Wolfs Soul

by Jane Lindskold

  “Let me tell the next part for you, Kalyndra,” Arasan said gently. “You’ve put yourself through it often enough.” He put on his storyteller voice. “When querinalo came, the established order was overturned practically overnight. Worse, because maintaining the health of their followers was the foundation of the rule of magic, when the magic users fell ill, this sent Tey-yo’s society into chaos, not just on a social level as in the Old World, but right down to moral and ethical considerations.

  “What followed was death on a massive scale—on a much greater level than was experienced in the Old World. Not only did most of the magic users die either from querinalo or by being murdered, so did enormous numbers of the population that had benefited from their patronage. When disease was no longer held at bay by magical precautions and cures, the most vulnerable populations were those who had never developed physical resistance. Suddenly the despised Mrrettm had the advantage, for a portion of their population had developed resistances to the many illnesses and parasites that plagued Tey-yo. I’m sure your imaginations are up to envisioning what happened.”

  Firekeeper had heard the yarimaimalom’s tales of what human did to human once magical control was removed—and that had been in the New World where the mages had been comparatively mild in their rule, because they needed the cooperation of the colonists. She shivered and snugged herself into Blind Seer’s side as if his fur could warm them both against the horrors that roamed freely through her mind.

  Laria looked ill, and Wythcombe very serious. Ranz, however, only looked interested. Firekeeper wondered if the fact that Rhinadei had been spared the worst of the social collapse after querinalo meant he had no idea how terrible such wholesale destruction could be.

  “But what happened later?” Ranz asked. “When querinalo began to weaken? I mean, you’re trained in blood magic. My understanding is that Skea had a magical gift as well, although it did not survive querinalo. So some magical traditions must have survived.”

  “Some,” Kalyndra admitted, “although not as many as in the Old World. Most of the traditions that survived were empty superstitions: chants and charms that were used in conjunction with medicines and physical remedies for fevers, chills, diarrhea, and other maladies. Perhaps you can understand why those who suspected, as I did, that the charms were more effective when I said them and infused them with a power I felt within me, were careful with whom they shared this knowledge.

  “Contact with the world outside of Tey-yo came when King Veztressidan’s Once Dead rediscovered the Nexus Islands and began to explore where the gates led.” Kalyndra sighed deeply. “What happened then is an epic in itself. I will simply say that King Veztressidan’s Once Dead sought allies, provided education, and eventually incorporated us into their structure. Some of us lived dual lives, part here on the Nexus Islands or the Mires, part attempting to re-establish a small magical presence in Tey-yo. However, our attempts to reintroduce magic to Tey-yo ended just last year.”

  Her rich brown eyes flooded with tears. “The Mrrettm discovered what we were doing and wiped our small enclaves. My husband—Skea’s father—was killed defending us. I escaped with a very few of our people. Skea was already here on the Nexus Islands. When we tried to return to Tey-yo, we learned the gate had been blockaded against us. Only a few moonspans ago, we managed to get the gate working again but, as Skea has already said, what we found was nothing to encourage us to return.”

  “So,” Wythcombe said, “what should we expect? Because I’ll tell you this, I’ll try to make our way to Tey-yo whether or not you let me use the gate. It will definitely take me longer, and who knows if Kabot will even be there when I arrive, but I’m not giving up.”

  “And as Wythcombe is Blind Seer’s teacher,” Firekeeper added, “so we will be going with him. Blind Seer say he asked to be taught by doing, so he will not abandon Wythcombe mid-hunt.”

  Ynamynet gave a thin smile. “Firekeeper, we all owe you and Blind Seer so much that any gate we can open will be available to you, even if we think it unwise. Let us consider that argument settled. Skea, I suggest you be brutally honest. That’s the best way to help them come home alive.”

  Skea folded his arms across his chest, leaned back in his chair, and furrowed his brows. Then he began speaking in the same detached manner Firekeeper had seen him use when he had to report the deaths of friends old and new as if they were nothing more than pieces pulled from play in a board game.

  “After we established control of the Nexus Islands, the council agreed that we must learn as much as we could about the gates. Our primary goal, as you know, was to locate all active gates and learn, if possible, where they led. A secondary goal was to discover if we could repair or reactivate gates that had been put out of commission. Since we knew precisely when the gate into Tey-yo had been sabotaged, it was a logical one to use as a test.”

  Also, Firekeeper thought, because we all knew how you and your family never stopped wondering what had happened to those you had been forced to leave behind. Why do humans feel that admitting to one love will cheapen another?

  “If you’re interested in the details,” Skea said, directing this next comment to Wythcombe and Ranz, “we can direct you to the team who did the work. However, I suspect you’re more interested in knowing what we found when we managed to get the gate open. Our first scouts were some of the yarimaimalom. They reported that the entire plateau which had housed the community of Nalrmyna was no longer occupied by humans.”

  “How did you manage to talk to the yarimaimalom?” Ranz interjected. “I gathered Firekeeper wasn’t there.”

  “She wasn’t,” Skea agreed. “But Derian Counselor can talk to Eshinarvash, and Eshinarvash to the other yarimaimalom. Plik can also talk to the yarimaimalom. There can be translation problems when sharing perceptions between species, but whether or not humans were living in the vicinity of the gate seemed a fairly basic question. Indeed, the yarimaimalom scouts were correct. There were no humans in Nalrmyna, but that did not mean they had abandoned the area, as we learned when we sent a team of humans through.”

  Kabot awoke stiff from sleeping in a mostly upright position, but with his head far clearer than it had been. Early morning light filtered through the thick green leaves, which must mean he had slept through the night. Well, he guessed he must have needed the rest.

  Daylily was still asleep, but Uaid was awake. The younger man was seated on a tree limb, his back against the trunk and his legs stretched out in front of him. He held the remnants of the stone lattice braced on his lap. He’d screwed a jeweler’s glass into his right eye and was closely examining the area where the lattice merged with Palvalkay. When Kabot shifted to grope for his water bottle, Uaid looked over and nodded greeting.

  “Good morning. Turns out that this tree has a fruit that the birds were eating. Daylily checked it over before she went back to sleep. She said it should be edible as long as we don’t eat too much all at once. You’ll find some just overhead.”

  Kabot nodded thanks, hauled himself upright, tested his balance, then inspected what was apparently breakfast. The fruit reminded him of large figs, although the pulp shaded from deep green into yellow and had fewer seeds. Weird figs, overripe and sampled by birds, wouldn’t have been Kabot’s first choice for breakfast, but since the Voice wasn’t whispering warning, he decided to give them a try. While Kabot was searching for a fig that wasn’t too bird-pecked, Uaid went on.

  “I’ve been thinking. If our having Palvalkay will make it easier for us to detect the thread we followed here, the reverse may be true. Best as I can tell, the lattice isn’t providing any ward. If I can safely break the artifact free, can you could work something to shield it?”

  Kabot wished he’d thought of the possibility that they could be tracked via Palvalkay, but he had been bone-weary. Anyhow, what good were allies if you had to do all the thinking? Instead of saying the first snippy thing that came to mind, he made himself be polite.

  “You have a good poin
t. Although, if I shield the artifact, we’re going to have a harder time using Palvalkay to find the next one.”

  “Teyvalkay,” Uaid interrupted. “That’s what you called it earlier.”

  “Yes,” Kabot said. “I’m not sure where I got that name.” Uaid looked at him suspiciously, but didn’t press the point, so Kabot continued. “As I was saying, if I build a ward, it’s going to make it harder for us to use the resonance between the artifacts as a guide.”

  This time Uaid didn’t speak, but something in how tightly he pressed his lips together made Kabot realize that the younger mage was debating between speaking out and risking annoying Kabot. He was obscurely pleased by this indication of deference.

  “You have a suggestion?”

  Uaid shrugged. “Just a thought. It might be smart to follow them, then see what we can learn without using magic. We don’t know anything about the abilities of Teyvalkay’s current custodians. They may be only lightly talented. However, they could be nearly as powerful as you.”

  Was there a veiled insult in the comment? Kabot studied Uaid, but he decided no offense had been intended. Uaid possessed considerable ability, but his nature had always been that of a follower. Caidon had done nothing to encourage him to be otherwise. Now that Caidon was dead, Uaid needed someone else to follow. Kabot had been the leader of their rebel cabal. The progression was perfectly logical.

  “You’ve been thinking things through,” Kabot said approvingly, letting his tone imply that he’d had many of the same thoughts.

  “Well, you and Daylily were resting,” Uaid said. He turned the jeweler’s glass restlessly between his fingers. “She stayed awake through the darkest hours, and only let herself sleep when I came around. She said to let you rest, that you’d spent the most mana of any of us.”

  “Daylily has always been a generous soul,” Kabot said, “as well as proof that versatility is as valuable as specialization. We’re lucky to have her with us. Let’s let her continue to sleep while we proof Palvalkay against detection. Can you shield me so that my workings won’t provide a beacon?”

  Uaid nodded. “I couldn’t if this were going to be a large working, but my master made certain all his students could provide a small barrier.”

  “Good. I’ll eat another one of these interesting figs while you finish getting Palvalkay out of that lattice. Then we’ll get to work.”

  By the time Daylily was fully rested, not only had Uaid and Kabot released Palvalkay from the lattice and resecured it within a neatly woven ward, they had a much better sense of their new surroundings. The surrounding forested environment was tropical, the plants adapted to a hotter, wetter climate. From their arboreal perch they recognized many brightly colored birds they knew from similar regions in Rhinadei. The ground-dwelling animals they glimpsed included various rodents and lizards; long-limbed, long-tailed monkeys, and a variety of smaller predators, some more feline, others long-bodied and sinuous after the fashion of weasels. At one point a moderate herd of elephants, surprisingly quiet on their enormous feet, passed along the trail, sampling foliage that had been bruised by the humans in their festival procession.

  None of the creatures they had seen were completely unfamiliar. In those long-ago days when powerful magic had ruled, exotic animals were routinely transported from one part of the world to another. Some had not survived the departure of their human caretakers. Others had adapted astonishing well, even threatening creatures originally native to the land. The same was true of vegetation. Some plants and animals had adapted in peculiar ways. Rhinadei boasted several populations of elephants—including one subgroup that, while mostly the usual shades of grey, also had members whose hides were dusty blue, purple, and maroon.

  After Daylily awoke and “freshened up,” which included turning her hair and eyes from pink and blue to hues of rich green, she examined their surroundings, locating various plants that should be safe for them to eat. With profuse apologies, she stole eggs from the nest of a duck-like creature that fled from her approach. She then found flint and, with the steel of her knife blade, kindled a fire so they could bake the eggs.

  So fortified, the trio set out to find where the procession had taken Teyvalkay. Hours passed, but something—maybe their alien odor—kept the native creatures at a distance. Occasionally, a monkey mocked them. Some of the bird whistles seemed distinctly derisive, but other than these reactions they might have been alone beneath the overarching green canopy.

  They caught the scent of wood smoke before they saw the village. They took to the trees, climbing carefully until they caught a glimpse of a still-distant settlement. Broad stretches of tended fields, liberally interspersed with enormous trees, surrounded a community defined by a wooden palisade. Dark-skinned people moved purposely about tending the fields; herding cattle with long, twisting horns; working at looms; stirring what might have been dye pots; fishing in a nearby river; all busy despite the damp warmth that made Kabot want to curl up and sleep. There was even a group of men moving some trimmed timber with the assistance of a team of elephants.

  Judging the size of the population was difficult because structures were built in the trees in addition to those on the ground. Even the trees out in the fields boasted neat little cottages, although these might have been temporary dwellings for the convenience and safety of the farmers. The wall around the town proper seemed to indicate apprehension regarding the community’s safety, but whether the danger was from other humans or from the abundant wildlife was an open question. Kabot did notice that, as far as he could tell, none of the tree limbs crossed the palisade.

  “It looks like a pleasant enough place,” Daylily said. “I’d bet a tidy sum that the trail we’ve been following ends there. The question is whether or not the artifact is there as well.”

  “We’re definitely going to need to investigate further,” Kabot agreed, “and that’s not going to be easy. We certainly can’t hope to blend into the local population. Even if we worked some sort of disguise spell, I didn’t recognize the language the people were using.”

  “Still,” Daylily said, “we aren’t without resources. Let’s watch for a day or so. Maybe we can find a way to get in without being noticed. Maybe we’ll see the procession leave and can waylay them when they reach somewhere isolated.”

  With her green hair and green eyes, she looked so much like the gentler sort of woodland spirit that her ruthlessness shocked by contrast.

  But she, like you, is a practitioner of the anathema art. Of blood magic. Never forget that, in Daylily, practicality and brutality walk as one.

  The pack that Blind Seer and Firekeeper would be leading into Tey-yo differed slightly from the one they had brought out of Azure Towers. Arasan had confessed that he hadn’t been feeling well for several days, and asked if they would mind if he stayed behind. He assured them that he intended to rejoin their number but “My strengths are in song and ready wit. Neither of these seem as if they will be of much use in the situation Skea and Kalyndra have related.”

  Blind Seer felt relieved. He had been aware for some days that Arasan had been acting oddly—and he hadn’t been able to rid himself of a suspicion that the Meddler might be up to something. This purely physical explanation provided an alternate excuse. Doubtless the trip into Rhinadei had been more difficult for Arasan than he had wanted to admit.

  Arasan’s replacement was to be Kalyndra. Apparently, the humans in Tey-yo spoke yet another language than the ones Blind Seer already understood. Everyone agreed that, if they needed to interact with the local population, resorting to gestures and mime was not the wisest choice. There was also the question of how the local community remembered lighter-skinned peoples, for Tey-yo had held itself somewhat apart from the Old World nations. While there had been trade, there had also been conflict. Kalyndra thought that it would be wise to have at least one of their number be able to blend into the local community. Firekeeper agreed, but took care to caution Kalyndra.

  “Remember, the las
t time you went into Tey-yo,” Firekeeper said, “it not matter that you and Skea were like to the local packs. You were different enough for them to attack, to try to kill.”

  Kalyndra shrugged agreement. “That’s impossible to deny. However, we believe that someone detected us coming through the gate. The plan we now have, where you and Blind Seer will cross after dark to scout, then return for the rest of us if no one is around, may avoid that difficulty.”

  Blind Seer huffed agreement. This travelling by means of gates reminded him too much of when the One Female was denned with pups. No matter how carefully the pack planned, the most securely placed den was vulnerable at its openings. Ranz had asked Wythcombe if there wasn’t a way that he could draw on Kalyndra’s knowledge of Tey-yo to design a transportation spell so they could avoid the gate entirely, maybe even get closer to where Kabot had gone, but the old sorcerer had shaken his head.

  “Even if Kalyndra and I worked in concert, she is as ignorant of the transportation spell as I am of Tey-yo. Additionally, there is the issue of distance. From what I understand, Tey-yo is a tremendous distance from the Nexus Islands. I was wearied enough by creating the spell that took us from where General Merial awaited us to the City of Towers. Even if I did know where we were going, I could not take us from here to Tey-yo, not without a great deal more mana than I have at my disposal.”

  Ranz looked as if he was going to ask if Wythcombe could teach him the transportation spell, but thought the better of it. He’d asked once already, and had been told very firmly that even though he was remarkably skilled for one of his age and education, the spell was far beyond him. Still heady with the praise he’d garnered from construction of the stairway of ice and snow, Ranz had not looked pleased at being reminded that, as of yet, his new teacher considered him a very young hunter.

  Blind Seer was worried about Ranz’s shifting attitudes. When they’d left Wythcombe’s mountain home, the youth had smelled of bright optimism. He’d finally gained the attention of the One of his dreams, attention which he believed would redeem not only him but his disgraced sire. Nor had Laria’s obvious admiration hurt. Although Ranz had not given the least sign of returning Laria’s affections, he was very aware that he was admired and strove to live up to that admiration.