Warlords Rising (2 page)

“I can’t believe you left them a note,” Trev’nor complained
for what had to be the third time in as many minutes.

Nolan turned around so that he was walking backwards. “We
had to tell them something. Otherwise they’d assume the worst and run off in a
tearing panic. Who knows what would have happened? And we can’t call them via
mirror broach—that will let them track our location.”

Trev’nor grumbled about it not being a proper adventure when
a note was left behind, but Becca agreed with Nolan. It was why she had helped
him write the note. It had been rather cryptic, unfortunately—just that the
three of them felt that there was a very important thing to do, they were
leaving to take care of it, and would be back when things were done. She had
been about to add something like ‘don’t worry’ but it would have been a
complete waste of ink.

They had wisely left the note on Chatta’s desk, as it had a
better chance of being found there. Not too soon, of course, just somewhere
within a day. Chatta was more organized than any other professor in the school
but she could not be deemed
tidy
.

Not having any other choice in the matter, Trev’nor had used
his magic to get them off the island, and at that point they’d taken the first
boat that would smuggle them to Q’atal. Of course they couldn’t cut straight
through Q’atal, not with the barrier up. Only Trev’nor was able to walk through
it freely as neither Nolan nor Becca had been this far north before. So instead
they went around, which added a good two days to the trip. From there, they’d continued
walking, and after four arduous days of no magic and lots of camping out in the
open, they had finally exchanged forest and grassland for the edges of desert.

This far out, they might be able to use Trev’nor’s Earth
Path again without being detected, but then it would defeat half the purpose of
them being out here. Becca had to see the sky in order to know what was going
on, which really only left them one choice: walking. So walk they did even as
the spring day became progressively warmer. In fact, it really felt like summer
out here, not April.

Becca had never seen desert before, not true desert at least.
It was very austere and monotone in reds and browns and creamy whites all offset
by a stunningly clear blue sky. In its own way, it was rather pretty. Without a
lot of trees in the way, they had a clear view of the stars every night, and it
had been a breathtaking display of the constellations. Desert life was rather
growing on her. The only thing she disliked about it so far was the constant
sunburn. Fortunately, with Nolan around, it never lasted more than a few hours
as he was able to heal it every night. Still, she’d rather not have it
altogether.

Turning to Trev’nor she asked, “Where are we now?”

“Warwick,” he answered without a second of thought. “Far
western edge, and I think we’re only a few hours walk from entering Khobunter.”

It never ceased to amaze Becca how Trev’nor did it, but he
always knew exactly where they were and very rarely did he ever need a map. He
said it was a combination of growing up with the Tonkowacon and his Earth
magic, but the last part she doubted. Garth had a terrible sense of direction
after all. His only saving grace was his Jaunten blood. No, it must be a talent
that Trev’nor just possessed. Either way, she was grateful for it.

Trev’nor gave her a curious look. “What exactly are you
looking for?”

Trying not to laugh, she asked, “Did you really follow me
all the way out here without knowing that? Just because I said you’d get a
dragon out of it?”

Putting on a pompous air, nose lifted in a haughty tilt, he
responded snottily, “I cannot imagine letting a delicate female travel alone in
such dangerous climes.”

Becca lost it and started giggling at his poor impersonation
of a courtier. Nolan chuckled as well but wasn’t as distracted by this play.
“Seriously, Becca, you said that you were looking for something. That something
was strange up here. But we’ve been so busy
getting
here that we never
got a proper explanation. What is it up here that’s bothering you?”

She had grown up with these two for nearly nine years now,
studying right alongside them, but even then she wasn’t sure if she could
explain this so they would understand it. Their magic worked very differently
from each other after all. “I could go into technical details, but the
breakdown of it is this: there’s something wonky going on up here. I can’t see
everything from Strae, of course, but I can tell more or less what is going on
in the other countries because of what weather currents come our direction. Air
flows like water in many ways. You follow?”

The boys gingerly nodded, so she continued, “Well, Khobunter
doesn’t flow. It’s like I have a steady stream of water that’s going along,
everything’s smooth and in control, and then something happens in Khobunter
that tosses a rock into my stream. It throws everything off and I have to
constantly rework my currents so the weather is going along as it should.”

Nolan pondered on this for a moment before stating, “And
from Strae, you can’t see what’s causing it at all.”

She shook her head, mouth tightening in frustration. “Not
one bit.”

“How long has this been going on?” Trev’nor asked.

“Remember that year when Kaya and her brood first came to
visit? The one where we had the epic pillow launch.” She wasn’t surprised when
she got instant nods. That had be one of their more memorable winter holidays.
“Ellis was wanting snow so bad that year and I was trying to get it to come to
Strae, but something in Khobunter kept messing with my efforts. It took two
days longer than it should have. That’s the first time I noticed it.”

“I think I see.” Trev’nor rubbed his hands together in anticipation,
a light in his eyes that spoke of pure excitement. “Going off into a dangerous
land to find the unknown. Sounds like a proper quest to me.”

“Really?” Nolan drawled. “Then why does it feel like a
homework assignment or a class project to me?”

Becca slapped a hand against her leg, chortling. “You know,
it does! It’s just like something that Garth would come up with. ‘There’s a
problem over here. Using whatever resources you have at hand, find the root
cause and then give me a solution.’”

Trev’nor pouted at them—a full blown pout. “The two of you
are not getting into the spirit of things at all. What kind of homework
assignment leads you to a dragon?”

“Well, that is a point,” she admitted. “But Trev, I never
knew you wanted to go on a grand quest so much.” At seventeen, she had assumed
that he had more or less outgrown that childhood fantasy.

A very adult expression came over his face for a moment.
“Naw, it’s not that really. The real work is going to start soon. It’s going to
get hard, and exhausting, and we’re not always going to be sure of the right
thing to do. But in this moment, there’s nothing like that. So, for as long as
I can, I want to pretend we’re just on some grand adventure, where nothing can
really go wrong.”

In that moment she felt her lack of experience keenly. Of
the three of them, she was the one that was the most sheltered, at least when
it came to actually using her magic in the real world. Strange, considering
that Nolan was a crown prince, but nevertheless true. At five, these two had
used their magic to alter the course of Hain itself by fixing it so that Queen
Chaelane could get pregnant. At seven, they had gone into Mellor and helped
stop an ancient plowing system from destroying a whole city. They hadn’t even
been fully trained.

Because of how potentially destructive weather magic was, no
one had let her do anything until she had very precise control; it had been two
years of studying and very small projects before Becca had really unleashed her
full magical potential. And even then, they had kept her either in Strae or in
the safer parts of Chahir most of her life because of who she was. Because
there weren’t any other like her. She was the last of her line, and if she died
without having children, there wouldn’t be another Weather Mage ever again.

It was a heavy responsibility and while she understood the
reason for being so fiercely safeguarded, it still grated, not being able to go
out as the boys had done. That was why, in part, she had snuck out here on her
own.

Besides, it couldn’t possibly be as dangerous as the adults
feared. They were three fully trained mages. A small army wouldn’t stand much
of a chance against them. How bad could this possibly be?

Day five they finally hit the Great Northern Highway. It
shot all the way from the very tip of Khobunter through to Hain, and reaching
it meant that they were assured better traveling conditions from here on out.
For one, it would mean the ability to stop for food, inns with comfy beds to
stay in, and possibly being able to get some information if they played their
cards right.

Becca squinted, peering ahead as she walked. The air shimmered,
almost a wave, as the suns beat down on the hard-packed earth. The soil here
was more crags and rocks than anything, and the air so hot it was a little difficult
to breathe. It was impossible to look straight ahead, any higher than the
ground as well, because the suns were blindingly bright. “Trev. Is that a town
up ahead?”

“Should be Rurick,” he agreed, rubbing at his throat. “Which
is good. We’re out of water and we’re going to need a lot if we keep going like
this. Maybe we should buy horses?”

Becca thought they should. Or dragoos. Dragoos would
probably fare better in this arid heat. “If that’s Rurick, then it means we’re
properly in Khobunter now, right?”

“Right.” It took a second for him to catch onto her meaning.
“Ah, want me to look at the soil now?”

“Please.”

Trev eased his pack to the ground and squatted on his
haunches. To the outsider, it looked like he was idly poking at the ground with
a finger, but she could see the magic swirling around him and the intense
concentration on his face. When he sat back, he peered up at the two of them.

“Part of it at least is the soil’s condition. There’s
absolutely no soil moisture in here.”

Despite growing up with these two, there were times they
said something that went completely over her head. Like now. “How is that
important?”

“Um. Hm. How to explain…” he trailed off, staring blankly at
the ground. “Healthy soil, what we call rich ground, isn’t just minerals. It’s
a mix of things, water and earth and compost all mixed in. So if there’s
nothing but minerals in the ground and loose particles of sand, then it hardens
like cement.”

“So even if Becca called down rain right here and now,”
Nolan ventured, “then it wouldn’t be able to penetrate the ground? It would
just stand there?”

“You got it. It’s like this whole place is a giant fountain.
The ground is that tough and impenetrable to water.”

Becca turned in a slow circle, staring hard at her
surroundings. The area was relatively flat, no standings of sand or much in the
way of hills, and there was sparse vegetation indeed. “I could flood this place
if I bring in too much water at once.”

“Easily,” Trev’nor confirmed. “I’d have to change the
composition of the soil first, and I’d need water to do that with. We’d have to
work together to pull it off. If you really want to change this desert, Bec,
it’s not going to be an easy stop and go project. You’re talking months, here.
Maybe a full year in one place.”

A year. In each part of this country? She could only manage
about twenty square miles at a time. It would take a lifetime to do all of
Khobunter. And what about Libendorf? It was just as bad. Possibly worse,
judging from Krys’s descriptions of it.

“You might be jumping to things too quickly,” Nolan advised.
“For one, you don’t even have permission from any of the warlords here to
tamper with their territory.”

Becca felt like slapping herself. Yes, of course, what was
she thinking? This place wasn’t her responsibility. Why she had thought for
even a moment that it was baffled her. Actually, why had she felt that way?