Chapter 9
“You did what?”
Kestrel stepped back a pace as Marley rounded on Jayf. But the dragonkin didn’t budge, his face pensive, his eyes, soft swirling pools of blue. “The reason we are back so soon is that I took her on the Paths.”
“She was about to be killed? Oh I know, one of the unclean hunted you? Four Corners was overrun by troops and weavers from Sedd and only by the Paths could you keep her out of their hands?” Although he kept his voice low, Marley’s sarcasm dripped from his growl.
She bit her lip. Tonight was the most amazing night of her life and scary too, but amazing. She felt like Marley must have known something his last guess was so close. And she couldn’t let him be angry with Jayf. There was too much they still needed to tell him.
“It was an urgent situation,” Kestrel said, interrupting Marley’s tirade, “wasn’t it, Jayf? What with Lord Norfall and plague rumors and the academy recruiting and his guards and the threats and stuff and then I shot the arrow and then we saw that black owly cat creature.” She tried to finish telling him what happened before they stopped her.
With each statement, Marley’s brows rose a little higher. Kestrel clamped her lips together as she finished speaking to keep from giggling as she contemplated how much his brows resembled fat, woolly caterpillars rolling up his forehead.
“Peace, Little Hawk, you did nothing wrong,” Jayf said. “Tell us what you heard after I left the inn, then you should rest and let us sort through this situation.”
Her jaw tensed at the thought of being sent off and left out of the conversation. She sighed, having assumed after tonight they would consider her an adult. Tempted to protest, she weighed her odds and figured the high road seemed the best. Silently, she congratulated herself on being more adult.
“May I have wine? My mouth is parched and my muscles as taut as a bowstring.” She rubbed her neck and looked around for a comfortable place to sit. “They must need more students at the academy,” she said, looking over at Marley for permission to sit on his bedroll next to the banked fire.
He nodded and handed her a flagon of wine. She took a sip and then a long draw. The watered wine still held enough strength to ease her tension while quenching her thirst. “That Academy weavers at the inn said as much before I left. Said they would recruit for the academy all day tomorrow. He also talked about the plague and asked for information on where to find any of those descendants of the ancient’s blood. He said it was for their own good.”
She looked over at Jayf and then at Marley and said. “I would not go with that man if my life depended upon it. Something about him made my skin crawl.”
“Taking over the inn’s common room tomorrow, eh? Did you hear any names or see how many were at the inn?” Marley asked, his expression now unreadable.
She glanced at Jayf and he nodded, encouraging her to continue. “We saw five academy mounts at the inn. One man at the stables said something about Lord Norfall’s orders or something and of those two, the one with the horses was Chet and the mean one was Mason.” With a yawn, Kestrel realized just how tired she felt, and sitting back to consider the exciting and scary possibilities of the night, she fell asleep on Marley’s bedroll.
Moira stood in the background, listening to Marley, Jayf, and Kestrel. Her brows raised in surprise as Kestrel talked, and she wondered when her daughter became so confident in her words and demeanor. She also wondered if it would be enough.
Whatever visions and signs the wise-women of the Clans, herself included, saw were nebulous. She’d never heard of this Norfall and hadn’t had many dealings with the people of Sedd, whether soldier or weaver. But she sensed as soon as those men were named, for good or ill, they would know each other better. And she would do what she could, whatever it took, to keep her daughter safe.
Marley’s voice brought Moira back from her thoughts as he asked Kestrel a question. But upon finding her asleep, his expression softened. And he turned to Jayf. “Now, why would you put that little girl in peril by taking her on the Paths?”
Jayf was tight-lipped but calm. “It is what the time demanded.”
So far, Moira held her peace, but concern for her daughter required more of an answer. “What do you mean Jayf?”
“She left behind an arrow and for those with the sight, that arrow carries her signature. Of a certainty, the weavers of the Academy will have at least one hound with them.”
“I thought only those that touched the Tavir or… oh.” Moira’s voice dropped an octave with her last word.
“Or her ‘old blood’ awakens,” Jayf said.
“Do you think they can track her?”
Marley sighed. “It is likely. If her talents are budding and she uses the Tavir, even if she didn’t realize it was what she did, then yes. A hound of any strength could track her.
Jayf sat down with a sigh. “There is more.”
“What more?” Marley asked, sounding as tired as Jayf looked.
“Kestrel’s disgust for the lead weaver, whether or not it was Norfall, was real. He carried a spirit stone.”
Marley’s frown deepened. “Norfall is no friend to the Espiare. He was envious and horrified of the Espiare races, but to use a spirit stone… that would mean there is a menjinjae at work at the academy or at least in Sedd.” Marley shook his head and with a groan sat next to his friend.
Moira moved to stand before the small banked fire. She didn’t need to be sidetracked by something threatening on the horizon or the significance of this menjinjae. Whatever it was, though, its mention echoed in her dream memories. No... she needed to know what loomed tomorrow and her daughter’s safety there. Now, she at least had a name.
“I take it, you and this Norfall know each other?” Moira asked into their silence. “Will he send his men after Kestrel and Jayf?”
Marley looked pointedly at Moira. “Yes, I believe he will. The portents and omens are your domain, but I believe Chance has rolled her rune. And I fear we weren’t prepared. The Thorn-wolf cloak and fletching are well known and distinctive.
Jayf sighed. His eyes, a swirl of shadows, his voice deep with his self-judgment. “I did not say nay when you told her to take her cloak and her bow. I should have. We walked into town like we were on parade. When I knew one of the first rules of scouting is to be inconspicuous and wear nothing to give away who you were and where you were from. I am sorry, Moira.” He spread his hands before him. “We only went in to deliver a message.”
Marley paced over to where Moira stood. “Would have, could have, and should have are all about as useful as assumption, innuendo, and speculation. They are fun to play with, but should not be brought out in proper company.”
“Right now, speculation is the only thing we have to go on and I could use some of your renowned intuition and some of Jayf’s fascinating abilities to keep my daughter safe. What do you think Norfall is up to? Speculate for me,” Moira said, glancing over at her sleeping daughter and back at her friends.
Marley raised a brow, giving her a look she remembered well. “I left the Academy soon after its largest funding source, Sedd’s throne room in Bondra appointed Norfall Chancellor. We clashed on too many points of ethics and I left under less than cordial circumstances.” He scratched his beard and paced about the fire but finally settled on the far side, looking across at Moira.
He continued, “My guess is that Norfall is using weaver recruitment to go where so many uniforms, from a bordering nation, would be denied. Recruitment, to be sure, but to round up those not of pure human blood, whether Al’far, Vortryl, Dragonkin, or any other, under this plague ruse. With a spirit stone in play…” Marley shrugged and spread his hand. “I will not speculate.”
He scanned the sky, letting his gaze range across the night-filled camp. “No, I will not speak of it after last night.”
Moira nodded. She also felt a sense of tension in the night, a sense of becoming. Whether it was anticipation or dread, she knew the Fates once more rolled the runes and Change would take her turn. She glanced up at the stars as Marley did and remembered the other threat of the night.
“What of this… owl… creature she spoke about, do you think it follows Norfall or poses more danger than the hound?”
“Unless it has something to do with Norfall and his delegation of cronies,” Marley said. “I don’t think it is. Together… well, until we know that is the case. Let’s not court trouble.
“Perhaps it sensed you, Jayf, and not my daughter. You have to admit, you are a much more magical person than she.” Moira said, a hopeful look on her face.
A grimace chased a frown across Jayf’s face as he considered their ideas. “I suppose Norfall could have bound the creature into service,” the dragonkin said, although his tone said otherwise.
The dragonkin shrugged, looking over at Moira. “I was not close enough to search its true intent, but I do not think it meant harm to her. It was not hunting, but… searching.” he paused. He sighed, “I fear I am not familiar with that creature, but it felt old like a wild magic storm feels. I used a little dragonkin magic to confuse it long enough for us to slip onto the Paths, but just barely.”
Marley stroked his beard considering his friend’s words and with a shake of his head and a half-laugh said, “it sounds like a Yanzul.”
Jayf’s head tilted to one side, a frown creasing his brow and his slender fingers combed through his long tail of hair, still pulling out bits and pieces of leaf and twig. “Those are but a myth and even less likely than it being a pet to Norfall.”
The runesmith shrugged. “If we are speculating… it might be the Fates counter to the stone the weavers carry. The Yanzul is an ancient creature from before the reign of the Ancients, intelligent and without malice. They haven’t appeared outside the far north mountains for hundreds of years. But during the Time of Desolation, the yanzuls became messengers and then companions to the Wista-Warriors.”
Moira shook her head. Even to her, a dream-dancer, it sounded too fantastical to be true. What in the name of Ahlwone’s Gift would a yanzul want with Kestrel, if it was even her daughter it searched for?
She sighed, scanning her mentor’s face. “We can’t put the whole Thorn-wolf clan in jeopardy. By clan law, the weavers would have the rights. They hold one of the clan arrows, and the charges must be answered. Moira shook her head and sighed again. “We need to talk to Dondorian. With the arrow, it sounds like recognition is assured. If she is here, they will find her.” Moira glanced at the star-filled sky. She knew darkness would still linger for a while.
With a heavy heart, she studied her sleeping daughter and wondered how they could flee on such short notice. “I fear the sunrise will bring more than light to the camp. Do you and Jayf still journey south?” She asked, turning back to the fire.