All of which made him wonder about Redden’s fate. If the Straken Lord had come into the Four Lands, what had he done with Redden? Perhaps his brother had been brought along, although he couldn’t think of a reason for this. But leaving him behind made no sense, either.
“You seem more distraught than usual,” Mirai observed, coming up beside him. “Which is saying something.”
“I have good reason,” he answered.
Quickly, he explained his fear about what might have happened and why they were heading where he believed they clearly were.
Mirai nodded. “All possible. But we can’t do anything about it either way. Not with her watching everything we do.” She gestured toward the Ilse Witch, a ragged shape in the predawn gloom. “We have to wait and see.”
He followed her gaze. Whatever happened, it was his fault for finding and bringing Grianne Ohmsford back, his obsession with believing she was their only real hope.
“She hates us,” he said.
“She hates everyone and everything.” Mirai moved over to stand in front of him, blocking his view of the witch. “But regret and guilt are a waste of time. You did what you thought you had to. That’s over and done with. We just have to keep our heads once we get to where we’re going, because not much of what might happen is likely to turn out the way we hoped.”
“I have to find a way to get rid of her,” he said quietly.
Mirai shook her head slowly. “Stop thinking like that. Don’t take on anything more, Railing. Let this play out however it needs to. But step back from it now. Promise me.”
He kissed her instead, not caring who saw. He was past the point of having to pretend. To his surprise, she didn’t pull away or cut the kiss short. She kissed him back and held him to her.
By sunrise, they had reached the Valley of Rhenn and were confronted with the terrible truth about how things stood.
In the dark of the night, Redden Ohmsford and his companions, footsore and weary, stumbled through another of the familiar shimmerings that marked a hole in the wall of the Forbidding and found themselves back in the Four Lands, not far from where Drey Wood opened onto the Tirfing. The skies were dark and clouded over, the lands drenched by a recent rain. Redden and Oriantha stood where they were for long moments trying to get their bearings, while Tesla Dart frantically searched for Lada. She scurried left and right, calling his name, whistling and cooing. But the Chzyk had not come through with them.
Finally, the Ulk Bog gave up and wandered back over, her face a mask of sadness. “No Lada. He leaves me. Perhaps he decides this world is not his. I am alone now.”
“Alone with us,” Oriantha pointed out impatiently. “Which is not quite the same thing as alone altogether.”
Tesla Dart nodded, still looking forlorn. “You are friends,” she acknowledged, managing to sound doubtful.
“You can go back if you want,” the shape-shifter pointed out. “You’ve done enough. You don’t owe us anything more.”
The other shook her head. “Stay with you. If you promise you keep me. Not leave me behind.”
Redden didn’t hear. He was busy surveying what appeared to be a landscape of crop fields dotted with farm buildings. Or at least that was what he could make out in the diminished light. He could not see the horizon in any direction, and even though there were a few lights shining from the windows of the farmhouses, their glow was dim.
“Where are we?” he muttered.
Oriantha moved to stand close. “The Sarandanon, if I’m guessing right.”
He looked at her. “How can you tell?”
“I can’t, really, for sure. But we were already in the Westland when we reentered the Forbidding. Then we turned north. We traveled a long way, Redden. I think we would be standing in forests if we were anywhere else in the Westland but the valley.”
“Do you know which way to go from here to reach Arborlon?”
She cast about for a moment, almost like her animal self would have, head lifted into the soft wind, sniffing the air, tasting it. “That way,” she said at last, pointing.
He had no reason to argue with her since he had no idea himself which way to go. He assumed she could tell things from reading the air currents in a way he could not. Since she had been right about most things during their time together, he simply nodded in agreement.
“Speak words to me!” Tesla Dart shouted abruptly as the other two started to turn away. “Not leave me!”
Both Redden and Oriantha stared at the Ulk Bog. “What are you talking about?” Oriantha asked irritably.
“Not do to me what Straken Queen did to Weka. Promises she will take him, then doesn’t. Breaks her word. Weka is abandoned and hunted by Straken Lord. Frightened and alone! Has only me, a little girl, to be with. She does this! She leaves him. Weka tells me!”