Pathways Read online

  Deira took a deep breath, feeling an increase of tension in the air. If evil was abroad, would it sense the pattern meant to contain it? Would it respond? As she realized that the magic was working, elation warred with fear.

  “Around, around, it’s wound, on every road and way . . .”

  The yarn should have been invisible in the fading light, but to her eye, that wavering line seemed to glow. It led her down another intersecting lane. Behind the buildings were yards with warehouses and stables, and workshops for those who practiced luxury trades. Beyond them lay walled gardens and the mansions of city leaders. Deira was moving into the realm of the wealthy now, a district where she had always felt like an interloper, even when she was delivering a rug to one of the fine ladies who lived there. It was worse now, as if some power were resisting her purpose here.

  “You will have the easy part,” Selaine had told her. “The racers must spiral all the way around the Main Road. All you have to do is stroll through the alleys in the nice part of town.”

  As Deira forced herself to continue forward, she wondered if, in their focus on the Gifts and Talents, the Collegia had forgotten the rules of Magic. The country folk knew that as with any other force, the use of such power evoked its opposite. If there were Karsite agents at work in Haven, how would they be reacting now?

  Darkness was falling. She had reached the third round of the spiral without incident, and found more yarn to follow, but the air vibrated with strain. By now she had worked her way around to the East side of the Old City. Going downhill, over the rooftops she could see the towers of the Palace beyond the inner wall. The fourth spiral of the Main Road brought her to the river. Beyond the bridge, the road rose again in a final swirl to the gate in the inner wall that was her goal. She moved more quickly, following the glimmer of thread on the ground.

  At the edge of the river stood a semicircle of benches shaded by a silver-leaf tree. The yarn wound around them, and a God’s-Eye swung among the shifting leaves. At the head of the bridge two Constables conversed with a man whose gray leather uniform made him almost invisible in the failing light.

  As she neared the bridge, Deira heard footsteps behind her and stepped aside. For a moment, she thought it was one of her yarn-runners, for he carried a pack, but this man was dressed like a highborn. As he strode past, the man in gray spoke, and one of the Constables, spear at the ready, moved to bar his way.

  The fellow glanced around him, and before Deira could respond, stepped back and pinned her with his left arm while he threatened her throat with the knife that suddenly appeared in his other hand.

  “You let me across or she dies!”

  It had been a long time since Deira had needed to fight for her life or her honor, but she had not forgotten the moves. As her attacker spoke, her wooden heel came down on his foot, and twisting, she thrust upward at the arm that held her, the God’s-Eye still in her hand. He cried out and reeled back, releasing her, his other foot landing square upon the yarn that crossed the road. The Constables leaped to block his escape, but instead of running, the man dropped his knife and turned to follow the yarn back to the benches and around the silver-leaf tree.

  “Eye of Light shine bright . . .” Deira cradled the God’s-Eye against her breast, wondering if anyone else had noticed that it was when the ornament touched her assailant that he let her go. Everyone was staring as the man walked round and round. Then a constable seized him, and the gray man began searching him with grim efficiency, collecting another dagger and throwing the pack to the ground.

  “And what is it here we have?” he asked as a round clay vessel stopped with wax bounced out and rolled across the ground.

  “Burning . . . to burn, no, light I was making . . .” said the prisoner, still trying to follow the yarn. Blinking, he pointed to the lantern the other Constable was holding.

  “It’s full of oil!” one of the onlookers exclaimed, pointing where light gleamed from a spreading pool.

  “Smash that against a wall and throw a torch, and you’d have light, sure enough—a Midsummer blaze to remember!”

  “To the Guardpost take him!” the man in gray ordered. His stern gaze searched the crowd that was gathering. “Go home! The race from behind your own walls you should see.”

  Deira flinched as those keen eyes met hers. His strong features were marred by old scars, but he seemed more harried than unkind.

  “You did well, Mistress. Living here you are?”

  “My daughter is a student with the Healers,” she said. “She invited me to watch the end of the race with her there.”

  “This night strange folk are about. Not safe, the dark places. On the Main Road stay.”

  “Yes, sir.” Indeed, to follow the great spiral over the river and up the hill to the wall was now the only way to reach her goal. Deira dropped a curtsy and started across the bridge, heart pounding in mingled elation and fear.

  • • •

  She was just in time.

  As Deira climbed the hill, she heard shouting and saw the flare of torches rounding the curve of the spiral behind her. Their ruddy light gleamed on the smoothly flowing water as they crossed the Terilee.

  “Around, around, it’s wound, on every road and way.” With every step she chanted the spell. Before the Inner Wall a crowd of folk were waiting, most of them in white or red or green. Deira saw only Selaine, the end of the yarn that ran down the road in her hand. She held out the God’s-Eye so that her daughter could tie it on.

  “Eye of Light, shine bright—” Light danced across the gate yard as the torchbearers raced toward them, Garvin in the lead.

  On the pillar of the gate there was a hook where a banner could be hung. Deira slipped the loop of the God’s-Eye over it and fell back, feeling a kind of mental click as she let it go, like the sound when the last thread has been beaten up against the weft and the weaving sword is laid down, the pattern complete, the work all done.

  From around the city, she sensed little explosions of dismay as other plots were foiled. She could see the network of spirals laid across the buildings, the God’s-Eyes glowing like the stars above. There was wonder in her daughter’s face, in a few others a dawning comprehension, and speculation in the gaze of the man in gray.

  It didn’t matter what he thought of her now. The Tedrels were still out there, but Haven and its people, old and new, would stand.

  “Go safe . . .” she whispered. “Go safe by night and day!”

  Out of the Pelagiris

  Ron Collins

  Nwah held her breath as a ramshackle delivery wagon rumbled past. Its driver screamed complaints at the mule pulling it, and its wheels clattered roundly against hardened ruts in the dirt.

  It was late morning. Overcast was rolling in, and thunder had been grumbling since they arrived, so on top of everything else it felt like rain.

  She looked at the hard-packed streets, imagined them muddy, and held a paw up to inspect the spaces between her toes. The city was disgusting. Just thinking about cleaning herself here made her pelt crawl.

  :Isn’t this amazing?: Kade said.

  The intensity of his excitement was like a smithy’s blast.

  :Yes,: Nwah replied. :Amazing is one word for it.:

  She hoped the distractions kept him from noticing exactly how unamazing she thought the city was. Coming to Oris—and specifically its capital—was her choice after all. Kade hadn’t cared a whit where they went as long as they got out of the Pelagiris, but Nwah wanted to see where her first pair-mate had come from. It wasn’t the boy’s fault the city’s incessant barrage of movement, sound, and smells was driving her mad. Her reaction was embarrassing, actually. Her mother had raised her to be a brave pup, but now her only thought was to get out of town before Kade could see how unhappy it made her.

  Before she was killed, Rayn had said Oris was a quiet place.

  Until
now, that had been true.

  The kingdom as a whole was mostly rolling grasslands and sparse woods filled with wildlife that made Nwah happy. The open sky and wide horizon helped her recognize ley-lines of power as they came into range. It was easy to practice her “magic” as they traveled the plains, and she found herself playing idly with her Gift along their journey.

  It was almost fun.

  This was unusual because, unlike Kade, who enjoyed teaching himself new things with his Healing Gift, Nwah was unnerved when she toyed with magical powers. They felt dangerous. Fluid. As if the magic were a thing of its own, and she was just tagging along. She didn’t like being out of control. She had problems enough just staying alive.

  Kade nagging her didn’t help.

  It is my Gift, she thought. I can leave it be if I want.

  But the open skies over Oris made her feel safer somehow. At one point she even changed a rabbit’s fur from brown to gray, though she had no idea how she did it.

  :You’re a natural,: Kade said.

  She wished he would stop.

  The two of them were not connected in the same way she had been linked to Rayn, but, though she could not say why, this connection they shared was stronger. It had been five years since Kade had healed her. Five years that had deepened everything. Now they were like brother and sister, only more. At one point she thought she knew everything that could be known about Kade.

  But leaving their home woods and walking across the land had changed things yet again.

  Everything was new.

  There was so much to learn, so much to absorb, and the two of them were so different in some very important ways.

  Kade was not kyree, and Nwah was not human.

  She felt that even more strongly when they came upon a kyree pack the morning prior to arriving at Tau. They were traveling through woods. She sensed the alpha male from a distance, but since this wasn’t her time of heat, she ignored him.

  :There are kyree here,: she said to Kade.

  :Do you want to find them?:

  Nwah considered the idea.

  She hadn’t known her kind were anywhere outside the Pelagiris, and suddenly finding others made her ears twitch with curiosity. On the other side, she didn’t know how she would fit in with this clan, and they were so close to the city. Beyond even that, she was feeling the edges of a ley-line in the distance.

  The juxtaposition of Tau, these unknown kyrees, and a line of magic made her think the world was asking her to choose something important.

  It added up to pressure.

  :No,: she finally replied. :We’re so close. Let’s go on.:

  :When we come back, maybe?: Kade asked.

  :Maybe.:

  So they went on.

  They walked through those woods and over clearings of farmlands and ranches. They spent a last evening sleeping under open skies in the protected calm of Tau’s outskirts. It was quite lovely, really.

  But the city itself was different.

  Less than an hour here, and already her nerves were shot.

  Flashing wheels made her afraid she might lose her tail. The strident swing of soldier’s boots and the sharp hooves of horses racing up the street made her tremble for fear of being kicked. Clouds of strange perfumes rolled over the city: Cooked meats, baked breads, and spices that made her sneeze from a street away all combined to make her dizzy.

  Worse, Nwah and Kade had just found the market, a place where absolutely nothing stood still.

  It was too much.

  Realizing Kade hadn’t replied to her, she craned her neck.

  He stood still as a stone, his hand gripping the walking stick he’d picked up when they left the Pelagiris. His angular chin was slack, his gaze oddly distant. His lips had an upward curl that made him look as drunk as Nwah felt.

  :Are you all right?: she asked as she followed his gaze.

  It was a girl, standing at a weaver’s stall across the way and running her hand over finely woven fabric. She was more athletic than slim, more graceful than soft. She wore a simple day dress that flowed to the ground and was cinched tightly around her waist. Her movements spoke of a pragmatic, if not sensible, nature. Her hair was dark, and her skin was a middling shade of brown. Her eyes reflected the green of the dress, and her lips had been blushed with something rose colored.

  Two other girls stood by her side, a pair of guards followed.

  She was arguing with the weaver.

  :We need to find a place to stay,: Nwah said, hoping to forestall what was going to happen. The last thing she needed was for Kade to go on the rut.

  Kade said nothing, though, just shouldered his travel bag and stepped across the street, nearly getting run over by another cart. He showed no reaction, but he moved so quickly Nwah broke into a trot to keep up.

  “Hello,” Kade said to the girl.

  She stopped in midsentence, then grimaced. “Do you see I’m working a deal here?”

  “I apologize,” he replied.

  “Oh, he’s quite the fair one, isn’t he?” one of the girls said. She was taller and thinner than the target of Kade’s attention.

  Nwah did not like her tone.

  “Not fair enough for Winnie,” the other replied, twisting a lock of dark hair around her finger, “but I fancy him well enough.”

  The two broke into laughter.

  Kade ignored them. “What’s your name?” he asked the bargaining girl.

  “That’s none of your business,” she replied, returning to the weaver, who stood with one knobby finger lifted as if to make a point.

  Nwah noticed, however, that the girl had turned her face so she could glance at Kade from the side of her eyes, that the shade of her skin darkened, and that the her essence shifted to an aroma that suggested something beyond attraction.

  This was not going well.

  Kade put his hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Pardon me, but—”

  With rapid speed, one of the guards grabbed Kade by the collar, lifted him up, and pushed him hard against a heavy post that had been driven into the dirt to mark the corner of the marketplace.

  “You’ll keep your hands off the lady,” the guard said through gritted teeth as he ground his forearm against Kade’s throat.

  Kade’s toes were barely able to touch the ground. He dropped the walking stick, gasped for air, and used both hands to balance against the pole.

  Nwah growled and hunkered down to leap.

  :Nwah!: Kade said. :Stop!:

  She held up, barely. Muscles around her eyes tightened. Her whiskers rucked up, and her ears turned back. Every sense became intensely focused.

  “Is that your pet?” the guard muttered.

  “She’s my compatriot.”

  The guard gave an amused smile and glanced at the other man, who had his hand on his sword. The armor they wore was similar but not quite uniform: leather uppers with pads at the thighs, weapons looped into belts. The one element common to both was the blue chevron each wore on their shoulders. Their boots were old but cared for. Their hair was longish but tied back. Neither had bathed for a few days, and the guard whose forearm was grinding into Kade’s throat could use a good cleaning of the teeth.

  “You hear that, Lag?” the guard said. “The boy says this shaggy kyree is his compatriot.”

  “No worse than what I’ve seen you bring home,” the other guard replied.

  “I’ll cut you for that,” the first guard said.

  The girl broke in, stepping forward.

  “Release the young man, Hivenswirth,” she said. “He’s done nothing wrong.”

  The guard hesitated, but he relaxed his grip enough that Kade settled back to the hard-packed dirt. The cherry-red flush that colored his cheeks faded to something a bit healthier. The guard kept a fistful of Kade’s cloak grasped up against hi
s chin, though, and he held Kade firmly to the post.

  “The young man’s grimy hand touched my sergeant-at-arms’ daughter,” the guard said to the girl. “That’s wrong enough for me.”

  “Your sergeant-at-arms’ daughter can take care of herself.”

  “Your daddy would disagree.”

  The guard pressed harder on Kade’s collar and put his face into Kade’s gaze.

  “Who are you, boy?”

  “My name is Kade. I’m a Healer from the Pelagiris.”

  “From the wildlands, you say? A Healer?” The guard raised his voice across the way. “Did you hear that, everyone? We’ve got a man of medicine from the dark woods here with us today.” The pressure on Kade’s collar grew even tighter. “Maybe he can whip us up a little brew, eh? A little medicinal wort of the liver, as it were?”

  Nwah stifled another growl. The ruff stood up around her neck and down her back.

  The fresh ozone of power came to her, then.

  The ley-line.

  Not far away.

  She could sense it now, feel the sizzle of its presence. It called to her. Its odor filled her nose and made her chest grow warm.

  A thin growl came from her throat, and she thought she tasted blood.

  :Nwah!: Kade’s voice broke her thoughts. :Don’t do anything stupid.:

  “What do you say, Healer? Got any special potions for me?”

  “No, sir. Nothing handy, anyway.”

  “That’s what I thought,” the guard said. “Sounds to me like what we really have here is a faker from the wilds—if that’s even where he’s from.”

  The guard threw Kade to the ground amid laughter from a crowd that had now grown around them without Nwah being aware of it.

  City people are a strange lot, she decided as she looked them over. They were cleaner than the travelers in the Pelagiris, cleaner than the bands of Hawkbrothers and other independent raiders who stayed on the road for months at a time. Some of them Nwah could barely smell, yet they felt somehow lesser for that cleanliness.

  Their numbers were great, but it was as if they didn’t even exist.