His grief has made him mad. River grabs the boy by his hair, and pulls. I try to scream, but the noose poles cut off my air. I strain and grab, pressing against the rope, but the boy is out of reach. River drags him by his hair to the back of the barn, where the chopping block lies. The boy is screaming and begging, and in a moment I hear him scream even louder.
Inhuman sounds. Almost like a hawk. I wonder if River is taking his arm or his leg …
Lily didn’t struggle or try to end the memory, but Lillian spared her and stopped. She knew Lily had seen enough anyway.
Do you understand now, Lily? Do you understand why I couldn’t explain what I had learned to anyone? Why I pushed Rowan away and wouldn’t let him see my memories of the cinder world—not even to make him understand why I had to stop Alaric and his scientists?
Yes, Lillian. You didn’t trust yourself enough to only show part of the cinder-world memory. You were afraid Rowan would keep digging until he found his father. He’s relentless when he wants to see a memory—like when he wanted to know what Carrick had done to me in the oubliette.
When I first came back I was so weak and sick my mind would have been an open book to him. No one must ever know, Lily. No one but us.
Caleb told me that River was the first person you hanged. You did that in case you failed and the bombs went off, didn’t you? You killed River first to make sure he never became that thing in the barn.
If Rowan ever knew, it would change him. I broke his heart, but seeing his father like that would break something much deeper in him. Something much more precious. Have you ever seen Rowan’s core?
Yes, Lillian. It’s like a diamond—pure and strong.
His father gave him that. Rowan makes all of his moral decisions based on what he thinks his father would do. Seeing River in the barn would take that compass away from him. Do you know what love is, Lily? Real love?
I’m not sure anymore.
Love is being willing to become the villain so that the one you love can stay a hero.
* * *
Lily awoke with her head in Una’s lap. Her sore arm was bound tightly to her chest.
“The train’s beginning to slow,” Una said. “We think we’re pulling into a station.”
“Are we in Richmond?” Lily asked.
“Not yet, but we’re getting off anyway to heal you,” she answered. “I think we’re in Baltimore, so we’re not too far.” Una looked down at Lily. “That was some dream you had—if it was a dream. Felt more like a memory to me.”
Lily kept her voice low and her face calm even though she was anything but. “How much did you see?”
“One or two images,” Una whispered. She swallowed hard around a lump in her throat. “That wasn’t you in the barn. It was Lillian, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.” Lily sat up and looked Una in the eye.
“Who was the doctor?” The way Una said the word it was obvious she meant “butcher.”
Lily turned her head and looked pointedly at Rowan, who was caught up in a heated discussion with Breakfast and Tristan. Then she looked back at Una, her eyes begging. “Please, Una. He loved his father. He can never find out.”
“I know a thing or two about secrets,” Una replied. “About keeping secrets no matter how much they hurt, although lately I’m starting to think that maybe it’s better when you don’t.”
“Please,” Lily whispered again.
I won’t tell Rowan, but maybe you should. I don’t understand what was going on in Lillian’s memory, but I could feel an emotion in you that I recognize too well. Shame. That never ends well, Lily. Trust me. The only way to end shame is to bring it out of the dark and into the light.
Lily and Una stared at each other. Thank you, Una.
On top of the next train car Rowan, Tristan, and Breakfast were busy discussing what food to get at the station and how best to get it. Rowan was trying to explain to them that stealing wasn’t the smartest thing to do in a world cloaked in wards, even though Rowan could break just about anyone’s ward of protection if he chose.
“I traded for some money with Riley,” Breakfast said reluctantly. “But I wanted to hold on to it in case we needed something to pay the Outlanders.”
Rowan shook his head and smiled. “They’re my tribe, Breakfast. We don’t need to pay them. Just get Lily some salty food, but don’t ask to buy salt directly. It’ll look suspicious.”
As he spoke of her, Rowan glanced over at Lily and saw that she was sitting up. His eyes softened when they met hers and her heart hurt just looking at him. Luckily, he misinterpreted the source of her emotion.
You’re still in a lot of pain.
I’ll live.
The train stopped. Una and Rowan helped Lily down off the top of the train and brought her aboveground while Breakfast and Tristan stayed and went shopping around the station.
“We have to get you out of the city quickly. Cast a glamour before anyone recognizes you,” Rowan said urgently. Lily did as he said as they melted into the foot traffic lining the city streets.
Lily noticed that Una was staring up at the soaring architecture. It was the first time she’d seen a city in this world, and the scale was overwhelming.
Baltimore wasn’t quite as big as Salem, but it was still New York City tall and compact. Yet it didn’t look or feel like any city in Una and Lily’s world. Vegetation spilled off every rooftop and terrace, and greenhouses dotted every block. Huge spiraling lattices, called greentowers, soared up into the sky, dwarfing even the tallest skyscrapers.
Rowan quickly explained to Una that vertical farming had become a necessity inside the Thirteen Cities after the Woven took over all the arable land outside the walls. All the structures needed to support vegetation or the people would starve to death inside their walls. The architecture made sense, maybe more sense than the way cities were constructed in Lily’s world, but it was still strange to Una’s eyes.
And then there were the tame Woven, called guardians, which were chained to the bottom of the greentowers to guard the precious food they supported. Una stared at the guardians, as unsettled as Lily had been when she first saw them. They looked like a combination of dog, bear, and tiger, but Lily thought that the eyes were different. They seemed intelligent—almost human. Lily looked at one of the guardians, and she could have sworn it was looking back at her like it was thinking.
As they hurried through the crowded streets, Una kept catching herself staring at everything like a hick. Lily could see her struggling to act casually.
“Yeah, those are weird-looking cars,” Una said under her breath as one of the sleek, futuristic automobiles hummed past.
“They call them elepods. They’re electric cars, basically,” Lily said.
“Okay. I can deal with that,” Una said, keeping it together. “But what the hell is that?”
She pointed up into the sky where a winged creature darted and spun. Lily had seen a few of them in Salem, but they seemed more popular here in Baltimore. They looked like tiny dragons, and Lily knew only rich people could afford them.
“That’s a pet drake,” Rowan said in an offhand way. “The big drakes are grown by the Covens to defend the air space over the Thirteen Cities from flying Woven. They’re useful. But the little ones are just pains in the asses for everyone except their owners. Nasty little biters.”
“Then why do people get them?” Una asked. “Apart from the fact that they’re gorgeous.”
Rowan shrugged. “To prove they can afford to pay for the license the Covens require to own one. Even tame Woven are taken very seriously, and every one is meticulously documented.”
“That makes sense,” Una said, her eyes still glued to the little drakes.
“In Salem they’re considered too flashy by most,” Rowan added distastefully. Lily could tell he didn’t like them. Rowan didn’t trust any of the Woven, not even the supposedly tame ones.
“Where do they grow them?” Una asked, staring at the jewel-like creatures with o
pen envy.
“They’re grown in the Stacks, like all of the bio-assets the Covens provide the cities,” Rowan replied. He suddenly frowned, ending the conversation. They were coming to the city gates, which were surrounded by guards. “Lily. Hide two of your willstones,” he whispered.
Lily did as he said and saw his eyes unfocus in the telltale sign of mindspeak. Lily looked up at the colossal wall surrounding Baltimore, and understood. Once they went through those gates, they wouldn’t be able to contact Tristan and Breakfast.
“They ran into some trouble. Some idiot mistook Breakfast for an Outlander and picked a fight. Of course Tristan jumped right in,” Rowan said, looking very much like he wanted to strangle the both of them.
“They better hurry,” Una said under her breath, picking up on the situation as quickly as Lily did.
They were swept up into the line leaving the city. Unfortunately, it was a short line, and they found themselves facing the guards before Tristan and Breakfast had joined them.
Tristan. Breakfast. It’d be great if you showed up about now.
“That’s some willstone you got there, Outlander.”
One of the guards had singled out Rowan. His eyes flicked over to Lily and Una, inspecting their stones. Una had a medium-size smoke stone. It wasn’t huge, but it was almost black in color. She was obviously strong.
“You.” Another guard approached Lily, looking quizzically at her rose stone. It was medium-size like Una’s, but rich in color and complexity. “I’ve never seen a stone like that.”
“I’m weird,” Lily retorted.
“What happened to your shoulder?” Both the guards were flanking Lily now, drawn to her.
Lily reminded herself that these were soldiers. They’d probably felt the Gift from their witch, most likely the Lady of Baltimore, and they could sense that Lily was even stronger than she was. Their eyes were hungry and their faces hopeful. They were craving the Gift. Lily felt unsafe.
“We ran into some Woven last night. Came into town to buy med supplies for our tribe,” Rowan answered for her. His tone was quiet and he was positioning himself between Lily and the guards. So was Una. Lily could feel too many eyes resting on her. “Our tribe is waiting for us,” Rowan said evenly.
The guards couldn’t keep noncitizens inside the walls. The city guards had plenty of rules about which Outlanders they let in, but they were generally more concerned about getting all the Outlanders out. City law required that all noncitizens be outside the wall by nightfall. They didn’t like it, but unless the guards had a reason to arrest them, they had to let Lily’s group pass.
As soon as they were through the gates, Una let out a gusty breath. “I thought we were going to have to fight our way out,” she said.
“Another minute or two and we might have had to,” Rowan replied.
“What did they want from Lily?”
“Power,” Rowan replied simply. “Think about it, Una. Since Lily claimed you, how often have you craved her strength?”
Una’s gaze dropped and she frowned, troubled.
“It’s okay,” Rowan continued. “You learn to recognize it for what it is and control it, like any other kind of desire. Only people with weak character allow it to control them, like those guards.”
Rowan suddenly stopped and put a hand on Una’s shoulder. It was the first time Lily had ever seen Rowan touch Una outside of their sparring sessions, and for a split second Lily was worried that Una might push his hand off, but she didn’t. She trusted Rowan.
“Remember, Una,” he said, “we receive the Gift to defend our witch, not for our own pleasure. It’s a privilege, and it should be a rare one. You have enough character to control yourself—I have no doubt about that. Or about you.”
Una smiled up at Rowan gratefully, and Lily couldn’t help but be moved by how much love and respect had grown between them. Rowan was like a brother to Una now. He’d earned that right. As Lily watched this touching exchange between a mentor and his student, she couldn’t help but adore Rowan even more. Nor could she help but remember with a pang that he had probably learned the skill of compassionate leadership from his father.
As they moved across the large field that separated the walls of Baltimore from the surrounding forest, Rowan and Una grew silent and tense. Woven could be anywhere. They found a small clearing, and Rowan instructed Una to build a fire.
“We’ll wait here for Tristan and Breakfast to catch up while you and I heal Lily,” he explained while he opened his pack and began taking out his cauldron and herbs.
Lily sank gratefully to her knees. Her shoulder was still throbbing. “I’m going to try to find Caleb and your Tristan,” Lily told him.
Rowan nodded while he worked, his nimble hands laying out the tools he would need. His lips softened in a small smile. He loved being a mechanic. Lily had to force herself to concentrate; she could have stared at him the rest of the day.
She reached out and felt for the particular energies that were Caleb and Tristan. She could feel their relief and their happiness at hearing from her. “They’re close,” Lily said. “Can you reach them, Rowan?”
His eyes stared at nothing for a moment. “Not yet.”
Lily sent Caleb and Tristan an image of exactly where they were. We’re outside of Baltimore, she told them.
We’re only a few miles away from you. We’ll be there soon.
Lily relayed their message to Rowan, and he smiled with her before becoming serious again. Rowan set the cauldron onto the fire and turned to Una.
“I’m going to teach you how to heal a dislocated joint,” he told her, and the lesson began.
The ritual was over quickly, and it was a bit different from when Rowan and Tristan had healed Lily’s broken ankle all those months ago. The mineral-and-herb brew that bubbled in the cauldron was similar, but this time Rowan had Una use the power in her own willstone to direct the heat of the brew into Lily’s shoulder instead of having Lily do it as he had with her ankle.
Una willed the heat to form microscopic fingers of energy, which utilized the elements in the brew to rebuild the damage in Lily’s shoulder. Not even witches could create something out of nothing, and having the iron, calcium, and collagen in the brew was essential to create new cells and heal an injury. Energy alone wouldn’t do it.
Una understood the principles easily enough, but she had some trouble following through. Her true skill was fighting, not healing, but she managed to pull it off. As they worked, Lily noticed that Rowan’s smoke stone took on a slightly reddish hue while Una’s nearly black stone could not. Rowan’s stone was more flexible than Una’s. Lily made a mental note to mark which of her mechanics’ stones could change color to fit the different tasks of magic. This was supposed to have been a lesson for Una, but Lily found that she was still learning as well.
“Good job, Una,” Rowan said as they packed up their silver knives and their hunks of ore. “You’ll—”
Rowan suddenly broke off and stood, his eyes flying to the trees and he unsheathed his long knife.
Lily. Give us strength.
The Woven were on Una and Rowan before Lily could even draw the heat of the fire into her body. Coyote-like shapes burst out of the underbrush and launched themselves at Lily’s mechanics. They had impossibly long tails, and when Rowan grabbed one of the Woven by the throat, the snarling creature used that tail like a whip, lashing its tail overhead, and whipping Rowan across the shoulder and back. His wearhyde jacket was slashed open, and blood slicked down his back.
Lily’s witch wind turned the breeze into a moaning storm. She was tossed six feet into the air and immediately sent power exploding into Una’s and Rowan’s willstones. But she didn’t stay airborne long.
Lily felt a distinct presence react to her display of magic. It was not unlike the fear and awe that she could sense when she heard people scream the word “witch,” and then she felt a tearing pain in her left forearm as she was pulled to the ground. A huge white coyote Woven, the
largest in the group, pinned her to the forest floor and loomed over her.
No! They have Lily! Caleb, Tristan—help me, brothers! Rowan called desperately in mindspeak.
Lily had no weapon and no idea how to defend herself, so she did as Rowan had done and grabbed the Woven by the throat to keep it from biting her. As she dug her fingers into the creature’s neck she felt something hard buried under its skin. Lily pinched the lump between her fingers and felt that odd presence again. She decided that the presence wasn’t a mind, but a collective of minds—inhuman minds that had no language. The eyes of the pale Woven above her widened, and the idea of distinct smells lit up a quiet, long-forgotten section of Lily’s brain. Lily recognized each scent as a being, and each being belonged to this pale Woven.
For half a second, images blurred through Lily’s thoughts. She saw Una hanging above her from a tree branch, slashing down at her with a knife. Then she saw Rowan straddling her and pushing a knife into her heart. Then she saw Caleb running her down on horseback. Lily only recognized the dizzying sensation for what it was because she’d felt it once before—when Rowan had taught her how to make a mind mosaic.
Lily suddenly felt an urge to jump to her feet and head toward the place where the sun sets. The pale Woven broke eye contact and wrenched herself away from Lily desperately. She sent out a howl, and her pack retreated into the trees to the west.
Still reeling from having her mind splintered into multiple perspectives, Lily blinked her eyes and tried to steady herself. She placed her palm down hard on what she thought was a wall and heard a thumping sound. When her eyes came back into focus, Lily realized that she was smacking Caleb’s meaty chest. He’d picked her up and he was moving her closer to the fire.
“Caleb,” she said, smiling through the pain in her left arm. He smiled back, his white teeth gleaming brightly against his dark skin. “It’s really good to see you,” she said, resting her forehead against his.
Firewalker Page 24
