Threading the Needle (8 page)

“Then do it.”

Both Wielders turned to Allan. He shrugged. “That's what we're here for. And the longer we wait, the more likely someone will find us.”

The ex-Dog walked away, leaving Dylan and Kara alone.

“You'd better take the lead, Kara. The ley here isn't stable, and it's not as strong as it was before.”

Kara had noticed that as well. “I'm going to try to heal this one face. I'll need you to stabilize the sides.”

She reached for the Tapestry again, while at the same time stretching out to the nearest source of ley. There were a few weak lines running beneath them, not strong enough to help her if she needed the ley's power. An immense pool stood off to their left, but south of them, caught in the distortion, so she couldn't access it. Another had formed outside the distortion to the west. She linked herself to it, noting that it acted like one of the pits inside one of Erenthrall's old nodes. In fact, a strong line branched out from it, angled west, away from them.

Then she concentrated on the shard before her. Dylan joined her, connecting his strength to hers. The shard's face had five edges, none of them the same length, and as she prodded the surface she realized it was weaker farther from the edges. She found the weakest point, a spot a foot above the cobblestones of the street to their right.

Glancing toward Dylan, whose jaw clenched to indicate he was ready, she began putting pressure on the weak spot.

It resisted. A ripple ran through the face of the shard. She pushed harder, but the face merely bowed inward.

She pulled back. She didn't understand. She was doing what she'd always done to heal a distortion—reach out and encompass the shattered reality, then smooth out the edges, from the outside in.

But she couldn't surround the face. And she didn't think she could pry one of the edges free, not without also affecting the connecting shards.

She needed to pierce the face somehow, then work with the hole she'd create.

Gathering herself, she formed the Tapestry into a sharp point, like a needle, then jabbed the needle forward—

And felt it punch through.

She jerked back, half expecting the face of the shard to burst like a bubble, but it held. Reaching forward, she pried mental fingers into the tiny hole she'd created and began healing. One of the Dogs swore when the hole she'd created became visible. Sweat broke out on her forehead as she continued, but Dylan added his own strength to hers. She drew some from the distant ley as well, and the hole widened, large enough now for them to step through.

After a certain point, the healing sped up on its own and Kara pulled back, watching the rest of the face disappear into the edges of the shard on either side, as if she'd reached a critical limit after which the shard could heal itself. Dylan tensed as it reached the edges of the adjacent faces, but the healing halted as soon as it hit the face's boundaries.

Kara stood silent, breath held. A breeze brushed past her, coming from inside the shard. She exhaled, tasted the stale air as it escaped, dry and dusty. It smelled of death and decay.

She glanced down. Where the shard had intersected the street, a thick line cut through the cobbles, the earth churned and broken where the shard's wall had been.

A hand on her shoulder made her jump.

“Is it safe?” Allan asked. The rest of the Dogs were grouped behind her and Dylan, blades drawn, eyes searching the newly revealed street, their mostly empty satchels ready.

“It's stable.”

“Then let's move.”

The Dogs crossed the old threshold cautiously, but broke into a trot on the far side, following Allan as he led them toward the apothecary. Kara grabbed Dylan's arm and hauled him inside as well. They hugged the buildings on the left until they neared the square. The apothecary stood with its door open and Allan and the others ducked inside without hesitation. They stuffed bottles into their satchels, glass vials clinking together. But the fountain in the square snagged Kara's attention, the angel statue with wings spread and face lifted to the sky making her pause. The stone ledge of the basin beneath circled the statue, and leaning up against the basin—

Her breath caught. She could see at least two bodies at this distance, what might be a third lying on the ground at their feet, stacks of supplies surrounding them.

“They killed themselves,” Allan said from behind her, making her start. “They waited for someone to come and then they gave up.”

“How long?”

“Long enough to scrounge and gather up all of the useful supplies in the area. But time was moving faster in this shard, so it could have been weeks or months, maybe even a year from their perspective. How long would you wait if you couldn't get out?”

Kara didn't know.

“We need to get as many of the supplies they gathered as we can carry. Stay here if you want.”

“No. I'll go. If we keep opening up shards, we're likely to find much worse than this.”

Allan said nothing, but stepped around her and moved toward the fountain. Kara followed.

He hadn't warned her about the baby, clutched in its mother's arms. Kara hesitated, thinking that something should be done for them, but she didn't know what. They couldn't bury them here, in the middle of the city. They couldn't burn them without drawing attention to the shard and their activities.

Finally, she whispered a small prayer she'd heard her mother use on occasion and then began filling her empty satchel with jars. Pickled eggs, cauliflower, crushed tomatoes. When she tried to pick up a sack of rice it split down the center, the grains scattering in all directions. She swore and began scooping it up into the sack's two halves, tying the wide ripped mouths together with twine they'd brought with them. She used a cup to scrape what was left directly into her satchel.

By the time she'd finished and filled the rest of her sack with more jars, the others from the apothecary had joined them and were topping off their own bags.

“Did you empty the apothecary?” Allan asked Cutter.

“Everything we could find that wasn't broken or obviously spoiled.”

“Good. We won't be able to take everything that's here, but we can come back for the rest tomorrow night.”

“Assuming that it's still here,” Glenn said. “It might not take long for the other groups to realize this shard is now open.”

“We're in the middle of Wolf territory. No one will likely come here. And the Wolves aren't interested in food like this. They want meat.”

“We should have brought the others with us. We could have taken nearly all of this with us.”

“I doubt we would have gotten here unnoticed with the entire group,” Allan said, “especially if we'd brought the wagon. Besides, this isn't enough to make the trip from the Hollow worth it. We're going to have to open up more shards before we head back. We've got time.”

They fell into the same order they'd used to get there, returning down the same side of the street. But once they left the shard, Allan motioned Cutter onto a different route, although they would need to return to the same bridge.

As they left the shard behind, Kara glanced back once, the opening in the side of the distortion like a wound. But they'd done it. They'd healed part of the distortion. It was only one of thousands of shards, but it had been repaired.

Drayden growled low in his throat as the group left the healed shard, but Grant—his alpha, standing on two legs beside him—gripped the scruff of his neck and held him back as he began to stalk forward. He whined in protest and confusion. The humans had invaded their territory! They needed to be slaughtered! Drayden could smell their blood from here, wanted to taste its warm, metallic slickness.

“No.” Drayden heard both the human word and the guttural wolf command beneath. “We can't kill them yet. We have brethren captured inside the distortion. This man—and these others—may be able to free them.”

Drayden understood the words, the intent, but struggled to contain the feral animal that wanted nothing more than to tear and shred with his teeth, to roll in the humans' thick blood as it gushed from their ripped-out throats. The two other pack mates with him struggled as well. One of them began to howl a protest and lunged forward.

Grant kicked his pack mate into the crumbling wall of the room where they hid. The Wolf—he had no human name, had been changed too much into a wolf to remember it—yelped and twisted around, teeth lashing at Grant's foot. But Grant—more human than wolf, but still part wolf—was too quick. He cuffed Drayden's pack mate hard enough that his snout snapped back into the wall, then knelt and captured the Wolf's neck with one arm before he could recover. The captured Wolf
braced his feet, eyes filled with hate, and prepared to break free, head snapping to the side in an attempt to capture their leader's half-human, half-wolf body. Grant's wolf-ear twitched and Drayden and his other pack mate circled the two, Drayden growling low and deep in his chest in warning. He didn't understand why Grant chose to wear the human clothes, but he'd understood almost immediately that Grant was their alpha.

This pack mate had forgotten.

“We will wait.” The human words were almost lost in the rumbling wolf command. “And we will watch. We need to know if they belong to the White Cloaks. If they do, then we will kill them.”

Drayden flinched at the naming of the White Cloaks, but he remained focused on the pair, ready to lunge and kill his pack mate if necessary. But after growling and thrashing a moment more in Grant's chokehold, the Wolf suddenly yipped and cowered, lying flat, panting in submission.

Grant retained the chokehold for another twenty heartbeats, until his dominance was clear, then thrust Drayden's pack mate away as he stood. Drayden kept his eyes on his mate as Grant dusted off, but the Wolf remained cowed.

Grant caught Drayden's attention with a flick of his hand. “Follow them, but don't be seen. Report back to me.”

Drayden huffed agreement, scanned the now-empty street below, then trotted off into the ruins of the building. He'd have to pick up their scent and track them from there.

“S
O IT WORKED?”
Artras asked as soon as the group entered the new safe house. “You managed to release one of the shards?” Her gaze dropped to Kara's satchel before she'd finished speaking. She saw the bulging sack and grinned, her shoulders slumping in relief.

Behind her, Carter glared—still ticked that he hadn't been taken on the first run. The two Hollowers—Gaven and Aaron—both came forward to take the retrieved supplies from the rest of the group as they entered. They began to unpack and sort them over where the rest of their supplies had been stored in the new rooms. Unlike the previous apartment building, this hideout was in the back rooms of a mercantile, all on the first level. Kara had seen Adder guarding horses, cart, and the back entrance as Allan led them through the alleys and loading docks, but knew that Kent and Jack would also be on watch, probably on the building's roof.

Kara handed Artras her satchel. “It was easier than expected, although we'll have to proceed carefully. And I think, for safety, we should always work on a shard in pairs, so that one can hold the edges of a face while the other works to heal it.”

“I don't understand.”

“It will be easier to show you when we head out next, but we'll try to explain.”

From near the supplies, Allan broke in with, “You'll have some time. We'll have to hole up here while I search for another shard that's worth opening.”

Artras was already shaking her head. “No, we won't.”

“Why not?”

“We didn't come here just to gather supplies. We came to start healing the distortion. While you're out searching for shards with food and medicine, we can be healing whatever shards we run across. Think of it as practice for when you find one we really want to reach.”

“And I don't relish sitting here doing nothing until you return,” Carter threw in, his tone harsh.

Allan bristled, but Kara raised a hand to halt his response. “We'll go crazy if we're forced to wait, especially now that we know we can start repairing the damage. And we do need the practice. All of us.”

Allan's gaze shot between Kara and Carter, but he backed down. “You'll have to take Cutter and some of the Dogs with you for protection. Do whatever they say, no matter what. They know the city better than you do. They've been here before.”

“Of course.”

Mollified, Allan went back to unpacking supplies. Kara turned back to the Wielders.

“I would have wanted the guards along anyway,” Artras said, running her hands up and down her arms. “Getting the cart and horses here was . . .” She shook her head grimly. “I don't recognize Erenthrall anymore. We passed one of the old nodes on our way here. It was dead, Kara. Completely dead. I couldn't sense any of the ley beneath it at all, not in the pit, nor in the lines that used to connect it to the Nexus.”

“Maybe we're too close to the distortion. It may have cut the node off from its main source.”

“Probably. But it's still wrong.”

“We'll check it out tomorrow.”

Artras waved her discomfort aside. “Tell us about the shard, and what you did to heal it.”

“Dylan?”

The other Wielder hadn't expected her to hand the discussion over to him, but after a stumbling start, he began relating everything that had happened after leaving the old safe house. Kara interjected once or twice, and answered a few direct questions, but mostly just listened. She found herself thinking of the men, woman, and child at the fountain inside the shard as she stared into the fire that burned in the center of the large room. Would they find others like that, people who'd been trapped and given up hope? How many had been caught in the distortion when it quickened? Hundreds? Thousands?

“Hmm,” Artras said, drawing Kara back to the conversation. “I'm not certain I understand exactly what you did, Kara, but I think I've got the basics. We'll have to see whether we can duplicate it tomorrow.”

Before Kara could respond, Jack came into the room.

“It's starting to get light out. We should douse the fire.”

Gaven and Aaron poured two buckets of water that had been set aside onto the flames, then stamped out most of the coals. A few were scraped around a flat stone on one side, Glenn setting a frying pan on its surface. He cracked a few eggs and began scrambling them, while Aaron passed around some dried meat. It was tough and salty, but edible. Kara's stomach growled as the smell of the cooked eggs filled the room. Glenn seasoned them with salt and pepper found at the apothecary.

An hour later, everyone had settled onto their pallets, at least three of them snoring heavily. Kara thought she wouldn't be able to sleep, but the moment she closed her eyes, consciousness fled.

Kara woke before the others. She couldn't tell by the banked embers of the fire what time it was. Cutter was asleep in one corner, so she knew those on watch had changed. She didn't see Allan, Glenn, or Tim.

Rising, she grabbed her water skin and made her way to the next room, tripping over Carter on the way. He grunted, slit open one eye as she hissed an apology, then rolled over and went back to sleep. She hesitated in the darkness of the outer room, uncertain where she intended to go, then decided the roof would be safest. The stairs were pitch black, but she stumbled only twice before noting the sunlight filtering down from above. She slowed and emerged onto the roof in a low crouch.

The distortion reared up overhead, much closer than at their last safe house. On the far side of the slanted roof, she saw Allan crouched down behind the outer facade. His head turned toward her as she emerged, then he motioned her forward.

She scrambled across the distance, coming to rest in the sunlight, back against the low wall that ran around the entire roof. Tim sat hunched down opposite them, facing outward. Kara shaded her eyes and measured where the sun stood, a hand above the horizon to the west.

“An hour until dusk,” Allan said, although she hadn't seen him take his eyes off the streets below.

“No use returning to sleep then.” Kara twisted so she could look out over the edge.

Allan's position faced south, toward where they'd opened up the shard, although Kara couldn't see the opening from here. The Tiana River cut diagonally across the streets before them, along with a ley channel. She could see a ley barge station a few blocks away, the building larger than any of those around it. Most of the nearest buildings were mercantiles or warehouses. Kara thought this used to be the Tinker District, before the Shattering, named for the small repair shops that had riddled the buildings before the ley system had made it a hub for trade and pushed them out.

The distortion cut through the buildings about ten blocks to the southeast. Kara could only see a few patches of the Tiana between here and there.

“Aren't we close to the River Rats? I thought you wanted to avoid them.”

“I do. See that section of buildings there?” Allan pointed. “The ones with darker roofs? Those belong to the River Rats. The Tiana splits and surrounds them on both sides. If you look closely enough, you can see where the Rats have run makeshift gangways from roof to roof. It's one of the ways they leave their little island.”

“Only one of the ways?”

“They also use boats.”

Kara recalled how the Rats had vaulted from roof to roof silently, headed toward the fighting the night before. “They're only ten blocks away. Are we safe here?”

“We aren't safe anywhere in the city anymore. But the River Rats are actually about fifteen blocks away. The section just north and west of them is run by the Wolves. We're outside of both of their territories right now. This is the safest section to be in if we're going to be experimenting with the distortion.”

Kara said nothing, chewing on her lower lip as she searched the distance. She didn't see anything moving. There wasn't even a geyser of ley spewing up from the earth anywhere. And yet she felt a tension on the air. Anticipatory, like a held breath.

“We want to check out the local node before we head to the
distortion tonight. Artras said they passed it on the way here and that it was dead. I'd like to see for myself.”

“I'll inform Cutter. He'll be leading your group.”

“We'll work together tonight, but once I think Artras and Carter are ready, we should split into two groups. We can cover more ground that way, and I don't see why we'd need all four of us together for any one shard.”

“That makes sense. I'll try to find more than one shard worth raiding while I'm out.”

“Good. I'll go wake the others and get them ready.” Kara shifted away from the wall, still crouched low, even though the sun was starting to settle into the horizon, the clouds to the west beginning to color orange and pink. She cursed as she hit the darkness of the stairs, forced to halt until her eyes adjusted.

When she emerged into the main room, she found Artras leaning over a flat heating stone, Carter and Gaven beside her. Dylan was still curled into a ball to one side, ignoring the rest of them. The Hollowers and Dogs were already up, although at various stages of wakefulness.

“It's no use.” Artras leaned back. Sweat beaded her brow. “Like last night, there just isn't enough ley in the immediate area for me to create a network to heat the stone.”

Gaven waved a hand. “No problem. We'll just have to stoke up the fire again.” He looked up as Kara moved toward them. “Is it dark enough outside yet to hide the smoke?”

“Not yet. I'd wait.”

He called to Aaron. “Start unpacking something to eat. Maybe those travel biscuits.”

Carter groaned. “They're hard as rocks!”

Gaven patted him on the back. “Don't worry. We'll get some broth started, so you can dip them and soften them up.”

Carter rolled his eyes.

By the time Allan descended from the roof, replaced by Kent, everyone had eaten and was ready to depart. Allan grabbed a cup of the seasoned broth, dunked his biscuit in it, and ate it as they left, drinking the last of the broth as they passed by Jack on their way out. He handed the tracker his empty cup.

They headed west, cutting through the back alleys, until they reached a main thoroughfare. After a few words with Cutter, Allan split off,
heading south, the rest following Adder as he led them toward the node to the north. Glenn kept the four Wielders in line, while Cutter trailed behind.

They reached the node without running into anyone, the streets seemingly more deserted than they'd been since they'd entered the city. Even though they hadn't seen anyone while traveling to reach the first safe house, it had still felt as if they'd been watched or followed. Kara thought part of it had to do with the residential districts they'd traveled through on their way in. The buildings had felt haunted, as if the ghosts of their residents were still walking the halls, peering from the windows.

This was a trade district, the buildings large and blocky and empty. There were few windows, fewer doors, and the facades were stark, flat stone. Some had chiseled statuary and other architectural features along their columns and up their sides, but they'd become nesting grounds for birds and rodents.

They halted outside the node's entrance, Adder deferring to Kara. “I've never been inside.”

“I haven't either. None of us came from Tinker. But all of the nodes were built using the same essential layout. There were only minor differences between them.”

“How do you know that?” Carter asked. “Wielders are only assigned to one node. We never shifted around.”

“Not all of us.” Artras kept her eyes on Kara. “Some of us were meant to be Master Wielders, perhaps even Primes. They were transferred from node to node, to make them more familiar with the system and how it all connected. Remember?”

Carter glanced at Kara. “Were you a Master? A Prime?”

“No, but my mentor at the college told me I would be, some day. I worked at several nodes—Eld, Stone, Tallow, a few others.”

Artras' eyebrows shot up. “Quite a few, for one so young.”

“The transfers didn't all come from the Primes. I requested a few of them myself. But it doesn't matter now, does it?”

Not wanting to answer any further questions, Kara pushed open the node's wooden door, surprised that it was still intact. But it faced away from the Nexus and the explosion, had been protected in the lee of the stone building. Besides, they were fairly far from the center; the ley that had surged through the city would not have been as strong here as it had been near Grass.

They entered the foyer, then passed into the outer room. The node was circular, two corridors branching off to either side. Both led to the Wielders' individual chambers, small boarding rooms with little more than a cot, a table, and a stool. The main hall was where all of the general activity took place, Wielders checking in as they returned from their runs, reporting what they'd repaired and, near the end, any anomalies they'd run into, like the distortions or the blackouts that had plagued the city in the years leading up to the Shattering.