The Dreamtrails (76 page)

“I should have come sooner,” I said flatly.

The teknoguilder turned slowly to look at me, and when I saw the expression on his haggard face, I grew frightened and turned to look where Domick lay.

The coercer’s pale skin was now covered in livid bumps of purple and sickly yellow, each so swollen that the skin was thin and shiny-looking. One of the ugly buboes had formed on his face, distorting his eye and mouth, and Domick gasped in each shallow breath as if his lungs had too little room for air. His hair and face glistened with sweat, and his lips were torn and bloody as if he had chewed at them. Where the restraining bands passed lightly over his body and forehead, there were dark red pressure marks as if he had pressed himself so hard against them as to bruise his flesh. He was so emaciated that I could see his ribs clearly.

“Seely said he was awake,” I said.

Domick’s eyes opened at the sound of my voice, but the buboes made it hard to read his expression as he squinted in my direction. The central room in which we stood was now brightly lit, and I knew he could see me.

“It is you,” Domick rasped.

I exhaled and leaned against the glass. “Domick,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

Domick produced a ghastly smile. “Mika is glad to give
way to me now, because he does not want to bear the pain this body must endure. I am … glad … to be free before I die.”

I blinked rapidly to clear my eyes of a hot rush of tears. I wanted to tell him fiercely that he would not die, but I had seen the truth in Jak’s exhausted face. Domick nodded as if my silence had spoken to him. He let his head fall back, moaning softly as if even this slight movement hurt him. I turned to the teknoguilder and said almost angrily, “Is there nothing you can give him for pain?”

“Pavo has given him a good deal already,” Jak said gently. He had left his stool and come to stand a little behind me. “More would send him to sleep, but he—”

“I don’t want to sleep,” Domick gasped, and I turned quickly back to him. “I do not mind dying, but I … I wish I could have seen Obernewtyn one last time.” Then he fell silent and closed his eyes.

I bit my lip and listened to his harsh breathing; then I remembered how Dameon had comforted me in Saithwold, and I began softly to speak of Obernewtyn. I described the new cave garden that Katlyn had begun and how she had made the Teknoguild seal the openings with plast and wood so the air would stay warm and humid even in the winter. I told him of the discovery of Jacob Obernewtyn’s tomb and all that had been found in it. I described Rasial, whom he had never seen, and told the story of the white dog who had killed her brutal master and led his domestic beasts, including chickens, up to Obernewtyn. I described Gavyn, the strange beastspeaker-enthraller who had become Rasial’s constant and wordless companion, along with a giddy little owlet that never left his shoulder. I spoke of the last moon fair and of the tapestry the Futuretellers presented to Obernewtyn that depicted the rebellion and of the coercer games.

As I spoke, the lines of rigid tension in the coercer’s ravaged body relaxed. Still speaking, I glanced at Jak, who nodded encouragement. Seely stood beside him, holding his hand, tears streaming down her face.

My voice was cracking now, but I did not stop. I told of my journey across the strait from Herder Isle with the ship fish Ari-noor. I was no songmaker, and I left out any mention of my role as the Seeker, but I strove to make my telling beautiful enough to contain the truth of that journey, and I knew I had succeeded when Domick’s lips curved up in the slightest smile.

But the smile vanished, and suddenly Domick asked where Rushton was. I had been very careful not to speak of Rushton, but I could not lie or evade the question. I swallowed hard and said that we had found him in the cells of the Sutrium cloister. “Roland and Kella healed him, and now he leads us again at Obernewtyn.”

Domick frowned and looked distressed, but when he spoke, he said, “Tell Kella that I loved her, Elspeth. I truly did. But then Mika came. I was afraid of what he might do if he came while I was with her. All that I loved, he hated. All that I hated, he loved. That is why he was so cruel to Rushton. He knew that I had loved him, too.” Now he wept, and sobs racked his poor ravaged form.

I had no words to ease him, so I stood silent. It seemed so cruel that he should be in physical pain while suffering such anguish.

“That ship fish … sang in your mind?” he asked softly after a while.

“Yes,” I whispered.

“I … would like to … hear a fish … sing,” he murmured, and closed his eyes.

I looked around to find that Jak had returned to the computermachine. Seely stood in his place. “He will sleep now,” she said.

“Do you know how long before …?” I was unable to complete the question.

She shook her head. “This is a dreadful death. I can hardly bear to think anyone would wish to inflict this fearsome ugly suffering on thousands of people.” She shivered.

Jak came back to draw Seely into his long arms, and she leaned her head against his chest. The teknoguilder’s face was lined with sorrow and regret as his eyes met mine over her bowed head. “I am so sorry, Elspeth. I tried but … there is just too little time.”

“How long?” I asked again.

“Tomorrow. Maybe tonight,” he said heavily. “It might even be longer, for we do not know how this new form of plague will work. Perhaps this later stage will be longer than with the last plague. But I doubt he will become conscious again.”

Perhaps it was cowardly, but I could not stay there, watching him die. I felt a passionate desire to feel the wind on my cheeks and to see the true sky. I went up to the ruins, only to find a cold, windy evening, the night sky once again full of fleeting clouds that gave only misty glimpses of the stars and the moon. I thought I could smell smoke as I headed to the watchtower, intending to take my mind off Domick by farseeking Merret. The boy Pellis was on watch, and he greeted me with awe-filled eyes that made me want to weep. I leaned against the top of the wall and gazed toward Sutrium. I could see the shape of the vast obscuring cloud of smoke that rose over the Suggredoon, and I thought of what
Merret had told Kader. If she really had seen Hedra on the opposite bank killing ordinary people or rebels, the Hedra who had been abandoned in the Land must have rallied against the rebels. Perhaps they had found other weapon caches.
Who knew what sort of weapons they would have hidden?
I thought, remembering what we had been shown in the armory on Herder Isle. I thought of Iriny and prayed she had safely reached the other side.

I heard a step behind me and turned to see Orys coming up onto the watch platform.

“I did not know you had returned,” I said.

He shrugged. “I just got back. Seely told me you had come up here. Do you want to try reaching Merret again?”

Glad to take my mind off Domick, I nodded, and Orys made himself comfortable. I closed my eyes and entered his mind. Drawing on his strength, I shaped a probe to Merret’s mind and flung it out strongly, for besides Orys’s strength, I was well rested now. It located immediately.

“Elspeth!” Merret sent. The urgency in her tone made my heart falter.

“What is happening? Where are you?” I demanded.

“I am still in Followtown; that’s what this wretched barrier settlement calls itself. The stench and poverty and sheer squalor are appalling.”

“What is happening across the river?” I asked tersely.

“I am sorry. It is not much clearer than it was when I farsought Kader before, except that there are a lot more soldierguards and Hedra. And more of both arrive at every moment. There are also two of the outer-cadre Threes from the cloisters in Morganna and Aborium, and another from the Halfmoon Bay cloister, as well as a whole host of lesser priests and Councilmen with their entourages. There has been much argument
and discussion about whether they should cross the river. They have been at it for hours now, and there is no sign of its letting up, though it is almost dawn. I only know as much as I do because they sent to Followtown for food and drink, and I coerced myself into being one of those to deliver it. From what I have been able to glean, the Threes oppose the Hedra’s desire to cross the Suggredoon, because no ships have come from Herder Isle or Norseland in days, and they are worried about what that means. But the Hedra can see their brethren fighting, and they are determined to go. The soldierguards would cross the water, too, for many of them fled Sutrium during the rebellion, and they are eager to regain what they lost; they are arguing that the Faction has no right or power to stop them. The Councilmen are caught between fear of the Faction and fear of alienating the soldierguards. So far, no decision has been made yet to cross and give aid to the other Hedra. But it is only a matter of time, and I am afraid that even a substantial delay might not help us.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Hedra across the river are winning. Just an hour ago, I saw two deadly skirmishes right on the bank. A troop of Hedra was pursuing one or two rebels, or ordinary Landfolk. They killed them both.”

“Have you seen anyone you recognize?” I asked Merret.

“No,” she said. “But I wonder if there can be anything left of Sutrium; it has burned for so long.”

“The rebels might have been driven out of Sutrium, but they will manage to set up a stronghold elsewhere,” I said, thinking what an irony it would be if the rebels had been forced to take refuge at Obernewtyn. It was a definite possibility for all the reasons that had made the mountain valley a perfect refuge for Misfits for so many years.

Merret said, “Elspeth, I have no doubt that the soldierguards will soon cross the river. When they do, the Hedra will go as well, because whatever their fears and reservations, the Threes will not want the Council to claim the Land in their absence. We cannot stop them, and we cannot help those on the other side of the river. We must seize control of
this
bank of the river. Some guards will definitely be left, but it will be a minimal force, and if we defeat them, we can prevent the return of the soldierguards and Hedra.”

“By
we
, you mean the rebels?” I asked.

“I mean we who oppose the Council and Faction,” Merret said sternly enough that it was a rebuke. “You must send someone to Gwynedd at once to let him know what is happening. I have no doubt he will realize this is an opportunity we dare not let slip, if the rebels have truly lost control of the other side of the river. We will need every rebel and rebel sympathizer he can muster, because we will eventually need to guard the entire length of the bank, just as the soldierguards have been doing, and we will need a force strong enough to repel any force sent against us from the cities or cloisters this side of the river.”

“Even if you are right, it will take Gwynedd a minimum of a twoday to muster up a force and get it to the river. From what you are saying, it sounds as if the Hedra and the soldierguards mean to cross at any minute,” I said.

“I know it,” Merret answered. “Which is why I have coerced a fellow and sent him to your Rolf. He seems a handy sort of man with a lot of friends. If he can muster a force of even thirty able-bodied people willing to fight, I think it will be enough. If ever there was a time for the people to rise in their own defense, this is it. As for me, I have already overcome two Hedra and a host of men in Followtown. I can use
them in a fight. And remember, to begin with, neither Faction nor Council here or on the other side of the river will know what we have done for some time, if we are careful. That means no one this side of the river will interfere with us, and those on the other side who return can simply be taken captive and coerced. Which reminds me. I need at least two coercers to ride here at once, and if Ran can be persuaded to muster up a force, he might emulate Gahltha and the horses in Saithwold and come to our aid.”

I told Merret I would do all that I could and that I would farseek her again later. Then I withdrew. Orys looked pale, and I asked if he could bear to be used one more time.

“Of course, but I do not know how long I can hold it,” he said.

I nodded and entered his mind again. Turning my face to Murmroth, I shaped a probe to Alun’s mind and sent it out. I managed to reach him, but he was far away, and I could feel Orys struggling to keep his mind focused and connected to mine as I sent Merret’s message.

“Gwynedd will welcome the news,” Alun enthused. “But I have met one of Gwynedd’s outriders, and Gwynedd is not in Murmroth. He rode for Aborium as soon as Orys described what Merret saw at the river, to consult with the other rebels. He sent riders out to summon them. By my reckoning, he will be in Aborium now. I will tell him—” Orys’s strength failed, breaking the connection. My probe retracted with painful force, and I lowered my head, fighting waves of nausea and faintness, dimly registering that Orys had fallen to his knees and was retching violently.

“You can use me like you used him,” Pellis offered urgently.

I shook my head, in too much pain to explain why I could
not muster a probe that would enable me to use him. Dizziness and fatigue made me sway on my feet.

“I … I need to rest, Pellis. I will walk a little and lie down in the sand,” I managed to say. “Keep watch until … Orys recovers, then … then help him down to tell … tell Dell what has happened.”

“But I … I don’t know—”

“Orys heard it all …,” I gasped, and turned to descend the steps on unsteady legs.

I set off through the dark ruins, knowing that I ought to return to the complex, but the thought of going along those closed corridors and down in the elevating chamber was too much. Besides, I suddenly, passionately, did not want to be under the earth. I lay down in the first sandy hollow I came to, drew my shawl over my face, and willed myself to sleep.

I dreamed of walking across a wide plain for long hours. The sun beat down on my unprotected head with painful force, and my thirst was terrible. I walked until, in the distance, I saw a line of mountains. Veering toward them, I prayed for a spring, but when I came closer, the mountains looked barren and bare. Clouds flowed like spilled black ink, covering the blue sky and the sun. The plain darkened under this devouring shadow, and then I saw that a light was flashing at the base of the mountains. I moved toward it, and gradually I realized that it was a signal.