Tricksters Touch

Barlimo stood her ground, her arm around Yafatah protectively. Yafatah looked up at Kelandris. «I do believe you, Kelandris. I do believe you'll bring him back.» «Hush, child,» said Barlimo. Kelandris pulled her veil over her head. When she spoke again, the soft black material fluttered with her breath. «I promise you this, Ya. I'll bring him back physically or in spirit. But I will bring him back.» As Kelandris walked out of her bedroom, she passed Janusin standing in the hall. Clearly he had been eavesdropping, his hair a frosted sad blue. «Well, now you know everything,» she snapped at him. «Kel, I'm so sorry Zendrak is—» «Shut up. Just shut up.» Running into an open field near the public stables, Trickster's daughter called Further. The blue-black mare answered instantly, her wild heart alive with Kel's passion and the news of Zendrak's death. Kelandris jumped on Further's broad back. Wheeling, the mare jumped the lines of coincidence. Horse and rider shimmered. Sparks flew, hoof against stone. There was a whooshing sound, a crushing cold, and finally utter silence. They had entered the Everywhen of the Presence. Soon they would be at the tall black gates of the underworld. Here souls roamed compassionate corridors and waited for their next incarnation. Further slowed, barely winded by the journey. Kelandris dismounted. Turning around to face the gates of Neath, Kelandris came to an abrupt stop. Heart beating wildly, her hands grew cold with fear. She could not believe what she saw. It was Cobeth come to greet her. Just dead these past three months, it seemed Cobeth had been put through a strict examination of conscience during his stay in Neath. Gone were Cobeth's smug smile and overwhelming arrogance. In fact, this Cobeth looked like the brother Kelandris had once loved as a young child. Kelandris peered at the Jinnjirri shade thoughtfully. It was Cobeth who broke the silence. «Hello.» «Hello.» «Troth sent me to meet you.» «Nice of him.» Cobeth shrugged. «He thought you might want to see me again.» «Actually, I'd rather see Zendrak,» Kelandris said coldly. Cobeth stuffed his hands in his black tunic. «He's with Troth. So's Phebene, Jinndaven, and Rimble. They said I was to escort you to Troth's place. You willing to come, or not?» «Maybe I could find my own way.» «Not likely. Neath's a labyrinth.» «Oh.» There was an uncomfortable silence. Cobeth cleared his throat. «Kel?» «What?» «I'm sorry for what happened in Suxonli. Giving you the drugs and all.» «And ratting on me to Elder Hennin!» Kelandris snapped. «Oh, yeah. Forgot about that part.» He smiled sheepishly. «I was really mad you got to turn at the revel instead of me. Finding your bloody underwear—I knew you'd broken the Blood Day Rule. Danced on your menses. It was too good an opportunity to miss. For getting even, I mean. Hennin was always comparing me to you, and finding me wanting. She knew you were a Greatkin. Wish I had known, too.» «Would you have acted differently?» asked Kelandris, her voice skeptical. «Probably not,» he admitted. «Hennin had me going, see. All I wanted was to have her think I was as good as you. Impossible, of course. Made me crazy. Made me want to kill you and your blasted inspiration.» «Yeah. I remember that part,» replied Kel drily. There was another long silence. «So are you going to forgive me, or what?» asked Cobeth. «Don't see why I should.» Cobeth shrugged. «It would be nice if you did.» Kelandris rolled her eyes. «Having trouble sleeping, are you?» «Ghosts don't sleep much. Don't need to.» «I suppose.» Cobeth sighed. «Come on, Kel. We used to be friends.» «When you were Yonneth. Not Cobeth.» Cobeth nodded. «So call me Yonneth again. We can start over maybe.» «You're dead, Yonneth. I think that changes things.» «I guess I was a pretty rotten person.» Yonneth brightened. «Maybe I could be a good ghost.» Kelandris swore several times. «Look, Yon,» she said, her voice as impatient as it used to be when she was Yonneth's sister in Suxonli. «I came here to find Troth. I came here to fight Mattermat. I came here to save Zendrak. In short, I came here to do something. I did not come here to chat with you.» Cobeth said nothing for a few minutes. When he spoke again, his voice took on more authority. In fact, Cobeth's voice changed so dramatically that Kelandris stared at the Jinnjirri shade, wondering if he really was Cobeth after all. «Say that again,» said Kelandris. Cobeth shrugged. «I said—don't you know every underworld has a guardian whose test you have to pass?» «Meaning what?» Cobeth's form shimmered. Then it shifted and darkened. In front of her stood Troth, the Greatkin of Death. «You aren't Cobeth,» she mumbled. «No.» 'Why did you trick me?» «To see you.» Kelandris frowned. «And what do you see?» «Resentment.» «So?» asked Kelandris, her expression indignant. «I've every right to feel resentful toward Cobeth. He ruined my life. He tried to kill me.» Troth shook his head sadly. «How can you hope to find love with resentment in your heart? As Cobeth I would've guided you to Phebene—and to Zendrak. But you refused to forgive. So now you get no guide. Good luck,» he added, and disappeared. Literally. Kelandris stood speechless in the shadows of Neath. Angry, she kicked a stone. And stubbed her toe. She sat down on a large rock, her head in her hands. She felt stupid. Here she was in Neath to fight for Zendrak's life and she couldn't even get past the front gate. She thought over all the things that Troth had said to her as Cobeth. She sighed ruefully. Troth was quite right. She hadn't forgiven Cobeth for his actions in Suxonli. Worse, she didn't feel like forgiving him, either. As far as she was concerned, the little bastard could rot in Neath's darkest pit. That's what he deserves, Kelandris thought. The darkness surrounding Kelandris became so thick, it was palpable. She stumbled around in it for a while. Unable to find her way at all, she squatted against the front gate of Neath, her fists clasped to her stomach. She was afraid, and it was all she could do to admit it, much less find a way to corner it. Mist and strange blue lights advanced toward her. Seeing both phenomena, Kelandris shrieked and flattened against the gate. After a few moments of terror, Kelandris summoned the most honest part of herself. «I'm leaving,» she said brokenly. Turning to the dark maw of Neath, she added, «Zendrak, I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to find you. And I can't just forgive Cobeth. It would be nice if I could. But I'm not always very nice.» Kelandris bowed her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. Now she faced the reality of returning to the world without a hope of ever seeing Zendrak again. The impact of his absence hit her hard. Turning away from Neath, Kelandris called Further. The mare didn't respond. «Oh, wonderful,» muttered the distraught Greatkin. «Marooned as well, I expect.» «Maybe not,» said a friendly voice behind Kelandris. She whirled around, this time drawing the knife she kept hidden in her right sleeve. Aunt—or someone who looked a whole lot like the Jinnjirri healer—smiled at Kelandris and added, «It really is me, Kel. No tricks this time.» «What do you want?» asked Kelandris suspiciously, studying the colorful attire of Aunt. The brightness of the Jinnjirri's clothing stood in sharp contrast to the dark shadows of Neath. «Are you dead?» «Quite dead. Hennin got me. Fasilla's on her way to the Kaleidicopia to warn everyone.» Kelandris shook her head. «Hennin's wasps are already there—» «Then we must act quickly.» Kelandris shrugged. «Can't. I failed Troth's test. He won't let me past the front gate. Wasn't forgiving enough, you know.» Aunt stepped closer to Kelandris, lowering her voice as she did so. «If you ask me, Death's a bit of a bastard. Thinks he owns Neath. Runs it like a little king.» Aunt smiled. «So you failed his test. Well, you haven't failed mine.» Kelandris raised her eyebrows. «When did you test me?» «I haven't given it to you yet. Feeling brave? No? It's okay. I used to test people in all sorts of states when I was a Mayanabi Nomad. Relax. This will be fun.» After the ordeal of getting through the front gate of Neath was over, Kelandris told Aunt privately that «fun» was not exactly the word she would've used to describe Aunt's test. «Well, I didn't want to scare you, Kel,» replied Aunt indignantly. *16* Akindo was still lurking outside the Kaleidicopia when Fasilla arrived. At the last moment, Himayat had decided to acompany her to the house. He and the other Mayanabi Nomads at the Inn of the Guest had met in council until the wee hours of the morning. After much discussion and debate, everyone present concluded that Aunt's death had not been accidental. No one quite knew what to make of the lack of winterblooms in the Feyborne Mountains. Himayat decided to ride to the «K» and ask the only First Rank Mayanabi master in existence, Zendrak of Soaringsea. Surely, he would know what the others did not. As Fasilla and Himayat came within half a block of Wise Whatsit Avenue, Himayat reined his Appaloosa to an abrupt stop. Motioning Fasilla to be quiet, the Mayanabi scanned the area with his Mayanabi senses. He couldn't interpret what he received. Shaking his head, the Asilliwir man said, «I don't understand it. I keep getting images of Tammirring landscape. This is Speakinghast, a Saambolin city.» Himayat tried again. «Well, whatever it is,» he muttered, «something is dreadfully wrong around here. I suggest we arm ourselves,» he added, reaching for a blowgun and pack of lethal darts. The blowguns were called akatikkis. Fasilla removed hers, studying the busy streets carefully. Livestock ambled down an alley. As the sheep reached the corner of Wise Whatsit Avenue, they began to act in an agitated manner. The shepherd eventually lost control of the nervous animals, his sheepdogs bolting along with the sheep. «Odd,» said Fasilla under her breath. Himayat suddenly whipped his head around. «We're being watched, Fasilla. We need to get rid of these horses. I don't like being in the open like this. Come on,» he said hastily. The two Asilliwir put away their blowguns and rode their mounts to a nearby public stable. They paid overnight charges, and hailed a happincabby. This was a carriage drawn by horse and driven—for the most part—by Saambolin drivers. Before the man turned the happincabby on Wise Whatsit Avenue, Himayat told him to stop the horse. Giving the fellow a handful of coppers, Himayat and Fasilla jumped out and walked the rest of the way to the Kaleidicopia. Every sense alert and armed once more, Himayat kept strict silence as he walked toward the three-storey monstrosity known as the «K.» Peering upward at the gables, the tricolored roof, and the asymmetrical additions, he winced. «Very Jinn,» he said. «Think we should go in?» asked Fasilla. Himayat frowned. «Someone has died.» Instantly thinking of Yafatah, Fasilla's face paled. Without considering her own safety, she tore across the street toward the Kaleidicopia. As she reached the lowest end of the front steps, Akindo loosed