“Yira!” one of the girls shouted, spinning around as she searched the room. Another pointed to the cave opening.
“Through there?” Tyen asked.
They all nodded. He bowed in thanks, earning giggles, then set off towards the opening with the small crowd following.
People regarded him speculatively as he passed them. He nodded politely. Many were occupied in domestic tasks. One pair were washing clothes, the older woman up to her elbows in a tub of steaming water, the younger holding up garments, which steamed at her intent gaze.
When he was a few steps from the opening, a man emerged along with Yira. The man looked Tyen up and down, the first person to look concerned about the stranger in their midst. Yira grinned as she saw him.
“Tyen! I knew you’d join us. This is Ceilon.”
Ceilon was a little older than Tyen, taller and with a sallow complexion and high, thin eyebrows that made him look perpetually dismayed.
“Welcome, Tyen,” he said. “Do you know the purpose of our gathering here?”
Tyen looked at Yira. “I know it is not what Yira told me.”
“No?” Ceilon glanced at her. “What did she tell you?”
“That she and all her friends were going to live together somewhere safe. That was so out of character, I knew she must have meant something else, and the best explanation I could think of was a gathering of sorcerers for another purpose–and what with recent news it wasn’t hard to guess what it might be.”
Yira sniffed. “Took you a day or two to work it out, but then, you always were a bit slow.”
Ceilon looked from Tyen to Yira, then shook his head. “Yes, there is nowhere truly safe now that the Raen is back. Come through to our planning room.” He gestured for Tyen to walk beside him. “A few of our supporters are absent, but I will introduce you later. We have not chosen a permanent leader yet. We expect many more sorcerers will join us, and that some will come with greater experience in battle and strategy.”
“And leadership,” Yira added quietly.
The second cavern was smaller and round. Wooden crates were arranged in a circle and several men, mostly young, were sitting on them. All regarded Tyen with curiosity.
“This is Tyen Ironsmelter,” Ceilon told them as he led the way into the circle. “The strongest sorcerer of the former Liftre school of magic.”
“Well, that was never confirmed,” Tyen amended. He narrowed his eyes at Yira, who had moved away to stand by one of the crates. She smirked. What has she told them about me? he wondered.
“So you wish to join the rebellion?” one of the men said, rising from a crate. He was shorter than Tyen by half a head, but broad in the shoulders, his arms well muscled and his skin a mottled brown.
“This is Ayan,” Ceilon told Tyen. “In charge of the security of this base.”
Tyen turned to stare at Ceilon. “This is your base?” When Ceilon didn’t deny it, Tyen looked at Ayan for confirmation. The man nodded.
“It’s rough living,” Ceilon admitted, then straightened his shoulders. “But we are willing to put up with worse if it leads to worlds being free of the Raen’s control.”
Tyen looked back at the entrance to the larger room. “As am I. But if I can find you in a day or so, so could he.”
“I left you a clue only you would understand,” Yira reminded him. “The messengers at the market know only to tell certain people to go north to the ice and they don’t know why. And I told everyone here to expect you.”
“And if someone had caught me on the way here, or read my mind and followed me?” he asked.
She frowned and looked at Ayan, who scowled and said nothing.
Tyen turned back to Ceilon. “And why are you keeping your families here?”
“We have to keep them close, in case they are used against us,” Ceilon replied stiffly.
Tyen stared at him in amazement. Has nobody thought this through? Then he had to hide his relief as he realised this meant they were no danger to the Raen. If I tell him this, will he let them fumble about for a while until they get bored and go home? A darker thought passed through his mind, then. Will that be enough to earn his help restoring Vella?
“We do have other precautions in place,” Ayan said. “To join us, you must prove you are trustworthy. You must open your mind to us.”
Tyen’s stomach sank. He couldn’t do that. Not without revealing his true reason for joining them. Not without revealing Vella. This was never going to work.
Yet the Raen expected Tyen to join them, and a man who had lived a thousand cycles and most likely outwitted countless uprisings would have guessed the rebels would require a mind-read. There must be a way around this. Even as the thought ran through his mind, he saw one that might work.
He straightened his shoulders and met Ayan’s gaze. “Of all the ridiculous things I’ve seen and heard here, that tops the list.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “You refuse.”
“Of course.”