The last one wound up being the easiest to answer. If I could find this method, Cavus, Zereh, and the Malus Order could, and then they would have one more method to catch her, or use its powers for their own end.
Still, if the rest of us could make use of these things, it would go a long way in helping us retake the Golden Sands.
Nope! Breena chimed in unexpectedly. Not gonna—wheee! Happen.
She did a little spin mid-sentence, as the momentum kicked in with my next step.
You see—wheee! You can only use each path so many times a day, and—whoop! Only one or two people can use it at a time. And it only—wheeeee—whoop! That was a big one! Each path only takes you to a certain location. Now, step like that again! Pretty please!
I obliged her, and reminded myself not to be mad that Breena was only remembering about this magic speedway now because exposure to it had triggered her memory of it. She had arguably more knowledge than most of the Satellites put together, but it re-locked every time her bonded Challenger left back for Earth.
Otherwise, she could have taught me every spell she knew way back at the first Challenge, instead of only handing them out when I gained enough knowledge or insight to learn them myself.
But maybe we could unlock that somehow, I thought, remembering how Atlantis’ Well was slowly repairing my own mind.
Then Breena started squealing again, begging me to jump in certain ways, and I had to fully concentrate on landing on my feet instead of my face.
But as soon as I was able to do that, I became as happy as Breena was.
Jumping like this was a weird mix of flying and running, and somehow, at this moment, it perfectly combined the exhilaration of both. It was speed, it was freedom from the ground, and it was a challenge I could feel proud of overcoming every time I safely landed and leaped forward again.
Wind and blue air rushed past my face. Then golden grains rushed toward my feet. Then the process repeated again. And then again. And then again.
I crossed many leagues quickly, but I still noted the sun moving over my head. Time was still passing, even if I was barely feeling any fatigue.
Breena, for her part, apparently felt no fatigue whatsoever.
Wheee! she squealed as she shot forward on the next jump, growing just large enough for me to tell she was spinning a bit as she soared through the air. This is still so fun! And this time I—wheeee! Get to remember it! Even if it—whoop! Kinda makes my breakfast dance around inside. Speaking of which Anahita—Whoop-whoop-whee! Anahita totally didn’t expect you to lock onto her trail so fast. She figured you would need every bit of—oh my gosh that time made me do a backflip!—every bit of help she gave you. And that it still would barely be enough.
To be fair, I kind of did, I thought, watching some tall, indistinct structure on the horizon grow closer and closer. I mean, it’s a desert. The only two things to track are footprints and magical signatures.
Breena still seemed pleased with me, so apparently I had still realized things quickly enough to win her some cupcakes or something.
The sun began to set as the indistinct structure came further into view.
It was a massive city wall, the biggest I had seen so far.
The metropolis Sejmera, the largest city in the Golden Sands’ central region, and capital trade center for several of the largest trade routes. Three of the city walls had massive gates designed to take in traffic from a different Pathway, located in the same cardinal direction as the respective city wall. The fourth wall was the only one without a gate, as a large outcropping of rock loomed a little over a mile away, with a scattering of smaller stones that were too small to provide effective cover, but too large to travel over conveniently.
This was the next city we were planning to hit.
It was also going to be the most difficult city for us to break inside of.
Except that I seemed to have landed right in front of the city wall, specifically the one in front of the supposedly unpassable rock cliffs, and therefore, as far as I could tell, the most unguarded.
I listened for a moment. My arrival had caused me to leap across an entire wall of the city, but the magic of the trail must have concealed me, because no alarm sounded.
Anahita’s secret had brought me right to where I needed to be, and saved me days of travel.
It was yet another lucky break, in what was starting to feel like a long line of lucky breaks.
Even bringing me at an hour when the sky was lit only by moonlight, giving my enhanced vision enough light to see in while still providing a good amount of cover.
Stop panicking, I told myself. Because my situation is going to turn very quickly for the worst as soon as I miss the next lucky break.
Like the fact that I had a person currently leaving me these lucky breaks, I realized as I looked at the small indents in the wall. They were set in such a way that it would be extremely difficult for anyone actually on the wall to notice, but now that I was here and looking carefully, they formed a perfect route of hand and footholds to climb the barrier quickly and quietly.
I activated Carnwennan’s shroud, and less than a minute later I was on top of the ramparts.
The moon and stars bathed the stonework all around in soft, silvery light. I saw neither Horde nor human anywhere near my position. Rooftops of varying heights and shapes stretched out as far as I could see, with distant palaces, temples, and spiraling Testifier towers being the tallest and largest features.
But I couldn’t see Horde, human, or elf anywhere close by. Not walking the streets or watching high over them. The only exception was the vague outline of some familiar winged forms entire neighborhoods away from me, but from what I could tell, they weren’t even looking in my direction.
I didn’t want to risk it. Anahita still hadn’t revealed herself, so she was clearly expecting me to remain on her trail. And since Stell hadn’t shown me a stupid body yet, she must have a good reason to think that I would.
Now that I knew what to look for, I was able to spot more indented handholds on the other side.
Then, I resisted the urge to slap myself for being an idiot, and summoned the rope I had purchased from the Stellar War requisition store and stuffed into my storage space for this very reason, and promptly forgot about.
Ooh, that’s right! Breena spoke up through the mindlink. We probably could have used rope in the last couple break-ins! Why are we only starting to use it now?
General foolishness, and over-reliance on magic, I whispered as I looped the middle of the long rope over one of the crenelations. Then, still holding both ends, I rappelled down the side of the wall as quickly and quietly as possible.
I landed without making any real noise, and dismissed the entire rope back into my storage space the next moment. Then I made for the nearest bit of cover, still worried that something could somehow pierce my shroud’s magical concealment, and took another inhalation of the Breath.
I exhaled, and waited. This time, I let my focus spread a bit away from Anahita to cover the entire city.
The people here had the usual tension. They had heard of my arrival to this world and did not know if, by coming, I had either saved them or doomed them further.
But they knew something dark was in store for them, if help did not come for them soon.
The Horde had their usual impatient bloodthirstiness. They were on the lookout for me, but did not expect me to arrive for some time. From what I could tell, they had no idea we had just liberated Tajam.
The Malus Men thought likewise. They also were tired of trying to restrain both the Horde and themselves. They were also continuing to receive reports of disturbance in the distant south.
But at least the bitch was finally out of the way.
She was tired and alone, and there was no way she would have ignored their plans for the children there.
So either the men in Tajam would have caught her in their trap, or her ex-boyfriend would have finally cornered her.
&n
bsp; They would wait until tomorrow to confirm that, but at least they knew they wouldn’t have to restrain their own selves much longer…
Fuck those guys, Teeth growled, with Toirneach’s axe head.
Agreed, I thought grimly, and braced for the final inhalation.
Tense, excited apprehension rolled all around me.
What did Breena mean, he was already here?
Well, yes, she had left him a trail, but he should have at least had to hunt for—
Oh.
There he is.
He found the handholds she left outside.
And he is using some concealment magic to remain hidden.
And impressive magic, at that.
She may not have been able to notice him without the fancy new mind magic he had given her.
What else was he hiding?
Speaking of hiding, how long is he going to stand up there and—oh, good.
He found the handholds she had shaped on the other side. Now he can just—
Wait, what are you doing, idiot? She just gave him a—oh.
Rope.
That was so hard to remember about when one had Air magic.
Good work. One should only risk as much magic as necessary.
He had better not leave it up, however, or he would expose her entire—
Where did it go?
How many things could he do that with?
What else was he hiding?
No, focus. She would examine that later.
He had chosen to hide as soon as he magicked the rope.
Good. He had passed her test.
He was competent enough that he could perhaps help save her people.
Not that she was that excited, of course.
Still sounds so hot, Teeth mumbled in my mind, to my immense discomfort.
Okay, I sent through the mindlink to both Breena and her sister Satellite. I followed your trail as best as I could, but now I’m here in the city, and while I could maybe find you if I absolutely had to, there’s a big chance I’d bumble into a mistake and expose our presence to our enemies, or possibly even worse, the presence of anyone you’re having to hide in a safe location somewhere. I don’t want to take that risk, so I’m going to admit defeat and say you won our little game, and ask that you contact me somehow. Okay?
“I accept,” Anahita’s soft voice whispered from literally right behind me.
It took every ounce of my willpower to not jump ten feet into the air and scamper the rest of the way up the wall with my hackles raised.
Instead, I took a very deep breath, and slowly turned around.
I still didn’t see her.
Great, I thought, one final test.
Sooo hot, Teeth whispered.
Damn it, Teeth, I hissed. You’re not wrong, but hush.
I clearly couldn’t see her in the moonlight, or hear her breathing, or even smell her. Teeth could have probably smelled her if he was familiar with her scent and could filter it out from all the other odors in this new city.
I take it that you won’t reveal yourself if I just surrender again? I asked through the mindlink.
Definitely not! Breena sent quickly. It will just make me lose cookies! Or baklava! Or both! Don’t surrender, Wes!
Anahita said nothing.
In fact, she deliberately clamped down on projecting anything at all through the mindlink.
She throttled the link with so much force that I was able to sense it, and use it to locate her presence.
She was now standing to the right of me, which meant that she had moved since she last spoke, without me noticing at all.
I noticed the outline of her short, lithe form the next moment. She had been standing less than five feet away from me, leaning against the alley wall, somehow so perfectly still that not even her clothing or ponytail stirred with the breeze. It baffled me that I hadn’t noticed her before now, that she had been standing almost right next to me the whole time, even speaking and moving without my discovering where she was.
But when my eyes met hers, Anahita’s dark orbs began twinkling. Raw delight filtered from her over the mindlink, and from behind her scarf, I could her cheeks widen in a broad smile. She shifted ever so slightly, and this time I saw her scarf and hair ruffle naturally in the wind.
I win! Breena squeaked in both of our minds. Both bets! Anahita shrugged and took a step forward. Her movements had a feline grace to them, one that had a hypnotizing quality that somehow complemented her ability to avoid detection.
“Fair enough,” the dark-garbed woman whispered, her voice still as smooth as her movements. Her head tilted upward as she continued to regard me, drawing attention to our difference in height. “But now we need to decide just what this Challenger has won.”
Wait, what? Teeth asked excitedly.
“Wait, what?” I echoed, hopefully sounding smarter than he did.
“Indeed,” the much smaller woman said, walking around me, still examining me with an amused, calculating expression that her scarf completely failed to hide. “At the very least, he is due the reward which all good, hardworking men are due…” She trailed off, before speaking again.
“More work.”
CHAPTER 25: TAUNTING
After all that work, she made me chase her again.
I would have complained if it hadn’t been so fun.
She vaulted up the nearest building without saying another word, using carefully hidden indents almost identical to the ones on the city wall.
And she scaled them with the ease of a person who had either memorized every single nook and cranny in this city, or who had slowly carved those handholds herself over the many years.
Or she had memorized everything about this city and carved out those handholds. I had no idea, and if I had asked, she’d have probably just forced me to chase her again.
But as fast as she was moving now, there was no way I’d catch her if I had to hunt for every handhold. So I tightened down on my dagger’s shroud and leaped upward.
I reached the midpoint of the nearest alley wall, but I kicked off of it with my foot to leap even higher, much like I had in a dozen or so previous video games. Then I repeated the process until I had reached the rooftop myself.
Then I proceeded to chase after the skilled assassin, leaping from rooftop to rooftop like I was a superhero from those old comic books.
Nothing saw or heard us. Partly because we all moved quietly. Breena nestled into her favorite hiding place in my cloak, Anahita glided silently through the air, and I…well I wasn’t too bad.
Well, by comparison, yes, I was a hop-scotch-playing-elephant, but that was because I made any noise whatsoever, and even then, Carnwennan’s shroud also helped with noise, so that was muffled.
But the real reason we attracted no notice was because there wasn’t a single enemy in sight. Anahita moved us through a path that she recalled from rote.
They have grown lazy over the many years, she explained. So lazy that they use the same patrol routes over, and over, and over. To the point that I have been able to predict every possible time every possible guard of theirs will take every possible route. Even when one of them is late for their duties, or when they try and ‘change it up’ in order to catch me. They don’t even realize that they even ‘change it up’ at a particular time. All of this laxity is because of the treaty though. The one they have begun to break, and I have begun to punish them for. With your help, though, I will be able to do more than that—enough to where we may still save my world…and to where I will not harm my other bodies by dying or…worse.
I caught a surge of hope from her as I made the next landing. I didn’t fully understand it, and I couldn’t explain to anyone what little I did understand.
But the best I could make out was that Anahita, like many of Stell’s Satellites—and probably Stell herself, had been doing the emotional and military equivalent of treading water for the past several decades.
Always hoping for just enough of a b
reak to come from anywhere, anyhow, and help her turn the tide.
Twenty-four hours ago, she had finally given up on ever getting one. On getting the smallest shred of help from anywhere but her primary body, who in turn was hunted herself and never able to do anything but drop off a few loads of supplies every now and then. She had decided to go down in a blaze of glory and knives, only to finally get the help she had been needing all this time, and find out that it still wasn’t too late to win, even though she had already given up.
Knives in the Night Page 38
