She tried to run around him, but he grabbed her and lifted her onto one hip.
“No!” she protested. He moved into the place between and hurried back towards the edge of the outer circle, seeking the child’s mother.
He found her still casting about, weighed down by an enormous pack on her back and a baby in a sling between her breasts. Six of her children stood with hands linked in a ring around her. As he appeared next to them she looked up, gasped and began to apologise.
“I’ll keep hold of her, if you like,” he offered.
She hesitated, then nodded.
Returning to the centre, Tyen joined Yira. She placed a hand on his shoulder. The sorcerers gripped his arms again.
“There’s an arrival place to the north, in a ruined city up in the mountains,” she told him. She lifted her head. “All ready?”
“Wait…” someone said, then: “Yes, go ahead.”
“Take a breath,” Tyen instructed, then he counted to five and pushed away from the world and began to skim.
They reached the ruined city and followed a path to the next world. A cultivated garden appeared, and he moved sideways until he found a wide enough stretch of flat ground to arrive in. A group of people in fancy clothing watched with mild curiosity at the large number of strangers who appeared before them. Tyen’s skin pricked at so many witnesses who would remember their passing, but it couldn’t be helped. The next arrival place was in a forest clearing, so Yira held everyone just outside the world while he went ahead and levelled the vegetation.
The final leg of the journey set them down on the top of a gently domed hill, but that still meant the outermost ring of people would have a small drop to the ground. He paused long enough for them to anticipate the fall. A few tumbled to their knees, but all got to their feet and dusted themselves off, uninjured.
Tyen looked around. Beyond the hill in all directions was a calm green-blue sea dotted with islands. Yira let out a sigh, then asked if all were present. To Tyen’s relief, everyone had come through.
“This is your new home,” Yira called. “There is a village on one of the islands. Priests from the local temple are watching this hill and will send boats to collect you.”
The girl on Tyen’s hip began to squirm, so he slipped out of the world a little and sought her mother. The woman smiled as he appeared beside her. Her other children were running about, rolling in the soft, fronded vegetation that covered the hill.
“Thank you.” Then her smile vanished. “Look after Ayan for us?”
“I’ll try to,” Tyen promised, then he smiled crookedly. “If he lets me.”
She grimaced in sympathy. “Yes, he is a stubborn one. Safe journey back, Tyen Ironsmelter. Thank you for delivering us all safely.”
He returned to find Yira talking to the older couple who had camped near her at the base.
“No, they will be delighted to have you here,” she was saying. “In the local villages the younger generations keep leaving, seeking their fortunes in this world’s cities. You’ll have to live more humbly than some of you are used to, but it will be more comfortable than the base.”
Tyen looked around, reading acceptance and determination in the minds and faces of the people. Few were happy to be parted from the sorcerer or sorcerers in their family, but they did not object. Living conditions had been growing rapidly worse, and they did not want their need for basic supplies to endanger their loved ones.
“Tyen,” Yira said, “you can go back now. Let everyone know we arrived safely. I’ll see the families settled and bring the volunteers back later.”
He nodded. “Travel safely.”
As he pushed away from the world he saw arms rise, pointing at white shapes on the calm sea. Boats, from what he could make out.
Travelling alone again, he enjoyed the simple relief of no longer being responsible for such a large number of people. He wondered what the odds were of successfully transferring a few hundred people without mishap. Vella might know…
Vella! He pressed his hand to his chest. What do you think, Vella?
“That depends on many factors, including the skill of the sorcerer, the effort put into preparing the people, the– ”
Wait. I must stop and talk with you. There might not be another chance for a long time. He considered where he could read her without anybody seeing him. If he paused at the ruined city he would not have to walk far to be concealed from other travellers.
He retraced his path. As he surfaced in the ruined city the chill mountain air filled his lungs and stung his face, so he warmed the air around him. He moved off the arrival area, walking in among the half-broken walls of the surrounding buildings. Finding a half-shattered column lying on its side, he sat down and drew the pouch out from beneath his shirt.
He slipped Vella out and inspected her. She seemed unharmed by so many days hanging around his neck. The pouch, in contrast, was looking a bit worn and grubby. Though the washing facilities at the cavern were private, he’d been worried that someone would barge in on him by mistake, or glimpse him through the cracks between the panels. Anyone who saw that he was keeping something under his clothes would rightly suspect he had something to hide. So he’d taken her off at the same time as taking off his shirt, carefully transferring her into a clean shirt when he dressed again.
Opening her pages, his heart lifted as words appeared on the page.
Hello, Tyen.
Vella. How are you?
I am no different to the last time we spoke, she replied. Apart from storing what I have learned whenever we have been in contact.
Do you think the families will be safe?
The likelihood of them being harmed by the Raen is slightly reduced.
Because they are harder to find?
No.
Then they can still be used to threaten to blackmail the rebels.
Yes.
He shook his head. Had he gone to all that effort for nothing? What would it take to protect them?
“Keeping them out of the way,” a voice said, from a few steps behind.
Tyen froze. He realised a shadow had fallen over Vella’s pages. The shape and voice were all too familiar. Yet as his surprise passed, fear receded. He recalled the Raen’s words: “… leave their base from time to time. I will find you.”
He stood up and turned to face the man.
“Raen,” he said, then he paused, not sure if he should bow, or if that was the proper way to address the ruler of worlds. Last time he’d not known for sure who this man was until long after such gestures of respect were required.
Should I bow, like I would to the Emperor of Leratia?
“No,” the Raen said. “Do nothing that would betray your familiarity with me. I detect no others near, but there is always a chance we may be observed from afar.”
Tyen resisted the urge to look around. At the same time he wondered what he should say next. He was supposed to report on the rebels. He thought of all that had occurred.
“They are disorganised,” he began. “They don’t comprehend the risks they are taking.”
The Raen’s gaze was fixed somewhere within Tyen’s head. “Moving the families out of the way was sensible, though Vella is right, they are not safe. Better to have each rebel hide his or her own family, so that only one family would be betrayed if they were caught.”
“I will try to convince them.” It was strange to be discussing ways to protect them with the person they needed protection from.
“They are in no danger from me, but others might act on my behalf, believing the rebels a threat.”
Tyen nodded. “Which they aren’t.”
“They will be. They will not give up as easily as you hope. They never do.”
“Unless I stop them.”
“That is not what I require from you. Do not attempt to slow or halt their development if it means compromising their trust in you.”
Tyen nodded. They’d have to trust me to begin with, for there to be any d
anger of me losing it, he thought wryly.
“They will trust you, after today,” the Raen assured him, then his voice grew quieter. “Do not linger here. They will wonder what you were doing between leaving their families and returning to the base. Any delay will undo all you have achieved.”
And between one blink and the next, he vanished.
Tyen stared at the wall behind where the Raen had been. He placed a hand over his heart, which was beating fast. Yet he was not afraid for himself.
Then who? The rebels? Something about the Raen’s last words nagged at him. The man’s face had shown no expression, his voice had been level and even. Yet the simple act of lowering his voice had hinted at a confidence, or a secret. Or a warning.
Tyen had not planned to talk with Vella for long. Why would a small delay undo the trust he’d earned, when all the sorcerers had been told to return to the base via different routes, to avoid leaving a freshly used path leading directly from the families to the rebels’ base?
If not returning immediately is suspicious, what could happen within that time that would make my delay significant?
Tyen’s skin prickled. He slipped Vella back into her pouch and pushed away from the world. How is it possible that the Raen knew I was alone, and where?
“Coincidence, or he–or someone else–was watching you,” Vella replied.
Surely he has better things to do. No, someone else has been watching me. They saw me. They may have seen all the people who I took with me. They may have followed, and read some of the minds of those people, and learned the location of the base… they’re going to attack the base!
He abandoned his indirect route and headed directly towards the Worweau Market hoping that speed would make up for hiding his tracks. Worlds flashed in and out of sight as he sped between them. Reaching the market, he stopped only to catch his breath before heading for the base. Doubts caught up with him then. What if he was wrong? He resisted the temptation to cut a direct path, keeping to their habit of winding back and forth on the many routes criss-crossing the world.
He saw someone flash past, then heard half a word that might have been his name. Slowing, he stretched his awareness back and sensed a familiar presence.
Brev, he thought. He stopped and surfaced in the world, arriving at the bottom of the cliff on which the ice sheet lay.
The young rebel materialised. At his grim expression Tyen felt his heart sink.
“What is it?”
“You can’t go back,” Brev said. “It’s been… the base has been attacked.”
Tyen cursed. I was right. But he felt no satisfaction, only a terrible guilt. Yet what could I have done to prevent this? If I’d confessed to being a spy before today they’d have moved everyone, including the families, to an equally ineffective hiding place.
“You couldn’t have done anything, Tyen,” Brev told him. “It happened a while ago, I reckon. Maybe not long after you all left. The bodies were cold.”
Tyen stared at him. He felt sick. “Are they all… dead?” he made himself ask.
“No.” Brev’s smile was grim but triumphant. “I reckon everyone scattered, like we’d planned. But he got Ayan and five others. I don’t know if he managed to chase anyone down afterwards, though.” He shuddered. “I came back from testing a few new recruits and found them. Got out of there as quick as I could. I took the tunnel in case they came back and tracked me. Longest sled ride of my life.”
Tyen shivered at the memories he was catching in Brev’s mind. The Raen had killed six rebels; then, directly afterwards, sought Tyen out. He said nothing. But why would he?
He shook his head. “Was there a place we were supposed to meet if this happened?”
Brev nodded. “A couple of regrouping locations, so we didn’t all end up together.”
A sensible decision at last, Tyen mused. “Tell me where one of them is. I’ll warn Yira and the others and meet you there. And…” He paused as his insides roiled with nausea and dread. “Tell me the names of the others he killed, so I can inform their families.”
CHAPTER 8
“They will trust you, after today,” the Raen had said.
The sixty-one rebels who had helped transport the families had returned with Yira to one of the regrouping places–an abandoned mine in a world next to the one containing the Worweau Market–where they found ten of the thirty or so leaders. Scanning the minds of the people huddled in the room, Tyen was relieved and surprised to see little suspicion of him in their minds. They considered the timing of the families’ removal lucky or, at worst, believed that the Raen had noticed the large group of people being moved and traced its path back to the base.
They were grateful to him and Yira for moving their loved ones out of harm’s way and now hoped they’d find somewhere safe for everyone else. Those who still want to be rebels, that is, Tyen thought as he continued his examination of their thoughts.
All were shaken by the attack. Several were planning to slip away and find somewhere to hide, only waiting until everyone left in the hope that the Raen, if he noticed, would chase down someone else. But just as many were angry, craving revenge or the restoration of damaged pride.
In their memories he learned something unexpected.
“Wait,” he said, interrupting a rebel who was describing the attack to Yira. “You said ‘they’ appeared in the meeting room. Other sorcerers were with the Raen?”
The man nodded. “Yes. Several people. And none of them the Raen, from what I saw.” The other leaders nodded.
Yira looked thoughtful. “How many?”
“I don’t know. Twenty? They were all over the room.”
One of the other rebels shook his head. “You disagree?” Tyen asked.
“Not that many,” the young man replied. “I was at the side. I got a good look at them. I’d say about nine.”
Tyen hoped his relief did now show. It was a bitter comfort knowing the Raen had not killed the rebels personally.
“Who were they?” someone asked.
“His allies,” another replied.
“His shadow hands.” The speaker was Coben. The young man seemed unperturbed by having joined the rebels the same day they were attacked.
“Shadow hands?” Yira repeated.
“The hands that do work in the shadows,” Coben explained. “Murder. Torture.”
“Stealing people or luring them elsewhere with promises of work when they mean to sell them as slaves,” a woman added.
“Poisoning land of their enemies so no crops will grow.”
“Bringing disease to a world to reduce the population.”
“Depleting most of the magic of a world.”
As others added to the list, Tyen’s saw their thoughts growing angrier. Several of the rebels began to change their minds about leaving. His stomach twisted with guilt again. What am I doing, serving a man who approves of these horrors? Is giving Vella a body worth this? Yet a suspicion was uncurling inside him. He thought of what the Raen had said: “… others might act on my behalf, believing the rebels a threat.” How much of what these allies had done had been at his orders?
The Raen was most likely blamed for many terrible things that happened in the worlds. He was the ruler of worlds, so he may be held responsible for everything his subjects did, especially his allies.
Yet it was likely the Raen had sent his allies out to do terrible deeds for him. He is a ruler. A leader has to deal with threats to those who rely on his protection. As ruler of all worlds, all worlds rely on him to ensure peace, if not prosperity. He remembered the Raen’s words on their first meeting: “… my laws keep the strife of the worlds from growing into greater conflicts.” He did not seem like a man who acted out of pure malice, mischief or greed. Tarren had said as much. So why allow his allies to do these things?
He had no answer for that. If the Raen’s allies were prone to act on his behalf, thinking they were helping their leader, it was possible the Raen had not known about the attack.
But the man’s warning that Tyen should not delay his return hinted that he had.
Some in the room had concluded that the Raen, by sending his allies to attack them, had meant it as a warning. Tyen was inclined to agree. Until now the guilt and horror he’d felt at the deaths had been tempered by the knowledge that many of the rebels were not planning to fight any longer. But now they were thinking that they could not abandon all the people in the worlds who suffered thanks to the Raen and his allies.
The Raen was right. The rebels won’t give up so easily. More are going to die. Maybe people I know and like. Yira was determined to keep fighting. As she looked at him she thought how much she needed him, both as a friend and an adviser.
“What was that?” a voice called out, and all fell silent. A sound escaped one of the side passages and all tensed. Then a collective sigh filled the cave as two familiar rebel leaders emerged. The pair looked exhausted.
“Ceilon is dead,” one of them said. “We found him at another regrouping place. We think one of the allies followed him.”
A whisper ran through the gathered.
“Did Ceilon know about this place?” someone asked.
“I think so.”
“We can’t stay here.”
Yira looked at Tyen. “They’re right. We need to go somewhere that no leaders know about.”
Tyen nodded. “The families need to be moved as well. Not as a group this time. Everyone should hide their own family, so that only one person among us knows where they are.”
Heads nodded. Nobody objected. Tyen realised they were all looking at him. Or Yira. A shiver of warning ran down his spine.
They targeted Ayan and Ceilon, one of the newcomers was thinking. The allies knew who were the true leaders among us. I’m not taking charge.
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