Successor''s Promise

  “So you’ve heard the news. Is there anything you’d like me to do for you?” he asked the young man.

  Qall turned to stare at Dahli, his face turning pale, then he slowly straightened.

  “Yes. I want Tyen to take a message to my family. To Givari, Lejihk’s cousin’s niece.”

  At Dahli’s smile. Tyen tensed. He’d not seen the young man attempt to defy Dahli before.

  “I’ll allow that,” Dahli replied.

  It took a great effort for Tyen not to gape at Dahli. Even so, when the pair turned to look at Tyen, he was so startled that he could not speak.

  “Will you do that?” Dahli asked.

  Tyen looked into the man’s mind, and saw only that Dahli knew he was to let Tyen do it if Qall asked, but he could not remember why. Not for the first time, Tyen wished that mind reading allowed a person to see another’s memories rather than just their thoughts, and that he could somehow reach beyond Dahli’s blocks.

  “Of course,” Tyen replied. “Where will I find them?”

  Dahli told him. Tyen repeated the instructions, then turned to ask what Qall wanted him to say.

  “Just give her this.” The young man reached into his jacket and when he withdrew his hand his fingers were curled around whatever he held. Dahli’s brow creased in a frown as Qall dropped it into Tyen’s hand. It was something light and soft, and it was not hard for Tyen to keep it concealed as he deposited it in his pocket.

  “Be careful,” Qall warned.

  Dahli looked like he wanted to ask to see the item, but was resisting. Tyen nodded at Qall, who tossed his head as if to say, “Hurry up and go before he thinks about it!” Rising, Tyen drew magic from the furthest extents of the world, and pushed into the place between.

  CHAPTER 20

  Dahli’s directions to Qall’s adoptive family’s location were vague, since the Travellers were always on the move. He had suggested Tyen look for signs of their passing in markets around the worlds Dahli knew they’d been in, and track them from there. Knowing that the Restorers might still want to get hold of him, Tyen took a convoluted route through worlds he knew weren’t frequently visited, but were still getting enough regular traffic to assure him they hadn’t been stripped of magic recently.

  As Tyen moved between worlds, he pressed a hand against the familiar weight under his shirt. What do you think Dahli is up to, Vella?

  The sound of her voice in his mind instantly raised his spirits.

  “The prospect of other people dying for him might force Qall into making a hasty decision. But it is a risk on Dahli’s part. Qall might reason that more people will be harmed by the Raen returning, and turn on him. The Restorers might win. There may be other reasons for haste. You know Dahli is worried that the hand will degrade, for a start.”

  Dahli might be deceiving us about the hand’s condition. In fact, the Restorers might not be planning to attack at all. Tyen considered other ways he could discover the truth. He could seek out a Restorer and read their mind, but it might be dangerous if he stumbled upon a larger group and would delay his return to Qall. A nagging feeling that some unspoken communication had been taking place between Dahli and Qall had bothered him since he had left. Qall had paled when Dahli ask if he could do anything for him, which suggested it meant something more than the simple question implied. As if it was a code or signal. At that moment he’d wished he could see into Qall’s mind as easily as Dahli’s.

  A dimly lit world was resolving around him. An odd impression of thick, shifting air came to him. He hesitated, then pushed on. As he arrived, he realised the air was full of tiny particles, all gently falling downwards. Looking up, he saw they were descending from beneath weird, fungi-like trees. He didn’t like the prospect of breathing them in, so he did not draw breath and pushed out immediately.

  Do you think blackmail is the only reason Qall left Rielle to join Dahli? he asked Vella as the mushroom world faded from sight.

  “You suspect something else,” Vella stated.

  I do wonder if Qall is the impatient one. That he’s not willing to wait for someone else to deal with Dahli or destroy the hand, so he’s trying to do it himself.

  “That would explain why he asked about the effect of absorbing Valhan’s memories.”

  Grass-covered hills were emerging now, the arrival place atop one of them. Yet it was not a gentle landscape. Each hill bulged upwards dramatically, like hundreds of furry balls embedded in the ground. As Tyen arrived, the ground sank under his weight. Disturbed, he moved out of the world again.

  Perhaps he is only hoping to persuade Dahli to bring him the hand.

  “Could Dahli believe that if Qall absorbed Valhan’s memories he will turn him into Valhan?”

  I doubt it. In his notes, Valhan was very specific about first removing memories in the vessel.

  “He could have been wrong—and told Dahli, but not mentioned it in his notes.”

  Tyen considered that as he arrived in yet another ruined city, this one covered in a spiny, purple creeper. The plant twitched as his shoe settled on it, and started moving towards his foot, so he pushed out quickly.

  I suppose we’ll know if Dahli agrees to letting Qall access the hand.

  “Dahli might hope that Qall won’t want to destroy the hand once he knows more about Valhan—and might even help him resurrect Valhan using another vessel.”

  Tyen hesitated outside a world so he could continue talking to her. If that is Dahli’s plan, what is my part in it? Will he still need me, if Qall can perform a resurrection? I guess he’s only keeping me around in case the hand doesn’t contain enough information.

  “Or Qall refuses to cooperate if you’re not there.”

  Qall doesn’t have much room to bargain. Dahli will threaten to harm his family if he makes too many demands.

  “He still doesn’t have anything to blackmail you with.”

  Perhaps he believes I want the Raen back. Tyen shook his head. No, more likely he’s afraid I’ll switch sides if he forces Qall to become Valhan’s vessel unwillingly.

  “Would you intervene if Qall agreed to sacrifice himself?”

  I don’t know. If he chose it freely, rather than through coercion … what gives me the right to decide it’s the wrong decision? Though that’s like allowing someone to commit suicide.

  Moving into the world, he paused to allow his body to recover from the lack of air supply before pushing on. The arrival place was on top of several wide, flat circular rock pinnacles in the middle of a heaving body of water. It looked like the foundations of some kind of giant pier. When his body had healed, he moved on.

  “If Qall could absorb Valhan’s memories without harm, would you let him?” Vella asked.

  If I could be sure it was completely harmless … I’d encourage him to. He’d learn who he was before Valhan cleared his memories. He could benefit enormously from the knowledge Valhan held, as would the worlds.

  “And he’d learn things he will wish he didn’t know.”

  Yes. That is the price for the knowledge he needs. Maybe there’s always a price and you have to choose what and how much you’re willing to pay.

  The world that was now emerging from the place between looked familiar. By the time it had resolved to near sharpness, Tyen had worked out where he had seen it before. He arrived and pushed away again, skimming across it to another arrival place before heading into the whiteness again. Soon he was on well-used paths, and travelled so quickly that the occasional sorcerers he passed had no more than a glimpse of him.

  At last he neared the group of worlds where Qall’s Travellers had last been seen. Taking Dahli’s advice, he sought out markets where merchants from other worlds gathered to sell their wares. In the first, nobody had seen Travellers for a long time; in the second, they were visited regularly by a family that was not Qall’s.

  In the third, he caught a fleeting thought of a local regretting that she had missed the new Traveller family to visit the market, as her cousin had an embr
oidered shawl from them that was the envy of all the merchants’ wives. Tyen sought out one of the market organisers who told him that a family of Travellers headed by a man named Lejihk had indeed visited several days ago.

  Once on the trail, it was not hard to trace the family’s path. In each world, he searched minds until he found a confirmation of their visit. He also searched for Dahli’s watchers but found none. The closer he drew to the family, the more the absence of the watchers began to bother him. Had Dahli called them away to help defend his new base? Or was Tyen simply not finding them?

  Then between one world and the next he sensed a faint presence in the whiteness. Following it at a distance, he tracked the stranger back to the previous world, to a small house they were renting. Standing outside the house, he watched as the man reported to several others that Lejihk’s family were still at the Gathering.

  The word was familiar. The men knew it was some kind of once-a-cycle meeting of Travellers. Memories rose of Baluka telling Tyen how his people gathered in pre-arranged locations to dance, sing, perform and arrange marriages, and exchange news and details of trade. The watchers knew they were no match for the many hundred Travellers gathered there, so they took turns checking on them, the rest waiting in the neighbouring world.

  They were arguing about whose turn it was now. Tyen pushed back into the place between and skimmed into the middle of their room. They started out of their chairs. He spoke the code words Dahli had given him, and they relaxed.

  “I’m to deliver a message,” he told them. “When I am done you are to continue your watching.”

  He pushed out of the world and continued on to the next. He did not want to alarm the Travellers, so his plan was to keep out of sight and only approach the girl the “message” was for. Fortunately, it was night and he was barely able to make out the gully he was arriving in. He nearly fell over as he emerged onto uneven ground. Once he’d caught his balance, he sought nearby minds.

  Hundreds were gathered not far away. He cautiously began to climb the hill. From somewhere in the distance came the sound of drums, and he could not help matching his steps to the beat. As he reached the summit, lights came into sight. His eyes adjusted as he strained to make out details. Canopies sheltered hundreds of people, some moving to the rhythm of the drums, others standing or sitting.

  Tyen sat cross-legged on the ground and began to watch.

  A multitude of thoughts greeted him. Minds caught up in the dance and the excitement and of moving in time with a desired man or woman. Minds assessing the pairings, approving, disapproving, judging the advantages or disadvantages of marital alliances. Minds caught up in memories of youth. Minds missing wives and husbands, absent due to death or the important new trade deal that many of the family leaders had left to negotiate. Minds considering news of the worlds exchanged earlier that day.

  The stories the families had shared told of improvements in the worlds—of less strife and new opportunities. The number of wars to avoid had diminished, but the number of new dead worlds was still growing. One old woman mused that the ageless allies that had followed the Raen into death would soon be outnumbered by the new ageless. These newcomers had killed worlds in order to cheat death, which suggested they were as ruthless as those who had died. Tyen winced at that. While he had chosen unpopulated worlds in which to become ageless, Dahli had not when he’d selected places to attempt resurrections. These Travellers would be horrified to know the true reason some worlds had been drained.

  A name caught his attention. Givari. He sought it again, finding it in the mind of a middle-aged woman watching her niece accept a dance with a young man of another family. Shifting to the girl’s mind, Tyen found dizzying excitement. Givari had been hoping the boy would invite her to dance. She was hoping for a lot more than that.

  Feeling too much like he was invading her privacy, Tyen shifted back to the aunt’s perspective. The woman was worried about this development. She knew Givari’s mother would not approve. The girl was too young to be marrying, and it wasn’t fair to be dragging another Traveller family into the dangerous situation Lejihk’s family faced. The boy’s parents, oblivious to the danger, were pleased with the possible match, unaware of the situation their son might become involved in.

  The dance finished, and the boy dragged Givari into the crowd before her aunt could separate them. He whispered a question in her ear. She spoke two words: Ulma’s wagon. Then she pulled away and returned to her aunt’s side, playing the demure and obedient niece.

  Tyen could see her struggling to not think about the meeting lest her aunt put aside convention out of concern and read her mind. She made herself accept two more dance invitations from other boys, and when her aunt decided it was time to retire for the night she protested as much as she would be expected to.

  Givari and her aunt joined several other women of Lejihk’s family, returning to their camp as a group. The older listened with fond amusement to the chatter of the younger as they descended into a gully. They all quietened as they puffed up the slope of another hill. Once among their wagons, they bade each other good night. The girl headed to the wagon she was minding for one of the matriarchs of the family.

  As she did, Tyen learned that Ulma was no ordinary Traveller. She was ageless, and a healer. The girl thought of Ulma’s daughter, an old woman in her memory. Since Oliti had died, Givari had been looking after Ulma, and slept in her wagon whenever Ulma was away. Ulma was currently helping Lejihk and Ankari establish a new trading circuit.

  Entering Ulma’s wagon, the girl created a magical flame. She looked around, wondering what the boy would think of all the dolls. Each looked as Ulma had done at a time in her past, and it was a very, very long past. Some said she had been born before the Raen. Perhaps even before his Predecessor, Roporien.

  Tyen started at that name. Can this ageless Traveller really be two thousand cycles old? The Raen had survived a thousand cycles, and there had been plenty of people who wanted to kill him. Ulma may simply have lived longer because she lived a quiet life among people who had few enemies. It was reassuring to think that it was possible. Maybe the secret to a long and happy life isn’t to settle in a world and hope it does not become embroiled in a war, but to travel wherever there is peace. Maybe when people are your home and not a place, people are what you defend, not the land or possessions.

  As the girl sat down on the end of the bed to wait, Tyen took out the object Qall had pressed into his hands and he created a tiny light. It was a length of string woven of many colours. He debated whether to approach Givari now or wait. A quick search of the area surrounding the camp revealed the young man creeping up the hill, giving the huge beasts grazing around him a wide berth. Wait it was then.

  Moving to the minds of the other family members, he read anxiety in many of them. With Lejihk and Ankari away, they felt more vulnerable, but the couple had assured them that, with so many other Traveller families nearby, they were safer here than they usually were.

  They have no idea Dahli is threatening to destroy all Travellers if Qall resists.

  It had seemed like overkill to Tyen, but as he considered what it meant he shivered. Had only Lejihk’s family been in danger, Baluka could have sent in powerful sorcerers to overcome Dahli’s watchers, and take his relatives away somewhere safe. Which would free Qall to resist Dahli.

  If Baluka had thought this was possible he’d have done it already. He must know Dahli’s threat included all Travellers. Dahli would have made sure he knew. Baluka couldn’t rescue or protect all the Travellers in the worlds.

  Neither could I. And if I tried and failed, I couldn’t go back to Qall. The watchers would report it, and Dahli would know he can’t trust me. Qall has hinted that he needs me there … and here I am, delivering this “message” … and Dahli is letting me.

  Perhaps because he wanted to talk to Qall alone.

  A chill went down Tyen’s spine. He’d assumed that it had been Qall’s idea to send Tyen to the Travellers
with a message, but what if it had been Dahli’s? What if Dahli had told Qall that if he was to ask if he could do anything, it was a signal for Qall to send Tyen away?

  I have to finish this quickly, hurry back and … then what?

  Kill Dahli? Rescue Qall? Either way, Dahli’s followers would set about killing all the Travellers. Tyen would be responsible for countless deaths.

  If he told Dahli he wouldn’t help him, he’d lose access to Qall. He couldn’t help Qall if he wasn’t there. And he wanted to help Qall. But how?

  Perhaps, if he was persuasive enough, he could talk Dahli into resuming the experiments—this time with Qall’s help.

  He would try when he returned. For now he had best deliver this message as quickly as possible.

  He sought the girl’s mind again and found she had company. She did not for long, however, as the aunt had guessed her intentions and soon came knocking on the door, chasing the young man away. Disappointed and angry, the girl sat on the end of the bed, lost in her thoughts.

  When Tyen skimmed into the wagon to appear in front of her, she didn’t notice until he had nearly arrived. Then she jumped and let out a squeal of surprise.

  “Don’t be afraid,” he told her soothingly. “I am only here to deliver this.”

  He held out the braid. Seeing it, she caught her breath, and Tyen immediately understood its significance. She had given it to Qall as a marriage proposal of sorts. Guilt filled her, as well as sadness. She’d done it with some misgivings. Though she liked Qall a great deal, she would not have chosen him for a husband. At the time, she’d thought it was the only way he could stay in the family. Later she had learned the truth. He could never have remained among them. Not without endangering them all. Though it seemed that the family’s worst fears had come to pass anyway.

  Gingerly taking the braid, she looked up at Tyen. “Is he alive?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does Dahli have him?”

  Tyen hesitated, then saw that by doing so he’d confirmed her worst fears. “Yes,” he admitted. “Is there anything you would like me to tell him?”