The Children of the White Lions: Volume 02 - Prophecy (42 page)

To keep herself from screaming, she looked past Khin and down one of the narrow, gravel-covered streets of Claw, watching the townspeople go about their business. A man with a wheelbarrow full of leaden gray rocks eyed her and Khin as he crossed the alley. Another villager, one cleaning a string of pointy-nosed fish hanging between two posts, shot the pair yet another curious glance. He had been watching them all morning.

Finally, Khin spoke.

“If you spent a fraction of the time thinking about ways to solve this problem as you do ogling the townspeople, you could have been done by now.”

Kenders bit her lip hard enough that she tasted blood. With as much respect as she could summon, she said, “I do not understand how I am to complete the task before me.”

Khin faced forward and closed his eyes.

“Then we shall stand here until you do. I welcome the breeze.”

“What do you expect me to do?”

“Solve the problem,” answered Khin. “Preferably before night comes.”

Kenders faced forward to stare down the main street and began to think through the situation yet again.

Earlier this morning, Khin had brought her to this very spot in the center of Claw, conjured a tiny fibríaal of pure Fire, and whispered a set of instructions to the creature. Off it had run, startling people as it scampered down the street. A man’s small dog had run after the little man of flame as it turned a corner, only to come back yelping moments later, the hair on its nose singed.

Kenders patiently waited for instructions, wondering about her teacher’s intent. A long while passed before Khin said softly, “Tell me where the fibríaal is now.” She had taken but a single step when Khin stopped her by saying, “Do it from here. You are not to move.” As she had stared at him blankly, wondering how she was supposed to do that, he gave her one more instruction “You may ask me a single question. Choose wisely.”

At first, she had welcomed the unique challenge. She stood in complete silence, choosing her approach carefully. She thought about sending out a small army of her own tiny fibríaals, each with an order to hunt down Khin’s fire man, but dismissed the idea. A dozen creatures of stone, air, lighting, or water running throughout Claw would have caused too much chaos.

Since then, nothing else had come to mind. She had no idea how to track Khin’s Weave. Nor had she asked her lone question. She was determined to do this on her own, without the aicenai’s help.

Hoping for some random inspiration, she turned her attention to her surroundings and examined the village around her. She and Khin stood in the middle of a narrow street, a tailor’s shop before them on their left and a bakery on the right. Unlike most of the stone buildings in Claw, the bakery had a wooden roof rather than a thatched one made of straw. Two large windows were street-side with another in the alley. A single, black ebonwood door stood half-open beneath an overhang of wood that jutted from the roof. Through the right window, Kenders could make out the faint orange glow of the baker’s ovens inside. She wondered if the fire fibríaal might have doubled back to hide in the oven. It only took her a moment to dismiss the option. That would be too obvious.

Turning to look at the opposite side of the street, she scanned the tailor’s shop. Three windows lined the front, along with a bright crimson door shut tight against the cold. She briefly wondered if the fibríaal was in there before reasoning that a man of fire in a shop full of cloth was an incredibly bad idea. Her teacher was maddening, but not mad.

Standing in the cold, Kenders yet again arrived at what seemed to be the most likely location within Claw for the fibríaal to hide: the forge at the smithy. And, yet again, a quiet sense of melancholy gripped her as she pictured the building in her mind’s eye, the place where her parents had lived during their time in Claw.

Shortly after arriving at the enclave, Gamin had offered to take the three Isaac children there. The trio followed the mage through Claw, hearts pounding, and stepped up to the stone building. Gamin explained the situation to the current blacksmith and the man not only graciously let them enter the shop, he stood with Gamin outside, giving the three siblings a few quiet moments alone. Kenders, Nikalys, and Jak had stood in the dim, smoky interior for a long time.

Sighing, she dipped her head and stared at the street’s gravel. These bouts of sorrow were coming less frequently, yet they had not lost their sharp edge. And with Nikalys gone, she felt more alone than ever.

Hearing a rustle of cloth to her side, she lifted her head and looked over at her teacher. Khin was staring at her. She was surprised to spot a rare flicker of emotion in his ice-blue eyes. She swore it was sympathy.

She stared at him, confused.

“Why are you—?”

The door to the tailor’s shop suddenly rattled opened, startling the quiet solitude of the street. A woman stepped out, wearing a long-sleeved, russet-colored dress with an amber scarf pulled tightly over her head. Underneath her left arm was a white bundle of cloth, rolled up in a cylinder. The woman shut the door behind her, turned to enter the street, and started as she noticed Kenders and Khin.

Kenders wondered how it was possible that she had not noticed them before now. They had been standing there all morning.

The woman stood in place for a moment, the expression on her face making it obvious she knew who they were. Kenders offered a friendly smile and the woman gave an unsure grin in return as she began strolling across the street, toward the bakery. Upon reaching the building, she gently knocked on the half-open door and waited, shooting another furtive glance in Kenders and Khin’s direction. After a few moments, it swung inward and a man with wild black hair and a Southlands-style beard filled the empty doorway, a smile spreading across his face.

“Good days ahead, Arlien.”

With a short bow, the woman responded, “And good memories behind, Bannick.”

Kenders knew she should not eavesdrop, but it was hard not to. The pair stood but fifteen paces away.

“Mild today, isn’t it?” asked Bannick, glancing up at the choppy, gray skies.

Kenders assumed the baker was jesting. There was nothing mild about the weather here.

“Always with the sweet, aren’t you?” asked Arlien with a smile. Peering out from beneath the bakery’s overhang to scan the sky, she added, “A storm is coming, I think.”

“One always is.”

Arlien pulled the white bundle from under her arm and held it out to the baker.

“We have finished your new aprons.”

“Ah, thank you,” said Bannick. “I was not expecting them until the end of the week at the earliest.” He unfurled one of the aprons, held it up in front of him, and nodded his approval. “These will do nicely. And I shall owe you a favor for early delivery.”

“Perhaps I can claim that favor now? I was hoping that you might---oh, never mind. It will be too much trouble.”

Rolling up the apron, Bannick said, “Please. Ask your question. I’ll be happy to help if I can.”

“Well, I know that you have a season’s schedule you follow, but, well, Solen’s yearday is next week and I thought perhaps you could make him a few loaves of the rosemary and onion bread he likes so much. If you have any rosemary left, that is. I would be happy to pay extra.”

Assuming that Solen was Arlien’s husband, Kenders smiled. The gesture was a sweet one.

Bannick shook his head and said, “You will do no such thing! I’d be happy to make it for him. Will three loaves do?”

“Oh, that’s more than enough!”

As Kenders eyed the woman, her slight smile grew a fraction. One simple question and Arlien got exactly what she had wanted.

A moment later, the grin slipped away, her eyes widened, and a sudden chill swept through her, one that had nothing to do with cold weather. She shut her eyes.

“Hells.”

As Arlien thanked Bannick and hurried back across the street, Kenders kept her eyes closed, pretending as though she were deep in a trance. The moment the door to the tailor’s shop shut, Kenders let out a heavy sigh, opened her eyes, and stared at Khin’s profile. Her lips tightened as she spotted a tiny smile on his face. For the aicenai, it was akin to laughing aloud.

Keeping her voice even and direct, she asked, “Khin, where is the fibríaal?”

“Gone,” murmured Khin, turning his head to face her. “After it burnt the dog, I dismissed it. Had you been paying attention as you should have, you would have surely felt it.”

Kenders held his gaze, determined not to show any external reaction. Like most of Khin’s lessons, this one made her upset. For once, however, he was not the target of her ire. She was mad at herself. Her stubbornness, an admitted flaw of hers, had led to this.

Khin murmured, “Good. You are learning.”

Kenders focused on the aicenai, her eyes narrowing. At times, it seemed he knew exactly what she was thinking.

Khin said, “Your expressions are as easy to read as new ink on fresh parchment. That is another thing we will work on. A worthy adversary will anticipate your every move if you are unable to control your thoughts and emotions.”

Frowning, Kenders nodded.

“I suppose you’re right.”

“No. I
am
right. Do not suppose I am.”

Some of her irritation shifted back to Khin.

The aicenai eyed her, turned to stare at the bakery, and said, “Wait here. I must retrieve an order.”

Nodding, Kenders watched her teacher approach the bakery door and knock with his bony hand. While he waited for the baker and she waited for Khin, she shivered as a gust of wind surged past. Cold and wet, she thought about Nikalys and the others at sea, wondering how they were handling the weather.

Two mornings back, Kenders and Jak had braved a pre-dawn drizzle and went down to the docks to see everyone off. Nikalys was not there when they arrived, much to the vociferous consternation of the Sapphire’s captain. Every few moments, the white-haired man would unleash an impressive string of curses about missing the tide, hoping ‘the blasted, ground-kissing son of a Lion’ might grace them with his presence. The longer they waited, the redder Kenders’ cheeks turned. Jak stared at the man with awe in his eyes. A slight smile rested upon Broedi’s lips throughout the tirade. From the few exchanges between the captain and the hillman, Kenders reasoned the pair had known one another for some time.

The two-mast ship that awaited her brother seemed overcrowded in Kenders’ opinion. Twenty leaden-footed soldiers stood on the deck, staring in wonder at the two dozen sailors nimbly scurrying about, preparing the ship for departure. Along with Sergeant Trell, Kenders spotted a few other familiar faces: the excellent young swordsman, Wil Eadding, and the former Tracker of the Constables, Cero.

Eventually, Nikalys arrived, rushing down the rocky steps etched into the side of the bluff, carrying an impossible number of sacks and satchels. Kenders cringed as she watched him dash down, worrying that he was going to fall on the wet rocks. Whether by the grace of Ketus or Horum’s gift, he managed to make it to the dock without tumbling.

Broedi and the others crossed the plank leading from the dock to the Sapphire, leaving the trio of siblings alone on the dock. Even Captain Scrag ceased his screaming briefly, allowing the three some peace for their whispered farewells. Kenders tried—yet again—to give their mother’s necklace to Nikalys for his journey, but he insisted that she keep it, saying that at least she would know if he drowned at sea. The jest was a clumsy one and nobody smiled.

Once Nikalys boarded the ship, Captain Scrag wasted no time, calling for the Sapphire to cast off. Jak and Kenders stood alone on the docks, watching the ship drift from the harbor. Once it slipped past the rocky bluff and out of sight, the pair hurried up the stairs, into the enclave, and up to Jak’s room. From there, they stared out his window and watched the Sapphire sail away until the blanket of misty rain swallowed the vessel.

Now, as she stood alone in wind-whipped Claw, her chin to chest, a tear of worry rolled down her cheek. She reached up to wipe it away and murmured, “Joyful yearday to me.”

Hearing the crunch of footsteps on gravel, she looked up and found Khin approaching her and holding a circular package wrapped in cheesecloth. The aicenai stopped before her and held out the package. Kenders stared blankly at both it and him before realizing he meant for her to take it.

“For me?”

“Yes.”

Reaching out, she accepted the package.

“What is it?”

“A gift,” replied the aicenai softly.

Kenders eyebrows arched in surprise.

“Truly?”

“That is how your kind celebrates your ‘yearday’, yes?”

Kenders stared at her teacher, stunned. She had not mentioned anything about the significance of the day to anyone, least of all to Khin. As far as she knew, only Jak and Sabine knew the date.

“How did you—” She stopped, realizing the answer was obvious. “Of course…you were here when I was born.”

“Correct. Now, please. Open your gift.”

Kenders dropped her gaze to the package in her hands, brought the cloth-wrapped parcel to her face, and took a deep breath. A mouth-watering mixture of a familiar sweet-yet-tart scent swirled with the buttery aroma of fresh-baked crust. The smell transported her back to the Isaac family kitchen, sitting at the table and helping her mother bake them with a portion of the family’s harvest. Her eyes widened as her gaze shot back to Khin.

“A grape tart?! How…how could you know?”

“I approached your brothers in the commons the evening before the Sapphire departed. They suggested this.”

Kenders gave Khin a grateful smile, instantly feeling terrible for every mean thing she had ever said or thought about him.

“Thank you, Khin. This is very kind of you.”

“You are welcome.”

Kenders breathed in the wondrous aroma again. Looking back to the aicenai, she asked, “Wherever did you find the grapes?”

“I enlisted the help of Magistrate Ulius yesterday. We opened a port to Halawala and found some in season. They might be sweeter than what you are used to.”

Kenders could not believe the effort to which Khin had gone to for her. Shaking her head, she said, “They will be perfectly fine, I am sure.”