Kol Adair.
He caught his breath. So, his destination truly existed—in that much, at least, the witch woman had been right. He wondered if the broad valley on the map represented the once-fertile basin that had become the Scar.
Nathan felt a desperate longing to have his magic back, if only to help in the fight against the Lifedrinker. Nicci couldn’t be required to save the world on her own. Upon beginning this journey, he had not cared overmuch about losing his gift of prophecy, since all the forked paths and dire warnings had caused him nothing but grief. But his gift of magic was such an integral part of him that he had taken it for granted. It made him whole.
He tapped on the map, but his own needs would come later. He set aside the volume and pondered the Lifedrinker’s spreading desolation. Nathan went back to his books, still searching for the answer.
*
Nicci, Bannon, and Thistle reached the sheer rock wall below the mesa, glad to leave the bleak Scar behind. Thistle climbed up the steep slope, easily finding half-hidden trail markers and ledges on the way to the alcove opening high above that led back into the plateau and the archive city.
As she climbed, Nicci looked back the way they had come. The powdery dust whipped across the desolate crater like a miasma. When Bannon stopped beside her at the entry alcove high up on the plateau wall, they all stood together looking out at the devastation. The Lifedrinker was somewhere deep at the center of the crater.
“Are you anxious to go back there, Sorceress?” he asked.
“No,” she answered honestly, “but I know we must.”
Nicci could still feel a tendril in her mind of a prowling feline presence—a lonely presence. Mrra was out there, roaming the uninhabited wilderness. The spell-bonded cat had spent her life as part of a troka with two sister panthers, both now gone. The healing magic had filled that void with Nicci, but she didn’t know how to help.…
When they returned to the Cliffwall gathering chambers, Nathan hurried out to join them, glad to see them back safe. Hearing about their battles with dust people and sand panthers, he gave Bannon’s shoulder a paternal pat. “Did you use the swordcraft I taught you?”
Bannon nodded. “Yes, I remembered everything you showed me.”
Nicci remembered how wildly the young man had flailed with his blade, but he had fought the enemies, as needed. She couldn’t fault Bannon for that.
“I killed as many as he did,” Thistle boasted.
“Of course you did, child,” Nathan replied with a wry smile. “And that is exactly what we expect of you. But Bannon is my protégé, and I wanted to make sure he acquitted himself well. As you did.”
“Even though you weren’t supposed to come along,” Nicci said, though her reprimand had no sting. “I’m glad you know how to take care of yourself.”
The girl looked up at her. “Am I your protégée, Nicci?”
The idea surprised her. This orphan girl was certainly useful, and eager to help, but Thistle hadn’t shown any particular aptitude for the gift. “A protégée in what way? I cannot train you to be a sorceress.”
“But my reading is better now. I can help you find books in the library. You said you needed to do a lot of research.”
Nicci was surprised to realize she wasn’t averse to the idea. “You can help, so long as you don’t get in the way.”
“I won’t!”
When the scholars gathered, Nicci gave a more detailed report of the desolation, the cracked canyons, the fumaroles and mud pots, as well as the Lifedrinker’s defenders. She sketched out a map, as best she could remember. “I am sure there will be more powerful guardians closer to the evil wizard’s lair. We must be ready.” She raised an eyebrow at Nathan and all the eager scholars. “As soon as you find me a weapon I can use to kill him.”
Simon lifted his chin. “I am confident the answer resides here in the archives.” His fellow scholars gave intent nods and muttered among themselves. “We just have to find the right records.”
In the dining hall, they all sat down as servers brought in the evening meal. Thistle ate with her hands—both hands, since she was voraciously hungry. Victoria led her student memmers into the room, taking them to Nathan so they could describe some of the subjects they had committed to memory.
The three beautiful acolytes sat next to Bannon, leaning close and listening to his every word. Audrey, Laurel, and Sage found excuses to feed him morsels of food from his plate: roasted vegetables, freshly baked rolls, skewers of spiced lamb. Warming to his tale, the young man talked with exaggerated gestures. Sage picked up a cloth napkin and dabbed the side of his mouth. His cheeks turned pink.
Audrey giggled. “Look how his freckles stand out when he blushes!”
The comment only made him turn brighter red. “I appreciate your attentions. I don’t often have such a … beautiful audience.” He swallowed hard, then gulped from a goblet of spring water, muttering, “Sweet Sea Mother!”
Victoria stepped up behind Bannon and gave the acolytes an encouraging smile. “I understand your attraction to the young man,” she said, as if Bannon weren’t there. “I hope you three don’t turn out to be barren and childless, as I am.”
Bannon blinked. “I—I don’t want to stay here and marry anyone.” He looked at Nicci as if hoping that she would save him. “We’re on a mission.”
Nicci regarded him coolly. “After I saved you from the cutthroats in Tanimura, I told you to rescue yourself from then on. You will have to meet this challenge on your own.”
Bannon blushed again.
Victoria sounded sad as she stood like a mother hen behind the three young women. “Dry, dusty scrolls cannot possibly make up for carrying a life inside you, or holding a newborn baby. Someday you’ll know.”
The three acolytes smiled.
Victoria stepped over to Thistle, who was finishing a second handful of grapes. The girl still wore her dusty, raggedy clothes from the journey out into the Scar. “I have good news for you, child.” She set a cloth-wrapped parcel onto the table and began to undo the knotted twine that held the edges together. “We have very few young children here in Cliffwall, and certainly no suitable clothes, so therefore I asked a skilled seamstress to make this new for you.”
She held up the garment, shaking the fabric to unfold a small, trim dress made to fit Thistle’s scrawny form. It had been dyed bright pink.
Thistle stopped chewing a mouthful of grapes. “A new dress?” She frowned uncertainly, not sure how to react. “I’ve never had a dress like that before.”