Priestess of the White

When the first rays of dawn lightened the eastern sky, Auraya felt her hopes dim. She had flown in every direction from the Dreamweaver camp as far as a rider could travel in a day. She had returned to the Plains of Gold. She had roamed the foothills of the mountains. She had followed the road almost all the way to the pass.

She had found no sign of Leiard.

As she had flown, she had kept her senses open for human thoughts. While she had sensed the minds of soldiers and villagers, herders and prostitutes, she hadn’t caught even a glimpse of Leiard’s mind. He had all but disappeared.

Like the Pentadrians, she thought wryly...

She now hovered high above the ground, unsure what to do next.

Perhaps I missed something. I could return to the Dreamweaver camp and start again. This time I’ll fly in circles, moving steadily outward...

Before she had even finished the thought she was speeding across the sky again. When she reached the place the Dreamweavers had camped, they were already gone. She could see them in the distance, travelling along a narrow, overgrown track.

A lone figure followed them. She caught weary thoughts and a familiar personality.

Jayim.

The boy crested a rise and reined in his arem. As he saw the Dreamweavers far ahead, he felt a rush of relief. It was followed by guilt and uncertainty. He looked over his shoulder to the southeast.

I shouldn’t have left him... but he wouldn’t listen to me. The way he spoke... something’s wrong. I have to get help.

He urged the arem into a trot, thinking that if he caught up fast enough Arleej would be able to return to the brothel camp before Leiard moved on. He pushed all thought aside but the need to reach them. Auraya watched him go, fighting a rising dismay.

The brothel camp?

She had flown over more than a few. The presence of prostitutes was an accepted consequence of having a large army travelling across the country. She had mixed feelings about them. While she could see that bedding a whore might boost a soldier’s confidence, or soothe an agitated mind, there was the spread of disease to worry about. She also didn’t like how some of the men believed they weren’t being unfaithful to their wives by sleeping with a whore during a war.

Which was why she hadn’t looked too closely at the minds in these camps. Which probably made the camps the perfect place to hide from her. Did this mean Leiard was hiding from her?

No. He’s hiding from Juran.

She started flying toward the closest of the camps she could remember encountering last night. As she did she forced her mind away from unpleasant possibilities. I trust him. He went there to hide from Juran, not me.

He was not in the first of the camps, nor the next two. She remembered the direction of Jayim’s backward glance and flew farther southeast. A half-day’s ride from the army she found another. Searching the minds of those below, she glimpsed Leiard’s face in one of the whores’ thoughts.

And reeled from the thought that accompanied it.

... at those buttocks. And I thought him scrawny last night. Definitely not scrawny. If I had my way, I’d give him this night for free. Who’d have thought a Dreamweaver would be so good at...

Auraya tore her mind away. Hovering above the brothel, she stared down at the tents in disbelief.

I must be mistaken. The girl must have been thinking of another Dreamweaver. One who looks like Leiard.

She looked into the thoughts of those below her again. This time she skimmed over the feminine minds, searching for a masculine one. When she found Leiard, it took her a moment to recognize him.

His thoughts were not those of a man exiled from his love. They were those of a man relishing unexpected freedom.

It isn’t that I dun’t think Auraya’s attractive or smart or good-natured, he told himself. She’s just not worth all this trouble. Better we slip away with no explanation.

Gone was the affection and respect she had always seen in his mind. There was not even the slightest ember of love left within him. Instead he regarded her with a mild regret.

She gasped and recoiled, but there was no avoiding the pain that ripped through her. So this is how it feels to have your heart broken, she thought. Like someone has stabbed you and twisted the knife. No, like someone has gutted you and left you to die.

Tears sprang into her eyes, but she fought them. He had loved her. She knew that. Now he didn’t. Just a few words from Juran had killed it.

How can that be? How can something that was so strong be killed so easily? I don’t understand. She wanted to look again, to search for an explanation, but couldn’t bring herself to. Instead she began to ascend slowly. She caught the thoughts of the whore again. Leiard had just shaved his beard away completely. The girl thought he looked much younger and more handsome. She told him so, and that he was welcome in her tent any time. Would he be returning tonight? No. Perhaps if he visited Porin in the future...

Figures emerged from the tents below. Auraya moved herself higher, aware that anyone looking up might notice her. She continued ascending until the camp was a tiny mark on the landscape below. When she reached the clouds the world disappeared behind a wet, cold blanket of white.

41

Emerahl lifted the repaired flap of the tarn cover and peered outside. According to the customer she’d attended to last night, the army was a few hours’ ride ahead of them. He’d shaken his head when she’d expressed a hope that they’d catch up. The army was travelling fast, he told her. It would reach the pass before them. It was safer for them to remain at a distance anyway. Who knew what dangers lurked in the mountains?

He had then set about comforting and reassuring her. She’d realized that he was the kind of man who needed a woman to be weak in order to feel strong and manly. He was not one who felt comfortable around capable women so it was easy to get rid of him in the morning by striding about her tent assertively and making clever conversation. She pitied his wife. Men who needed women to be weak and stupid could be unpleasant to be around when they felt the natural order of things was being upset.

“What can you see, Jade?”

She looked at Star, then shrugged. “Rocks. And trees. And more rocks. Oh look, there’s another tree,” she added dryly.

The girls smiled. Rozea had declared Star well enough to travel with the others last night, though Emerahl was sure the decision had more to do with avoiding another day of incessant chatter. Emerahl had insisted on riding with Star in case sitting up for hours proved too much for her. This gave her an opportunity, at last, to talk to Brand and Tide.

All of the girls appeared to have forgiven her for becoming the favorite. This might be because they had realized that their grudge was ridiculous, but Emerahl doubted that. She suspected it was her healing of Star that had brought her back into their favor.

“I had the most amazing night last night,” Charity said.

Brand, Tide and Bird groaned. “Do we have to go through all that again?” Brand complained.

Charity gestured at Star. “She hasn’t heard yet.”

Brand sighed. “Go on, then.”

Charity’s eyes were bright as she leaned toward Star. “Last night a Dreamweaver came by. It was late and not many of the girls saw him. He wasn’t bad-looking, so I was rather pleased when he chose me.” She paused and grinned widely. “If that’s what all Dreamweavers are like in bed, I’ll take one any time.”

Star’s eyebrows rose. “He was that good?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”