The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling (32 page)

Drune looked at her for a long time.

Erin heard a growl that hit a high pitch and
she looked up at Tempo’s little face peering down at her from the
loft. ‘I don’t like you being in danger, Erin, and if he kills you
I WILL attack him and the realm will be short a sage and a skunk
which it can ill afford, but I understand what you are
offering.’

Drune looked up and said, “ I take it that
Tempo isn’t crazy about your idea but will go along with it and
will be willing to protect you.”

She smiled. “Exactly.”

Drune looked at Kaas and Char. “Would anyone
pay any attention to two men wandering into the Massar Dunes
today?”

“Probably not. They are not right up against
the city but about a quarter mile away.” said Char. “You will also
need a city official to be a witness. I would suggest Mayor Harra.
Not only is he intelligent and can be discrete but he is uncle to
Kaas. The lad here can ask him to drift this way during the height
of the gather so you can speak to him.”

Erin spoke up. “We need to see the dunes
first so we will do that right after we speak to a few people in
the caravan and meet the mayor here just past midday.”

As she and Drune left he said under his
breath, “‘Cos’, you have a habit of working out stuff in that
fertile brain of yours and then letting the rest of us know, don’t
you.”

She looked down at her feet then back up to
stare ahead. “ I guess I do. I’m not trying to leave you out.” then
she grinned, “You have a habit of combining praise and a put down,
don’t you.”

“Guilty. But I’m going to be very mad if my
new cousin gets killed due to a miscalculation.”

Erin looked over at him. “Can’t have that.
I’ll just have to be sure I don’t miscalculate. Now, I suggest we
have a carefully chosen mix of sage and non-sage in the dunes.”
They started an animated discussion, between them, on who to be in
the dunes.

They circulated among the guild wagons before
the gather started and stopped to have a word with several guild
members, chatting here and there. After awhile they ambled to the
edge of the green and took a walk away from the city, just enjoying
the fine day. They drifted back into the crowd late in the
morning.

Erin kept her ‘door’ open to try to locate
Bure. They had a description from Kaas on what he looked like when
he had come to the wood shop but both Erin and Drune felt he would
alter his looks again. Keir was drifting on the thermals above the
city trying to spot him, also. It was mid day when Erin and Drune
caught a snatch of anger. It came from one of the food stalls.
Drune said, “‘Cos’, I need to feed you! Let’s go see what they have
to offer.” They drifted toward the food booths, subtly following
the anger and stopped by a counter that had Erin’s favorite hot
fish and cheese blintzes.

There was a bald man who wanted more marks
back, in change, than they had given him. The anger came from him.
It was Bure, but not a Bure that Erin would have recognized. He had
shaved all of his hair off and wore a hoop earring in his left ear.
He had also grown a round spot of whiskers just below his bottom
lip. Erin barely looked at him, not wanting to draw his attention,
but instead focused on the blintzes. Drune put on a bored
nonchalance. Finally the booth owner gave him more marks and he
left, feeling vindicated and entitled. Drune stepped forward and
bought them both blintzes. As they were eating Erin told Keir the
description of Bure. She rotated, taking in the sights and located
where he was, giving that to the falcon also. Keir spotted him and
said that he, and his family, wouldn’t lose sight of him. Then Erin
and her ‘cos’, Drune, wandered back to Char’s wood shop.

They hadn’t been there but a few minutes when
Mayor Harra walked in. Kaas and Char remained down in the wood shop
while Erin, Drune and the mayor went upstairs to have a cup of warm
cider, in the kitchen. Erin started. “You have read the dispatch
from Sherroton and the list of the people killed by Bure, his
brother and cousin.” The mayor nodded. “I am going to trust you
with some information I would prefer that you don’t reveal to
anyone.” He nodded again. “I am Robse and Shamra’s daughter, Erin.
I have been pursued through two provinces by Bure. I am alive
because I hid as a boy assisting the guild train with their horses.
I go by the name of Terran.” The mayor raised his eyebrows but
remained listening. “You said that you had been in contact with
Gyan. I assume he explained the reason for the storms and
quakes?”

The mayor looked thoughtful. “He did. Are you
telling me that you are one of the few remaining sages?”

Erin looked him in the eye when she
continued. “I am one of the remaining and the youngest in the
realm. I have the means to get Bure to come to me. I have carefully
avoided using it because of the danger but now it wouldn’t be
certain death for me. The wise woman Ree has devised a poultice
that draws the poison if used quickly after the lethal contact is
made. I mixed and applied it to Holm within minutes of contact. It
works. I also have friends that would protect me.”

“What I propose to do is to lure him into the
Massar Dunes just before sunset. Secreted in the dunes would be
some respected guild members, regular citizens and you, if you are
willing. My goal will be to get him to talk and implicate himself.
Will you join us? We need him alive and stopped. We have the
opportunity to contain him here.”

The mayor looked at this young person in
front of him. “What you propose is highly dangerous! There is no
guarantee that he will confess or that you will live!” Erin
shrugged. “I don’t have a death wish but I don’t think he will
resist the chance to kill me. He has been looking for me a long
time. If I miscalculate he can be arrested for attempting to kill
me. With Wras’s confession it would be enough.”

“I hope you know what you are doing because
the realm can’t afford to lose another sage. I’ll be there.” he got
up to leave but turned to look at her. “I don’t know if you are
incredibly brave... or foolish. I wish you the blessings of the
ancients.”

“I’ll second that last statement!” muttered
Drune.

They heard Tempo’s strange growl. ‘I
agree, too!’

The gather had been over a couple of hours
and the sun was much lower in the sky when Erin left Char’s shop
and strolled east out of town. There was a marine layer of moisture
coming in and Erin was grateful for the coat and gloves she was
wearing. Even though she had planned this and saw it as the only
solution to end this she was nervous. Her hands were cold in the
gloves and she was fighting the occasional shivers that brought
goose-bumps on her arms. As she walked into the edges of the Massar
Dunes she looked around. For all intents the place was completely
empty. ‘Keir, where is Bure?’

She heard his hunting cry on the wind, then
‘He is in a pub on a street near the city green.’

Erin nodded to herself. ‘Thank you, please
continue to keep an eye on him. I will need to know when he leaves
and the direction he takes. Because I will be calling him it may be
hard for you to reach my mind. Keep trying.’

Erin this is very dangerous for you. I will
make sure you get my message!’

Erin continued into the center of the dunes
into a hollow valley with taller sandy mounds around her. The mist
was coming in thickly now and it was beginning to cast an eerie
glow within the dunes, with the lengthening shadows. She shivered
again then spoke aloud. “I hope you are out there and can hear me.
Actually the moisture in the air should help amplify sound.
Remember that it works both ways. I don’t want him to hear you. I
am in position and speaking at a normal level. Can someone give me
a sound check?”

“We’re with you, Terran, and can hear you
fine. May the ancients be with you. Be careful lad.” The voice came
from her right and was clear though she could not see anyone.

She bowed her head in acceptance. “So be it.
Here I go.” She put a piece of jerky in her mouth, put her hand on
the stones, hanging in their bag around her neck and opened her
mind. Erin had never reached out in search before. She knew how
because she had done it in a very, very small way when she called
her friends, but this would be the first time she had turned on her
power. Now she reached!
‘Bure! Where are you. I
need answers.’
More than the words was the push. She was
driving her thoughts out, looking for him. The light was glowing
vividly as the sun set and Luna rose, the shadows spilling from the
dunes.
‘Bure! Where are you. I need answers. Come
talk to me.’

Keir spoke. ‘He’s got your message, alright.
He is out in the street looking around as if he were trying to pick
up your scent.’

She thrust her search out again.
‘
Bure! Are you near? I really would like to
understand why.’
Now she felt his malevolent excitement. It
almost brought her to her knees. She concentrated on the piece of
jerky and put her arms out to steady herself. Keir brushed her arm,
getting her attention. She hadn’t realized that she had had her
eyes closed. Can’t do that. Have to see. Keir flew by again and she
focused on the little merlin.

‘He’s coming. He is almost to the outer edge
of the dunes.’ Keir flew higher and out of sight.

While she was concentrating on Keir she heard
and owl hoot. ‘Erin be careful. Stay back far enough to be out of
his reach. He is quick and right now it looks like he is radiating
enraged satisfaction.’

“I know. I can feel it.” She murmured and
concentrated on her chewing. Erin quickly slipped another piece of
jerky in her mouth. It wouldn’t do for her to lose her tempering
technique at a critical time.

The sun was gone. Right now the only light
she had was Luna’s and it was diffused. She could hear him coming
through the dunes now. His emotional excitement was tamped down a
little with caution. “Where are you, witch. I know you’re here.”
His voice was low but he said the phrase in a sing-song way.
Taunting.

Erin had chosen the spot, where she now stood
for a number of reasons. It was in the center of the dunes with
plenty of places for listeners to hide but the hollow was big
enough for her to maneuver. She heartily hoped she knew what she
was doing. Scrum! Why did she think she could do this? His madness
beat down on her, threatening to pull her under. She chewed,
swallowed and chewed some more.

‘Concentrate, Erin!’ said a voice in her head
and she bit down hard. Pulling herself back from the whirlpool he
wanted her in. ‘Pull your wits about you! He’s here!’

Bure rounded the sand dune and stopped short.
He didn’t appear to be carrying an obvious weapon though she knew
that the poison and his fists were enough. “Who are you?” He looked
around expecting someone else to be there. The moonlight gleaming
off of his bald head. He seemed confused and turned his head this
way and that as if trying to pick up a scent.

“I knew Shamra and Robse. Why did you kill
them?”

He made a sound deep in his throat of
pleasure. “I got two for one on that little gig. Must say I didn’t
expect that. Have the vermin take the poison back to it’s nest and
kill all the nits.” He made the throaty sound again.

She took a deep breath working to get enough
support from her gut so her voice would be steady. “I repeat. Why
did you kill them?”

He stepped back, not used to an underling
standing up to him. Then he roared. “Because I wanted to!” He
paused, watching her reaction. She just stood there, waiting. “They
were witches. I am saving the realm from their infestation!” he
answered in a reasonable tone, as if he were talking to a stupid
child.

“How did killing them save the realm?” she
questioned.

“You are an idiot if you can’t see that they
are causing the storms and quakes. I am saving us from their evil
magic!”

“When did you figure that out? Was your aunt
a witch also?” she asked calmly.

He looked taken aback for a moment. “Ru
wasn’t a witch. She was just nosey,’ he laughed, “and she helped me
test my formula. No, my first witch kill was Thera. She was a witch
healer woman like the one that my da’ killed. Robse was next.”

Erin concentrated against the waves of sick
pleasure radiating off of the man. Cear was rising and adding it’s
ruddy light to the mist and shadows. “But the storms and quakes
didn’t start until later. How did killing them stop the planet’s
unrest if it hadn’t started?”

Bure looked at her, confused with her logic
and calmness. “They were working their evil magic then.”

“Bure, your reasoning doesn’t hold water. The
storms and quakes didn’t start until after you started killing. Why
don’t you just admit that you wanted to kill them and the quakes
and such are just an excuse to justify that?”

He laughed a low laugh. “You have a point,
lad. I did want to and still do. Haven’t killed them all. So..”

She cut off his question with one more of her
own. She knew she was running out of time. “You mentioned a
formula, with your Aunt Ru. How did you kill all of those people,
Bure?”

He crowed with her question! “I’m not going
to give up my secret formula! But I devised the perfect way to kill
without being caught and it is right here!” and held up a vial that
he had pulled from his coat pocket. “Now.” he said, and his voice
got hard and mean. “Just who are you?”

‘Time’s up’, she said to herself “Sorry I
neglected to introduce myself. I’m Erin.”

He stopped and blinked at her then roared
with laughter. “No wonder I couldn’t find you. I was looking for a
girl.”

“I am a girl and I’m not a witch. Neither
were my parents.”

Terk came around the dune behind him. “Holm
is my uncle and he isn’t a witch.” Bure spun around and into a
crouched fighters stance, facing Terk.