Kelder was surprised, the morning of the first day, to see that the inn was built at a fork; the Great Highway split here, running in three directions, rather than two.
The northern route led back across the bridge to the Small Kingdoms; the southern to Ethshar of the Spices; and the third road went westward, to Ethshar of the Sands and all the northern lands.
When Iridith arrived Asha was washing plates, Ezdral was snoring by the hearth, and Irith was off somewhere fluttering about in the shape of a rainbow-hued bird, while Kelder sat out front and contemplated the three roads, thinking about nothing in particular. Thus only Kelder saw the wizard descend gracefully out of the sky and land gently on her feet.
"You must be Iridith," he said in Trader's Tongue, as she stepped up to the door.
"I suppose I must," she said in Ethsharitic.
Kelder switched languages, apologized for his rudeness, and introduced himself as he opened the door for her and then followed her inside.
He stood quietly not watching as she and Valder greeted each other enthusiastically. When the two were no longer touching, he broached the subject of countercharms.
"The love spell is easy," the wizard said, once the situation had been explained. "A drop of the spell-caster's blood in each of the victim's eyes will clear that right up."
"The spell-caster?" Kelder asked.
"In this case," Iridith said, "that would be Irith."
"We need her blood?"
"Certainly. Just two drops; a pinprick will do fine."
Kelder was unsure just how willing Irith would be—but after all, it was just two drops, and it would cure Ezdral.
On the more serious question of how Javan's Second Augmentation could be ended, Iridith hesitated. "You know," she said, "I've had ideas of how to do it before, and Irith has always refused."
"I don't think she will this time," Kelder said. "I think she's finally growing up."
Valder and Iridith looked at one another silently, then back at Kelder.
"Kelder," Iridith said gently, "she can't grow up. Ever. At all. Not until the spell is broken."
"I think she has," he insisted. "Just a little."
"Well," Iridith said reluctantly, "we can ask her."
They did ask her, an hour later, in the main room of the inn.
"Kelder," she said, staring at him, "are you crazy? Give up my magic? Let myself grow old and ugly, and die someday? Spend all my time in one shape, so I can't get away if someone bothers me? Give up flying?"
"But, Irith . . ." he began.
"Are you crazy?" she repeated. "Of course I won't give it up!"
"I was thinking you could come back to Shulara with me . . ." Kelder began.
"To Shulara? What, and be a farmer? Just sit in one place until I rot?" She stared at him in disbelief. "You are crazy! Kelder, why would I want to live like that! I'm famous and free! I'm special the way I am!"
And then, as if to emphasize her point, she vanished. A moment later Kelder heard the beating of wings outside; he stepped to the door and saw her appear again, rising into the air on gleaming white pinions.
He watched her go with his gut hard and tight with disappointment.
"I should have known," he muttered to himself.
Valder and Iridith said nothing.
Irith returned during supper, and the subject was never mentioned again; instead, Iridith explained how to remove the spell on Ezdral.
"That's all?" Irith asked. 'Two drops of blood? I could have done that years ago!"
"Yes," Iridith agreed, "if you'd known, you could have."
Irith frowned. "Well, next time," she said, "I'll know what to do."
"Next . . ." Kelder stopped himself before another word could escape, but the knot of dismay in his belly grew larger and heavier.
"Shall we take the blood now?" Iridith asked, drawing the silver dagger from her belt.
Irith eyed the blade unhappily, then glanced at Ezdral, still asleep on a bench by the hearth. "There isn't any hurry, is there?" she said. "I mean, Ezdral won't care if we wait a few days."
That was the pebble that sank the barge. Kelder grabbed Irith by the arm and shoved his face close to hers.
"Listen," he said, "you are going over to Ezdral right now, and I'm going to prick your finger, and we're going to put a drop of your blood under each eyelid, just the way Iridith said, whether he's asleep or not. He's been under your damnable spell for forty years too long already!"
"All right," she said, pulling away, "you don't need to shout!"
She turned and looked at the drunkard with distaste, but when Kelder reached for her again she rose quickly and crossed to him. She knelt beside him and held out her left hand.
"Here," she said.
While Iridith watched silently, Kelder used the point of his own knife to draw blood from Irith's left little finger. He dabbed up a drop on his own little finger, then peeled back one of Ezdral's eyelids with his other hand and carefully pressed the drop onto the eye beneath.
Ezdral snorted, but did not stir.
Kelder repeated the operation with the other eye, then sat back on his haunches and waited.
Nothing happened, except that Irith said, "Hai, that hurts! Has someone got a bandage, or some water? Iridith, do you know healing spells?"
The two of them ate their supper that night in resentful silence. At the next table, where Valder and Iridith were bringing each other up to date, Asha made a point of bringing Iridith her meal, to impress her new mistress with her enthusiasm and ability. Whenever the girl looked away Iridith grinned with delight. When Asha was watching, of course, the wizard kept her face serious, accepting the overattentive service in the spirit in which it was meant.
Afterward, Kelder decided that something had to be done. He suspected that Irith, in terror of being coerced out of her magic, was on the verge of fleeing. That would not do. If she fled this time, somehow, he was less certain than ever before that he would ever see her again. Zindré's predictions seemed a tenuous thread to bind her with; he could no longer trust only in the prophecy. He wanted to speak to Irith in private, to explain, to tell her he loved her and ask her to marry him.
After all, why should he keep the prophecy secret any longer? If she was to be his wife they had to trust each other. And even with her magic, even with her refusal to consider a life in Shulara, he still wanted her. They could live in Ethshar, if she wanted, or somewhere else; there was no hurry about going back to Shulara, and he didn't really care if he ever went back—except that Zindré had said he would, and it was her promise that made him dare to ask Irith for her hand.
After all, how could an ordinary farmboy have the audacity to try to wed a legendary creature like Irith, without some magical support of his own?
He needed to tell her all that. He needed to talk to her alone, but with the inn full of customers, with servants hurrying hither and yon, finding a suitable place was a challenge.
Finally, in a moment of inspiration, he borrowed a lantern from Valder and suggested to Irith, "Come out to the hilltop with me and let's look at the river in the moonslight. Both moons are up; it should be especially pretty."
She considered him for a long moment before saying "All right."
Together they walked up to the top of the ridge behind the inn, not speaking yet, and together they settled onto the grass of the meadow. The night air was cool, but not cold— certainly warmer than it had been on previous evenings. The river was a constantly changing band of rose and gold sparkles in the light of the two moons, and for a long moment they watched it in silence.
"Thank you," Kelder said at last, "for curing Ezdral."
"Well, it wasn't his fault," Irith said.
Kelder was still trying to puzzle out exactly what she meant by that when a blood-curdling shriek split the night. Both of them started; the crickets fell silent for a moment before resuming their interrupted chirping.
"What was that!" Irith asked.
"I don't know," Kelder said. "I think it came from the inn." He turned to look.
"Where is she?" screamed the voice. "Where is that bitch?"
"That's Ezdral," Irith whispered. Kelder turned in surprise, and she added, "He's really mad at me."
Kelder had not thought about how Ezdral might react, once the spell was removed. Now that it was thrust under his nose, though, he realized that naturally, the man would be furious. The love spell had protected itself, in a way, by making it impossible for Ezdral to think ill of Irith; now that the spell was gone, forty-four years of frustration and anger could pour out all at once.
And Irith was its obvious target.
Kelder stood and looked back toward the inn.
He could see a shadowy figure, barely visible in the distant light of the torch over the door—a man, standing unsteadily in the road. The figure shook a fist in the air. "Irith!" Ezdral bellowed. "I'll hunt you down and kill you, you stupid little monster!"
"What should we do?" Irith asked, holding Kelder's leg.
"I don't know," Kelder said, frozen with indecision.
The figure by the inn was turning, turning and scanning the dark landscape, and now his gaze climbed the ridge, and Kelder suddenly realized that he must be silhouetted in the moonlight, and that Ezdral might well blame him, as well as Irith, for all his misfortunes—however unfair that might be.
Ezdral spotted him.
"Irith!" the old man bellowed again.
Kelder had not even considered the possibility of mistaken identity.
"Come on," he said, "let's get out of here." He pulled Irith up and began running down the slope toward the river—not with any particular goal in mind, but simply because it was away from the raging Ezdral.
Ezdral, his mind still fogged with drink and fury, saw the figure atop the ridge fleeing and knew unthinkingly and beyond question that it was Irith, that his vengeance was at hand if he could catch up with her. He charged up the slope, yelling.
"I wasted my entire life hunting for you, you stinking little idiot," he shouted, "and by all the gods, I'm going to catch you, finally!"
Kelder and Irith stumbled down the northern slope, toward the bridge and the river, in a panic; Kelder kept a firm grip on Irith's arm. The four soldiers, the toll collectors, turned to see what the commotion was, and in response Kelder instinctively steered away from the bridge, not realizing that that left nothing but the steep bank of the river.
"Kelder," Irith gasped, "Kelder, let go of me!"
Kelder stumbled on dew-moistened grass, and Irith pulled free. She turned and saw Ezdral, with incredible speed for a man in his battered condition, charging down at her.
She squealed in terror and froze for a few seconds. Then, as Ezdral neared, she vanished, and a frightened bird fluttered upward into the night.
An instant later the enraged Ezdral, unable to stop on the steep, slippery slope, lunged through the spot where Irith had stood and went tumbling over the verge and into the river.
He struck with a tremendous splash; a few drops spattered Kelder's breeches. And then, to Kelder's horror, the waters closed over the old man and began to calm.
Ezdral did not reappear.
"Irith!" Kelder screamed. "Save him!"
Irith transformed herself in midair, from bird to winged girl, and called back, "Are you joking? He tried to kill me! Besides, I'd get soaked."
"But he'll drown!"
"He's an icky old drunkard," Irith replied. "Let him drown!"
Words failed him, and Kelder, desperate, dove over the bank and into the river.
He struck the water unevenly, arms and legs flailing, and was astonished at how much the impact hurt—he hadn't thought water was that solid. Then he was in the water—and under it, as he quickly discovered that Irith was right, swimming is something one needs to learn, it does not happen by instinct.
He thrashed wildly, trying to get his head above water, but to no avail; the air rushed from his lungs, and the water closed over his head. He floundered, reaching for the bottom with his feet and not finding it. He tried to call for help, and the water flooded his mouth and nose, choking him. His chest felt as if it were about to burst.
Everything went black, and he waited to die—but death did not come.
Instead, strong arms took hold of him, twisted him around until his face was out of the water. He couldn't see his rescuer as he felt himself dragged through the current, as firm hands clasped his arms and hauled him up onto the bank.
The pressure on Kelder's chest became unbearable; his mouth opened, and he vomited what felt like the entire river out onto the grass.
And with that out of the way, he fainted.
Chapter 35
When he awoke Kelder needed a long moment to figure out where he was. The ceiling was whitewashed and featureless, with morning sun streaked across it, and at first that was all he could see. He was in a bed, he knew that by the feel of the mattress and bedclothes, but which bed he could not tell.
It gradually sank in that he was in his bed at Valder's inn.
He turned his head and found Valder's serving maid, Thetta, sitting beside him, reading something from a small stack of papers. He tried to speak, to ask her what was happening, but all that came out was a croak.
That was enough; she looked up from the papers and said, surprised, "You're awake!"
Kelder was unsure just how to respond to so obvious a statement, but since his voice didn't seem to be working yet, that didn't matter much. He croaked again in confirmation of her observation.
"Just a minute," Thetta said, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder, "I'll go get Valder." She rose and hurried out the door.
Kelder used the time until her return to see if he could get his voice working, and when Valder and Thetta entered he was able to ask, still in a croak but intelligibly, "What happened?"
"The soldiers pulled you out," Valder said. "Ezdral, too. They heard the splashing, and Irith yelling, and they came and got you."
That made sense, Kelder saw. "Is Ezdral all right?" he asked.
Valder grimaced. "More or less," he said. "He didn't drown, if that's what you mean, and he didn't swallow as much water as you did, or breathe any in—Kelder, don't you know anything about being in the water?"
Kelder shook his head.
"Well," Valder told him, "you did just about everything wrong it's possible to do."
Kelder shrugged and smiled wryly. That much he could do; it was only things involving breathing or his throat that were painful.
"Anyway," Valder went on, "Ezdral didn't drown, but he came out of the river still screaming at Irith, and mad at you, and me, and Asha, and just about everybody else. Not that I blame him." He sighed. "I had the soldiers keep him, and they took him back to Ethshar when their relief arrived— they're well on the way by now; that was hours ago."
Kelder blinked. "What . . ." he began, and found he didn't have the breath to continue. He tried again. "What will happen to . . ." Again, his wind gave out.
"What will happen to him there?" Valder guessed, and Kelder nodded. "I don't know," Valder admitted. "I asked them to try to find him a job, maybe clerking for one of the guard captains, but I don't know if that'll work. If not, I suppose he'll wind up in the Hundred-Foot Field—but that's better than the back market in Shan, I'm sure."
Kelder swallowed carefully, readying his throat, and asked, "What is the Hundred-Foot Field?" He had wondered that ever since Azraya had first mentioned it.
"Oh, don't you know?" Valder smiled. "Well, Ethshar is a walled city," he explained, "and it was built during the Great War, when the walls and defenses were serious business, so it has what is probably the biggest, fanciest city wall ever built. It goes around three sides of the city, and the fourth side is the waterfront. There's an entire army camp built into it on the east side—they call the area near there Camptown, as a result. Even so, though, if there was a real war, and the city was under assau
lt, or siege, the wall isn't big enough to move all the troops and equipment you might need from one spot to another, and it's too big to man and equip the whole thing constantly. So there's a strip of land just inside the wall that Azrad the Great declared had to always be kept clear to allow troop movements, a strip extending one hundred feet in from the inner side of the wall. The inner edge is a street, naturally—Wall Street—but nobody needs a hundred-foot-wide street, especially when you can only build on one side of it, so the rest is an open field. That's the Hundred-Foot Field. The penalty for building anything permanent there, even just a few bricks stacked up, is death."
Kelder still looked puzzled, and Valder added, "And since it's the only place inside the wall where nothing can be built, including fences, and since it goes all the way around the city, it's where all the beggars and thieves live. It's a sort of labor pool, too—anyone who hasn't got a place will wind up there, and some of them aren't thieves, just down on their luck, so when someone needs workers and isn't too particular, he can just go to the Field and give a shout, and usually get half a dozen. I used men from the Hundred-Foot Field when I built this inn, two hundred years ago." He smiled reassuringly. "Ezdral could do worse than winding up in the Field, believe me."
Azraya had not been so sanguine about it, and she had actually lived there, while Valder presumably had not. "It doesn't sound any better than Shan," Kelder said bitterly.
Valder shrugged. "Well, you can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved," he said. "And at least you got the spell off him, so he has a chance now, once he calms down. Besides, Shan on the Desert is dying, it's been declining for a century—nobody wants to go all the way out to the end of the World, and now there are other places to get most of what Shan sells. The Great Highway isn't all that great anymore; it used to carry three times the traffic it does now. Most of my customers here are bound to Sardiron or one of the Ethshars; those are all healthy and growing."
Kelder was mollified, but not entirely convinced. He had wanted to do better in his role as champion of the downtrodden. He had found Asha a place, here at the inn; he had wanted to do the same for everyone he had traveled with.
Taking Flight Page 25