"I will handle that if we come to it, but I am confident Naatos won't catch me before that time."
"And what do you get out of this then?" Naatos asked. His expression had returned to its usual mask as he studied her.
"Satisfaction and proof for you that I am stronger than you think. That I am not weak. That I deserve your respect. I am a force to be reckoned with, Naatos. I am the Third Nalenth, and after this, you will know it." Amelia lifted her chin as she spoke. Being resistant was easier than being flirtatious. Hopefully all the false trails she had laid would be sufficient to keep them confused.
"You realize that if this is something we agree to and Naatos wishes for my aid, then I will be hunting you as a dragon." WroOth examined his fingernails for a moment, chuckling lightly. "While dragons aren't as useful underground, they have a phenomenal sense of smell up in the free-flowing air, particularly if they go low to the ground. You wouldn't stand a chance."
Amelia flashed him a smile. "Dragons may be that good, but you aren't."
WroOth's eyebrow arched sharply. "Oh careful there, little sister. I'll have to make you eat those words."
"One of you has to catch me first. And like I said, you won't. Not unless I want you to."
WroOth laughed. He shook Naatos's arm. "When you find her, don't break her. I like her best this way."
Naatos pushed WroOth back. "And I suppose that this has nothing to do with the Machat and the fact that they are nowhere in sight? And absolutely nothing to do with them probably disappearing deeper into the mountains as we speak?"
"I'm not requiring that all of you leave your hunt. Though I think you know how I feel about this. The Machat do not deserve death. And ultimately my reasons are irrelevant. You can take this deal or leave it. But if you do, I will disappear. As AaQar guessed, I'm not in the mountain. I'm somewhere on the mountainside out here, though I'm really not sure where. I'm basically wandering. But if you accept this challenge, then you get to have me, Naatos."
"I think this may be the most brazen thing you have ever done," WroOth said. "There's nothing subtle about you, is there, dear heart? You know you're going to get caught."
"I won't," Amelia said. She looked back at Naatos. "Do you need time to think about this? I would say ten minutes would be sufficient, but I'll let you have more time if you need it."
Naatos stared at her. Hard. Her discomfort increased with each breath. Every moment spent here was a moment they weren't looking for the Machat or her. It was hard not to demonstrate her own nervousness. She gripped her elbow, digging her fingers in deep.
"You are on the mountainside," Naatos said. "The Machat are in the mountain. Now that we know you are on the mountainside, what is to keep us from finding you and them?"
"Lack of time." Amelia kept her voice even. "You can try to get everything. I would point out that realistically it's probably going to be easier to catch me if all three of you look for me. It's not as if the Machat can move that fast. If you're hard-hearted enough to continue in this plan of death and destruction, I suppose it won't make a difference to know they have children and infants with them, cowering in the dark, afraid of the monsters. So your best bet would be to hunt me down and then resume looking for them. It'll be much easier for one person to disappear than thousands. She lifted her shoulders in a shrug that squeezed her breasts. The cloak unfortunately masked part of the effect. "Although, I have to admit, your priorities really sting. I thought you wanted me more than anything, Naatos. I didn't put this corset on because I thought it was comfortable." She started to lift her cloak, but then she wrapped her arms tightly around herself.
"If any of us catch you, then you will do exactly as I tell you," Naatos said. "You will cooperate completely and fully. And you will do it cheerfully and enthusiastically. Additionally, you will not protest at any of the executions I decree. Regardless of who they are. You will understand that all that I do is necessary. You will not participate in any revolutions or rebellions against me. You will assist in every manner possible. You will not protest. You will not resist."
With each word Naatos spoke, Amelia's insides clenched. Now the pressure was even greater. She nodded slowly. "I will agree to that so long as—"
"Don't even ask me not to take over the Tue-Rahs," Naatos said, his voice sharpening.
Amelia narrowed her eyes at Naatos. "So long as all three of you search for me." If she asked for any more than that, she doubted Naatos would agree to this. They were on the cusp of failure as it was. "Don't worry. I know that despite my being the only one you can ever be with that is not enough to barter for the fate of all the worlds. That message has been received loud and clear."
"Then we are agreed." Naatos extended his arms. "It's customary for couples to embrace at a time like this."
"I don't think there have been enough couples in a situation like this for there to be a tradition." Amelia pulled back. "I guess we have an agreement. Remember, all three of you have to look for me. If you don't, then the deal is off. Goodbye."
Naatos opened his mouth as if to speak, but Amelia had already ended the connection. Leaves tickled her nose. She had fallen straight across the path, her arms moving out instinctively to catch herself, leaving them pinned up against her chest.
Slowly, Amelia sat up, her head aching. She took a deep breath, reorienting herself to the cool forest around her. The shadows had darkened. Time to move again.
23
Of Deep Mindreading
Smoke filled Naatos's nose and mouth. Opening his eyes, he groaned. That was an incredibly abrupt ending to the deep mindreading session, and since he had not been prepared, he had struck the ground full force. His head throbbed. Amelia might be strong enough to pull three grown adults into a single mind, but she lacked finesse.
WroOth sat up. He leaned against the wall, his hand to his head. "I feel like I've been whipped back and forth before being thrown across a room into a fireplace. I don't recall deep mindreading being so violent."
"She doesn't know what she's doing." Naatos did not move from the floor. The room spun. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. The warm smoky air filled his lungs. He held the breath, letting the smoke filter out and counting down. Then he exhaled.
"I wasn't aware she could do that." AaQar struggled to stand and then fell back. "How did she get all three of us if she only wanted you?"
Naatos shook his head. The one good thing in all this, aside from her bargain, was that the Talbokians were sufficiently far away. By the time they arrived, Naatos expected the disorientation to have passed.
"Do you think she did it intentionally?" AaQar rested his hand over his eyes. "This will buy her at least another hour or so."
Naatos released another deep breath. "I doubt it. She's just not good at this." The room swam, mixing with the haze of the smoke. Most of the flames had vanished, even from the incense-coated rock points, and the smoke was floating into the narrow vents overhead. He pressed hard against his temples, trying to speed the process along. "Very bad."
"Nerves most likely." WroOth rolled his eyes. "And when will this spinning stop! We can't heal out of it?" He slammed his fist into the stone floor and winced.
"Relax. It'll pass soon." Naatos leaned his head back against the stone wall. There was no way to heal from it because physically there was nothing wrong. This was no more than intense disorientation. Nothing to heal from. For several minutes, he focused on breathing. The rolling and spinning sensation tapered. The entire experience had been far too fast, and she had ended the connection more abruptly than her attempt at seduction. He hadn't even been able to tell whether she was wearing a corset under that cloak.
"Now I know why most sane people avoid deep mindreading unless they have no choice," AaQar muttered.
The sounds of the search drew closer. Boots stomped on stone. Doors cracked open. Shouts filled the halls.
Naatos stood to his feet and caught his balance on one of the few standing rock formations. The room spun far
less now. "No one breathes a word about what happened," he said.
"Trust me. Neither AaQar nor I want to admit that little sister got the three of us in a mind vice and threw us around like straw in a gale." WroOth pinched the bridge of his nose. "Any chance she'll start using that as a weapon?"
"She can't use it if she doesn't know its impact." Naatos didn't want to think about her realizing the potential of this tactic. There were methods to hide certain things from mindreaders, and this might be a good one to shroud. It was only chance that had led her to grabbing all of them at once, and most likely it had occurred because he fell into his brothers. She certainly hadn't expected it if her behavior was anything to go by. "Search for the Machat and narrow possible locations for the Talbokians to focus on, then join me. If I find her before then, I'll signal, and you will leave the mountain and come back as if you were searching for her as well." Naatos started to shift but staggered, unable to focus sufficiently on the form. Hmm…not yet. He caught himself on the wall again, his annoyance increasing. This was ridiculous.
* * *
Amelia wanted to run, but she knew better. She had to pace herself. All too soon she'd have to break out her speed. For now she had to be even smarter. Most likely this would end with her running and abandoning all cunning, but for the time being, she would make the most of what she had. She continued to weave and set false trails while also placing psychic stones at points with clearer marks.
The steady rustling of the wind through the tree branches along with the constant marching of the Talbokian shouts and shifting rocks melded into a disturbing background track. Occasionally crudon roars and guara snarls punctuated the chaos. The coolness of the coming twilight made the air crisp, and all the sounds echoed in Amelia's ears. She knew better than to rely on that. Naatos was a hunter. He would not offer much warning, if any. Same with WroOth and AaQar.
Her skin crawled, and her neck tightened. The forest continued in all directions but to her right. Here the trees became more sparse. Beyond these there were grass hills nestled between the mountains. Small streams branched off from the main river that was currently out of sight. Waist-high grass waved in the wind. It was dangerous to run through there, but if she recalled the layout of the forest and valleys correctly from her time out there, she needed to leave this forest. It would eventually end in a steep cliff.
Amelia removed an old blue sock from the satchel, rubbed it briskly between her hands, wrapped it around a rock, and flung it toward the valley of grass hills. The sock snagged quite a distance away, an eye-catching hint of color amid the gold.
Turning, she took in the rest of her surroundings. The forest encircled the deep valley and all its hills and dips. On the other side of the grass hills the forest resumed with craggier mountains. The forest thickened there with oaks, maples, elms, and similar trees. Most were quite thick in girth. While the lowest branches were a couple feet over her head, Amelia was fairly certain she could climb when she needed to get her bearings.
She removed a large handful of her potent spice mixture and scattered it around seven trees. Then she bolted out toward the grass valley, moving away from the sock. She cast the spice as far as she could, rubbing it onto trees and bushes.
Out here she did not do quite as much. It was easy to sprinkle the spice into the wind and let it carry it away while sifting it into the valleys. Upon reaching the welcoming darkness of the next forest, she adjusted her satchel and seized an elm branch. At this point, she was safe from sight.
The bark grated beneath her palms and the soles of her feet as she climbed. She took care not to get any blood on them as she swung up onto one of the middle branches, continuing to climb until she was over twenty feet in the air.
A startled bird flew at her. Amelia recoiled, holding her hand up to shield her face. Her heart thundered, terrified that it was WroOth or Naatos. But the brown-winged bird flew away, disappearing into the thicket.
Amelia slumped against the branch, relieved. This was going to be a long night. She resumed her path against the branch, pushing hanging moss and dangling leaves out of the way.
As she neared the end, she climbed up onto another overlapping branch from a separate tree. Crawling across tree branches in a dress with a corset wasn't easy, but she had to move slowly anyway to avoid falling. As the light faded, it became harder and harder to see. The fingerless gloves padded her palms, but bark and wood cut under her fingernails whenever she slipped.
"Hmm." Amelia grimaced and pulled out a thin splinter of bark. The bark on this tree shredded into needle-like pieces. She'd have to avoid this type if possible.
The sounds of the Talbokians and the captive beasts no longer reached her except when there was an especially loud exclamation or event. There was still no sign of pursuit. No psychic rock had been triggered. The gold of the sunset had faded now, the pale pink and umber of the clouds overwhelmed by darker colors of night.
She resumed her path, moving southward at and deeper into the forest. Her eyes soon adjusted to the darkness. It was hard to know how much time had passed for certain, but the moon had risen high enough to cast some light. She slipped down the trunk.
Moonlight brought the shadows of the trees to life. The branches and leaves waved across the forest floor. The entire world was swathed in black, silver, grey, purple, and indigo. The coolness nipped at her ears. She pulled her hood up. She took a few steps forward and stopped as the fabric rustled against her ears. Each brush sounded like a footstep. Shaking her head, Amelia pushed the hood back down. Can't risk it, she thought. She scattered a few more false trails, circling around three different trees and weaving back and forth.
Suddenly her mind pricked, and an image flashed before her eyes. She fell back, grabbing a sapling. Her fingers dug into her palm. Which psychic stone was it? She closed her eyes again, trying to capture the image.
Naatos. He was running in wolf form. But where had he been? Come on, come on! Which stone was it? She gritted her teeth together. She held onto the thought of Naatos and tried to trace it back, hoping to recapture and freeze the image. Without thinking, she reached up to stroke her necklace.
Suddenly, everything went black. That now familiar sensation rushed over her, and the tapestries dropped down. But these weren't lined in crimson. They were lined in dark-emerald yarn. Oh dear, Amelia thought.
She turned, trying to orient herself. Naatos in his wolf form stood on the other side, also looking around. His eyes glittered red, narrowing when he saw her.
"Well, you're becoming quite a nuisance with this deep mindreading." Naatos shifted back to his state of rest. "What do you want?"
Amelia glanced at the moving tapestries, wondering if she dared to look at some of his memories. He had, after all, gone through some of hers. "This was an accident. I didn't mean to do it." How had she made it into his mind rather than her own? Did it make a difference that she was focused the first time on what she wanted to say and this time she was trying to figure out what he was doing? Or had she messed up with the psychic stones themselves?
"You missed me that much?" Naatos eyed her. "Deep mindreading does not just happen. You had to want this."
Amelia did not want to tell him about the psychic stones. "Where are you right now?"
"You do miss me." Naatos smiled. He looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on her cloak. "That is encouraging."
"Well, I'm glad you think it's good. Where are you?" Amelia reached out with her thoughts. It should have been easy given their connection, but Naatos's mind was hard. He was more guarded this time.
"Where are you, viskaro? I weary of this chase, and surely you do as well. The night is cold." Naatos circled her. "Tell me where you are. Would the warmth of my arms not be more appealing than the chill of the mountainside? Or did you simply want to gaze into my thoughts and see if I indeed have feelings for you as I have said?" He gestured toward some of the tapestries on the right. "If you wish to see my perceptions of you, then please. They're
in this direction. If you want to see what I hope will happen, we will have to go quite some distance that way." He pointed behind her.
"Where are you?" Amelia backed away, focusing on the iris of his eye and tightening the twist on her wrist. An eking of thought passed through her mind. She didn't catch a name but rather a glimpse of a place. He was near the top of the mountain, circling counter clockwise as he searched for her. Good. It was the next logical choice, which was why she had chosen her path. He hadn't taken the path to the river. Perhaps he was leaving that to AaQar. She forced a smile. "Too bad I'm not better at mindreading."
A muscle jumped in Naatos's jaw. "Tell me where you are, viskaro."
Amelia shrugged. She clasped her hands behind her back and turned, mirroring his path around her. "I would tell you, but I can't. I have no idea where I am. Except somewhere on a mountainside. And there are trees pretty close by. Oh, and it is cold out."
"How helpful." A large stone bench materialized behind Naatos. He sat down. "Are you not going to even look at my memories, viskaro? I thought you wanted to know me."
Amelia laughed a little as she rubbed the back of her neck. How had he made that rock appear? If she could have made things materialize in a place like this, she would have made a sword or something to fight that spider in Matthu's mind. "I think I'll just revel in the anticipation."
"You surprise me. I would have thought you would at least be taking advantage of this opportunity to explore the depths of my mind and all of my plans. Particularly those relating to the Temple of Selgooko and the Tue-Rah. Then you wouldn't have to go back with me at all. You could just tell your Machat and Ayamin friends all about it."
A burning sensation slashed through Amelia's chest. Just as she was delaying him, he was delaying her. "I think it's probably best if we part ways for now."
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