“Yes.”
“How can it just appear?” Elizabeth asked, obviously puzzled at the event and how Kendra now assumed a far different role than as her friend and servant.
“A Waystone must be there.”
“There is,” The Slave-Master confirmed.
“Send your dragon to investigate,” Elizabeth said. “Tell us anything you figure out.”
“It is nearly there. I sent it as soon as the mage arrived.”
Elizabeth scowled at her. Not for acting quickly, but because she was confused. “Arrived indicates the mage was elsewhere a short while ago.”
Kendra gave a single nod of her head, but her eyes were vacant, her mind in touch with the dragon. The rest of us watched and listened without interrupting them, but Anna came to me. *The mage who arrived ahead of us was sent by the Young Mage.*
*How can you be sure?*
*Timing,* Anna responded instantly. *Can Kendra tell the relative power of a mage?*
*A good question. Not the time to ask it.*
*Will she know if there is more than one?”*
I sensed the fear in Anna’s question. *Yes.*
None of the others knew we were communicating. Kendra knew of our ability, but not to the degree it had progressed. We now felt comfortable and did it almost as easily as speaking out loud—which brought another question. Who was Anna?
We’d solved the question about Emma, but it didn’t answer those about Anna. How was it that of all the people I’d ever encountered, she and I could speak with our minds?
Not that I believed her to be nefarious in any manner—she was not. While speaking with our minds, there were unintentional glimpses of her honesty and intentions. For me, it was like looking at a person while they spoke. Liars tend to look away, those hiding information cross their arms over their chests for protection, and deceptions are revealed by squinting at the corners of the eyes. In much the same way, I saw that Anna was not my enemy.
But she was not an accidental discovery from the plains of Mercia, either. She had been placed there for me to find. That meant someone or something had placed her there. The fact that she was with Emma suggested the Young Mage was involved. I had no doubt he had created the storm that they were found in and that they were found together.
That fact meant I couldn’t fully trust her.
The following day we continued on, moving slower than usual as Kendra monitored the mage. The Dragon had revealed no additional information, so we moved closer, using what slight cover there was, which was little. We discussed breaking into a small group as we neared the Waystone, but Kendra pulled to a sudden halt. “He’s gone.”
“Did he see us?” I asked.
“I can’t tell,” she said.
The Slave-Master pointed to a slight ridge ahead of us. “It’s there. He could have watched us all morning from up there.”
When we reached the Waystone and looked out over the desert, the Slave-Master had been right. I said, “Why didn’t you tell us about the viewpoint?”
He said easily, “It would have made no difference. Look out there. One road, nothing else. If there is a single rabbit moving, we’d see it.”
One of his warriors pointed to one place. “He stood there and watched. The ground is scuffed, and there are footprints.”
“Where did he go?” Kendra asked, moving to join the warrior while motioning for the rest of us to stay back with the wave of her arm.
They followed the tracks to the Waystone, where they pulled to a stop in front of it. There were none to either side or retreating. Kendra reached out and felt the rock. “Warmer than normal, even for a Waystone. The icon carved in the stone in front of me is the pair of houses.”
I understood the meaning. A pair of houses side-by-side or more likely meaning to move from one house to another. I believed the second.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Princess Elizabeth
I looked over my companions—since I had no other term to describe a group of them, but they were my subjects, at least for now, and me their princess. Damon, Kendra, Flier, Anna, and the even the Slave-Master, even though most were not from Dire. I didn’t count Avery or the Kaon Warriors who would escort him. Nor the servants waiting anxiously near the entrance of the tent to serve us, and in truth, the Slave-Master might argue the situation.
As the Princess of Dire, I believed it my responsibility to take charge as was normal and my duty in my royal position. Only a few days earlier, that may not have happened, and I wondered at the change in me. Will’s words of advice echoed in my mind. I needed to not only act like a princess performing her royal duties for my kingdom, but I also had to be one in all respects. I was a ruler, not a simpleton little girl deciding which dress to wear to a ball.
“Avery, do you have any questions? Your royal and your king will require a full report, and you do not want to find your actions lacking.” My voice sounded harsher than intended, but I made no apology.
“A thousand questions from large to small, but only one to be answered now. What happened to the little princess who climbed into her father’s lap and cried when she didn’t get her way?”
The question angered me—for an instant. Avery was right in every respect and had the right to ask it. I also had the right to cast my most evil look his way until he flinched and backed off a step. “You will pass on my messages to my father and the Crown Prince. You will add that we will attempt to make contact with the Young Mage and try to find out what he needs and if we can make peace, or we may attempt to kill him.”
The Slave-Master said, “Peace will only come with his death.”
“We don’t know that,” I snapped, again too harshly. It was possible to carry my authority too far, especially with a man who was not my subject and has the right to walk away because of my mistreatment. Looking into the eyes of the rest, I saw they agreed with him. However, the six of us couldn’t charge into Kaon as if we were an army bent on conquest, our swords waving in patterns above our heads. Better to slink into the city and gather more facts before we confronted anyone.
I said, “Kendra, can the mages tell where you are? I mean, in the same way, you can tell their location?”
“We don’t think so. At least, there’s been no indication of it.”
“The mage that appeared ahead of us, can you tell if his signal is stronger or weaker than others?” I asked. “His magical powers?”
She said, “There is nothing different in any of them, mages or sorceresses, and nothing tells me how strong or weak their magic is.”
“Too bad. I was hoping for more. Okay, we need only a small group to go to Kaon, or we will attract too much attention, and we require a reason why we’re traveling to Kaon—a story to tell people we encounter. Any ideas?”
There were no suggestions, at first. Then the Slave-Master said, “I suppose the truth is too obvious?”
“Which is?” I demanded, not liking the lopsided grin he displayed.
“I am a Slave-Master who regularly brings captured slaves from Kondor to the markets in Kaon. My men and I could chain you and walk all of us right into the city without turning an eye our way, except for perhaps a purchaser who notices how beautiful you are and would like to buy you.”
It was not the royal entrance I wished for, nor the covert one. However, it would take us inside the city as easily as he’d moved slaves there before. In order for his plan to be successful, we would have to allow ourselves to trust the Slave-Master by being chained. The only thing that would prevent us from being sold was that same trust, and possibly Damon’s magic. And Kendra’s dragon. I kept forgetting about it.