Larn lays his spear on the surface of the bridge between us and leans back on his hands. “I don’t know if all things happen for a reason,” he says. “I think some events in our lives are random and have no purpose behind them. They’re completely out of our control. But the one thing we can always control is how we react to them.
“There might be a reason for what happened,” he continues, “or it might just be a series of events that unraveled for no reason at all. It’s up to you to decide if there’s something to learn. For now, have faith in Sash’s decision and believe in her.”
“She’s doing all of this because she knows how important it is to me,” I reply.
“She’s doing this because of her loyalty to everyone in the Delta. I believe she’ll return safely. She has you and Aven to think about.”
I don’t know what to say in response to Larn’s unexpected insight into the emotional bond of a family unit that doesn’t exist in this world. He adheres to the customs of the Delta as much as anyone.
“When this over,” Larn continues, “I’d like to stop by your habitat sometime. I’ve never taken you up on your invitation to visit Aven. I think I might find it meaningful.”
Even with my concern for Sash, I smile at Larn’s change of heart about spending time with his granddaughter. “I think Aven will like that, too,” I say. “And Sash. Our door is always open to you.”
As the Krymzyn night passes, Larn and I keep our eyes glued to the Barrens. When the Watchers change shifts on the wall behind us, we know that the Delta is waking up for the new morrow. I fold my arms over my raised knees and rest my forehead on them. Listening to the rush of the rapids below the bridge, I fall asleep.
* * *
“Chase,” Larn says, shaking me awake. “Look over there.”
I pop my head up and focus my eyes on the Barrens to the northeast. A streak of light soars over a distant hill.
I jump to my feet and run to the end of the bridge. After emerging from behind a hill, Sash glides to a jog. When she stops in front of me, I throw my arms around her.
“You’re safe,” I whisper in her ear.
“I promised you I would be,” she says.
“Did you see Tela?”
Sash ends our embrace and takes a step back from me. “I saw her and I have a plan. Let’s talk to Larn.”
We hurriedly walk up the bridge to where Larn is waiting for us.
“What did you find out?” he asks when we reach him.
“Tela is in a camp of Murkovin,” Sash answers. “Will you please ask the other Travelers to meet us at Sanctuary? I’ll go over my plan with everybody at the same time.”
“Right away.”
Once the three of us are inside the gate to the Delta, Larn summons the Travelers and Sash contacts Eval. A few minutes later, we reach the meadow in front of the Tree of Vision. Eval and Tork are already waiting for us. After the other Travelers arrive, we gather in a circle.
“Thanks to Maya,” Sash says to the group, “we located Tela. She’s with a group of about forty Murkovin north of the Desert.”
“She’s their captive,” I add.
“She’s not a captive,” Sash tells me. “She’s there because she wants to be.”
“What makes you think that?”
“She came out of what appears to be her own cavern. At the beginning of the morrow, she was teaching Murkovin to travel with transports. She could have left if she wanted to.”
“Why would she teach Murkovin to carry transports?” I ask.
She shrugs her shoulders. “We’ll ask her that question if we get the chance. I think I know a way to bring her back.”
“If she’s not a captive,” Eval says, “taking her will be against her will. I don’t know if we can sanction—”
“She has no will,” I interrupt. “The wild sap takes control of it. She didn’t go out there by choice. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
Standing directly across from me, Tork scowls in my direction. “Are you suggesting that we force her to return to the Delta?”
I ignore Tork and speak directly to Eval. “In my world, people sometimes become what we call addicts. Their entire lives revolve around something like taking a certain substance or being in a cult . . . a messed up way of thinking that takes control of their minds. Some people suffer from mental problems that are impossible to deal with on their own. They can never think clearly. The only way to help them is by forcing them to accept help. They can’t do it themselves. That’s what the wild sap has done to Tela.”
“I fully understand what’s happened to Tela,” Eval says to me and then looks at Sash. “What’s your opinion?”
“I think we should bring her back,” Sash answers without hesitation. “I don’t know if we can reverse what’s happened to her, but we have to try.”
“Do you have a plan for rescuing her?” Eval asks.
Sash nods her head. “The Murkovin have a camp situated around several trees in a small area. It covers a couple of square miles. Most of the hills are small and have caverns in them. That’s where the Murkovin dwell.
“Tela’s cavern is north of the area with the trees. There’s another cavern on the other side of the same hill. Two women and two children share that one, but other than that, only one other Murkovin’s cavern is nearby. He’s a very tall Murkovin who seems to be in charge of the camp. I saw him giving orders to the others.
“Four Murkovin are always on watch on four different hills outside where the caverns are. The guard on the western side of the camp is about a half-mile from Tela’s cavern. The land around the camp is
