The Last Of The Wilds (61 page)

“Because we’re not growing, Rissi. Look at the Siyee. There are thousands of them. We’re crowded in here. We need to live on the islands again. We need space if we’re going to grow.” She sighed. “My father started talking about finding me a husband in a few years. I asked Teiti who he might choose, and there were only five boys or young men who were close to me in age, and they were all cousins, and I don’t much like any of them.”

“You might in a few years,” Teiti offered from within her “room.”

“Though he did say I might marry a warrior leader, if he was impressed enough with the man, in order to bring some new blood into the family,” Imi added, ignoring Teiti’s comment.

Rissi’s expression was a mixture of amusement and horror. “A husband? Already?”

She nodded. “I think he was trying to change the subject from landwalkers to something else.”

The boy chuckled. “I imagine he was. You haven’t stopped talking about the Pentadrians and Elai trading with landwalkers since you got back, from what I’ve heard lately.”

She frowned. “Do you think other people have heard? Do you think it would have affected their answers?”

He rolled his eyes. “Do you think about anything else?”

She straightened her back. “Not when I have the future of my kingdom to think of.”

“Don’t you play any more? Why don’t you come down to the Children’s Pool?”

She paused. “Father forbids it,” she admitted. “He doesn’t want me associating with foolish young men,” she added, keeping her expression serious.

Rissi looked away, his face reddening. “Then I should leave.”

Imi’s heart sank. She missed the company of other children. He was a boy, but at least he was closer to her age.

“You don’t have to,” she said. “I didn’t mean—”

He shook his head and moved back to the door. “I have to go. I have to go to the Warriors’ Pool.”

“Come back tomorrow,” she commanded. “I have another question for you to get the children to ask.”

He nodded. “I will, Princess. Goodbye.”

As the door closed behind him, Imi crossed her arms and sighed.

What did I do that for? Now I’m going to have to think of a good question to ask.

After several days travel Mirar had given up on evading the Siyee’s notice. They were diligent in their searching, and there was little chance of them failing to notice him once he reached the snow-laden slopes of the mountains, where there was no dense forest to hide him. He no longer even bothered to hide his tracks in the snow.

They did not approach him, however. Each night they disappeared into the forest below. Each morning he found them circling lazily above, watching him. He sensed no anger or conflict from the Siyee so he doubted they knew why they were tracking him.

Constantly sensing their emotions kept him on edge and he dreamed unpleasant dreams in which he was stalked by huge eyes with glowing white wings. One advantage in having the Siyee near, however, was that a change in the emotions he sensed might alert him to the approach of the White. He didn’t expect that to happen for weeks, though. Other than Auraya, the White would find it hard to reach him in these mountains.

At the first sign of dawn each day he would wake, clear his mind, then put himself into a dream trance. First he would try to find Auraya, but she never replied to his calls. She could be ignoring him. The gods could be blocking him from reaching her. Or she could be dead. Sometimes during the day the thought of the latter tortured him. If the gods killed her, he must take some of the blame.

When he could no longer bear Auraya’s silence he called to Emerahl. Now, as she replied curtly, he could tell she was still annoyed at herself for accidentally revealing her location to him the previous night.

y was the same as the day before, she told him this morning.
Except it’s swampy now. The river splits endlessly and I wasted half of yesterday discovering the branches I’d chosen were dead ends. But last night one of the swamp people approached me. He said he had a message from The Gull’s friend: “follow the blood of the earth
.”

d of the earth, Mirar mused.
Liquid and soil. Silt from the Red Caves?

. Rather obvious, really. I had noticed that the water ranged from a filthy black to a filthy red. As soon as the sun is high enough I’ll set out again. How are you faring?

:My
watchers are still watching
, he told her.

o you think you can lose them?

t unless I find another forest on the other side. Then they are sure to patrol the edge of the desert and find me again. Once I have travelled far enough into the desert they won’t be able to follow. They can’t carry enough water.

, but neither can you. You’ll have to stop at wells or buy water from caravans. Every mortal you meet could reveal your location to the gods.

She was right.

y must have guessed by now that I’m not going to head for the Siyee coast.

. You will have to approach the coast eventually if you are going to get to Southern Ithania.

h I’ll never reach if there’s a White waiting there to meet me.

, but I have thought of a way you can improve your chances there.

He felt a small thrill of hope.

?

r people. If the coastal towns are suddenly full of Dreamweavers, how much notice will anyone take of another one arriving?

It wasn’t a bad idea, but it was not without drawbacks.

o you have a clever idea for drawing enough Dreamweavers to the Sennon coast?

k Dreamweaver Arleej to send them there.

f I contact Arleej she will sense that I have changed. She might think me only Leiard gone mad.

. You’ll have to convince her of the truth as you did with Auraya—
without revealing anything about me this time
.

f course. But if I allow the world to know I have returned there may be consequences. If Circlians knew that the supposedly wicked sorcerer Mirar had survived his just punishment, they might turn on Dreamweavers.

n tell only Arleej. Tell her to give the Dreamweavers some other reason for going to the villages. It will be better if the Dreamweavers who come to your aid don’t know who they are aiding. They’ll give the game away if the White read their minds. If you are not dressed as a Dreamweaver, but as an ordinary traveller, you will attract no attention at all.

She was right. It would improve his chances considerably. He had not wanted to reveal himself to his people until he was sure it would do no harm. Arleej could be trusted to keep his return a secret. She had kept his and Auraya’s affair to herself, despite her disapproval of it.

:I
think it will work. Thank you, Emerahl
, he said.

g for a friend.

?

t anything, she amended.

e a nice day paddling in the swamp.

a ha. Now go interrupt the sleep of a Dreamweaver.

Her mind faded from his senses. He paused a moment to reorient himself, then called out a name.

?.Arleej?

It would be about the same time of day in Arbeem as it was here in Si. There was a chance Arleej was already awake, but that might not matter. She had proven herself sensitive enough to detect someone calling to her months before, when he had sought her after Juran had sent him away.

?

After several calls he heard a faint and sleepy reply.

? Who is this?

t is the one you know as Leiard.

He sensed his connection with her waver as she nearly woke up from shock.

! But… you are not Leiard. You do not sound like him.

. I am him, and yet I’m not. There is much I need to explain to you. Do you remember the link memories I had of Mirar’s?

.

y were not link memories. They were real memories. I am Mirar.

She paused.

w long is it since you linked with another Dreamweaver?

s is not a delusion resulting from me losing my sense of identity, Arleej. I created Leiard and suppressed my own memories in order to live. Let me show you.

He drew up the memories, feeling her react with sympathy, anger and wonder as she learned how he had survived. He explained how he had regained his identity yet also retained Leiard’s. When he had finished, Arleej was silent for a long time.

o you are Mirar, she said finally.

. I’m back. And as always, I’ve made a complete mess of things.

He sensed her amusement.

:I
imagine there was not much time to plan for the future while you were crushed and dying under the old House of Jarime. How could you have known the child you taught would become a White? She is an extraordinary person. This hospice she started in Jarime has been a great success
.

?

a has brought together Dreamweavers and priests in order to provide healing for the poor and encourage cooperation and tolerance.

e never mentioned that.

e spoken to her recently?

, we have both been treating the Siyee, who have suffered badly from a particularly virulent plague of Heart-eater.

:I
hadn‘t heard. Should I send Dreamweavers there?

He felt a pang of guilt. If he had contacted Arleej earlier, Dreamweavers might have made the difficult journey into Si in time to be of assistance. But he had been so concerned with keeping himself isolated and hidden, and since no other Dreamweaver was powerful enough to heal magically their help would have been limited. Still, even those Siyee whose bodies could fight the disease needed care while they were sick.

f there are any Dreamweavers willing to make the journey, send them. But Auraya may have the disease under control by the time they get there, he told Arleej.

l she? On her own? Her skills must be greater than I thought.

:I
taught her all I know of healing with magic
, he assured her.

t was generous of you, what with her being one of the White!

:I know she will use it well.

. You are right. The hospice in Jarime is proof of that.

e have been no protests? No trouble?

f course there has. But there’s been a rumor going around that she did it to prove that the priests and priestesses are better healers, so people won’t be tempted to join us.

h can’t be true. She knows we’re superior healers.

t she can’t have meant the opposite to happen, either.

o, he agreed.
She would not encourage people to join us. Juran would not approve of this unless there was something in it for the Circlians to gain
. He felt a chill.
Knowledge. They will gain healing knowledge from us
.

, but not everything. I doubt they’ll seek to learn any dream or mind-link methods.

t they?

She hesitated.

t do you think?

He considered.

An the long term, attitudes can be changed
, he said.
In a few decades, after she has encouraged the careers of healer priests who have open minds, the general attitude toward mind links will soften. It gives her time to work at changing the minds of other White, too. She is thinking like an immortal
.

:I thought only that it was a chance to improve our standing among the people and…

?

s I feel it is more important that our knowledge survive than that we survive. We have never held back from helping others, even if doing so was to our detriment.

Her admission disturbed him. That the current leader of the Dreamweavers felt this way about her people ought to appall him, but before he could think of the words to reassure her realized that he had taught Auraya for similar reasons. He was not free to roam the world performing healing miracles, so he had given her the ability.

Perhaps it would be better if Dreamweaver knowledge was given to the world, then the cult allowed to fade out of existence. In this age Dreamweavers could only live a life of persecution and division. The gods, through the White, were too powerful.

The way of life of Dreamweavers, of refusing to make war, of tolerance and generosity, might be lost, but what would rise in its place? While Dreamweavers represented that philosophy people would reject it. If Dreamweavers didn’t exist, some Circlians could take a similar philosophy to themselves without being accused of thinking like Dreamweavers.

w that you are here we will grow stronger again, Arleej said, perhaps interpreting his silence as dismay.

t if I don’t survive the next few weeks. When I taught Auraya I unintentionally revealed my identity to the gods. I am fleeing toward the Sennon coast.

u can’t return only to perish so soon! Is there anything I can do to help?

. The Siyee are tracking me, and keeping my location known to the gods and the White. When I get to the coast I mean to take a boat and sail out into the sea. The Siyee can’t follow me far. It is my only chance to escape. But there is sure to be a White waiting for me at the coast.

t can I do?

d Dreamweavers to the coast. Lots of them. Fill the streets of several villages with them. Hopefully I’ll be able to slip through one of the villages unnoticed.

t will take some time for them to get there.