by Dana Davis
She longed to be a slumberer just to visit with Ved’nuri. She missed the formidable woman. She also needed advice about Pim. The errant girl had become Cass’s confidant of late but there was still the matter of Shon’s claim to ownership. The horrid middling tried to coerce Pim with claims that she’d gone to his bed willingly and was still his wife by Rights of Consent, an archaic law many villages in Tandiar Province still followed. The errant girl turned her anger on him numerous times, despite Finlor’s orders to keep away from the wretch.
The girl still had some training to go through before the Elders would allow her to take oaths to the Goddess, and she was treated very much like a youngling by Siri and the other mothers. By Goddess law, any marriage to a middling was void unless the middling became a Gypsy servant, and then the vows would be renewed if both agreed. Some parted ways once they took the oaths but most remained together.
Saldia didn’t blame the errant girl her anger and confusion. Pim admitted she’d lain with Shon but only to save her from whatever evils Sureyah had threatened. Saldia thought Shon’s treatment of the girl no better than rape. Tsianina stayed close to Pim, as well, which probably had something to do with her own experiences with Lombreeth. Shon now spent his days tied to one of the wagons, and Xiath finally had him gagged, which seemed to please the entire group.
But poor Pim still had to look upon the flea-ridden snake. Adelsik reported the girl’s nightmares to Wren, Haranda and Lyssinya, and they had asked Saldia and Cass to talk with Pim about their own experiences, since they knew how difficult purging nightmares could be. Saldia had once run from Ved’nuri just so she wouldn’t have to face her own dreams. That seemed like another era. Things had changed so much.
Sureyah avoided being tied up but Siri, Gwen, and one of the Sages took turns keeping her bound and as useless as the old middling woman she appeared to be. Her frail body was racked with stiffness and her fingers as crooked and knotted as some of the branches on Eletha’s trees. That didn’t seem to get Siri’s compassion, though, and the Elder, who still wore the Azure Amulet, put Sureyah on laundry duty each day as temporary punishment, until her trial with the Elders. Sureyah still insisted that Cholqhuin needed to be raised and The Betweens would experience the same disasters that had devastated other areas. Her claims made sense but Saldia didn’t trust the errant woman as far as she could spit.
Cass passed on the way to the water barrel for the third time, cursing all the while. She had argued with Xiath about keeping Shon alive. Saldia had never seen her former clan sister so livid, not even when she had attacked Adelsik for walking in her dreams. The truth-seeker kept one hand on her belt knife whenever she got within ten paces of the awful middling. He seemed amused by her, but Saldia knew Cass would gut him if given the chance.
“They should’ve been here by now,” Gwen said.
Saldia studied her. “We would hear from the Vedi if something went wrong.” Gwen paced with her step to step and caused her to chuckle. She stopped and gazed at the other woman. “We’re going to give Gypsies a comical legacy if we continue this.” She motioned to the worn trail of grass the two had made.
Gwen looked back and grinned. “Yes.” She dropped onto a large rock and glanced at Henny as the girl ran past on some errand. “I’m glad there are only two younglings now. My patience isn’t what it used to be.”
Saldia chuckled and took a seat next to her on the hard stone. “You sound like an old woman, Gwen. Neither of us will be teaching for quite a while.”
“Yes, I know.” She sighed and Saldia studied her. “But I’m not certain whether I’ll have any patience left by then. Xiath seems to think I’ll be wonderful in front of a class. I’m not certain I even want to teach.”
“Adsagwen Becumarhod,” Saldia said in mild shock. “I’m surprised at you. You were always so confident as a class assistant.” The woman managed to get lessons across in a manner few teachers could.
Gwen flipped several red braids over her shoulder, causing the silver bangles to tinkle. “That was a play-act, as Pim would call it. I get nervous as a chicken around a hawk when I have to assist. You think I have a choice in the matter? You’ve read your new-oathed scroll. We’re expected to assist whether we take up teaching or not. Xiath and the others wouldn’t tolerate me if I whined in front of younglings.” She smiled to reveal a single crooked tooth among a mouthful of straight ones.
Saldia shook her head but couldn’t help the smirk that found her lips. Gypsies had standards when it came to behavior, especially in front of younglings. Gwen acted so confident she never would have guessed the woman’s fears.
Shouting caught her ears and she bolted to her feet, with Gwen up just a heartbeat before. Both watched as Haranda and Lyssinya argued yet again. Those two had been at each other periodically since they reached Hunter Forest and had heated arguments everyday since. Lyssinya seemed as faithful to the Sages as Haranda was to Gypsy kin, and neither budged when it came to their beliefs, which were the same as far as Saldia could tell, since the oaths for both groups were nearly identical.
Lyssinya had a few years on Haranda and was strong in slumbering Energy, but the Gypsy made it a point to remind her that she wasn’t among Sages here. The previous day, they’d gone back and forth on that matter until Elder Siri stepped in and threatened them both. Lyssinya seemed just as afraid of the angry Elder as Haranda was.
Saldia wanted to shake them both when she saw that Henny had made her way back from her latest errand and stood not five paces away, eyes wide and mouth dropped.
“If those two keep that up,” Gwen uttered, “they’re likely to cause a storm of their own.”
Saldia nodded and glanced around but there were no Elders close by. Siri had gone to the back of one of the wagons with Adelsik and Wren to induce sleep and contact Ved’nuri. Why Lyssinya wasn’t with them, Saldia could only wonder. The other Gypsies and Sages were busy with one task or other. Gwen was older than Saldia, she wasn’t as strong in the Energy, which made them equals. Saldia sighed as she made her way toward the arguing women.
“Oh, you’ll do this my way, Lyssinya.” Haranda’s face had reddened and her eyes flashed. “I don’t care if you’ve brought several of your own Sages with you.” Disdain touched her voice at the word Sages. When a newly oathed servant stepped forward as though intent on saying something, she gave him a hard gaze. The man briskly moved back to his chores.
“I won’t put up with your orders, Haranda.” Lyssinya had thumbs tucked into her belt and her eyes narrowed on the Gypsy. “You’ll show respect to me and my kin.”
“I’ll show respect when you earn it. When you take the oaths.”
“I’ve sworn my oaths to the Great Goddess.”
Saldia’s own nerves were on edge and her skin prickled with the tension these two gave off. With one hand, she latched onto Henny and raised her voice. “You must have something better to do, youngling.”
Henny smirked and shook her head. “This is quite entertaining.”
Haranda and Lyssinya turned and both clamped their lips shut at the sight of Henny.
Saldia gave Henny a hard stare. “Get on with you, youngling. Or I’ll have Taniras find a use for you.” Henny fled. Saldia turned on the two women and crossed her arms, not caring that both outranked her and Haranda had been her clan mother. The Goddess only knew what was going on in the woman’s skull. She decided to speak quickly before either got their wits and called her down. “You two are giving me a headache. Not to mention embarrassing everyone around. If you don’t find a way to get along, I will beg Elder Siri to report you to Ved’nuri. I’m certain she’ll be very interested to know the example you present in front of younglings.”
She let her gaze shift between the two, keeping her eyes hard and gave her best impersonation of Ved’nuri. What she didn’t expect were the requests for forgiveness both uttered and she fought to keep the amazement from her face. “I accept your apologies. But don’t think you’ve gone unnoticed by anyone here.”
The two glared at each other and made excuses about chores. Lyssinya went to join the other Sages while Haranda marched in the direction of Siri’s wagon.
Taniras caught up with Saldia. “What did you say to them?”
She offered a nervous smile. “Something I’m surprised didn’t get me smacked by both.” Her hands trembled now and she pressed them to her sides as she counted seven kin pass by.
“I’m impressed.” Taniras grinned.
“Thank you.” She abandoned her counting. “But I wager my boots they’ll be at it again before sundown. Any luck with the wolves?”
“They’re frightened. Something else is wrong besides this whole Cholqhuin affair. If only I could get a clear image from them. Every time I try, they get so afraid they shut me out.” Black eyes met Saldia’s. “Pack memories go back many generations, possibly to the beginning of their kind. There’s not much that frightens them.”
Her words unnerved Saldia but she didn’t let that show. Too many in these combined quests had succumbed to the rigors of the past few weeks. Someone had to keep a level head. She placed a hand on her former clan sister’s shoulder. “I have every confidence in you, Taniras. The Goddess has entrusted you as the singer. You’ll find a way to get the information we need.”
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t come too late.” Taniras turned on her heels and set off toward a lone rock, probably to try communing with the pack again.
Eletha let out a shrill cry. Trees were sparse in The Betweens and those that survived here were very old with unnaturally gnarled trunks. Saldia spotted the little woman in one of the great trees and ran that direction, along with many others.
Xiath made it there first and gazed up. “Eletha! What is it?” The treewalker cried out again and Xiath started up the trunk.
Pim ran to him and grabbed his large arm. “I climb good. That a fact.”
He nodded and she took off up the tree. She wasn’t as fast as the treewalker but must have been climbing since early childhood. She moved slower on the smaller branches but finally reached Eletha and wrapped arms around the little woman. Saldia couldn’t make out what the two said but her gut felt tight. Whatever had happened, it already rattled what was left of her frayed nerves. Siri, Wren, Haranda and Lyssinya finally made it to them. Tension pricked at Saldia like a thousand biting ants.
“Come down,” Xiath said. “Both of you.”
The two started down the tree, slowly, with Eletha in tears. Once on the grasses, the treewalker sat on her heels, hugged the gnarled trunk, and wept. Haranda and Wren squatted as the mind-healer rubbed Eletha’s back to calm her.
Once the tears stopped, Eletha regained enough of her voice to tell them what had happened. “I saw through this tree.” She stroked it absently, like a small child who needed the comfort of her mother’s touch. “They’re gone. All of them.”
“Who are gone, Eletha?” Haranda wiped the little woman’s tears with a crying cloth from her sleeve.
“The trees. All of them.”
She wasn’t making sense. Saldia glanced around and saw the forests along Tandiar River in the distance. She also saw greenery atop the Twin Mountains to the south.
“Eletha, look at me.” Wren’s white, looped braids swung with her head movement. “What trees are you talking about?”
“That way.” One skinny arm pointed to the northwest.
“Hunter Forest?”
“No. Beyond.” Eletha’s blue eyes became distant as she placed her small palm on the gnarled trunk again. Everyone waited for what seemed an eternity before she finally spoke again. “Near the dead water. There is—was—a small forest. Darkness, disease. Trees infected.” She spoke as though the story was passed down through a chain of people, much like a game Saldia remembered from childhood. “No cure. All the trees dead. Horrible!” She wailed and clung to the tree again.
“This has to do with elemental magic.” Haranda spoke to Wren. “I’m certain of it.”
Saldia agreed with her former clan mother. Whatever had happened had thrown everything out of balance. She glanced at Sureyah, still bound and with an armload of wash. The woman looked just as distraught as everyone else.
Wren started to take the treewalker in her arms when Brak stepped forward and crouched low to the ground. Eletha clung to the large man. He lifted her as though she were a doll in his large arms and carried her toward one of the makeshift tents.
Wren stood and watched a heartbeat then turned to the crowd. “Things are worse than we thought.” Her gray eyes found Haranda then Siri and Lyssinya. “We need to have another talk with Ved’nuri. Tonight.” She didn’t wait to hear their answers before she turned on her heels and marched toward a retreating Xiath.
“Come with me,” Haranda said to Saldia.
Oh, no. Here it comes. I’ll be up to my elbows in laundry for an entire moon cycle. She followed nervously. Taniras gave her a sympathetic gaze. Haranda led her to one of the improvised tents and stopped just outside.
The Gypsy turned and faced Saldia, her face unreadable. “About what happened earlier. I appreciate your interference.”
She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “You’re welcome,” she said slowly, not certain what Haranda wanted from her.
The Gypsy chuckled. “I’ve acted such a fool around that woman. She gets my hackles up. I don’t know why.”
“Because she’s a lot like you.” Haranda narrowed eyes on Saldia and she held her hands up in defense. “I tell the truth, Haranda. The two of you are like fire and fire, blazing it out for the last of the kindling.”
The Gypsy stood silent for several heartbeats. “You’re right.” Surprise colored her voice. “Why didn’t I see that?”
“Because you were too busy arguing.” She didn’t mean that as a joke, either.
Haranda nodded. “She’s just so bloody irritating. Always expects me to jump whenever she says, boo.”
“I’m beginning to understand what Wren and the others put up with when you were a youngling.”
One dark brow arched. “You were no easy task yourself, my little shadow.”
Saldia laughed. “I know that all too well.”
Haranda hooked an arm in hers. “We are very much alike in some ways. I had your talent for folly once, many years ago. I could use some laughter now. That’s for certain. Taniras!” The wolf singer popped her head up and stood from the rock she had perched on again. “Come here!” Haranda led Saldia into the tent and the two sat on a blanket. At least The Betweens still felt warm and inviting. Taniras joined them. “I wish to speak with you two about something.”
“What is it?” Haranda’s sudden seriousness made Saldia’s heart jump.
“Siri had a meeting with Ved’nuri today.”
“Yes, we know.” Taniras sounded distracted.
“Well, what you don’t know is that her child is nearly a man.”
Taniras perked up. “What? How is that possible? He was born only a short while ago. He grew at a normal pace in Ved’nuri’s womb.”
A man? Already? Saldia pried her gaze from Taniras to Haranda. “Do the Vedi know why?” She’d been hoping to see the babe once they returned home.
Haranda shook her head and flipped her chestnut hair, which she now wore in a long braid, over one shoulder. “No. Siri is speaking to the others but I wanted to get you two alone. Saldia, you spent more sunrises in the dome than anyone else. Did you see anything unusual there? Fruit that grew too fast in the gardens or perhaps rotted too soon inside the dome?”
“No. But the Vedi would notice something like that. Wouldn’t they?”
“Perhaps. But they’ve been consumed with other duties of late. The servants haven’t reported anything unusual but you tend to notice things. You and Henny are alike in that respect.”
“That youngling has much better talent with observation than I do.”
“Nevertheless, there’s no precedence for what has happened over the past year. The Vedi, their child. This is al
l new to our world. Prophecies that were written before anyone can remember hold the only clues, and they tend to be vague. How about you, Taniras? You’ve said the wolves remember ages past.”
“Yes.”
“Do they know anything?”
“They haven’t mentioned anything to me. I can try to contact them again tonight, when all is quiet. But something frightens them. I told Saldia of this. They don’t spook easily, yet something has them on edge so much that they shut me out much of the day now.”
“No doubt they sense the imbalance.”
“Could be.” Taniras’s black eyes narrowed in thought. “No one has been conceived and born inside the dome before, right?”
Haranda nodded. “Some lived in the dome ages ago. Well before my days. But the Vedi’s babe is the first to be born there.”
“Then perhaps the Goddess planned for him to grow quickly. After all, the other Prophecies have been sudden. Look at me. Wolf singer.”
Saldia chuckled.
Haranda gave Taniras a warm, motherly smile. “We’ve considered that. Especially since children are aged when they cross into the Land of the Goddess.”
“That makes sense.” Saldia retied the scarf that secured her hair. “A babe can’t rule.”
Haranda nodded. “That’s exactly what I told Ved’nuri. She’s so distraught over the matter.” The Vedi had once been Gypsies, like the rest of the kin, and Haranda had been Ved’nuri’s clan sister when the formidable woman went by her middling name of Candelus Fortensen. That relationship still surprised Saldia. “The Vedi want us all to keep eyes and ears open.”
Something in Haranda’s voice made Saldia believe she wasn’t telling everything. “What else?”
“Slumberers have been relaying bits and pieces from the ancient texts we found to Ved’nuri, who writes them for Ved’mana once she wakes.”