by Tanya Huff
* * * *
“This is it,” Magda declared, nodding at the river that cut through the bottom of the defile. “The river will take us right to Kars.”
Gerek stepped forward, shrugging out of the pack as he moved. “Are you sure?”
Magda turned to face upstream and shivered. She could almost see the wrongness lying like a dark blot on the mountains. “I’m sure.”
“Well, if we’re going to follow the river, we’ll have to find another place to climb down.” Arm braced against his thighs, he leaned forward. “This is too loose and too steep.” When he shifted his weight, a clump of dirt broke off the edge and bounced down toward the water, picking up other clumps and rocks as it went. “Maggi, step back. This whole thing’s just looking for an excuse to give way.”
With her eyes still locked on the evil in the distance, Gerek’s voice seemed to come from very far away. Clutching her elbows, taking comfort in the familiar wool under her palms, she pivoted on her left foot until she faced him. “What did you sa …”
The last word became a scream.
Gerek grabbed for her, missed, and threw himself after her.
Feeling the ground roll out from under her feet, Vree leaped back.
*What are you doing?* Gyhard demanded.
*He’s going to bring the rest of that slaughtering face down on top of her. I follow, I bury them both!*
*We can’t just stand here!*
*Oh, yes we can. Someone has to be standing when this is over to dig them out!*
* * * *
Bannon heard the scream, slid out of his pack and raced ahead. He arrived just in time to see Gerek disappear over the edge. Without slowing, he flicked a dagger down into his right hand.
* * * *
Tumbling end over end, pushed along by the fall of earth and rock, Magda scrunched her eyes shut, closing out the terrifying kaleidoscope of images. Things were happening too fast for conscious thought. Her head bounced off the ground, a rock bounced off her shoulder, her arms and legs flailed about, sometimes moving with her, sometimes moving with the hill, and sometimes it seemed they were moving completely on their own.
She could hear Gerek shouting, but the roar of blood in her ears mixed with the grinding roar of the earth and drowned everything else out.
Then it was over.
Her arms slapped down on a gravel beach, her face smacked into her arms, a few final rocks slammed into her back. Half the hillside seemed to have landed on her lower body, pinning her left leg at a painful angle.
Blinking stupidly, she lifted her head and stared at the pattern a breeze was lifting the river into right under her nose. “Mama?”
* * * *
Riding the crest of the fall, arms windmilling, weight back on his heels, Gerek fought to stay upright. Then an eddy sucked his right foot under. He started to fall forward.
“NO!”
He twisted, rolled, and somehow ended up on his back, head pointing downhill, one leg buried, one leg kicking futilely at the air. He felt his sword rip free, one boot tear off, and got one arm up at the last possible instant to deflect a rock big enough to do serious damage away from his head.
His first indication that he’d reached the river came when his shoulders slid into something cold and wet, his neck whipped back, and the water covered his face. Coughing and choking he jerked forward, only to have the weight of the fallen hill push him back.
* * * *
The kigh were beginning to grow nervous. Karlene picked a careful path to the river’s edge and glanced upstream. Although they’d still answer her Songs, this was as far upriver as they’d go. It seemed, therefore, that upriver was the direction she had to travel.
As it wasn’t specifically Kars that frightened them but the trapping of the fifth kigh to create the dead/undead, he must have found more of the living to destroy. There were small two- and three-family settlements all through these mountains; sometimes they grew into villages, sometimes the resource that created them played out and they were abandoned. The last recall Karlene had heard on this area was three years old, but she seemed to remember a timber-holding, a valley, and a river.
“There’s no way around it,” she sighed, disgusted with her inability to remember more detail. “I’m going to have to drop into trance.”
Slipping her arms out of her pack straps, she leaned backward, letting it drop a handbreadth onto a waist-high, flat-topped boulder, then she squatted, flexing the stiffness out of her shoulders, and dipped a cupped hand into the water for a drink. Even one day into Third Quarter, the river held the memory of ice that had been and the promise of ice to come. A half-formed plan for a quick bath fled shivering. She sucked the cold water off her palm and bent to scoop out another handful.
A water kigh wrapped itself around her wrist. When she tried to free herself, it refused to let go. Behind it, two others spun about so frantically they created a half-dozen tiny whirlpools. At first, she thought they were warning her about Kars—the air kigh had been trying to get her to turn all day—but then she realized that Kars had nothing to do with their message: Two children in the water. Hurry! Hurry!
Karlene Sang understanding and wasted a moment or two convincing the three kigh to go back downstream and push the children out of the water if they could. Racing along the bank, splashing through the shallows, she wondered where a pair of children had come from and why the kigh had made that specific distinction. Usually, they referred to all non-kigh as flesh. Stumbling over a half-submerged branch, she decided it didn’t matter. Had she not been available to take care of things, the water kigh would probably have avoided the area until the current swept the bodies away and then complained bitterly about it to the next bard who could Sing their quarter. It seldom occurred to them to attempt a rescue by themselves.
Scrambling across the neck of a rocky outcrop, hoping she wouldn’t break an ankle, Karlene got her first glimpse of the raw gash on the side of the defile through a break in the heavy cedar. All at once, it became obvious how the children—whoever they were—had ended up in the water. She could hear them struggling, which made her hope they weren’t badly hurt.
It was strange they weren’t crying.
And then she saw the body at the water’s edge. With no breath to spare for questions, Karlene covered the remaining distance faster then should have been possible.
A dark-haired man lay on his back, torso buried in such a way that his head and shoulders were pressed down into the river. A roll of water beneath him indicated that the kigh were attempting to do what she asked, but as he kept fighting them, struggling wildly to get free, they were doing little more than merely raising the water level.
Singing them away, Karlene waded out into the river.
Center it, there’re two of them! The girl had been hidden behind the mound of earth and rock that had nearly buried her companion, but, as only her legs were buried and she’d landed short of the water, she could wait.
Ducking under a flailing arm, Karlene grabbed the young man’s head, anchoring one hand in a short curly beard, and locked her eyes on his. “Be still!” she Commanded.
He went limp so quickly, she almost lost her grip. Without terror contorting his face, she discovered that he wasn’t very old. A quick look showed that the girl was younger still.
Well, I suppose they’re someone’s children, she allowed silently.
Shuffling around behind him, she gritted her teeth against the cold, dropped to her knees, and let his upper body rest against hers. With the immediate possibility of his drowning averted, she took a deep breath and reviewed the situation.
Had she been able to Sing earth, it would’ve been a simple matter to free them; to free them both. As she didn’t, and as she didn’t really have a lot of time to waste before she lost all feeling in her legs, the solution would have to be more creative. Keeping her voice low and calming, she murmured, “I’m going to have the river wash enough of the dirt off you so that I can pull you out. Please, d
on’t be afraid, and don’t move.”
“My sister’s … downstream.”
“She’ll be all right.”
His lack of reaction seemed to indicate that he’d dealt with bards before. Or that he was in shock. In this part of the country, the latter seemed more likely.
Her breathing deepening as she found her focus, Karlene shifted about just enough to see upstream, opened her mouth, and Sang. Gabris had often told her that she Sang the strongest water he’d ever seen. Time to prove it.
The water began to pull away from the far shore until a wave, three feet wide and four high, rolled toward them. Just before it reached her, it lifted and slammed, not into the young man’s body but an inch higher, lifting the earth off him. Brown and muddy, it followed the Song back into the riverbed to avoid the girl.
When the wave ran clear, Karlene Sang a gratitude. The last kigh arced even higher into the air, twisted through itself, and sprayed them both. An instant after that, the river flowed as it always had.
The young man brushed at the remaining inch of earth on his torso with shaking hands. “Okay,” he said. “I’m impressed.”
A little shaky herself, Karlene shoved her hands into his armpits and pulled. “Frankly, so am I.”
Protected by a thick sheath of muscle, he’d taken no real damage from his fall and it only took the two of them a few moments of silent struggle to free his legs, both of them realizing the girl had probably not been so lucky, neither wanting to be the one to say it.
The moment he could move, he scrambled over the remaining scree to the girl’s side.
“Maggi? Magda? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Half out of the water, her teeth chattering and her toes numb, Karlene paused. Magda? The young man had looked vaguely familiar. “Your Grace?”
Gerek didn’t bother turning. “Help me with her!”
Karlene had an uneasy suspicion she knew the only possible reason for Annice’s daughter to be traveling so far from home. If Magda actually Healed the fifth kigh as the Imperial fledglings insisted, then she could only be out here looking for Kars.
When your mother finds out about this, she thought dropping to her knees and helping the heir of Ohrid scoop away dirt and gravel, she’s not going to be happy.
Then she called herself several kinds of idiot. Annice had to know where Magda was—there could be no other explanation for the kigh telling her that the children were in the water.
“Ger, my knee hurts.”
“I’m not surprised.” He ran his hands gently over the joint before straightening it. “Is that better?”
“Little.”
“Can you turn over and sit up if I bring your legs around?”
“I guess.” She sniffed, wiped her nose on the back of her hand and tried to do as he asked. The world shifted and she clutched his arm. “Ger!”
“It’s okay, Maggi, I’ve got you.”
Leaning against his shoulder, she turned to where she thought Vree should be and the lines of pain were replaced by confusion. “Who are you?”
“Karlene.” The bard sat back on her heels. “I was having a drink upstream. The kigh told me there was someone in the water.” It didn’t seem politic to mention to a grown man, and a nearly grown woman, that their mother was looking out for them—even if in this instance it had saved their lives.
Magda frowned and looked up at her brother. “Where’s Vree?”
“Vree?” Karlene repeated, not entirely surprised. I guess I was right about what they’re doing here. Annice is really not going to be happy about this.
Gerek forced his thoughts back before the water, before the fall. “She was right behind me.”
As one, all three turned and looked up the slope. Gerek’s boot-top protruded from the dirt about halfway up, but there was no sign of Vree.
* * * *
Magda squirmed free of Gerek’s grasp. “Vree! Vree!” She threw herself forward and collapsed in a slide of loose gravel.
“Maggie, stop it! Karlene’s a bard! There’s an easier way!” He pulled her back into his arms and turned to face the other woman. “You do Sing more than just water, don’t you?”
“I Sing three quarters, but I don’t Sing earth.”
“So we can’t find her!” Magda wailed.
“We can find out if she’s under there at least.” The air kigh were skittish and not inclined to help, but after a moment, Karlene managed to send one to the top of the cliff with Vree’s description. It was gone longer than she expected and she could see by the growing fear on Magda’s and Gerek’s faces that they believed Vree had been lost in the collapse of the bank.
When the kigh returned a moment later, she had to Sing a question at it twice before she believed the news it brought.
“Vree’s alive,” she said at last, after Singing the indignant kigh a gratitude. “But Bannon has her.”
* * * *
The last time Vree had found herself bound, she’d opened her eyes to see Bannon studying her—or rather, Gyhard in Bannon’s body. This time, she couldn’t open her eyes as they were bound as securely as her hands and feet. This time, the rope tied wrists to knees to ankles and she was sitting in leaf litter, leaning against the trunk of a tree. This time, Gyhard and Bannon’s positions were reversed.
*Vree? Are you all right?*
His voice drove multiple spikes of pain up through the crown of her head. *Why ask me? You’re in here, too.*
*I don’t think he broke anything,* Gyhard allowed after a moment.
*Of course not. He’s a professional.*
*He’s a professional killer, Vree. That doesn’t give me much faith in his ability to take us alive.*
*Imperial assassins try to kill only the target. It makes the Empire look bad if you leave a trail of bodies getting in and getting out.*
*So, where is he?*
*About six inches away from my right knee.*
For the sake of their head, he toned down his exclamation of surprise. *How can you tell that!*
*The air patterns tell me something’s there, and my nose tells me who.*
*All I can smell are trees.*
*We bathe more often in the Empire than they do here.*
“I know you’re awake, Vree. You can stop pretending.” He sounded nervous and triumphant both, as though he’d beaten her at a game but wasn’t entirely positive the game was over.
She turned her head to stare directly at him, although he’d know she couldn’t see anything through the cloth tied around her eyes. “Why the blindfold?”
“A precaution in case the carrion eater decides he wants to be back in my body again.”
*I’d make better use of it,* Gyhard snarled.
Vree tested the strength of the rope, felt the knots tighten, and forced herself to relax. “He can’t jump unless I push him.”
“And I’m supposed to believe you won’t?” Bannon snorted. “I had the same training you did, Vree. Survive at all costs.”
“No.” She fought her way through the memory of Commander Neegan dying on her blade. “Not at all costs.”
“He’s changed you.”
“I’ve changed.”
She heard him stand, felt his shadow cross her body. “It’s the same thing!”
His tone suggested there was no point in arguing. It was a tone Vree had heard frequently in the past. “Now what happens?”
“Now …” A branch snapped, silencing the background birdsong. “Now, we go back to the Empire.”
By twisting her right wrist as much as possible, the upper buckle on her wrist sheath rubbed against the rope.
*Given ten or fifteen days, you could probably cut us free.*
*Do you have a better idea?* Vree snapped, struggling to remain outwardly serene, to give Bannon no weakness to exploit. “I thought you were taking us back to Elbasan?”
Another branch snapped. “Only on the way to the Empire. And Elbasan’s a little out of the way when you consider how close we are to the bor
der.”
“You’re going to take me across the border like this?” She could think of a number of alternatives, none of which she liked.
“No.” He bent down and his breath lapped warm against her cheek. “I’m going to take my poor sick sister home on a travois.” One hand lightly cupped her chin and turned her face toward him. “There’s some pretty toxic fungus around here; I think they’ll believe it.”
She relaxed into his grip, softening her posture, drawing in a deep breath through a slightly opened mouth.
Bannon exhaled sharply and then backed away. “Forget it. You had your chance.”
*Vree!* Gyhard jerked her chin up. *What are you doing!*
*Trying to get him close enough to smack him in the face with my forehead.*
*Oh.* She felt him release control. *Would that have worked?*
*Probably not.*
*You’re awfully calm!*
*I used to be an Imperial assassin.*
*Most Imperial assassins don’t survive very long!*
Muscles tensing and untensing, she worked the knots. *But they always believe they will.*
*Vree …*
*Would you shut up! You’re not helping!* It was only a small crack and she hastily patched it over. Imperial assassins never left the Seven Armies. It was hard not to believe she’d have to answer for that. “What happens when we get back to the Empire, Bannon?”
“The carrion eater pays for his treason.”
Imperial bards were still bards, but as she’d pointed out to Gerek and Magda, the Empire wasn’t Shkoder. “And what happens to me?”
“The Emperor’s willing to blame it all on Gyhard. You made your choice, Vree.” Thrown back at her, the words hit her like a blow. Finally forced to acknowledge that choice, he was clearly going to make her pay. “You’ll have to live with it.”
Without Gyhard. Alone.
“I can’t believe you told His Imperial Majesty about Gyhard.”
He hesitated for an instant before answering and when he finally spoke, his tone was as much petulant as it was sarcastic. “Funny, I couldn’t believe you saved the carrion eater’s life.”
“What about your treason, Bannon? What about your willingness to give Gyhard the prince in order to get your body back.”