“It’s all right. How long did it take you to become a Zerite?”
Exeres felt something prickle down the back of his neck. Like a hand that reached out and tickled him with a feather. He scrunched up his shoulders, not liking that feeling of intrusion and imposed intimacy, and turned around. The main hall of the inn was thick with people, but he saw the man the others couldn’t. He saw the Sleepwalker standing at the rear of the inn, his eyes focused on Exeres.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I’ll be right back. I need to speak with someone.”
*
Exeres stepped into the cool night air, inhaling the strong scent of smoke that hung over Castun like a shroud. The town had been crippled by the Kiran Thall. Most of the survivors had already begun fleeing north to seek shelter in Dos-Aralon. Exeres’ work in Castun would be done in the next day or two. Then he knew he would have to go deeper into the Shadows Wood, to ease the suffering there.
The Sleepwalker’s voice whispered through the smoky air.
“I’ve found you at last.”
Exeres approached the Sleepwalker warily. The shadows were so thick on the back porch that his good eye could see nothing but the dark cloak and clothes, barely the flicker from a medallion hanging around his neck. But the Life magic ebbed from him so slowly, so faintly, like grains of sand lost once per moment. It would take ten thousand years for the Sleepwalker to die.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Jaerod, Exeres.”
“How do you know who I am?”
“Because I’ve seen you before. In a Foretelling. You’re late.”
Exeres felt a twinge of fear speaking to the Sleepwalker, yet also a little thrill of excitement as well. There was something familiar about him. Memories from past dreams whispered to his soul. He had seen the Sleepwalker before, though he could not remember the details.
“I think…I think I have seen you as well, Jaerod. What do you want?”
“I have a message for you to deliver to someone at Landmoor. Will you take this message for me?”
Exeres shrugged. “I do not see why not, since I am already planning to go there. But I suppose you already knew that. Who is the message for?”
“The message is for the commander of the Shoreland regiment in the Bandit army. His name is Tsyrke Phollen. Can you remember that name, Exeres? It’s rather important that you remember this one.”
“Surk Fallen? I’ll try. He’s in Landmoor then? What is the message?”
“You will know when you deliver it.”
“What?”
“You will know what to say when it is time to deliver it.”
“I don’t understand, Sleepwalker.”
Jaerod smiled. “No, I don’t think you do yet. But you will, Exeres. You will understand very soon. That’s why you are the messenger. You are still blind in many ways. Be ready when your sight is restored.”
“You’ve given me directions that I don’t understand. Why be so cryptic?”
“Do you remember the man’s name you’re supposed to speak to?”
“Surk Fallen.”
“When you meet him to deliver my message, you will understand. You’ll just have to trust me.”
“I don’t even know you.”
There was a pause, and the stillness of the evening thickened.
“Did that stop you from following me outside into the shadows?”
Exeres sighed and scraped his boot on the plank. “No. Is this message important?”
“The sooner you go, the sooner the dying stops.”
“I’ll leave tomorrow.”
Jaerod reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Be ready for it, Exeres. Some truths are very sharp. Be careful who you cut with them.”
“More riddles? What is that supposed to mean, Sleepwalker?”
“Maybe you’ll learn the answer in your dreams. Farewell, Zerite.”
“My dreams? What do you know of my dreams? What can you tell…”
Exeres stood and clenched his fists, watching as the Sleepwalker wrapped himself in Earth magic and faded.
Chapter IV
The music of several tiny wrens woke Thealos as dawn colored the night’s sky. Enmeshed with the sweet tones was the patter and shushing of a fountain somewhere nearby. He opened his eyes and sat up, his dreams fragmenting and scattering in the breeze. The prick of awareness was gone again. Jaerod was gone.