Lennox scratched his head. “That’s what I am trying to figure out. My theory is that they came and went by boat.”
Soren looked out to sea and how visible any approaching boat would be. “Doesn’t seem likely,” he concluded.
“I’m investigating all possibilities,” Lennox replied, still miffed at not being thanked for his intervention and stormed off.
Soren watched him recede, wondering how many people Lennox would subject to ‘questioning.’ He hadn’t noticed that Seline had walked up until she cleared her throat. He glanced over at her.
“Hi, Seline. I didn’t see you there,” he informed her.
“Is this a good time?” she asked.
“Right – status report. Sure, come in,” he replied and lifted the tent flap for her. He motioned for the guards to tie it up to let in some light. One of them got to it, and the other moved around to tie up the back flap.
Soren sat down at the table at which he convened his war council. He noticed that he hadn’t pushed Cera’s bed back against his, but he didn’t think that Seline would notice or care, and what was the point of keeping up appearances now that Cera was gone? He got back up and ordered a guard to remove the bed, which was done even before he returned to his seat.
“Sorry about that,” he apologized, but Seline just looked blankly at him, so he shook his head and asked, “Status?”
Seline relaxed now that life had returned to its familiar pattern. She consulted some papers, even though she knew by heart the figures she’d scribbled there. “Our food stores are running low, but still not lower than the city’s. They’ll run out before we will. And Lennox’s foraging parties do add to our supplies somewhat.” Her forehead creased when she mentioned Lennox’s name, and Soren knew it was because Lennox’s ‘foraging’ was more like ‘pillaging.’ Seline thought that a solution to a problem that involved less death was more elegant., while Lennox seemed to think that a solution that involved more death was preferable. Soren just wanted solutions to his problems.
Seline continued, “I think it’s the right time to break their spirits.”
“Refresh my memory as to how… I thought that’s what we were doing with the siege.”
“We are… it’s just a slow process. We can speed it up.”
“Okay, how?”
“We offer amnesty to their fighting men if they switch sides.”
“That’ll only work for men without families.”
“I thought of that. We also offer safe passage for non-combatants wishing to leave the city.”
“Lennox isn’t going to like that. He’s as bloodthirsty as Trax was.”
“He needn’t worry. They’ll wind up as dead in the wilderness as they would if they remain behind their walls. It’s just prolonging the inevitable. Our goal is the city. You once said that these people are nothing without the safety of their cities.”
“I did, did I? Well, I guess it’s as true now as it was then. Okay, I’ll make the decree. Is there anything else?”
“No,” Seline replied and packed up her papers to leave. She hesitated for a moment at the exit, thinking that she should say something about Cera, but couldn’t come up with what, and in truth, she didn’t care. She just stepped out and walked away.
Returning to his tent, Soren saw Lennox rushing up. Gods-damn, he thought, Can’t he give me a moment’s peace, but as Lennox got closer, Soren could see that he was smiling an evil smile.
Lennox stopped in front of him, breathless. “I found it – the way they got in and out. There’s a broken grate. There are tunnels. We can get men inside the city anytime we want.”
Soren thought over the new development. “Let Seline know, come up with a plan, and brief me in the morning.”
Lennox scurried off, leaving Soren to ponder how to exploit this new information.
36
Forest
Addis moved closer to Forest as they headed south on horseback. “Ride with me?” he asked.
She consented, and she pulled her mare beside his stallion, and they rode side by side.
“Where are we headed?” he asked.
“A city called Bayre. That’s where we’re rallying to fight Soren.”
“I’ve heard of Bayre. It’s where the land meets the sea, right?”
“So I’m told.”
“I will enjoy seeing the ocean.”
“Your people are nomadic, and you’ve got horses, but you’ve never been to the sea?”
“The grasses on the open plains are their own type of sea. I guess we never really felt the need.”
They rode in silence for a while, before Forest had to unburden herself. “I appreciate your joining in our fight against Soren, but I should never have implied there would be glory in it. There will be death. Your people will die.”
“We all die sometime. Is it so wrong to want your death to count for something? We’re not as cavalier as we seem. Every man and woman that rides with me knows exactly what they’re getting into. I hold nothing over them. They have all chosen to ride toward their fate.”
Forest felt somewhat better, but still partly responsible for the lives that would surely be lost.
“We weren’t always nomadic,” Addis told her. “My people once had a mighty kingdom. No one remembers them, but we ride past the remains of great plains cities that don’t exist anymore. At some point, we were brought low, but our nobility was never wrested from us.”
“I see that,” Forest conceded graciously.
“I’ve sent riders to rally any other clan that will join with us. My father’s influence is still strong, despite his being near death.”
“I’m sorry to hear that he’s not well.”
“Thank you. He has a wasting disease, and it is terrible to watch such a proud man decline. I think that is why he sent my brothers, sisters, and me away to patrol his lands – so we wouldn’t have to see him fail.” He was silent for a while. “My sister rides in the direction we’re heading. I hope you’ll meet her. You remind me very much of her. She is a firebrand like you.”
Forest had never thought of herself as a firebrand, but she appreciated the compliment.
They rode for the remainder of the day in comfortable silence before stopping for the night. Addis dismounted and handed the reins of his horse to a retainer. “Come,” he said to Forest. “I have something for you.” He directed his man to take the reins of Forest’s mare as well, so she was free to follow him. He led her through the camp that was being set up around them to a collection of horses on long leads staked to the ground to give them room to graze but not wander off.
Forest saw Thorvyn chatting with one of Addis’s men near the horses and called out her greetings to him. He waved back. “What was it you wanted to show me?” she asked Addis.
He walked to a beautiful chestnut mare and, calling gently to it, approached it until he could stroke its neck.
“She’s gorgeous,” Forest told him.
“I want you to have her,” he replied.
“That’s kind of you, but I already have a horse.”
“This horse has ten times the speed of your mount.”
“I can see that, but I’m partial to my mare.”
“You’re loyal to your horse?” he asked incredulously.
Forest blushed. “Is that silly?”
“No. It simply surprises me. You surprise me, Forest-of-the-South.”
“Don’t call me that. My friend Dhara is from the south. I’m just from south of here.”
“Fair enough, Forest-of-the-Middle.”
“That just sounds stupid.”
He laughed heartily. “I like you, Forest,” he told her and reached for her hand.
She let him take it uncertainly, and he walked her back to the fire that Jarom was preparing, still holding it. He dropped her off and returned to see about his people.
Nara, who had watched everything, rushed over when he had left and grabbed Forest by the shoulders. “The young horse-lord is you
r boyfriend?!” she asked.
“Hardly,” Forest replied. “I think he just finds me a welcome distraction from the monotony of the plains.”
“Oh no. It’s way more than that,” Nara chided. “He really likes you.”
“Well, he’s not going to be happy when I leave then,” Forest concluded ruefully.
Nara was confused. “What do you mean, ‘leave?’”
“He said something about family that got me thinking. There is something I have to do.”
“Can’t it wait?” Nara implored her.
“Absolutely not, sadly,” Forest replied.
“Such are the times we live in,” Nara said, crushed. “At least kiss him before you leave.”
“Nara! I’m thirteen.”
“That’s never stopped anyone before,” Nara countered, “simply follow your heart.”
“I will. Now, if we don’t help Jarom, he’ll disown us,” Forest said to put an end to the uncomfortable conversation and hurried to ask Jarom what she could do.
The next day she rode over to Addis. “Can you show me one of the ruined cities?” she asked him.
“An odd request, but yes – we’ll be riding near one later today – I can show it to you.”
“Thank you. I’ll need to gather supplies,” Forest told him, riding off.
“It is less than a day’s ride,” he called after her.
“I fear I may need to journey farther,” she called back and rode away.
She returned to him a short time later with a full pack and blankets tied to her mare.
“Why do you need all that?” he asked.
“It depends on what we find,” she replied cryptically, not wanting to tell him she’d be leaving unless she had to.
“Well, aren’t you full of mystery!” he concluded and spurred his horse to head perpendicularly to the direction they’d been riding. His cousin Jon rode after them but Addis waved him off. “It’s okay, Jon. I’ll be back before dark.” The man reluctantly rejoined the riders.
Forest followed Addis as he led her off on an angle to the east. She hazarded a wave over her shoulder to a despondent Nara.
They rode for a long while, and eventually, twisted shapes began to rise from the ground, like the ones they’d seen when Forest had crossed the river with Kala. A feeling of foreboding came over her, and she shuddered.
“These places are the home of the dead,” Addis said, noticing her discomfort.
“That’s exactly what I’m looking for,” she replied and spurred her reluctant horse forward.
They continued until Forest spied a formation of twisted spires surrounding a stone circle, with a single spire on the east side of the circle. “That is where I need to go,” she told Addis, pointing at the lone spire.
He just nodded, and they rode over to it. The wind blowing through the ruins whispered in low tones. They dismounted and tied their reins around the spire. The horses were unsettled, so they stroked their manes.
“The horses don’t like it here,” Addis concluded.
“I can’t say that I blame them,” Forest replied, looking about. Then, spying what she sought, added, “Help me with this.” She walked over to a round stone poking through the soil and began clearing it off.
“Redecorating?” Addis asked dryly.
“Just help me,” she repeated, and he bent down to help her clear the soil off the stone. Once it was free, she asked him to help her roll it over to the lone spire. He did as she asked without questioning her further.
“Now what?” he asked when she stood up to stare at their handiwork.
“Now, we wait, and we make a fire.”
“Homey,” he muttered, looking about, but started gathering wood without complaint. They got a fire going, which Forest surrounded with a tight ring of stones.
“The fire’s not going to spread,” he chided her.
“You’re probably right, but I want those stones.”
He concluded that she was probably a little insane and sat down beside her. They prepared a simple dinner in silence.
“Are you going to tell me what this is about?” he finally asked, unable to tolerate not knowing any longer.
“That,” she said, pointing at the descending airship.
Addis jumped to his feet. “I’ve seen those things sail overhead, but never land.”
“We asked it to,” Forest informed him and began gathering her things. “There is something I have to do that will take me away for a while,” she told him, “but I’ll meet you in Bayre.”
“Can’t you at least stay the night?” he asked. “Bayre is more than a moon’s ride away, and we have to rendezvous with the rest of my family on the way. What’s one night?”
“Everything,” she said and kissed him on the cheek as the airship landed. She turned and opened the door to the ship while Addis calmed the spooked horses. She lay her pack inside the door of the ship and placed the blankets inside as well. “Help me carry the stones inside,” she asked him.
“You and stones,” he muttered but turned to help her.
She lay a small patch of leather near the fire and pushed one of the stones that ringed the fire onto it with her boot, then motioned for Addis to help her carry it onboard. They repeated this until all the rocks were in a tidy pile onboard.
“Why the stones?” he asked.
“Kala says it’s freezing on the way to the volcano.”
“Forget I asked,” he said.
She stepped through the doorway and looked back at him.
“I’ll see you in Bayre?” he asked for confirmation.
“Yes,” she replied. “Can you do me a final favor and push that stone away from the spire?”
“Push it against the spire, push it away from the spire… the things I do for that girl,” he muttered but did as he was asked.
“Thank you,” she called from the doorway, blew him a final kiss, and closed the door as the airship drifted upward.
Addis watched it until it disappeared from view, then he turned to saddle the horses and ride back to his clan.
The airship drifted lower, and Forest blew into her frozen hands to keep them warm. For the thousandth time, she fumbled with the amulet that she’d acquired on the volcanic island, and tucked it back beneath her collar. The ship landed, and she opened the door cautiously.
She found herself outside a sprawling metropolis that looked odd to her for its lack of walls. It was just a guess, but it fit the image in her mind of where Soren might have grown up before being sent away in an airship. If it was such a shock to him to be transplanted to a hard, northern village, he must have come from somewhere entirely the opposite, and this city seemed to be just that.
She left the ship and began the short hike to the city. The warm sea air slowly thawed her out, but she wondered if she’d ever shake the feeling of the bite of cold metal against her skin.
It was early morning, and she entered the city just as its inhabitants began stirring for the day. She headed to a nearby market and used some of the little coin she had to purchase a hot cup of kai to warm her insides. The shopkeeper eyed her coin suspiciously but shrugged when he concluded that copper was copper. She sipped her drink. This is disgusting, she found. I don’t know what Kala sees in it. But it was warm, so she finished it while scanning the faces of the people frequenting the marketplace. Her mission was a long shot by the most generous odds, but she had to try.
She spent days moving through crowds, scanning faces. She lost weight from eating little and slept anywhere that she wouldn’t be discovered. The people happily went about their lives, oblivious to the turmoil deeper within the continent. She knew she was failing at her self-appointed task when inspiration struck her. She figured out where the airships landed inside the city, having realized that hers set down apart from where they typically landed. She made her way there and camped out on a street corner with a decent view. A man strode by and tossed a copper in her lap. This is what I’ve become? she wondered as she lea
ned her back against the stone wall and waited.
Airships drifted in occasionally, causing little interest among the people operating the airfield. They would haul them down, clean them out, fill them back up, and sometimes escort a youth off or onto a ship.
Forest noticed a woman walk up and stare at the airships. She seemed different from the other passersby in that she really watched them, rather than merely glancing at them on their way. Forest studied her. Sadness surrounded her, but Forest could tell that she had been beautiful in her youth. The woman had piercing blue eyes, through which she watched the ships without really seeming to see them. She hung her head and shuffled off. Forest rose to her feet and followed her across town. The woman made no stops along the way as she returned to a small home that appeared empty except for her. Forest watched her through the window from across the street as she collapsed on a sofa and stared across the room.
Forest steadied her courage and crossed the street to the woman’s door, where she stood for a moment before knocking. Forest saw the woman rise in the reflection of a mirror that she could see through the window.
The door opened, and Forest studied her face intensely before asking, “Are you Soren’s mother?”
The woman’s breath caught. “What news have you of my son?”
37
Priestess
The Priestess returned from discussing prophecy with the other two oracles and the Council of Elders. She had a pounding headache, but walked casually, purposefully even, with her head held high, despite the pain behind her eyes.
The Ancients had burned an image into her mind, and she still wrestled to interpret – a baby girl lying in a charred manger. Was the baby to be born? Had the baby already been born? Had it been born long ago? Was she a specific person, or was she a symbol of the world that would be reborn from the ruins of this one? The second oracle had added to the image the bitter taste of ashes on her tongue, and the third oracle had added the feeling of cold. The clues were not contradictory but reinforcing in a way that the Priestess could not yet divine, and her head hurt from trying.
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