by A. S. Etaski
Rausery stared a beat, huffed, shook her head once. “You really know how to pick’em, don’t you?”
“I have my sources.” D’Shea folded her arms beneath her breasts. “As do you, or this Aurenthin scrapper would be in the dungeon now, having her skin pulled off in strips for insulting a healer so far above her own meager House.”
“Hey, she’s gone from their sight,” the General growled. “That’s all House Five has to know.”
“She’s gone,” I dared interrupted from urgency, as much as I ached to hear more. “But was she unconscious when you left her? Or awake and already moving?”
Rausery’s umber-red eyes didn’t blink as they shifted to me. “Unconscious, like you were. She was injured enough in her trials that she’d have bled out in a few marks. It was only that she finished to the Prime’s satisfaction before that happened that we could give a draught to stop the bleeding. But she was weak. I thought the same place we left you would give her some time to rest.”
I shook my head. “It’s not safe there, Elder. I know it. I’ll go out and get her, we can restart the trial somewhere she has a better chance.”
“No,” she ordered. “We can’t know everything in a chosen area, that’s part of the test. And no recruit is to be retrieved before reaching edge of the Great Cavern on her own, do you understand? Some have died trying, Sirana, that’s the way it is, but we cheat and the Prime just kills them anyway. We only want the most resourceful ones in the Sisterhood.”
Or the luckiest. “But you wouldn’t have put her somewhere she’d have to bypass a Tragar mining operation, Elder. Not in that state.”
Rausery glanced at D’Shea. “I might still have. Send a Sister or two to watch, that’s all.”
I blinked my astonishment. So easily dropped?
The two Elders must be accustomed to keeping secrets from the other.
D’Shea watched my anxious face for a few moments. “What would you suggest, novice?”
Well-timed relief. I felt gratitude just to be asked. I had an offer.
“If she can’t be retrieved and replaced in another location, Elders, then send me to hunt the Tragar instead,” I said. “I’ll take care of the problem, and she will continue on her own.”
“By yourself?” Rausery laughed. “If there’s even one psion like the last one you ran into, then you’ll either die or be captured. And no Red Sister is to be captured.”
“Send a team, Elders,” I said, unwilling to give up as I felt that frustration, already marks old and growing, now becoming hot and urgent. “We’d have the advantage, the surprise. More memories will surface, I’ll discover what it is they want so close to our city. I’ll bring back a sample of the element they wanted, use whatever I can, everything, like I did before. I refuse to die under a Tragar!”
Rausery stared as my voice rose loud, her sharp eyes piercing and deflating my tirade in a moment; I snapped my mouth shut. Elder D’Shea spoke after a pause.
“She’s going out there anyway, Rausery,” the Sorceress said with a lovely, small smile, her voice smoothly taking control. “That was my plan. Choose your own Sister. But it will be kept to two, as we agreed.”
I stared with more surprise, waiting what seemed a very long time for my heart to slow, and for the Elder General to answer. Meanwhile, I looked at the Sorceress, wondering if she had done something unseen.
“You’ll work with Panagan, Sirana,” Rausery said finally. “We’ll start this hunt early, and we’ll send you out farther than we thought we’d have to. You have permission to ‘take care’ of any Grey Dwarves that threaten the recruit, but she’s not to be seen or confronted by you until she’s crossed over the border into the Great Cavern. She is not to be guided. Understand?”
I nodded agreement, meeting both their eyes. “I understand, Elders. I’ll do it.”
With my Elder seeming pleased with the outcome, Rausery called the two Leads back in and instructed Qivni to retrieve Panagan immediately.
“Tell her to bring her bow.”
I looked at Jaunda, who casually folded her arms and took a comfortable stance between me and D’Shea. I watched my Lead for recognizable gestures, but she made none. It did not take long for Qivni and Panagan to enter. The younger Sister indeed carried a bow and quiver of arrows, going straight to her Elder at a gesture, while Qivni, first with a small bow of her head to D’Shea, stood boldly in front of me, leaning close.
“Let me make this clear to you, novice,” the Collector said with narrowed eyes. “Sisters do not kill each other, or leave each other to die on a mission, and that’s what this is. The Nobles and the armies do that. We don’t. Understand?”
“So long as Panagan does,” I replied, impatient with a threat which hadn’t been on my mind.
“I do, Lead,” the archer said proudly.
“Answer her properly, Sirana,” D’Shea said.
“I understand, Lead,” I said, mimicking Qivni’s bow as I swallowed my resentment. They’re sending me to find Jael. I’m getting what I want.
I realized Rausery had just finished instructing Panagan about something in sign language, and I’d missed it thanks to Qivni. That was intentional, I knew. I glanced at D’Shea, who stared intently at Rausery and ignoring Qivni, but from the way she leaned, I knew she didn’t have a good view of Rausery’s hands. The Elder soon gave her attention over to D’Shea.
“Ready?”
“Been so,” the Sorceress replied.
“Great. You two will leave now,” Rausery ordered, her eyes following D’Shea, who pulled out a small, abstract object which had a cut of red-tinged, Davrin hair wrapped around it.
She nodded agreement, set the piece inside the inlaid onyx circle in the floor. “Stand next to that. It will get you to the closest jump point we’ve built to where she is now.”
After we’d obeyed her, each of us glancing at the other, the Sorceress continued. “Make sure the recruit lives past a Tragar threat, but do not interact with her or otherwise guide her until she reaches the borders. If she does. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Elder,” we answered.
D’Shea looked at me. “Find out what you can of what those Grey Dwarves want in our lands.”
“Yes, Elder,” I said.
“I look forward to the reports.”
There was chant in a familiar voice, a flash of painful light, and a lurch which left me momentarily disoriented. The shock of profound quiet coupled with that sense of empty expanse took me by surprise.
When my mind and my eyes first detected the Radiants in this new space, my first thought was, ~Since when does crystal flow in the Deepearth?~
CHAPTER 7
Veins creeping through the rocks, and crystalline liquid moving inside.
I stared with a dull horror. I couldn’t pinpoint the source, though this moment lasted for only the time it took for jump-circle magic to dissipate. The clear, writhing shine vanished into blackness while my other, base senses kicked in. I smelled raw rock unformed by hand or magic, with a hint of water and moss. A soft thrum from the deep warmth beneath us sounded, familiar and seeping into my bones, and the Radiants that defined the shape of the caverns in pure darkness soon became clear as a portrait to my eyes.
Just stone. Regular stone.
Panagan and I crouched down with high rock on two sides of us, silent and still and all but invisible to anything else as long as we had our cloaks on. I could make out the larger outline of Panagan’s bow and quiver on her back and wondered how good her aim was in a tight place.
D’Shea had said we would be as close to Jael Aurenthietti as they could manage, but I didn’t know which direction or how far. While the area felt familiar, the features were not, and we could wander around for cycles, missing our target. I looked at my partner in this venture, who was at a disadvantage not knowing fully why we were here. Panagan only had her orders. She looked around and I knew she did not find the place familiar at all.
> I signed, *What were you told about the Tragar?*
She frowned askance but at least realized we had to work alone without back-up, which meant closing a knowledge gap. She moved her hand in silence.
*I was told a Ward placed near the recruit was tripped, and the Sorceress identified the threat. The General decided to send us out, far and early.*
One corner of my mouth lifted. *Because she wants this one.*
Panagan jerked her chin in a nod, reading her own words signed back at her.
*I was there when my Elder discovered this,* I lied. *I volunteered because I already know this area. But the General still wanted you, as you told me in storage.*
Panagan’s mouth twisted. *We deflect or kill Tragar. We give Aurenthin a chance to get out of this area.*
*Understood, Sister,* I gestured an affirmative, smiled without showing teeth. *Good to be clear.*
*We start with the nearest water source. She may be there.*
I had no better suggestion, not yet, and soon discovered Panagan knew signs for finding water better than I did. I took careful note. This coupled with my rising knowledge of the area as we slipped farther from the jump circle brought us to a familiar, low-based cavern in what felt like less than a mark. We crouched again, choosing a place low-profile and defensible, and I indicated a particular hole leading to a long tunnel higher on the cavern wall.
*I’ve been here! She will come through there, if she hasn’t already. Only one way.*
*We must confirm which,* Panagan replied with an annoyed slant to her hands.
She moved forward, and I had to admit I was impressed with her tracking skills when she found the subtle signs of a bare-footed, two-legged creature about the size of a Davrin, not nearly old enough for it to have been me.
I began to see why D’Shea and Rausery were quick to agree on their choices of Red Sisters: I had the overall map, Panagan had the experience of detail. I asked questions to glean what I could, but she was impatient; she was not here to tutor me.
*She is ahead of us. We must catch up. As I track, you tell me if we’re following a similar path you once took.*
*If she’s tired or disoriented, she will,* I wagered. *I took the downhill path, least resistance.*
*We shall see.*
I made no corrections as Panagan led the way for the first leg of our trek. Meanwhile, memories resurfaced for me as we traveled, some clear, others murky. We headed essentially the same way I had before, with only a few divergences that still brought us back to that main tunnel that lead to where I’d first heard Kain tapping the stone.
I reminded myself to draw in a breath.
The rock in the area seemed to vibrate with a higher wavelength than my eyes might have detected before. As we continued, a low hum began to flow through my head and into my teeth; it became irritating and distracting. I didn’t know whether to focus on it or try to block it out, and my hesitation must have shown.
*What’s wrong with you?* Panagan signed, her hand flashing quickly. *Step lightly. We’re closing. She’s just up ahead.*
We are? She is?
I raised my hand to reply, hesitated, looking at the odd pulse in a few spots within the rock, like spiders made of light and ready to break out of their blurry egg sac.
Finally, I signed, *Psionic.*
My Sister stared at me, clearly withheld a scoff. *You can’t know that.*
I shrugged. *Tragar, then.*
*I see no sign.*
*They didn’t come this way, we’re not following them.* My signing was insistent. *We’re getting near.*
Panagan paused this time and asked me directly, *Are you a mage?*
I could easily lie, just to persuade her to take my direction. However, I didn’t know how that reputation might affect things back at the Cloister, where else I’d be tested. I wanted neither gossip nor trials coming my way that I had no way to back up.
*No, I’m not a mage. The Sorceress gave me something to help sense them. Temporarily, for this mission. A potion.*
*Why didn’t you mention that earlier?* Panagan signed with a scowl.
*Because the General signed something to you I couldn’t see at the same time!* I retorted. *Can’t know it all at once.*
She accepted this grudgingly enough, looking ahead. *Tragar close, and maybe psionic?*
I nodded and expected a signed or whispered curse. I read her lips instead: Twist my web-sticky tits.
She signed, *Inform me of any change.*
As the hum got stronger, I focused on it more, relying on Panagan to guide me forward closer to Jael while I motioned “warmer” and “colder” to her. That her physical signs for our recruit and my intangible source for the Tragar were consistently going in the same direction was not encouraging.
To my dismay, I could feel exactly when we stepped to the place where I’d killed Kain.
I stopped, my skin breaking out in bumps beneath my red leather.
*They here?* Panagan asked, worried and perhaps feeling the creep as well.
I could see the pile of rocks I’d mounted on top of his body; they had been partially scattered by scavengers and there were no tools, no cloth, no bones. Everything was gone except for a few old blood stains that marred the natural patterns of the stone, as if someone had splashed opaque dye onto a bed of phosphorescent moss.
One side of my head started to hurt, a piercing stab that made me queasy. I smelled the scent of the Dwarf, felt the oil on his skin, heard our grunts in my ears as we struggled, as we coupled. I reached out to place my hand on the stone, trying to stay upright, as I felt again the wide, short prick piercing and stretching my body, ramming itself in again and again.
I want it.
I was so angry, so disgusted and horrified that I needed it like that, and it should have felt so good. I hated how far he’d fallen, how he had weakened, growing to enjoy the trap despite the magic harnessing his gift like a beast of burden. He had spurted inside me, bitten me, my back was scraped raw against the rock.
I was bleeding.
So real…
Someone twisted my ear, and I hissed.
*Silence!!* Panagan signed in front of my face.
I recognized her.
*What’s happening? You’re not acting right.*
*We need to… move beyond,* I replied, taking one determined step past the grave. “We need… distance.*
I fumbled for the sign language and for another step farther down the tunnel. Panagan eyed me, untrusting. Not moving.
Silently, I snapped. *Psionic backlash! Get me away from here! Too much!*
Wary and confused by the demand, she took my upper arm in a hard grip and dragged me with her. Almost immediately I felt some relief and I gestured, *Yes, good. Away.*
Panagan kept me moving when I might have sunk to my knees as the presence in the tunnel weighed down on me. I was desperate to get those memories, those sensations which I had felt a turn ago back under control. It was easily as bad as the first time I’d worn the Feldeu in D’Shea’s bed; I couldn’t have described anything as it truly was in that tunnel, it was entirely inside my head. Panagan could have taken anything from my belt or pouches, she could have signed me a question, and I wouldn’t have been aware but I felt her arm touching me.
Walk. Keep moving.
Eventually my physical sight cleared and my mind calmed down, and I wondered whether there had never been any Tragar up ahead and it was that particular, haunted spot. Panagan picked the place to stop so I could catch my breath, and she stared hard at me as I quickly checked my weapons and belt to make sure all was in place.
She hadn’t touched anything, but I was sure she’d been trying to communicate.
*You’re better now?* she asked.
I nodded.
*What happened?*
*A psion died there,* I answered truthfully enough, too tired to think of a better story. *The death-memory lingers.* I smiled ruefully and a
dded, *Not sure I want to volunteer for another of these experimental potions.*
Panagan nodded. If she had doubted what I said before, she believed me now. *And up ahead? Anything?*
I pulled out my waterskin and took a swig, rinsing my dry mouth before swallowing. I took a few more breaths and tried to concentrate past a throbbing head. That hum from before was still there.
Still in front of us, even as it is also behind us. Delightful.
It scared me to think I might not be able to tell if these twin feelings were connected to the living or not. That was why I needed Panagan’s solid senses to back things up.
I nodded. *It’s up ahead, too. What about you? Sense anything?*
She nodded. *I can hear movement, more than one body. Sounds aggressive. Armored. Could be Grey Dwarves.*
I groaned inwardly. We knew without signing anymore that we had to catch up to our potential Sister right now. We took off.
Jael.
With each stride as my boot landed upon the barren floor of the tunnel, I imagined another stone placed atop another inside my mind, building a mental wall against any other reminders of Kain.
Tragar. Just the threat to be dealt with.
Luck was with us as we came to the next opening with the high-ground advantage, and it was easy to survey from a low crouch. We could see several squat bodies moving around the base of a surprisingly tall, bulbous boulder, and atop it was the lithe form of a familiar cait. She did not have clothes on and crouched on three points of contact, gripping a trembling short sword in her right hand.
Ah, there is our little initiate.
The Tragar had found her first. Jael had gotten herself trapped atop that stone, though given the rough shape she was in and the new blood I could make out glowing more brightly on her body, she was fortunate to still be alive.
Panagan nudged me. *Which are psionic?*
Good question. I looked back, trying to tell a difference between the energy folding around the short, hairy bodies. There were six in total with two that seemed different somehow, though it was subtle. I was making an educated guess, but a guess nonetheless.