Her brother nodded slowly. "That may be true in some cases, but I did not meet Wren'na until one week before our wedding. Her family raises horses on a farm north of Yavar."

"Yet you still wanted to marry her?" she asked in amazement.

His expression softened as he thought of his beloved wife. "Yes. I was actually infatuated with someone else at the time. It was a hard decision to make, but I trusted in the Reader's ability enough to follow through. I have been so grateful ever since. No one could make me as happy as Wren'na."

Adesina frowned. "What if someone's dava dies or chooses someone else to marry? It does not seem fair to be told you have a soul mate out there somewhere if you can never be with them."

"Not every L'avan has a dava," her brother clarified. "One of my good friends was told that he would be happy with any woman he chose because of his joyful nature and his determination to build a loving relationship. I would estimate that only one out of every ten children has a dava."

There was a brief pause as E'nes chose his words. "As for the first part of your question, it is extremely rare for one's dava to die young. That is to say, before adulthood. Personally, I have only heard of it happening once."

A troubling thought occurred to Adesina. "Did I have a dava?"

E'nes shifted in his saddle uncomfortably. "That does not matter, Adesina. You have been away long enough that no one expects you to follow our traditions."

"I did, did I not?" she pressed on.

"Well, yes," he admitted reluctantly, "but like I said before, you are not held to the arrangement. Everyone a.s.sumed you were dead, so your dava has been in mourning long enough to honorably choose another to wed."

"Who is it?"

There was no room in her tone for argument, and had they not been interrupted, Adesina probably would have gotten the information she demanded. Fortunately for E'nes, L'iam's voice broke over them, calling her attention away.

"Adesina, we are leaving Rashad lands. Would you be willing to provide us with some cover as a precaution?"

They were now within sight of the thieves' forest. With an irritated glance at her brother, she reached inward to connect with her vyala. In response to her desire, Adesina's vyala touched the light around them, becoming one with it, and her vision was tinted red with the change that occurred. She bent the light around them, creating the illusion that there was nothing but gra.s.s where they were riding.

This took all of Adesina's concentration, since she was still a beginner at using vyala. She had been a.s.sured that practice would make it easier in time. Still, as of right now she was left with her focus solely on her vyala, and was unable to prevent E'nes from moving his horse to ride alongside L'iam.

She couldn't even pay attention to the quiet conversations going on around her. Ravi and Sa'jan were chatting with each other in low voices, and E'nes and L'iam were conversing. Adesina had not yet learned how to cover their sound as well as their visible presence, therefore they could not speak in normal voices without running the risk of being heard. It irritated her that she didn't have focus to spare to listen to what was being said around her.

Adesina provided cover for them until they were once again under the safety of the trees. She held the shield until they were all able to draw the long hooded cloaks around themselves, then she let the illusion drop.

The group continued riding through the trees in silence. Gruesome memories of what took place there haunted Adesina as they traveled through the shadowed domain. She was so distracted by these thoughts that it wasn't until the second day that she noticed the almost inaudible whisper of leaves.

"We are being followed," she said quietly to L'iam, who was riding next to her.

He frowned. "Are you sure?"

Adesina raised an eyebrow at him. "Of course."

L'iam brought the group to a stop and turned to face the direction Adesina indicated.

"Whoever you are, come out willingly or you will be driven out."

There was a slight pause before the rustle of underbrush grew louder. A slender figure stepped out from behind a tree, her expression chagrined.

L'iam's face flushed with anger. "L'era!"

Adesina stared at her in exasperation. "What are you doing here?"

The princess tried her most winning smile, to no effect. "Following you."

This only seemed to goad her brother. "Father will be furious! You must go home!"

She came forward, leading her snowy white horse. "Well, if Father will be furious, why would I go to meet his anger? It would be better for me to wait until he will be merely relieved to see me alive."

L'iam took a calming breath. "L'era, this is serious. We are talking about a very dangerous mission, not some countryside picnic."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I know that, L'iam."

"You are not trained as a warrior!"

L'era shook her head obstinately. "I am not suggesting that I be placed in the middle of the fighting, but I can still help!"

Adesina was growing impatient. "L'iam, we do not have time for this."

He nodded in agreement. "L'era, there is nothing you can say to convince me to let you come along. Go home right now."

Her eyes narrowed. "I will just follow you if you do not let me travel with you."

"Not if I send someone to escort you home," he retorted heatedly.

She gave an unamused laugh. "Whom would you send? You cannot wait for them to catch back up, and you cannot do without any party member."

L'iam turned to the only one who would be able to take L'era back to Yavar and then catch up without any problems. "Ravi?"

Ravi shook his head apologetically. "I feel very strongly that I should not leave Ma'eve."

L'iam looked around at the faces of the others in the group. He did not see anyone who he felt they could do without.

His sister suppressed a triumphant grin. "Does that mean I can come?"

L'iam turned to Adesina and spoke to her in a low voice. "Do you have any suggestions? No matter what I say, she will not listen to me."

She frowned. "Do you think she would listen if I told her to go back to Pevothem?"

Ravi quietly cut in here. "She cannot travel by herself. She will be captured if left alone."

He spoke with a certainty that sent chills of dread through both listeners.

"We cannot let her come," L'iam said hopelessly.

Adesina sighed heavily. "We have very few options. We cannot wait any longer for this mission, and we cannot spare anyone to take her back."

His expression was void of its usual light. "I know."

Adesina fixed her most intimidating expression on her face. "You many only come on one condition, L'era: you will listen to everything I say and obey without argument."

The young princess nodded instantly, her eyes solemn. "Of course."

Her brother's tone became sharp. "Do not say *of course,' L'era, because you know that a time will come when you are told to do something that you will not want to do. No matter how ridiculous our orders may sound to you, must swear to obey them instantly."

She lifted her hands defensively. "I promise!"

Ravi got to his feet. "We must hurry if we are going to leave the forest by nightfall."

L'era meekly mounted her horse and moved to ride next to Sa'jan. He was farthest away from her brother, and she felt the distance was wise at the moment. They pa.s.sed through the rest of the forest without any other problems. They didn't run into any others travelers, but Adesina could tell that they were being closely watched. Words of warning about the silent cloaked strangers seemed to have spread since their last visit, leaving a wake of fear before the L'avan.

They continued southward, saying very little to each other even after they pa.s.sed out of the thieves' forest. It took L'era a few days to feel secure enough in her position as their companion to return to her usual chatter. Once she did, it lightened the mood considerably. She seemed like a ray of sunlight in the gloom of the knowledge of their final destination.

The L'avan chatted amiably as they rode the duration of each day. Adesina was instructed on L'avan history, shown the finer points of how to work with her vyala, and taught various folk songs. Ravi even began telling her about the history of the Rashad, which predated the L'avan by many thousands of years.

They sat around the campfire every evening, sharing stories of the past and dreams of the future. Adesina tried to pry more information from E'nes regarding her dava, but he firmly refused to discuss it with her anymore. He merely insisted that it didn't matter and told her to put it out of her mind. Adesina rolled her eyes at the suggestion, but eventually stopped pestering him.

Every once in a while they discussed the mission, but this wasn't done very often. Adesina was still working out details and contingency plans in her mind. She a.s.sured them that she would fill them in as soon as she determined the best course.

There had been a lot of apprehension about starting on a mission without a set plan, but Ravi had informed them that if they didn't leave right away they would arrive too late. Therefore, in spite of all the reluctance felt by many parties, they had left Yavar as soon as their bags were packed. Now they drew closer and closer to the southern lands, still not knowing what was waiting for them or what they would do when they arrived. It left them all feeling unsettled, which even their nights of music and merry tales couldn't dispel.

As for Adesina, she was fairly fixed in a world of her own. She enjoyed the company of her companions, and she warded off the tension by engulfing her mind in planning. She frequently asked the others to tell her all that they knew about the Shimat, and coupled this information with everything that she knew. With these two contrasting views, she filtered through a mult.i.tude of variations in the mission they were attempting.

In spite of her efforts, most of the details would have to wait until they could contact Kendan. He would have access to important information that Adesina was currently without.

Her stomach jolted when she realized how long it had been since she had seen Kendan. Her heart ached with missing him, and she felt sorrow for all the worry he must be going through. She was anxious to see him again and to let him know that she was all right. She also felt a wave of confidence knowing that he would not hesitate to do what was right once he knew the truth about the Shimat order.

Together they couldn't fail.

Chapter Thirty-four: Ignorance and Charity.

Adesina pa.s.sed the days in relative contentment. It wasn't until they started coming across civilization again that she was pulled back to reality.

L'iam surprised Adesina by directing his horse out from the protection of the trees. The group of L'avan had not traveled in the open since leaving the Rashad lands.

"What are you doing?" she asked, perplexed.

He gave a strained smile. "We left in a hurry, so we did not prepare as well as we could have. We will need to stop and get supplies from a nearby village."

She didn't understand the forced expression on his face. "What is wrong?"

He exchanged glances with Sa'jan and E'nes. "It is not going to be easy."

"Getting supplies?"

L'iam merely nodded and nudged his horse forward. They emerged from the trees, moving at a slow, deliberate pace. They left the forest in such a manner as to make it appear that they were approaching from the west. The L'avan topped a small hill, and Adesina saw the village set before them.

It was small and simple, made up of small shanties and a few farms. Adesina could see the figures of its citizens walking down the dirt roads.

The group of travelers was spotted quickly, and a cry of warning sounded. The villagers hurried to ready themselves for the arrival of the intruders. They gathered their families into their homes, grabbed pitchforks and stood by their fences to watch the L'avan ride by.

The closer the L'avan drew, the clearer the scene became to Adesina. Unlike Yavar, which was beautiful from a distance as well as in proximity, the village looked dirty and run-down when observed at a nearer interval. The roads were muddy, and the daily traffic had spattered everything else. The people and the animals were all worn and bore hostile expressions on their faces. It was painfully clear that Adesina and her companions were unwanted.

L'era seemed to be the only one, other than Adesina, who noticed. The others had impa.s.sive expressions on their faces and they rode into the center of town. They stopped in front of what appeared to be a trading post.

"L'era, Sa'jan and Ravi, stay here with the horses," L'iam instructed as he dismounted.

They nodded, although L'era was reluctant to do so. L'iam, E'nes and Adesina walked up the uneven wooden steps and into the dim interior of the trading post.

A dirty man with a thick, mangy beard stood behind the counter. The room was filled with an unorganized mess of trapping and hunting tools, bags of flour, dead animals and pieces of dried meat, bolts of rough fabric, and so forth. Adesina had to fight to keep the look of disdain from her face.

The shopkeeper, on the other hand, felt no such need. He surveyed the visitors with open scorn. "We dunnot serve yor kind heer."

L'iam looked politely puzzled. "I beg your pardon?"

The man spat at their feet. "Willno' do ya no good to beg for me pardon. I dunnot serve yor kind. Take yor selfs outta my estableeshmen."

L'iam cast a glance at E'nes and they both started to turn away, but Adesina refused to join them. She firmly stood her ground with an enraged glint in her eye.

"Why?" she demanded.

The shopkeeper was surprised that she dared to argue. "Wha'?"

"Why do you not serve our kind?"

The man was speechless, daunted by the icy glare he met in this bold young woman dressed in black. E'nes tried to gently lead her away, but she jerked her arm out of his grasp.

"Have you ever been treated dishonestly by the L'avan? Have you ever been wronged?"

The shopkeeper stood dumb, his face a mixture of fear and hatred. L'iam laid a hand on her elbow, speaking quietly in her ear in the language of the L'avan rather than the common tongue.

"It does not matter, Adesina. At a time like this, it is more important to stand on the higher ground."

She reluctantly allowed herself to be led from the trading post. The look on Sa'jan's face when they emerged with no supplies showed no surprise. This only provoked Adesina further.

"They do not serve our kind?" she spat.

L'iam nodded with a sad expression on his face. "There is a lot of ignorance and prejudice in these parts. A portion of that is fueled by the Shimat, another portion by the fear of the locals. All we can do is show them that we are not dangerous, try to cultivate friendships, take the high road when things get pettya"

She shook her head stubbornly. "Something should be done. That stain of a human being refused to serve us because he knows he can get away with it. He enjoys the feeling of power he gets from pushing people around. If you stood up to him, he would not do it anymore. You are better than him!"

L'iam paused before mounting his horse again. "Which is why I choose to walk away."