Page 122 of Shardless
Vale was hit the hardest, and I accompanied Sarina and young Skye to inspect the burn site thismorning. I had almost given up hope that we would find anyone alive, but Skye somehow managed to find a small mortal girl—Talya. Her home was burned, but, by some miracle, the child’s basement bedroom was nearly untouched. For as long as I live, I don’t think I shall ever forget the sight of those two younglings walking down that ashen lane, hand-in-hand and both completely covered in soot.
I’ll need to make some inquiries to find her next-of-kin, but I don’t have much hope. I’ve never heard of the Caro family, here or on the mainland. If the worst happens and she truly is alone in this world, I’m considering taking her in as my ward. Human or otherwise, both Sarina and Skye are already quite taken with the little one, and I know the boy could benefit from having a playmate.
For now, I’m going to put the child in the eastern wing, just across the hall from Skye. I haven’t opened that room in centuries, but it was originally designed with a little girl in mind. I do hope that Taly likes blue. It was my late wife’s favorite color, and I daresay the woman practiced very little restraint when she was decorating what we hoped would be our daughter’s bedroom.
Taly groaned, repositioning her legs and grasping the gnarled trunk at her back as the tree branch swayed beneath her. A muted whimper fell from her lips when she chanced a glance down, her eyes following the spiraling trails of leaves that had shaken loose and were now fluttering to theforest floor over a dozen feet below.
Since departing Ebondrift, she had made good time, but any hope she may have had that the Plum relay was still serviceable had been quickly dashed as soon as she had come upon the still smoldering remains of the little village. It had been burned to the ground. So, not wanting to waste a single moment of daylight, she had immediately moved on to the next township.
After finding a secure branch, Taly ventured a tentative glance at the nearby town of Vale. She could just make out the outline of the old village to the west. When the villagers had rebuilt after the fire that had stolen away her childhood, they had left the remains of the original town undisturbed, expecting the forest to reclaim the land. So far, that had not been the case. The original roads were still somehow covered in ash, and the fragmented skeletons of what used to be charming little stone cottages cast long shadows across the strange, treeless space. In the span of a single evening, this tiny town had become the gravesite of over 300 innocent people, and it was as if even the forest was afraid of disturbing the ashen tomb, lest it anger the horde of lost souls that was said to roam the area.
Taly suppressed a shiver and pulled at the collar of her tattered leather jacket. Even under the best circumstances, she hated coming to Vale. The other salvagers and guides delighted in telling ghost stories, each swearing on their honor that they’d personally seen the distinct blue glow of fairy fire during their travels through the village that she used to call home. None of them seemed to have a problem with the old town, but Taly had started avoiding it when she could.
Peering through the shadowy forest canopy, she could clearly see men and women sluggishly ambling about the neatly paved roads of the new town square. On the surface, nothing seemed out of place as the villagers went about their evening routine. And if Taly hadn’t seen firsthand what happened in Ebondrift, she probably wouldn’t have had a second thought about trotting her horse right through the middle of town and straight up to the relay.
But shehadwitnessed the horrifying events at Ebondrift, and she quickly recognized the jerky, uncoordinated movements and listless shambling of the citizenry for what they were. What they signified.
Vale had been taken.
She had a decision to make—either try to get a closer look or move on. While Della was the nearest town, just an hour away by horseback, she couldn’t risk it. Although she could make it there by nightfall, she would then be stuck in Della until morning. And since Kato had almost certainly told Skye about her magic and how it was connected to the attacks, there was a possibility they had already sent someone to retrieve her. That meant Della was out.
There was still Bago to the north, but she’d never make it there before sundown. Vale was the only option if she wanted to try to get out a message today.
“Damn it all,” Taly muttered. The town was crawling with shades, and the scrying relay tower was on the far side. Even if she was able to get inside the building, there was no guarantee the relay would still be intact. Nevertheless, if there was even a slight chance that she might be able towarn Ryme before it was attacked, the risk was worth it.
Looking down, she grimaced. It had been easy getting up the tree but getting back down was going to be the real problem.
“Shards. Well, come on, Caro. Let’s get this over with.”
Sliding off the branch and catching herself with both hands, Taly let herself dangle as her toes groped for the tree branch she knew to be somewhere down below. It was times like this that she wished she had longer legs. While being small sometimes had its advantages, Skye had always had a much easier time where tree climbing was concerned.
When Taly finally planted her feet on solid ground, she leaned heavily against the trunk, waiting for the dizziness to pass. Ever since the ordeal with the harpy, she had found that she didn’t really fancy being too far off the ground. Her head started to swim as she recalled that aerial view of the canopy, and she could still feel the phantom slice of the harpy’s claws on her back. Her stomach convulsed, and her breaths came in short gasps as the memory of being stuck inside that tiny crevice flashed through her mind.
Jerking suddenly, Taly brought her hand up and slapped herself across the cheek. Again. And then again. The pain—realpain—helped her focus.
You don’t have time for this. Get going.
She pushed herself up and started forward cautiously. The scrying relay was on the western edge of the village. If she skirted around the perimeter of the old town, she should be able to get a better look. With a little luck, maybe thesituation wouldn’t be as bad as it had appeared from the tree.
“Hey Byron,” Taly whispered as the little gelding pushed his nose into her palm. Thankfully, the public stables in Ebondrift had been left relatively untouched, and the horses, though slightly antsy and in need of fresh food and water, were in good health. She had heard the guards at the compound making plans to retrieve the horses for the caravan, and so, rather than letting the animals loose, she had taken the time to water and feed the remaining horses when she had gone to retrieve her own mount.
“Okay, boy,” Taly said, untying the reins and leading the little gelding through the underbrush, “we have to be quiet.”
Byron nickered softly, thrashing his head up and down as if he understood her. Who knows, maybe he did. If the Elvethan, the ancient line of horses that Ivain favored, were as smart as the older fey noble claimed, then it was certainly possible.
As she circled around the older village remains, Taly’s eyes were drawn to a burned-out cottage situated near the forest’s edge. There wasn’t anything left except a few stones that may have once been a part of a garden wall and a hole in the ground that most likely led to a basement.
A dull pain throbbed behind Taly’s temples, and she was hit with a sudden flash of… she wasn’t sure what. Snowdrops in the spring, then lilies in the summer. The smell of baked bread and burned stew wafting from a tiny kitchen. A stern reprimand when she had been caught drawing stick figures on the closet floor, and a man with kind eyes and hair the color of dawn that helped her catch butterflies in the woods.
Taly started when the ghostly figure of a small child darted past her. A golden fog began rolling in around her feet, and she frantically prodded at that mental wall, only to find the barrier holding strong. Although she could distinctly feel the prickle of magic against her skin, it wasn’t her own. Something else was reforming the landscape, building up the stones of the destroyed cottage one-by-one, breathing life back into the scene in front of her and undoing the ravages of fire and time.
Taly’s body tensed as panic set in, but a wave of calm immediately rushed in behind it. Whatever magical entity she had inadvertently stumbled upon quickly smoothed away the sharp edges of her rising fear until it felt as though she was walking through a dream, one that felt warm and familiar. If she looked behind her, she could still see the shadows of twilight chasing away the last golden rays of the evening sun, but the cottage itself was bathed in the warm glow of morning. Her fingers gripped the reins and Byron nudged her shoulder, his eyes following hers. He could see it too.
“Cori! It’s time to come inside and start your lessons!” a man’s voice called out as the blue cottage door opened. Although she couldn’t place his name, Taly knew she had seen this man somewhere before. He was so familiar, everything from the neatly trimmed beard to the scar that ran down his cheek. If she were to look closer, she somehow knew that he would have another scar in the shape of a hook on the back of his left hand.
His eyes scanned the garden, but he looked startled when he finally spotted Taly standing justbehind the gate. “Breena?” He squinted, trying to get a better look. “What are you doing out there? I told you we can finish the spells later. Come inside and rest.”
“What are you talking about, Esmund?” A woman this time. She was wiping her hands on a threadbare rag as she came up beside him. “I’m right…” Her lilting voice trailed off, and her shockingly gray highborn eyes widened when they met Taly’s decidedly duller human ones.
