“What is this?” he asked, looking down at her outstretched arms.
“Repayment for saving my life,” she replied. “A head on top of a body as tall as yours deserves a soft pillow to sleep on.”
The man knew the pillow must be pillage from a raid on Travelers. He was also well aware that it would command a high price at a trading post. Instead of being made of coarse cloth and filled with leaves like those of the Barrens, this one was created with smooth, well-sewn fabric and stuffed with the billowy fluffing that only grows in the Delta.
“I need no repayment,” he said. “Take it back.”
She shook her head. “It’s too late. The bargain has been struck.”
From the look of deep appreciation in his eyes, she realized that this was probably the only act of kindness he’d known in a very long while. Also at that moment, she learned that a show of compassion could be as powerful as a spear in the strongest of hands.
From that morrow on, the two often spent time together. Over many morrows of practice, he improved her fighting skills until they were as keen as his. After she met the Watcher of the Delta who became the Mür of her child, she shared with the tall Murkovin the steel stakes, rope, and other items that the Watcher brought to her from the Delta.
As more time went by, the tall Murkovin sat with her and the Watcher many times while listening to plans to overthrow the Delta. She knew he disliked the Watcher, but he always agreed with the changes they hoped to bring to the Barrens.
The woman looks down from the sky at the tall Murkovin. “Can you take me to where you last saw the Traveler?”
“Of course,” he answers. “She’s in a cavern far south of the desert, almost at the edge of the Expanse. I’m curious why you want to see her.”
“I’ve spoken with her before. There’s something inside her that wants to be let out. If she’s planning a life in the Barrens, she can be helpful to us in several ways.”
“When do we leave?” he asks.
“As soon as we can,” she answers. “I just want to say goodbye to my child first.”
“I’ll fetch canisters for us.”
After he turns away, the woman hurries in the direction of her habitat. As much as it pains her to be away from her child so often, it can’t be avoided—especially when an opportunity like this one arises.
As I thought it might, the woman thinks as she briskly walks, my first encounter with the Traveler appears to have been more than a coincidence. She’ll have a reason to trust me because of the peaceful demeanor I displayed when we first met. I can now provide her with safety in the Barrens and utilize her skills for my own needs.
Not only can she help me teach others to travel, but she can also tell me many things about the Delta and the people who dwell there. I’ve learned much from the stories the Mür of my child has told me, but his views are tainted.
I’ve learned over time that knowledge is power. The more I have, the stronger I’ll be in the end.
Chapter 24
Despite the staggering guilt I feel, I can barely contain my excitement as Sash and I zoom to Home. After morrows and morrows of mental torment in the Barrens, all I want now is to feel my daughter in my arms.
When Sash and I come out of our blends in the red meadow in front of Home, Kyra is already waiting for us with Aven by her side. Aven squeals with delight as I sprint across the field. Teetering and tottering through the grass, she runs towards me with her arms waving in the air. I fall to my knees in front of her and smother her in a hug.
“I missed you so much,” I say in Aven’s ear.
Clutching my neck, she speaks the same words that kept me from making an irreversible mistake in the Barrens. “Wuv-u, Daddy.”
“Oh, baby girl. I love you with all my heart.”
Sash stops by our side. Aven leans back from me and looks up at her.
“Daddy safe,” she says.
The joy I feel from being reunited with my daughter is muted by how much I’ve hurt Sash. While in the Barrens with my mind devoured by malicious lies, I asked myself a question over and over.
Why did I ever come to this godforsaken world?
The only answers I’ll ever need to that question are in my arms and standing by my side.
“You and your mother mean everything to me,” I say to Aven.
I reach out a hand and lightly grip Sash’s thigh. She yanks her leg away and shoots an angry glance in my direction.
“I’m thrilled you’re alive,” she says, “but I told you that I need time.”
“I never meant to hurt you. I’ll do whatever—”
“Wait,” she interrupts, holding a hand up to silence me. “Larn just summoned me from the gate.” She listens to him for a few seconds. “They didn’t find Tela.”
With my heart sinking to my stomach, I look at Aven. “Mommy and I have to go for a while, but we’ll pick you up at the end of the morrow.”
Making her pouty face, Aven pushes her bottom lip out and scrunches her eyes. “No go, Daddy.”
“We’ll be back before you know it. Right now, we have to find Tela.”
There’s no rationalizing with a nine-month-old, even if her maturity and speech match that of a three-year-old on Earth. But instead of arguing with me, Aven’s face drifts away from mine and she tilts her head to the side. As though she’s listening to something from far away, she gazes at nothing with vacant eyes.
“What is it, Aven?” I ask.
“Help Tela,”
