Over The Sea (29 page)

She could hear Kwenz's cracked voice inside, and she knew he was talking to someone. Or rather — judging from his tone — lecturing someone, but she didn't know who. Her fingers and toes slowly numbed from a combination of cold and the tightness with which she clung to the dark, rangy creepers that grew thickly along the stone, seeking some semblance of light. Clair pressed her cheek against the sour-smelling leaves, determined not to look down; when Kwenz said something about “Wesset North” followed by abrupt silence, she eased her moc lower, lower, toes stretching in the air as her hands trembled with tight grip on the creeper vines, seeking a toehold, ah! Test: sturdy. And so on, toes, hand, toes, hand, she crept down the tower again, silent, scared, relieved when at last she felt stone beneath her feet.

Then she looked around. The cloud overhead seemed to press down, and she frowned at it. She had not put it there, and on the one hand, it seemed right and just for Kwenz to have that cloudtop overhead, especially as his ancestors couldn't leave the Mearsieans alone, but on the other hand — what about the ordinary people? Did they deserve to live in that awful shadow and never get to see sunlight?

She turned slowly, pulling the hood of her cloak overhead to hide her white hair. Towers, walls, stone, stone, stone. Torchlight throwing shifting reddish light along walkways and up rough walls — there.

A little movement, she turned her head sharply, and Diana emerged from the deep shadow of the lower tower at the next corner, beckoning.

Together they slipped downstairs. By now a few of us knew the halls as well, or better, than the Chwahir. Faline had found Sherry. Those old locks were also no hassle for Diana. The halls were mostly silent as Diana raced along gathering us. There was a heavy sense of magic in the air, pressing down on your brain.

When we were together the night was nearly spent, and everyone was tired. Or it could have been that faint magical nastiness, I don't know. But as soon as we got out of the heavy wards of the Shadow — and you could feel it, a lot like when you go from inside a cave to outside in the sun and air — Clair got us into a group, all holding hands, and she performed a transfer. Only the short distance to the Junky, but transfers of many felt like we'd gone out of the world. Slam! Most of us fell right onto the carpet, which as least was soft, the air still and warm and smelling of home.

As soon as they had recovered Seshe and Sherry ran to get the hot chocolate. Irene looked from one of us to the other, yawned, and trod down to her room, with its new silk hangings.

Seshe said, coming out with a tray, “There was a new group of recruits, but small.”

Clair nodded, sipped, sighed. “I think what's going on is, Kwenz's brother is doing some nasty plan in the Land of the Chwahir, and keeps taking Kwenz's trained people. So Kwenz has to get new ones.”

Dhana nodded. “I heard the new ones being told the rules.”

“And someone said something about raiding Wesset North,” I reported. “In the stable. I was going to set some horses free, but there were too many of them.”

“Kwenz said something about Wesset North,” Clair murmured, frowning. “I wish I knew who he was talking to! Well, time for sleep. ”

We silently drank our chocolate. I retreated down to my room, and tired as I was, a balloon of joy rose up behind my ribs at the sight of my room. I stood on the lovely dark green rug I'd brought home the day before from the rug-maker on the cloud top and turned slowly, taking it all in. The walls were round, the ceiling curved, with roots winding here and there. A wardrobe against one wall, my desk on another, my bookshelf next to my bed, which had a forest green quilt. The only thing it needed, I decided again, was windows — that is, pictures. And I knew just what I wanted: forest scenes. I would make them myself, since I loved drawing.

I was busy on the first one the next day, when Clair appeared. She looked around, blinking, and we waited for the transfer-wooze to go away.

“Breakfast,” she said, giving her eyes a vigorous rub.

Most of the girls sat in a circle eating. I'd already had a muffin, gobbled down fast because I was so eager to get right at my drawing. So I sat at the table sketching in the general idea of what I wanted, thinking that I'd go up later and copy real trees.

“Want some?” Sherry asked, bouncing up and waving her hand at the kitchen alcove. Sherry had it all organized — some girls had a favorite plate, bowl, or cup, so each item had a place.

“I ate, but thanks,” Clair said. She plopped down cross-legged, and everyone turned her way. She looked around at us again, more slowly, as though asking a question that she would, or could, not yet speak aloud.

Seshe finally smiled. “You want us to help with anything?”

Clair's cheeks, usually pale, reddened a little, and she looked down at her hands. “Here's what I need to do,” she said slowly. “I think it's time to visit the other provinces again.” She looked up. “I think it's also time to put mayors in who help the kingdom. I've left things alone because I didn't know any better, because my mother left them alone. When I first went around, they mostly acted polite and nice, but didn't have any respect for me. I'm a kid. And though I send messages, and even get polite ones back, I don't think anything I'm saying is heeded. Except maybe in Seram Aru, but Ka Nos is different. He writes me long letters back, offering his ideas. He's also helped me a couple of times, when I had questions, mostly about justice things.”

The girls grimaced — none of us liked thinking about adults and judging and crimes. We wanted to stay firmly in the kid world. Though I knew I ought to learn it as Clair did.

“Sounds like a good plan,” Dhana said, and Diana nodded.

“A very good plan,” Seshe said. “How can we help?”

Clair sat up straight and looked around at us. “You could help by going ahead of time, and scouting out the provinces for me. If I go, I attract attention.” She touched her head. “There being no morvende within a month's journey, maybe not even on this continent, for all I can find out.”

“Don't you want to attract attention?” Irene asked, waving her hands. “You're the queen.”

“You want to know the truth, not what a bunch of grownups want you to think,” I said. ‘If we go, we'll see things the way they are. Not the way they want us to see them.”

“Exactly. But if you think I am needed, then that changes everything. I will come.”

Sherry rubbed her hands. “When do we start?”

“Who goes where?” Irene asked.

Clair looked around a third time, and when she saw the enthusiasm in everyone's faces, even Diana's, she grinned. It was her rare wide grin, that made long dimples in her cheeks — like Puddlenose's.

“It might not be easy,” she warned. “If it turns out we're not welcome.”

“You think some of these mayors have been trying to make little kingdoms, like the Auknuges?” Seshe asked.

“It's possible. I don't know. I don't want to accuse anyone without evidence. But I'm worried about Kwenz's plans for Wesset North. It can't be anything good. We need to find out what he wants to do, and plan for it.”

Sherry sat up on her knees. “I'll go there!”

Clair hesitated, then nodded. “Okay. Anyone else?”

Dhana wrinkled her nose. “What provinces are there? I never really thought about it before. Only this one, the one we patrol.”

“Let's go upstairs. I found a good map. It even shows the islands.”

“Islands!” Several girls exclaimed that — including me.

“Well, they are what's called a protectorate, and the definition of that, according to the treaty, which I also found, is that we're responsible for guarding them. With ships. And ensuring trade. We haven't done any of that, so far as I know — and they've never asked, so maybe the treaty is ended and I didn't know it. But I guess I have to find out.”

We all shifted up to the castle. In the library, Clair had left a map unrolled on the big table. We all crowded around, looking down. Someone with beautiful handwriting had carefully labeled all the tiny trade towns in Mearsies, and someone later had scribbled in red ink where the Auknuges laid claim. There it was in the middle of Mearsies, above the forest, to the right of the desert (all neatly colored a pale brown sandy color) and to the left of the mountain with the white castle atop. To the east of that stretched the Shadowland beneath, and south of that Wesset North, below that Wesset South. Those lay along the coast, with little inlets but no great harbor; the coast was too rocky. West of Wesset South more mountains, rising steadily toward the peaks of Seram Aru that formed the western border of Mearsies Heili, and in between those and Wesset South, the big lake — to the east the plans of the Wessets, northwards the great and ancient trees that were different from our forestland north of that.

“There it all is,” Sherry marveled.

“A beautiful land,” Seshe breathed.

Diana nodded very slowly, with intense conviction.

“Beautiful and mysterious,” Sherry said earnestly. Dhana quirked a smile, but didn't reply. She never did talk about what sort of life magic races led — or what the world looked like to them.

“And so BIG,” Faline exclaimed, tossing back a wiry red braid. She grinned all around, and then looked unsure, a change of expression so fast and so clear we couldn't help laughing. “Isn't it?”

“Well, I don't know what big would be,” Clair said. “It's certainly big enough for us, but at least as far as I can tell it's nowhere as big as some really big kingdoms, like Toar, way down the coast at the other end of the continent. And Damondaen. And I suspect we'd be a raindrop in the pond of Sartor, oldest country on the world — and, at least as far as I can tell, the biggest.”

“Do you have a map of the whole continent?” Seshe asked.

“Not a detailed one, only one sketched in, in one of the records of a former king who traveled a lot. I'm going to have to find out where to get responsible maps, not someone's hazy idea of what things might sort of look like, but all that can wait.” She smiled. “I know. My cousin would be just the one to ask when he returns.”

Nods, shrugs. The girls either agreed or didn't care.

“As for the project at hand, since you are all willing to help, how about this. Dhana, you should be the one to go to Seram Aru. The people there are not quite human, and they never come down off their mountain, a lot like your people never come out of the Lake.”

“That means,” Irene said, hands on hips, “either they are so completely different that you can't talk to them, or you have a lot in common.”

Dhana snorted a laugh. “Probably the first. But I'll find out. If it's cold and snowy, I'll love it, that much I know — and none of you lot would.”

“I'm sick of snow,” Faline said cheerfully. “Won't want to see any until I get a good, hot summer behind me.”

Clair waited until they were done, then said, “Seshe, I would like you to visit Reyte, here.”

Seshe frowned at the map. “But that isn't a province — is it?”

“No, they are a kingdom. I think once part of one of the northern lands, broken off. I just want to know what to expect from them. I already know what to expect from Elchnudaeb, where Fobo comes from, and I would rather have a friend along the north coast than another potential enemy. That's why I'd like you, CJ, to go to Ujban, which you can see here, is a small country between Reyte and Elchnudaeb. Irene, I would like to send you to the Tornacio Islands, if you'll go.”

Irene clasped her hands. “Islands! Yes! But how am I to get there?”

Clair smiled. “I'll give you transfer tokens. Any of the rest of you who want them can have them as well. Including ones to return, if there is trouble.” She looked around. “I'm going to start on the spells right after we talk.”

“I'll help,” I said instantly. “If you tell me exactly what to do.”

“Good. As for the rest: Diana, I'd like you to travel down to Wesset South, only I hope you'll ride, so you can see more of the land outside of Mearsies, our province. Faline, I'd like you to go to the Lake Laeloret. Gwen, that leaves you here, not because I don't think you could help but because you're new and still need to get used to things. But that doesn't mean you don't have a job.”

Gwen had looked solemn, accepting everything. After all, she'd been an orphan, stuck in a place where they made it clear she was to be grateful for every scrap and crumb, not that they wanted her, but it was their duty. She was so new she didn't think she deserved anything or dared speak up about anything she might want. But when Clair said she'd have a job, her whole face changed into a kind of happy expectation. Her face seemed more heart-shaped than ever before.

“I want you to stay here and communicate with everyone. I think, I hope, I can make something kind of like the MP. The girls can write in and you can bring it to me so we all stay in communication. How's that?”

“Oh, I'd love to,” she said.

And that was pretty much it.

We all dispersed to get ready in the ways we saw fit, me lingering behind to help Clair with the magic. My drawing could wait.

Later, much later on, I found myself alone with Seshe while the other girls were getting ready for another silly play about PJ.

“A new era, don't you think?” I said. In my mind was that map, and Clair's determination to find out everything she could about her kingdom.

“Yes,” Seshe said softly, and she smiled, looking up so the lamplight gathered in her eyes, two bright points. “It's the first time she's put us to real work. I think she finally believes we're here to stay, not just to play.”

I laughed at the time, but much later, looking back, I decided she was right.