“It was worth a try. You’re the hero of this adventure, after all.”
“Stop saying that. You’re not helping anything.”
“I’m making you laugh.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Maybe you’re laughing on the inside.”
“Now is not the time for your nonsense,” Aislin said firmly, echoing something her mother had said to her many times.
Randel held up one finger. “I disagree completely. I’m terrified, sore, tired and also very, very scared. That means it’s the perfect time.”
“You said terrified and very scared. They mean the same thing.”
“Not to me.”
“It would be better if you stopped talking.”
“Before I stop, can I ask one thing? Can you tell how far away the Devourers are?” The sun was close to rising. The road was deserted in both directions.
“They aren’t closer than they were last night,” Aislin said.
“That’s good. Maybe I’ll change very, very scared to just very scared.”
They rode most of the day in silence. Randel pushed the mare as hard as he dared, always aware of their pursuers. Around midday they encountered a small merchant wagon train that was stopped for a break. When Randel headed for them, Aislin asked him what he was doing.
“I want to ask them about Karliss. Maybe they’ve seen him. Also, I think we should warn them about the Devourers.”
“They’re going to think you’re crazy.”
“Probably. But I have to try.”
Aislin didn’t reply. She retreated back into herself.
Randel reined the mare to a halt by the lead wagon, where a man wearing a large, floppy hat was inspecting the harness. The man looked up at them. “Something I can help you with?” he asked.
“Maybe,” Randel said. “We’re looking for our brother. His name is Karliss. Have you seen him?”
The man scratched his chin. “Could be. What’s he look like?”
Randel froze. “Um…he’s from Sertith?”
The man squinted at him suspiciously. “He’s your brother, and he’s from Sertith?”
“It’s a long story,” Randel said weakly.
“I’m sure it is. No, I ain’t seen him.” The man went back to checking on the harness.
“This is going to sound kind of crazy,” Randel ventured. The man turned back to them. His expression said he wasn’t going to put up with much more of their foolishness. “There’s some…people chasing us. Not really people. They’re big, with white skin.” The man looked openly hostile now, and Randel faltered. That’s when Aislin got tired of it all and decided to get involved.
“They’re called the Devourers. You better stay away from them. Hide or something. They might kill you.”
The man glowered at them. “Are you threatening me?”
“No, sir,” Randel said quickly.
“What kind of nonsense are you on about then? Big men with white skin? Devourers?”
“They’re not men,” Aislin said. “They’re from the Abyss.”
“The Abyss, huh? Is that somewhere south of Qarath?”
“No,” Randel said. “It’s…” He winced. “Kind of like another world.”
“I don’t have time for this. I don’t know what you’re playing at, and I don’t care.” The man was wearing a long dirk strapped to his side, and he put his hand on the hilt. “Move along now.”
“But you—” Randel began.
“I said, move along.”
“I told you,” Aislin said as they rode away.
“We had to try,” Randel said. He looked back over his shoulder at the wagon train. The man was staring after them. “I hope they’re going to be okay.”
“It’s their fault if they’re not,” Aislin grumbled.
They rode until dark, and then Randel brought the horse to a halt. “I think we should stop. She’s getting pretty tired,” he said, patting the mare on the neck. She’d stumbled several times already. “Can we do that? Are they far enough behind us?”
“I think so,” Aislin said. “I can’t sense them anyway. But I don’t want to stop here. Couldn’t we find another farm?”
“I haven’t seen one since this afternoon. I don’t think there are any out here.”
“Let’s ride a little bit further then. Maybe we’ll find something. I’m hungry.” They’d finished the little bit of food the old woman gave them.
They continued on. The moon rose and climbed into the sky. Finally, up ahead, they saw the light of a fire.
“I hope whoever that is will let us share their camp,” Randel said.
“I’m not going to talk to them. I don’t feel like talking to a stranger.”
“You let me handle that. Talking is something I can do.”
They rode up to the fire, Randel calling out before they got there so as not to alarm the man sitting beside it.
It was an older man they found camped there, a mule hobbled off to the side, a pot hanging over the flames. He was bald but made up for it by having a thick fringe of white hair jutting from his jaw. He jumped to his feet when Randel called out, and was standing there, holding a hammer in one hand and staring at them suspiciously, his thin-lipped mouth drawn down in a frown.
Then his gaze fell on Aislin, and his demeanor changed completely. He lowered the hammer. His frown turned into a smile, and his eyes lit up. “Who is this, then?”
Aislin stared at him without replying. She was confused. One moment he was angry looking, and the next he was smiling. She hated when people did that. It didn’t make sense.
“She’s Aislin, and I’m Randel.”
“Welcome to my humble camp, Aislin and Randel. I’m Dav.” He tossed the hammer behind him and showed them his empty hands. “What I have isn’t fancy, but I’ll share. Are you hungry? You look hungry.” He rummaged through his gear and produced two extra bowls, which he began filling with beans from the cook pot. “It’s only beans. That’s mostly what I eat. They’re cheap, which is good when you don’t have much money like me.”
They took the bowls and sat down to eat.
“I have to know,” Dav said. “What are the two of you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?”
Aislin turned her face down, letting Randel respond. Randel said, “We’re looking for our brother.”
“That’s a good reason. Where does your brother live?”
“We don’t know,” Randel said. “That’s why we’re looking.”
Aislin noticed he didn’t say Sertith this time. Maybe this man wouldn’t act like they were crazy.
“It’s a big world. You must have some idea where to start. Unless you plan to wander around and hope for dumb luck.”
“He lives in a village.” Aislin gave Randel a look when he said that. Even she knew that wasn’t a very good answer.
Dav chewed his lip while he looked them over. Aislin thought he didn’t look so friendly anymore, but she couldn’t be sure. “What’s the name of the village? Could be I know where it is.”
Randel hesitated. Aislin knew he didn’t know the name of any villages out here, any more than she did. So, she blurted out the only village name she knew, the name of the village where she used to live with her mother. “Seaside.”
Dav scowled a little. “Never heard of it. Be strange to find a village called Seaside way out here, so far from the sea and all.”
Randel forced a little laugh. “Well, it’s a strange little village. From what I hear anyway.”
Dav’s face hardened. “I’ve gone and shared my food with you, welcomed you to my camp. The least you owe me is the truth, don’t you think? You look like two people in trouble. That much I can tell. I’m not a fool. Don’t treat me like one.”
Randel looked at Aislin. He looked like he was asking her something. Suddenly tired of pretending, Aislin said simply, “The Devourers are chasing us.” She pulled the key fragment out of the front of her dress and showed it to Dav. “They want this.” Randel hissed a warning a
t her as she did so, but she ignored him. This man was confusing, but she wasn’t afraid of him. If he tried to take the fragment, he’d be sorry.
Dav’s hostility disappeared. He stared at the fragment in surprise. “What is that?”
“It’s part of a key,” Aislin said.
“It doesn’t look like a key. What does it go to?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you steal it?”
“No,” Aislin said. “They’re the ones who are trying to steal it.”
“The Devourers.”
“Yes.”
“Who are the Devourers?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I do.”
“I don’t like it,” Aislin said.
“Some people don’t. But I don’t let that stop me. I’m a…historian of sorts. I seek out things other people have forgotten.” He pointed to a bulging leather sack lying nearby. “That’s filled with books I’ve collected here and there.”
“Nothing in there about how to outrun Devourers, is there?” Randel asked. “That would be handy.”
“No. Unless they’re referred to by a different name. Do you know any other names for them?”
Randel looked at Aislin, who shook her head.
The man leaned forward. “You don’t know what the key is for. You don’t know much about who’s chasing you. What do you know?”
“Not much,” Randel admitted. “Except that if they get the key, it will be really bad.”
“Are you really looking for your brother?”
“We’re looking for someone,” Randel admitted, “but he’s not our brother. We need his help to fight the Devourers.”
“No offense, but you two don’t look like you’d put up much of a fight.”
“Not me,” Randel said hastily. “Her.”
The man raised an eyebrow. “If I was anything but an old fool, I’d say you two are spinning a yarn and ignore every word you said. But something tells me you’re not. Something tells me you’re in real trouble. Tell me about it. Maybe I can help.”
Randel looked at Aislin, who shrugged.
“The Devourers came from the Abyss,” Randel said. “They’re really powerful. Strong enough to wipe out Qarath by themselves. We have to stop them. Well, Aislin really. There’s not much I can do.”
“It sounds like you don’t know much.”
“Not really.”
“I wish I could help you, but I never heard of any of these things. I can tell you this, though. If you’re looking for answers to the really hard questions, what you need is a Musician.”
Randel looked confused for a moment, but then he said, “You’re talking about Music, aren’t you? Real Music.” The old man nodded.
“What are you two talking about?” Aislin said. “Real music? What good would a song do?”
“We’re talking about Music,” Randel said. He put emphasis on the word. “Real Music. It’s magic, the best kind.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“Neither do I. No one does. I’ve only heard a Musician play once, back when I was a child. It…did something to me. It changed me. I’ve never forgotten it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Aislin said.
“I can’t explain it to you,” Randel said. “All I can say is that it was incredible. I wanted it to never end.”
“I can’t explain it either,” Dav said. “And I’ve been studying Music for a long time.”
“You’re not…are you a Musician?” Randel asked.
Dav laughed and shook his head. “Far from it, boy.”
“I still don’t understand how a Musician could help,” Randel said. “Don’t they just play to make people feel better?”
“That’s what most people think,” Dav replied. “But in a way, Musicians are also historians. In their songs is captured the story of the world, everything about it, how it smells, how it tastes, how it looks, how it feels. Each song is like a reflection, but one with depth, if that makes any sense. All the forgotten and hidden bits.”
“Which means if we could find one, he might be able to tell us more about the Devourers and the key.”
“That’s what I think.”
Randel frowned. “Too bad they’re almost impossible to find.”
“I don’t want to talk anymore,” Aislin said. “I’m tired, and I want to go to sleep.”
Randel unsaddled the mare and gave her the blanket that was underneath the saddle. Aislin curled up in it and closed her eyes. As she drifted off to sleep, she could hear Dav and Randel still talking.
Chapter 41
Aislin awakened the next morning with the feeling that something was wrong. It took her a moment to place where the feeling was coming from, but once she did, she bolted upright. Randel was curled up nearby, snoring softly. She shook him.
“Wake up! We have to leave. Right now!”
Randel sat up groggily. “What’s going on?”
Aislin was already standing, and she pulled on his arm. “It’s the Devourers. They’re coming. I can feel them. Hurry!”
Randel’s eyes opened wide, and he scrambled to his feet. Dav rolled over and got up too.
“I’m sorry, but we have to leave,” Randel said to him. He put the bridle on the mare and began saddling her. “We have to get out of here. You should go too. Get far off the road and hide. You don’t want to meet them.”
Soon they were headed down the road at a canter. “How far away are they?” Randel asked.
“I don’t know. Not far. Make the horse go faster.”
“I’m trying,” Randel said, “but she won’t do it. I think she’s tired.”
It wasn’t long before the canter turned into a trot. Nothing Randel did made any difference. The mare was clearly exhausted. She kept the trot up for quite a long time, as the sun climbed toward the zenith, but eventually she couldn’t sustain that either, and then she slowed to a walk.
For probably the hundredth time, Aislin turned to look back the way they’d come. Every time she expected to see them back there, and so far every time the road was empty.
But not this time.
In the distance was a small cloud of dust, hanging over the road. Randel saw it too.
“They’re getting closer.” He kicked the mare in the ribs, but it made no difference.
“It’s no good,” Aislin said. “They’re going to catch us.”
“You don’t know that,” Randel said. “Something could happen. We just have to keep going.”
Aislin didn’t argue with him, though she knew he was wrong. There was no getting away. She was going to have to fight them again.
She was going to lose.
The thought made her angry, and she clenched her fists. She wasn’t going to give up without fighting, she knew that much. She needed to find the best spot she could, which meant the place with the most water.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of water out here. The stream that ran beside the road was small and shallow, containing nothing like the power that lay within the depths of the sea. If only she could find a lake at least.
She looked back over her shoulder. The dust cloud was already noticeably closer.
Randel kept trying, but he couldn’t get any more speed out of the mare. She was too run down even to trot. The whole time their pursuers drew steadily closer. For the first time they could see the Devourers and the men following them. They weren’t pushing their horses very hard. Their prey was in sight, and there was nowhere to run.
Up ahead, Aislin saw that beaver had built a dam across the stream, forming a decent-sized pond. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do.
“This is far enough,” Aislin said. “Stop here.”
“What?” Randel asked. “We can’t stop now. They’re right behind us!”
“There’s no way we can get away,” she said.
“You can’t just give up,” Randel said.
“I’m not going to give up. I’m going to fight.�
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She squirmed away from his grasp and dropped to the ground. Randel jumped down too. “If you’re staying, then I am too. I won’t leave you.” He drew his sword.
Aislin looked back down the road. She could see their faces now. It wouldn’t be long. She pushed Randel toward the horse. “You can’t help. You have to go.”
Randel shook his head stubbornly. He looked to be near tears. “No. I won’t. I promised your mother I’d stay with you.”
Suddenly, Aislin started yelling and hitting him with her small fists. “I don’t care! You have to go!” When still he refused, she suddenly broke down. “Don’t you see? If you stay, you’ll die. I don’t want to see you die, Randel. I can’t…” Tears were running down her face.
Now Randel was crying too. “It’s not right. I can’t. You’re only a—”
“Don’t say it,” she told him fiercely, smiling a little through her tears. “I’m almost twelve, remember?”
He managed to smile back. “How could I forget? You never let me.”
She pushed him again. “Go, Randel. Get somewhere safe.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For not being a…I don’t know, a hero. I wish I could save you.”
“You can’t. No one can. Now go.”
Reluctantly, Randel climbed onto his horse. “I’m going to stay close.”
“Not too close.”
Randel wiped his eyes. “You can do this. I believe in you.” He nudged the weary mare with his heels and rode away.
Aislin turned to face the oncoming Devourers. She could see their white skin, the tracings of their veins against the whiteness. She touched the key fragment, hanging on its chain, and her jaw clenched.
She would show them that they should fear the sea, even this far from it.
She began drawing Seaforce from the pond, from the stream that fed into it, and the stream that drained away from it. She drew from the water in the soil underfoot, and the water in the air around her.
The air around her began to glow a deep, emerald green.
Chapter 42
“She’s decided to fight,” Fen said. Up ahead they could see the small figure of the girl standing alone in the road. The man was riding away alone on the horse. Fen had been wondering if she would decide to make a stand once it became clear that eventually they would catch up to her.
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