Georsi shook his head. “Probably some difference between your handsome swain and a princess of the Elder Race.”
I forced myself not to take offense. “The two races can mate?”
“We were the first. The Elders do not seek out men as mates. Except Anasian. She loved me.”
“You were maddened by your loss. What do you intend to do with the Book now?”
“I told you. I must bring it to the Elders in the Western Wilderness, to right the wrong the Prime of Vendrisi and the Council did.”
He was sticking to his story, though there’d been no word from the Elders for hundreds of years.
“The Elders live?”
“Yes. Not as many as before. They need the Book more than we do. Their numbers are dwindling.”
I didn’t agree with Georsi, but once again I chose to sidestep an argument. “I know the Book has a list of the Elementals’ true names. I called on one and received help. Why would a Fire Elemental help me?”
“That might be the Elemental who created the Book. He’s a half-breed. His mother was mortal, a witch from the South Seas.”
“The Elementals can mate with mortals too?”
Georsi smiled wryly. “It’s not recommended. She was never the same afterward. He’s the only one of his kind. He went by the name of Gale.”
“That sounds familiar. As soon as we put the Book away, it was as if I’d never seen any of the names. The Council asked and asked me. I couldn’t remember.”
“It’s a safeguard. Gale does not wish his kind eradicated. Any more than I do.”
“So the Book can’t be copied or memorized? It can only be used by the person who has it at hand?”
“Even the Elders cannot circumvent the safeguards. If I bring it to them, perhaps they will forgive us.”
“That won’t help us if we’re dead.”
I considered. We needed the Book, and Georsi was a trained healer, not to mention cunning. “We’ll take you with us. Your journey will be faster on a horse, and we’ll make sure you’re safe. I can’t promise you we’ll deliver the Book to the Elders, though. I’ll need to speak to the others.”
Georsi set his chin stubbornly. “Then I’ll walk.”
“Come now. Join us. We can use the Book ourselves on the way as protection. You don’t want us to fall prey to the Elementals, do you?”
“They are not what you think.”
“Then explain it to me.” I reached out my hand to him, and he took a step back, cradling the Book protectively.
I sighed. “I promise you we will not overpower you and rip the Book from your arms. Perhaps a solution will suggest itself while we travel.”
He frowned. “Yet the future I see—should I take up with you—makes me uncertain.”
“How would you find the Elder Race by yourself? No horse, no gold, no supplies. Don’t depend on Hirschi. With us, he sees a chance to redeem himself. He wants to go fight the Demon, not tarry in the Western Wilderness.”
“And what will you do when the Elders appear?”
I considered before I answered. “I’ll ask them for their assistance and hope that they accompany us. Once we were allies. That day might return.”
Georsi looked at me closely before he spoke. “I trust you to keep your word. Those with fire resonance are without guile.”
* * *
We did not stop for food or rest until late in the night, when we reached the end of the high plateau and the border of Trea. We dared not take the steep path down. A misstep could be fatal. As soon as dawn cracked the sky, we gulped some tea and chewed jerky while we saddled our mounts and fastened the packs. By noon we were down in the grasslands where we would see any sign of pursuit. Whatever Okan thought about being deprived of his bride, it seemed we would be spared his wrath.
It was then that Georsi asked for parchment and a quill and, displaying a beautiful penmanship, drew the cycle of the Five Elements. Once again, he explained the pattern. It was obvious to anyone that metal cut wood and water quenched fire. But if you knew the order of the elements in the cycle, you could puzzle out the other relationships. Trees growing on a slope prevented landslide—therefore wood controlled earth. Fire was the only thing that could turn metal malleable. Earth could dam a river, so it was the weapon against water.
It still bothered me that I had fire resonance and water conquered fire. Oberin comforted me. Saving beings from the Demon’s soul snares was not the same thing as conquering the Demon. I should not take things too literally. He meant what he said and was not merely trying to lend me comfort. Metal affinity made people blunt.
We all wore swords or daggers—except for Rheyna, who said it was wrong for a healer to carry a weapon. The Book of First Naming would reveal the elemental nature of our enemies. Metal weapons would only help us against Wood Elementals. To control those of Earth, we would have to rely on Moab and his wooden arrows. Kilgad and Rheyna bundled together dried branches of cedar with twine and doused them with pig fat to make torches against Metal Elementals. Oberin and I filled up the spare water bags. Moab and Ilse gathered the fine sand by the river bank, sieving out any debris, and tied it into a cut-up scarf, making three small bags to be used against Water Elementals.
We brought all the wares to Georsi. Oberin and Ilse chanted the spell of augmentation over our weapons. A handful of sand turned into the representation of the earth itself, and a bag containing a cup of water gained the strength of a roaring river.
It had taken us all day, but we had weapons against the Elementals. Rheyna and Kilgad took the water bags, as befitted their affinity. Ilse and I each stowed a torch in our packs. Moab and Oberin took the bags of sand. Georsi kept the Book. In the event of an attack, he would have to read through the lists, hoping to come across the names of our assailants.
As I watched him tuck the Book away in his pack, I remembered the curious thing he’d said about the Elementals. “They are not what you think.” That, along with finding out that the author of the Book was the Elemental who’d helped me made me hope I wouldn’t be forced into killing another one.
But hadn’t they burned up the Intercessor? Hadn’t they killed several Mannites and fallen upon us in the woods after we fled the camp?
It seemed likely that they would attack us again, and we would have to defend ourselves. I shivered, my shoulders tensing, and instinctively I looked at Oberin. His smile warmed me even through my doubt and fear.
CHAPTER 48
Oberin
Each night while the others slept, Oberin worked. He cast his mind far and wide, sensing what might be in their vicinity. He had not made another sending to the Council. That was best avoided. He preferred to keep their exact location secret. Some nights he felt the faint tugging of Uncle Soa, demanding answers. Well, Kendall could give those. He imagined she’d tell them about Hirschi and Georsi and the Book.
Surely Kendall would have returned to Yassin to help her Reds fight the Elementals. She was a good person to have on your side, and he was sorry she’d left. Though he’d spurned her offer to relieve him of his virginity ten years ago, he liked and admired Kendall.
He would have been glad of her advice too. He could feel surges of energy from the woods, springs, and earth as the Elementals crossed the land. To his surprise, they had not approached. He didn’t know if they were aware of the presence of the Mannites. There was so much he still did not know, and now he had no access to the Cabinet of Mysteries.
He could only think of one Mannite he could risk a sending to, one whom he trusted completely. That Mannite had pledged to be available the fifteenth of every month, whether his son sought him on the Shadow Plain or not.
* * *
On the appointed night, Ilse met him in the brush, away from the others, to act as his minder. He made a pillow with his Robe, lay down, and began breathing gently in and out.
Oberin’s spirit-body detached and drifted upward, swaying in the wind that ruffled through the tall prairie grasses. Then a bump and
a slight sensation of vertigo, and he stood on the Shadow Plain, face to face with a greenish insubstantial form he recognized as his father. Sharing blood meant you connected quickly.
Oberin wasted no time, aware that the Shadow Plain presented its own dangers. Elementals: He infused the picture with red. Last night Oberin had sensed the blood that lay on them. They had recently attacked.
Father showed the image of an open door. In their shared language of symbols, it represented a question. The most logical question would be to ask where the Elementals were headed.
Oberin shrugged.
His father flashed an image of an open door containing a sunrise followed by a sunset.
Oberin answered by holding up three fingers to show three days. The Elementals had been nearby at least that long, maybe longer.
Oberin felt his father’s concern, though the older man spoke no words. Instead, there came the image of a thick wood. The Western Wilderness. His father’s greenish aura changed to gold-brown. Security could be found there.
Oberin nodded, relieved. They were already heading there, in accordance with Georsi and Berona’s wishes. Perhaps Georsi was right, and some of the Elders still lingered. They might not be friendly, but the Elementals were likely to give them a wide berth in their own territory. Those trees did not follow the bidding of the Wood Elementals.
Oberin asked about Berona’s sister and mother by sending an image of them. Father showed them sitting in the Procurer’s Chamber. The older woman had a sigil seal at her side and was looking through a stack of parchments. Oberin’s energy flickered bright orange with surprise. Was Berona’s mother ready for such responsibility? The position of Procurer was an important one. The Procurer had to provision the hundred men-at-arms his father commanded, as well as lay in supplies for any titled guests that might drop by.
Father crossed his arms across his chest, visibly annoyed. He did not like his decisions questioned. Then he sent an image of Berona floating between them.
Oberin hesitated, but here on the Shadow Plain, no one could hide the longings of the heart.
His father shook his head vigorously.
Once again, Oberin wondered why his father was so adamant that he keep his distance from Berona. He’d always cautioned Oberin about emotional entanglements, but this went beyond his earlier warnings.
His father formed words, something that took great effort here. “Your destiny draws closer.”
The mysterious allusions to his destiny vexed him. Oberin searched for images to formulate the next question, then noticed dark shapes undulating on the horizon. Most likely temperamental sandworms, though they could be harmless duncelings. Whatever they were, it was best not to stay and find out. He broke off contact and let himself slip back into his body.
* * *
Ilse had not moved from her spot. She watched him with slitted eyes. “Was it a good meeting?”
“I still don’t know why the Elementals are nearby, or if they’ll attack.”
“No one knows their hearts. Except the Demon.” She paused. “They hate us, though. Do they not?”
“We imprisoned them in little cubes of obsidian, pushed their consciousness down to the level of a rock. We killed some. If they have memory, then I should think they would hate us.”
“Are you sure they didn’t kill Kea?”
“I think they brought him to the Demon’s soul snares.”
“You’ve seen this in a vision?”
“No, but that’s what I would do if my opponent was Berona. I would let her see him wasted and mummified, like those bodies Hirschi told us about.”
She shuddered. “Then I hope we will not tarry in the Wilderness searching for the Elder Race. Kea must be getting weaker every day.”
“It won’t take us far from our route—only a day.” Oberin wondered what his father had foreseen. Did it involve the Elders? Were they part of his destiny?
Not that it mattered. Berona had assured Georsi they would escort him there, and he knew she wouldn’t break her word.
* * *
The next day they came closer to the woods where Georsi swore the Elders lived. There was no sign of them, though, and Moab huffed in frustration when Rheyna stumbled. She was tired and needed to rest.
Berona hurried over to her fallen friend and helped her up. Rheyna winced when she tried to put her weight on her foot. The company stopped to drink some water, and Oberin took a look in Rheyna’s medicine bag while Moab made a beewell poultice.
When Kilgad brought him the fresh hot water he’d asked for, he made a draught with the husks of the dried poppies. He brought it over to Rheyna, whose eyes widened in alarm. She shook her head.
“You chose the poppies yourself. You know they’re good quality.”
“I’m sorry.”
Ilse gave Oberin a sideways look. She seemed to have expected this. “Is there something I should know?” Oberin asked her.
“She hasn’t had her cycle in nine weeks.” Ilse didn’t bother to lower her voice.
Berona’s mouth fell open, and then she sighed. “I suppose that yam root to prevent falling with child didn’t work.”
Oberin had to wonder if Rheyna had even used it? Perhaps she wished for a way to keep Moab safe. Perhaps she hoped that if the company learned Moab would be a father, they would spare him from the worst of the danger.
No wonder Robes weren’t supposed to pledge troths. Something like this would have never happened to Kendall.
Rheyna received no congratulations. As the sun climbed, the men and Berona took turns supporting her, half-dragging her along.
Oberin mused over the pregnancy as he walked. It might not be as much of a disaster as it seemed. It was early still; a soul would not yet be bound to the newly forming body. If someone died during this journey, they would be able to reenter the world through the red door of Rheyna’s womb, should Rheyna’s spirit permit it.
Of course, should someone die while in battle with an Elemental, matters would be different. The raw emotion they would feel from the Elemental would block an easy rebirth.
And he was sure now that the Elementals were drawing nearer.
CHAPTER 49
Berona
It was the twentieth of the Month of Long Sleeps when we first saw the trees, rising tall in the distance like the scepters of long-gone queens, golden even in the winter light, which left the rest of the land bathed in a quiet, cool white. By unspoken agreement we all walked faster, eager to reach the fabled land of the Elders. We set up our camp at sunset, choosing a protected dip in the rocks, lined with the soft furze of new grass. We could now make out the broad crowns of the trees on the horizon, the leaves dancing in a breeze that blew only there. We would reach their shelter by midmorning the next day.
Moab rubbed Rheyna’s feet. Their secret was out, and they seemed relieved. I could tell Moab liked being a caretaker. In his mind, he was already snugly settled on a little holding with Rheyna and his baby. I hoped the future he wanted was part of his fate.
Ilse sat a bit apart, legs drawn up under her chin, looking at the glorious sunset. She seemed pensive.
I closed my eyes, remembering Kea’s face. Would Kea and I have been like Rheyna and Moab if we were expecting our child? I couldn’t imagine us speaking of the weather and the livestock, sitting down for a simple supper in a humble house. I wasn’t made for that.
I was beginning to realize there were many different types of love in this world. I’d noticed Oberin looking at me when he thought I was unaware. Were I to be honest, I took a secret delight in his attention. He was handsome, cool and collected. So different from Kea, with his loud laughter and puffery. Did that mean I didn’t love Kea?
Of course I loved him, that sunny and charming man who’d awoken my passion. But Oberin was the anchor in the storm of my emotions. Even more than with Shandon, I relied on his advice and trusted his magic. I didn’t want him as a lover, I told myself. It was just that I was grateful that he thought well of me.
If I could care for two people who were so different, could I condemn Kea for being Ilse’s lover as well as mine? True, I had not lain with Oberin, but neither had he courted me. Sometimes I wondered what it would be like, to have him caress me and feel his lips on mine.
No, I decided. I was not made for sharing. If Kea still lived, he would have to choose. Still, I could not blame my rival for visiting his bed, much as I wanted to. While we walked the Plains of Kreysa, I had become aware of her deep loneliness. I had my mother and sister, and Oberin’s friendship, even if I had lost Kendall’s support. Ilse never mentioned family, other than her brother.
I walked over to Ilse and settled down next to her. “Do you have a sense of how Alse’s doing?”
“No. I wish we’d learned how to do sendings, but the training was cut short. I worry about him. I’ve always protected him. I did things I didn’t like, to keep him safe.” Her eyes slid away.
“I know what it’s like with siblings. I have a little sister. She looks like me, except she’s short like our father and her eyes don’t have orange specks. She’s joined the household of Oberin’s father, but I still fear the Water Demon will find her.” As Ilse and I kept on talking, I felt a trickle of forgiveness in my aching heart. We didn’t mention Kea’s name, though we knew that among those we missed, we missed him the most.
* * *
We reached the forest at midday. The woods felt safe and sacred, and though we were in the shade, the leaves offered protection against the winter chill.
I heard the sound of running water, and we followed it. The stream was small and shallow, but it tasted sweet. We drank our fill, and then Oberin said, “Before we continue deeper into the forest, we need to talk. We’re now walking away from our destination.”
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