Sage Truth [Book 2 of the Teadai Prophecies] Page 17

  “A woman took a man across snow at knifepoint. I couldn’t see her face. That a fact.” Frustration touched Thad’s voice.

  Xiath placed a hand on his arm. “Keep us informed. There won’t be snow until winter. Are you still writing your visions down?”

  Thad nodded. “That I am. In my pack.”

  He kept thin bark sheets bound inside a leather cover just for that purpose, along with a writing quill and a flask of berry ink. He had been writing his visions down ever since he arrived in the Land of the Goddess. When he left, Nym still had to use a scribe servant to assist him. Since the boy had never learned to read or write, he needed more practice before he could do it all on his own, especially with spelling the words out.

  The rain had all but stopped and Thad looked to Xiath. “We should go.”

  The older man gazed out the window. “Men, saddle the horses. You women get everything out on the porch.”

  No one argued and before they got too far up river, LeChamb ran his horse back and Xiath halted the group. The large guard leaned close to Xiath’s ear, said something, and put an object in Xiath’s hand. Thad’s former clan father eyed him more than once before nodding to LeChamb. He turned his mount and headed strait for Thad.

  “What?” Something was wrong, Thad could feel it.

  “Do you recognize this?” Xiath held out a leather purse with an elaborate bird decorating it.

  He took the purse and brushed his thumb across the design. Water weighed it down. “It’s my uncle’s. They took him this way? Across the river?” He peered across the water but saw nothing unusual.

  “Thad?” Xiath studied him with a somber face. “LeChamb found that on a dead man.”

  Sorrow, disbelief and anger filled him all at once, and he used every amount of control to keep his emotions in check. Luckily for his kin, Siri still kept him bound. “Take me to him.”

  “You wouldn’t recognize him. He’s been in the water too long.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “And there’s another with him.”

  Cass moved along side him. “Thad?”

  He studied the russet hair that framed a thin face and several freckles that had begun to show on that small nose. She said nothing more but he knew she understood what he felt. The rage he wanted to lash out on these raiders.

  Xiath studied him a heartbeat. “The man with the purse has a birthmark on his right arm.”

  “Shaped like a small pear.”

  Xiath nodded.

  “My root uncle. I had hoped—”

  “We all did, boy. We all did. The other man had a “W” engraved on his belt.”

  “Dom Wilambrooges. Must have tried to help uncle. Even after his own family got murdered.”

  “Yes. That’s what we think. They were good men, Thad. Honorable middlings.”

  Thad tied the wet purse to his belt. He noticed the guards and hunters were missing. Figures up the river arched as they dug into the wet soil. Two more graves.

  Xiath allowed Thad to say his goodbyes once the bodies had been buried. He amazed himself by keeping his temper in check. Afterwards, he rode numbly with his kin.

  They traveled in silence until Siri spoke softly to Xiath and the man nodded. Thad reigned in his horse as Xiath ordered the group to halt.

  Siri turned her mount. “Thad, everything is wet enough now and we’re away from any buildings. You need to practice control.”

  He eyed the Elder a heartbeat and realized what she was saying when he suddenly felt a weight lift and the green binding light around him disappeared. She had released him, thank the Goddess.

  “Yes, Elder.” He glanced around for a target then harnessed the Energy. His mount didn’t seem to notice anything unusual. Strange how he could take in the Energy without touching the ground. He focused on his sparking Energy, sending it upward into his right arm and hand until it reached his fingers. He concentrated on a tree stump and tried to change the cool blue spark to the hot white, but the only thing he created was a yellow spark.

  Greges chuckled but Siri’s sharp gaze put a stop to that. “Again, Thad.”

  He concentrated again with much the same results and turned to her.

  The large woman’s braids tinkled as she shook her head. “You surprise me, boy. You took oaths to the Goddess and I expect you to abide by those oaths.” Her eyes darkened. “Now, if you can’t grasp and hold onto all of your sparking Energy, you’ll be little use in protecting your kin.”

  He took exception to that. “I’m doing the best I can, Elder. That a fact.”

  “Obviously, your best is not sufficient. Perhaps it was a mistake bringing you along.” She turned her horse so that her back was to him. Something she had never done before.

  Thad had been chosen fairly, just as the others in this quest. His face grew hot. Xiath wouldn’t have selected him if he couldn’t perform. His temper flared, along with frustration, sorrow and buried emotions, and suddenly he was filled with the Energy. Sparking coursed through him without his control. He held his hand out away from his kin as a pulse of white light splintered a log and scorched several nearby trees. Then, like before, the Energy left him and he nursed a reddened hand. The bloody sparking had almost burned him! Luckily, everything was wet enough to keep a fire at bay. His anger dissipated, and once he calmed his horse, he gave a guilty look to the Elder.

  “Do you remember what you just did?” Siri trotted her mount up and inspected his hand.

  “Yes, Elder.”

  “No memory loss like at the farm?”

  “No, Elder.”

  “Good. That’s progress. But you still need control. Can you at least keep from scorching one of us or burning your hand off your arm?”

  She must have seen him aim his hand away in defense. He silently cursed his lack of influence on this stronger sparking Energy. “Yes, Elder.” His fingers still ached and he rubbed them together to ease the feeling.

  “Then try again.”

  This time, he managed white sparks on his own, without burning anything but his intended target. The blast was miniscule and only left a few scorch marks on the target, but at least he was in control.

  “All right. I won’t bind you then. But keep your anger in check and don’t endanger us.”

  He nodded and inspected his fingers. They looked no different than before, just slightly red. “That a promise, Elder.”

  Siri gave a curt nod and trotted up to Xiath.

  Kal chuckled. “She really braised you off, Thad. Remind me to stay out of your path.” She grinned. “And point those fingers elsewhere.”

  At that, his kin laughed. Cass gave him a brief smile. He reveled in her gaze and smiled back as they followed the Tandiar River again, riding between the trees for concealment.

  The group stayed silent as they passed through the devastation that seemed to be staggered along the river. Farm after farm had some sort of destruction. No middlings anywhere that Thad could see. The area was abandoned, some silos and pens raided for food, others not. The soggy ground hindered speed and soured moods.

  Once they left Thad’s root village of Solinar and reached Fen, the sun was low in the west. There still had been no sign of the ancient wall where the text was supposedly hidden, and he began to wonder if the one Dom had put beneath the floor was the very text they searched for, though he had no idea where or how the man came on such a find.

  At least he had enough sense to leave a message for anyone who might know what it meant. No one outside Dom’s family, other than Thad and his uncle, would know about the sign that had been put into the bedroom floorboards. Had he expected Thad to find the note? No. He probably wrote it, hoping one cousin or other would come across it.

  Thad turned his thoughts to the quest and keeping his mount from stepping into one of the numerous potholes the rain had caused. He had never been farther north than Pakinar, three more villages up the river, but he knew there were others. Avanar, Pire, Navine and Brev were spread out along the norther
n route. He’d seen them on one of his father’s maps as a child. Thad hoped they didn’t have to travel that far.

  Movement in the nearby trees made the horses skittish and he immediately took in the Energy. Soon, he was aware of heat pressing against his senses. Heat the size of a person. This one was strong, though, unusual for a middling, and he thought the sensation flickered against his awareness. A youngling? Out here?

  “Stay close,” Xiath ordered as he led them toward a particularly thick area of brush.

  As they approached, a girl in a tattered dress crawled away from them, her left leg dragging behind. Thad saw the faint image of a black pecan just above her head. That explained the strength and flickering he felt earlier when he sensed her. She whimpered and her eyes widened like a deer about to be killed when she looked up at LeChamb. The large man would have given fright to anyone who didn’t know him. The youngling let out a scream.

  Roone was off her horse and at the girl’s side, covering her mouth in an instant. “Quiet.”

  “Keep her still, Roone.” Xiath dismounted and handed his reigns to Jin. “There might be someone else nearby.”

  New-oathed Jin was a seer and could detect individual people at a greater distances than Energy awareness allowed. Thad watched the man concentrate a heartbeat before turning back to the frightened girl.

  The youngling whimpered as her wide eyes focused on Roone’s quiver. She struggled and sent her fists toward the guard’s face. Roone deftly moved her head to avoid the blows, straddled the girl and pinned her arms in one hand. “Do that again and I’ll tie you down. We’re not here to harm you. Just be still.” Her breeches allowed her to move much easier than skirts would have, Thad imagined.

  Xiath made his way to the frightened youngling and knelt. “Quiet, child.”

  The girl stopped her struggle but tears fled down her dirty cheeks. Thad quietly dismounted and stepped toward her. She was injured but he couldn’t chance her fighting Roone again, not until Jin told them the area was safe from raiders.

  After what seemed a lifetime, Jin turned to them and rubbed his shaved head. “There are several middlings up the river, quite a ways. Some are children. They’re moving away from us but I don’t think they’re raiders.” He studied Cass.

  “The stench is farther than that,” she said, her horse steady beneath her. One hand smoothed her russet hair and her gaze moved to the youngling. “She’s hiding something.”

  “Xiath.” Kal moved her horse closer. “There are faint whispers from up the river but I can’t make out any words. I can’t tell if they’re middlings or not.” One hand pointed to the youngling. I don’t hear anything from her, though.” The listener had honed her Energy quicker than most and Thad studied her a heartbeat before turning back to the youngling.

  Xiath and Siri bent over the dirty girl and Siri eyed him. “Perhaps she’s learned to keep her thoughts private. That’s not unheard of when younglings are frightened, especially those left on their own. They wall themselves off in every way for protection.”

  “You may be right, Elder. Let her up, Roone. We can tell whether she lies to us or not.”

  “As you wish.” Roone released the youngling.

  “Keep away from me!” The girl crawled and tried to get to her feet, but her left leg gave out and she ended up on her face in the wet grass.

  Xiath nodded to Thad. “Take a look at her.”

  When made his way to the youngling, she moved from him but he caught her by the right foot. He quickly put up a wall in his mind when her essence assaulted him with the overwhelming smell of flowers, the scent of a female who could harness the Energy. Someone would have to teach this youngling how to keep that essence to herself. “I won’t harm you. I just want to take a look. That all.”

  The girl’s face showed pain and her eyes glistened, the dirt on her face streaked from tears. “You a healer?”

  “That right. From Solinar.” He felt her brow and gave Siri a concerned look. “Fever.”

  “He’s a very good healer,” Siri told the girl.

  Thad nodded for the Elder to keep his patient occupied while he attended her injuries. He wouldn’t use the Energy to heal her unless that was absolutely necessary. They couldn’t afford anyone unconscious, and this one would certainly come with them, whether she wanted to or not. He had made oaths to the Goddess to retrieve, protect and teach younglings, just as the others had, and strays could not be allowed on their own.

  Siri got the unspoken message and crouched by the girl. “What’s your name, child?”

  “Pim. Pim Fargoodes.”

  It took all of Thad’s reserve not to let the surprise show on his face, but the look from Siri told him that she caught the name too. He eyed Pim. “You know Nym Fargoodes?”

  “Cousin. The lad ran off a while back. Don’t blame him a speck. His fada was a mean one.”

  Thad pushed Pim’s ratted skirts up her legs and she grabbed at them, obviously trying to keep her modesty in tact. “I need to see the injury. That all.”

  Siri stroked the youngling’s matted hair. If Pim’s essence caught her off guard, she didn’t show it.

  When Thad saw the gaping hole in Pim’s leg, he forced himself to keep a steady face. No need to frighten the girl more. Infection had set in and maggots worked the injury despite the barrow leaves that had been shoved into it. Barrow leaves worked if applied immediately but this wound had been ignored too long before treatment. From the size of the tear, the injury looked to be from an arrow. Evidently, Pim had pulled the thing out and taken a chunk of flesh with it. A healer would have pushed the arrow through, since it didn’t threaten any vital life parts, and left a much cleaner injury. Thad took in the Energy and sent it through the youngling’s body, looking for more damage. There was none. Other than hunger and this infected leg, she was whole.

  He focused on Pim’s frightened face again. She would have felt his probe. “We’re friends of Nym. Did something happen to his fada?”

  The lass relaxed a bit and nodded. “Dead. Raiders got him. Would’ve got me too, but I was in the forest looking for my husband. I thought he’d gone out to cut firewood.”

  Thad raised a brow at that. Someone would have to tell Nym. Though part of him was relieved the nasty man could no longer hurt anyone else. What shocked him more was that Pim had a husband. She looked too young for marriage. He wanted to ask her age but Siri beat him to the question.

  Pim flicked a hand. “My sixteenth summer. That why I got a husband. A good one too. Never hits me when I mess up the cooking or laundry. He was a good husband.” Her face turned dark and her eyes moistened. “They killed him. That they did.” Her black pecan footprint didn’t flicker. She told the truth.

  “I’m sorry, child.” Siri stroked her hair again.

  Pim nodded. “I buried him when I found his body. He’d gone back to the barn.” Her eyes went distant. “I didn’t know. I thought he was in the forest. When I got hit with that bloody arrow, I play acted like I was dead. I saw a man do that in a traveling show once. When those bad men left, I found my husband’s body near the barn and buried him before this leg gave out.” She sniffed. “I was too scared to stay in my house, afraid they’d come back. That the truth.”

  Thad began removing the barrow leaves from Pim’s injury. He would have to clean the maggots out too, before he could do anything else. Though he worked as gently as he could, Pim sucked in quick breaths and bit her lip. She was just a young lass. In Solinar, women didn’t marry until they reached eighteen or beyond. There were exceptions now and then, especially if pregnancy was an issue, but even that was rare. A young daughter didn’t stray far from her mother’s side. Pim wasn’t pregnant. Not now, anyway. Amazing how similar villages along the Tandiar could have such different standards, especially given their close proximity.

  Siri took the lass’s chin in her fingers. “Did you get a look at those men?”

  “I saw the one who shot me,” Pim said through her teeth. “I’ll never for
get his bloody face. Not as long as I got a breath in these lungs. That a fact.” She moaned and grabbed at her thigh.

  Siri moved Pim’s skirts again to take a look at the injury. “You’ll need to heal her, Thad.” She looked at her husband. “This child can’t wait for herbs to work.”

  Pim’s eyes widened. “I know about the maggots, that why I put in the barrow leaves. Please, don’t cut off my leg.”

  “I won’t cut off your leg,” Thad told her. “That a promise. But you have to trust me. It’ll take longer to heal that wound if you struggle.”

  Pim glanced around at the Gypsies’ faces. “Well, you haven’t killed me yet. And you got women with you so I don’t think you’ll be taking advantage.” Her eyes narrowed. “I would fight any man who tries, since my husband is gone and I don’t have brothers. That my right if I don’t have a man to fight for me.”

  Thad nodded and admired this youngling her strength, considering all that had happened. He glanced at Cass and she cocked her head. Perhaps she thought the same thing about the girl. “I won’t harm you, lass.”

  Pim nodded. “And you know my little cousin, Nym. The lad doing fine?”

  “Yes, he doing well, lass.” Thad didn’t have the heart to tell her that her little cousin was now older than she was.

  “All right. Do what you need to. Save my leg. I have to find my milk goat, see if she stayed safe from those bloody raiders. Stinking mudworms! I would’ve killed them all if I was a man but I don’t have no weapons, except an axe. And those bloody murderers took that!” She eyed Roone, Cass and Kal. “You trained to use those?”

  “Of course,” Roone told her.

  “Then I’ve seen just about everything, I suspect.” Pim looked a bit uncomfortable. “Around here, men do the fighting. And men don’t ever become healers.”

  “Child?” Siri said, and the youngling looked at her. “It will be dark soon. We need a safe place to stay. Have the raiders been back to your home?”