“Fascinating,” Ferrin said. “Can you hear their thoughts?”

“It depends. I can discern certain types of thoughts more clearly than others. But I can always sense their presence. For now, we have no lurkers in the area.”

“That’s a comfort,” Aram said. “But we do have a large force of more conventional enemies in pursuit.”

“All the more reason we must depart in the morning,” Galloran said. “Rest while you may. Tark, you told me you had sworn fealty to Lord Jason.”

“I am his man,” the musician replied solemnly.

“Then I have acquired four unexpected allies of diverse talents. There is little I can bring to our venture at the moment save knowledge and connections. Hopefully, in time, I will regain my kingdom and bring its resources to bear. We must first journey north, to the Sunken Lands, on our way to the Seven Vales. At the Sunken Lands, we will try to rescue my daughter and supply ourselves from a lost stockpile of orantium. At the Seven Vales, we will strive to enlist the Amar Kabal in our rebellion, the most powerful fighting force yet untouched by the emperor. Without their participation, our insurrection will lack any real promise.”

“You think you can rouse the People of the Seed?” Ferrin asked.

“We shall see,” Galloran replied. “Our first obstacle will be crossing the river. I recommend we make for the bridge a day east of Potsug. The troops pursuing Jason from the north will probably cross that bridge tonight and head west. If we move in stealth, we should miss one another.”

“The bridge will be heavily guarded,” Ferrin warned.

“We have a capable team,” Galloran said. “And some orantium remains. Do you recommend an alternate route?”

Ferrin considered the question before answering. “The bridge will be quickest. No crossing will stand unguarded.”

“The bridge it is,” Galloran said. “Eat your fill tonight. We have far more food stored here than we can carry. Sleep all you can. We depart at dawn.”

CHAPTER 12

RENDEZVOUS

Rachel awoke in the chill of night, bundled in her blankets, the stars blazing more brilliantly than she had ever witnessed. The moon had set, the night was clear, and no overhanging trees impeded her view. In the gaps between the brighter stars, where darkness should have provided background, lesser stars glimmered, faint and plentiful, twinkling specks of dust. She lay on her back, high atop a tall ridge, gazing at the magnificent heavens.

Could any of those pinpricks of light be Earth’s sun? If not, were any of those endless stars at least visible from Earth? Maybe with a powerful telescope? Or was this an entirely different universe altogether, inhabiting some alternate dimension? She didn’t recognize any constellations.

Rachel looked over at the charm woman. They hadn’t built a fire tonight, but the stars shed enough light for her to see that Elaine was gone, her blankets rumpled and empty.

Rachel sat up, scared and alert. Why had Elaine snuck away? They had just arrived at the ridge this evening after many consecutive days in the saddle. Elaine’s donkey was not swift, but it was tireless. They had started at the first hint of dawn every morning and plodded onward until twilight dwindled.

Low, mumbling voices reached Rachel’s ears, a single hushed conversation. Listening intently, she could distinguish between a man and a woman speaking. “Elaine?” Rachel called.

“Here, child. We’re coming. Drake has found us.”

“Elaine?” Drake asked, his voice scarcely audible. “Is that your name?”

“At present,” she answered softly. Two starlit figures walked into view. Elaine raised her voice again. “My charms detected an intruder approaching. I knew it wasn’t a lurker. I hoped it was Drake.”

“You made good time,” Drake remarked. “I expected to beat you here. I had to cover much more ground, but of course Mandibar is extraordinary.”

“We only arrived earlier tonight,” Rachel said.

“I’m glad we found you awake,” Elaine said. “It means my inner ring of charms is working.”

“I don’t get it,” Rachel said.

“The outer ring was rigged to awaken me,” Elaine said. “When Drake crossed the inner boundary, you woke up.”

Upon quick reflection, Rachel realized that usually when she awoke in the night, she rolled over and went on sleeping. Tonight she had awakened alert, her mind active and inquisitive.

“I didn’t set up any violent or distractive enchantments, because I wanted him to find us,” Elaine explained.

“I have news,” Drake said.

“Tell us,” Rachel urged.

“Jason is free.”

At first she felt stunned. It took a moment to really process the words. Then such a surge of joy and relief overcame her that Rachel abruptly realized how much of her had never expected to see Jason again. She had faithfully wished for his safety. She had dreamed of an eventual rescue. But deep down, some realistic part of her had known the odds were against it. “Where is he?”

“Our enemies aren’t sure,” Drake said. “Which bodes well for him, but may make him difficult for us to locate.”

“How’d you learn this?” Rachel wondered.

“I set the doll adrift in the Purga River, to create the illusion that you remained in motion. After that I never saw the lurker again, so I assume it took the bait. I traveled north fast enough that I knew I had to be well ahead of you, so I took a side trip to Trensicourt to do some reconnaissance. I still have a few contacts there from bygone years, although they’re looking old.

“Once I learned that Jason was supposedly at large, I did some investigating of my own. First, I captured and interrogated a regular imperial soldier, then a displacer.”

“You got a displacer to talk?” Elaine asked dubiously.

“It took some finesse,” Drake explained. “I pretended to be a bounty hunter, seeking to collect a reward for the capture of Lord Jason. The displacer might not have spilled information to the enemy regardless of the pressure I brought to bear, but he showed only minor resistance to divulging some secrets to an enterprising free agent working with the imperials. I dropped some names and had him convinced.”

“What did you learn?” Rachel asked.

“You must understand that our enemies use certain displacers to relay information,” Drake explained. “By exchanging ears, they can communicate over vast distances. Their latest reports suggest that Jason is here in the west, south of the Telkron River, accompanied by a dangerous mercenary and a traitorous displacer.”