Occasional strands of wild songs—like Plainsmen’s death cries—came to her on the wind. And some nights, hoofbeats clattered to a halt just out of sight of Kai-lid’s home.
“I have no fear of the dead. I’ve seen worse behavior from the living,” she had said to the leatherworker. Her blue eyes had deepened to purple, and the questioner had had the common sense to change the subject.
Kai-lid knew the man would have been aghast to learn that she hadn’t even bothered to fashion a door to her home, a cave whose gray granite matched the hue of her woolen robe. Only a curtain of Qualinesti-woven silk covered the opening, and that covering was usually tied back. Kai-lid loved the feel of open air around her. Even in those few instances when hail or snow pounded the area, she let the wildness enter without restriction.
Now, however, an unusual sound came to Kai-lid’s ears. She halted and gazed around her in the dark. Nothing. She took a few steps, then heard it again—a clicking, as of a mandible opening and closing. A giant ant? It was difficult to know what was fact and what was fiction in the tales of Darken Wood. For example, spectral minions were rumored to prevent intruders. Yet Kai-lid came and went without molestation.
With one hand on her spell-casting materials, she expanded her light spell and looked around her more closely. Kai-lid saw nothing noteworthy. A sycamore, common around here and five times the height of the tallest building in Haven, stood off to one side, casting a craggy shadow in the green magelight. An opening at the very bottom of the wide tree showed it to behollow, and Kai-lid knew that a family of raccoons had taken up residence there. Bracken ferns stood up from the damp earth, fleshy fronds swaying in a breeze that Kai-lid felt now for the first time. The area was rich with the scents of fertile soil and dampness and plants, and Kai-lid could detect no hint of danger.
Then she heard another sound—a thrumming, as of a huge heart, beating quickly but with each beat distinct. And a whooshing, as of deep breathing. Whatever caused those sounds was relaxed, that was clear from the pattern: inhale, exhale, pause … inhale, exhale, pause. She detected an odor—a dusty smell, like straw, not unpleasant. Kai-lid sensed a rustling, as of something shifting, something massive. Then the clicking again.
Suddenly a voice came to her, making no sound but entering her mind directly, and Kai-lid knew who lurked in the trees.
I am a fierce, evil monster come to eat you alive
.
“Stop it, Xanthar,” Kai-lid answered wearily. “I’m too tired for games. I need to think, and I need to do it alone.” All clicking, whooshing, and rustling stopped; the being was still. “And please don’t sulk.”
The mage resumed walking and followed a curve in the path until she saw the mouth of her cave, its blue curtain still tied back, in a clearing before her. The shadow of a huge bird was hulked over at the top of another dead sycamore, rejection apparent in every drooping feather. The mage paused and surveyed the bird affectionately.
Finally, as she knew it would, the soundless voice resonated in her brain again.
It’s time for your mind-speaking lesson, Kai-lid Entenaka. You’re late. I’ve been worried
.
Kai-lid dipped her head and apologized. “I was inHaven, Xanthar.”
The voice in her mind carped,
You know I don’t like it when you go into Haven alone. I should accompany you
.
“We’ve had this discussion before, Xanthar,” Kai-lid said calmly as she moved across the clearing and paused under the sycamore. “Your magic will diminish if you go too far from Darken Wood. Besides, giant owls sleep during the day, remember?” Her voice held suppressed laughter.
But the other voice hadn’t finished yet.
And you should remember that I can go that far from the woods, at least. A few hours’ lost sleep won’t kill me. From what you’ve told me, no city is safe for you. You might
“I have no fear of the dead. I’ve seen worse behavior from the living,” she had said to the leatherworker. Her blue eyes had deepened to purple, and the questioner had had the common sense to change the subject.
Kai-lid knew the man would have been aghast to learn that she hadn’t even bothered to fashion a door to her home, a cave whose gray granite matched the hue of her woolen robe. Only a curtain of Qualinesti-woven silk covered the opening, and that covering was usually tied back. Kai-lid loved the feel of open air around her. Even in those few instances when hail or snow pounded the area, she let the wildness enter without restriction.
Now, however, an unusual sound came to Kai-lid’s ears. She halted and gazed around her in the dark. Nothing. She took a few steps, then heard it again—a clicking, as of a mandible opening and closing. A giant ant? It was difficult to know what was fact and what was fiction in the tales of Darken Wood. For example, spectral minions were rumored to prevent intruders. Yet Kai-lid came and went without molestation.
With one hand on her spell-casting materials, she expanded her light spell and looked around her more closely. Kai-lid saw nothing noteworthy. A sycamore, common around here and five times the height of the tallest building in Haven, stood off to one side, casting a craggy shadow in the green magelight. An opening at the very bottom of the wide tree showed it to behollow, and Kai-lid knew that a family of raccoons had taken up residence there. Bracken ferns stood up from the damp earth, fleshy fronds swaying in a breeze that Kai-lid felt now for the first time. The area was rich with the scents of fertile soil and dampness and plants, and Kai-lid could detect no hint of danger.
Then she heard another sound—a thrumming, as of a huge heart, beating quickly but with each beat distinct. And a whooshing, as of deep breathing. Whatever caused those sounds was relaxed, that was clear from the pattern: inhale, exhale, pause … inhale, exhale, pause. She detected an odor—a dusty smell, like straw, not unpleasant. Kai-lid sensed a rustling, as of something shifting, something massive. Then the clicking again.
Suddenly a voice came to her, making no sound but entering her mind directly, and Kai-lid knew who lurked in the trees.
I am a fierce, evil monster come to eat you alive
.
“Stop it, Xanthar,” Kai-lid answered wearily. “I’m too tired for games. I need to think, and I need to do it alone.” All clicking, whooshing, and rustling stopped; the being was still. “And please don’t sulk.”
The mage resumed walking and followed a curve in the path until she saw the mouth of her cave, its blue curtain still tied back, in a clearing before her. The shadow of a huge bird was hulked over at the top of another dead sycamore, rejection apparent in every drooping feather. The mage paused and surveyed the bird affectionately.
Finally, as she knew it would, the soundless voice resonated in her brain again.
It’s time for your mind-speaking lesson, Kai-lid Entenaka. You’re late. I’ve been worried
.
Kai-lid dipped her head and apologized. “I was inHaven, Xanthar.”
The voice in her mind carped,
You know I don’t like it when you go into Haven alone. I should accompany you
.
“We’ve had this discussion before, Xanthar,” Kai-lid said calmly as she moved across the clearing and paused under the sycamore. “Your magic will diminish if you go too far from Darken Wood. Besides, giant owls sleep during the day, remember?” Her voice held suppressed laughter.
But the other voice hadn’t finished yet.
And you should remember that I can go that far from the woods, at least. A few hours’ lost sleep won’t kill me. From what you’ve told me, no city is safe for you. You might
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