by Kalyn Crowe
Eda leaned forward. "I believe so, yes."
"So Form would pull it out like Abyss pulled the Apex imbuement from those people. I can pull Weaving through people, but a Form seal would only collect a soul if it lost its bond to the body. As you said, it's a self-sustaining imbuement of sorts, the soul. The disks are dead, but the trapped soul is alive."
Eda smiled. "This would follow."
Leyla clapped silently.
Finally, Kepi cooed.
"Also, think of our enemy's motivations." Eda finished her tea. "The human body, not framing Philomena when they did my family? This person wants someone from one of these disks to live again and has found the key is a Weaver."
Conrad came over. "That's a leap."
I looked at the charm. "The office seal is missing Form for a reason."
He nodded.
Eda folded her hands in her lap. "Leaps lead to discovery if one has enough faith to follow through."
"I can't argue." He stood with a chuckle and filled her cup.
I slowly tapped my cup. "Now that I know how to pull it out, how do I get the memory into my head once I take it from the charm?"
Conrad came over and sat beside me. "Don't you think the piece will find its place if you bring it in?"
Kepi picked up the charm in her beak and walked to the edge of the table.
I lifted my hand. "I suppose so."
She dropped the charm in it.
"Remember."
I never pulled a seal through myself before.
From above and the west came red filaments of Form Anima. I curled my fingers inward and tightened each in turn. A cocoon of red spiraled and wrapped the charm.
Kepi watched intently.
I closed my hand.
Brilliant white flashed between my fingers and disappeared the next instant.
Anxiety took hold of my heart, but my mind repeated several images — first, the gate to the train station. Then, the city's walls were behind. The memory slipped down the mountain, stretched through dark trees, and skimmed along a small stream. It stopped at a blue lake.
A gust of wind blew over what I knew as the same stream as it bled into the pool.
This beautiful voice came in and out of focus with the images — a peaceful song.
The melody was the Chimera's song only in the voice from my dream, my sister's voice.
Another memory came.
Ten Chimera chicks all peered upward as my mother sang the full melody.
They blinked and warbled.
My view lifted to two smaller figures in a fluffy nest. One was a dark Chimera chick, much like the others. The other was a tiny thing with a tuft of gold on her head.
Tilly.
My mother scooped her up and transferred her to a little cage of her own. I felt the tears on her cheeks.
Tilly could barely hold her head up, so small, and also so sad.
My mother's voice, close, said, "I'm sorry. There wasn't another way. One day, I'll fix this, I promise."
I blinked my eyes open.
I promise.
The filaments of Form long disappeared from my hand, and I noticed something else: the charm no longer spoke.
A tear hit the table.
The others sat and said nothing.
Kepi seemed the most curious.
I let go of the charm.
It hung around Kepi's neck and glinted in the candlelight but appeared lead, not silver. It was empty now.
I didn't know how to begin. The Counterbalance didn't appear, but I knew it was at the lake. "Well." My voice wavered. "Do we have a map?"
Conrad immediately jogged to a set of drawers and grabbed a long roll of bound parchment. He returned just as quick. Without a word, he slipped off the ribbon.
Eda collected the phylactery scroll.
He laid out the map in its place. He put our cups on the corners.
It showed Nancy's south, the Islands, Midlands, all the way to the borders of the East and the barren Northlands. A large inset in the corner detailed Pinnacle.
I scoured the small bit depicted outside the walls. "There." The tiniest little line, almost a hair, started near the train station's wall. It trailed off into the edge of the inset. "Where does this stream go?"
Eda pulled up her thickest monocle.
Leyla tiptoed to the other side of the table and squinted at the woodlands.
Conrad held his beard back and leaned down. "Into the Wildlands, the area between the East and us."
Kepi cooed.
We all looked at her.
I said, "It's there."
"You saw it?" Leyla leaned forward.
"No, the way to it. I feel like if I go where she showed me, the rest of the way will reveal itself." I wiped the tear on the table. It already soaked into the unfinished wood. "The Chimeras, as little chicks were in the memory, with a focus on Tilly. The song." I paused as a strange urge took hold. "I have to bring her."
He gave me a long look, but Conrad said, "How far is it?"
"To the valley, a lagoon or lake of some sort."
He ran his finger over the minuscule snake of a stream until it hit the nearest peaks' foothills. "I'd say," he said and checked the scale. "About three days hike to the low arch of mountains downstream." He leaned down more. "I don't see a lake, but the stream ends. At least, on the map."
"The trek is not our primary concern." Eda looked over us. "We have pressed our luck navigating this city already. Security will not let them out of the walls, especially Tilly." She waved toward her and Rhys, who still slept by Odion.
Conrad sighed. "Are you sure about Tilly?"
"I am, why else attach her to the memory?" I said.
"In case Philomena needed to forget about her." Eda folded her hands.
"True, but I didn't learn anything, so she didn't forget anything specific. At least I'm guessing that's how it works."
"A safe assumption," she said warmly.
Conrad looked frustrated, but not at me. "I would have gone with you. I promised to follow your lead when the time came."
Our eyes met.
He said, "Now with Gunnar's arrest, they are looking for us. Eda is right; I can't get you out of the city. I must stay behind again. I'm sorry."
I didn't know what to say.
"As long as we can hide here, you have the chance to get out with Tilly and Kepi." He sighed. "Everyone else is too recognizable."
Leyla's golden glow caught my eye. "I'm not. I've looked down my whole life; no one recognizes me. The prison break proves it."
Eda stroked a stay lock of hair over Leyla's shoulder.
Something deep down, something old but new, warned me not to bring her or any human, except one. It told me I could trust the Templar Apprentice with my life, and his own.
Rhys snapped his eye shut.
"You're listening," I said.
Tilly peeked over and did the same thing he had.
"Both of you."
He smirked and opened his eyes. "They aren't looking for me, remember?"
Tilly warbled.
Their weird connection, he was too young to know her before, so what was it?
I jumped as a hand touched mine. "Oh, Leyla, I'm sorry. I got lost in my thoughts."
She tried to smile. "You should rest. We can think of a plan tomorrow."
"She's right. Get some sleep." Conrad walked over near the bunks and took a bedroll out of another trunk.
Eda collected the journals and scroll. "We will have a good breakfast and get to it."
Conrad itched his nose and stared long at the red chest that once held my mother's jacket. He frowned a bit and nodded.
✽✽✽
I woke to a set of black eyes. "Good morning."
Kepi blinked.
Then a flash of gold sparked beside them. "You're up! Fruit and bread are on the table. Eda brought a big wedge of blue cheese, too." Leyla bent over my head. Her hair hung around me.
It still smelled like flowers.
"Sounds great."
Everyone else sat around the table except Rhys. He cut wedges of an apple and fed them to Tilly. "Don't lay an egg now." He held back the slice.
She glared.
I said, "She's going to bite you."
"No way, she loves me." He gave it to her and then the rest of the apple to Odion.
Kat cleared a spot beside her. "Conrad says, you know where to go for the Grand Counterbalance." She gave me two slices of bread. "I won't question. Eat. The fruit is over here, oh, and eat this." She put a hunk of cured meat on my plate.
I looked at it.
"Eat it."
I looked at her.
"It's that or eggs."
Conrad cleared his throat.
I stuck the nearest fork in the meat chunk and bit it.
Eda stopped mid-step and sighed. "Mere, I must apologize. Had we known."
Kat and Gunnar both looked confused.
Leyla's face pinched tight in a mix of near laughter and almost sick.
"They can make you feel pretty bad if you aren't used to them." Rhys came over. "By pretty bad, I mean crazy sick like you can't decide whether to sit or kneel, right Mere?"
Gunnar stopped chewing his food and gulped.
I squinted at him but nodded.
"Good then." Conrad cut off a piece of cheese. "Good cheese." He smiled. "Want some, Mere?"
"Please."
Rhys nudged me.
Eda glanced at him and squinted the slightest bit. "Rhys, you seem to handle the Chimeras quite well. How long have you worked with them?"
"Thanks, and since my apprenticeship started a few years back."
Gunnar said, "He's good with all animals, reads them well. Something my master said I lacked and made up for with plain hard work." He jabbed his fork at Rhys. "This one has it easy."
He tilted away and said, "It's Tilly. She's helped me learn tells. Her eyes are expressive, like a person's." He smiled at her and back toward us.
Eda nodded. "Yes, the boy is very astute. If you do get rid of him, I would be interested in continuing his training myself." She took a small bite of bread.
Gunnar deflated some. The thought of Rhys as no longer his apprentice must have become a bit too real.
Rhys looked a bit interested in the idea contrary to yesterday.
Tilly stalked up to his side and gave him big puppy dog eyes.
He scratched her head. "Don't worry. We'll always have each other's backs."
I smiled to myself. Rhys and Gunnar researched the Chimeras for Tilly.
I looked at Leyla. She happily fed Kepi a sugar cube.
"Let's get down to it." Conrad wiped his mouth.
After a big gulp, I said, "So what we talked about last night." I looked at Kat. "I know it makes it more difficult, but I have to bring Tilly."
She nodded but didn't reply.
Gunnar also listened.
"And she has to bring me." Rhys raised his finger in the air and then pointed to himself.
Leyla leaned in and said, "And me."
Conrad frowned. "You'll each need a reason."
"That's easy." Rhys reached over and picked at Conrad's cheese. "Tilly is going to my family's farm as reparation for my horrible training."
Gunnar's expression became a near mirror of Conrad's; they both were aghast. Conrad at his cheese, Gunnar at Rhys.
I said, "Or maybe you volunteered to help find Gunnar and bring him to justice?"
Rhys leaned back in his chair. "Why not both? Both give us a reason to leave the city through the station, somehow. It's a less suspicious way for us to leave than on foot into the mountains. The Order wouldn't send three people and a Chimera that way for anything."
Kat crossed her arms. "The two Ladies are secretly the strike team for Gunnar. You would pursue the investigation at the stations along the way to the Fortier farm. For time's sake, you would take the Sleigh." She winked at me.
I grinned. "We'll need tickets." I looked at Conrad.
Eda said, "We can forge them."
"All right." Rhys looked way too excited.
I leaned on the table. "Eda, is there a way out of the city through the station? The path starts right outside the walls. We can't ride the train."
Leyla said, "It needs to look like we are, though."
"We have little rain here, but there are drains in the lowest parts of the walls, including the Sleigh tunnel." Eda thought for a moment. "I believe they are about every six car lengths."
"Each Sleigh cabin has an escape hatch under the carpet. Maintenance may still see you, so watch for them, and be careful of the horses." Conrad drummed his fingers on his forearm.
Kat left the table and brought her coat from her bed area. "A templar, an invoker, and a hunter." She gave the jacket to Leyla.
"So that makes me the invoker?" I said.
"You have the proper jacket." Kat pointed to my mother's.
It hung beside my bedroll on a peg. "But it's a Weaver one."
She rotated one of the rings on her fingers. "Mustard."
"I'm sorry?"
Gunnar looked up at her. "Kat?"
"Mustard. It's an older style coat. The trims weren't always metallic. Mere can get it cleaned after." She lifted a small clay pot from the shelf and looked at me.
"An Apexist would make sense to take a Chimera out of the city." Rhys checked for my reaction. "At least if the guards don't think too hard."
"They won't," said Gunnar.
"Let's make an Apexist jacket then." I sighed.
Conrad tapped the table in rhythm with his nod. "Yes, this can work, but two things."
I waited for him to go on.
"With Kepi along, the scan won't give away you're a Weaver, but I would suggest she allow the Form ring to see you as an Apexist."
She flicked her tail.
"Can she do that? If she cancels Anima, I'll show up as mundane."
Eda floated her hand near Leyla's scroll. "If she took this along, would the Lady Tempest be capable of showing only this?"
We looked at Kepi.
She cooed.
It seemed impossible, but I had faith in her.
Leyla said, "I'll ramble as Mere passes through with it." She smiled at me.
I tried to smile back. Leyla was so ready to help.
She looked at me with those eyes, but the warmth in my chest didn't come.
Since the charm's memory, I felt almost lost, misplaced.
Conrad smoothed his beard. "Eda, may I have a pen and paper, I should draw them a smaller map."
"Of course, and I will work on those forges with Leyla." Eda whirled around and collected pens and paper.
Conrad said, "The Sleigh leaves this afternoon. We need to catch it."
Everyone set to work. Kat stained my coat, Eda and Leyla sorted card stock and inks, Conrad copied the relevant part of the map. Rhys organized packs for us.
I noticed that Gunnar looked at me. He stood and sat back on his bunk near where Odion rested silent this whole time.
I followed and sat across from him.
He didn't look up, but said, "Remember, you can only fight a limited time. Make it count. Don't get trapped this time. Part of fighting in a team is to trust your people."
I nodded. "I'll trust you to guard Kat, Conrad, and Eda. Odion will stay. Someone could ride for help or a distraction." I looked over. "You'll let them, I hope?"
Odion raised his head and dipped it.
Gunnar echoed his motion. "I'll do as you ask." He kept his eyes down and sighed.
Rhys hurried over to his things and added them to one of the backpacks. "We'll need food, about three days, so a week's worth of light rations I'd say."
"Let me help with that." Gunnar stood and measured out lumps of cheese and portioned meat in the little kitchen.
Would I ever see everyone again?
It wasn't everyone, though, not yet.
Thirteen, she waited out there, alone, with all the answers, for all these years.
26 - To Animate
"All right, we're nearly ready," Conrad said.
Kat finished a few retouches on the coat's trim across the cellar. "Remember, start with compensation for Rhys's training. Then move to the mission to find Gunnar. If you evolve the story, it will satisfy them."
"That's right, and if you seem important, and in enough of a rush, it's amazing how sloppy people become." He studied me with those old hunter eyes. "Come back after all this, all right?"
I sighed; he knew something changed. "It's just, well, I feel like I'm," I squinted at the back of my hand, "well, I can't describe it. I know what to do, but feel lost."
He watched himself fiddle with the corner of the map. "I brought you into this."
"I'm glad you did."
He huffed and chuckled.
"I'm serious. You gave me a chance."
"The chances I give have too often come with prices I never foresaw." He stilled. He looked at the High Hall on the map, at the Maw. "Events, I can't help."
"Can I ask you something personal?"
"Go on."
"Your wife, she fought for Eda and against Inquisition in general. She must have been fearless to go against the council and fight in Abyss."
He rubbed his nose.
"Did they find her?"
"Her body, you mean? No. She is in the mass memorial as an engraving only."
"To not have seen her, I mean, how can you know she's gone?"
"I knew in my heart before they told me." He swallowed. "Years later, my mind still wants to reject it." He chuckled at himself.
"It might be the other way around."
He looked at me and waited.
"Your heart knew she passed, but maybe doesn't feel she's gone, it could be only your mind understands that part. So, it's always trying to explain the impossible to your heart."
He blinked away the shine on his eyes and wiped a hand over his face. "You know, they named Tilly after Matilda."
Kat snapped her attention on him at the sound of the name.
Eda looked over from where she finished Sleigh tickets with Leyla. The monocle dropped from her eye.
Conrad grew a grin. "I haven't spoken her name in years, asked others not to. Your blasted mother named Tilly to try to get me to change." He took a deep breath. "Her name means 'mighty in battle.' Tilly has already lived up to her namesake."