Pathways

by Mercedes Lackey

  Serril had been about to tell Ostel that it was his own fault for antagonizing the man—never mind that everyone who met Brone was antagonized by him and wanted to return the favor—but instead he called out, “Come in?”

  One of the Palace messengers poked her head in, cornsilk braids in a crown around her head, and said, “Is one of you Healer Serril? I was told you’d be here.”

  Serril stood, frowning. “I’m Serril. Who told you I’d be here?”

  “One of the Trainees, sir. There’s a summons from the city, from one of the Watch Houses. A person’s invoked your name to come and free them from the Watch.” The messenger paused. “I don’t know the details, as the person from the Watch didn’t stay, but it didn’t sound like anything as serious as a murder.”

  “I’m not the only Healer who can determine the cause of death.”

  Ostel smiled faintly. “But you’re very good at it, you know. Go, go; I can complain about Brone just as effectively without you here.” The smile faded. “And I shouldn’t complain, at least not in front of you. I wish you’d told me sooner how much pressure we were putting on you.”

  Serril snorted as he headed toward the door. “Brone wouldn’t have stopped, and you did. That’s why you’re the Dean and not him.”

  “You’ll need to know which Watch House to go to, sir, but after that, I’ve got three more messages to deliver.” The messenger gave Serril the directions and then sprinted off toward the Palace.

  Half a mark later, he stood in the front room of the Watch House, listening to the wind wailing outside while waiting for the sergeant to finish giving instructions to a group of constables. Apparently, there had been a rash of burglaries with some broken heads and broken teeth, and all the Watch for the neighborhood had been called up to deal with it. Once the constables were out the door, however, the sergeant turned a frown on the Healer.

  “What’re you doin’ here?”

  “I’m Healer Serril, and I was told someone in your jail had called on me to stand for them. But I never got the details.”

  The sergeant shook his head in confusion but picked up a sheet of paper, and slowly his face cleared. “The name he gave is Zanner, and he’s accused of vandalism and some destruction of property. Nothing too expensive, thank the Havens, and he’d nary a weapon on him, which is why he’s in with the drunks and others and not in a cell of his very own.” The sergeant ignored the storm cloud on Serril’s face and said, “We also haven’t had a chance to call up a Herald and make sure of his guilt or innocence, so I can’t let you have him without that.”

  Serril took a deep breath and exhaled just as slowly. “I will vouch for Zanner’s innocence, and if you give me a pen, paper, and a messenger, I’ll send for a Herald myself.”

  The sergeant got a relieved look on his face. “That’ll make my job that much easier. Th’ Herald, that is. ’Course, I’ll still need to send a constable with you until the Herald shows. No offense, Healer, but you don’t look like you could stop a breeze, much less someone who decided to run.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Serril responded dryly as the sergeant handed him the requested pen and paper, then called out for a Constable Farris.

  • • •

  “And that’s the extent of it. I had hoped we could get here before the food was gone, because as far as I know, Zanner hasn’t eaten since breakfast.”

  Ella was up and across the room before anyone else, and back again with a wooden bowl and some bread balanced on top. “Zanner. If you can, please eat.”

  Zanner just stared at the bowl, rocking slightly back and forth.

  “Zanner.” This time it was Ronnet’s deep voice rumbling across the table. “You’re innocent, but you’re also clearly upset. Put some food in you. We’ll square this away once the Herald has left.” He put a hand across the table, careful not to touch Zanner but just as clearly inching the bowl closer to the shaking person across from him.

  Zanner glanced up, nodded, and very carefully picked up a spoon. Once the first mouthful of stew was consumed, Ronnet looked back over to Serril.

  “What’s this about a Herald?”

  Serril smiled half-heartedly. “In cases where there’s any kind of doubt about the guilt or innocence of a suspect, a Judge has the right to call in a Herald to perform the Truth Spell. Things are very much up in the air, and I didn’t want to leave Zanner in the jail. I do know a Herald or two, and this one is definitely in Haven. So I anticipate she’ll be here fairly soon.”

  Once again, the door opened onto the wild wind, and a woman in Whites walked in, her black hair in twin braids in stark contrast down her front.

  “Serril, I swear, you must be an Avelard with that kind of timing,” Conna teased, and she was relieved to see the Healer’s answering smile.

  “Serril! On a night fit for neither man nor beast nor Companion, I get a note from you with an urgent summons to the Tipsy Gryphon and not a word of explanation past that? You couldn’t possibly be setting up an assignation with me, most especially not in front of an audience, could you?” The Herald grinned wickedly as she strode toward Serril and kissed him firmly on the mouth. “Well, I for one am glad you’ve unbent enough for a more public display of affection.”

  Serril gaped at the Herald, who laughed and kissed him again, this time on the cheek. “I’m Herald Kerina, and I know full well why I’m here. But I must say I’ve never been able to tease Serril in front of his family before. The other ones are all worse than toads, and he’s never quite gotten around to introducing me to his proper family.”

  “Mostly because I knew you’d do something like this!” Serril sputtered. “One night as Trainees, out in Companion’s Field—”

  “You enjoyed it too, even with half the Companions studiously not paying attention—”

  “And the other half apparently offering suggestions! And you never let me forget it! Even after you paired off with nearly every eligible person in the Collegia!”

  “I had to test them all, to compare them.”

  While Serril sputtered, Wenn said, “It’s a shame neither of you would consent to do that in front of an audience.” At that, the Healer blushed crimson while the Herald burst out laughing.

  “What the good Healer can’t tell you at the moment is that we stayed good friends even through all the horrible embarrassments I could concoct, and there’s nobody I trust more for Healing. I’m sure there’s some good reason that Serril tolerates me, though it escapes me at the moment.” Kerina grinned, only to be surprised as Serril kissed her back.

  “Your insistence on embarrassing me is vastly outweighed by your better qualities, among which is that you still let me kiss you. That, and if I send you an urgent message, you do pretty much drop everything and respond.” Serril was still blushing as he spoke.

  “You hardly ever send me a message like that. I take it this has something to do with the constable over there by the fire, and the young person staring at me like I’ve got a second head?”

  Without waiting for Serril’s answer, Kerina walked over to where Zanner was staring and bowed. “As I’ve said, I’m Herald Kerina. I understand you’re a suspect in a series of crimes, and while my dear friend is convinced of your innocence, that’s not enough for the Watch or a Judge. Do you consent to me casting the Truth Spell on you? It’s only going to be the most basic form, to determine whether your answers are true or not, but I prefer to get permission before doing it, especially in situations like this.”

  Zanner put the spoon into the bowl and nodded. “Please, cast this on me so everyone knows I didn’t do this.”

  “Very well. Constable Farris, I’ll need you to tell me what the crimes are, so that I can properly ask the questions.” While the Watchman cautiously walked over, Kerina quietly chanted until a blue glow surrounded Zanner’s head.

  “Constable Farris, please tell me what this person
is accused of doing?”

  “Malicious vandalism, several times over. People have had their houses and shops defaced with some very nasty things written and items destroyed. This has been happening for a couple of weeks.”

  Kerina nodded. “Zanner, please tell me the truth. Have you defaced anyone’s home in the past three weeks?”

  “No.” The answer was short, and the blue glow remained.

  “Have you defaced anyone’s business in the past three weeks?”

  “No.” Again, the blue glow did not change.

  Kerina narrowed her eyes. “Why does the Watch suspect you? Your best and most truthful guess, please.”

  “Because people reported that I was at all of the places that were vandalized.” Zanner paused. “I was, but not because I did any of it.”

  It was clear Zanner was telling the truth, and Kerina turned to the Watchman. “Is this sufficient for your needs?”

  Farris frowned, and said, “No, I have a question my sergeant will want an answer to: If you didn’t do it, why were you there?”

  Zanner paused before responding, “Because they’re all friends of mine, and I had this idea I could figure out who did do all those things.”

  “Truth in every word, Constable Farris. Anything else you’d like to ask?” Kerina had not dismissed the spell, but the Watchman shrugged.

  “Nothing I can think of. I’m sure my sergeant will have a lot of other questions, but it’s late, and I’m more or less done. I’ll let my sergeant know you’re innocent, and we’ll just have to figure out who might have done all that.” With that, he stomped back to the inn door and let the wind slam it shut behind him.

  Everyone in the Family could see the blue glow still surrounding Zanner, but Kerina was silent until it was clear the Watchman had gone. Only then did she quietly ask Zanner, “You know who did all this, though, don’t you?”

  Zanner’s face twisted. “Not for sure. If I’m right, it’s going to mean a lot of heartache.” And still the blue glow remained steady.

  The Herald nodded, and just like that, the blue glow went away. “Come over here, toward the door. I’m going to ask you about that, and while everyone here but me is family, I have the feeling you’d rather keep this part private.”

  Zanner stood, a study in upset and unhappiness, but followed the Herald.

  “Well, that’s a thing you don’t get to see hardly ever,” Finn said from a way down the table. “Truth Spell and all that.”

  Serril looked over at Hallen, Ronnet, and Ella. “I’m not going anywhere. Zanner’s innocent, like I guessed, but the rest of it is Family business, yes?”

  “It is, and you’re Family, so of course you’re not going anywhere.” Hallen shook his head. “I’m sure Zanner has some very good reasons for not telling us all this.”

  Ronnet looked over at where Zanner was standing with Herald Kerina and shook his head. “It doesn’t necessarily matter whether those reasons were good. The reasons got Zanner in trouble, and if Serril hadn’t been part of our Family, we might still be wondering where Zanner was tomorrow. Or the next day, or until the Watch had been able to send for another Herald.”

  Ella sighed. “Zanner’s not the happiest person at the moment, so let’s be gentle.” She looked as though she was going to say more, but Kerina was already halfway to the door, and Zanner was walking back to the Family with an unhappy expression.

  Serril glanced at the rest of the Family, and everyone nodded. He moved over to make room for Zanner, who instead stood facing the Family, eyes firmly fixed to the floor.

  “You want to know what’s going on, right?” The normally cheerful performer seemed more like the person Ronnet had rescued years back from the Holderkin family who would not unbend enough to understand their child. Without waiting for anyone to respond, Zanner continued, “I have friends here in Haven, and a couple of weeks ago someone started painting nasty things on their homes, and then businesses, and then breaking things. Last night it was Bren’s business. Oils, soaps, perfumes, that sort of thing. It’s going to take money Bren doesn’t have to replace the stock.”

  Serril waited a moment, but Zanner didn’t continue. The Healer sighed and said, “You’re leaving out a lot, but I think the most important thing for everyone here is why you didn’t mention this to anyone.”

  Zanner looked up and started pacing around in front of everyone. “My friends are different like I’m different. They’re not ashamed of it, but it’s still safer if they’re not open about it. We do what we can to take care of each other, and because I’ve got a family, I can help out when I’m here.”

  Ella very gently said, “We love and accept you. Why should your friends be any different?”

  “Because they are different!” The anguish in Zanner’s voice was plain to everyone there. “Because you don’t know them like you know me. I know we adopted Serril, but he put his heart out there for all of us to see. He trusted us, and we all accepted him. But they don’t know you, and the one thing I do know is that my friends have tried trusting before, and they’ve been pretty badly hurt. They trust me, but they don’t know you.”

  Hallen stood up with a bit of a grunt. “And trust is not something given lightly, or carelessly. I do understand, Zanner. It’s why we do what we do. Because there are too many people in this world who’ve trusted and had that trust betrayed—me included. But I’m not as worried about your friends trusting us as I am about you trusting us. We don’t ever ask any of you what brought you to us; we let you decide how much of your past you share. But we Avelards need to trust each other, and keeping secrets from the Family that could affect the Family—that’s where I get worried.”

  “But the vandalism wasn’t affecting the Family!” Zanner cried, finally looking everyone in the face. “They’re my friends, not part of the Family!”

  Ronnet’s smile was bittersweet. “You care about them, so by extension they’re Family too. I know you’re protecting your friends, and they have no reason to trust us, but I swear to you that because you care about them so much, by the Lady, I’m going to care about them too. Even if the only thing I can do is give your friend Bren the money to replace what was broken.”

  Zanner paled. “That’s a lot of money! Do we even have that to spare?”

  One by one, each one of the Family pulled out their coin purses and put some of their share on the table. “It’s not much, true, and it may not be enough. But it’s more than your friend has, right?”

  Zanner took one look at the pile of coins and sat down heavily, sobbing. “Why do you care so much?”

  “Because it’s clear you care so much, Zanner.” Serril had also put coins into the pile in the middle of the table. “Now, tell us your story.”

  It took some time before Zanner nodded and began, “I got up this morning like I usually do and headed out before any of the rest of you woke up. I had a feeling that the vandalism was going to continue, and I wasn’t wrong. . . .”

  • • •

  Zanner stared at the front of Bren’s shop. Scents and Wonders wasn’t a big shop, and it wasn’t in the higher rent district, but everyone in the neighborhood knew Bren could talk with a person for a few minutes and then pick out or make a soap or an oil that the person would fall in love with. Even the men who worked labor-intensive jobs found that Bren’s soaps were the best at keeping them clean and keeping their lovers happy.

  Everyone in the neighborhood was fond of Bren, at the very least, even if the merchant had some oddities. Or that’s what Bren would say. Up to this point, Zanner had believed it. But the window had been shattered, and oil bottles and equipment had been smashed. The door to the shop had the word FREAK painted on it as well.

  Bren came out of the shop with a sad smile. “I’ve salvaged what I can, but I think I may need to limit my soap-making to the less expensive scents for a while. I won’t be able to make perfumes
either; the vandal got that equipment as well.”

  Zanner asked the first thing that popped to mind. “How’s Nessa?”

  “She’s fine. I’d moved her to my spare bedroom, so she missed all the excitement. But she knows it happened. And she’s beginning to suspect that whoever is doing this is targeting her.”

  “But how would they find her?”

  Bren just shrugged in response and moved back into the shop, clearly distracted by all the damage.

  Zanner thought back to all the other attacks. It was true. Each place Nessa had stayed at was vandalized in short order. And because each of those people was a good friend, Zanner had come by to see if there was anything that could be done. Well, that and maybe try to find out who had done this. The first time it could have been random, but the second time, then the third, and the ones after that? It couldn’t be random at that point, especially because it seemed to be following Nessa, who had figured out she was different.

  Nessa’s family had disowned her and thrown her to the street, where it was by sheerest luck she had run into Zanner while trying to figure out what she was going to do and where she would live. Zanner had the story out of her very quickly; he introduced her to a number of people who understood what Nessa had been through and would take care of her. Only now, it seemed that they could no longer protect her.

  Zanner looked at the window and the word on the door, and thought for a while; there was something in all of this, something obvious, something that would point out who had been doing it. Zanner knew it, just as Ronnet knew his accounting. And Zanner was on the edge of figuring out who did this when a voice said, “Turn around slowly.”

  Zanner did as the voice had ordered and saw two Watchmen standing there, looking very serious, hands very close to their swords.

  Zanner swallowed. “Is anything wrong?”

  “You’ve been spotted at every single location where there’s been this kind of vandalism, but all you’ve been doing is watching, according to witnesses. Please come with us.” The taller of the two Watchmen took a step forward, clearly ready for Zanner to make a break for it, while the shorter one was just as clearly watching to make sure he knew which way Zanner would run.