Firewalker

by Josephine Angelini

  “That’s because you’re in her world, where she’s in control, and you’re still thinking like her,” Juliet whispered back. “Don’t.”

  Lily looked at the pale Woven’s trail. The underbrush was still moving slightly where it had run away. “Did Lillian ever think to go west?” she asked.

  Juliet propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Lily. “Never.”

  Lily looked back at her sister, and they shared a determined smile. “Good.”

  * * *

  Lily stared at a map of what she still thought of as North America, except in this version of the world, North America ended just a little bit past the Mississippi River. Everything west of that was filled in with nondescript cross-hatching, as if to say, Here, There Be Dragons. Which, Lily supposed, was entirely possible.

  “Okay, so all we have to do is follow this trail we’re on and we get to a ferry that will take us across this river?” Lily asked.

  Caleb and Tristan exchanged looks.

  “Maybe,” Tristan replied. “It was there two months ago. According to some.”

  “My cousin said he saw it still functional three months ago,” Dana said. “If the Woven haven’t attacked it, it should be fine.”

  “That’s comforting,” Una said sarcastically.

  They had been riding west for over a week. About forty braves had joined them, making things both easier and harder. There were more eyes on the lookout for Woven, but there were also more mouths to feed.

  Dana was one of the people Lily had found in Lillian’s dungeon. Lily had freed her, and during the battle with Lillian that had followed shortly after, Dana proved herself to be a good general. As soon as she found out that Lily was back, Dana had joined her with fifteen other braves, but not even she could promise that she would go all the way west. Mostly, she and her braves wanted to be on the other side of the mountains if Alaric proved crazy enough to detonate his bombs.

  Dana had been a leader among one of the other twelve factions in Alaric’s tribe, and every time Lily regarded Dana for too long, she wondered what would happen if she slipped into her mind. Would she find some bit of information she could pass on to Lillian about the bombs? Lily made herself look away. She’d possessed Dana once to free her sister from the dungeon and had promised never to do it again to anyone. Lily didn’t doubt that Dana would try to make good on her promise to kill Lily if she caught her sifting through her mind without permission.

  “Why are you guys talking about crossing a river that’s miles away? What about those?” Breakfast pointed to the Appalachian Mountains looming above them. “We’ve got to get through those first.”

  “There are trails and trading posts all through there,” Caleb said, shrugging like it wasn’t a big deal. “And spring’s here. We’ll be able to find food.” He suddenly wrinkled his brow in worry. “The rivers coming down the mountains might be all swollen with melt water, though. That could be a problem.”

  “But aren’t mountains, like, high?” Breakfast asked timorously.

  Dana clapped Breakfast on the shoulder. “You’ll be alright, little shaman,” she said seductively. “I’ll catch you if you fall.”

  Una’s lips tightened, and she glared at Dana. Breakfast had become quite the catch since it was discovered that he was the “other Red Leaf.” All the people in this world wanted partners with magical talents so their children might inherit those abilities. Dana had made it clear she thought Una had enough power of her own to pass on to a child, and that she should share the wealth where Breakfast was concerned. As for Breakfast, he was not accustomed to his new status as man-candy, and he blushed and dropped his head, deathly afraid of Una’s wrath.

  The two Tristans could barely contain their laughter. For once, neither of them was the cause of a jealous fight. Mechanics like them were desirable, yes, but spirit walkers like Breakfast were so rare as to be nearly extinct. Goofy little Breakfast had suddenly become a stud. All Lily had to do was train him to spirit walk, and he’d probably have a harem.

  Don’t rub it in, Tristan, Lily said to her Tristan in mindspeak. Una’s having a rough time with it.

  I know how she feels. It sucks to see someone hanging all over the person you love.

  Lily glanced up at him, and he smiled at her in a way that used to make her forget her own name. She quickly went back to frowning down at the map.

  “I know this trail,” she said. “You only have a part of it here, but in my world it was called the Trail of Tears. This particular route out of the mountains and along this river is the one the Cherokee followed when they were thrown off their land. We—I spent some time looking at it.” Lily’s voice thickened and she cleared her throat.

  Keep it together, girl, Una said soothingly in mindspeak.

  Lily took a breath and pointed at some of the Here, There Be Dragons cross-hatching. “I know every step west through here and along the Missouri River.”

  “So you know the way,” the other Tristan said. “The geography of our worlds is the same, right?”

  “Mostly,” Tristan told his other self. “Our world did a lot of dam building for hydroelectric power out west, but not before the Trail of Tears.”

  Lily nodded to confirm what Tristan was saying. “It’s the same. And there’s more water along the northern route than the southern.”

  The Outlanders watched Lily trace her finger across the unknown lands in silence. She could feel their fear.

  “It’s far, and it will be dangerous, but we need to get here,” Lily said. She brought her finger all the way over, past the cross-hatching, to where there was nothing on their map but blank paper. Lily picked up a pencil and drew the western coastline in for them. None of the native Outlanders had any idea their continent was so big. She went back and started filling in some of the major details from her willstone-enhanced photographic memory. “These are the Rocky Mountains. They’re even higher than the Appalachians. This here is all desert. We call this spot Death Valley. It’s one of the hottest, driest places in the world.”

  Lily. Quit while you’re ahead, Tristan whispered in her head. They’re all backing out.

  I know, Tristan. But it’s better they know the truth.

  “I never said this was going to be easy, but at least I know what’s out there,” Lily said. “I know where the rivers are, the lakes, and the mountains. I know how other people from my world have gotten across the West.” She looked around, meeting everyone’s eyes. “We can do this.”

  Lily left out the most glaring difficulty they faced. In her world, the great explorers didn’t have to fight off the Woven all the way to California, but at this point the Woven went without saying.

  The meeting ended and the sky darkened. While the rest of the group went off to get something hot to eat, Lily went to the perimeter to stand watch. She pulled a jar of pickles out of her pack and munched on them as she looked out into the gathering dark.

  “Guard duty has become your new favorite thing, hasn’t it?” Tristan asked.

  Lily turned to see him coming toward her and smiled up at him. She could still tell the difference between him and his double, although Tristan dressed like an Outlander now. He wore dark wearhyde from head to toe and his hair was getting longer, but there was still something about the way that he looked at her—a familiarity that only they shared—that set him apart from the other Tristan.

  “Beats the hell out of lying on the ground, not sleeping,” she said.

  “At least let yourself lean against something, Lil. You don’t have to punish yourself forever, you know,” he said.

  “I’m not—” Lily started to argue, and stopped.

  He was right. She had been punishing herself. She’d lied to Rowan for weeks by hiding the truth about Lillian, and although she had no idea how she could have handled the situation differently, she still felt guilty. She’d broken his heart, and it was the look he’d had on his face while she’d done it that kept her up at night.

  “Okay. So I’m
punishing myself,” Lily admitted.

  Tristan could tell she didn’t want to talk about it and led her over to a large tree. He tugged on her hand until she sat down next to him and they rested their backs against the tree trunk, their shoulders touching.

  “You ran that meeting well,” Tristan said after a long silence. “You’re a good leader.”

  Lily let out a doubtful laugh. “I think I just lost half the group with that little speech.”

  Tristan nodded. “Maybe that’s a good thing.”

  “Yeah. Less blood on my hands.”

  “Don’t say that. I only meant that you’re being honest, and that you’ll weed out the less committed that way.” Tristan turned to her, his face serious. “You’re the best chance these people have ever had for survival, and they know it. Whether they go cross-country, or stay huddled up against the cities, the chances are that most of them are going to die young because of the Woven anyway. At least with you they can take a few hundred down with them.” He suddenly smiled, his blue eyes glinting. “And fighting with a witch inside you is definitely more fun.”

  Lily laughed and shook her head. “You’re enjoying this too much—running around the woods, killing things.”

  “It has its perks,” he whispered, staring at her mouth.

  Lily looked away, and cast around for something else to focus on. Tristan leaned back and let the moment pass so effortlessly that Lily wondered if she’d imagined a tension that wasn’t there. She felt him stiffen and followed his intense gaze out into the brush. Lily saw movement and a streak of pale fur. Tristan leaned forward to stand, but Lily put a hand out to stop him.

  “She’s not going to attack,” Lily said quickly.

  “She?” Tristan said, every muscle in his body still clenched for action. “You know that Woven?”

  “She’s not a threat.” Lily sighed and ran a frustrated hand through her hair. “She led the coyote Woven pack that ambushed us outside of Baltimore, and she’s been following us since then. The thing is, every time she’s had a chance to kill me, she hasn’t. I can’t explain it, but there’s something different about her. She’s a leader somehow, an alpha. I haven’t figured it out yet, but there’s more to the Woven than just mindless killing. At least with a select few.”

  Tristan’s eyes widened like he was worried about her. “A select few? Like certain breeds, or certain Woven?”

  “I don’t know, Tristan. The more I watch the Woven, the more I think this world has been dealing with them the wrong way. Maybe we shouldn’t be out to destroy them all.” Lily leaned back and purposely clunked her head against the tree trunk. “But I have over thirty braves who are following me because I promised I was heading west to do just that. Do you think I’ve lost my mind?”

  “Yeah,” he said casually. “But that pale Woven isn’t attacking. If she doesn’t attack us, why should we attack her?”

  Lily grinned. “Don’t let Caleb hear you say that.”

  “Right?” Tristan said, smiling back at her. “The Outlanders hate the Woven on, like, an irrational level.”

  “Irrational—unless you’ve grown up watching them kill people you love, I guess,” Lily added quietly.

  “Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t grow up here,” he said, struck by an idea. “Maybe it’s time someone with fresh eyes looked at the Woven problem. Studied their behavior.”

  Lily crossed her arms and leaned back. “Like a science experiment.”

  “Why not? Someone should be studying them instead of just killing and burning them,” Tristan said, leaning back against the tree like Lily. “They’re treated like vampires that’ll rise from the dead if you don’t utterly destroy them. It’s bananas.”

  “You’re right. We need to start thinking about them scientifically, not superstitiously,” Lily decided. “We shouldn’t be slaughtering every one we see. It’s a waste of energy, anyway. I’m going to tell everyone to only fight the Woven that attack us, and the next time anyone kills one, I’ll have the carcass brought to us so we can study it.”

  Tristan sat back up. “Are we finally getting you to dissect?” he teased. “I thought your vegan sensibilities were too refined for that.”

  “I was not going to dissect a cat, Tristan,” Lily huffed, angry that he’d bring up a debate she’d had with her physiology teacher nearly two years ago. “And by the way, I did just as well as you on that anatomy exam without dissecting. So there. And this is different, anyway. These are Woven, not cats.”

  “Mr. Carn would freaking love this,” Tristan said, still chuckling to himself as he leaned back against Lily’s shoulder.

  “It’s good to have you on my side,” Lily said, thinking about Rowan and how he’d fought her on every question she’d posed about the Woven.

  “I’m always on your side,” Tristan said as if it were obvious.

  And it was. He’d always stuck up for her, always defended her. He was here when she was taking the biggest risk in her life by dragging a bunch of people across a continent to follow a hunch. Rowan wasn’t.

  “Well, thanks,” Lily said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

  Tristan smiled to himself, staring at the trees. He didn’t need to answer her.

  * * *

  They reached the trail through the Appalachians with five fewer braves than they’d started with. One had been picked off in the night by the Woven, and the other four had turned back. Lily wasn’t angry. Climbing the mountains wasn’t going to be easy with a large group; and the fewer she had to fuel, the easier it would be on her. As it was, Lily found it hard to resist any of their faint whispers for strength. She wanted to fuel them, maybe a little too much, but it was still energy spent. Her tribe was making great time because of Lily’s strength, but it left her tired all the time. Just looking up at the mountains they had yet to cross was enough to make her want to cry.

  She felt Tristan come up behind her as she stared at the looming peaks, which were turning from a golden pink to lavender as dusk descended.

  “‘Purple mountain majesties,’” she mumbled, finally understanding the true meaning of that line from “America the Beautiful.”

  “They do look a bit purple,” Tristan answered. “And you don’t have to carry us up them, you know.”

  Lily turned and saw the painted streaks on his cheeks, identifying him as the other Tristan. He was holding out a bowl of some kind of salty, grain-based concoction that she’d been having for dinner while on the trail. She took the bowl and smiled up at him, struck by the thought that she hadn’t had much time alone with this Tristan. In fact, Lily almost felt as if he’d been avoiding her. He turned to leave her to eat her salty porridge alone, but she put out a hand and stopped him.

  “Sit with me,” she said, offering him the patch of dirt to her right. He joined her, but was careful to leave a respectful gap between them. He was keeping his distance, and she couldn’t figure out why. “How have things been for you since … well, you know.” Lily tipped her chin at her Tristan, who was busy brushing down his horse.

  “You mean since I met myself?” He gave a shaky laugh, and then furrowed his brow. “It’s the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s almost like my shadow came to life and started talking to me.”

  “But it can’t be all bad. You two are spending a lot of time together,” Lily said. “It seems like you’re always together now.” She watched his face change with every racing thought and found that she was smiling to herself, enjoying how vulnerable his mobile features made him. It was something that both the Tristans shared. They both wore their hearts on their sleeves.

  “It feels natural to be around him. Like I finally have someone who totally understands me.” Tristan looked Lily in the eye. “Rowan and Caleb were closer to each other than they were to me because they’re both Outlanders, and they’ve known each other longer. I’ve never had anyone. Until now.”

  “My experience of meeting myself has been a little different,” Lily said, grimacing.
“Do you two share memories with each other?”

  “All the time,” he said, nodding slowly. “We didn’t decide to start doing it, it just happened that way. It’s easier, I guess. We don’t have to explain anything to each other. We just show it.”

  “It must be strange to see his memories and see the world that he and I come from.”

  “Yes and no,” he said, studying Lily’s face. “One thing is consistent, though. You’re everywhere in both of our versions of the world.” Lily felt her cheeks heat up and looked down at her porridge. He laughed playfully. “For me, it was more a worship situation. But not for him. He’s always loved you, you know. Even when he messed up.”

  “I know,” Lily whispered. “Is that why you’re keeping your distance? Because of him?”

  “Because I’m used to keeping my distance from you,” he said, his smile a little sad. “You’ve always been off-limits for me, but this time I don’t resent that. He loves you more.”

  The way he said more made Lily think he meant more than anyone—including Rowan. Before she could ask him to clarify, the other Tristan got up and left her to stare at the mountains that were turning midnight blue in the gathering dark.

  Two days later they began their ascent. Caleb assured Lily that the trail they were taking wouldn’t require them to be roped up, but he was already making allotments for lost pack animals and supplies. There was no doubt that the terrain was going to get steep and rough.

  “And the Woven are different in the mountains,” Dana added as they dismounted and started their ascent. “More raptors. Remember to look up every now and again.”

  Lily tilted her head back and scanned the skies. She’d never seen a raptor Woven, and she hoped she never did.

  “I wouldn’t try to study raptor behavior yet,” the other Tristan said with raised eyebrows. “I’d just duck for now.”

  Since their talk under the tree, Lily and her Tristan had spent every guard duty taking notes on what they observed about the Woven, and they had dissected three of them together, but so far they hadn’t found a pattern in either the Woven’s behavior or their biology. Lily hadn’t given up hope yet that she would find something. She and Tristan had to work much too fast when they dissected, and a lot got missed. Woven organs were so full of toxins that they seemed to dissolve from the inside out as soon as the creatures were dead, and Lily still believed that she would find something if only she got a fresh-enough sample to work with, which was proving difficult. The fourth Woven carcass that was brought to them was so far gone there was no point in putting on gloves to take a look.