The Threshold Child (24 page)

Adesina couldn’t understand this strange woman who roamed the
streets of the High City doing good. “Why are you giving it to me?”

Mistress Faryl took a moment before answering. “Because I
recognize parts of myself in you. We are kindred spirits: women who live in
worlds made by men. It can be lonely at times, and we must stick together. Because,
even though I do not know why, I know that you will need it someday. And who am
I to deny anyone’s needs?”

This appeared to be the end of their discussion. Mistress Faryl
turned and walked out of the room, leaving Adesina by herself.

She went home slowly, thinking about everything she had been told.
When she got home she put the salve under the loose floorboard in her room with
the dagger Horas had given her and all of her Shimat supplies.

Adesina awoke the next morning to the insistent chirping of a bird
on her windowsill. As soon as she looked at it she saw the red string on its
leg. Adesina’s heart felt unexpectedly heavy at the sight. Ravi sat up,
watching her face intently.

She got out of bed, removed the string and sent the bird on its
way. Then she started getting dressed. Ravi was instantly on his feet.

“Surely you are not responding to this summon.”

Adesina stared at him for a moment, her look of surprise turning
into a glare. “Oh, are we speaking to each other again?”

Ravi raised an eyebrow. “I never refused to speak to you.”

She rolled her eyes. “No, you simply pretended I did not exist.”

His expression became stiff. “A lot has happened over the past
month. More than you realize. I have had a lot on my mind, Ma’eve. Do you
begrudge me that?”

“No more that what you begrudge me for doing my duty as a Shimat.”

Ravi’s eyes narrowed. “It is not the same.”

Adesina finished dressing and began heading out the door.

“Ma’eve.”

She paused, looking back at Ravi’s distressed figure.

“I am asking you to not go.”

All of the weeks of loneliness and anger came back full force. She
wanted to lash out at Ravi, hurting him as much as he had hurt her. She
restrained herself and simply spat, “I do not care.”

Adesina made her excuses to Jelana as she hurried out the door.
Ravi was waiting for her outside by the fence. “What is it you are trying to
prove by doing this?”

She moved through the streets as quickly as she could without
drawing attention to herself.

She wished Ravi didn’t keep up so easily. “I am not trying to
prove anything.”

There was a soft snort of disbelief, which goaded Adesina even
more. “I have sworn to do my duty! That may not mean much to someone like you,
but being a Shimat is my life.”

“No, Ma’eve, it is not your life. It could not be if it makes you
so unhappy.”

It was Adesina’s turn to snort. “I am not unhappy.”

His voice became gentle. “Yes, you are. You may think that I have
neglected you over these last weeks, but I have watched you closely. You are
tortured by the Dream you had, and you worry that you were wrong to kidnap that
man.”

She couldn’t find the words to argue. She had felt this strange
weight pulling on her thoughts ever since that day. She had thrown herself into
work, school and wedding preparations with a myriad of reasons why. It wasn’t
until this moment that she realized what the real reason was.

“Leave me alone, Ravi.”

“I cannot, Ma’eve. I cannot let you make the same mistake twice.”

Adesina found herself getting furious. “You cannot
let
me?”

 
“Ma’eve-”

“
You
are not my superior, my parent, or even a comrade! You
just showed up one day and have been following me ever since. Now you act as
though I owe you something for that? You have absolutely no say in what I do!”

At this point they had reached the grate in the wall. Adesina
ducked through and sprinted across the field, not caring if someone saw her.

Ravi was silent for the remainder of the walk to the small cave.
Adesina felt the anger ebb out of her, and felt foolish for being so
irrational. She tried to think of something to say to Ravi, but nothing came to
her.

Her companion did not follow her into the cave, but waited
patiently outside.

Kendan was pacing across the narrow stone space, anxious for her
to arrive. He greeted her with his usual wide smile and approached her with a
hint of uncertainty. After searching her eyes for a moment, he leaned forward
and kissed her softly. “I am so proud of you. Shimat Bear reported that the
assignment went much better than expected.”

Adesina felt the rush of emotion at the kiss, but her heart was
still heavy from her Dream. She tried to smile in return. “It went fairly
well.”

He looked searchingly into her eyes. “What is it?”

She wanted to tell him what she had been feeling over the past few
weeks, but she couldn’t find the words. She felt foolish and childish, and she
worried that Kendan would think so as well. Adesina wanted him to see her as
the warrior she had been trained to be.

She strengthened her smile and shook her head. “Nothing. I just
wish I could have been more efficient.”

Kendan laughed. “Well, the Sharifal seemed satisfied with your
performance.”

This piqued Adesina’s interest. “She did?”

He grinned. “Very much so. In fact, she has another assignment for
you.”

Adesina felt her stomach drop. “Oh?”

He handed her a scroll. “The Sharifal must think highly of you.
Not many new Shimat are kept so active in important matters.”

She began reading the scroll, but Kendan explained what was
written there anyway. “The man you captured was a ranking member of our enemy’s
party. They have sent out a search team to find what has happened to him. Among
this party is a man whom it is vital we detain.”

He noticed the stony look on her face. “Are you all right?”

Adesina nodded quickly. “Of course. How will I recognize him?”

“He will be known by the insignia on his tunic. It will be the
same as the man you captured, but embroidered on blue material. You must move
quickly, though. They should be in the city by this afternoon.”

The young woman nodded again and prepared to leave. Kendan caught
her arm. “Are you sure you are all right?”

She forced another smile. “Yes, I am sure.”

He clearly wasn’t convinced, but let the matter drop. Adesina
opened the scroll again, reading it more carefully than before. It gave the
details of the kidnapping of which Kendan had spoken, and where she was to hand
the man over to other Shimat. This time the location of the exchange was set
outside of the High City. She frowned thoughtfully. It was a risky operation,
and it would take much more skill and planning than the last assignment had.
She also had less time to prepare.

Adesina handed the scroll back to Kendan and waited while he
burned it. Then he gave her hand a squeeze before letting her go.

Ravi rejoined her as she walked back towards the city. She berated
herself for her absurd emotions and pushed them to the back of her mind.

She ghosted through the High City, sneaked back into her bedroom
without going through the house, and began gathering her things. Adesina was
unsure what she might need, so she packed a bag with all of her Shimat
equipment.

Ravi watched her with saddened eyes. Adesina felt a strange
mixture of remorse, anger, helplessness, and defiance. She looked away from him
deliberately, not wanted to feel anything at all as she prepared to do her
duty.

She crept back out of the house and made her way to Master
Lorcan’s blacksmith shop. If this search party was the least bit competent,
they would go there first.

She waited out of sight for most of the day. It wasn’t until
evening that two men showed up. Master Lorcan was closing his shop and didn’t
take kindly to being questioned. He answered them tersely and walked away,
leaving the two men to quietly converse with each other about the next course
of action.

Adesina was given the chance to study them. They were both quite
young, in their early twenties, which surprised her. They both wore tunics with
the strange insignia. One was embroidered on the same crimson as the first man
she had kidnapped, and the other wore a deep blue. He was her target.

He had hair that was as golden as hers was silver. Its metallic
hue shimmered in the fading light. He turned his head slightly, and Adesina
could see that the locks around his face were a pure white. He had remarkably
beautiful features, but still looked quite masculine. Wisdom was written on his
face, as well as the burden of responsibility given early in life. There was
also something in his expression that Adesina couldn’t describe. Something that
went deeper than sorrow and loss. She also took note that around his neck he
wore a black ribbon.

She turned her eyes to his companion, and her gaze was arrested as
she looked at his face. His hair was silver with black locks around his face,
exactly like hers. What was more, his facial features almost mirrored hers,
only male. They had the same eyes, the same nose, the same stubborn set to the
jaw. If she had been a man, she would have looked exactly like this stranger.

Adesina could not tear her eyes away until she realized that they
were leaving. She followed at a discreet distance, trying to make some sense of
what she had seen. They began leaving the city, and Adesina hurried to the
grate in the wall. She darted across the field and watched them closely as they
also headed towards the forest.

Once they entered the forest, the young Shimat pushed all
distracting thoughts from her head and went to work. Her mind raced to come up
with a plan, but she couldn’t think properly. Knowing that her time was running
out, she resorted to the first trick that became coherent.

Adesina ran a ways off and gave a distant cry for help. The two
young men stopped and looked in her general direction. They began consulting
with each other, and Adesina gave another cry. When it became apparent that
they were coming to her “aid,” she silently moved deeper into the forest, away
from the direction the young men had been heading.

Slowly she drew them further and further away, using her voice to
lend the illusion that they were getting closer to their goal. When they were
deep enough in the forest to satisfy Adesina, she drew a couple of darts from
her pack and took careful aim. The silver haired one stopped suddenly and spoke
a few quiet words to the other. Adesina hesitated for a moment, pausing to see
what they would do.

Although they were careful not to show it, she could tell that
they knew where she was hiding. Without waiting for another moment, she let
loose her darts and the young men fell to the ground in a drugged unconscious.

Adesina walked over to them slowly and bound them while avoiding
looking at their faces. She had the sudden desire to hide her face as well. As
soon as her two prisoners were secured, she dug into her pack and pulled out
her Shimat uniform.

It consisted of a black high-collared blouse covered by a high-collared
black leather vest, fitted black pants, and knee-high stealth boots. She also
wore black gloves made from a strong material that didn’t hinder the dexterity
of her hands, and a black hood and scarf that left only her eyes visible.
Adesina buckled on a belt that held a variety of tools and weapons as well as a
small medical kit, and finished by strapping on her Blood Sword.

As foolish as it was, Adesina felt much better thus attired. She
walked back to her prisoners and found them still unconscious. Ravi sat just
behind them, staring hard at the ground.

The sight of them brought her inner conflict to the front of her
mind. She should be contacting the Shimat to aid her in transporting her two
prisoners to the proper authority, but…

Adesina paced back and forth, arguing with herself as to what was
the right thing to do. Her instincts had never led her astray, but there had
always been some logic behind it. She wanted to talk to Ravi about it, but
couldn’t bring herself to speak her doubts out loud.

Hours passed.

The first tendrils of dawn permeated the darkness. Adesina sat
down, impatient and unnerved. She turned her eyes once more to her two
prisoners, who were still unconscious. The growing light revealed their
features more clearly than she had seen them the evening before. She shuddered
and looked away.

The minutes crept by slowly, bringing more light but no peace of
mind. The prisoners began to stir, and Adesina checked to make sure her hood
and scarf were securely in place. The one lying closest to her awoke first. He
struggled to sit up, shaking his silver and black hair out of his face. He was
alarmed at first, but calmed at the sight of his companion lying beside him. He
studied Adesina warily, but she avoided his glance.

The golden haired prisoner finally opened his eyes and looked
around with some confusion. A few whispered words passed between them, but not
in any language that Adesina understood. Following what was almost a
compulsion, Adesina looked her captives in the eye. The silver haired one had
dark metallic green eyes with flecks of a shimmering dark orange. The other man
had golden eyes with rings of a light metallic green. It was obvious that they
took note of her only visible feature. They stared at her purple and golden
eyes with looks of dismay on their faces.