The World Weavers Read online

  “The fate of the world rests with those two broken girls,” Palou said softly from beside Kadar. “One help us all.”

  “Shush,” Grandmother said. “That doesn’t help.”

  Kadar and the Chosen stepped forward to help Dani up. Master Tull stepped forward.

  “Nothing more will get done today,” she told the shocked crowd, shaking her head. “We will break while the Chosen regroup. And let’s keep this incident to ourselves until the Chosen understand what has happened.”

  Kadar could see blisters forming on Lasha’s hands where the black haze had touched her.

  “What was that black stuff?” Lasha asked, wincing as Sulis examined her hands.

  “Blood magic,” Clay answered. “We think Ava learned it from Aryn, during the battle at the Obsidian Temple.”

  Master Anchee brushed past Kadar and pushed Sulis out of the way. He pressed his palms down onto Lasha’s upturned ones. She sucked in her breath, but did not pull away.

  “This is another convenient thing about the Guardian bond,” Master Anchee said. “Large wounds require an expert healer, but Guardian and Chosen can keep each other alive by sending energy.”

  He removed his hands and the skin of Lasha’s palms was healed smooth again.

  “Thank you,” Lasha said softly.

  Kadar caught the Prophet Clay staring at him.

  “You should go to your daughter,” Clay said. “You will find your path at Tsangia. We will send a party of the Chosen with you. They will convince the Tashara family to contribute to the war effort.”

  “But what of Voras, and the war?” Kadar asked. “The Chosen don’t have time to gad about the desert.”

  “There will be no war before the autumn winds set in,” Clay said, his voice flat but loud. “Even Voras sees the folly in traveling to the heart of the Sands in the summer. He prepares, gathers information, and waits to strike. He will gather his army, and then come for us.” Clay glanced over at Dani, who was looking pale and binding his wound with a bandage someone brought him. “We will send Dani with you to give Ava time to accept her bond with him.”

  “Did she hurt him with that magic?” Kadar asked.

  Grandmother shook her head. “She did nothing other than tie the two of them more closely. She was interrupted before she could actually bind Dani’s will.”

  “I can sense her,” Dani said, shaking his head. “She feels scared, confused, angry, and guilty. How can one little girl feel so much?”

  Lasha laughed and slugged him in the shoulder. “Just because your emotions center on eating and fighting, doesn’t mean the rest of us are that simple.”

  “Very funny,” Dani said. “But, why’s a Northern girl like her even in the desert?”

  “She was Forsaken,” Sulis said. “She was the girl Kadar saved during our pledge year, after she was assaulted. We brought her to the desert to try to help, but she’s gotten worse.”

  Dani looked horrified. “I remember that. Whiskers, no wonder she doesn’t want me around. How am I supposed to protect her if she can’t bear to have me beside her?”

  “We have to give it time,” Grandmother said. “She regretted her actions, even before the Weaver intervened. Hopefully that’ll turn things around.”

  “Meanwhile, anyone who is leaving with me needs to start preparing,” Kadar said. “I’m leaving in the morning, with or without an escort.”

  “I’m going,” Sulis said. “I want to meet my niece.”

  Ashraf stepped up beside her and put an arm around her.

  “I believe Anchee and I should stay,” Clay said. “We can talk to Ava, get to know the Weaver a little better and start working her into our patterns.”

  Kadar glanced around. Lasha was staring determinedly at Master Anchee, so he assumed she would stay. Grandmother and Palou exchanged looks.

  “I will go to speak with the Tasharas and take the brunt of Raella’s anger when she finds out Tarik has been arrested,” Grandmother said. “We don’t want a big party imposing on them. Dani, Ashraf, and Palou can act as guards.”

  The Tigu warrior Turo stepped forward. “I will go, too,” he said in heavily accented Sanisk. “Yes, I speak a little of your tongue,” he said, at their surprised looks. “I will go to get the iron, see new places.”

  Kadar nodded to himself. He’d let the stables know to ready six horses besides his own and a string of mules for the supplies they’d bring back. It wasn’t too large a group to travel quickly. In two and a half days he’d see his daughter again.

  Jonas sat in the quiet of the Temple of the One, in the shadows at the edge of the round dome under the ledges the unpaired feli rested on. No visitor would see him sitting there. He knew it wasn’t proper for the Voice of Parasu to meditate at a different altar. But Parasu’s altar was not a peaceful place for him. He shared the private altar reserved for the Voice of Parasu with his keepers. Sitting in the One’s Temple kept Parasu himself at bay, especially when Jonas left his feli behind, so Jonas’s mind was free to think and feel and be human.

  “And here you are again, brooding,” came Alannah’s voice. Jonas looked over at her as she settled beside him in the shadows. “What has disturbed you this time?”

  Jonas weighed his words before speaking. The arrests were general knowledge, so he would not be giving away secrets of his altar if he confided in her.

  “They’ve arrested Sulis’s uncle,” he said. “With Parasu’s blessing. They will question him and other Southerners.”

  “You do not agree with this decision,” Alannah said. It wasn’t a question—­she knew him too well. “You have doubts.”

  “Yes,” Jonas burst out. “Yes, I have doubts.” He stopped; worried that he might be overheard. Alannah gestured to the two doorways. Two large feli were blocking the entrances, signifying that the Counselor was in a private session.

  A torrent burst from him. “I doubt my keepers are doing what’s best for Illian,” he said. “I doubt my deity cares for anything but worship. And I doubt that I can stay human, that I can stay myself, when he is always in my mind.” Jonas looked into Alannah’s sympathetic eyes. “I don’t want to lose my humanity, Alannah. I feel like I’m losing me, like what makes me who I am is slipping away. How do I hold on to the things that matter most to me and still serve Parasu? Do I have to give up the things I value most? Do I lose compassion, caring, empathy, love?” Jonas stumbled over the last word as his voice cracked in distress.

  “Do you remember when we were pledges and Sulis decided to cure your fear of horses by putting you on her favorite mare?” Alannah asked.

  “How could I forget?” Jonas said. “It promptly jumped a fence, throwing me off into a straw pile. I had straw stuck everywhere and a huge rip in my pants. We had to tie a horse blanket around my waist so I could preserve my decency traveling back to the Temple.”

  They laughed together, the sound filling the room. Alannah put a hand on his arm.

  “But you told me you were no longer afraid of horses, afterward,” Alannah said, still smiling.

  Jonas shook his head. “Strangely enough, I wasn’t. The worst had happened and I survived. I’ll never love the beasts, but they don’t terrify me.”

  “That’s why you need your friends and family. Turning to us is how you keep your humanity. We can help you face your fears in ways you can’t by yourself. We are always there to remind you just how human you are. All you have to do is reach out,” Alannah told him.

  Jonas smiled. “I’ll remember.”

  CHAPTER 3

  The scrubby brush of the lowland desert opened before their delegation as they rode west on the mules Kadar had procured, heading for Tsangia.

  Sulis snickered as Kadar rode up on her left side, putting her, Ashraf, and Dani neatly between him and Grandmother.

  “What are you laughing at?” he asked.

  �
��You know it won’t work. She’s going to have her say. Best get it over with rather than drawing it out by avoiding her,” Sulis told him.

  He flashed her a grin. “I like to make her work for it.”

  Ashraf shook his head. “You two realize most ­people beg your grandmother for her wisdom, don’t you?”

  “Well, we’ve never been known as wise,” Sulis said.

  “Reckless, perhaps,” Kadar added.

  “Wiley.”

  “Smart.”

  “Hot-­tempered.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Kadar protested. “I have a cool head.”

  They spoke together. “But not wise.”

  “And not getting any wiser,” Grandmother said from behind Kadar. “I want to speak with you, grandson.”

  Kadar rolled his eyes at Sulis and pulled away to ride beside Grandmother. Ashraf chuckled and Sulis grinned, enjoying their old banter. The group had rode into Shpeth the day before, and stayed in Sulis’s family home overnight. Aunt Janis had been cheerful for her guests, a smiling and gracious hostess. But Sulis had seen tears in her eyes when no one was looking; she was terrified for her brother-­in-­law Tarik and worried her husband, Aaron, was in danger trying to free his brother.

  “How far do we ride today?” Ashraf asked.

  “It’s a half-­day ride to the Tsang River,” Sulis told him.

  Dani frowned, looking over the scrubby brush. “I didn’t know rivers flowed through the desert. Is the land around it green, like the oasis, or brown like this?”

  “Green. The Tsang used to flow to the ocean, before the great battle turned all this to desert. Now it empties into a basin and seeps into marshland on each side.”

  “There is good iron there,” Turo grunted on the other side of Dani. “Makes good axes.”

  Ashraf nodded. “The Tashara tribe mines iron and gemstones here. They’re the most prominent family in this part of the North. Besides the Hasifels,” he added quickly.

  “Uncle Tarik met Aunt Raella when he went to propose that the two families combine forces and export their goods through our caravans,” Sulis said.

  “I don’t remember seeing gems in your sales hall,” Dani said to Sulis.

  Ashraf chortled. “That’s because the Tasharas rejected him. My father told me they wanted to keep their own caravans and not give anything to the Hasifels.”

  “Aunt Raella went with Uncle Tarik when he left, though,” Sulis said. “She took the Hasifel name, too, which was a big scandal.”

  “Why?” Dani asked.

  Sulis grinned. “By tradition, the ­couple takes the name of the more prominent family. So Aunt Raella gave the Hasifels precedence over her own family.”

  Ashraf nodded. “Your grandmother’s status as a Chosen and priestess of the One gives the Hasifel clan higher social standing, even if they aren’t as large or wealthy as the Tasharas.”

  “My own mother caused a scandal by taking my father’s name,” Sulis said. “She said it was because he was the last of his clan, but I think she wanted to tweak Grandmother.”

  “Your ­people are as bad as my own,” Dani grumbled. “First circle, second circle, all that prominence stuff. Are you from Shpeth like Sulis is, Ashraf?”

  Ashraf grinned. “No, I’m from Frubia, way down south.”

  “He’s heir to a giant silk demesne there,” Sulis said.

  “Not anymore,” Ashraf said quietly, his smile gone.

  Sulis mentally kicked herself. Ashraf never mentioned his family now that he was a Guardian. She’d forgotten his sister had replaced him as heir.

  “I was heir to my da’s armory business before the feli took me for the Temple,” Dani sympathized. “It was a kick in the gut to Da and me. I don’t know . . . oh!”

  They’d been steadily gaining elevation as they rode. The river valley came into view, and they paused at the top of the rise to take in the valley below them. The green trees, lush grasslands, and rushing river were a vivid contrast to the scrub surrounding them.

  “There’s the town,” Sulis said, pointing. She moved her arm and pointed to a dark gash far in the distance, downriver. “And those are the mines. We’ll arrive at the town by late afternoon.”

  Kadar barely glanced at Tsangia as they rode through the town. Dani and Ashraf gazed around in interest at the shops and corrals as they rode down the main square, but he and Sulis had often traveled here when they lived in Shpeth. It was the closest town to their childhood home, and both of their aunts had once lived by the river. Kadar was eager to ride to the outskirts where Aunt Raella’s family lived. He wanted to see his daughter.

  “We need to check with the River Inn if they have enough space for us,” Grandmother said. “After we get settled in, we can make an appointment with the ironworkers and Raella’s family.”

  Kadar shook his head. “I’ll ride on ahead,” he said. His daughter was the only reason he was here.

  Grandmother conferred with Palou. “I’ll go with you. Palou and the others will find spaces at the inn,” she said.

  “I’m going, too,” Sulis said stubbornly. “Ashraf can take my pack to the inn. I’m finally going to meet my niece!”

  “Fine,” Grandmother snapped.

  They paused, shuffling packs. Kadar kept his, hoping to room with his daughter. He would not be going with the Tigu tribes, as his grandmother had planned. He would stay here until Datura no longer needed a wet nurse. Then he had to decide if he wanted to move them to Shpeth. He’d made his contribution to the war when he brought Sanuri to the desert.

  The Tasharas’ merchant hall was heavily guarded. Kadar went past the actual sales hall, where the cut gems and jewelry were displayed, and on to the artisan and business side. Guards at the entrance stopped them, and a messenger was sent to Aunt Raella, announcing their presence.

  “Kadar! It’s good to see you. Come this way.” Kadar’s cousin Abram grinned at their surprise on seeing him. “Mother is in the office area. Good to see you, Grandmother Hasifel, Sulis.”

  He ducked as Sulis reached to ruffle his hair, and he gave Grandmother a hug.

  “You’re as tall as I am now,” Sulis told him. “When did that happen? Are you apprenticed here?”

  Abram nodded as he led them around tables of men and women sorting gemstones in various stages of being processed.

  “I’m apprenticed to one of my uncles, with Kile. Yanis is here, too, acting as a runner between the buildings,” Abram said. “I’m more of a salesman than a gemworker, but I can make friends anywhere.”

  “That’s great,” Kadar said. Abram had protested when his mother moved him and his brothers to Tsangia earlier in the spring. He had not wanted to abandon his childhood home in Illian.

  Abram pushed open a door to reveal Aunt Raella bent over a desk in a smaller room, frowning at the tallies. It was a familiar sight to Kadar from his time with her in Illian, and he had to choke back a feeling of homesickness.

  She looked up and smiled at Kadar. Her smile faltered as she took in Grandmother behind him. She respected Grandmother, but also feared her connection to the One.

  “Kadar, Sulis, welcome!” Aunt Raella said. “Grandmother Hasifel, we are honored to have you here.”

  “I’m afraid we bear bad news,” Grandmother said directly. Kadar sighed at her bluntness. He’d wanted to break the news more gently. Raella’s smile faded, replaced by sick understanding.

  “Tarik’s been taken by Voras’s soldiers,” Grandmother said, and Aunt Raella sank onto a bench. “Aaron is scouting around the outskirts of Illian, staying far enough away that he doesn’t get seized, trying to find out where he’s been taken. We don’t know if Simon is still in the city, or if he’s escaped.”

  Abram put a hand on his mother’s shoulder, his face tight with suppressed emotion. Raella’s face went still, blank. She took a ­couple of deep bre
aths, then nodded.

  “Then I was right to get the younger boys out,” she said. “I’m glad I convinced Abram and Kile to apprentice here or they’d be in danger as well.”

  “If Aaron can’t figure out a way to release Tarik on his own, he’s going to travel to Stonycreek, the Forsaken city, gather our fighters, and find a way to free him,” Grandmother said.

  Aunt Raella shook her head. “That Forsaken city is the reason he’s been taken,” she said bitterly. Kadar’s stomach churned with guilt. “Farrah used all of us, even Kadar, to get what she wanted. I don’t think Aaron will get any help from the Forsaken.”

  “You know this is the beginning,” Grandmother said. “The war is starting. We will need the Tasharas’ help. We need iron, weapons for the Tigus.”

  Abram protested wordlessly, objecting to the timing of the request, but Raella just nodded and stood. “I’ll speak to my parents, and they’ll gather the elders. I manage the business operations for my parents, but they still make the major decisions.”

  A door at the back of the office opened, and a tall, golden-­haired woman stepped through. She held an older baby girl on her hip and a small infant in a sling across her chest. Sulis choked and Kadar realized he’d never told her that her old nemesis from the Temple, Joaquil, was now Datura’s abda. Joaquil smiled at Kadar, but he had eyes only for his baby girl.

  “Datura,” Kadar said.

  Datura looked around at her name. “Da!” she cried, pointing at him.

  Kadar was thrilled that his brilliant little girl still knew him. He reached for her.

  “Da!” she said again, pointing at Grandmother. “Da!” She waved her fist in the air.

  Sulis snickered at the disappointed look on Kadar’s face and grabbed his daughter before he could. She spun the baby around and Datura chortled and pumped her fists. “Can you say Aunt Sulis?” she asked, holding Datura in front of her face. “Say auntie.”

  “Da!” Datura said, and then she belched milk down Sulis’s front. Kadar howled with laughter at his sister’s horror. He took Datura from her as Joaquil helped Sulis wipe milk off her shirt with a towel she had slung over her shoulder.