HELP. AND WHEN I TRIED TO DO IT MYSELF, I . . . I LOST—” SHE SQUEEZES HER EYES SHUT, ARMS WRAPPED AROUND HER BODY, AND DHULYN GLANCES AT PARNO. HE MOVES HIS SHOULDERS In THE SMALLEST OF SHRUGS.

  “WHAT DID YOU LOSE, CARCALI?” HE ASKS.

  “THIS,” SHE SAYS. “MY SELF. MY BODY. I THOUGHT I DIDN’T NEED An ANCHOR, BUT I DID. AND WHEN I REALIZED THAT I COULDn’T GET BACK, I PANICKED. THE WEATHERSPHERES—” CARCALI CLUTCHES HER HEAD In HER HANDS, HER FINGERS DIGGING THROUGH THE TUFTS OF HER PALE HAIR. “IT WAS LIKE I COULDN’T FEEL THEM ANYMORE EITHER, BUT THEY COULD FEEL ME.” HER VOICE DROPS TO A WHISPER. “DON’T YOU SEE? MY CONFUSION, MY PANIC MUST HAVE ENTERED INTO THE SPHERES, AND EVERYTHING WAS CHAOS AND POWER AND MY CIVILIZATION WAS DESTROYED.”

  CARCALI, THE STORM WITCH, SINKS TO HER KNEES, STILL HOLDING HER HEAD In HER HANDS. KERIA AND AMAIA GO TO HER, KNEELING BESIDE HER, AND PUT THEIR ARMS AROUND HER. AMAIA STROKES CARCALI’S HAIR, AND KERIA MAKES SOOTHING NOISES. DHULYN LOOKS AT PARNO OVER THE TOPS OF THEIR HEADS. SHE CAN SEE On HIS FACE WHAT HE’S THINKING. THE CIVILIZATION OF THE CAIDS HAD BEEN DESTROYED, BUT NOT BY CATACLYSMIC WEATHER CHANGE. PARNO LIFTS HIS RIGHT EYEBROW, AND DHULYN GIVES HIM An IMPERCEPTIBLE NOD. EVEN AS SHE OPENS HER MOUTH, ANOTHER SPEAKS BEFORE HER.

  #We know the time of which she speaks# #The time of the cooling of the sun#

  DHULYN LOOKS UP, WONDERING WHERE THE VOICE COMES FROM, WHEN SHE REALIZES THAT IT COMES FROM EVERYWHERE, AND NOWHERE.

  “WHAT IS THAT? WHO . . . ?” CARCALI JERKS HER HEAD FROM SIDE TO SIDE, LOOKING FOR THE SOURCE OF THE VOICE. THE WHITE TWINS TRY TO CALM HER, BUT SHE SHIES AWAY FROM THEIR HANDS.

  “IT’S THE CRAYX,” PARNO SAYS. “CAN YOU ALL HEAR THEM?”

  #We use you, Lionsmane, and your link with your Partner, and her link with her fellow Seers#

  “AND CARCALI?” DHULYN ASKS.

  THE COPPER HORSE TOSSES ITS HEAD. IT MAKES A BEAUTIFUL HORSE, DHULYN THINKS.

  #She is just consciousness now, and she occupies this space for the moment# #As do we all# #So long as the music plays#

  NOW THAT IT IS MENTIONED, DHULYN CAN JUST HEAR A FAINT TUNE PLAYING A LONG WAY OFF. IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH IT MIGHT BE JUST THE WIND BLOWING THR
OUGH THE TENT ROPES In THE FAR OFF CAMP OF THE RED HORSEMEN. SHE LOOKS AT THE YOUNG WOMAN In THE CROOK OF KERIA’S ARM. CARCALI HAS BOTH HANDS OVER HER MOUTH, HER EYES WIDE OPEN ABOVE THEM.

  “WE KNOW,” KERIA SAYS.

  “YOU THOUGHT THEY WERE JUST FISH,” AMAIA ADDS.

  “MOST PEOPLE DO,” KERIA SAYS. SHE PATS CARCALI’S SHOULDER.

  DHULYN TURNS TO THE HORSE. SHE FINDS IT EASIER TO ACT AS IF THE VOICE COMES FROM IT. “YOU KNOW OF THIS TIME, YOU SAY?”

  #It was before we made ourselves known to the Caids# #The changes in the sun would have brought about the destruction of the world in two generations of humans# #But the sun was cooled, and the world saved#

  “NO, THAT’S NOT RIGHT.” CARCALI HAS GATHERED HER STRENGTH. “WHAT HAPPENED TO MY WORLD, THEN? TO MY CIVILIZATION? TIME ALONE CAN’T DO WHAT I’VE SEEN.”

  #The Green Shadow came# #Oh, some time after the cooling of the sun# #After the Pod-sensed joined us# #After our treaties with your people# #A long while after, as humans measure time#

  AND CARCALI HAS BEEN WANDERING ALONE In THE WEATHERSPHERES ALL THAT TIME. DHULYN SHUDDERS. SHE HAS THE FEELING IT WAS ONLY A FEW MOONS AGO, In THE CRAYX’S WAY OF MEASURING. CAN SHE HOPE THAT THE DISEMBODIED STORM WITCH FEELS THE SAME WAY?

  Parno looked with interest at the fair-haired young woman kneeling between Keria and Amaia. So this was the Storm Witch in her real shape. She didn’t seem all that formidable. She would be about the age of the younger of his two sisters. At the moment she had her hands over her mouth again, her eyes tightly shut, and tears leaking out of them.

  Dhulyn stood to one side, her lips pressed together, drumming the fingers of her right hand on her sword hilt. Parno almost laughed aloud. Those were clear signs his Partner was impatient and uncomfortable—and she’d stay that way until Carcali stopped crying.

  Finally, the young woman heaved a great, broken sigh, and accepted the offer of a scrap of cloth from Amaia to wipe off her face and blow her nose.

  “I didn’t kill them.” There was a note of wonder in her voice, but she was still very close to tears. However good the news, it was almost more than Carcali could take in. She had clearly been living a long time with the pain and guilt of what she’d done. It would take time still for her to truly believe she was innocent.

  “But you can’t make me go back to the weatherspheres, please.” She looked from face to face, and her own hardened when she did not see what she hoped for.

  #Would you come to live with us# the Crayx suggested. #Join our consciousness# #You are not Pod sensed, but perhaps from here, with the links . . .#

  “No, please, I couldn’t.” Carcali clung to the arms of the White Twins, who looked at Parno and Dhulyn over her bent head with pity in their red eyes. “I couldn’t live like that. Not like an animal.”

  #Amusement# #You would not be alone# #Compassion#

  Carcali looked away. “I couldn’t.”

  “Sun, Moon, and Stars girl, what can you do, then?” Dhulyn’s voice cut through the air like her own well-sharpened sword. “You can’t have someone else’s body, you can’t stay here, you don’t want to go back to the weatherspheres, and now you don’t want to join the Crayx. What do you want?”

  “I want to go home.” Burst into tears.

  Dhulyn threw her hands into the air and stalked off, as far as she could in this small thicket. Parno was torn between laughing at her inability to cope with so much emotion, and his very real sympathy with her feelings of frustration.

  #Why should she not go home#

  Dhulyn turned and looked at the horse, who was quite calmly flicking its ears back and forth. Keria and Amaia looked at each other, at Dhulyn, at Parno, and at the horse. Carcali once again searched one face after another watched to see where the next blow would fall.

  “How can she go home?” Dhulyn said in her rough silk voice. “Her home is gone. It’s in the past, hundreds—no, thousands of years.”

  “We See the past,” Amaia said, as her sister nodded. “In the Vision place there is no time.”

  “Like the Crayx,” Parno whispered. Everyone looked at him. “The Crayx,” he repeated. “They don’t experience time the same way we do. There’s no past for them, there’s only now.”

  “So Carcali’s home . . .”

  “Is just another place to them, another bubble like this one.”

  #But it is her bubble, as this one is yours# #We can take her, if she wishes to go#

  Carcali was backing away from them. “It’s a trick. You’ll hand me over to these animals and they’ll wait until you’ve gone and then they’ll drown me.”

  “Oh, for the Moon’s sake.” Dhulyn threw her hands into the air. “You stupid little fool.”

  “Dhulyn.” Parno took his Partner by the arm and led her to one side. “Think how alone she’s been,” he said to her in the nightwatch voice. “I know I went a little mad when I lost you. I could have killed some of the Nomads, just because I didn’t care enough to be watchful. She’s lost everyone, everything. Can we expect clear thinking from her?”

  “Oh, I know.” Only Dhulyn could sound sullen using the nightwatch voice. The corner of her mouth twitched. “I’m not saying I’d really kill her, just that I feel like it.” She glanced back at the others. “But she doesn’t trust us, so what are we to do?”

  “I’ll go with her.”

  The grip Dhulyn took on his forearm was painful. “No. I won’t lose you again. No.”

  “Quietly, my heart. And I’d like the use of this arm again, if you don’t mind.” Her hand relaxed, but she did not release him. “I trust the Crayx. If they say they can do it, they can. Even if they lose Carcali, they would never lose me. Can you think of another solution?” Dhulyn shook her head. “And you and I will never be separated, not really. We know that now.”

  She nodded. “I’ve Seen her older. In her own laboratory, but older than she is here. This must be what that Vision was showing me.”

  “So we succeed. In Battle,” he said.

  “And in Death,” she answered.

  Parno turned back to the others, Dhulyn at his elbow. “I’ll go with you,” he said to Carcali. “That way you can be sure there is no trickery.”

  “You’ll go? You’d do this for me?”

  “If the Crayx can take us both.”

  #We can# #And bring you back again, Lionsmane# #But it must be quickly, while the links remain, and the music still plays#

  Was he still playing? Parno wondered. How much time was passing in that world?

  #Let the Seers sing# #Mount again, both of you#

  Parno swung himself on to the horse and put out his hand for Carcali. Dhulyn stood ready to give the girl a leg up. She looked from one to the other, licking her lips.

  “He’ll keep you safe,” Dhulyn said. “You’ll see. He’ll take you right to your own door, like the son of a Noble House that he is. And you’ll go to work on cooling that sun, now that you know it was done.”

  “But they said no, they said it wouldn’t work.”

  Dhulyn shook her head. “You really are an idiot, youngster. You did it, don’t you see? You must have done it, before you were lost in the weatherspheres. Your people, they didn’t say it couldn’t be done, just that you couldn’t do it alone. So get some help, you blooded fool.”

  Javen Finder was on her knees, lower lip between her teeth, concentrating on her bowl. But she shook her head.

  “Nothing,” she said to the others. “No colors will come. I’m sorry, Light of the Sun, I can’t Find them.”

  Xerwin hugged Xendra tighter in the circle of his arms. She muttered but did not awaken, only tightened her arms around his neck. “But they could still be in this Vision place, where you cannot Find them, could they not? Where Xendra was?”