Adesina opened her eyes again, surprised to find that she still felt that connection to the universe. She looked at L'iam through the brilliance of this new world and found that she could look deeper than before.

It was like gazing at his soul rather than his physical being. She saw all of the things that she had seen in his eyes the day before: his integrity, his compa.s.sion and so forth. She also saw the things that he held hidden from view. She recognized his uncertainty, his worry that he wasn't a good enough leader. She saw his confusion over some of the things he had found on this mission, and something deeper that Adesina couldn't quite place.

L'iam could sense her probing and gently removed his hand from hers. The unexpected disconnection from the power left Adesina cold and trembling. The colors around her, so beautiful only minutes ago, now seemed dull and lifeless. Her own vision seemed shallow and inadequate when compared with what she had just experienced. She steadied her breathing, looking away from L'iam as she composed herself.

As she did this, her gaze fell on Ravi. There was a small, knowing smile on his face and a sudden realization swept through Adesina's mind. "This is what you were trying to teach me. This is why you had me staring out the window for hours at a time."

Ravi merely nodded.

Irritation began creeping forward in the young woman's thoughts. L'iam had made it her lesson simple and straightforward. Why had Ravi made it seem so mysterious and muddled?

L'iam saw the expression on her face and hurried to head off her anger. "It was easy for me to show you because of my gifta"a gift that Ravi does not possess. Tomorrow I will teach you how to do it on your own."

She furrowed her brow. "Why tomorrow?"

He was surprised by this question. "To give you time to rest. Are you not tired?"

It had not occurred to her, but she was extremely tired. When this realization came over her, she nodded in acquiescence.

He laughed when he saw the change on her face. "I know how you feel. My first conscious experience with my vyala left me flat on the floor."

They sat down for a bit, breathing in the warm air and letting the sunlight bathe their faces.

Adesina gave L'iam a quick glance out of the corner of her eye. "How old were you when you had your first lesson?"

He picked a blade of gra.s.s and began to shred it as he searched his memories. "I was eight years old. My father was the one who showed me what I just showed you."

There was love and respect in his voice as he mentioned his father, and Adesina suddenly felt jealous of his relationship with his parents.

She studied her clasped hands. "He must mean a lot to you."

He was momentarily confused. "My father? Yes, he does." He was quiet for a few seconds before going on. "I saw very little of my father when I was growing upa"he was always so busy. I remember that day because he took me on a walk, just the two of us. I was surprised that my older brother was not invited to come along, because L'on always joined us when I had personal time with Father."

He closed his eyes, imagining the scene before him. "He took me to his meadow, a special place where he would go to think and be alone. He told me that even though I was young, it was time for me to begin my preparations to become a man. He told me about the responsibilities of a man, and the ones for me specifically. I remember feeling overwhelmed by the things he told me, but he rea.s.sured me that everything would be fine."

The young man opened his eyes again and looked directly at Adesina, giving weight to each of his words. "My father said that the L'avan had been given gifts to help them bear the burdens placed upon them. He warned me that our lives would never be easy."

She felt vulnerable under his penetrating gaze. She didn't know what to say in return, but L'iam didn't need a reply. He looked out at the surrounding forest for a while before getting to his feet.

"Shall we return to the others?"

Adesina nodded and also stood, looking around for Ravi. Her guardian was a few feet away, dozing in the sunlight. As soon as he heard their movements, he opened his eyes and joined them.

They walked back to the fort at a slow, thoughtful pace. L'iam and Ravi conversed in the language of the L'avan while Adesina sorted through what she had learned over the past couple of days. As they drew closer to the fort, they could see a bustle of activity.

A'asil ran to greet them, giving L'iam a report in their native tongue. Adesina frowned in annoyance at her inability to understand.

L'iam nodded and sent A'asil off again, then he glanced at Adesina. "Mar'sal has returned from the village. We are preparing to leave."

"Leave?" she asked in a shocked voice.

E'nes spotted them and hurried over. "L'iam, what about Adesina?"

This was the question that had jumped to Adesina's mind when she had heard the news. She tried to antic.i.p.ate her reaction to any number of situations but was drawing a blank. Therefore, she wasn't prepared when L'iam turned to her.

"Will you come with us?"

The young Shimat started. "What?"

"Will you come with us?" he repeated.

E'nes looked just as surprised as Adesina, but he still turned to his sister, silently pleading for her to consider.

She honestly didn't know what to do. Part of her wanted to go with them and learn all that she could about her race. She wanted to see the house she would have grown up in if things had been different. She wanted to hear her brother tell stories about their mother and father. She wanted L'iam to teach her more about magic. She wanted Ravi to show her how to Dream on her own.

However, another part of Adesina was equally insistent that she needed to find a way to contact the Shimat. She had to let them know where she was and that she safe. She imagined Kendan's worried face and she felt her heart constrict. The pull of duty told her to rejoin her order.

It was clear that she could not complete her original mission. Even if she had been able to, her conscience would not allow it now that she knew her targets personally. In the event of a failed mission, the Shimat were trained to reestablish contact as soon as possible and wait for further instructions.

The young woman's eyes turned to Ravi, and she found him gazing back. Deep down she knew that this was one of the moments he had told her about. This was a decision that would determine her course in the "labyrinth of destiny," as her guardian had called it.

What was she supposed to do?

She forced herself to find her voice. "I need some time to think about it."

L'iam was reluctant, but finally nodded. "We depart within the hour. Tell us your decision as quickly as possible."

He and E'nes walked away, leaving Adesina alone with Ravi. Together they moved to a fallen tree where they sat down. Ravi was the first to speak.

"I will follow you wherever you decide to go, Ma'eve. I will always do whatever I can to aid you in your quest. Unfortunately, there is much that I, alone, cannot teach you or reveal to you."

"Such asa?" she asked quietly.

He merely smiled.

Adesina made an exasperated noise. "You are not helping me make a decision, Ravi."

Her guardian shrugged. "Nor will I. There is something you must know, though."

She turned to look at his large feline face. "What is that?"

"You will never be given this opportunity again."

Her eyes jerked to the fort, where the preparations for departure continued. "Do you mean I will never see E'nes again?"

"Perhaps you will see him, but you will never again be invited to the home of the L'avan."

Doubt colored the first part of his sentence, but there was a certainty in the last statement that sent a chill up Adesina's spine.

"Why?" she asked breathlessly.

"Because the Shimat are their enemies," he explained gently. "Right now the L'avan understand that there are extenuating circ.u.mstances in regard to your alliance with them. If you choose to return to your order, the L'avan will know where your loyalties lie."

A mixture of frustration and despair weighed down on her mind. "If I go with the L'avan, the Shimat will a.s.sume that I have betrayed them."

The Rashad smiled briefly. "The Shimat believe you have been taken captive, Ma'eve."

Her eyes narrowed. "I thought you said that you were not going to help me make a decision."

"I am not," he insisted. "I merely wish for you to have all the facts before you make your decision."

There was a momentary silence. Adesina hugged her knees, resting her chin on them. "What about my father?" she asked. "If I am with the Shimat I might be able to find where he is being held."

"Perhaps." Ravi didn't sound very hopeful.

Adesina also had her doubts. She was a new Shimat, and it was extremely unlikely that her superiors would share such information with her. In all honesty, if she returned to the Shimat right now, she would probably be sent back to the High City to wait for a new mission.

The very idea of waiting around for months at a time in that boring, self-important city was enough to make her cringe.

"I really only have one option." she said in a resigned tone.

Ravi shook his head. "There is always a choice."

She got to her feet and brushed herself off. "Not for me."

They walked over to the fort and sought out L'iam. He was standing next to a young man that Adesina a.s.sumed to be Mar'sal. He was clearly the youngest of the group. His boyish face was strained between the underlying anxiety of being inexperienced and the elation of completing a mission successfully.

Mar'sal was reporting to L'iam, but stopped when he saw Adesina approach. L'iam turned and looked at her expectantly.

"What have you decided?"

She took a deep breath. "I am coming with you."

The young leader smiled, genuinely happy with this news. "I am glad, as will be E'nes. He is in the fort, awaiting your decision."

Adesina nodded and walked through the open door, feeling strangely elated with her decision.

E'nes was helping K'eb pack up all the cooking supplies. He glanced up at her entrance and was instantly on his feet when he saw it was her. He walked up to his sister with an air of uncertainty and looked as if he wanted to reach out and touch her hand. He refrained, aware that their relationship was still uncertain.

She spoke quickly, wanting to both ease his discomfort. "I am coming with you."

He blew out his breath in relief. "I was worried you would not want to."

She forced a smile, but did not reply. Her brother reached out to briefly touch her shoulder. "I am more happy than I can say!"

The young woman knew that he meant it, and enjoyed the sensation of belonging. She quickly stifled the feeling, not trusting that it would last.

The closing of the fort was fairly straightforward, and done very quickly. It seemed that most of the things that they had been using stayed at the fort, which had made it unnecessary for them to unpack their own belongings. Everything was cleaned and some dried goods were left in the cooking area, for those who would use the fort in the future. Then they closed the door behind them, not bothering to lock it.

E'nes smiled at the questioning expression on his sister's face. "The fort is always open to those who need it."

She nodded in understanding. It was, after all, in the middle of a magically protected forest. It was very likely that only friends of the L'avan could get near the shelter.

Being that Adesina had no horse of her own, she was forced to ride with E'nes. He had offered to walk and let her ride, but L'iam had disagreed before Adesina had a chance to refuse and insist on walking herself.

"We must move quickly until we leave the central lands. Everyone must ride."

E'nes obeyed immediately, climbing onto his horse and then lending a hand to help Adesina mount behind him. It was uncomfortable and she didn't like leaving control of the horse to someone else, but she didn't complain. Instead she made a mental list of all the things she was going to ask her brother during their travels. She a.s.sumed it would be a long journey, and she planned to use the time wisely.

Chapter Twenty-four: Power.

They set off at a fairly easy pace and Adesina couldn't see why L'iam had made an issue of someone walking. As they reached the edge of the trees, he commanded them to slow to a stop and he turned to face the rest of the group.

"A'asil."

A'asil nodded and closed his eyes in concentration. When he opened them again they were shimmering with vyala. L'iam saw this and urged his horse forward at a brisk pace. The group moved out from under the trees and into the open, heading north.

Adesina leaned forward to speak in her brother's ear. "What is A'asil doing?"

E'nes turned his head slightly to respond. "He is creating an illusion that hides us from the sight of others. If we did not have him in our group, we would have to travel at night."

She frowned in confusion. "Why?"

"Because he is the only one of us who knows how to create illusions, and it is imperative that we are not seen."

The young woman stewed over this for a while, staring at the landscape. They were currently in gra.s.slands, which stretched out as far as the eye could see. The gra.s.s was long and green, flourishing in the early summer weather. A slight wind stirred the gra.s.s, making it whisper and sway, which helped to hide any sign of their horses pa.s.sing through.

Adesina decided to start a different train of conversation. "E'nes?"

"Yes?"

She hesitated, wondering what kind of a response she would receive. "Would you teach me the language of the L'avan?"

There was a startled silence and she held her breath as she waited for his answer. The Shimat adamantly refused to teach their language to anybody who was not of their order. It was among their most closely guarded secrets. Adesina wondered if it was the same with the L'avan.

When he spoke, the surprise he felt was evident in his voice. "Of course! I will teach you if you wish to learn."

The young Shimat smiled. "Thank you, E'nes. When can we begin?"

She felt him chuckle quietly. "Right now."