I watched him as in a dream. His hands were numb. He had to wave them, yell at them before they’d stop pricking and work. Now. Leave the clutter by the river to mark the place. Get on the horse and follow…
I saw him searching, read his face: Where? No sign. No sign at all. Not a trail through the grasses. He couldn’t follow a trail if he wasn’t high enough to see a trail!
I sensed his frustration, fury, grief. He mounted one horse and grabbed the other’s reins to lead it as he raced back the way we had come to get help.
I Am Margaret/on Fajnard
Even though we had ridden in the wagon all day, we were tired, and the moonlight was not restful. Romantic as all get-out, probably, but not helpful, except as it kept us from stumbling, falling, or running headlong into one another. Even the young ones were weary, though the hayfolk young were more accustomed to the light and the terrain than we three from Tercis. Falija was by now resting on Bamber’s shoulders like a fur scarf, head hanging, half asleep.
We had been walking for some time on a trail that ran along the side of a rocky hill—one of the Mountains of Mupple, Maniacal claimed—heading toward a comfortable cave, though what made a cave comfortable had not been explained. I was second in line. Ahead of me, Maniacal was pointing at something.
“There’s a light there,” I said stupidly. “Is there supposed to be a light there?”
Mirabel’s voice came from behind us. “The Ghoss use it sometimes.”
“But not the Frossians?” I asked hesitantly.
“Never the Frossians, no,” said Maniacal. He moved slowly forward, the rest of us following, our eyes darting back and forth between the rough footing and the distant flicker of firelight, crossed by a walking shadow that went, then returned in the opposite direction.
“I’ll go on ahead,” said Maniacal, when we were only a short distance from the cave opening. He edged away from us and went more rapidly, stopping a few paces short of the opening to creep forward slowly, extending his neck like a telescope to peer around the nearer stones.
“What’s he doing?” whispered Glory. “How does he do that?”
“We all do it,” said Mirabel. “It’s how we keep track of where we are in the deep grasses, put our heads up when we need to. You bony people can’t do it, and I’ve never figured out how you manage without.”
“You don’t have bones?” asked Grandma.
“Only a few,” said Mirabel. “Here and there, and they do wander about.”
Maniacal was returning. “It’s a Ghoss,” he called. “He’s got another Ghoss there, sleeping, but he says come ahead.”
We went on. Inside the sandy cave an elderly man stood to welcome us, bowing, introducing himself. “I’m Rei. The one sleeping over there is Mar-agern. Come in, sit down. I was just heating water for tea. I know you raiders can’t go long without your tea, and I happen to have some.” He stopped in some confusion as he got a good look at me. “Excuse me. You’re not all hayfolk. Ma’am. Ah, well. Not Ghoss, then. Not you, not the young ones. Escaped bondspeople?”
“No,” I said with some asperity. “I’m Margaret. This is my granddaughter, Gloriana, and her friend, Bamber Joy. And this is Falija.”
Rei bowed deeply to Falija, still curled around Bamber’s neck. “Gibbekotkin,” he murmured. “Welcome. Do you come from the city?”
Bamber squatted to let Falija jump down. She sat on her haunches, eyes moving around the cave as though to penetrate its stone walls before she turned her gaze back to the man who had welcomed us. “We thank the Ghoss, Rei,” she said. “These people came with me through a way-gate from the planet Tercis. We are bound for the way-gate that leads to Thairy. We were pursued, our lives threatened. A gizzardile intervened and saved us inadvertently. We are very weary and grateful for your help.”
The Ghoss bowed again. “As our ancestors promised yours, we will do whatever we can do.”
“A little rest would be most welcome,” I said, trying to swallow a yawn.
We sat around the fire. Tea was poured and another pot heated and brewed. Maniacal distributed the food we had left, but we only nibbled at it, too tired to be hungry. The Ghoss did not question us, but he stared at me with particular intensity.
Finally, intercepting this gaze, Falija said, “We are on a quest, Ghoss Rei. There are creatures about who don’t want us to make it. They were on Tercis, they are here on Fajnard, possibly they will be on Thairy. The quest is to walk the seven roads that are one road.”
“A riddle?” suggested Rei.
“You could say that, yes,” I said. Some color had returned to my face, and I felt both slightly strengthened and in need of going someplace private. I shifted uncomfortably.
“Around the corner, there,” suggested Rei. “You’ll find what you need.”
Seeing my startled look, Mirabel said, “They’re telepathic, the Ghoss. They can tell what you’re thinking or needing.”
“Ah,” I said, at a loss for any real words and not at all sure I liked people being aware of when I needed to pee. Around the corner was a wooden seat over a crevice in the rock as well as a waist-level stone hollow constantly filled by a seep from above. I washed my face and hands, feeling somewhat refreshed.
When I returned to the others, I had to pass the sleeping person very closely, and I looked down, to avoid stepping on him, her. I looked down, and stood, looking down, not moving, not moving at all.
“Grandma?” cried Gloriana. “What is it?”
“It’s me,” I answered, eyes still fixed on
