Her “yes” came out in a whoof as she was squeezed between two arms. Ankari sniffed, pushed away and wiped her eyes. Rielle’s heart warmed to see the woman so upset, then her gut twisted as she remembered what she had come to tell them.
Do I still want to leave? She thought of the Raen waiting for her outside. Would he go, if she chose to stay after all? I could test his word… but he’d read my intentions from my mind.
“What happened?” Lejikh asked. “Was Baluka right? Did the Raen take you?”
“Yes. He… he wanted to talk to me.”
“What about?” Ankari asked.
“If you can tell us,” Lejikh added.
Rielle drew in a deep breath and let it out again. “I can’t stay with you,” she told them.
“Ah,” Lejikh said, nodding.
Ankari scowled and muttered something Rielle did not catch.
“It is better that I go,” Rielle told them. “I will only bring you trouble, and that is no way to thank you for all you have done for me.”
Lejikh frowned. “Where are you going?”
“Nobody can take me home, so somewhere else.”
“How are you… ah. He is taking you.” Lejikh nodded, his shoulders falling.
With a shuddering breath, Ankari embraced Rielle again. “I wish you could stay,” she breathed into Rielle’s shoulder. “We would be happy for you to be our daughter.”
Rielle flinched. This was never going to be easy, she thought. This was never going to be possible, she added. At least I got a chance to say goodbye, this time, unlike with my family, and Izare, and the weavers. But first… She gently pushed the woman away. “Baluka is not here,” she stated.
The couple shook their heads.
“I fear what he will do,” Lejikh said. He shook his head. “I should have tried harder to make him stay.”
“Can you tell him why I left?” Rielle asked. “And that I am safe?”
“We will send word through all the Travellers,” Lejikh told her. “And leave messages wherever we visit.”
She nodded. “If I think of a way to contact him, I will try it.”
“Thank you.”
She took a step backwards, towards the door. “Goodbye,” she said. “Thank you. Good trading to you and your family.”
“Wait!” Ankari hurried over to a cabinet, wiping her eyes again. She took out a small bag stitched with an intricate design and brought it to Rielle.
“Take this,” she said. “Open it later. It was to be your wedding gift. Perhaps it will help you start a new life.”
“I can’t—”
“It will help you remember us.”
Rielle closed her hand around the bag. Something cylindrical lay inside. She slipped it in a pocket, then, fearing they would see guilt in her face, turned and stepped out of the door. Her eyes were suddenly obscured by water so she felt her way down the stairs. She wiped her face, and, while there was still light to see by, took out the bag and opened it.
A silver chain poured into her palm, followed by a cylindrical pendant the length of her little finger, covered in designs similar to the Traveller stitchwork. A seam at the middle told her it was made of two pieces. They came apart with a tug and twist, revealing a tiny cluster of bristles.
A paintbrush. Her heart warmed. She slipped the gift away, drew in a deep breath, let it out in a sigh, then straightened and started back down the hill.
And nearly walked into a man-shaped shadow.
“Ready?” the Raen asked.
“Yes,” she said, her voice slightly hoarse.
His hand encircled her wrist. The darkness brightened into white.
PART FOUR
TYEN
CHAPTER 11
Brev’s hands were shaking. As he saw where Tyen was looking, he quickly thrust them within the pockets of his coat.
“No,” the man said. “I didn’t see them myself, but I saw the scene in the mind of the boy who told me. He thought the farm might be being watched by the killers, as neighbours had seen strangers appearing and vanishing afterwards.”
Tyen nodded. “You did the right thing.”
“The neighbours wanted to know what to do with the bodies. I told them to burn or bury them. They were in no state to take back to their homes.”
Volk frowned and Hapre’s mouth thinned, but neither of the generals voiced their unhappiness at the decision.
“That, too, was the safest option,” Tyen reassured Brev. “We all know there’s little chance we will be buried at home, following the rites of our peoples.” His heart sank a little further. He might not have been able to save Yira, but at least he’d got her remains to her home.
“Are you sure you were not followed?” Volk asked.
“As sure as any can be.” Brev’s eyes darted into the shadows of the room. “I took all the steps, all the precautions.”
“Thank you,” Tyen told him. “You may go.”
Brev took a step back, then hesitated. “Are we going to move to another world again?”
Tyen glanced at the generals. “We’re about to work that out.”
The man grimaced in apology, then hurried out of the room. When the door had closed behind him, Tyen scanned the minds in and around the building and found none occupied in mind reading. He turned to the two generals.
“What do you think?”