The Eighth Warden Bk. 03 Ch. 03-04

They all looked at Corec expectantly.

"No," he said firmly. "A warden can only bond a small number of people. Sarette was a special case. She came to me, and to the others, and we all agreed to accept her. Besides, she'll be able to return to your people. I won't keep her away forever."

Galina said, "Then I think we've talked about this enough, and I don't believe there's anything for us to vote on. The girl can make her own choices. In the long run, we're getting a stormrunner out of the deal, and that's something we desperately need."

"I agree," Rurik said. "I'm sorry, Lesander, but this isn't a matter for the Council."

#

Leena draped her veil across her face as a gust of wind blew sand into the air. She'd been in the vast Wadalli Desert for three days now, and couldn't decide whether sand was better or worse than snow. She wasn't even sure if she was still in Sanvar—the desert extended past the border, and her method of travel made it difficult to find herself on a map. She'd been teleporting once each day after Seeking a safe destination. She usually ended up going north, northeast, or somewhere in between, but she had no way to identify her exact location.

She trudged through the sand as the wind picked up, died down, then picked up again. At this rate, she'd likely only make ten miles for the day, in addition to the forty or fifty miles she'd come from Traveling, but that would still put her ten miles closer to her goal. Plus, walking gave her something to do other than thinking about her parents' deaths.

She'd spent months trying to get home, but after learning what had happened, all she'd wanted to do was leave. Perhaps it would have been better to stay and watch over her brother, but there'd be time for that later, once she'd made certain he was safe.

Could Sarlo's friend Yelena really help her? He'd seemed sure of it, but now that Leena was traveling on her own again, doubts had started to creep into her mind. Was her Seeking even sending her to Sarlo? She'd been alternating targets. Some days, she would take out her map and compass and Seek a safe spot for Traveling, roughly in the direction she thought Tyrsall could be found. Other days, she'd Seek vengeance.

So far, both routes were pointing her in the same direction.

The air finally grew still, and Leena thankfully removed her veil. She wasn't accustomed to wearing one, and it had grown too hot to keep it on under the afternoon sun, especially while also wearing the traditional Zidari dress she'd borrowed from her cousin, with its long sleeves and high neckline.

Being too hot was a concept she'd almost forgotten when she'd been stranded far to the north during winter. In Sanvar, there were only two seasons, dry and wet. Both were hot, especially in the southern region where she'd grown up, just outside Sanvara City. The Wadalli Desert was hot too, at least during the day. At night, it could grow chilly, though nothing like what she'd experienced when she'd been lost on the northern plains.

It would still be cold in Tyrsall when she arrived, but she was better prepared for it now. She'd borrowed enough money from her grandmother to buy warmer clothing when she arrived.

Her musings were interrupted when a shape suddenly burst out of the sand in front of her.

"Human not allowed!" it said in high-pitched, broken Sanvari. "Human empress agreed! These lands belong to vhithiss."

The lizardman was huge—seven feet tall and twice as wide as Leena. Of the three lizardfolk tribes in Sanvar, the desertfolk were the largest. The creature's scales were brown and black, and it carried a spear and a leather buckler. Its parietal eye, indicated by a patch of gray scales in the middle of its forehead, stayed focused on her, while its regular eyes, on either side of its head, darted back and forth independently of each other. The pose suggested that it thought she wasn't alone, and was looking for her companions.

She swallowed down her fright and took a deep breath. She had little experience with the desertfolk. The swampfolk and junglefolk were more common in the south. "I am Zidari," she said. "I have right of passage."

"Zidari?" it asked, its tongue darting out to taste the air. "Prove it."

She rolled her sleeves up to show the tattoos along her forearms. The Zidari normally kept their tattoos hidden from outsiders, but the lizardman wouldn't be able to distinguish Leena's accent or clothing well enough to identify her clan any other way.

"Hehh," the creature said with a long, exhaled breath—a sign of doubt. "Skin marks can be fake."

"They're real," she said. She untied her waterskin from her pack and poured water over her left arm, then scrubbed at it with her sand veil. "See?" She needed him to believe her. The last war between the humans, dwarves, and lizardfolk had ended twenty years earlier, but all three sides still attacked each other from time to time. The Zidari could hold themselves apart from the wars—the empress protected them from the other human clans, and the lizardfolk wouldn't kill them without a good reason—but it only worked if people knew they were Zidari.

"Magic shaman?"

Leena bit her lip. The lizardfolk considered Zidari mages to be something akin to their own shaman. The Zidari had held right of passage through lizardfolk lands for longer than Sanvar had even existed, but in exchange, they were required to offer their services when asked. If she lied, she'd be violating a treaty older than anyone could remember.

She had to tell the truth. "I am, but I'm still in training. My abilities are limited."

"Abi...abili..." The lizardman struggled with the unfamiliar word.

"My magic is weak."

"Shaman lost his magic. You finder?"

"I don't understand," she said. "What do you mean, he lost his magic?"

"Lost! Had it, then it went away. You find his magic?"

"I can try." What would they do to her if she failed?

"Come," the creature said, motioning with its spear as it turned and strode away.

She moved to follow, and half a dozen more of the lizardmen rose up from the sand surrounding her. She jerked back in surprise, but they didn't seem to notice, just falling in line behind their leader.

Gathering her nerve again, she caught up to the one who'd first greeted her. "Can you tell me more? How did the shaman lose his magic?"

"Pulled magic from bag to heal hatchlings who have blood-scale. Later, goes back, but bag is lost. Magic is lost."

The shaman must have been an herbalist rather than an actual mage. Leena almost laughed, but she didn't want to offend the lizardmen. They might seem primitive, especially the ones that lived this far from their cities, but the lizardfolk were as smart as anyone else. Their intelligence was masked by the funny accent they took on when attempting to speak human languages, but they could tell when someone was making fun of them. The fact that they could talk to her in Sanvari was proof that they were more than they seemed—she couldn't speak the lizardfolk tongue at all, and understood less than a dozen of their words.

But she still breathed a sigh of relief to know they just wanted her to find a pouch of herbs and medicines rather than something more abstract. She might actually succeed.

###

Chapter 4

"This feels too tight," Corec said, looking at himself in a mirror. He was wearing a gray shopkeeper-style suit, but he'd insisted on pants rather than breeches, and a coat without tails. He couldn't bring himself to dress in anything fancier than that. His father might have been a baron, but Tarwen was a small barony, tucked away deep in the Black Crow Mountains. There hadn't been many formal occasions, and Corec had left home before he'd been old enough to dress up for them.

"It looks good," Katrin said, tugging on his coat to straighten it.

"I suppose I can't bring my sword."

"I think it would be out of place," she said with a grin.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"Not if they didn't say anything about bringing guests. I don't want to show up and not be expected. Besides, I don't have a gown."

"What about your green dress?"

She laughed. "I can't wear that! It's fine for playing in the common room, but not for something like this. Don't worry about me. I'm going to teach Shavala and Treya how to play cards tonight."

Corec added his sheathed long knife to his belt, not wanting to be completely unarmed. "That sounds more fun than this. Have a good time."

"You, too." She kissed him, then waved him out the door.

In the stableyard, he found Ellerie already waiting near a carriage. She was wearing a sleek red dress with flowing sleeves, and hadn't brought her own sword, either.

"Where's Sarette?" she asked.

"Ambassador Tomek didn't invite her, only her uncle. I asked Katrin, but she insists she doesn't have anything to wear."

"Oh, I should have taken her with me this afternoon—I didn't think about that. I tried to convince Boktar he should come with us tonight, but he just laughed at me." She looked at the carriage, then down at her dress, and frowned.

"Do you need help getting in?" he asked.

"I can't move in this bloody thing," she said. "They don't have Terevassian robes here, but this is elven silk. It was the best I could come up with on short notice—and much too expensive."

Corec lifted her into the carriage and climbed in behind her, then signaled to the driver.

As they got underway, he said, "Are we going to talk about what happened earlier?"

Ellerie had snuck out of the council chamber while Vartus and the Councilors were crowding around to get a better look at the sword. Before Corec had made it back to the inn, she was already gone, either avoiding him or just shopping for the dress she was now wearing.

She looked out the small window in the carriage door. "Have you already told everyone?" she asked quietly.

"Not yet, but Sarette heard it, too. You won't be able to keep it a secret."

"I know." She turned back but didn't meet his eyes.

"I didn't quite follow what they were saying. You're related to the Terevassian royal family?"

"I'm..." She hesitated, but then her voice grew more firm. "I am Princess Ellerie di'Valla, eldest daughter of Her Exalted Majesty, Queen Revana. Until I left, I was heir to the throne."

A princess? Ellerie was well-educated, and Corec had always suspected she'd come from a wealthy family, but being a princess just didn't match the image of her he had in his mind. He'd always assumed her family was more like his own—lesser nobles, or perhaps rich merchants.

"I don't know what to say. Why did you leave?" He didn't use the titles she'd gone by in the council chamber. She'd never asked for any titles before, and it seemed wrong to start using them now.

"A lot of reasons, and I really don't want to talk about them," she said.

Corec was silent for a moment. "I was kicked out of the Knights of Pallisur for using magic. I don't think I ever told you that. My family follows Pallisur, and you know what the Church says about mages. So, I left Larso. I've only been back a couple of times since."

She finally looked at him, a confused expression on her face. "I knew some of that already, but why are you telling me?"

"I spent six years not telling anyone who I was. It got to be a habit, until I finally realized there really wasn't a reason for it." Then he laughed, hearing how self-righteous he sounded. "I'm sure it's different for you, of course."

"Yes, well, I left because I didn't want that life, and now everyone's going to treat me differently. Like tonight, I'll be stuck talking to a bunch of people I don't know, pretending I'm still that person. How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Talk to people. You always seem comfortable no matter who you're with."

"Do I? I never really thought about it."

"That's what's so frustrating! It's so easy for you to talk to people, and you don't even realize it. How do you think our first meeting with Yelena would have gone if I was the warden?"

Corec chuckled. "You seemed a little annoyed with her."

"Because she was annoying! But you got along with her just fine. All right, another example—we've all been traveling together for months now, and Katrin still barely speaks to me."

"I think that has something to do with you threatening to kill me back when we first met."

She looked abashed. "Oh. I forgot about that. Why doesn't it bother you?"

"You're not the first person who's threatened to kill me, and since you never actually tried to do it, I figured it wasn't a big deal."

"I guess I should apologize to her."

"No, don't bring it up at this point. Just talk to her, and she'll talk to you. She's not avoiding you; she's just not going out of her way to be friends, so you'll have to do that part."

"Or she'll avoid me more, once she knows who I am."

"Then don't be that person. Just be who you've been since we met, and that's how people will treat you."

"You make it sound easy."

Ellerie usually responded well to Boktar's sense of humor, so Corec risked a joke. "That's because I'm not the one who has to do it."

"Very funny," she said, but she laughed anyway.

With the tension broken, Corec said, "I've got a question. If you were trying to hide who you are, why did you use your own name?"

"Ellerie isn't an uncommon name in Terevas, and my sister and I aren't well known outside of the city. Until Shavala figured out who I was, it had been a couple of years since anyone had recognized me. You should ask Boktar about it—he loves that story."

"Shavala knows? She didn't say anything."

"I asked her not to. She didn't seem to think it was that important. But as long as we're asking personal questions, I've got one for you."

"All right."

"Why have you only cast the warden binding spell on women? Six binding spells, and not a single man."

Corec grimaced. He'd managed to put that out of his mind. "I didn't have any control over it until recently."

"You must have, or you'd have cast the spell on those wizards you spoke to. Three men, right? And how many other mages have you passed on the street?"

Corec exhaled slowly. "To be honest, I'm worried about it too, but I don't know how to get any answers. At least I can control it now."

"Why not cast the spell on that other stormrunner they asked about, just to see if you can actually bond a man?"

"Because I've already bonded six people in just a few months, which is as many as Yelena's bonded in over two hundred years. She and the First both warned me that I had to be more careful about that. Razai's already gone and you're not planning to stick around. Shavala may visit us from time to time, but she wants to return home. Sarette will probably do the same. Katrin and Treya are the only ones planning on staying, and I wouldn't lay odds on Treya. I may not know much about wardens yet, but Yelena seems to send her bondmates out as her agents when she needs something done...and I'm not going to have any left."

"I didn't realize you were actually worried about that," Ellerie said, raising an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't necessarily say worried, because I've got other options, but I think I want to do something more important with my life than bodyguard work or protecting caravans. I liked helping those villagers against the ogres, and protecting the folks from Jol's Brook when the snow beasts attacked. But with each person that leaves, I'm more likely to find myself back on the road with the caravans. According to Yelena, I can only cast the binding spell two more times."

Ellerie stared at him for a moment. "I suppose if you ever need a wizard and I'm nearby, I could help out."

"You'd do that? I thought after we found Tir Yadar, we'd never see you again."

"Well, it depends on where you're at. South Corner isn't that far from Matagor. Four Roads would be harder, since the dragon's in the way."

"I'll keep that in mind, but I probably won't make any decisions until we're back from Cordaea. Four Roads and South Corner are both too close to Larso if Prince Rusol is still trying to hunt me down. I hope Yelena will have some ideas on what to do about him."

#

Ellerie's jaw hurt from all the fake smiling. The reception wasn't as bad as she'd feared, but it was difficult to be friendly all the time, and she was out of practice.

"You're from the Black Crows?" Vartus was asking Corec. "Mountains are nothing new for you, then."

Corec laughed. "There's a big difference between the Black Crows and the Storm Heights. Not just the mountains but the weather. I've never seen a snowstorm as heavy as the one we ran into here. If Sarette and Gregor hadn't been with us, everyone would have died."

"Which I pointed out to Les, but he's a stickler for the rules." Vartus waved to Councilor Lesander, who was on the other side of the room talking to a woman Ellerie didn't recognize.

Councilor Rurik said, "The High Guard's much larger than the stormrunner order, and the rules are there for a reason. Let's not spend the whole night debating something that's already been resolved." He turned to Corec. "You've got maple trees in the Black Crows, right? We make an...interesting rum out of our own syrup. I think there's a bottle here somewhere." He peered around the room.

"That sounds expensive," Corec said.

"Oh, it is. It's cheaper to import rum from down south, even after paying for shipping, but we like to have something local for special occasions. There, I see it, over by the wines."

The three of them wandered off, leaving Ellerie alone with Ambassador Tomek.

"I hope you're having a pleasant evening, Exalted," he said.

"It's been wonderful, Ambassador," she lied. "Tell me, have you seen my mother lately? I haven't been home in a few years."

"Years? I hadn't realized you'd been away for so long. I last saw Her Exalted Majesty when I was in Terevas six months ago. It's a shame about her health—I didn't think I'd even be permitted to meet with her this time, but before I left, she allowed a single audience to discuss import taxes."

"Was she well, other than the illness?"

Tomek shifted uncomfortably. "Her mind seemed strong, Exalted. I couldn't say anything beyond that."

"That's all I wanted to know."

"Tell me, Exalted, does the rest of your family share Queen Revana's favorable views on outside trade?"

"You mean, will my sister close our borders after Mother dies?"

The ambassador winced. "I don't mean to be indelicate, but Terevas hasn't historically been open to foreign business."

"That was before my time. I don't claim to know Vilisa's mind, but my mother put the reforms in place over a hundred years ago, and I imagine ending them would cause some concern from our merchants and craftsmen."

"Of course. It was before my time, too, but it's my job to look to the future."

"Naturally, Vilisa will review the terms we offer each of our trading partners, to see if any of the agreements need to be renegotiated...or if they're even worth continuing at all. I'm sure she'll make the best decisions for our people."

Tomek swallowed. "Of course," he repeated.

"Ahh, here you are, Exalted," Head Magister Inessa said, coming up from behind Tomek. "Ambassador, if you don't mind, this is my last chance to discuss the South Valley findings with Lady Ellerie."

"Certainly, Councilor. I'll leave you to it." Tomek looked relieved to escape before Ellerie could push him into offering more favorable trade terms on his next visit to Terevas.

"What would you like to know, Councilor?" Ellerie asked after he was gone.

"Borya showed me the maps of the underground tunnel system. When I was younger, I tried to follow one of the hot spring aqueducts to its source, but it got too small for a person to pass through. I never realized people might have lived in the undercity. How did you find it?"