any right to. How long have I been asleep?
I don't know, Tetkashtai fretted. Too long! Images formed within her light. Views, seen from the perspective of someone being carried, of trees passing. The men who had come to her rescue, their faces distorted by Tetkashtai's fear. A climb up a long slope, then back down. A rough little cabin. The range of Tetkashtai's vision was too short to reveal anything meaningful, any landmarks in the distance, and her sense of time was disjointed. In spite of herself, Dandra swallowed. We need to get out of here.
Yes! gasped Tetkashtai. Oh, yes! Another image formed: Dandra's hand rising, a cone of flame blasting out to envelope the men.
No! said Dandra, startled. They rescued me. I can't do that!
Tetkashtai's silent voice hissed, snake-like. I can. Let me! They'll regret keeping us here…
I don't think they're keeping us. They're only trying to help. She forced the image of the men burning out of her mind and replaced it with another of them giving her directions, food, perhaps blankets. They may be willing to help us more!
Tetkashtai coiled in on herself. All right, she said. But don't tell them anything! And if they can't help us, we run-immediately!
Dandra bent her thoughts into a shape of obedience, the mental equivalent of a nod. Yes, Tetkashtai.
She opened her eyes and turned her head. 'Hello?' she said.
It had been days at least since she had last spoken aloud. Her voice came out rough and cracking. It got the men's attention, though. They had been standing beside the fire. At the sound of her voice, they turned sharply. The shifter reacted as an animal would, arching his back and leaning onto the balls of his feet, ready either to fight or to run. The human, however, hurried directly to her. There was an earthenware pitcher on a small table beside the bed. He poured clear water into a cup and offered it to her.
'Here,' he said kindly. 'Drink.' He settled on the bed and helped her as she sat up. The water was cool and good. She swallowed it with a gratitude that surprised her. The man poured her more. 'Are you all right?'
She nodded and water splashed down her chin. She felt Tetkashtai draw back in slight disgust, but the man just smiled. He was ruggedly handsome under the beard and somewhat younger than she had expected-there was an air of responsibility to him that made him seem older. A simple collar of polished black stones etched with strange symbols and strung on a leather cord hung around his neck.
'My name is Adolan. This is Geth.' He gestured to the shifter as Geth moved in closer, his wide eyes shining in the firelight. The shirt that the shifter wore was torn into rags and stained with blood. Through the gaping fabric she could see that his compact body was knotted with muscle and thick with dark hair. He carried no visible wounds-maybe Adolan had used healing magic on him as well-but old scars made a map of bald streaks on his hairy skin.
'Dandra,' she answered, gulping past the water. She set the cup aside and looked at both Adolan and Geth. 'You saved me from those-'
'Displacer beasts,' grunted Geth.
'— displacer beasts.' Dandra bent her head and pressed her hands together. 'Thank you.'
'You're welcome,' said Adolan. He tried awkwardly to imitate her gesture, then gave up. 'Geth says you're a kalashtar.' She nodded and he smiled. 'I've never met a member of your race before.'
Enough pleasantries! snapped Tetkashtai. Find out what we need to know-
As the presence spoke, Dandra saw Adolan frown slightly. His eyes drifted down to the bronze-wrapped crystal that hung around her neck.
Tetkashtai! she hissed urgently, but the presence had seen the same thing. Her silent voice broke off sharply and her light shrank back in alarm. Her retreat left Dandra feeling slightly empty.
'That's an interesting crystal you wear,' said Adolan. 'I almost feel as if it's alive.'
'In a way,' Dandra answered as casually as she could manage, 'it is. It's a psicrystal. For a psion, a psicrystal is an aid and a companion.'
Adolan's frown deepened in confusion. 'What's a psion?'
'A kalashtar wizard,' growled Geth. 'Which would make this psicrystal like a wizard's familiar.' He gave Dandra a suspicious look. 'I told you kalashtar had strange powers, Adolan.'
'No stranger than magic,' Dandra said defensively.
Adolan held out his hands. 'Easy,' he said. 'I'm sorry, Dandra. I didn't mean to upset you.' He glanced at Geth. 'You should find the elders and let them know that the displacer beasts are dead.'
The shifter darted a narrow glance at Dandra, but nodded. 'They'll all likely be at Sandar's, and I could use a tankard.'
He turned away and shrugged out of his shirt. He flung it into a corner and dug another out of a big chest that stood against the wall, pulling it on over broad shoulders. His big hand picked up one of a pair of fighting axes that stood by the chest and slipped it through a loop on his belt. For a moment, his eyes met Adolan's. The human gave a tiny nod, then looked to Dandra.
'I'll be back in a moment,' he said, and followed Geth to the door of the cabin. When he opened it, Dandra's eyes went wide in alarm.
The little slice of the world outside was dark. Tetkashtai, it's night!
The presence let out the barest spark of yellow-green light. Il-Yannah, she whispered. We need to go.
Dandra glanced around the cabin. Her spear was leaning against the foot of the bed. Her sandals were on the floor at the bedside. A cupboard beside the fireplace stood open, revealing a loaf of bread and what looked like cheese. Her stomach growled. Food would be nice, but she had mastered the means of sustaining her body with mental energy alone. A blanket on the other hand-her fingers bunched into the rough, scratchy coverings on the bed…
Adolan stepped back into the cabin, closing the door behind him and smiling at her. Dandra forced her fingers to relax and smiled back at him.
In her mind's eye, Tetkashtai formed the image of a flame. Dandra answered with a reluctant mental nod.
'I don't trust her,' Geth murmured as Adolan followed him out into the gathering night.
'I understand,' Adolan whispered back. The druid glanced back through the door and into the cabin. His eyes narrowed.
'There's something about her-'
'Yes,' Geth growled. 'Something I don't trust!'
Adolan shook his head. 'No. Something haunted. There's something she's keeping from us. I'll see if I can find out what it is. She may need our help.'
Geth looked up to the skies overhead. The moons were rising, and the Ring of Siberys was visible in the southern sky, a shining, milky band. He pointed at it. 'There's the Ring,' he said. 'You can stop searching mud puddles anytime.'
'If she's trouble, I'll send Breek to fetch you,' Adolan said with a smile. He turned for the door, then glanced over his shoulder. 'Good hunting today, Geth.'
Geth gave him back a smile that exposed just the tips of his teeth. 'Good hunting, Ado.'
Adolan stepped back into the cabin and closed the door behind him. The swath of light that had illuminated the patchy grass in front of the cabin vanished. For a moment, the night was dark, but as Geth's eyes adjusted, it seemed to grow steadily brighter-another legacy of his lycanthrope ancestors. From a high perch on the roof of the cabin, Breek gave a benevolent squawk as Geth crossed the little clearing and turned down the short path that led into Bull Hollow. A half-dozen paths converged at the cabin. The folk of the valley lived close to the land and the forest and carried great respect for Adolan. More than just the paths of Bull Hollow came together at the cabin. Even if Adolan hadn't been a druid, Geth suspected that he would have found himself at the heart of the community. He was pleasant and personable, naturally charismatic, trusting, patient-Geth's opposite in many ways.
Like the way he trusted Dandra. Maybe Adolan was right, Geth thought as he walked, maybe Dandra did need their help. Maybe…
Maybe seeing her was too much of a reminder of the last time he had seen kalashtar. In Rekkenmark. Just before Narath.
The memory was like picking at a scabbed over wound-as soon as he thought about it, all of the pain came
