“I can always find those who have taken my test and passed.”
Lucy looked confused for a moment. Then, her hand unconsciously reached towards her tattoo. The one they all had on their wrist after successfully passing through Ishalla’s archway. Ishalla noticed the motion and nodded.
“Yes, the tattoo is my way of keeping track of all those who pass my test. I can bring anyone back here who has one anytime I want. Now, practice some more so we can get you out of the mists.”
Lucy looked back at the water again and concentrated. She motioned with her arm and released her intent. The water swirled, and slowly the common room of the inn in Clev appeared. Lucy assumed it would still have customers even at this late hour. Sure enough, the fire danced merrily while customers drank, laughed, and spilled ale on themselves. The innkeeper moved quickly around the common room bringing full mugs, sweeping money into a pouch at his waist, and taking away empty ones. Lucy looked at Ishalla for approval. She nodded and Lucy dropped the scene. Lucy was surprised to find she was tired. It seemed like such a simple spell, but it took a lot of energy.
“Yes, it can be tiring. A day spent farseeing can equal the physical equivalent of a couple of weeks traveling though the mists but be far less perilous.”
“I will try to remember that,” promised Lucy.
“See that you do.”
Ishalla had Lucy practice a variety of shields. It was interesting that there were so many types. It made sense in a way, different shields to protect from different attacks. Ishalla also made Lucy farsee things like the nearest water source or cave, a skill beneficial for survival.
“Can I farsee enemies or is that too obscure?
“Too obscure. You cannot farsee intent.”
“Like Ora.”
“Hmmm?”
“She can know the result of a choice, but she cannot know the whys behind a choice. She cannot know intent. She is not warned of choices occurring that could bring about bad events. She will see them if she is looking for them, but there are no warnings. She says the ethos does not judge.”
“Yes, much like that. Of course, if you farsee an army heading in the direction of the town you are in, you can infer intent.”
“True.”
“Be safe, Lucy. Maintain balance. Get out of the mists.”
Chapter 14
Maya arrived at her door for lunch after a very busy morning accompanying Joss to his multitude of meetings. Since Justin’s departure, she attended most conferences, usually only to observe and listen. She was sure some of the dignitaries minded, but that didn’t concern her. When the meetings were done she discussed what she had noticed with Joss. She pointed out when people lied or skirted the truth, glad she had learned to read voices. Sometimes during a meeting, she asked questions based on the undercurrents only she could sense. Joss appreciated her opinions and insights. She enjoyed watching Joss develop as a king. He arrived at meetings informed and expectant. He didn’t let his advisors control the discussions anymore. He let them suggest actions and listened, but in the end he told them what was to be done rather than letting them decide.
Carr had been her constant shadow. It was a little odd, but she was getting used to it. She hoped he wasn’t too bored. No one else had tried to attack her. There wasn’t much news on the assassin who had. He had been identified as an assassin, but no one knew his name or who had paid him. The Sams were constantly at her door.
“Hello, Sam,” she said as she reached her room.
“Hello, my Lady,” replied the Sams in unison.
“Your lunch arrived already,” said Sam.
“You let them in?” asked Carr.
“Yes,” said Sam.
“Don’t do that. The food is alone in her room, unattended. Always have the maid wait until we arrive,” ordered Carr.
“Yes, sir,” said Sam.
“I’ll check the room; then you check the food,” said Carr.
Maya nodded. She stayed with the Sams while Carr secured the room. Carr motioned her in and she hummed as she studied the food. She was not as adept as Justin at sensing poison, but she could sense it well enough to stay alive. As she studied the food, she reminded herself to teach Dulcie how to check for poison. Once it became apparent Dulcie was a court mage, she would be in danger of assassination as well. She scanned it twice to be sure.
“It’s poisoned,” she informed Carr.
“Damn. Sam!”
“Yes, sir,” said Sam peering in the door.
“Take this food away. Make sure no one eats it. It’s poisoned. Get Lady Maya fresh food.”
“Yes, sir,” said Sam as he took away the tray.
“Sam!”
“Yes, sir,” said the other Sam, peering in the door in the same manner as the first Sam.
Amazing, thought Maya. They really were interchangeable.
“How long ago was the food delivered?” asked Carr.
“Not long, sir. Perhaps five minutes. No more.”
“Did you recognize the maid who delivered it?”
“Yes, sir. It was the buxom blond with the smile.”
“Does she have a name?” asked Maya.
“Yes.”
“And it is…?
“Oh, sorry, my Lady, it’s Kessa,” said Sam.
“Please, find Kessa and bring her here,” instructed Carr.
“Yes, sir,” Sam said and turned to go.
“Sam, wait, before you find her, make sure Joss checks his food. If someone tried to poison me, perhaps they added some to his food as well. We don’t know when the poison was put in the food. After it was put in my room, by Kessa, or during preparation.”
Sam nodded and left to run his errands. Shortly after Sam left, the first Sam arrived with another tray of food and the blond, buxom Kessa. Maya was impressed; the Sams really were efficient.
Kessa, sadly enough, did not know anything. She’d brought up the tray like she did every day. She had not noticed anyone or anything suspicious. Maya was disappointed, but at least she knew Kessa was telling the truth. This fact improved her original assessment of the girl. Kessa was dismissed. Maya sighed and motioned for Carr to join her for lunch. They were part way through when they were interrupted by a pair of chickadees.
“Ma-ya-ya-ya-ya,” said a small chickadee on the windowsill.
“Hello,” said Maya politely, as if chickadees talked to her on a daily basis. Behind her, Carr was trying not to choke on his food.
“He-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo,” the other replied.
“Are you from the Wild Woods?” Maya asked.
“Yes, in-de-de-de-de-deed. Justin said we could talk to you-ou-ou-ou if he was not here-ere-ere-ere-ere.”
“Of course,” replied Maya. “How can I help?”
“We can help you-ou-ou-ou. We saw a man enter and put something in your food-de-de-de-de.”
“I see. Can you describe him?”
The chickadees looked at each other, fluffed their feathers a few times, and turned back to look at Maya.
“He did not seem important at the time-ime-ime-ime. Sor-ry-ry-ry-ry.”
“It is not a problem. Will the Wild Woods come to our aid if something is brewing in the mists?”
“Yes. We will help. We are to stay-ay-ay-ay with you to help with any messages-es-es-es-es. We do not leave our woods lightly-ly-ly-ly. We will gather and be ready-dy-dy-dy-dy. We will come when we hear from Justin-in-in-in-in.”
“That is wonderful news. Thank you for your help. You are welcome to stay in my rooms if you like, or anywhere else you please.” Maya was glad that they would have help from somewhere. She was looking forward to telling Joss.
“We will be within hearing distance of you at all times. De-de-de-de-de.”
With that they flew off to a tree outside Maya’s window.
“Well, that was interesting,” said Carr.
“Yes,” agreed Maya. “Now, off to the practice grounds.”
“Practice grounds?”
“We are mee
ting Dulcie there and I’d hate to set a bad example by being late.”
Maya and Carr left the room, nodded to the Sams, and walked to the practice grounds without incident. It was busy there, filled with many new recruits drilling. Maya could tell some had the potential to become proficient soldiers if they had enough time to train. Others, would not live so long. The thought saddened her, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Some of the men gave her appreciative looks, but noticing Carr kept their comments too quiet to hear. Dulcie was standing to one side looking distinctly out of place. Her dress was light green and sewn from fine brocade; her hair was neatly braided. It was a definite improvement over the first time Maya had seen her, but there was still a long way to go. Dulcie slouched like she couldn’t possibly be important and was trying to avoid being seen.
“Good afternoon,” Maya greeted her.
“Good afternoon,” Dulcie replied. “Why are we here?”
“You need to learn how to defend yourself. This is the best place to do it,” said Maya practically.
“You said I have magic. Can’t I use that?” asked Dulcie.
“Yes, once you know how. I cannot teach you everything you need to know magically. How will you defend yourself while you are learning? My goal is to keep you alive long enough for you to learn how to keep yourself alive. I will teach you anything I think will help. Let’s go look at weapons.”
Dulcie did not look happy about the idea, but followed Maya nonetheless. Once in the armory, Maya, with Carr’s assistance, had Dulcie pick up and hold different weapons. She looked terribly inept at all of them. Maya sighed. She had to teach Dulcie how to use something. Dulcie looked at Maya helplessly as the shortest sword proved to be too heavy for her to hold correctly.
“It seems you do not have an innate love of weapons. There is nothing wrong with that, but we still need a solution. What about daggers? I will have something made for you that is decorative, but deadly. Here,” Maya handed Dulcie a set of daggers taken from the wall and motioned her to follow.
They went to the practice grounds. Maya showed Dulcie different ways of holding the daggers. Then, Maya pulled out the daggers she always kept on her person. She slowly ran through some exercises and had Dulcie mirror her motions. They repeated the drills until Dulcie flowed and the daggers looked more like an extension of her hands and less like an accident waiting to happen. Dulcie, despite being young, was not used to this physical activity; her skin shone with perspiration before they were done.
“Good,” said Maya. “That is enough for today. We will practice some with the daggers most days from now on. I want you to at least stand a chance of being able to defend yourself.”
Dulcie nodded and smiled a small, but uncertain smile. One of the recruits walking by snorted with laughter.
“What can either of you do with a dagger against a grown man,” he chuckled.
Maya glared and became a blur of motion. Training with Gavin had its advantages. She spun, lashed out with quick, precise strokes, and returned to her original position. The man gasped once, blinked, and then turned red with embarrassment as his pants fell down to his knees. He looked with amazement at the seams of his shirt, which had been carefully sliced up the sides, gently billowing in the wind. Lastly, he touched a hand to his cheek where a red line ran down his jaw from cheekbone to chin. Dulcie looked from the man to Maya in awe. Carr stood by impassively with his hand on the pommel of his sword. Maya could sense his amusement.
“The shirt and pants will be easy to mend. I didn’t see a point in ruining good clothing,” said Maya.
“The cheek?” snarled the man with a glare.
“Will probably heal without leaving a scar. In fact, if you ask Dulcie kindly she might try to heal it for you. It will remind you to never take anything for granted, even an easy looking kill. Perhaps one day, that reminder will save your life.”
The man glared at Maya again, spat at her feet, and stalked away. Maya turned, and started to walk back to her rooms to continue her training session with Dulcie.
“You made an enemy today,” warned Carr.
“That’s what you’re here for, right?” Maya joked.
“It was amusing; I thank you for that. The men watching will remember, too. You angered one but educated many.”
“Good.”
“If I work hard, will I be as good as you?” asked Dulcie with wide eyes.
“If you work hard, I expect you’ll be better,” said Maya as she continued to walk with purpose.
Chapter 15
Lucy woke up feeling more rested than she should have considering her rigorous lessons with Ishalla. She told the others about her dream. Taran suggested filling the pot he used to cook stew with water and letting Lucy try to see what she could find. Everyone agreed.
Lucy took a deep breath to calm her nerves, noted to herself that she was taking a lot of deep breaths lately, and tried to remember everything Ishalla had taught her. It hadn’t been long, but Lucy was nervous. She wanted to help. She wanted to find answers. Staring into the water, she motioned with her arm and released her will into the water. Nothing happened. She closed her eyes, took a few breaths, and sought to find the balanced, blue place Chester had shown her. She opened her eyes and tried again. This time the water swirled. First, to prove she could do it and what they saw could be trusted, she showed them Taran’s cabin. She heard Gavin gasp softly in amazement. Again, she saw Philip in the water. A few hours had passed; the fire had died down to embers, and Philip was sleeping soundly.
Lucy made the picture follow the ground they had already traveled. They saw Corealanna’s cave, the bog they had crossed, groups of hunting Dwarrolings, and ceaseless miles of mist. Lucy showed them an overview of their current location. Then, since she was sure they trusted her ability, she traveled west. When she thought she was west enough, she turned south searching a route parallel to the one they had made. This route was filled mostly with opaque mist, occasional groups of Dwarrolings setting snares for rabbits, sporadically roaming large animals, two packs of wolves, another bog, and more mountains. When Lucy thought she had gone south enough, she traveled farther west again and continued north.
“What if she doesn’t find anything?” Gavin whispered to Taran.
“Shhh,” hushed Justin. He could see sweat beading on Lucy’s forehead and knew the toll the spell was taking. He didn’t want her interrupted.
Lucy could tell she was getting tired, but she did not want to stop until she found something. Another swath, maybe two, and she would take a break if she didn’t find anything. There had to be something out there. Then, she found it. A stout gray castle almost invisible in the mists appeared suddenly. The mists made everything seem a surprise. She wasn’t sure she could have found it if she had been searching for it. Cautiously, she maneuvered the picture over the walls, not wanting to miss anything important. Inside, there was movement everywhere. Supplies were arriving and being organized. Forges were bright and blacksmiths were busy fashioning weapons. Dwarrolings scurried everywhere. Lucy found a gate and went through. Inside this wall, other activity was in progress. Soldiers were drilling, cobblers were making boots, soldiers were fletching arrows, and horses and other beasts of war were being cared for and fitted with armor.
Lucy traveled farther in. There were other beings moving swiftly along the stone halls. She wasn’t sure what all of the creatures were, but they were all the things nightmares were made of. There were Ghouls, Ogres, Boggles, Hags, Minotaurs, Spectres, Incubi, Wraiths, Cyclopes, Ettins, Bunyips, Efreets, Hell Hounds, Manticores, Wendigos, Orknies, spirits of evil trees and poisonous plants, Trolls, Goblins, Shillocks, Chimeras, Djinn, Banshees, and Harpies. Lucy even thought she saw a fire spout that could only have come from a dragon, but she didn’t feel she had the time to investigate. At this point, she didn’t want to, but she continued farther in. There had to be something in charge of all of this. Something powerful had gathered these creatures for a purpose.
Lucy located the throne room. She traveled through the groups of creatures to view the throne and the thing on it. Lucy wasn’t sure what it was. She thought it was the shape of a man with a gold crown on his head, but more than that she couldn’t be sure. He seemed to be made up entirely of shadows and darkness.
“Shadow Weaver,” gasped Ora from behind her.
At Ora’s gasp, the shadow figure stiffened. Three things happened simultaneously.
The ring on Lucy’s finger burned.
“Drop it!” screamed Ora.
The shadow figure turned what should have been a head to look out of the cauldron at them.
Lucy felt a searing pain in her head. She immediately dropped the picture and grabbed her head. There was a minor flurry of activity.
“Are you okay?” asked Justin concerned, his hand on her back.
“What was that?” demanded Gavin.
“A Shadow Weaver? Is that what’s behind this?” gulped Taran.
“I’ll be fine in a minute,” announced Lucy sitting down.
“No! Don’t sit! Move! Now! We have to move. He will send something to this spot to investigate,” cried Ora in alarm.
Gavin didn’t need to be told twice, he started packing up their campsite. Taran and Justin helped while Lucy recovered.
“What will he send?” asked Taran.
“Does it matter?” wondered Ora. “You saw what kinds of creatures were gathered there. He will send something that will be able to tell him what he wants to know. Perhaps he will send something that will sense how powerful we are. Perhaps a tracker. Perhaps something whose sole purpose is to kill. He will want to know what spied on him in his own fortress. He might send something to capture us. We do not want that. We must move,” Ora explained urgently as she pulled Lucy to her feet and started walking.
No one argued with her. They followed, moving quickly through the mist. They trusted Ora, and, if they were going to be tracked down by something sent by a Shadow Weaver, following an Oracle seemed like the best plan. Hour after hour passed without a break. Lucy was weak from farseeing and the brisk pace Ora set, but she kept moving. Ora started to veer east. Instead of the mossy, flat ground, they started to travel into the mountains. They went up an incline past gravel and boulders.
Ravs Are Rarely Wrong: The Kinowenn Chronicles Vol III Page 10
