Comet Fall (Wine of the Gods)

by Pam Uphoff

  It was coming for her!

  She snarled and mentally slapped herself. "He's not a monster, he's just not actually dead. But I'll bet he's pissed." She was half relieved, and half . . . He's a spy. "If he's a spy, I can keep this. Yeah, he's a bad guy." She hefted the pack and staggered uphill. Then she reached back and pulled away the ground and the pine needles, shoved—the body thumped down with a groan, and she fled. She knew the perfect spot to hide the loot. There was a little fumarole on the side of the mountain . . .

  Chapter Ten

  1370 Late Fall

  Ash

  Rustle brought the wagon back home with the first cold weather and set herself to study the hot springs.

  The little fumarole by the house that they called the teakettle was clear and easy to recognize, and the Witches' hot springs likewise. So. She needed the spell.

  "Dad, I need something from you."

  "Yes, sweetie, what may I fetch my lovely daughter?"

  "I would like to see your traveling spell," she told him.

  "Rustle, wizards travel. Witches . . . your mother does the power part, just like when we build."

  She just waited.

  He crossed his arms and frowned. "Am I going to regret this?" But he tapped his forehead and mimed opening a box.

  And there it was, a glittering construct that connected one recognized location to another. It had elements of speed and direction, orientation, momentum changes, power gain and bleed all in an intricate cascade, carefully controlled.

  "Thank you, Dad." She retreated to consider it, and reconstruct it, bit by bit.

  Nil arrived the next afternoon. "Hey Rustle. You will be careful if you play around with that, won't you?"

  "I will," she checked automatically for Xen—crawling away from the house with Never pacing after him—then brought out her cascade to show him.

  Nil caught his breath. "If I could get your father to analyze and rebuild spells like that . . . " He brought out his own and they went over them link by link. "Likely dump you on your head, rotating that direction."

  "Oops!"

  Xen giggled behind her. "Oops!"

  Never scooped the boy up and retreated a bit. Sneaking looks back at them every few minutes.

  "So what you need now, is recognized points," Nil told Rustle.

  She brought out her mental concepts of the teakettle and the witches' hot springs. The mountain.

  "Right. I'd recommend against trying to go as far as Mt. Frost until you've had a lot of practice hopping between these the two hotsprings."

  "Nil!" her mother hissed. "She's a witch, not a wizard. She can't travel."

  The Sheep Man snorted. "How much do you want to bet?"

  Rustle stepped closer to the teakettle, let its physical presence fill her senses. Then she remembered the witches' hot springs, recognized their unique flavor and feel, and holding them both, opened the traveling spell and stepped forward. Into the hot pond. She tottered, and sat down with a splash.

  "Rustle, what are you doing here?" Answer was sitting up straight, and the other four Dark Crescents were there too. Frowning at her.

  "Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize there was a meeting." She scrambled out of the water.

  "If you lived in the village like a proper witch, you would know that we are talking about out how to train the younger witches in physical spells much earlier than usual, because of the comet in five years. Do not interrupt us. Do not spy on us. And do not bother coming for lessons. You've already missed so many you are behind in everything." The five old women turned their backs on her.

  Rustle blinked back tears. Then walled off her emotions and filled her mind with both locations and opened the spell again. Stepped on the fumarole and burned her foot.

  "Oww! Damn! Okay, next lesson is how to keep a safe distance from dangerous recognition points while traveling." And now I can cry without anyone wondering about it.

  Nil chuckled wickedly. "Something to keep in mind, when you pick an exact point to travel too. Focus more carefully. And take the rest of the day off. You're about to have whopper of a headache."

  Xen speed crawled over to climb on her and hug her. "Mum. Owwie! Damn!"

  "Yeah." Rustle hobbled back to the porch. She felt a lot more shaky and weak than a burned foot . . . oh. Right energy drain. She let her mother fuss over her, and gently take away the pain and speed the healing of the burn. It doesn't hurt nearly as much as the rejection. The utter . . . they didn't even notice how I came and went.

  Nil worked with her for the next week, not just on traveling, but looking at her reconstruction of her father's goat spell, the human spell Nil had placed on the dragons, and the genetic transformation to a dragon she had constructed years ago. And her purple rabbit spell.

  "Five years ago you were inventing things like this? Girl, you may source from Earth, but you really should attend some Wizard classes. Now. Let me show you a spell of containment. Picture it as a box. It will keep your spells nice and tidy, and you can be sure that you are triggering only one at a time, and not accidentally also invoking something else that shares a lot of overlapping basics."

  The boxes helped enormously in keeping things straight.

  Then he examined what she'd done to Phantom and Havi and his half wizard friends. He went away thoughtfully, and two days later Aunt Question brought a very apprehensive Jek with her. At ten, Jek was both protective of his male parts and aggressively wanting to be a wizard like both of his parents and his grandfather. After some examination of Phantom, he apprehensively gave her permission to close the door on his puberty. She hugged him, remembering Havi at that age, and the agonizing teasing he'd gotten from both boys and girls. The sneers, contempt and pity of adults. "I hope this works. It is a whole lot better than the alternatives." She looked inside him, and saw the same small child at the stairs she'd seen with Phantom, and built the doorway and closed it. "There. All done," she told him. Much easier than the goat boys. She'd had to wrestle their inner teenagers back up the stairs they were halfway down, and then close and lock the door.

  "That was . . . very interesting." Never was frowning. "Nothing I'd ever thought of."

  Question shrugged, as Jek slipped away, no doubt to check the integrity of his parts. "You never needed anything like it. We've been arguing about this, or really, hiding from it, for years, literally. Lefty was beside himself when the Sheep Man brought it up, the last time he was here. Old Gods, I hope this works!" She glanced guiltily in Jek's direction. "And that you can reverse it."

  "Nil said it might just wear off, that spells that aren't reinforced periodically did that," Rustle said.

  Never nodded. "I expect Nil will keep a close eye on his grandson."

  "Oh yes, that's for sure." Question hugged Never. "We're getting too domestic, you and I. We need to go out and do something outrageous."

  Never snorted. "My . . . father wants me to come to Karista and politic again," she glanced guiltily at Rustle. "It was certainly outrageous the last time he dragged me there."

  "Actually, Mom, there is something you could do in the City. Havi and I've got some diamonds that need to be sold, and I think Havi's got stuff that he needs to buy, not to mention the Land Grant seems to be stuck in the bureaucracy, and once unstuck needs to be paid for. With the diamonds I think he can just pull it off. You two could go and be assertive witch and wizard, talk politics and the military applications of magic, and use the commerce as an excuse to leave as soon as possible."

  Never and Question swapped looks.

  "And isn't Uncle Lefty stuck somewhere around the City for the winter?" Rustle grinned. Sold! "And when you talk to the Military types, do be sure to remind them of the sixteen year old witch who beat up eight Young Bloods after she'd been knocked unconscious."

  Rustle plowed through late winter snow several times for wizard style magic lessons. Then she learned the feel of the wizards' tower and merely landed knee deep in snow. Ech, Zip and Joffe lived at the tower, and grinned as they
dragged her into the wizards' work area to show her their grasp of power. And gripe about the exercises Nil was forcing upon them.

  "You're a witch, you shouldn't be able to do wizard spells." Joffe complained.

  "I've got a wizard gene from my father." Rustle frowned. Two power genes. Not the same two the gods have, but . . .

  After Nil drilled her, she retreated to gossip with Xanthic and Young. She was, unfortunately, still the main topic, and the rumors were building and spreading.

  "Even Tromp, Zenith and Cost all getting knocked up didn't pull much attention away from you." Young shrugged. "Makes me glad to be a wizard, not a witch."

  "People are blaming any unexplained deaths on witches. Not here; nobody's died recently. But in the poor parts of Karista . . . Answer is furious, says you've set witches' reputations back a century. Take our advice, and stay out of the village for a while longer." Xanthic rolled her eyes. "Idiots."

  Rustle remembered some older advice as well. "Don't let the best in yourself be ground down." Wolf was talking about the burden of the baby. But it's nearly everyone else that is grinding at me. "I doubt the fuss will last too much longer. People do have common sense, and they know what young lords often act like."

  A week before the Winter Solstice, Rustle talked her sisters into babysitting, and walked into Ash. The road had been cleared of snow, but it was iced over and slippery. She decided against riding.

  Answer wasn't home. Ultra raised her nose and pointed across the road to the tavern.

  Oh great. I get to do this in public.

  Answer was sitting at a table with Furious and Glorious.

  Rustle tried to not be obvious about noticing the Auld Wulf sitting in his usual spot, chatting with Harry and Romeau.

  "Good morning, Senior Sister." Rustle waited . . . "I thought that I should ask if I was welcome at the Winter Solstice meeting, or if you would prefer I stay away."

  Answer finally shrugged and looked at her. "It is our duty to the Pyramid to keep it running well, to protect the witches from prejudice, and protect the ordinary people from witches using their abilities to harm people, or with poor control and rebellious ways that can lead to dangerous magic and a backlash against the Pyramid.

  "If." The old witch raised her voice as if to drown out protest. "If you comported yourself modestly and obediently, as Particular does, we could overlook your being a Black Widow."

  Rustle rocked back on her heels. "I isolated myself last summer, meditating and working. I am not rebellious, and I certainly don't have poor control."

  "You disobeyed when you experimented on humans. But cutting you off from lessons in genetics didn't stop you, did it?"

  Havi and goat boys . . . well, it wasn't genetic, but it was a crass and uncontrolled experiment. "I take it you don't want me at the solstice."

  "You are no concern of mine. By your own actions, you have shown that you are not part of the pyramid."

  Rustle braced her shaky knees. Forced steadiness on her diaphragm. "I hope my disgrace does not reflect on my family."

  "Oh. Now you worry about how your actions might affect other people? Begone."

  "I am just asking you to not treat my family the way you are treating me. Shunning me."

  Answer's nose rose, her tones cooled. "We are not shunning Obsidian and Topaz. They aren't even old enough to be considered New Moons, and they don't live in the village. Never . . . has left the village voluntarily."

  Rustle shrugged wearily. "I accept your ejecting me from the Pyramid. I'm eighteen. Legally an adult. When the weather permits, I will leave Ash. Just . . . stop hurting my sisters. Your great granddaughters."

  "I am not hurting them. As they show signs of approaching power, they will be welcomed into the Pyramid. Your departure . . . will no doubt make the other children's mothers less apprehensive about visiting." The old woman smiled faintly.

  Rustle turned and reached for the doorknob.

  "Oh. And do try to not kill anyone. Or experiment with them. Again. Especially their genetics. Again. I would hate to have to hunt you down like those Goat Wizards."

  "Answer." The Auld Wulf's usually soft deep tones held a bit of a growl. "As the Land Grant Holder of Section Two, Foothills Province, I can kick someone out. I can declare someone an outlaw. You may organize your Pyramid in any way you wish. Be content with that power."

  The old witch narrowed her eyes.

  Rustle winced. "She is not sending me away. I am leaving to end the shunning of my mother and sisters." Rustle looked back at her great grandmother. "You've already won. I advise against turning it into a war." She got up and walked out. Hunched against the cold.

  "Rustle . . ." The Auld Wulf fell into step with her.

  "Well. That washed a good deal of dirty laundry right out in public."

  "Rustle . . ."

  "If I stay, it will get worse. I will not destroy the Pyramid." She kept her head down, watching her footing. "It's my fault. I did experiment on Havi and the goat boys."

  He sighed. "Gisele says it's brilliant. Havi went to her, before he talked the other boys into going to you."

  "He did?" She huffed out a foggy breath. "Wise of him. I should have gone to her first."

  The Auld Wulf shrugged. "With magic . . . there's no way to know, without trying it. You stopped puberty, or at least lowered hormone production to where puberty will be delayed. No one knows if that will have the same empowering effect on wizard abilities."

  "Yeah."

  She could feel the Auld Wulf's searching gaze. Didn't meet it.

  He stopped walking.. "You know that silly game witch girls play, putting charms on boys' names to find their true love?"

  "Yes." She stopped, and looked back at him.

  "If you charm a piece of paper with my name and put it in the pouch, I will receive it. Please, if you need supplies, send me a note. And if you want to come home from further than you feel confident to travel yourself, just ask. Never's house is, technically, out of the village. And if you get into trouble, just yell for the God of War." He smiled wryly. "Or the God of the Roads, if you are on one. And if you set up markers every evening, you will be on a road."

  She couldn't help but smile. "Yes, Mother. I grew up wandering the New Lands. I'll be fine. And I own a piece of Havi's settlement, so I will have a place to go. But I think Xen and I will both be the better for a bit of traveling." She turned and walked away.

  They couldn't go until the weather moderated.

  But the days lengthened and the snow melted; she started packing.

  ***

  Rustle was meditating by the Teakettle when she heard her mother's laughter. Mother's home from Karista! She stretched and walked back to the house.

  Her dad was just handing Never down from his lap.

  Ridiculous way to ride double! Rustle could feel herself grinning. Havi had abandoned his latest wagon, Obsidian and Topaz were running over from the house.

  Xen looked out the window and turned his back. Rustle's good mood crumpled. She forced a smile.

  Havi got his hug in first. "How did it go? Did you find a buyer?"

  "Yes, all the diamonds are sold and so we brought you a present," Never handed over a rolled parchment. "Not really from us, since you paid for it, but we did the legwork and suggested a location and are therefore proud to deliver your land grant."

  She turned and hugged the girls. "Goodness, I was only gone a few weeks."

  "It felt like forever." Obsidian glanced at Rustle and bit her lip.

  "It's actually everyone's land grant," Havi pointed out. "Two hundred miles by two hundred miles, enough for a village to grow into for generations."

  Rustle leaned into the crowd to give and receive a hug from her mother.

  His father eyed the parchment. "Where is it?"

  "On the east side of the Rip," Never said. "The Old North Road is the northern boundary, the river the western one. It holds most of those grasslands where we killed those two huge bull bison, on our fo
urth trip."

  "Grasslands?" Havi perked up. "Wait, I remember the bulls. They were fighting each other, and you practically walked right up to them before you sliced them. Aunt Question said the pair of you were insane."

  "Yep, that's the place. I wanted to make sure you could at least graze your animals," she grinned at him. "I hope you won't have any troubles with building your homes."

  "Yeah. We figured we'd start with tents for the summer, up on the plains, and build solid homes down in the Rip. Where we will eat lizard all winter while lolling about in hot springs. Nobody believes me about the lizards."

  "No one ever does, until they see for themselves." Dydit smirked, glancing at Never.

  Havi cuddled the parchment. "We're leaving as soon as the pass is clear."

  "That will be another couple of months, boy." His father protested.

  "Yeah, and a good thing this is the last wagon, because we need to start filling them now." He shot a nervous look Rustle's direction.

  Never frowned. "Have you decided to go with them, Rustle? You know you need a lot more training . . . " She looked around at them all. "All right. What did I miss?"

  "I had an argument with Answer." Rustle shrugged. "I am no longer a member of the Mount Frost Pyramid. I think I'm going to do a bit of exploring around the New Lands, maybe even get down to Cadent."

  Never closed her eyes, a vertical line of pain between her brows. "I should never have left you alone to face Answer. And you told me to put all your money toward Havi's land grant."

  Rustle shrugged. "Money isn't terribly useful in the New Lands. I've got some garnets I'll take with me, in case I get to Cadent."

  "You can't just go. A woman travelling alone?"

  "A witch. And I'll have Xen."

  ***