Brightly Woven
Page 28
I wasn’t sure when I drifted off, but later that night I awoke to a fantastic show of lights, burning beneath my heavy eyelids. Even after I opened my eyes, the vision persisted. All around me, a thousand threads of light wrapped around my body and fed into the ground. Red, blue, yellow, green…a pulsing rainbow that began at my heart and seemed to be sewn into every bit of my skin. It was a dream I hadn’t had since I was a very young girl.
It would have been frightening had there not been the heavy shadow hovering just at the edge and the sweet sense of calm he brought.
“North?” I asked.
A hand, finally free of its glove, came to rest on my forehead. It trailed gently down my face and softly over my eyes until they were once again closed, then over my nose and my parted lips.
“You’re dreaming, Syd,” he whispered next to my ear.
Of course I was.
“Sod it all!”
I dropped my washcloth on the floor, ducking my head back into the room. Owain was stumbling, half awake, to where North stood, letter in hand. I hadn’t seen Mrs. Pemberly bring it to him.
“What—?” I began.
“We’re under attack by what appears to be a wolf,” he read aloud. “It howls all night. The children think it’s some kind of demon. The crops have been torn up, and not by the hands of an ordinary man. One child claimed that the wolf climbed into her window, and it was made of light.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means we’re leaving right now,” North said. “For Arcadia. It’s north of here, in the mountains. Two days of traveling, maybe more.”
“What in the world is in Arcadia?” I asked. It was no place I had ever heard of, but Owain and North continued their conversation without me.
“I’ll come with you,” Owain said. “You’ll need support if it’s as bad as it sounds.”
“No, if Syd and I are delayed for long, we won’t make the treaty deadline,” North said. “I think you should ride ahead to Provincia and try to get an audience with the Sorceress Imperial or even Oliver.”
“And tell them what? That you’ve gone and gotten yourself killed?” Owain said.
North snorted. “I doubt they’ll care about that. Tell them that I’m going after a rogue wizard.”
“Who?” I repeated. “Dorwan?”
“Who else?” North dragged a hand through his matted hair. “I knew he had been too quiet; I knew he would bait me—but not Arcadia, never Arcadia.”
“What’s in Arcadia?” I asked again.
“A lot of innocent kids,” he said.
I asked, “What if we don’t take the bait?”
North shook his head. “If you think for one moment that Dorwan wouldn’t hesitate to kill a child, then you’ve clearly overestimated his humanity. He’s not bound by anything—by wizard law, by the ways of the hedges. He does what amuses him, and we’ve become his latest game.”
“Why waste the days of travel?” I said. “If we don’t go to him, won’t he have to come to us?”
“I won’t let him hurt one of the kids,” he said. “If I don’t help them, no one will.”
Within minutes, Owain disappeared before I could even give him a proper good-bye. We twisted as far as we could from Mrs. Pemberly’s, but when the black cloak fell around us, I immediately knew something was wrong.
“You took us east!” I said, pulling out the map to make sure. “I said north!”
“I took you north!” he snapped. The wizard stepped away from me, but the moment I held up the map, his anger deflated with a harsh breath.
“You took us east,” I said. “Twist us back and try again.”
“I told you,” he said, his hair hiding his face, “it’s not something I can do on a whim—you have to give me a moment!”
“Then we’ll walk,” I said. “It seems a more efficient method of travel than to rely on your complete and utter lack of direction. How in the world did you make it all the way out of Cliffton?”
“I had a guide,” North said, storming past me. “Does that make you feel important?”
“No,” I said bitterly. “But it does make me feel useful.”
North bit the side of his thumb, slowing so I could catch up to him. I reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but pulled it back at the last moment. Something about him reminded me of Henry, and that made me wonder what my friend would say if he knew I cared about the wizard.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Arcadia means a great deal to me. Oliver and I spent a lot of time there while we were training with our magister. I thought it was the only safe place left in the world.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said, but he only looked away.
Many miles and muddy roads later, a grimace on North’s face and a new limp told me it was time to stop for the night.
“Lift up your pant leg,” I said, watching his features twist in pain as he sat.
“I’m fine.”
“You can hardly walk, and your cloaks are a mess,” I said. “I’ll bet that dragon did a number on you.”
North grunted, looking away. An ugly burn revealed itself inch by inch as he rolled up his pant leg. I took one look at the angry, puckered red burn and shook my head. The bandage he had tied around it was loose and dirty.
It would have been frightening had there not been the heavy shadow hovering just at the edge and the sweet sense of calm he brought.
“North?” I asked.
A hand, finally free of its glove, came to rest on my forehead. It trailed gently down my face and softly over my eyes until they were once again closed, then over my nose and my parted lips.
“You’re dreaming, Syd,” he whispered next to my ear.
Of course I was.
“Sod it all!”
I dropped my washcloth on the floor, ducking my head back into the room. Owain was stumbling, half awake, to where North stood, letter in hand. I hadn’t seen Mrs. Pemberly bring it to him.
“What—?” I began.
“We’re under attack by what appears to be a wolf,” he read aloud. “It howls all night. The children think it’s some kind of demon. The crops have been torn up, and not by the hands of an ordinary man. One child claimed that the wolf climbed into her window, and it was made of light.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means we’re leaving right now,” North said. “For Arcadia. It’s north of here, in the mountains. Two days of traveling, maybe more.”
“What in the world is in Arcadia?” I asked. It was no place I had ever heard of, but Owain and North continued their conversation without me.
“I’ll come with you,” Owain said. “You’ll need support if it’s as bad as it sounds.”
“No, if Syd and I are delayed for long, we won’t make the treaty deadline,” North said. “I think you should ride ahead to Provincia and try to get an audience with the Sorceress Imperial or even Oliver.”
“And tell them what? That you’ve gone and gotten yourself killed?” Owain said.
North snorted. “I doubt they’ll care about that. Tell them that I’m going after a rogue wizard.”
“Who?” I repeated. “Dorwan?”
“Who else?” North dragged a hand through his matted hair. “I knew he had been too quiet; I knew he would bait me—but not Arcadia, never Arcadia.”
“What’s in Arcadia?” I asked again.
“A lot of innocent kids,” he said.
I asked, “What if we don’t take the bait?”
North shook his head. “If you think for one moment that Dorwan wouldn’t hesitate to kill a child, then you’ve clearly overestimated his humanity. He’s not bound by anything—by wizard law, by the ways of the hedges. He does what amuses him, and we’ve become his latest game.”
“Why waste the days of travel?” I said. “If we don’t go to him, won’t he have to come to us?”
“I won’t let him hurt one of the kids,” he said. “If I don’t help them, no one will.”
Within minutes, Owain disappeared before I could even give him a proper good-bye. We twisted as far as we could from Mrs. Pemberly’s, but when the black cloak fell around us, I immediately knew something was wrong.
“You took us east!” I said, pulling out the map to make sure. “I said north!”
“I took you north!” he snapped. The wizard stepped away from me, but the moment I held up the map, his anger deflated with a harsh breath.
“You took us east,” I said. “Twist us back and try again.”
“I told you,” he said, his hair hiding his face, “it’s not something I can do on a whim—you have to give me a moment!”
“Then we’ll walk,” I said. “It seems a more efficient method of travel than to rely on your complete and utter lack of direction. How in the world did you make it all the way out of Cliffton?”
“I had a guide,” North said, storming past me. “Does that make you feel important?”
“No,” I said bitterly. “But it does make me feel useful.”
North bit the side of his thumb, slowing so I could catch up to him. I reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but pulled it back at the last moment. Something about him reminded me of Henry, and that made me wonder what my friend would say if he knew I cared about the wizard.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Arcadia means a great deal to me. Oliver and I spent a lot of time there while we were training with our magister. I thought it was the only safe place left in the world.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said, but he only looked away.
Many miles and muddy roads later, a grimace on North’s face and a new limp told me it was time to stop for the night.
“Lift up your pant leg,” I said, watching his features twist in pain as he sat.
“I’m fine.”
“You can hardly walk, and your cloaks are a mess,” I said. “I’ll bet that dragon did a number on you.”
North grunted, looking away. An ugly burn revealed itself inch by inch as he rolled up his pant leg. I took one look at the angry, puckered red burn and shook my head. The bandage he had tied around it was loose and dirty.
