“I would expect so,” Grinsa said. “I doubt Weavers were ever common, but neither do I think that they were as rare as they seem to be now. Certainly nine hundred years ago there were enough in the Southlands for the Qirsi to send eight with the invading army. They wouldn’t have done so had there not been at least that many in the army that remained to protect the Qirsi homeland. And I doubt that all the Weavers were used as generals.”
“Then what’s happened to them all?”
“What do you think?”
“Were they all killed?”
“Many of them were in the first century after the invasion failed. But one rarely hears of Weavers being killed anymore.”
“Then where are they?”
Grinsa smiled, though it felt forced. “There just where I’d still be if I hadn’t come to save you.”
Tavis’s eyes widened. “In the Revel?”
“In the Revel, in the festivals of Sanbira and Caerisse and Aneira, in Eandi courts. They could be anywhere, Tavis. They hide their powers, fearing for their lives and those of their fam-”
He halted suddenly in midstride, weathering a wave of nausea that nearly drove him to his knees. How could he have been so foolish? How could he have forgotten?
“What is it?” Tavis asked, his brow knitted with concern. “Are you ill?”
“How long has it been since we left Solkara?” Grinsa demanded, scouring his mind in his rush to count the days.
“What?”
“The day! What day is it?”
“I’m not certain. With all the walking we’ve done, I’ve lost count.”
Grinsa closed his eyes. “We fled the city on the last day of the waning.” he said more to himself than to the boy. “I haven’t noticed the moons the last few nights. Damn!”
“It’s been overcast,” Tavis said. “The moons have been hidden. But I believe we’re close to the Night of Two Moons. We may even be in the next waning already.”
Grinsa nodded, exhaling heavily. “I think so, too. Demons and fire!”
“What is it, Grinsa? Why are you suddenly so concerned with the day?”
“I think Shurik knows that I’m a Weaver. Indeed, after what I did to evade capture at the city gates, I’m certain of it. For years I’ve been claiming to be a gleaner and nothing more, and yet, in the space of just a few moments, I shattered swords and raised a mist and a wind. Shurik is certain to have noticed.”
“Yes. But surely you’ve thought of this before now.”
“Of course. Yet, somehow I managed to forget about Keziah. I should have warned her right away.”
Tavis still looked confused.
“In the past, it’s not only Weavers who have been killed, but also their families. Wives, children, parents, even siblings. Different types of Qirsi magic tend to run in a family. You have your father’s eyes and your mother’s features. My children may have my powers, and so might Keziah’s.”
“But you said nothing to Shurik about Keziah. How would he know that she’s your sister?”
“There aren’t that many Qirsi in the Forelands, Tavis. For every Qirsi in Eibithar, there are ten Eandi, maybe more. No one knows that Keziah is my sister because I haven’t given anyone cause to wonder if I have family. But our father was a minister in Eardley. Not a first minister, but a man of some importance. If Shurik believes me a Weaver, it will be a small matter for him to learn everything about my family.”
The boy appeared to consider this briefly. “So you need to get a message to the City of Kings,” he said at last.
Again the gleaner smiled. He had hidden this from Tavis during the warmer turns, when they fled Kentigern. But with all that he had told the young lord this day, there seemed little sense in preserving this last secret. “Actually, no. I need only wait until nightfall, and then I can speak with her.”
“How?” Tavis asked, sounding like he didn’t really want to know.
“I wouldn’t know how to explain it. It’s enough to say that the same power I use to wield her magic also gives me access to her dreams.”
The boy paled. “Please tell me this only works with Qirsi.”
Grinsa laughed and began to walk again. “It does. I promise.”
For a long time they journeyed in silence. The gleaner sensed that Tavis was pondenng all he had learned about Weavers and Qirsi magic. At some point the questions would begin again, but for now Grinsa was content to say nothing.
His fears might well have been unfounded. What he had told Tavis was true: if it occurred to Shurik to search for Grinsa’s family, it wouldn’t take him long to find Kezi. But that seemed unlikely, at least for now. The traitor had been so frightened at seeing Grinsa in Solkara that he had called for Eandi guards to save him. This was not a man who would go out of his way to draw Grinsa’s wrath. Still, he owed it to his sister to warn her, and he should have done so days ago.
Late in the day, as the sun dipped low in the western sky, sending golden rays of light through the forest, like slender fingers of the goddess, Grinsa heard voices approaching from the north. Looking back at Tavis, he saw that the young lord already had his dagger in hand, and had slowed, dropping into a crouch. Quickly scanning the wood, the gleaner spied a thick cluster of smaller trees a short distance to the left. Drawing his own blade, Grinsa pointed toward the trees. Tavis nodded, and they made their way to the center of the copse, moving as quickly and quietly as they could. A few moments later, several soldiers came into view, all of them wearing the red and gold of Solkara. They made no effort to keep silent, and they walked in a loose formation, indicating to Grinsa that he and Tavis had strayed close to one of the forest roads.
When the men were well past them, the two travelers resumed their journey, angling slightly to the east again. Obviously they still needed to use caution while in the wood-there would be no fire again this night-but the fact that the men were headed southward, back toward Solkara, gave Grinsa some cause to believe that the worst of their troubles were over. It had been half a turn since they escaped the royal city. No doubt the Solkaran soldiers were beginning to lose interest in the hunt.
They stopped for the night just as darkness enveloped the wood, spreading their sleeping rolls on the forest floor before eating. Enough of the peddler’s food remained to provide them with an ample meal, but tomorrow they would be forced to eat roots and berries again, unless they managed to find another trader or chanced a cooking fire.
Tavis had said little since their conversation earlier that day, but finally, after their meal, he cleared his throat awkwardly. His question, though, when it came, surprised the gleaner.
“Why did you save me from Kentigern’s prison?”
Grinsa hesitated. “I’ve told you before. I saw in your gleaning that you had been imprisoned unjustly. I had to do something.”
“I remember you saying that, and I believed you at the time. But that was before I knew how much you risked coming for me. If you hadn’t done that, you’d still be a gleaner in the Revel. No one would know that you were anything more, and your sister wouldn’t be in any danger.”
“If I had done nothing, Mertesse would hold Kentigern Castle, and Aindreas and your father would be at war.”
“So you saw that in my gleaning as well?”
Grinsa started to answer, then stopped himself. Along with the nature of his magic, Tavis’s Fating had been one of the topics of conversation he had managed to avoid during their time together. Even now, he wasn’t certain that the young lord was ready for the truth. More to the point, though, it seemed to the gleaner that Tavis had earned the right to make that choice himself. Grinsa had realized some time ago, several turns before Bohdan’s Revel reached Curgh this past year, that his fate and Tavis’s were tied to each other. Now the two of them were bound by circumstance and need as well; only the gods could say how long they would remain together. But surely the time for secrets had passed.
“I had a vision of your fate long before your gleaning, Tavis. I saw the two of us journeying together throughout the land, and fighting side by side against the conspiracy.” He paused, straining to see the boy’s face in the shadows. The moons were not yet up, and he could only guess at Tavis’s reaction. After a moment, he went on. “What I showed you in the stone was your future, but not your fate.”