The Threshold Child (52 page)

Adesina let her breath out slowly and felt a tear drop from the
corner of her eye. “You are right. I cannot be of use in this state of mind.”

“I am not advising you to repress your emotions,” he added. “I am
simply stating that you should not allow your remorse to turn into
self-loathing. Learn from your mistakes, forgive yourself, and make an effort
to change.”

She nodded and closed her eyes, still tired from the previous night.
As she was dozing off to sleep, she vaguely heard L’era come into the room to
check on her.

She felt a slender hand brush her hair away from her forehead and
a quiet voice whisper, “We all love you, Adesina, no matter what you did in the
past.”

After that, she dropped off to sleep.

In the morning she awoke completely refreshed. Adesina glanced
over and saw that L’era was still asleep, so she was especially silent in
slipping out of the room. Ravi padded after her, making less noise than a
shadow.

She found E’nes, L’iam, Sa’jan and Aleron sitting at a table
eating breakfast. They invited her to join them.

“How are you feeling?” asked her brother.

Adesina smiled. “Better. I think I have recovered from our
escape.”

They all looked relieved at this announcement, but Adesina could
see that something else was on their minds. Namely, her sudden exit the
previous evening.

Sa’jan cleared his throat and indicated to Aleron. “We have been
giving our young friend some advice about the outside world.”

She smiled wryly. “Really?”

Aleron nodded. “Apparently the High City does not provide very
realistic life experience.”

They all chuckled.

“No,” agreed Adesina, “it does not. What do you intend to do
first?”

He traced a pattern on the surface of the table with his finger.
“Well, I will probably start by offering my services here in this village. Then
I will move on when I feel the time is right.”

The group was joined by L’era, who looked around moodily. “You
could have awaken me, you know. I half thought that I had been left behind!”

Her brother looked at her thoughtfully. “Actually, that is not a
bad idea. You and Aleron could keep an eye on each other until we come back.”

She glared at him. “No, L’iam.”

He sighed in resignation and got to his feet. “Well, I suppose we
should get going, then.”

Aleron also got to his feet, but L’iam held up a hand. “You do not
need to come with us. In fact, it would probably be better if you did not. The
less you have to do with us, the more likely the villagers will be to accept
you.”

He shrugged. “I have already been seen with you. What does it
matter if I go with you to buy supplies?”

So they all walked out onto the muddy street, breathing in the fresh
air. Many of the villagers
stared at them
curiously, or sometimes in fear, but none of the faces seemed openly hostile.

The L’avan made their way to the market and inspected the
displays. One bold man even ventured to assure them of the quality of his
produce.

They finished their resupplying fairly quickly and began walking
back to the inn where their horses were stabled. Aleron was walking next to
Adesina, reminding her of the times they had spent together in the High City
market with friends.

As Adesina smiled at his anecdote, something caught the corner of
her eye.

It was the motion of a shadowed figure moving quickly out of
sight, but it was just slow enough to have deliberately attracted her
attention.

She saw short, sandy colored hair and eyes like two chips of ice.
She saw a vicious smile that gave the face an expression of triumph. Most of
all, she saw a long scar that marred the pale left cheek.

Adesina stopped in her tracks, her mind suddenly filled with
hatred, rage and dismay. Her companions also stopped, looking at her expression
in concern.

“What is it, Adesina?”

Her voice was barely more than a hiss.

“Basha!”

“Who is this Basha?” asked Aleron as they hurried back to the inn.

“My enemy,” Adesina replied shortly. “A fellow Shimat.”

E’nes, who knew more about his sister’s past than the others,
shook his head in confusion. “I thought you said that you defeated her in your
final test. How could she possibly be so far from the Shimat fortress before
her training is completed?”

This was something she didn’t understand either. “I do not know.
She should still be there, finishing her training and making up for her
defeat.”

“Is there any way she has gone rogue?” asked Sa’jan.

She gave a short, bitter laugh. “No. The Shimat order is perfect
for a woman like Basha. She would never think of leaving, nor would the
Sharifal let her go. She is ruthless and without conscience—a valuable asset to
the Shimat.”

They arrived at the inn, and went straight to the stables. The
newly purchased supplies were packed in the saddlebags and the horses were
prepared for the impending departure.

Adesina noticed Aleron standing off to the side, watching them
forlornly.

“What are you waiting for?” she quipped. “Saddle your horse.”

He stared at her in disbelief. “You mean…?”

“Hurry up!”

Aleron needed no other encouragement. He rushed over to his horse
and began saddling it with haste.

L’iam frowned slightly. “Are you sure that is a good idea?”

She tightened a buckle with more force than what was strictly
necessary. “No. In fact, I think it is a very bad idea, but we have few other
choices.”

“Why?”

“Because Basha has seen him with us,” she explained. “If he is
left without protection, she will certainly take advantage of that. She would
question him about our destination, torture him and most likely kill him.”

“But he poses no threat to her!” protested L’era.

“That does not matter,” Adesina retorted. “She would do all of
that to spite me, if for no other gain.”

Aleron paled when he heard this. “I could not tell her anything
anyway. I do not even know the details of your mission.”

She pressed her lips together. “You know more than enough to let
her know exactly what we are doing.”

He straightened his back. “Well, I would not tell her!”

Adesina fixed him with an icy gaze. “You would be begging to tell
her by the time she was finished with you.”

An ominous chill ran down the spine of every member of their
group. Adesina shook her head and went back to her preparations. “I am not
leaving you behind to die like that.”

Nothing else was said as they prepared to leave. They mounted
their horses and rode out of the village as quickly as they could without
attracting too much attention.

L’iam led them east, just in case they were being followed. “Do
you think she will come after us?” he asked as he rode next to Adesina.

She stared bleakly at the horizon. “Probably. Nothing would bring
her more pleasure than discrediting me to the Sharifal. In order to do that,
she needs more proof than merely seeing me in the company of L’avan. After all,
they most likely still believe it a possibility that I have been captured.”

“What happens when she finds this proof?”

A heavy pause followed.

“We had better hope to have found my father by then.”

***

Me’shan heard the approach of his tormentors with a sense of
despair. Why would they not just let him die?

After the customary rattle of keys, the door swung open, bathing
the cell with torchlight. He cringed away from it, shielding his eyes and
praying that it would all be over soon.

Instead of being beaten, however, Me’shan was joined by another
prisoner. The guards threw her to the ground with as much force as they could
muster, laughing when she cried out in pain. The door was then closed again,
and the echoed footsteps faded away.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness again, but
he could see clearly much sooner than his companion. She sobbed quietly,
huddled on the cold stone floor.

Me’shan felt pity for her, but was also cautious. It would not be
the first time the Shimat had tried to trick him in one way or another.

“Are you hurt?”

She gasped and scrambled into the corner of the cell. “Who is
there?”

He hesitated before answering. “A prisoner, like yourself.”

“Are you from the High City, too?”

Me’shan smiled at the irony of her question. “That is where I was
taken,” he said evasively.

She sighed in relief. “I was afraid that they had killed everybody
else. Do you know how many survived?”

He frowned in confusion. “Survived? The High City was attacked?”

Her voice was weighed down with disappointment. “Oh, you did not
know? I thought…that is…I assumed they took you the same time they took me.”

Me’shan shook his head, even though he knew she could not see it.
“I have been in this dungeon for a long time.”

“What is your name?” she asked quietly.

He gave the name of a good friend of his who lived in a village
north of the High City. “Trayse.”

She considered this for a moment before replying, “My name is
Faryl. I owned an apothecary shop in the High City.”

Me’shan was amused by the defiant tone in which she stated her
lifestyle. He recalled seeing the little shop in a corner of the Square, and
hearing whispers about a
woman
running it. He had never had reason to
enter the shop, but he would not have hesitated to if the need had arisen.
Unfortunately, that was not the mentality of the people surrounding the High
City, and that was where he was pretending to come from.

Measuring the proper amount of disbelief in his voice, he said, “A
woman? Is that why you were arrested?”

“No,” she shot back. “It is not against the law for a woman to run
a shop!”

“Then why are you here?” he asked quietly.

There was a brief pause. “I do not know.”

He could tell that she was lying, but did not press the point. He
was weary, and his voice hoarse from disuse. Perhaps she had been put there to
get information out of him, perhaps she was a prisoner in earnest. Either way,
they would have plenty of time to talk later.

He turned on his back and closed his eyes against the darkness of
their stone tomb, filling his mind with bright memories of the ones he loved
the most.

***

The traveling L’avan had no more encounters with Adesina’s former
rival, although they continued to be very cautious. They knew they could not
deviate off course too much longer, for time was already running short.
Eventually they turned south again, picking up their pace.

One by one they began to relax, but not Adesina. She remained as
alert as she had been the first day she spotted Basha.

“If she is not following us now, why would she begin later?”
reasoned L’era.

Adesina merely scanned the surrounding area with a grim expression
on her face. “It is
because
she is not following us that I am worried.
If she is not behind us, then she is somewhere else. She could be doing any
number of things to cause us trouble. It is when Basha is not seen that she is
the most dangerous.”

The farther south they rode, the more agitated Aleron became. He
finally became so distracted that he began dropping things and bumping into
everything around him. The third time this happened when they had stopped for
the night, Adesina turned to him in exasperation.

“What is it, Aleron?”

He started. “What?”

“Something is making you awfully jumpy, and it is driving me
crazy.”

His expression was immediately apologetic. “I am sorry, Adrie. I
do not mean to be a burden on the group.”

She restrained herself from rolling her eyes. “Do not apologize,
Aleron. Just tell me what is wrong.”

His eyes wandered south. “It is…just that…”

“Yes?” she encouraged.

Aleron clasped his hands in front of him, staring at them as they
wrung. “We are getting closer to the High City.”

Adesina nodded slowly, finally understanding the cause of his
distress. “Yes, I know.”

He shrugged uncomfortably. “I thought we would be…avoiding it.”

She sighed softly. “I am afraid we cannot do that.”

“Why?” he asked in a tortured voice.

She looked at him with sympathy, speaking gently. “Kendan was
stationed just outside the High City. In order to find him, I need to go there
first.”

This caught the attention of the entire group.