“Here you are!” said a pleased voice from the end of the table. “Mind if I join you?”
Kayl turned. The speaker was Risper Aschar, the slim, dark-eyed healer for one of the two Star Clusters. She and Demma Jol, one of the warriors, were the only Sisters besides Javieri and Corrana who did not treat Kayl and Barthelmy with some degree of suspicion and hostility. Demma was clearly reserving judgment, but Risper’s cautious curiosity had grown and changed during the journey into real friendship.
“Go ahead and sit down,” Kayl said, waving at the bench beside Corrana. “What are you drinking? The ale’s bad, but the wine’s worse.”
Risper looked smug. “The water isn’t. Where’s Barthelmy?”
“Upstairs, with Mark and Dara,” Kayl said, and took a large swallow of ale. During the past three and a half months, Barthelmy had gradually taken over the job of watching the children. Kayl had been disconcerted at first; then she realized that Barthelmy was using Mark and Dara as an excuse to stay away from her fellow Sisters as much as possible. Kayl understood and sympathized—as the only remaining effective magician in the Sisterhood, Barthelmy’s position was equivocal, at best—but she could not keep from occasionally resenting Barthelmy’s actions.
“Glyndon is with them,” Corrana said. Her voice still held a touch of reserve when she spoke of him, but an undercurrent of warmth seemed to be developing.
“Is he all right?” Risper asked.
“This evening? I think so,” Kayl said. She did not bother to add that she was worried anyway; both Corrana and Risper knew that already.
“His visions have been coming closer together, haven’t they?” Risper persisted.
“Yes, but it isn’t just that. This whole trip has been very hard on him.” Kayl took another gulp of ale. Glyndon had endured the hostility of the Sisters with more patience than she had thought he possessed, but new lines had appeared around his eyes, and his smiles were increasingly rare. It hurt Kayl to see what was happening to him. She glared across the fire at the tables full of Sisters.
Risper’s eyes followed Kayl’s. “I could ask one of the Elder Mothers to say something to them about the way they treat him, “she offered.
“I have already discussed it with Elder Mother Javieri,” Corrana said, to Kayl’s considerable surprise. “Unfortunately, there is little that can be done. They cannot be forced to like him.”
“He shouldn’t have come,” Kayl said emphatically. “He’s been traveling alone for fifteen years, and he’s used to being able to leave when people don’t like him. Now he’s stuck with nearly twenty people, three-quarters of whom dislike and distrust him just because he’s a Varnan. He should have stayed in Kith Alunel.”
“He must want very badly to be free of those visions,” Risper said soberly.
“That’s not why he’s here,” Kayl said without thinking.
Corrana and Risper both looked at her. “No?” Corrana said, and her tone demanded an explanation.
Kayl sighed and set down her mug of ale. She’d had enough, if she was starting to make slips like that. “He came because of me,” she said angrily, not really knowing whether she was angry with Corrana for making her say it, with Glyndon for doing it, or with herself for letting him. “I should have made him stay in Kith Alunel,” she muttered.
“I doubt that you could have done so,” Corrana said, and gave Kayl one of her small, secretive smiles. “From what I know of him, you are well matched in stubbornness.”
“We only have another two weeks or so before we get to the Tower,” Risper said. “That’s not long.”
“First we have to find that scholar the Elder Mothers think is so important,” Kayl said. “We’ve been waiting here nearly a week already—”
“Four days,” Risper corrected.
“—and who knows how much longer it’ll take? And once we finish with the Tower, there will still be a four-month trip back to Kith Alunel.”
“Glyndon doesn’t have to go back to Kith Alunel with us when we’re finished,” Risper pointed out.
“No, he doesn’t,” Kayl agreed. But he will, she thought. If I stay with the Sisters, he’ll stay, too. And I have to stay with them, at least for a while. What would I do with two children in the middle of the Windhome Mountains? We’ll have to travel at least part of the way back to Kith Alunel with them, and if we fail at the Twisted Tower a second time the rest will take it out on Glyndon and Barthelmy.
“Here comes the innkeeper,” Risper said. “Do either of you want anything more?”
“No,” Corrana said, looking at the barely touched mug of wine in front of her. “One was enough.”
“None here, either,” Kayl said. She leaned forward to let the innkeeper pass, and a snatch of conversation at a nearby table caught her attention.
“—fur-faces,” a surly young man was saying. “Six of ’em this time. And Barak’s letting them camp next to the mill!”
“Barak lets anyone camp there,” the innkeeper said as he turned to that table and set a cluster of mugs on it. “Ruin my business, he would, if more travelers knew of it.”
“Blast your business!” the young man said. “What about the demon-bred fur-faces? We ought to run them off, the way Dinstown does.”
“Why bother?” a lazy-looking youth asked. “They’ll be gone in the morning.”
“They should be gone now! Sneaking little—”
“Calm down, Joss,” a gray-haired man said. “They’re doing no harm.”
“They’re doing no good, either,” Joss replied, frowning into his ale.
“Some might say the same about you,” a brown-haired woman said. She was solidly built, with an air of competence about her. “What about that axle of Sish’s?”
This was apparently an old joke; the entire table burst out laughing, and the conversation turned to various foolish or embarrassing things the drinkers remembered each other’s having done.
“Kayl?” Risper said. “What is it? I’ve said your name three times.”
“I just overheard something that bothers me.” Kayl frowned at her mug for a moment, then stood. “I’m going for a walk; I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Risper and Corrana nodded. “Do you want some company?” Risper asked.
“Thanks, but no,” Kayl said with a smile. “You can stay here and finish my ale.”
Risper looked at Kayl’s mug with a dubious expression and shook her head. Kayl laughed; then, wrapping her cloak around herself, she slipped out of the tavern.
Outside she paused. They had crossed a creek on the way into town, but she had not noticed a mill. It would be in the other direction, then, upstream and toward the east. She started forward at a brisk walk.
The night was clear and smelled of melting snow. Kayl could see down the road to the end of the village and the fields beyond. The dark silhouettes of the Windhome Mountains loomed behind them on the eastern horizon, blocking out great swaths of stars. Kayl shivered, glad that Elewyth had risen high enough to be well above the mountains. The silver-green moon was nearly full, and provided more than enough light for Kayl to see her way. Kaldarin, the smaller, reddish moon, had not yet cleared the peaks.
As she walked, Kayl kicked at dirt-covered chunks of snow, sending them whirling into the darkness or occasionally splattering them wetly in all directions. She had almost given away too much in the inn, talking about Glyndon as she had. Her suspicions about the nature of Glyndon’s affection for her had hardened into certainty, and now she did not know what to do. It would be easier if Glyndon were like Jirod: someone she simply trusted and cared for as a friend. But her feelings for Glyndon were more than that; how much more she did not want even to think about yet, much less to discuss with Corrana and Risper.
The sound of the water pouring over the millwheel brought Kayl out of her reverie, and a few more minutes brought her within sight of the mill itself. It was a small, square building made of stone. Beside it the water wheel turned slowly and endlessly, gleamin
g in the moonlight. Kayl circled the mill warily, but the wet snow around it had been trampled into a muddy sea. She saw no sign of any camp. She was about to return to the tavern and forget the whim that had called her out into the darkness, when a voice behind her said, “Excuse me; are you looking for something?”
The voice had the characteristic piping timbre of a Wyrd’s. Kayl turned without haste. A small figure stood a few paces away in the shelter of a small clump of trees, barely visible as a darker, more solid shadow among the shadows.
“I believe I have found what I was looking for,” Kayl said. Other Wyrds would be watching from the bushes. She let her arms hang loosely at her sides, carefully empty of threat.
“So.” The Wyrd’s tone was courteous, but it held no warmth. “Why have you come looking for us?”
“I overheard some of the villagers talking in the tavern. They spoke of six Wyrds from the south, passing through this village. One man was in favor of driving you off as the people of Dinstown do.”
“And you came to warn us of this plan?” The Wyrd’s skepticism was evident.
Kayl shook her head. “It was mostly ale talking. Dinstown, however, is north and a little west of here; it would make a logical next stop for a group such as yours. I thought you might find it useful to know their attitude.”
“Thank you for your warning,” the Wyrd said with cool politeness. “But you will, I hope, pardon us if we remain wary. Who are you, that you would help Wyrds?”
“I am a traveler, like yourselves,” Kayl said. “And I have a friend among your people in Mindaria. My name is—”
“Kayl! By the Tree, what are you doing here?”
“Bryn?” Kayl whirled, peering incredulously into the darkness.
“Over here.”
Kayl saw a small figure approaching rapidly from the far corner of the mill. In another moment, she could make out the familiar features of Copeham’s carpenter. “It really is you. What are you doing here, of all places?”
“I asked you first,” Bryn said, grinning fiercely.
“She claims she is here to warn us of an unfriendly town ahead,” said the Wyrd who had first addressed Kayl.
“Then that’s why she came. Don’t act like a Rathani bureaucrat, Shav,” Bryn said. Shav subsided, muttering. Bryn looked at Kayl. “Anything else you want to tell him?”
“I’ve covered the main point,” Kayl replied.
“Then let’s go somewhere and talk.”
“Not the camp,” Shav said quickly.
“All right, if you insist,” Bryn said, sounding irritated. “We’ll be by the mill steps, if you want us for anything. This way, Kayl.”
Kayl nodded a farewell to Shav and followed Bryn. The steps proved to be stone, still cold with winter frost, but Kayl said nothing as she seated herself. The alternatives were a Wyrd tent, with the suspicious Shav probably hovering in the background, or the village tavern, half-full of the Sisterhood. At least the air smelled faintly of the coming spring, despite its chill.
“How are Mark and Dara?” Bryn asked. “And what does bring you out here? Jirod said you were headed for Varna.”
“I told him that in case the Magicseekers questioned him,” Kayl said. “We went north instead, to Kith Alunel.”
Bryn frowned and started to say something, then stopped and asked, “Why were you so sure the Magicseekers were interested in you?”
Kayl sighed. “Fifteen years ago, I belonged to the Sisterhood of Stars.”
Bryn nodded, but she seemed unsurprised. Kayl peered at her, trying to read some expression through the darkness and the fur. “You knew?” she said finally.
“It was pretty clear that something odd was going on,” Bryn said dryly. “First that black-haired woman turning out to be a Silver Sister, then you and your household bolting like that. And when Utrilo Levoil turned out to be a Magicseeker—”
“What?”
Bryn’s pointed teeth gleamed in the moonlight as she grinned. “Utrilo Levoil was the leader of that group of Magicseekers who came through Copeham.”
“I don’t believe it! That fat, pompous windbag?”
“You didn’t see him in armor, snapping orders.”
“Prefect Islorran must have sent him along to guide the Magicseekers, that’s all.”
“And they just happened to have a spare set of scaled lorica and an eagle helmet with them, which just happened to fit Levoil as if they’d been made for him. And all of the Magicseekers were perfectly willing to take orders from Islorran’s secretary. Including orders to march east, double-time, to catch up with you.”
“I—” Kayl shook her head. She could not picture Utrilo Levoil, Islorran’s oily secretary, as any kind of leader, much less a leader of Magicseekers. On the other hand, Bryn seemed very sure. And Glyndon had seen seven eagle-helms, not six. “You stayed in Copeham for a while, then?”
“About another week. Alden was out looking for rocks, to carve something for Xaya, and he saw Utrilo and the rest of them coming back. He watched long enough to be sure you weren’t with them, then slipped away to warn us. We left before they arrived in Copeham.”
“I can hardly blame you,” Kayl said with mock seriousness.
Bryn grinned again. “I would hope not. We’ve been on the road since then, with one batch of travelers or another. We met Shav and his sisters about three months ago. He said he knew of a settlement out in this direction, so we thought we’d try. I’m beginning to suspect he hasn’t the slightest idea where he’s going, though.”
“I thought you were planning to head north.”
“We’re a lot farther north than we were when we started, aren’t we? And two adults and a child can’t just take off into the wilderness alone. So we keep following rumors, like this rabbit-chase of Shav’s, hoping to hear word of somewhere really safe.”
“I hope you find it,” Kayl said. She hesitated. “How was Jirod? And the inn?”
Bryn was silent for a moment; then she said, “I’m afraid the Magicseekers burned your inn. I’m sorry; I know how much that place meant to you.”
“It’s all right.” Kayl was surprised to find that her only reaction to the news was a distant sorrow; she had more than half expected the news. “I never really believed I’d be able to go back. What about Jirod?”
“He’s… recovering.”
Kayl felt as if someone had dealt her a blow in the stomach. “He is? Present tense?”
“We’ve had news since we left. The Magicseekers beat him senseless the first time they came through, after they found out you’d disappeared. When they came back, Zia hid him and told them he’d died. Levoil didn’t think Zia was capable of lying to him, so he didn’t even look for Jirod. He had his men burn the inn, and then they left.”
“I see.” Kayl was silent for a moment, then angrily struck her fist against her thigh. “I told Jirod he should come with us! Why wouldn’t he listen?”
“If you’re feeling guilty, just say so,” Bryn advised calmly.
Kayl started to snap at Bryn, then caught herself. “You’re right,” she said finally. “I do feel guilty.”
“How much of what happened with the Silver Sister and the Magicseekers and Levoil could you actually have done anything about?”
“I—” Kayl stopped and, reluctantly, smiled. “None of it, I suppose, not really. I still feel as if I should have tried, though.”
Bryn muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like “Humans!” then said, “It’s too late now. Still, I certainly wouldn’t mind if you explained what it was all about.” She gave Kayl a sidelong look.
“I’ll tell you what I can,” Kayl said, “but some of it is still Sisterhood business.”
Bryn nodded, and Kayl launched into an edited account of her travels and the reasons behind them. She did not mention the decline of the Sisterhood’s magical abilities and she was deliberately vague about the Twisted Tower and the exact purpose of the current expedition.
Bryn liste
ned closely, her nose twitching occasionally as it did when she was concentrating hard on something. “So you got caught in the middle of a fight between the Sisterhood and the Circle of Silence over something that happened fifteen years ago,” Bryn said thoughtfully when Kayl finished.
“More or less,” Kayl said. “There’s no way Corrana and the Magicseekers could have shown up so close together by coincidence, and the Magicseekers didn’t seem to be following her. Although if Utrilo Levoil was one of them…” Kayl frowned.
“Then he probably had suspicions about you even before Corrana arrived,” Bryn said. “And whatever is going on is important enough to him to keep him tied to a small village, pretending to be a pompous idiot of a secretary, for nearly a month.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you’re right,” Kayl said slowly. “I’d assumed that they followed Corrana, but if Levoil was one of them, that’s impossible.”
Bryn gave Kayl a sober look. “They won’t have given up, you know.”
“I know. I just have to hope that they won’t cross the borders of the Alliance, or at least that they’ll be severely limited inside it.” Kayl knew it was a forlorn hope; they were nearing the eastern boundary of the Estarren Alliance, and the authority of the Senate was already running thin. The Windhome Mountains, four days’ journey away, were only nominally under the control of the Alliance. Kayl was sure that the Magicseekers would not think twice about defying the Senate’s order of exile there. “You haven’t seen any sign of them, or heard any rumors, have you?”
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m not sure. We ran across some very odd merchants about a week ago—surly and standoffish, no wagons or packs of goods, and all of them with horses. We kept out of their way.”
“A week ago,” Kayl said, frowning. “Where was this?”
“A little south and west of here. Not quite a week’s travel; we lost some time because of a broken wheel on one of the carts.”
Less than a week away, and they had horses. Kayl’s frown deepened. At least they hadn’t actually crossed the expedition’s trail; if they were Magicseekers, they might not know how close they were to their prey. “I’ll have to tell the Elder Mothers about this. Would you be willing to talk to them?”