“Is obviously not as fast as you are, Major.”
“Sir?”
He looked over her shoulder.
And she turned to see the Seer trudging over the rise in the path behind them.
The Captain frowned.
“That was not wise, Major. He could have slipped away had he the will. And then, I assure you, I would have had to kill you. I would not have liked that. Really, I would not.”
She said nothing, her ice-blue eyes fixed on the man now approaching them. He stopped before them.
“Captain.”
“Sidi, we need to speak.”
“I thought as much. I simply needed to get... away...for a time. The Major was good enough to accompany me.”
“Indeed.” Kirin raised a brow, but inclined his chin. “Now, it’s my turn.”
And the two men turned their backs to the woman, and walked away, into the bright pink dawn of a new morning.
***
And so, it was that day, they passed out of the Phun’jah and into the province of Khanisthan. They made good time during those next days, made good maps during the nights.
There were no more rats. There were no battles, no bandits, no brushes with death. In fact, there were no other remarkable incidents to mar the journey at all, and it seemed they had fallen into an ease with each other that was, Kirin felt, extremely commendable.
Something had happened, however, and some things were happening that, while not openly evidenced, were running swift and strong, dark undercurrents in a still lake. Alliances were being forged, others burned, and a tapestry was taking shape, threads shuttling and weaving in intricate patterns to make a banner of bright color and terrible darkness. There is a saying, ‘All roads lead to Pol’Lhasa.’ Here, the roads had broken, shattered, and were taking vastly different, dizzying directions, but leading slowly, inexorably, to the same terrible place.
They were passing through the glass.
To be continued in Part 2:
“To Walk in the Way of Lions”
by H. Leighton Dickson
http://www.amazon.com/Lions-Tails-Upper-Kingdom-ebook/dp/B008HHPVDO/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1
And if by any chance you enjoyed this novel, I would be honoured if you could leave a review! It makes a difference in the world of Indie publishing!
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To Journey in the Year of the Tiger Page 39