Rhanu caught the scent of crushed cloves and honeysuckle. Ayna's scent, which meant she had drifted to the front of the line as well. She spoke softly with Nyori, but that didn't mean she wasn't following him on purpose. Is she purposely trying to rattle me? He found the thought oddly distractive. The woman was beautiful, but cool to the point of arrogance. The exact type of woman he normally avoided. Add that to the knowing glances she gave him when their eyes met, and it was enough to rankle him to no end.
Still, he felt it only prudent to eavesdrop on the women's conversation.
"Everything has moved so quickly." Nyori's voice sounded gloomy. "I feel like a leaf tossed about by the winds without mercy."
Ayna touched Nyori's arm. "We cannot control what circumstances affect us, Nyori. We can only react to them. You have done well for yourself. You have eluded the grasp of the akhkharu, and you still possess Eymunder."
"Why send me to Asfrior if I was not to remain there? The place was a ruin, everything in it dead and forgotten."
"And yet you found something that has aided you greatly."
"I'm not sure what—"
"The knowledge, Nyori. Without it, you would have suffered much. Now you have at least a chance of understanding the workings of Eymunder."
Nyori sighed. "Only enough to know that without a Tome the staff is useless. The phrases disappear as swiftly as I say them. They completely vanish from my mind as if I never knew them. What will I do when I have exhausted what lies in my memory?"
"I have not been at leisure while we were apart, Nyori." Ayna took a parchment scroll from the folds of her cloak and handed it to Nyori.
"Is this…?"
Ayna shook her head. "No, it is not a Tome. It is only a short list of simple commands in the language of Apokrypy. I managed to salvage it from the Archives before we departed. You must commit them to memory. Once spoken, you will have to repeat the process. That is the nature of Apokrypy. The True Verse must be relearned before the commands can be uttered again, to avoid making the Theurgists too powerful."
Nyori delightedly squeezed her mentor's hand. "Thank you so much! Although…" She opened the scroll and gazed at the parchment. "I do not know how to read these runes."
"You have to focus, Nyori." Ayna's voice was confident. Rhanu watched as it infected Nyori, who sat up straighter and appeared more assured.
"So much is determined by your focus," Ayna said. "Use your Inner Mind and the light from Eymunder. The words will only reveal themselves under the rays of a fusorb."
Rhanu shook his head. What the women discussed was clear as mud to him. Nyori was being pursued by the odji, that much was certain. The reason seemed to be because of the crystalline staff she always carried. The rest of it was as indecipherable as another language, and he was sure that they were not going to share it with him. Women were notoriously stingy with the information they chose to disseminate.
He was grateful when Dradyn pulled up beside him on his shaggy mare. The large man gave the women a wary glance. He seemed to regard their cognitive powers as uncanny. Rhanu understood the feeling. The Lektor priests back home in Hikuptah were respected but shunned. What man would feel comfortable around such?
Dradyn spoke in a hushed tone. "What do you make of the dark rider you saw? Is he one of us? Is he on our side?"
Rhanu considered. "I do not think it is even human. You should have seen it, should have stared in its flaming eyes. You should have seen the great beast it rode, so dark and terrible it could hardly be called a steed. I have many doubts about the gods my people worship, but Sanapa, the god of death was called to my mind. If it was not he, perhaps it is a minion sent to do his bidding."
"If he is a god of evil, why would he destroy the akhkharu? Are they not evil as well?"
Rhanu paused. "True, but our gods have often warred against one another. Their nature is not unlike our own. Perhaps the odji serve his enemy. Who can know of such things? One thing I do know is that it was a creature of darkness, just as the odji. I do not know if it will be friend or foe should our paths cross again."
"He is not our enemy."
Rhanu had not noticed Nyori until she pulled up beside them. Ayna remained a pace away, watching Rhanu with her mysterious gaze.
"He is an enemy of the akhkharu." Nyori's tone was fervent, as though she wanted desperately to believe those words. Rhanu wondered what she knew, but did not bother to ask. He hadn't been around Shama for long but knew already that they did explain their intentions gladly. He looked back at Ayna, who met his gaze with somber eyes. Rhanu turned away, unsure of why she unsettled him so.
Dradyn gave Nyori a worried glance. "Be careful with your admiration, Shama. We know nothing of this rider. Nothing of his principles or where his loyalties lay."
"You will see." Her gaze was defiant, as if daring them to argue.
Rhanu decided he couldn't get the Shama to her destination fast enough. She had Ayna and Nando to watch over her now. Once they found a civilized location, there would be no need for any of them to continue with the Huntsmen. He would be much better off without her and her golden-eyed mentor.
They rode around rounded hills of pure white. Occasionally snow would slide from the branches of the evergreens and cascade in a powdery shower. A fox paused to watch the procession before ducking back into the safety of the shadowy forest. Other shapes flitted through the woods as well. White and gray shapes, silent as ghosts as they passed. Rhanu only once caught a full glimpse of the animals, as one stood on a nearby hilltop. The large wolf looked at him intently with a yellow-eyed stare. He knew now what struck him about Ayna. She had the same eyes.
She too gazed at the hilltop. When Rhanu looked again, the wolf had vanished. A light wind blew through, bringing the scents of morning, and something else Rhanu knew all too well.
"Do you smell that?"
Dradyn shook his head, and Nyori had a blank expression on her face. Ayna looked at him but said nothing. Yet the scent was there. His senses were never wrong.
Rhanu booted his horse and rode ahead where Han strode with Shiru. "Something's up ahead."
Han nodded and strode back to the line to retrieve his horse. Shiru followed, as usual. The man was seldom far from Han. It was a relationship Rhanu still didn't understand, but he accepted it because Han did.
Rhanu looked at Fregeror as the line caught up. "We're going to scout ahead. Look after the band until we get back."
When Han and Shiru returned with horses, they rode forward. The going was slow, as they picked their way across the thick snow, wary of sudden drops or pitfalls that might damage their steeds.
Han gazed at their surroundings. "What is it?"
"Can't you smell it?"
Han shrugged. "How many times have I told you I don't share your animalistic sense of smell?"
"There." Shiru pointed to a thin trickle of smoke drifting over the treetops ahead. They spurred their mounts, caught in the familiar rush of anticipation of discovering the unknown. In a way, it was a relief from being around the bothersome women. Leave the sorcery and mysteries to the Shama. This is something I can handle.