That one’s going the way we want to go, Daam was thinking. I’ll just do what he does.
Tyen’s cheek twitched, but as soon as he realised he was about to smile, the compulsion vanished. Looking away from Daam, he scanned the minds of the people around them. One woman was stubbornly refusing to lower her prices, mostly because she’d taken a dislike to the customer. A man was trying to charm another woman, who was much younger than he thought and oblivious to his advances. An old man was sitting at the prow of his boat, not minding that his son insisted on doing all the talking to customers now, because he loved to watch people. The man thought back to a woman he’d seen a short while ago. “Never seen anybody like her. I reckon she’s an Other-Worlder. Wasn’t browsing. Looking for someone, by her manner.”
A chill crept over Tyen’s skin. He looked further, jumping from mind to mind. The old man’s thoughts had shifted away from the woman without revealing which direction she had been going. With too many minds around him to read effectively, Tyen concentrated on those in the direction Daam was poling the boat in. When their way was blocked and they had to wait until it cleared he was able to stretch further, sweeping around them in an arc.
He found her less than a hundred paces away, moving away from him and Daam.
“… just the sort of place they’d hide. Lots of people…” she was thinking. Her mind shifted to the other allies. “Fools. If the rebels come out all in one group they might be strong enough to kill one of us. Better to pick them off one by one.” She concentrated on reading the minds around her for a while. “Where are they? I know someone arrived in this city in the last few hours…”
A jolt went through the boat, bringing Tyen’s attention back to his near surroundings. Daam was squatting in the middle, holding the hull of another. It was occupied by three men and a woman: Frell and three strangers.
Tyen looked over the newcomers. A couple, newly married, and a man a few cycles younger than Tyen sat in the craft, all dressed in local garb. From Frell he learned that the young man was the one he wanted Tyen to meet.
“When did you arrive in this world?” Tyen asked, looking at each newcomer in turn.
The three glanced at Frell, who nodded to indicate they should reply.
“A few hours ago,” the young man said. “We travelled in together.”
“One of you was followed,” Tyen told them. He turned to Frell. “A single ally. A woman. Working alone. Take the newcomers and head east. And Daam…” The young rebel had turned pale. “Go back to the house, making sure you’re not followed, and warn them.”
“What will you do?” Frell asked.
“Lead her away from here.”
“I’ll go with you,” the young man offered.
Tyen opened his mouth to refuse, but the man was thinking that two strong sorcerers had a better chance against this woman than one. If she realises I’m the rebel leader she might try to capture me, as the Raen warned. But with another rebel by my side the chances of her succeeding are slimmer.
He held a hand out to the young man, who seized it in a firm grip. Tyen pushed into the place between worlds, but not so far that the market vanished from sight. He skimmed through the place between towards where the woman ought to be. Few people saw them, too caught up in the business of buying and selling. Deciding to change his strategy slightly, he surfaced again among diners sitting near a food stall at the end of a pier, then searched for and found her. Her name was Inekera, he read.
“She’s close,” he said. He let go of the newcomer’s hand and stepped up onto one of the seats.
“The Raen is back!” he shouted. “The Raen has returned! Who is he to tell us where we can go and what we can do? Join us! Together we can free the worlds from his rule!”
Heads turned. People stared. Minds registered surprise at his boldness, then fragmented into annoyance and admiration. Inekera caught the thought of someone cursing the rebels for causing unnecessary strife, and jumped from mind to mind until she saw the pier through the eyes of the people around him. She laughed at the unfortunate timing of a rebel seeking supporters unaware that one of the Raen’s allies was close by.
He had to move fast, before she tried to read his mind and failed.
“She’s seen us,” Tyen said. “Can you see her?”
The young man shook his head. He was growing worried now. If I can’t read her mind, he thought, she must be—