by Anna Kashina
Egey Bashi looked at the trees too. During the last fifteen minutes or so they seemed to have crowded even closer. Are they trying to crush us? Kyth shifted in his seat, only partially reassured by Alder’s calm face.
“It seems, Aghat Mai,” the Keeper said, “that this choice has been made for you already. The fact that Lady Ayalla took Kara likely means she already has a plan and it probably involves you. Perhaps you could use this time to put yourself into the right set of mind to listen to what she has to say?”
“My set of mind is just fine, thank you, Magister.”
Egey Bashi leaned back, as if trying to look at him from a greater distance. “Please forgive my doubts, Aghat.”
Mai shrugged again. “You know I’ll do what I have to, Magister. As long as Kara is not harmed.”
“Yes, Aghat Mai, this worries me too. But I’m sure you know that you can’t stake the outcome of a war on any condition, even one as important as this.”
Mai’s jaw knotted, betraying his tension. Kyth was worried too, but watching Mai when he was this way seemed even more unnerving.
Were they ever going to see Kara alive?
17
The Forest Mother
Kara blinked, trying to make sense of her surroundings. The greenish, suffused light reminded her of being underwater, the impression further enhanced by the way her body seemed weightless, as if floating. Yet, the air she inhaled was normal, only slightly damper than she remembered when she was falling asleep last night. Its sharp, earthly scent felt refreshing, leaving a slightly salty taste on her tongue. Even better, she could feel no headache or any invading presence in her head.
Am I dreaming? She didn’t have time to wonder when a movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention. She tried to turn her head, but quickly realized that she was unable to move. Not only her head, but her entire body was encased in hard, leathery restraints that left her suspended face-up – in the air? In water?
The memories of what happened last night flooded into her head. They had crossed into the Forestlands. And then, she had been whisked away from camp by what looked like a giant walking tree.
Ayalla, the Forest Mother, seemed to have taken personal interest in her. Was this because of the Kaddim magic she carried?
A hairy shape lowered into view. A large spider, hanging on a thick thread right in front of her face.
Her skin tingled. Did the creature sense the Kaddim magic on her? Was it planning to finish the job its comrades had abandoned back in Tandar?
Kara’s mind raced. She tugged at her restraints, wondering at the way they did not budge at all despite all her Majat-trained strength as she threw her weight against them. Spread out and helpless, she had no choice but to watch the spider lower over her until she felt its weight and the tingle of its hairy legs on her chest.
Make it quick, she mouthed, certain that the creature could not possibly understand her. This wasn’t her choice of way to die, but at least this would accomplish what she had set out to do last time, when Lord Garet’s men acting at Mai’s bidding interrupted her. Perhaps Ayalla knew a way to kill her without passing on her gift to the Kaddim? Perhaps only the spider bite, dissolving her body alive, would do the job, just like it did when it came to preventing Kaddim resurrection?
She waited for the sting, but felt no pain at all, only the patter of the spider’s legs as it ran around on her chest, as if trying to find a cozy spot. She kept very still, trying not to think about what was coming. Being dissolved alive. Right. I’ve had worse pain. She knew it wasn’t true, but if the spider was truly here to kill her none of this mattered. At least it wouldn’t take too long. Hopefully.
Time passed, but no spider bite came. After a while Kara forced her protesting muscles to relax, trying to distance herself from the weight of the creature on her chest, shifting her attention to the surroundings. Did she hear a rustle? A crack of a dry twig? Footsteps?
Ayalla came into view unexpectedly, her pale, beautiful face, framed by a waterfall of dark golden hair, looming over Kara. A pair of indigo eyes looked down at her with quiet interest, as if she was a rare insect caught in a trap.
“Curious,” Ayalla said. She spoke softly, as if to herself, but she also kept looking at a spot above Kara’s head, making it seem as if there was someone standing there, listening.
Kara flexed her muscles, but the restraints – whatever they were – held tight.
“You may release her,” Ayalla said.
The restraints let go. Kara relaxed her body for a fall to the hard floor, but her back sank into soft moisture instead, drenching her already damp clothes. A puddle? A mud pit? She rolled over, sweeping the spider off her chest in one quick move. Her hands darted to her weapons, finding none.
She crouched on one knee in an ankle-deep pond of water, looking up at Ayalla.
The Forest Woman smiled. “Going for your weapons, of course. This is the only thing you Majat ever do.” Her relaxed posture suggested no immediate threats were forthcoming. Or was she so confident around Kara that she didn’t see the need to keep alert?
Were Ayalla a regular woman, Kara would have no trouble overpowering her in a blink of an eye. But there was no telling what the Forest Woman was capable of. The way Ayalla was looking at her, as if Kara wasn’t one of the deadliest fighters in the world but a child playing at her feet, screamed caution. Kara did not pretend to understand the powers that made Ayalla the way she was, but she knew better than to test them right now. Besides, the spider was still here, now joined by a dozen or so of its comrades, and she was well aware of the dangers to expect from those creatures at least.
Kara shivered. Last time she met Ayalla, the Forest Woman had been wearing a dress of live spiders, a crawling mass covering every inch of her body and ready to attack on command. Now, Ayalla’s dress was different, a soft, shimmering mist that clung to her skin and pooled around her feet like a pile of gauze. As she moved, the mist parted briefly, revealing a glimpse of bare skin underneath.
“You don’t like Majat, do you?” Kara said. She knew it was foolish to challenge Ayalla, but hours of being suspended and immobile did little to improve her already rotten mood. Besides, the sooner Ayalla killed her, the better. She saw no purpose in having a long conversation beforehand.
Ayalla shrugged, the movement baring her shoulders for a brief instant. “I don’t like anyone whose lifetime occupation is to kill.”
Kara nodded. In an odd way this made sense. Ayalla was a lifegiver, her magic supporting the life around her. Except she also owned the spiders, easily the deadliest creatures in existence. “Why capture me then?”
“Did you prefer I left you out there to let the Kaddim destroy your mind and use you to defeat your friends?”
Kara sat back on her heels. She didn’t expect such a turn of the conversation. Ayalla always seemed so detached that it was difficult even to guess if she was following the same train of thoughts. The fact that she knew so much about Kara’s predicament didn’t fit into the image Kara had for her.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
Ayalla shrugged again, an impatient gesture that parted the mist around her shoulders all the way to the top of her full breasts. “No time for idle talk. The Kaddim are my enemies too. The last thing I want is for you to carry their magic straight into my realm.” She turned around, the mist hastily swirling to follow her slender form. “Follow me.”
She walked away, not bothering even to turn her head to make sure Kara would follow. The mist of her dress folded into an exquisite mantle, partially concealing the path behind her.
Kara glanced around. The forest clearing around her was small, mostly occupied by the shallow pond she was sitting in. She could see no sign of her weapons, or any indications of a person – or object – that had been holding her in such tight bonds until Ayalla showed up. Her skin tingled as she surveyed the smooth tree wall at her back, so dense that it left no room whatsoever for a person to squeeze through.
> The path Ayalla took was the only way out. As Kara watched, it began to narrow, the trees moving in subtly, as if intending to seal her in. She hastily scrambled to her feet and rushed forward to catch up with the Forest Woman.
The path led to a bigger clearing, a small forest glade surrounded by trees on three sides and a bigger pond on the fourth. As Kara emerged from the tree shade, she also became aware of the movement, in the tall grass and along the tree trunks. A chill ran down her spine as she realized that the whole area was covered by spiders, and that what she mistook for the tree bark and glimpses of earth between the grass stems, were actually their dark, velvety bodies milling around in constant motion. She stopped dead in her tracks.
“You need not be afraid,” Ayalla said from the far end of the glade. “Your Kaddim link is silent at present. However, I intend to open it now, so that the Guardians can decide how far gone you are.”
The Guardians. Did she mean the spiders? Kara clenched her teeth. Whatever games Ayalla was trying to play with her, it hardly seemed to matter. She assumed the bite of many spiders had to be better than one, since more poison would dissolve her body much faster. At least she hoped this was the case. It was probably going to hurt more too. She swallowed, willing to relax her muscles and stop the treacherous tremor in the pit of her stomach.
Ayalla surveyed her calmly, as if aware of every bit of her discomfort. Kara willed herself not to give a damn. She knew when she was outpowered.
“Ready?” Ayalla asked.
“For what?”
The headache pounced unexpectedly, the intensity of it sending Kara to her knees. The forest glade in front of her eyes fell away, opening into a void. Kara felt as if falling. Her grasping hand came upon a moving object that hastily scrambled out of her reach – a spider, but this didn’t seem to matter anymore.
She was standing in a stone hallway, the chill emanated by the low ceiling and roughly hewn wall mixing with the heat of the wind that swept in dry sand from the outside. The desert. All around us. The thought seemed foreign, as if not coming from her own head.
Hooded figures lined up by her sides, watching a man pace back and forth along the opposite wall. His hood was off, revealing a bald head, parched skin stretching over the bones of his skull. His eyes had a red tint, and in the semidarkness of the chamber they glowed like embers fresh from the fire.
Animal fear rose inside her at the sight of the pacing man.
The Kaddim Reincarnate.
How do I know that?
Her lips stretched, the voice coming from her throat alien, male.
“Her link has been temporarily blocked, Cursed Master. And now it’s active again, but somebody is tampering with it.”
She barely recognized the voice, altered by the echoes in her own head. Nimos. Damn it, am I inside his head?
The pacing man stopped, peering into her eyes.
“I sense an intrusion, Kaddim Nimos,” he said. “Stop using your link. Now.”
More searing pain that made her head feel as if it was exploding. A moan escaped through her clenched teeth and she felt a hand steadying her, pulling her up to her feet. She opened her eyes with a gasp, taking in the familiar glade, the glistening pond, the crawling spider bodies… Ayalla’s indigo eyes peering into her face.
“It’s worse than I thought,” Ayalla said. “But I can see now that your mind is still intact. You are not one of them.”
Kara shrank away from her, the memory of the pain still rolling through her exhausted body. “One of them? Are you insane?”
Ayalla laughed softly. “Many think that I am. However, this is not important. I will block the Kaddim link in your head – for now. However, when you get close to the man who controls your link, my power will fail. Your allies will have to use their skills to kill him and free you, once and for all. If you manage to remain intact until then.”
Intact. Kara slid down to sit against a tree trunk at her back, her trembling legs refusing to support her – a feeling she was not used to at all. Spiders rushed all around her, but suddenly it did not seem to matter anymore. She tried to focus on Ayalla as the Forest Woman knelt on the ground in front of her and put her palms on the sides of Kara’s face. Cool mist enfolded her, streaming down in droplets of moisture that brought unexpected relief to her pain and fatigue. Her vision darkened and she drifted off into sleep.
18
Embassy
Kyth and Alder sat by the fire in the heart of their camp when shouting from the side of the woods forced them to jump up to their feet. The foster brothers exchanged quick glances and rushed toward the noise.
Around them, Jades were drawing their crossbows and fanning out along the sides of the clearing. Mai strode through their ranks toward a spot invisible behind a small tree grove, a train of top gems forming in his wake. Kyth hurried to catch up.
The lone man waiting for them at the forest clearing ahead hardly seemed to merit such an upheaval. He wore no weapons, his worn clothes of patched brown and green blending with the colors of the forest at his back. He eyed his welcoming party with curiosity rather than fear, a touch of amusement in his gaze as he glanced at the impressive array of bows and crossbows pointing his way.
Kyth’s heart leapt as he recognized the newcomer. “Garnald!” He swept past Raishan into the man’s bear-like embrace.
The old Mirewalker had been around when Kyth and Alder were growing up in the Forestlands, a man who made the Dark Mire his home, whose closeness to Ayalla spawned rumors and fear among the villagers. Kyth felt relieved that Ayalla had chosen Garnald as her messenger. This, more than anything, told him they likely had nothing to fear.
Alder and Ellah pushed past him, exchanging greetings with the older man. Out of the corner of his eye Kyth noticed weapons lowering everywhere in sight.
“I can’t wait to catch up with you lads,” Garnald said. “But right now I am here on official business. I believe he is the one I need to be talking to.” He pointed at Mai, standing at the edge of the clearing at the head of his Gem-ranked retinue.
“Of course,” Kyth muttered. “Who else?”
“I am sent by the Forest Mother,” Garnald went on.
Mai stepped forward, the Majat around him receding at his brief hand sign. Kyth was amazed at how they were able to do all of it without actually moving all that much.
Garnald looked at him with interest, measuring him with an unhurried gaze. “Lady Ayalla would like to speak to you. I believe you know why.”
“Actually,” Mai said, “I don’t – except that I assume she is holding a hostage I’d like to get back.”
Garnald slowly inclined his head. “She does hold a member of your party, but not as a hostage.”
“As what then?”
“This is something she will tell you herself.”
Mai moved to go, but Garnald’s gesture stopped him.
“She will not allow weapons, or any of your men, into her domain.”
“Out of the question.”
Garnald squared his jaw. “In Lady Ayalla’s realm, things are done on her terms, and no other way.”
Mai lifted his chin, but before he could speak Egey Bashi rushed up to his side.
“You need Lady Ayalla’s alliance, Aghat Mai,” he said. “Not to mention that the leverage she holds over you right now is far too great to risk over something like this. Even with your weapons, you will be helpless as a child once you enter her realm. A confrontation over it would not only jeopardize your chances, but would also put Kara in even more danger.”
Mai cocked his head. “Are you expecting, Magister, that I would venture into this forest alone without any weapons?”
“Not alone,” Garnald said. “You can bring Kyth and Alder with you. And the Keeper, if he agrees to join you.”
“‘The Keeper’ would be delighted,” Egey Bashi muttered, his scowl a poor replacement for a friendly smile. “The name’s Egey Bashi, by the way.”
Garnald’s eyes flickered with a str
ange expression, half irony half challenge. “Yes, I remember you, Magister. I also know that your gift of slow aging stems from Lady Ayalla’s own power.”
Kyth frowned in disbelief. He knew that the Keeper was much older than he appeared, but hearing his age mentioned on the same scale as Ayalla’s didn’t make any sense at all. Magister Egey Bashi looked to be in his late forties, perhaps early fifties. Kyth always assumed that with the way people talked about him being older than he looked he might be actually closer to sixty or so, just very well preserved. Ayalla was completely different, a magical being who spoke of events centuries ago as if they were recent. Surely Egey Bashi couldn’t be nearly as old as that?
“You may also bring one more person of your choice,” Garnald said to Mai. “As long as it’s not a Majat.”
“Ellah,” Mai said. “I’d like Ellah to come. Will you?” He looked at the girl.
Kyth felt resentment rise in his chest at the sight of her cheeks lighting up with a faint blush as she nodded, even before Mai could finish phrasing his request. He knew that Ellah was attracted to Mai, who seemed to have no problems with using it to his advantage. Right now, he assumed the Majat needed her truthsense, and he was unlikely to consider the girl’s safety at all to get her at his side.
Kyth’s heart raced. Venturing into Ayalla’s realm on less than friendly terms, with Mai in a volatile mood, was dangerous, to say the least. While he supposed he and Alder definitely needed to be there, if only to do their best to keep Mai from doing something foolish, putting Ellah on the spot raised the stakes. The last thing she needed was to be asked to report if anyone told a lie and risk an outburst that could not possibly end well.
“Couldn’t you at least leave Ellah out of this?” he asked.
Mai’s lips twitched. “And what are you, her guardian now?”
“For lack of a better one, yes.” Mai squared his jaw, but Kyth didn’t budge. “What are you going to do, scold me for insubordination? Or maybe you want to threaten to hack my head off?”
Mai’s face went mask-still. Kyth wondered at the way he felt no fear, even if he knew he was probably risking his life by pursuing the argument.