14
As the odd group walked upriver toward the selkies' lodge, Og dropped back a bit and fell in beside Wiggulf.
'Urn, sire, I was wondering if you could tell me just a bit more accurately when you think the, ah, orcess you left on the bridge piling will be arriving at your lodge to be reunited with her father…' he whispered nervously, thinking Yob could probably still hear him. Wiggulf turned and smiled, his large front teeth white against the shadows of the darkening forest.
'Oh yes, of course. Well, I would suppose her to be coming soon, unless the guards meet trouble. I take it you do not return her affections.'
'I have been promised to another for many years,' Og said delicately, as Yob's left ear twitched a bit in his direction. 'I could never break that vow.'
'I see,' said Wiggulf, his bright eyes twinkling.
'Soon, you say? When might you be reckoning as soon, sire?' Og waited for more information, but the old selkie held his peace, an odd smile upon his lips. The songmage gave up and caught back up with Cheyne and Claria.
'She's coming. What are we going to do? You know what kind of trouble Womba can be. If she sees me, she'll never let me go. You have to protect me,' he pleaded. Cheyne shook his head.
'Og, you have just sung us over the sea, turned a rash of vipers away, and brought Yob back to life. What can we do to protect you? You are holding half of your power again, in case you hadn't noticed,' said Cheyne wearily.
It occurred to Og only then that Wiggulf had not asked for the water sapphire to be returned. Even more strangely, Og noted that he had not thought once about stealing the gem for himself. He opened his hand and looked at the stone.
'Oh. So I do,' he said quietly.
They walked the next mile in companionable silence, watching the woods for unwanted company, though Wiggulf had agreed with Cheyne that it was unlikely Rotapan would follow them until he could find reinforcements, now that Og had the staff. But Riolla was very resourceful. And Wiggulf was quick to recount that she had long ago allied herself with Drufalden, the queen of the cold country, and the seIkies' other main enemy.
They stopped on a rise about a mile from the lodge. The sentry, a man with skin the color of copper and a head of short, blond hair, saluted Frijan readily, but had to be told his king was also present.
'Forgive me, sire, and be welcomed.' Somewhat shaken by Wiggulf s changed appearance, it was all the young guard could do to sheath his coral knife and lower his bow. 'It has been many tides since you were home. There has been much activity here this day. We have watched as a party of three travelers passed on the old caravan road, and then two more came in stealth behind them. The first group appeared to be going toward the queen's mountain, the last seemed to be following them. All wore their hoods low and walked on foot. We could not give them names, though one, strangely, resembled the Wyrvil king himself.'
'Thank you, Dunsan. We are bound for the lodge. Send ahead to them,' said Wiggulf. 'Watch well, my friend. You are the very image of your father, you know.'
'Safe waters, sire,' said Dunsan heartily, his eyes already back upon the road.
Wiggulf led them on without comment, his thoughts his own counsel in the early gloaming. The forest seemed to grow more dense the closer they came to the lodge, and a light mist swirled among the trees. The nightbirds flew from branch to branch, awaiting the small prey that scurried before the rustle of many tired and noisy feet.
'What do you think Riolla is up to?' Claria whispered to Cheyne.
'Would you credit my words if I told you that I truly do not know? I'm sure it has something to do with the totem, but I know no more.'
Claria pulled out her combs and rearranged her hair. 'What about your family? Are you alone?' she offered.
'What about them? Javin is all I have. He's just a foster father. Not the real thing. And right now, he has enough to concern him with worrying about me ever finding anything else about who I am.'
Claria said in amazement, 'You don't know who your family is? You don't have a name? But you are foreign- surely you have a name from your home country.'
'Did I introduce myself with one? No, I have no name. No home country, either. That's why I'm going to the Sarrazan forest. The elves-'
'That's your final destination? Cheyne, there are no maps of the Borderlands. That place is so strange that time itself seems to bend around it. The elves come out of the forest only to trade their wares. What makes you think you will find them when they don't want to be found?'
'I have seen one in Sumifa. They are the only ones who might know.'
'That's absurd. There haven't been elves in Sumifa since-'
'I know, since before the Wandering.' Cheyne sighed, recalling receiving the same reply during his futile search for the tall elf in the city. 'But I did see one, and if he isn't in Sumifa any longer, at least I know he came from the Sarrazan forest. As I said, the elvish potters are the ones who will know.'
'Know what?'
'About the last glyph on the totem I found at the dig. They still know the language. They use it on their wares as decoration.'
'The totem… that's your quest, isn't it? You think the totem is your real family's.' The picture of her chroniclave and its matching glyph flashed in her mind for the first time since she had opened Kalkuk's crate. 'What has this got to do with the Armageddon Clock? I thought that's what we were after.'
'That's probably what Riolla is after. That's what Og is after, I suppose it's what even you are after. I told you back in Sumifa that I was no treasure hunter.'
Claria backed off. 'So you did. Fair enough. I never thought you really meant it, though. I've never known a man who would swim oceans and wrestle vipers and tramp across deserts for anything that he couldn't spend. You are a very unusual man, Cheyne… forgive me.'
'It's all right. Sorry you won't get what you came for.'
'I have no name, either,' she went on, ignoring his last comment. 'I was about to have one-Maceo would have given me his. I would have been queen for the rest of my days. He told me so, and I believed it would have been true. People would have respected me, would have had me to tea and named their children after me. I wouldn't have had to lift a hand- Neffians everywhere. But now that won't happen.'
'If that was your only choice, I wouldn't be too sorry if I were you.'
'How would you know what it's like to live in Sumifa without a name? How would you know what that feels like? People won't look at you, won't meet your eyes. They talk about you as though you weren't in the room, if they let you in the room to begin with.'
'I just meant that you seem like someone who needs more out of life than to be waited on.'
'Oh… like what?'
'Like a regular challenge, something that would make your talents shine, keep your mind sharp. You handle those combs like an assassin handles blades. You don't run from a fight-in fact, I'd bet you go looking for them sometimes, don't you? A woman like that doesn't sit still and be waited on very well.'
Claria turned her head from him, letting the darkness hide how flattered she really was. Something about this cool-headed outlander confused her, made her think of herself differently than the way she had planned her life. Trouble was, she rather liked it. Though she had crossed the desert, been attacked by hostiles, and swam against time and tide to save her life, she had never had a better time in all her city-living days. Cheyne wasn't hard to look at, either. And he was right. Thoughts of herself as the queen of the citadel were somehow less appealing out here. She considered all that she might have had with Maceo, against what she had now-the only thing she truly owned, the chroniclave. It didn't seem so uneven anymore. As she turned the possibilities of what the matching glyph on the chroniclave's base might mean, one thing was becoming very clear. She would have to tell Cheyne about it, whether it meant giving up her inheritance or not.
'I have something to tell you…' she began weakly, but he did not hear her.
