The Threshold Child (20 page)

Jelana went downstairs to brew a cup of herbal tea, with Fia
following close behind. Aleron waited outside while Adesina changed into her
nightgown and then came in to tuck her blankets around her. He was still
talking about possible medications when Adesina firmly took a hold of his hand.

“Aleron, listen to me.”

He looked surprised, but nodded readily.

“I have seen this sickness before in my tribe from the north. What
I need right now is lots of undisturbed sleep. Could you please tell Jelana to
stop fussing over me and let me rest?”

He nodded again. “Of course, Adrie.”

She gave a weary sigh and a weak smile. “Thank you.”

It was obvious that she had Aleron totally convinced. He reached
out tentatively and brushed the hair away from her eyes. Then, as if
embarrassed, he cleared his throat and hurried out of the room.

Adesina heard him talking to her hostess just outside the door.
After a few moments, Jelana walked in with a cup in one hand and a damp rag in
the other. She sat beside Adesina and placed the rag on her sternum like a
plaster. It was very warm and smelled of various herbs and spices. The effect
was both calming and refreshing.

She handed Adesina the cup of herbal tea. “How are you feeling,
Adrie?”

The young woman smiled softly. “Tired.”

The worry on Jelana’s face sent a wave of shame over Adesina.
Jelana’s voice was subdued. “You have seen this illness before?”

She nodded. “Yes, Jelana.”

“Is it serious?”

Adesina suppressed the guilt she felt. “It can be.”

A new idea occurred to Jelana. “Is it contagious?”

She shook her head, and her hostess looked mildly relieved. “What
can I do? There must be something I can do for you.”

“Just let me sleep. Undisturbed. I should be fine before long.”

Jelana agreed to this rather reluctantly. She continued to fret
and fuss over Adesina while she drank her tea. “You will call me when you wake
up, yes?”

“Yes.”

Jelana finally left Adesina on her own. Throughout the evening,
Adesina heard the older woman standing outside her door, listening to make sure
that everything was all right. Getting out of bed was out of the question with
such a devoted watchman patrolling the hallway. Having nothing else to do,
Adesina settled down for the night to get some much needed sleep.

She awoke before dawn the next morning. First she listened
carefully to make sure that the family was still in bed, then she arose from
her own. Adesina looked around the room, hoping to see Ravi sitting there, but
she was completely alone. With a quiet sigh, she began preparing for her day.

Adesina sat on the edge of her bed and pinned back her hair. She
put on her generic brown dress and tied a square of material around her head to
hide the lustrous silver of her hair. For the hundredth time in her life, she
wished for eyes that were less conspicuous. Today, in particular, she needed to
blend into the crowd.

She fastened her weapons belt around her slender waist and then
tied a large shawl around herself to hide it. Then she arranged her pillows and
blankets in her bed to make it appear that someone was sleeping there. When
this was done to her satisfaction, she double-checked herself to make sure she
had everything she needed and then slipped out of her room and down the hall.

She made no sound as she crept out of the house. It was just
becoming light outside, and Adesina knew that she needed to hurry if she was
going to beat the sunrise. A quick glance around the street told her that she
was totally alone. She hurried through the quiet city streets towards the Square.

Adesina made her way to the shop of the most prominent blacksmith
in the city. He was said to be the best weapon smith in the north. People came
from all over the world to buy his work. This is where she was to find her
target.

There was a small alley in between two businesses across the
street from the shop. Adesina hid herself in the darkness of this alley,
standing just behind a stack of old barrels. She knew she would be protected
from the changing light of day in this position. The young Shimat settled in
for a long wait.

Hours passed, bringing nothing. Citizens and Outsiders alike
strolled by, sometimes stopping at the shop and sometimes only glancing in as
they passed. All of them seemed nondescript in Adesina’s eyes. She looked only
for the markers of her target.

At length, the man appeared.

The identifying trait she had been given was the insignia on his
tunic. It was a strange symbol embroidered in gold thread on a background of
rich crimson material. The style of his clothing was unlike anything Adesina
had ever seen. It had a simple and elegant look, which complemented his regal
features. He carried a sword, and looked completely at ease doing so. All of
these details were lost, however, when Adesina looked at his face.

His hair was a lustrous silver, the exact shade of her own, and
the locks around his face were blonde. More striking than that were his eyes.
Even from a distance, she could see that his eyes were a dark metallic orange
with a wedge of an equally metallic indigo.

He scanned the street warily as he approached the blacksmith shop.
It was clear that he was on his guard even in a city as mild as this one. As if
warned by some invisible force, his eyes turned in her direction. They widened
in shock.

Adesina ducked out of sight, furious that she had made such an
amateur mistake as to be seen. She went to the other end of the alley and out
onto the street, blending in with the crowd.

Her mind began turning the problem over automatically. Adesina had
never seen that man in her life, but his expression said that he recognized
her. How was this possible?

She immediately stopped this line of thought and asked the more
pressing question: how could it be turned to her advantage? She had to work
quickly now that she had been seen. Her information said that he would be going
to the marketplace next, so she hurried there to begin assessing the
environment and what would be needed to draw him away.

It was about an hour before Adesina spotted the man through the
crowd. She took a deep breath and moved out into the open. It was a great risk
she was taking, but she was convinced that it would work. Placing herself right
in his line of sight, she glanced over her shoulder, making sure to meet his
eyes. The look of stunned disbelief reappeared on his face.

Adesina then turned her back to him and began winding her way
through the crowd. Somewhere behind her she heard him call out.

 
“Beo themu!”

She picked up her pace, moving quickly but making sure that he
could follow.

“Beo themu! Zhuma polo vobethe!”

The crowd began thinning as Adesina moved towards a less populated
section of the city.

She could hear the man’s steps behind her and broke into a run. He
matched her pace, calling out in a voice that bordered desperation.

“Zhuma polo vobethe! Be oser u pol!”

When she was far enough away to avoid any unexpected encounters,
she darted into a deserted alley and pulled a dart from her belt. She turned
and threw the dart at the man as he entered the alley behind her. The dart hit
him in the neck, and he barely had time to look surprised before he fell to the
ground.

“E’ria...” he whispered as he lost all consciousness.

Adesina froze in place. Had he spoken her mother’s name? Even her
unusually sharp hearing had left her uncertain. She approached the unconscious
form slowly.

She turned the man over onto his back and removed the dart. Now
that she had a closer look of his face, there was something familiar about him.
She studied him intently for several moments before shaking herself and putting
the unnerving feeling of familiarity out of her mind. Her contact would be
waiting for her to take this man off her hands.

After binding and gagging the man, Adesina hid him under an old
tarpaulin and hurried off to the location set to meet her contact. The meeting place
wasn’t far. It was behind an abandoned building in the old business district.

This section of the city was in the process of being transformed
into a residential area, but as of now it was empty. Adesina arrived in a
couple of minutes, and although she was early, she could sense that she wasn’t
alone. Her contact was waiting for her.

A slender figure stepped out of the darkness. The full Shimat
uniform hid all traces of identity, save a pair of cold and calculating eyes.

Adesina was surprised by the full uniform. It lead her to believe
that the kidnapped man would be taken out of the city by ways not frequented by
High City citizens. Otherwise the uniform would be too conspicuous. Adesina was
also a little disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to ascertain the identity
of her fellow Shimat.

“Have you fulfilled your assignment, Shimat Falcon?” a voice
whispered.

Adesina nodded.

“Where is the prisoner?”

The young woman hesitated. She felt an inexplicable reluctance in
turning him over to this faceless Shimat. Something tugged at the back of her
mind, but she couldn’t figure out what was bothering her.

“Well?”

Her sense of duty as a Shimat took over, and she gave the location
of the man she had taken prisoner. The masked Shimat melted back into the darkness
and was gone without a sound.

Feeling lost and more than slightly dissatisfied, Adesina slowly
turned around and walked home.

Getting back into her room was much harder than getting out. By
this time everybody was about their daily business. Adesina had to find a way
back to the house and into her bedroom without being seen or heard, in broad
daylight.

She slipped from shadow to shadow, finding every nook and cranny
of the city in which she could duck in and hide. She went through several back
yards and hopped over many fences to reach her house.

After that it got tricky. Adesina went around to the side of the
house and peeked in the ground level window. It showed her that Hass and
Jelana’s bedroom was empty. She climbed up on the windowsill and jumped at an
angle to catch hold of the sill on the next floor. Adesina pulled herself up
quietly and looked in to make sure that room was empty too. There was no one in
the storage room, so she climbed in and shut the window behind her. A quick
glance told her the hall was empty, and she darted into her bedroom from there.
As soon as she entered, she saw a figure sitting in the center of the floor.

Ravi had returned.

Adesina gave a small gasp. “Ravi! You came back!”

Instead of greeting her with a feline smile, he looked very
displeased. “Where have you been, Ma’eve?”

She lifted her chin defiantly, mostly to cover the guilt she felt.
“Doing my duty as a Shimat.”

She shut the door quietly and stepped behind the screen to change
back into her nightgown.

Adesina had counted on Ravi understanding her obligations as a
Shimat, but Ravi didn’t look very understanding at all.

“You promised you would do nothing but go to school.”

Adesina heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She hurried to her
bed and settled down in the blankets as if she had been there all morning.
Jelana opened the door a crack and looked in on her sick foster daughter. She
retreated just as carefully when she saw Adesina’s eyes were closed.

Ravi was still looking at her expectantly when Adesina opened her
eyes. “Well?”

She shifted uncomfortably. “It was an emergency. My first real
mission!”

“I had thought your word counted for more than that.”

The young woman felt herself growing angry. “I cannot put my
entire life on hold just because you decide to disappear!”

There was a change in Ravi’s eyes, and Adesina detected an emotion
that she had never seen there before. He spoke in a quiet, controlled voice. “I
did not come to that decision lightly.”

Adesina blew out her breath. “I am sorry, Ravi. I know how
seriously you take your duties as my guardian. I just…it has been a very trying
couple of days.”

Ravi turned away to face the window. “Why not get some rest, Ma’eve?
You have used much of your strength.”

Adesina was surprised to find that he was right. She was very
tired. She closed her eyes and, in the darkness behind her lids, instantly fell
asleep.

***

It was a Dream. That much Adesina could tell. The rest was harder.
There was darkness everywhere, almost as if she were standing in a great void
where light and sound did not exist.

She was in danger. She didn’t know how she knew, she just felt it
to be so. Adesina tried to move, but her legs wouldn’t respond. She was rooted
where she stood, no matter how hard she struggled. She tried calling for help,
but the sound was lost in the abyss. Out of the corner of her eye, Adesina saw
a glimmer of light. She turned to face it and saw another figure held by the darkness.