Do others follow this path, too?
He shook his head. “Not regularly. As far as we know, there are no sorcerers in Kezel with the ability or knowledge to travel between worlds, and it is less developed than neighbouring worlds so there are few reasons for outsiders to visit.” The interior of the wagon had faded completely from sight. The sensation of movement stopped and Baluka’s expression became distracted, as if he was concentrating on a faint sound. “Can you feel that?” he asked. “Can you feel the gravity of the next world?”
Closing her eyes, she sought the sensation she had detected when she had moved towards the desert world. A faint pull seemed to draw her in one direction.
“It will grow stronger as we move nearer.”
He was right. Soon the sensation became more tangible, then obvious. I sense it, she told him.
“Concentrate on it. Tell me what you feel.”
They began to move in the direction of the pull. Baluka was propelling them forward.
You’re moving us. Their direction changed subtly. We’re travelling sideways. It changed again. Going back the other way. Their movement sped up and slowed again. Did we just pass through something?
They slowed then reversed direction, and their speed increased and then lessened again. They had passed a place of less resistance. Like before we found the arrival place in the forest, she thought.
“It is a path,” he confirmed. “The first time a sorcerer moves through the space between, he or she must force a way through. It creates a path. It is easier for the next person to follow in their trail, so people tend to use the same path over and over. Between uses the path fills in, like water flowing back where it was displaced, only much slower. This path is not very fresh. That suggests only my family uses it.”
Rielle looked around for clues of what the next world would look like. Not leaving with the rest of the Travellers meant there had been no song to describe their destination. Colour was starting to leach into the whiteness–an overall impression of muddy yellow-green. She would have guessed she was arriving in another forest except the colour was too smoothly spread. A divide between sky and land started to appear as darker areas formed within the green–they were arriving in an area that was mostly open. She could make out trees of many different sizes and shapes. They grew within the arms of a shallow valley, lines of them tracing smooth arcs and curves up and down the gentle slopes.
Another paved circle was appearing below her feet, only this time it was made of many tiny squares arranged in a pattern. A road led from this to a long three-storey building with a courtyard. She had never seen such a big house. Even Inekera’s house had been half as large.
Moist air touched her cheeks. At once her lungs began to expand, but the air was so humid it made her cough. Baluka, to her relief, did the same. Once she had recovered she looked up. The sky was, indeed, green. Unless…
“Is that the sky, or cloud?”
Baluka let her hands go and looked around. She was relieved to find his mind was open and readable again. “It’s both. I’ve never seen anything but a foggy green above, and the weather has always been like this, or raining.” He glanced at her and smiled. “It sounds unappealing, but it’s never cold here, at least.”
She looked down at the house again. This would be where she’d be staying, either for ever or until she learned to travel back to her world. What manner of people lived in a building like that?
“Lord Felomar,” Baluka replied. “And his household.”
“He’s the ruler here?” she asked, not sure what to make of the meaning of “Lord” in his mind.
He laughed. “Yes and no. He is a distant cousin of the Emperor, but he has quite a lot of servants and money so I guess you could call him their ruler as much as employer. Hereditary owner of the estate is a more accurate description. We’ve been trading with his family for five generations now.” He turned to face her. “He is also a sorcerer. Before we go down to meet Felomar I am going to give you a few lessons,” Baluka told her. “You need to know how to hide your thoughts, whether you decide to learn how to travel between worlds or not. I can also start teaching you how to travel between worlds, if you wish. Though it’ll be easier if we do it in the other order.”
Rielle nodded, part of her shrinking at the thought of learning more ways to use magic. Baluka frowned, and she saw he was thinking, again, that it would be a waste for her to return to her magically depleted world or remain untrained. He wanted to show her all the wonderful places they visited each cycle. But she can’t stay with us, he reminded himself. And Father says she’ll be safer in her own world. He clearly disagreed.