They crested another ridge. Kira looked back and saw that Jason was barely awake, nearly passed out from exhaustion. She hadn't realized that he had been pushing himself that hard.
"Cavalry over there," the driver said, gesturing to the east. "You can see them when they're moving on the high ground. Wonder what they're doing out? Maybe looking for them fellas I saw earlier. When I was your age, seeing the cavalry would have scared us. It would have meant some big trouble, maybe a warlord or bandits coming north out of Tiae. Not now. Folks don't realize it could change, though. It got worse once. It could again."
Kira swallowed. "The daughter wouldn't let that happen. She'd stop it."
"The daughter won't be around forever," the driver said. "I hope that girl of hers is up to it."
"Wh-what?"
"Her girl. The daughter has a daughter, right? Somebody to pick up the job when the daughter gets too old or we lose her, may that not happen for a long time."
Kira tried to swallow again but couldn't manage it, her throat suddenly tight. She stared at the hooves of the horses, coming up and going down in a steady rhythm. Her head was filled with a strange, tight, buzzing sensation.
"And her father is that master of mages," the driver continued, looking ahead and not noticing Kira's reaction. "Can you imagine? She's got to be something really special, she does."
Kira finally managed to swallow. "What…what if she's not?"
"Not what?"
"Not special. What if she's…just a regular person? Not…not able to do the sort of things her mother could do?"
The driver laughed and reached over to slap Kira's shoulder. "Oh, don't you get all worried about that! Let me tell you something. Folks never know what they can do until they really have to, and then like as not they discover there's a lot more in them than they ever thought."
"Y-yeah. I guess they do." The driver fell silent for a while and so did Kira. She stared ahead, not really seeing the road, terrified at the thought of having to fill her mother's shoes. How could people like this think she could do that? Because they didn't know her. But she had just discovered that they would be expecting her to take over, expecting Kira of Pacta Servanda to be able to match Lady Master Mechanic Mari of Dematr, dragon-slayer, pirate queen, leader of the army of the new day, the daughter of Jules.
Did her mother and father know? Had they kept from her that the world would be expecting Kira to inherit the role of the daughter? No. No. No. I can't do it. Nobody can. Except her.
If I wasn't already trying to hide I'd be doing that now. Hide somewhere where no one can find Jason or me.
* * *
They met a couple of other wagons as the day wore on, the drivers nodding or waving in greeting as they went by. The driver of the last wagon that approached them from Denkerk called out as they passed, though. "Main road is backed up a bit! The militia is checking everyone coming through!"
"That'll slow me down," the driver said. He glanced at the setting sun and then at Kira. "Is there any chance you and your step-brother would like to step down and walk from here? If you cut across those fields you'll come into Denkerk soon enough."
"Yes, thank you!" Kira said, leaning back to see that Jason had woken and was sitting up.
The driver brought the wagon to a halt as she and Jason climbed down. "You two stay out of trouble, hear?"
"We'll try," Kira said. "Tell your sister that the daughter will take time to see any veteran of her army who visits Pacta Servanda. She always makes time for that."
"Is that so? Who should I say told me?"
"A girl you gave a ride to heading north toward Denkerk," Kira said. She and Jason watched as the driver flicked the reins again and the wagon rolled slowly onward toward the main highway.
The rest had done wonders for Jason, who walked steadily and didn't complain as they crossed the fields, the sun setting behind their left shoulders. "Why did he help us?" Jason finally asked.
"I guess he could tell we were all right. Mother and Father always told me to treat people right," Kira replied. "They said if you do that then people will treat you right. Most people, anyway."
Jason grimaced, looking over at her. "You don't act like a princess, you know that?"
"Excuse me?"
"I thought when I met you, this girl is the daughter of the most powerful people on the planet. She's going to be so full of herself. But you aren't."
"How could living with my mother and father make me think I was a big deal?" Kira said with a laugh. "Did you hear what he said about Denkerk? They're already checking traffic."
"Should we go around Denkerk?"
"Walking is a very slow way to travel," Kira said. "And we need food. Trail mix isn't enough for the kind of travel we've been doing."
Jason felt his stomach. "I'm not going to argue that. Ok— All right. We've met a helpful non-player character and are entering a new area. I hope there aren't any monsters lurking in it."
"Denkerk? Why would you think Denkerk had monsters?"
"That's how games always go," Jason said, grinning to show it was some sort of joke.
Kira shook her head, pointing to where lights were coming on ahead in Denkerk as night fell.
By the time they reached the town it was dark enough to provide plenty of shadows for Kira to lead them through. She followed lights, noise, and the smell of food to the large inn and coach stop on the north side of town.
A dimly lit courtyard boasted a well with a small, hand-operated pump. A bored-looking child seated next to a pile of bottles looked up as they approached, pointed to a bottle and wagged two fingers. Kira brought out four Tiae brass pennies, then held up two fingers as she showed them to the child. A quick nod and the child filled a couple of the bottles with water from a bucket under the pump. Kira traded the coins for the bottles before leading Jason to where a large tree loomed. During the day the tree would shade the courtyard. At night, it offered welcome and deeper shadow to mask them from the sight of others.
Kira settled down next to the trunk as she and Jason drank and rested. "There should be a window selling food for the road," Kira whispered to Jason. "We'll—"
She broke off as three figures strode into the courtyard, confronting a woman who had been walking toward the pump.
"You're the mistress here?" one of the three demanded.
"What of it?" she replied. "Do you have a complaint?"
"We're looking for someone."
Kira shrank back into shadow, gesturing to Jason to stay silent.
"You and half the countryside, it seems," the woman answered.
"We'll share the reward with you if you can tell us anything. Have you seen them?"
"What reward would be worth betraying the daughter herself?"
Another of the three spoke with exaggerated kindliness. "We want to help her! We're on your side and the side of the daughter."
"Are you now? Doesn't matter," the woman answered. "Haven't seen her or the boy."
"Watch for them, and you'll be well rewarded."
"Sure. I'll do that."
Kira tried to hold herself immobile in the shadows as the three walked briskly out of the courtyard. She'd barely begun to breathe again when the woman turned and walked toward the tree where Kira and Jason sat.
The woman raised a hooded lantern in one hand and opened it just enough for weak light to illuminate Kira. After a moment, the light was hooded again. "Come on," the woman urged.
Kira scrambled to her feet, gesturing to Jason to follow as the woman wended through more shadows before stopping at a closed door in the back of the main building. The woman produced a key ring, selected one, and opened the door, ushering Kira and Jason inside before joining them and relocking the door behind her.
The woman sat the lantern on a shelf in the small room, opening it again slightly and staring at Kira in the dim light. "It's you, sure enough. I saw her, nigh on twenty years ago. I was already past my youth when the daughter stayed the night at Denkerk on her wa
y to Dorcastle, and in the morning I was there alongside the road to see her ride on. She looked so tired, and I thought she looked scared, too, like she knew she'd die there, but she was riding to Dorcastle for us anyway."
The woman shook her head as she gazed at Kira. "You look just like her. I've never forgotten her face as she smiled at me and nodded, riding past. Like I was a friend of hers."
Kira smiled despite her nervousness. "Mother likes to talk about how nice Denkerk was. How nice all the people were."
"We're not all nice. And some who come to visit aren't so nice at all. Lucky for you I saw you come into the courtyard and you sat down quiet before those three came looking for me. Have you heard what those folks from Urth have been saying?"
"No," Kira said. "I'm sure they're lying."
"I haven't heard it first-hand myself, but the story is that you two have run off together and are in all kinds of danger because you're so young and foolish, so tell the Urth people on a far-talker if you see them and you'll get a reward such as no one on the world of Dematr has ever seen. I heard that and I thought, the daughter of the daughter of Jules might be young yet, but she can't be a fool. There's more here than the Urth people are saying. That girl is her mother's daughter, and if she's out with that boy then there is good reason, probably something the daughter needs done. And it must be something important to all of us or the daughter wouldn't have risked her girl."
"That's true," Kira said.
Jason spoke up in a low voice. "And that reward they're promising is just shiny trash, something that will look great but is worthless."
"I guessed as much." The woman bowed her head slightly toward Kira. "What does the daughter's girl need from me?"
"We were hoping to get on a coach heading north," Kira said.
"That's easy enough, but the militia is out and they're watching everyone on the roads," the woman cautioned. "They think they're doing the daughter a favor, you see, not thinking that if the daughter wanted that she'd ask it of us herself. If you're seeking to avoid them as well, you'll need some special arrangements."
"We do have to avoid them," Kira said. "We have to remain hidden from the people on the Urth ship. I can't tell you why, but it's not because we've done anything wrong, I swear. The people from Urth want to do something wrong. My mother knows why we're hiding, and it has nothing to do with being young and…"
"Being young is no crime," the woman said, smiling at her. "Your word is all I need. I'll set something up."
"We have money—"
"Not a word of that! Your money is no good here. So, you need a way north, quiet and unseen, and I'm guessing some food?"
Kira smiled again. "Yes. We haven't had a decent meal for a while."
The woman nodded, smiled in return, then left by an inner door.
"I'm glad she left the lantern," Jason said, looking around. "This place is a little creepy."
"It's a storeroom," Kira said. "Those are herbs hanging above us, and I think these are flour barrels we're sitting on." She heard a rustle of movement. "And there are mice, of course."
"Alien mice?" Jason jerked his feet up, then suddenly started laughing quietly.
"What's so funny?" Kira asked.
"Alien mice!"
"What does that—"
The woman returned, bearing a covered tray that she sat down on a crate. "Eat your fill, then wait. It'll be a little while, but we'll get you on a coach."
"Thank you," Kira said. "We need to—"
"Don't tell me! It's the daughter's work. That's all I need to know. That and who you are."
A platter under the cover held two small roasted chickens, a pile of potatoes and carrots, and two large mugs of watered wine. Kira thought she had never had a better meal.
Even Jason didn't complain about the food, wolfing down the chicken. "This planet has the best food I ever tasted," he said after draining his mug. "Hey, what that woman said reminded me of something I've been wondering. All of the accounts we've heard on Earth say that Mari, your mom, died at Dorcastle but your father brought her back somehow. Most people think that means her heart stopped or something and he revived her within a minute or two. Is that what happened?"
"I don't know," Kira said, sighing contentedly with a full stomach. "Mother always insists that she didn't die. The healers who were there say she did. She stopped breathing, her heart stopped, she had lost a lot of blood and had an awful wound in her chest. Then father took her hand and he…he healed her."
"How?" Jason asked, peering at Kira through the dim light.
"His Mage talents. Somehow he was able to give her body the means to heal its injuries almost instantly, and new blood and everything. Enough that Mother was able to survive. But it almost killed him. Aunt Asha told me that she was afraid that my father would die. Well, she wasn't afraid, because Aunt Asha is a Mage, but she was really worried."
"So that's not just a story?" Jason asked. "It's true?"
"It's true," Kira said. "Father almost gave his life to save my mother."
"Huh." Jason looked down, appearing depressed. "What's it like having parents like that? You must never have any fights or arguments."
"Sure we do," Kira said. "Mother and I…we don't agree on some things."
She was spared from elaborating on her family fights when the woman returned, carrying a bag. "Here's more food for your travels, and a canteen as well. Stay quiet and follow me."
Outside again, the woman led them to a quiet, dark spot where a large coach sat while a fresh set of horses were hitched on. She took them to the back, where the baggage compartment jutted out, and urged Kira and Jason to climb in next to the boxes and bags. "Stay quiet in here. Tom, he's the driver, will take you all the way to Danalee and not say a word. He's a good man."
Kira reached to grasp her hand before the woman could seal the compartment. "What's your name, so I can tell my mother who helped me?"
The woman smiled shyly. "Izbelle. Izbelle of Denkerk."
"Thank you, Izbelle."
The compartment cover came down and locked. Kira squirmed into a corner that wasn't too uncomfortable, feeling both cramped in the confined space and depressed.
Izbelle hadn't helped her because she was Kira. Izbelle had helped her because Kira's mother had freed the world from the Great Guilds. Once again, Kira was living on the gratitude of others for what her mother had done. Because people looked at her, and saw her mother.
Jason took that moment to say exactly the wrong thing. "They really do worship your mother on this planet, don't they?"
Kira's reply was as sharp as she could make a whisper. "No one worships her! She earned everything she gets, and I don't need that rubbed into my face all of the time!"
She later thought that Jason displayed an impressive amount of wisdom by not saying another word for the next few hours.
* * *
Alain kept his right hand shielded in front of his body as he gestured behind them, above and to one side. "Something there follows us." He did not know what it was, but he did not want whatever it was to see him pointing at it.
"It's in the air?" Mari turned in the saddle, apparently looking back down the road but raising her eyes just enough to sweep the area that Alain had indicated. "I can't see anything," she said, sitting forward again. "Are you sure?"
"My foresight has warned of it twice," Alain said. "Somewhat like the same feeling when someone is aiming a weapon at you."
"Oh. Great. Actually, that is great. It must be something from the Urth ship, keeping an eye on us. We still have their attention."
"There is a sense of danger," Alain emphasized.
"From the device itself? As if it were a weapon?" Mari paused in thought. "Or if it carried a weapon. Could you stop it with your heat spell?"
Alain shook his head. "I cannot tell exactly where it is, and I must see where to place the heat."
"Then we have to keep moving and keep acting as though we're sneaking our way to Tiaesun. We should walk th
e horses for a while." Mari winced as she dismounted. "I wish we could have taken the train, but that wouldn't have looked sneaky."
"Trains are not safe," Alain said, dismounting as well.
"Yes, they are. For most people." Mari bit her lip. "How long will they wait, Alain? Talese Groveen didn't strike me as a patient woman, and you said she was worried that Jason would realize what was on the thing he took and tell us about it."
"They were certain that their devices would find him and Kira, with the help of the 'crowd.' When it becomes apparent that is not happening, they will become frustrated and try something else."
"And something else is likely to involve open threats and weapons," Mari said. He saw her touch the place on her jacket under which her own weapon rested. "I hope diplomacy works, but I've got a bad feeling."
"Let us hope that Kira can remain hidden from them, and from any others who would harm her," Alain said.
* * *
Kira wasn't sure how long they had been in the baggage compartment. The coach jolted along the road, the air inside the compartment stuffy and hot, assorted bags and boxes making it impossible to stretch out or get comfortable. The coach had made several stops. Twice during those stops Mari had heard someone asking questions of the passengers in the coach, who they were and where they were going. But no one came back to the baggage except Tom the driver, who pretended not to see Kira and Jason as he took out some bags and put in new ones.
The coach lurched to a halt once more, she heard the passengers leaving, and then Tom coming back to open the baggage compartment again. For the first time the driver looked at her, jogging his head to indicate she should get out. "End of the line," he whispered.
Her entire body stiff, Kira managed to clamber down and stand without falling over. Jason was having the same trouble. Even though Kira wasn't thrilled at the contact, they had to hang onto each other for a while to be able to walk. Behind them, nobody at the large coach stop bustling with people during the mid-morning rush seemed to have noticed two extra passengers leaving the back of the coach.
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