“Teyvalkay?” he said. “Xixavalkay is indeed very close, but I seem to sense Teyvalkay as well.”
“Let me see,” the Voice said, and when she next spoke, she sounded astonished. “That is indeed Teyvalkay. Still distant, but I suspect, I fear…”
“Wythcombe? Again?” Kabot moaned. Because he felt the moan in his chest, he knew that he was waking up. “But how did they find us so quickly?”
Phiona’s voice laughed softly, mockingly. “I can’t say…”
Kabot was about to try coaxing her when excited conversation broke through his awareness and dragged him close enough to the waking world that he lost the sense of her presence. Uaid’s voice…
“Daylily,” Uaid said, trying to sound calm and matter-of-fact and completely failing, “I’d like your opinion on something. Come here, tell me… Well, just tell me.”
Daylily’s footsteps crossing the gritty floor, away from where Kabot lay. Silence, then.
“I felt it, too! The next thread is there, buried in all that rubble.”
“I think there’s a door, too,” Uaid went on, no longer bothering to hide his excitement. “Should we wait for Kabot to come around?”
Kabot forced his sleep-numbed vocal cords to shape words. “No need. I’m awake.”
Three heads turned to look his way. Uaid looked slightly annoyed. Daylily seemed pleased, but the girl, Laria, took an unconscious step away from him. While Kabot himself remained on a blanket to one side of the makeshift camp, the others had moved closer to one of the larger heaps of dirt. Kabot put this together with what he had heard, and understood.
He shoved himself up onto one elbow, then to a sitting position. Palvalkay tingled slightly, as if greeting him.
“So I got us about as close to where we wanted to be as was physically possible,” Kabot said. “We wouldn’t have wanted to arrive underneath all of that.” He waved a hand toward the rubble heap and grinned impishly, inviting them to share the joke. “Right? Uaid, how do you advise we go after the thread?”
Uaid’s expression was extremely neutral, but whether this meant Kabot had offended him by asking him to “advise” rather than take charge, or if he was mentally reviewing his detailed knowledge of earth magics, Kabot couldn’t be sure. The only thing he was sure of was that he couldn’t reassume command sitting on his butt. He pushed himself to his feet, and strode authoritatively over.
“Uaid? Thoughts?”
The earth mage rubbed his fingers in his beard. “From what I felt, the rubble on this side has had a long time to settle, but further in it has been disturbed, perhaps as recently as within the last half year. If we’re not careful, we could bring the ceiling down. My suggestion would be for me to fuse, say, about this much”—he held up a thick forearm and indicated the space between wrist and elbow—“on the top and sides to create a substitute door lintel. Then we can remove the rest of the detritus without worrying we’re going to bring down the ceiling.”
Kabot fought an urge to look up. “You said you thought the farther side of this heap had been disturbed recently. Wouldn’t that have brought this ceiling down?”
“Not necessarily,” Uaid replied pedantically. “From what I can sense, this area”—he swept an arm to indicate the mound of dirt and rubble in front of him, then to the left and back, where there were other, smaller mounds—“are where parts of the upper structure of the building gave. There”—he pointed to the unseen area on the far side of the largest rubble heap—“seems to have maintained integrity. Don’t ask me why. I haven’t had a chance to investigate. If you think it’s wise, I can expend the mana to do so, but…”
He trailed off, almost but not quite, insolent. Kabot wasn’t pleased, but he didn’t dare show it. For some reason, even though Kabot had been the only one of their remaining company with the esoteric knowledge necessary to work a complex transportation spell, Uaid was acting as if Kabot was the least useful of them all.
“And maybe in the present situation that’s true, but this won’t last. Let Uaid get you to Xixavalkay; then you can get the lot of you out of this room before it become a tomb—or a trap. Remember, pursuit is closing.”
Kabot wasn’t certain if the words were his own thoughts or faint whispers from Phiona, but either way, there was no doubting their wisdom.
When they arrived at the low hill beneath which the Hawk Haven gate had been hidden, Firekeeper cleared away the artistic arrangement of stones and deadfall that she had constructed to conceal an opening in the hillside, then lowered the ladder.
“I go first,” she said, “with a lantern. Come down one by one. Blind Seer will guard and come last with Farborn.”
Ynamynet and Kalyndra, who had accompanied them, were among the first down. They stood, eyes wide, examining their surroundings. Even Firekeeper had to admit the room was impossibly lovely. Floor, walls, and ceiling were covered with colorful ornamented tiles that refused to shape any recognizable pattern, yet were somehow all the more lovely for that refusal. The colors were bright: blue, red, yellow, green, orange, just enough black for outlines, just enough white to make the other colors seem more themselves. The gate was invisible within this riot of apparently random color.
“You say that Truth showed you this?” Yanamynet said.
“Truth showed us the hill,” Firekeeper corrected patiently, “and we finded—found—the rest. You know Truth. She is insane, but very wise in some things. “
The two spellcasters nodded. Kalyndra was turning slowly, inspecting the tile with an appreciative eye.
“I’d love to know the story behind this place,” she said. “This close to the Setting Sun Stronghold’s gate, but separate and hidden. There must be a reason.”
Arasan might be shaky on his legs, but his mind was sharp as ever. Once he was off the ladder, he turned to Ynamynet. “I—we—have been thinking about the facility on the other side of this gate. Given that the Old World sorcerers’ public policy was to refuse teaching of any form of magic to the New World colonists unless those with ability returned to the Old World for their education, our theory is that this gate may lead to what was once a secret school for teaching the magical arts in the New World. As Chsss is fond of saying, the first thing that happens when you forbid anything is that someone is going to find a way around it. Conversely, this may not have been a school—or only a school. It could also have been an entry point for smuggled magical materials.”
“Because,” Ynamynet said with a wintery smile, “as soon as you forbid something, someone is going to try to find a way around the prohibition. I need to remind the Nexus Islanders of that next time someone suggests raising tariffs for gate transports because we’re the only game in town.”
Blind Seer leapt to join them, his landing astonishingly silent for such a huge creature. Then he padded over to where the gate was concealed within the tiles. Ynamynet and Kalyndra joined him. The Nexus Island spellcasters had agreed to handle the transitions so that Firekeeper’s little pack would arrive in their new location as fresh as possible. After the others had gone, Ynamynet and Kalyndra would ascend via the ladder and replace the camouflage, leaving the ladder behind. Firekeeper suspected that they would not leave immediately, though, but poke around to see what they could learn. That was fine with her. A secret like this could not be kept forever, so the more they knew, the better.
“Blind Seer and I go first,” Firekeeper said to her pack. “You come quickly after. No standing about talking. Farborn will make sure.”
Then, as one, the wolves stepped forward, melting into silver light and vanishing away.
“Good plan,” Kabot said to Uaid. “What will you need?”
“Mana,” Uaid replied succinctly. When Kabot’s gaze drifted over toward Laria, Uaid added firmly, “That taken from an involuntary donor should be a resort of desperation. You’ve been holding on to Palvalkay like it’s your own private property. Is it?”
It is! Kabot restrained an urge to reach where he had been carrying the fragme
nt close to his heart. He managed an easy laugh instead.
“Not at all. I used it to get us out of Azure Towers, and then in Tey-yo for resonance tracking. Do you want it?” Kabot had to fight to make the offer sound genuine.
Uaid frowned thoughtfully. “Actually, it would be more efficient if you or Daylily used it, then channeled what mana I need. That way I don’t need to split my concentration.”
“I can do that,” Kabot said confidently, “or would you rather, Daylily?”
She shook her head, but her eyes, which she had not changed from the deep green that had so suited Tey-yo, narrowed slightly as if wondering if he had honestly meant the offer. Kabot reminded himself yet again that despite her appearing closer to Uaid in age, she was his senior and more skillful in many forms of magic.
“I think I’d better keep my attention focused outwards,” Daylily said. “I’m already maintaining the lights and water purification.”
And, Kabot realized suddenly, Daylily doesn’t trust me around Laria. One single panicked reaction—and never mind that my quickness kept us from being captured by Wythcombe—and Daylily’s suddenly seeing me as one of the horrors from the grandmother tales of our childhood. She doesn’t just mean to maintain the lights. She’ll be making sure I don’t overreach myself. That’s all right. Let me get my hands on Xixavalkay, and I won’t need her or Uaid either.
Alternative futures burst through Kabot’s imagination like grasshoppers startled from the grass, confusing and distracting him with their momentary reality. What was happening to him? He really was feeling strange. Well, he had been through a lot. Being aware that Wythcombe was closing in once more wasn’t exactly restful.
Should he tell the others about Wythcombe? No. Given their reaction last time, how they’d blamed him, definitely not. Anyhow, knowledge of pursuit wouldn’t benefit their situation. Uaid needed to be meticulous as he shored up the loose rubble, not rushed. Once they had Xixavalkay, they’d be set to go after the final one. Kabot could draw on Palvalkay for mana next time he needed to transport them, not the mana of a panicked hostage. He wasn’t used to that sort of power, full of a stranger’s emotional weight. Doubtless, that explained why he was feeling so frazzled. It might explain why he kept having such odd thoughts. He gave Uaid a confident smile.
“You’ll need time to assemble your spells. While I wait for you to get ready, maybe there’s something I could eat? Then I’ll meditate so I’m ready to offer support. I also wouldn’t mind a chance to change my shirt. It’s a mess.”
Kabot didn’t miss that Daylily exchanged glances with Uaid before moving to her pack. “Since neither you nor Uaid thought to squirrel away any food, we have what was in my bag. It’s not much. We were going to try steaming some cave crickets later.”
“Your foresight is, as ever, appreciated,” Kabot said. “Let’s hope we’re far from here before we need to dine upon your undoubtedly excellent insect-based cuisine.”
Kabot ate, then—after he had changed out of the shirt caked in Laria’s dry blood—composed himself for meditation. He strengthened his link to Palvalkay, certain he could sense Xixavalkay quivering in response. Kabot wondered if he could use Palvalkay to pull Xixavalkay from under the rubble, but when he tried an experimental tug, Xixavalkay remained firmly buried.
“Ready, Kabot?”
Uaid’s words startled Kabot from his trance. Smiling confidently, he shoved himself to his feet, gave Daylily a bow of thanks for the meal, and then walked briskly to the rubble heap. A quick blending of drops of blood let him and Uaid intertwine their mana far more quickly than if they’d had to resort to the tedious dances or songs commonly used in Rhinadei. To guard against Uaid catching the disturbing emotional eddies Kabot still felt swirling through him, Kabot focused hard on assisting Uaid with the intricacies of his spellcrafting. As he immersed himself in meshing sand and dirt so it fused into crystal and rock, Kabot found his appreciation for Uaid rising.
Once Kabot knew precisely how much mana Uaid required, Kabot sent out a spell of his own, a thin tendril that sought to find, then analyze, Xixavalkay. As he probed, he found himself wondering why Xixavalkay was so much weaker than Palvalkay. Initially, he had thought this must be because it had been warded, as Palvalkay had been. Under closer examination, he revised his assessment. The full power was present, but cloven in twain, apparently by something made of iron. Kabot shied away from iron’s dangerous taint, then cautiously returned to his probing. The image he built from these quick, careful probes was so fascinating that he almost forgot to maintain the mana flow to Uaid.
Kabot was drawing breath to suggest that they take a break, so he could share his insights, when without warning a shape erupted from the shifting soil and lunged toward him. The human-sized figure moved stiffly, but with a daunting sense of purpose. Instinctively, Kabot stumbled back. Only in grandmother tales did a surprised sorcerer instantaneously launch forth a bolt of lightning or ball of fire. Such attacks took preparation.
What saved Kabot was not his skill, but that Uaid had not finished stabilizing the rubble. The unstable rubble to the left side of the mound shifted, crashing into the moving figure and reburying it—although, judging from the upheaval within the dirt and debris—not for long. Interwoven within his uncompleted spell, Uaid stood as if he himself had become stone. Tumbling to the uneven floor, Kabot grabbed Uaid around the waist and hauled him back.
Caught as he had been within both his own and Uaid’s spell workings, Kabot hadn’t really looked at how Uaid’s earth magic was transforming their surroundings. Now he assessed them at a glance. Uaid had used his magic to sort the heavier, denser material—stone, bricks, chucks of masonry—from the lighter earth. Then he had fused the heavier materials into a new wall that reinforced and, in some places, completely replaced the walls that had been there before. The lighter dirt had been shifted toward the center, where it was piled beneath a newly created arched doorway. It was from this pile of dirt that something had erupted.
Something, Kabot thought, that has Xixavalkay within it. Something that, for some reason, views us as trespassers.
A whimsical thought—Phiona’s perhaps—wisped through Kabot’s mind, noting that they were, in fact trespassers, but Kabot had neither time nor energy to spare for whimsy. The attacking whatever was digging its way out, revealing something human in shape. No human, though, had ever had skin the polished grey of granite, nor eyes without pupil, iris, or white, but that instead cycled with stomach-twisting randomness through all the colors of the gem and mineral-rich earth.
The figure rose and waded forward through the loose dirt: a stocky stone man clad in arcane attire of the more practical sort, such as was used on Rhinadei for field magecraft: trousers tucked into boots, a loose shirt, a vest with many pockets, all ornamented with elaborate runes. The “fabric” of the shirt’s breast had been ripped open, revealing a hole rimmed in what seemed to be dry blood. Within the hole throbbed a mana-rich light that Kabot knew was Xixavalkay. The stone man grasped a staff in his hands like a fighter but, from how mana pulsed down its length, Kabot felt certain that the stone man could use the staff as more than a bludgeon.
It was that last that made Kabot leap at the stone man. Kabot wasn’t built like a brawler, but anyone who dreamed of earning prestige by healing Rhinadei’s corrupted frontier needed to know how to defend himself. Disarming an opponent was a key to defense. Kabot soared forward, pleased that despite decades in stasis his muscle memory retained the proper moves. He continued to feel pleased until he struck his target, discovering that the man-shaped figure didn’t only look as if it was made of stone, it felt like it as well.
Pain vibrated up his nerves. Kabot sprang back, muscles throbbing. His confidence had taken a hit, too. Behind him, Uaid was muttering; through the remnants of their blood link, Kabot felt Uaid shaping a working. The mound of dirt flattened and leveled, moving as iron filings spread on a sheet of paper do when a magnet is moved beneath. Kabot immediately understood why Uai
d was clearing the loose dirt away. The stone man moved through dirt as easily as a swimmer did through water. Uaid was, quite literally, putting their confrontation on an even footing.
“How about ‘Leveling the playing field?’” suggested the voice that might be Phiona’s. “I suggest you hurry. You’re running out of time.”
Kabot thought that Phiona meant Wythcombe and his weirdness of retainers, then he heard Uaid say in a tone that throbbed with true love found, “I want this next thread for me.”
“Fine,” Kabot said, lying easily, “but first we’re going to need to get it away from that thing that’s using it as its heart.”
The gate carried Firekeeper and Blind Seer into a walk-in storage closet. This was adjacent to a large room which—judging by the slate boards that lined the walls, the long tables, and the speaker’s podium—had probably been used as a classroom. Before the wolves had departed, they’d closed the door between the closet and the classroom, as well as the one that led into the outer foyer. When they opened door between closet and classroom, Blind Seer’s ears pricked, and Firekeeper nodded in soundless acknowledgement.
As each of the others made the gate transition, Firekeeper held up her hand in the agreed upon sign for “silence.” When the last—Farborn—arrived, she turned so that her followers could see her face, then said very softly, “Listen. Even human ears should hear it. Someones is out there, someones who are fighting.”
She saw the humans freeze. Unsurprisingly, it was Arasan, ever sensitive to sound, who nodded immediate comprehension. Ranz and Wythcombe moved carefully to the door, took turns pressing their ears to the keyhole. Farborn landed on Blind Seer’s back and waited.
“When we open the door,” Firekeeper said, choosing her words with care, “we will be in the middle of whatever is making that noise. No time for chatter. Blind Seer smells human scents but blurred, so he not know how many or who. You remember the map we drawed you of what is out there? Trouble sounds to the right. We wolves will go. Follow carefully or wait to see where best you help. No shame in either.”
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