Their arrival in the world was followed by the sound of air being sucked into many throats.
“We can’t stay long,” Tyen told them, looking for signs that the trio of sorcerers was catching up. Nobody replied, too caught up in breathing. He slipped out of the world a little so he could sense other presences. By the time he detected minds coming their way, the students were no longer gasping, just breathing hard. He returned to the world and linked with them again.
“Take a breath.”
They obeyed. He pushed out of the world again and skimmed away. Now he searched for a city, ruined or alive. Or a temple. Places where arrival locations were established. Places where he was more likely to find well-used paths. The chances were high there would be Liftre allies watching for him, ready to pursue, but he’d rather risk that than his students suffocating or dying in a toxic world. He could outrun pursuit. He could even heal away the damage of suffocation if he were quick and they hadn’t already died in the place between, but not for all nine students.
They had to stop twice more before he found what he sought. A city appeared at the horizon and he sent them towards it. The arrival place was obvious from above: a circular space within a large city square. Vendors had set up stalls nearby, hoping to sell trinkets or food to visitors, which suggested a well-used path.
Tyen estimated he’d travelled a quarter of the way around the world. Pursuit was far behind, but he’d left a clear trail and the sorcerers would eventually catch up and know where the school had left this world from. Speedy travel down well-used paths would give him the time he needed to start hiding their traces.
He brought the group into the world high above the city, their feet resting on stilled air, so they could breathe. This time he waited until all were well recovered before pushing out of the world again and heading towards the arrival place. Once there, he did not stop, but pushed them deep into the place between.
Though their surroundings faded to white, dark shapes emerged and took on the shape of figures. Tyen cursed and increased his speed, dodging the strangers ahead of him so they could not attempt to catch hold of the group and be carried along.
The sorcerers followed. Passing the midpoint, Tyen searched the shadows of the next world for signs of danger. Low, plant-like shapes surrounded a cleared area, paved with stone slabs. Beyond that stood a group of large animals, only their round, furry backs visible until one looked up, vegetation hanging from the still-chewing maw of its massive head.
Plants. Living creatures. All good signs of a healthy world. He’d have preferred to see people too, just to be sure. Perhaps he would, if these sorcerers followed the group into the world.
“Hold your breath when we arrive,” he instructed.
As air surrounded them, he created a strong shield of stilled air around them. A wry relief came as the first of the pursuing sorcerers emerged too. At least that proved this world was safe.
“Breathe.”
They did. He let them exhale and draw in a second breath before he pushed out of the world again.
The strangers hadn’t attacked, but they followed. In the next world, Tyen waited for them to arrive, then sought their minds. They were waiting for other sorcerers to join them. They’d also been told that Tyen was a pacifist, and would avoid a fight.
Interesting.
In the next world he waited for them to arrive so he could read their minds again. Two more sorcerers had joined them, and they expected their leader to meet them soon. He learned that they were mercenaries hired by Liftre. It was tempting to wait until their leader arrived so he could read her mind, but the sorcerers intended to attack when she did and he did not intend to waste magic in defence.
“Inhale,” he ordered, then pushed out of the world. The sorcerers pursued but quickly fell behind. The school arrived in the small empty space in the middle of a crowded market. Tyen did not stop, propelling the school along the only other path leading away. As the crowd vanished, many of the people that had been in it did not. Twenty figures had replaced the five Tyen had left behind.
He considered stopping to fight them. He was reasonably sure he was strong enough to defeat them all. But the mercenaries were right: he did not like fighting – not because he feared losing but because he feared winning. He had killed enough people in his life already, and indirectly caused many more deaths. It was unlikely he would avoid it again, but he was determined to delay doing so for as long as possible. He would not, however, sacrifice the people he was bound to protect. If the situation became dangerous, he would do whatever he must to defend his students.
As they neared the next world, he caught sight of more figures between it and his group. To his relief, they retreated. Perhaps they were only other travellers. The arrival place was a ruin, judging by the broken walls and fallen statues, but despite this, several people milled about among the rubble. Perhaps the destruction was recent, and some humans still occupied the area. As he drew closer, these people noticed and backed away to allow room for the arrivals.
When Tyen and the school arrived, he realised his error. They weren’t locals, but more mercenaries. In the first moment, he created a shield to ward off the inevitable attacks. In the second, he muttered a curse as he heard the students haul in deep, tortured breaths. He couldn’t leave. They’d never make it to the next world.
The air outside Tyen’s shield vibrated and flashed with the energy of the mercenaries’ attack. More were arriving, including those from the previous world. Tyen did not retaliate; instead he read minds. He confirmed that Liftre wanted him dead. They hadn’t been hired to kill his students, but hadn’t been told to avoid killing them either.
The sound of hard breathing around him slowly diminished.
“We can go now,” Jefit said quietly, in a strained voice. “We’ve all recovered.”
Tyen knew Jefit wasn’t entirely correct, but he estimated all the students would survive the journey to the next world if he travelled fast. “Take a deep breath,” Tyen ordered. They obeyed. “Anybody not ready?” No reply.
He pushed out of the world, seeking the next path away. Three choices met his searching senses, the path he’d arrived on and two more, equally well-used ways. His search of minds had helped him locate where he was in the local worlds and he picked the path that led towards an area of reliably habitable, magically strong worlds. Away from the fringes of the known worlds, where it was easier to hide, but the fringes were vast and he could always make his way back towards them.
The mercenaries followed but once again were unable to keep up with Tyen. If I didn’t need to stop, I could outrun them easily. No shadows appeared as he neared the next world. No people awaited them at the arrival place. He did not pause, but pushed on, taking the only other route. When he stopped next, the students sagged, those carrying the boxes setting them down and sitting on them as they gasped for breath.
“We… could… split… up,” Bilt said. He was one of the newer students, who hadn’t bothered trying to join Liftre since he knew he wouldn’t fit in. “Lead… them… away.”
Tyen was tempted for a moment. Bilt’s magical reach was impressive – he might be strong enough to learn pattern-shifting one day.
“But if they catch you…” Vate started, shaking her head.
“They won’t kill us,” Donyd finished. “It’s Tyen they want. If Regur hadn’t taken the best room…”
“You can’t be sure of that,” Jefit told them. “Besides, they might use you as bait.”
Bilt shrugged. “Then don’t try to rescue me. They won’t kill me, and when it’s clear you’ve abandoned me, they’ll let me go.”
Tyen shook his head. “We can’t take the chance.” Even as he said it, he knew it was true. “These mercenaries are different to those who have chased us before. If they’re willing to kill me, they will not hesitate to harm or kill any of you to get at me. They have no reason not to.”
“But—”
“Enough,” Tyen said. If they�
��d recovered enough to hold a conversation, they were recovered enough to move on. “Take a breath.”
They passed through three more worlds without mishap. Then Vate looked at Tyen and frowned.
“Are you sensing what I’m sensing?” she asked, her words sounding clear in Tyen’s mind though her mouth had not moved. Vate tilted her head to the left, then turned to stare in that direction. Following her lead, Tyen focused his senses on the whiteness. An impression came of another presence, heading towards them.
Even after he arrived and left another world, it was still there. Someone tracking them. Tyen increased his speed.
“No!” Vate’s voice jolted Tyen’s attention back to the group. “Bilt!”
Too late, he saw that the student had separated from the group and was heading towards the tracker. Tyen drew the group to a halt, then started after the young man.
“Come back now, Bilt,” he ordered.
Bilt didn’t look back. “Take the rest to the next world. I’ll deal with this one or lead them away.”
Tyen increased his speed. “Take hold of him,” he ordered as the group caught up, but Bilt dodged and evaded the hands reaching for him. Navigating a large number of people took no more magic than one, but the student had moved to the other side of the group where it was hard for Tyen to see what he was doing.
“Incoming!” one of the other students said.
Tyen looked around and only saw the mercenary as she flashed past. He heard Bilt say “Hey!”, then the student was gone.
“She’s taking him away!” Jefit exclaimed.
“What do we do?” another student asked, as Tyen located the woman, rapidly shrinking into the distance. “We can’t just leave him.”
Tyen had no time to weigh the risks. Once she dragged Bilt out of the range of his senses it would be extremely difficult to find him again. He pushed the group into pursuit.
Though they sped through the whiteness, time seemed to pass slowly. It felt like far too much time for the group to survive in the whiteness, yet he knew they had not been there long. The woman headed back to the previous world, entering it as soon as she was able so that her presence in the place between vanished. Tyen raced down the path she’d made, searching in the lessening whiteness for signs of her and Bilt.
He emerged in a muddy village overshadowed by looming mountains. As air surrounded the group, Tyen stilled it in a shield. Locals had stumbled to a halt, gaping at the visitors in confusion and wondering where they had come from.
Tyen and the other students searched for Bilt and the woman. A long, tense silence told of their lack of success. Then someone yelled the missing student’s name. Tyen sought their mind and saw what they had found: two locals dragging a limp body between them. At once, the students broke ranks, half of them hurrying towards the men.
“Is he dead?” a student asked.
“No! He can’t be!”
“Hey! Stop that!”
The two locals had begun searching Bilt’s clothing, one pulling off the pack.
Tyen pushed out of the world, propelling the students still with him, and the chests, after the ones running towards Bilt’s prone form. They all arrived together. The local men fled, one still carrying the pack.
As a student took a step to follow, Tyen grabbed their arm. “Have you forgotten we’re sorcerers?” He reached out and stilled the pack. The thief’s grip broke as he continued running, and when he glanced back to see the pack floating towards the strangers, he decided to keep running.
“Oh, Bilt,” Vate said quietly.
Tyen looked down. Jefit had rolled the student onto his back. Blank eyes stared up at the sky. Tyen’s heart sank, disbelief too quickly shifting to acceptance and pain. No blood mingled with the mud that smeared Bilt’s clothing and face, but his mind was silent.
He sighed, then stilled the mud under Bilt and lifted him. The students stepped out of the way as he placed the limp form on top of one of the chests. One placed the pack on the other chest.
Tyen looked around, meeting gazes and reading minds. They were in shock. Horror was turning to anger for some, but fear had settled over them all. Returning to his previous position beside one of the chests, Tyen held out his hands. The woman would be long gone, he guessed, in case he sought revenge. Alone, she would have no hope against him. He could try to track her, but she would probably reach her allies before he caught up. That wouldn’t have saved her, if he’d had the inclination for vengeance.
Even if he had – and he admitted he badly wanted it right now – he must keep the rest of his students together and alive. The best way to do that was to travel far away, as quickly as possible.
So once the students were in formation and linked together, that’s what he did. They did not encounter any more mercenaries. A long stretch of time and many worlds passed before they stopped for anything but air. They acquired food in one world and stopped to eat it in another, in an ice cave of a cold world, silent in shock and exhaustion.
As the students gave in to their weariness one by one, Tyen brought out Beetle, who now contained an intricate clock, and saw they had travelled for more than two Traveller days. Moving to the chests, he considered Bilt’s body, which the students had laid out and cleaned. The broken end of a pole had been found protruding from his lower back, angled towards his heart. The sorcerer had forced Bilt to arrive within it, killing him near-instantly.
Tyen looked at the sleeping men and women and sighed. When they woke, there would be grief and anger, and talk of revenge. He would, as always, talk them out of the foolish plans they would begin to make, pointing out that there were too few of them to revolt against Liftre and none of them had finished their training. Bilt was proof of his inability to predict and forestall all their bad decisions, but in general they trusted and obeyed him. The loss of one of them hurt, and he felt responsible for it, but he’d rather feel bad than become numb or uncaring over time, as some ageless sorcerers seemed to.
I bet Tarren has a saying for that, he mused. Thinking of his former mentor made Tyen’s heart constrict a little. He missed the old man. It had been too long since Tyen had visited him, but travelling to Tarren’s world from the fringes was time-consuming and dangerous.
Tyen frowned. Tarren’s school had been attacked before. Few knew its location now. He ought to warn the old man about the Liftre sorcerers’ willingness to kill to stop other schools operating. Tarren’s world was not close, but if Tyen travelled alone he could reach it and get back to his students within a Traveller’s day or two, as long as he managed to avoid Liftre’s spies. The students would be safe enough here for that long with the supplies they had.
Tyen nodded to himself. Once Bilt was buried or cremated, as was his custom, Tyen would seek out his old friend.
CHAPTER 3
Visiting Tarren’s old home had always sparked nostalgia, wonder and regret in Tyen. He had never tired of the amazing view from the top of the spire, but it also reminded him of his many failures, the greatest of them losing Rielle’s trust.
Tarren’s new home was secretive and inward-looking, in particular the arrangement of the arrival place, encircled by study rooms. Before Tyen had fully emerged from the place between worlds, the students within those rooms had already seen him and alerted everyone, and by the time he breathed the air, the windows were lined with people watching him warily. As air surrounded him, he turned so that all could see his face and, having recognised him, they relaxed and returned to their studies.
Only one figure remained by a class window. Tarren waved to Tyen, then beckoned. Walking over to the door closest to the window, he opened it and waited for Tyen to reach him.
“Well, well. What excellent timing you have,” the old man said, his smile wide and his eyes mischievously bright. He paused, and when Tyen made no comment, he shook his head. “Aren’t you going to read my mind, young Tyen?”
“Only if you insist,” Tyen replied.
“Go on then.”
Seeking the old man’s thoughts, Tyen saw a name and his heart skipped a beat.
Rielle was here. And she wanted to speak to him.
Tarren chuckled. “Ah, that was worth it for the look on your face. Come in – and steady yourself. It’s business, not pleasure, that she wishes to raise with you.”
“Of course,” Tyen replied, smothering his disappointment.
He followed his former mentor out of the classroom and down a long, snaking corridor. He wanted to rebuke Tarren for teasing him, but in truth he wasn’t sure he’d find the right words or tone. His heart was beating a little too quickly and his mind was full of questions. What would he say to her? Has she forgiven me yet? She had said so during their few brief meetings after Qall’s self-imposed exile began, yet a distance still remained between them that hinted otherwise.
Tarren didn’t know why Rielle wanted to see Tyen, and he was full of curiosity – and hope that she wouldn’t insist on privacy when she did. It had been so long since he’d seen them together. Would the spark of attraction still fire between them?
“How are you?” Tyen asked.
“Good. My students are, on the whole, hard-working. I wish it didn’t take corruption at Liftre to inspire such dedication.”
Tyen nodded, his mood darkening. “Have you had any visitors from Liftre recently?”
Tarren shook his head. “I’m hoping, perhaps foolishly, that they don’t know where we are.”
“Perhaps they don’t. Or perhaps they don’t regard your school with the same murderous hatred as they do mine.”
“Murderous?” Tarren’s eyebrows rose. “What happened?”
Tyen told him, finishing as they reached the door to a small atrium filled with plants. Which was just as well, because the moment he saw who was waiting there he lost track of what he’d been saying.
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