The Seer

by Rowan McAllister

  “I don’t understand most of the time,” Ravi hissed, casting a nervous glance toward the other passengers. “I just know things sometimes. Like pieces of a puzzle, they make no sense until they click together. I don’t know how I know, but it’s happening and soon.”

  His lips trembled, and he sounded just as frustrated and frightened as Daks felt, so Daks sucked in a breath and tried to calm himself. They could figure this out.

  A tingling started where Daks held Ravi’s hand, and Daks groaned inwardly. He shot a glance to Ravi’s face, but he already knew what he’d see. Ravi’s eyes had paled from their usual golden hue to almost silver in the weak light filtering through the clouds. He gasped and clutched at Daks’s hand.

  Daks quickly searched the faces of their fellow travelers, but thankfully none of them seemed to have noticed anything wrong.

  “It’s okay,” Daks whispered as he pulled Ravi against his chest, supporting him and wrapping his cloak around them both. “I’ve got you, and we’re almost halfway across. No one will come after us now.”

  “That’s not what worries me,” Ravi gasped as he leaned into Daks for support and shuddered. “It’s going to happen, Daks. Here and now.”

  “The same as before or different?”

  “The same.”

  The fat rope that carried them across the river creaked as the boat strained against it from the water rushing toward them, and Daks gulped and eyed the clouds in the distance again as he held Ravi close. Rotating to shield him from the others, he let the magic of the Vision wash over him. When he finally spotted the sheets of what had to be rain falling from those far-off clouds as blue and orange slashes of lightning arced through them, he groaned, closed his eyes, and clutched Ravi almost convulsively.

  Fuck me.

  Before fear could paralyze him, Daks gripped Ravi’s shoulders and pushed him an arm’s length away. “Okay, Ravi, snap out of it,” he ordered harshly, giving the man a shake even as his own knees quaked. “Are you weak? Are you going to let this thing control you? No? Then push it away.”

  Ravi swayed with the pitching of the raft and blinked at him, a bit dazed at first before his eyes finally cleared and then narrowed in hurt and anger.

  Daks smiled grimly. That was exactly what he needed. He needed Ravi angry and focused, not dazed and afraid, because he was only a few seconds short of pissing himself.

  “I think I know what your Vision means now, and it’s not good,” Daks said breathlessly.

  “What?” Ravi spat, still obviously hurt and fuming.

  “Flash flood. Warm wet spring, plus a sudden storm with heavy rain upriver means a wall of water coming our way. That has to be it.”

  He paused to give Ravi a chance to contradict him, but when he only swallowed visibly and nodded, Daks’s stomach sank. He’d kind of been hoping Ravi would argue, but he took his disappointment manfully on the chin.

  When he was sure Ravi could stand on his own, Daks took his hands away and gripped the rail of the ferry instead so Ravi couldn’t see them shake. After a couple of deep breaths, he started shucking his clothes.

  “Take off your bag, your cloak, your jerkin, and your boots, now,” he ordered. “You don’t want anything weighing you down.”

  “We’re going to swim?”

  Ravi’s voice cracked on the last word, but he pulled the strap of his bag over his head, then undid the clasp of his cloak and let it fall.

  “If your Vision is right, I don’t think we’re going to have much choice. We’re not even halfway across yet.”

  Daks stopped talking and closed his eyes as a wave of nausea swept over him. His worst nightmare was about to come true, and there was nothing he could do about it but try and survive. He was not a superstitious or religious man, but he was really beginning to think there was something to this curse thing Ravi had moaned about to his friend back in Rassat. Or maybe some of the tales Shura’s people told of their vengeful gods were true. Maybe there was some water god out there Daks had cheated all those years ago, and they were going to keep trying to drown him until they succeeded.

  Pull yourself together.

  He was seriously losing it.

  “Oy, what you two doin’?” the ferryman called from his perch behind them.

  When Daks turned to look, he found every person on the ferry watching them in curiosity or dismay.

  “You need to get yourselves ready,” his conscience made him yell back. “There’s a flood coming. Unhitch the horse, and do what you can to remove any excess clothing or weight that might pull you under.”

  He was proud to say his voice only shook a little bit as the people stared at him with various expressions of disbelief.

  “You’re barmy,” the ferryman called, even as he shot a fearful glance upriver.

  “I’m telling you it’s coming. I’ve seen it,” Ravi piped in, lifting his head and meeting the gazes of the entire group of strangers, one by one.

  Daks was actually quite proud of him. He didn’t flinch once as each person who met his gaze jerked their eyes away and took a step back. Still, Daks grew irritated with their reactions pretty quickly and growled, “What have you got to lose other than a few minutes on the other side putting your things back on and hitching up the horse again?” When they all just continued to stare at him in silence, Daks threw up his hands. “Fine. We warned you. If you choose not to listen, it’s on your heads.”

  A sudden gust of wind smacked into Daks and the deck heaved beneath them, making him lunge for the railing again, Ravi right beside him. Dismissing the other fools, he looked to Ravi. “We’ll go to the very front. When you see it coming, dive as far away from this thing as possible so you don’t get hit by any debris or taken down with it.”

  “You really believe me?”

  Daks frowned. “Of course I believe you. I’ve seen what you can do, Ravi. Your gift is strong.”

  “Not strong enough.”

  Emotions chased each other across Ravi’s lovely face, as easy to read as those books he was so fond of—fear, pain, guilt. Daks forgot his own very real terror long enough to cup Ravi’s cheek in one palm and meet his startled gaze.

  “You’ve had no training, no chance to explore and learn about what you can do. Even the Seers in the tower at the Scholomagi can’t always decipher what they’re given, and never right away. Don’t blame yourself for that. The future is ever-changing. I refuse to believe we have no choice in it, and that it’s already planned out for us. You’ve given us enough warning to stand a chance. Be proud of that.”

  Ravi swallowed and nodded before his gaze strayed to his bag, lying discarded on the deck, and Daks’s throat tightened in pity.

  “I’m sorry you have to leave it behind. I can tell whatever’s in there is important to you.”

  After a moment, Ravi sighed and shook his head. “It’s just an old book. I know it by heart by now. It’s a reminder of the life I used to have. I think this is a sign it’s time to let it go. It’s not worth my life.”

  “Still, I’m sorry.”

  Ravi’s expression opened a little as he returned his gaze to Daks’s face. “You’re not as bad as you want people to think,” he said. “I’m sorry I called you so many unflattering names.”

  Daks couldn’t help a smile. “Did you?”

  “Well—” Ravi’s lips curved ruefully. “—I guess most of them were just in my head.”

  He might have laughed if another gust of wind hadn’t hit him. The storm was getting closer. The people on the boat had apparently also noticed this because they had begun peppering the ferryman with worried questions.

  Good. He’d done what he could for them. They’d listen or they wouldn’t. Not his problem.

  He grabbed Ravi’s elbow and led him toward the very front of the ferry, leaving most of their belongings behind. While the others were distracted, he took the opportunity to surreptitiously undo the buckles on the carthorse’s harness straps, yoke, and collar, ignoring any indignant protests from t
he merchant. It was no guarantee the poor thing wouldn’t drown, but at least it had a fighting chance if the ferry went under. The humans could decide their own fates.

  A calming numbness finally took over his fear as he took the last steps to the head of the ferry and gazed longingly at the distant riverbank. His hands had stopped trembling and his mind had cleared. This might change at any moment, but he was glad for the reprieve. He’d be no use to anyone shaking and vomiting in a corner.

  The other passengers continued to squawk and squabble behind them, periodically yelling something in their general direction, but Daks let it roll over him. Ravi’s breathing was fast and erratic, and Daks couldn’t exactly blame him, despite the damage it was doing to his own obviously short-lived calm. When Ravi suddenly tensed beside him, Daks closed his eyes and swallowed. After a breath, he reluctantly turned to face upriver and opened them again.

  At first he saw nothing beyond what he’d seen before—clouds, distant rain, lightning, and choppy water—but then he spotted it, a wave of frothing white spreading far past the river’s normal banks and rolling toward them. Someone shouted behind him, and a woman screamed.

  All at once, several people started cursing, and the ferryman began blaring on his horn, hopefully warning those on shore. Daks spared a moment to worry about Shura, hoping they’d retreated to the market to get some food as she’d said and would be far enough away they wouldn’t be hurt. Then he turned to Ravi.

  “I think I forgot to ask if you could swim,” Daks admitted with a forced, breathless chuckle.

  Ravi rolled his eyes, but his face was pale and worried. “I lived near the sea my whole life. Bathing in the sea was free. I can swim. You’re the one who nearly—”

  Daks put a finger to his lips, cutting him off. He didn’t want to hear the D-word right now.

  “I can swim. That thing Shura told you about was because I fell through some ice and got trapped.” He eyed the approaching wall of water with his heart in his throat. “We need to go. We need to get as far away from the ferry as possible. Don’t look back. Don’t worry about me. Jump in and swim as hard as you can… like your life depends on it.”

  Ravi swallowed visibly and nodded.

  They both climbed over the railing and balanced on the narrow strip of wood on the other side as the ferry rocked more violently. They exchanged a single weighted glance before Ravi dove into the water and Daks jumped in after him.

  Daks broke the surface sputtering and scrambled to find Ravi. The rapidly increasing current had already put several yards between them when Daks finally spotted him, but at least Ravi didn’t seem to be struggling beyond his fight to swim against the flow. Without wasting another second, Daks ducked his head and swam with all his might. He couldn’t help Ravi any more than he could help himself, and if they’d tried to stick together, they probably would have gotten in each other’s way. He didn’t even bother looking upstream. He couldn’t do anything about what was coming.

  When the leading edge of the flood hit him, it sent him tumbling helplessly beneath the surface. He had no idea which way was up or if he’d ever stop spinning. The initial impact eventually let go, and he scrambled toward the light, bursting through the surface and gasping for air only long enough to hear a loud crack from the direction of the ferry behind him before another wave took him under again.

  The next few minutes felt like an eternity of fighting to keep his head above water. He couldn’t even gather enough strength to truly swim, even if he’d known what direction to swim in. His heart pounded as the icy water dragged at him. He was tiring too quickly, and his hopes of surviving this were draining away with his strength.

  At last the waters stopped tossing him around like a doll long enough for him to spot the shore not too far away. He had no idea which shore it was, but it didn’t matter. He swam for it, pushing past pain and exhaustion. He had a moment to think he might just make it, and to wonder if Ravi had fared any better, before something huge and hard slammed into him from behind. Stars burst behind his eyelids before all went dark.

  Chapter Eleven

  RAVI HAD never been so exhausted in his life by the time the river spit him out into a muddy tangle of reeds, roots, and dead branches along the shore. He coughed water out of his lungs for what felt like ages until he collapsed, gasping, in a heap in the mud. He woke with a groan when stinging rain started pelting his face.

  Could the gods not give him even a second of reprieve? What had he ever done to them?

  With another groan, he rolled onto his hands and knees. He had to stay that way, with the heavy rain stinging his back instead, for a while before dizziness and fatigue passed enough for him to attempt to stand. In nothing but his sodden underclothes, he staggered through pools of slowly receding floodwaters to a tree trunk and leaned against it. The tree’s canopy of leaves gave him some shelter from the pouring rain as he wiped at his eyes and squinted at his surroundings. The curtain of water falling from the sky made discerning anything impossible, so he slumped against the base of the tree in defeat.

  He had no idea where he was or what had happened to Daks. A wave of fear and abject desolation threatened to swamp him. Everything hurt. The bruises across his chest made breathing that much harder, and he was shaking with cold as the rain blotted out the rest of the world. He needed to find Daks. That was the only thought running through his head over and over again, the only thing keeping him from surrendering to the darkness that threatened at the edges of his vision, but he couldn’t seem to manage much more than that. He couldn’t make himself stand up again.

  He huddled in misery against that tree until a new sound intruded on the constant but slowing patter of rain and rush of the river, a snort and the dull thud of hooves on wet ground. Fear and uncertainty spurred him unsteadily to his feet as he peered through rain and growing mist. The hoofbeats drew nearer. Drawing on what little strength and courage he had left, he stepped around the tree and searched the woods until he spotted a decidedly equine-shaped blurry blotch of white.

  Whether friend or foe, Ravi couldn’t huddle out there alone forever. He had to take a chance whoever was riding that horse would be willing to help. He stumbled toward the shape as it continued to approach him. When he could finally see the animal clearly, he blinked several times and shook his head, thinking surely his mind was playing tricks on him.

  “Horse?” he called, still not quite believing it.

  The stallion snorted and trotted the rest of the way to him. Ravi nearly wept when he put a palm to the animal’s snout and Horse nuzzled him.

  “How?” he croaked.

  He glanced back at the river through the trees in confusion. What he could glimpse of it showed it flowing in the direction he remembered. He was on the opposite bank from where they’d started that morning. He was in Samebar. So how the hells did the animal get there? He had to be Horse, though—their packs were soaked and dripping water, but still tied to his saddle.

  “Oh, Horse,” he cried, burying his face in the stallion’s damp neck and letting a few tears fall. “I don’t know how you got here, but I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you.”

  Before he could truly give in to his feelings and bawl all over the beast, Horse side-stepped him and started walking.

  “Hey!”

  Ravi tried to grab the halter, but Horse dodged his grasp and kept moving. Ravi went down several times in his attempts to follow the animal on exhausted and shaking limbs. Each time Horse would pause, as if waiting for him to get up, before he would start walking again.

  “Please,” Ravi rasped, almost sobbing with fatigue. “I have to stop.”

  Horse let out a whicker, flaring his nostrils before angling toward the river, and Ravi whined in the back of his throat and stumbled after him. They’d almost reached the bank before he spotted what Horse was headed for through the thinning rain. A dark shape with bushy hair was hung up in the branches of a downed tree, bobbing in the shallows. Ravi let out a hoarse cry and stu
mbled into the water.

  “Daks! Daks, can you hear me?”

  Daks only continued to bob in the water, and Ravi’s throat closed. Struggling through the muddy shallows, he finally managed to reach the man. Daks’s eyes were closed, and a bloody lump marred the side of his head.

  “Daks? Wake up. Come on, wake up.”

  His hands shook as he patted the man’s cheeks gently, but Daks’s eyelids didn’t so much as twitch. The sound of a large body splashing into the water next to him made Ravi jolt. Horse closed the last few feet, breaking dead branches along the way until he dipped his head and gripped the collar of Daks’s shirt between his teeth and started backing up, dragging Daks toward the shore.

  “Careful,” Ravi said somewhat unnecessarily, as all he could do was watch for a few beats before dragging his own battered body after them.

  When Horse stopped, Ravi dropped to his knees in the mud next to Daks’s prone form and rested a palm on his chest. The first signs of movement beneath his palm almost had Ravi in tears again, but he swallowed them back.

  “Thank the gods,” he whispered.

  Horse snorted again, startling Ravi into glancing at him, but the beast just eyed him calmly.

  “Thank you too,” Ravi said with a weary smile. “Now what do we do?” He searched their surroundings but saw nothing beyond trees, mud, and more rain. “I need to find help. We need to get him dry and warm somewhere and find a priest or herb woman or something, whatever they have for a healer in this kingdom. Come on, Daks, you gotta wake up. I don’t know anything about this place. I can’t do this on my own.”

  Daks’s face was so pale and his skin so cold Ravi’s stomach hurt every time he looked at the man. Just as Ravi was trying to decide if he had the strength to drag Daks deeper into the woods, out of the worst of the rain, Horse moved in close and laid down next to them. When Ravi just gawped at him, Horse swung one disapproving pale blue eye in his direction and stared.

  “Uh. Okaaaaayyyy.”

  Ravi struggled to his feet and eyed the animal in confusion until Horse let out another whicker and nudged Daks’s body with his muzzle.