By the time the last of the girls drew back, Inevera was on her knees in the water, limp and weeping. Again and again she broke out coughing, the convulsions tearing hot fire through her throat. It was as if there was some last bit of water in her lungs they were determined to expel.
Kenevah was right. The Damating Palace and the Great Bazaar werent so different after all, but here there was no Soli to defend her.
Inevera thought about Manvah, and her final words about Krisha. If she could not match sharusahk with Melan and the other girls, she would deal as her mother had done. She would keep her eyes down and do as she was told. Work hard. Listen. Learn.
And then, when no one was looking, she would find Melans storage tent and put vermin in it.
1
333 AR Summer
30 Dawns Before New Moon
Renna kissed Arlen again. A gentle breeze swept across the thin sheen of sweat on their bodies, cooling them as they panted on the hot night.
Been wonderin if you were tattooed under that cloth nappy, she said, nestling in next to him and putting her head on his bare chest, listening to his heart.
Arlen laughed and put his arm around her. Its called a bido. And even my obsession has limits.
Renna lifted her head, putting her lips to his ear. Maybe you just need a Warder you trust. Its a wifes duty to take good care of whats in her husbands bido. I could paint you with blackstem
Arlen swallowed, and she could see his skin flush. The wards would distort even as you drew them.
Renna laughed, wrapping him in her arms and dropping her head back to his chest.
Wonder sometimes if Im cracked, she said.
Hows that? Arlen asked.
Like Im still sitting in Selia Barrens spinning room, staring off into space. Everything since has been like a dream. Wonder if my mind just took me to a sunny place and left me there.
Renna laughed, wrapping him in her arms and dropping her head back to his chest.
Wonder sometimes if Im cracked, she said.
Hows that? Arlen asked.
Like Im still sitting in Selia Barrens spinning room, staring off into space. Everything since has been like a dream. Wonder if my mind just took me to a sunny place and left me there.
Youve a poor imagination if this is your sunny place, Arlen said.
Why? Renna asked. Im rid of Harl and that corespawned farm, stronger than I ever imagined, and dancing in the naked night. She swept a hand around her. Everythings awash in colour and glow. She looked at him. And Im with Arlen Bales. How could my sunny place be anywhere else?
Renna bit her lip as the words rushed to them. Words she had thought to herself many times, but never dared say aloud. Part of her hesitation was fear of Arlens reaction, but much of it was her own doubt. All the Tanner sisters had been willing to run to the bed of the first decent man they met, but had any of them ever been in love?
Renna had thought she loved Arlen when they were children, but she only knew him from afar, and understood now that much of what she cherished had been her imagination of what he was like in close, rather than the boy himself.
Renna had convinced herself that she loved Cobie Fisher this past spring, but she saw the lie of that now. Cobie hadnt been a bad sort, but if any other man had come to Harls farm, Renna knew she would likely have seduced him, too. Anything to get away, because anywhere was better than that farm, and any man in creation was better than her da.
But Renna was done lying. And done biting her tongue.
Love you, Arlen Bales, she said.
Her courage fled as the words left her lips and she held her breath, but there was no hesitation as Arlen tightened his arms around her. Love you, Renna Tanner.
She exhaled, and all the fear and doubt left her.
Charged as she was with magic, Renna found no sleep as they lay, but she would not have wished for any. Warm and safe, she wondered almost idly how she and Arlen could have been fighting a demon prince and its servants on this very spot a few hours before. It seemed a different world. A different life. For a short time, they had escaped.
But as the sweat dried and the glow of passion faded, the real world began to creep back into focus, terrible and frightening. They were surrounded by the bodies of dead corelings, black ichor splattered all over the clearing. One, the shape-shifting demon, still wore her form, its head neatly severed and leaking ichor. Not far off, Twilight Dancer still lay with his legs in splints after nearly being killed by a mimic demon.
Going to need to heal Dancer again before he can walk, Arlen said. Even then, it might be another night or two before hes at full strength.
Renna looked around the clearing. Dont like the idea of staying here another night.
Me neither, Arlen said. Corelings will be drawn here tomorrow like worms to a rain puddle. I have a safehold nearby with a cart big enough to carry Dancer. I can fetch it and be back not long past sunrise.
Still have to wait for nightfall, Renna said.
Arlen tilted his head at her. Why?
Horse weighs moren your das house, Renna said. How we gonna get him in the cart without night strength? Wholl pull the thing, for that matter?
Arlen looked at her, and even through the wards tattooed all over his face, his expression told all. Stop that, she snapped.
What? Arlen asked.
Deciding whether or not to lie to me, Renna said. Were promised now, and there oughtnt be lies tween man and wife.
Arlen looked at her in surprise, then shook his head. Want gonna lie, exactly. Just tryin to decide if its time to talk about it.
Is if you value your skin, Renna said. Arlen squinted at her, but she met his eyes and after a moment he shrugged.
Dont lose all my strength in the day, he said. Even under the noon sun I reckon I could pick up a milk cow and throw it farther than you can skip a brook stone.
What makes you so special? Renna asked.
Arlen gave her that look again, and she scowled, shaking a fist at him only half mockingly.
Arlen laughed. Tell you all once we get to my safehold. Honest word.
Renna smirked. Kiss on it, and its a deal.
While she waited, Renna took out the warding kit Arlen had given her, placing a clean cloth on the ground and laying the tools out in a neat row. She took out her brook stone necklace and her knife, and slowly, carefully, lovingly, began to clean them.
The necklace was a promise gift from Cobie Fisher, a stout cord strung through dozens of smooth, polished stones. It was so long Renna needed to loop it twice, and it still fell below her breasts.
The knife had belonged to her father, Harl Tanner. Hed always kept it at his belt, sharp as a razor. Hed used it to murder Cobie when she ran away to be with him, and she in turn had used it to kill him.
If that hadnt happened, Renna and Cobie would have been man and wife when Arlen came back to Tibbets Brook. The necklace was a symbol of her failure to be true to Arlen, a promise gift from another man. The knife was a reminder of a man who had kept her in a private Core her entire life.
But Renna could bring herself to part with neither. For better or worse, they were the only things in the world that were truly hers, the only parts of her day life that had come into the night. She had warded them both, the necklace with defensive wards, and the knife with offensive. The necklace could serve as a ward circle in need, but proved an even more effective garrotte. And the knife
The knife had punched through the chest of a coreling prince. Even now, its magic shone brightly to her warded eyes. Not just the wards the entire blade had a dull glow to it. It drew blood on her finger at the barest touch.
She knew the power would burn away with the sun, but at the moment, the weapon seemed invincible. Even in the day, it would be stronger. Magic always left things better than it found them. Likewise, the barest brush of the polishing cloth brought the necklace back to a shine, the cord even tougher than when it was made.
Renna stood guard over Twilight Dancer until dawn. The morning sun struck the scattered bodies of the corelings, setting them ablaze. It was a sight she never tired of, though it came at a heavy price. Even as the demons burned, the blackstem wards on her skin began to tingle as their magic faded. The knife grew hot in its sheath, burning her leg. She had to lean against a tree for support, feeling like a Jongleurs puppet with the strings cut, weak and half blind.
The disorientation passed quickly, and Renna took a deep breath. With a few hours rest, she would feel fitter than the best day of her life, but even that was but a pale shadow of how she felt in the night.
How did Arlen retain his power in the sunlight? Was it that his wards were permanent tattoos rather than blackstem stains? If so, she would take a needle and ink to her skin that very day.
The demon corpses burned hot and fast, in seconds leaving only scorched ground and ash. Renna stamped out the last few scrub fires before they had a chance to grow, and then finally gave in to her exhaustion, curling next to Twilight Dancer and falling asleep.
Renna was still next to Twilight Dancer when she awoke, but rather than the moss bed she had gone to sleep on, she was now lying on a rough blanket in the back of a trundling cart. She popped her head up and saw Arlen out front wearing the yoke. He pulled them along at an impressive pace.
Renna was still next to Twilight Dancer when she awoke, but rather than the moss bed she had gone to sleep on, she was now lying on a rough blanket in the back of a trundling cart. She popped her head up and saw Arlen out front wearing the yoke. He pulled them along at an impressive pace.
The sight washed the last vestige of sleep from her, and Renna vaulted easily into the drivers seat, grabbing the reins and giving them a loud crack. Arlen jumped straight up in surprise, and Renna laughed. Giddyap!
Arlen gave her a sour look, and Renna laughed again. She leapt down from the cart and kept pace with him. The road was poorly kept and overgrown in places, but not so much as to hinder them.
Sweetwells just up ahead, Arlen said.
Sweetwell? Renna asked.
Swhat they named the town, Arlen said. On account of how good the well water tasted.