How can I be sure he’s truly helping me? What if he is taking me in circles until Dahli catches up?
“Stop!” she demanded, as they reached another world. They stood on the soft sand of a wide, undulating beach.
“What?” he asked.
“Where are you taking me?”
He shrugged. “Away from the Raen’s friends.”
“Have we lost them?”
“I think so. I told Dahli I would pretend to save you. Then we’d have a chance of persuading you to reconsider.”
Her heart froze. “You… pretend…”
“I was pretending that I would pretend,” he said. His mouth twisted to one side. “I know that sounds confusing. I didn’t have much time to come up with a plan. I think I will find you somewhere safe to hide and then go back and say that I lost you.” He frowned. “Hmm. Dahli said you couldn’t travel between worlds, so how can I explain losing you? Though he was wrong about that, so maybe he would believe me.”
She shook her head. “I learned… very recently. He’ll know I can’t do it well.”
“I thought so.”
“So… where are you taking me?”
He grimaced. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“You don’t have to. Let me go on from here.” She stared at him, challenging him to refuse. “Go back. Tell him I tricked you, or I had help.”
“But… I ought to make sure you find somewhere safe to hide.”
“Then you’ll know where I am, and I’d rather you didn’t.” She winced at her own bluntness. “Though I am grateful for your help, it would be safer for us.”
He looked at the young man, who was twitching and tossing his head from side to side. I have to wake him up soon, Rielle thought. Get him out of the nightmare.
“Do you know where you are?” the sorcerer asked.
“No.”
“There’s a world of healers near here. People in this world know of it and can give you directions. They might be able to heal him. Just go through the—”
“Now you’ve told me,” Rielle said, “I won’t be able to go there.”
The sorcerer gave her a long look. She stared back. He lowered his eyes, nodded and let go of her arm. “Avoid worlds that have no paths in or out,” he advised. “Especially out. Those are likely to be dead worlds.”
She nodded. “I know.”
He took a step back, then–still watching her, still frowning–faded from sight.
When he was gone, she travelled through another three worlds. The young man grew more twitchy, so she stopped in a field and gently let him slump to the ground. As she saw his face for the first time she froze.
He had Valhan’s colouring, but his face had the roundness of a boy reaching the physical change to adulthood. She wondered if the pattern shifting hadn’t been permanent, after all, and the first change back to his original pattern was a reversion to the boy’s true age. Or had the pattern automatically settled into the age of the boy? Or had Valhan been this age when he’d become ageless?
His expression held a torment she had never seen on the Raen’s face.
He moaned and his eyelids fluttered.
“Soon,” she said. “Just a few worlds more then I’ll wake you up properly.”
Taking the young man’s hand, she pushed out of the world.
PART TEN
EPILOGUE
TYEN
Familiar, elegant handwriting spread across the page. Tyen smiled. He had missed Vella a great deal. Long stretches of time had passed among the rebels when he had no opportunity to talk to her safely. Now he was free to converse whenever he wanted.
You could rejoin the rebels. They don’t know you were a spy.
Baluka knows about you, he reminded her. Anybody who can read his mind can learn that I carry a book that contains the secret of agelessness.
Then share the knowledge. If it is no longer a secret there is no reason for them to covet me.
He considered that. I suppose the worlds aren’t in danger of being overrun by ageless, and with all the allies being killed the number of them is reducing. I could trade the secret of agelessness for help finding a way to restore you, too, once the rebels aren’t preoccupied with punishing their enemies.
That will take some time.
Yes. Perhaps more time than I’m willing to wait. Besides, there is still Rielle. She might be persuaded to help you.
Her reason for stopping the resurrection of the Raen will also apply to me.
Remembering the young woman who had defied Dahli and the Raen’s loyal friends, admiration stirred again. Strong, beautiful and admirably scrupulous, she had impressed him a great deal. Watching her refuse to kill another person in order to resurrect the Raen, he’d known he would make the same choice, even to restore Vella.