“That’s terrible!” Aric said. He hardly knew Pietrus, and from their single encounter he had been left with the impression that the young man was sometimes gripped by sudden, inexplicable furies. But he didn’t know that Pietrus had ever actually hurt anybody, and at this moment, he would have believed Rieve if she had told him that the whole of Athas was under water, including where they stood. “Why would they—”
“We know not. Someone made an accusation, obviously false because Pietrus was home with us while this crime occurred. But there were so-called witnesses. There was amob. They stormed our gates and sacked our house. We were lucky to escape alive. Apparently there’s been a rash of these killings, of human men and elf women, and now they’re saying that Pietrus must have done them all. Djena has some grudge against grandfather, so he decided we were best served by fleeing while we could.”
“I am so sorry, Rieve. If there were anything I could do …”
“I’m sure there’s not, Aric, but thank you.”
“What of Corlan?”
“Corlan’s still in the city,” she said. Her tone had turned glacial, its meaning unmistakable. For an instant, Aric felt like singing. He tried to downplay his enthusiasm, and the knowledge that he still had to rush toward Nibenay, not away from it, made that sadly not hard to do.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ve no idea. Grandfather has some destination in mind, or so he claims. But he won’t tell us. He says it’s safer that way.”
He might never see her again. The idea was almost too much to bear, especially since she was no longer betrothed to another. By the time he finished his business in Nibenay, she could be anywhere. “There have been raiders active ahead, so warn your family, and make sure those soldiers stay alert. But … if I should want to find you …”
She bit her lower lip and lowered her eyes. “I know, Aric.” Then she smiled and dug into a pouch hanging from her belt. “Wait, I have it.” She brought out a small, round pebble, almost as clear as glass. “Take this.”
Aric took it. Everything was slightly distorted, but he could see all the way through it. “Why?”
“Put it in a shallow bowl of water,” she told him. “It will show you an image of me, and tell you which direction to find me in. If I’m very far away, the image will be small, and it will grow bigger the nearer I am.”
Aric closed his fist around it. He had never heard of such a thing, but he was glad it existed. “But … you do magic?”
“Not myself,” Rieve said. “But grandmother … she does some preserving magic, when she needs to. It really is different from defiling, she has told me all about it. And if one has enough wealth—as we do—one can acquire all sorts of odd things. The clear stone is one of those. I had thought to leave it with Corlan, until he made clear that he wouldn’t be using it.”
“Well, I will. That I swear.”
“I hope you do, Aric.” She went up on her toes, pressed her hands against his chest, and planted a kiss on his lips. “I must go—my family’s patience wears thin. Find me.”
“I will, Rieve.”
“Soon as you can?”
“Soon as I can.”
“Good.” She broke away from him, ran back to her mount, and climbed on. The family and their soldiers were already moving by the time she was mounted, and she had to hurry to catch up.
“Who was that?” Myrana asked when Aric returned to his group.
“Rieve,” Ruhm answered.
“Yes,” Aric said. “Rieve, of the House of Thrace. I made her sword.”
“And more,” Myrana said, her words clipped, precise. Was she angry?
Well, of course she was. There had been a certain tension between Myrana and him since they had first met, an attraction that, for his part at least, had been immediate. No promises had been made, no declarations of love, but there had been something growing between them. The hand-tooled scabbard on his belt was only the most recent expression of it.
Then she had seen him completely lose his mind over some other woman, who was, to Myrana’s eye, an utter stranger. Even now, aware of Myrana’s discomfort, and knowing all he would see of Rieve was her swiftly departing back, it took all his will not to watch her go.
They set off again, following the Thrace party’s tracks. Aric hadn’t thought to ask her when they’d left, how far they had yet to travel. His belly would be full, for a change, but he still worried about beating Kadya to Nibenay.
Late that afternoon, a lone rider came toward them. Since this individual appeared even less threatening than the group of that morning, the companions again held fast to their route. When they got closer, Aric recognized Corlan, making speedy progress on an erdlu’s back.
Corlan recognized Aric moments later, and they drew near each other. “Aric! I’m surprised to see you.”
“And I you, Corlan. We’re on our way home. Where are you bound?”
Corlan shook his head sadly. “Rieve and I had … a misunderstanding. It’s complicated, but she’s left town. I should have gone with her, but I didn’t, and …”
Aric pointed the way, although doing it made his guts churn. “Follow our path,” he said. “You’re less than a day behind them.”
“Really?”
“And you’re traveling faster. You’ll catch up today. Tomorrow at the latest.”
“Thank you, Aric!”
“Ride fast, my friend, you’ll find her.”
“I’m grateful to you.” Corlan started to continue on his way, then halted again. “Oh, and Aric? You said you’re bound for Nibenay?”
“Yes.”
“You might want to pick a new destination.”
“Why?”
“Because the Shadow King has declared you an enemy of the state. I nearly forgot—I heard about it just before I left.”
“What? An enemy of the state, why?”
“There’s some story going around. That you’re a traitor, or something … a member of the Veiled Alliance.”
“Who’s saying that? Has the expedition returned?”
“No, not yet. I assumed they’d sent a messenger ahead to warn Nibenay. Or … you know, the sorcerer-king and his templars have their ways.”
“I’m sure they do.”
“There’s a bounty on your head, Aric. You’re to be captured or killed on sight. That’s what I’ve heard. So you would do well to steer clear of Nibenay.”
“But …”
“I’m only telling you what I heard before I left the city.”
“I know,” Aric said. “I’m not blaming you.” He wished he could. Instead, he could only believe that Kadya was behind the lies. The story would make his task more difficult … not that it had seemed easy to begin with.
“I should get after Rieve.”
“Go,” Aric said. “Thank you for the news, and the faith.”
“I’m glad I saw you, to warn you.”
“One more thing, Corlan. How long have you been riding, from Nibenay?”
“This is my fourth day,” Corlan said. “Does that mean you still mean to go there?”
“I’m not sure I have any choice.”
Corlan touched his own neck, gingerly. “Well, I hope you keep your head.” He kicked the erdlu, and it raced off across the desert.
“What do we do now, Aric?” Amoni asked after Corlan was gone. “You can’t go to Nibenay, right?”
“I don’t know. I meant to speak directly to the Shadow King, to warn him about Kadya and the demon Tallik. But now … that might not be possible.”
“Then perhaps we should do as he suggested,” Myrana said. “Give up on Nibenay and go someplace else. Someplace safe.”
“We can’t,” Aric said. “The demon possessing Kadya is too dangerous. Together, they won’t be satisfied with just Nibenay. If they’re not stopped, there will be no safe place. If there were a way to stop them ourselves, then maybe …”