If it were possible to strangle a demon I would have
"But how did you know that this was the next world the trail would lead us to?" I"d asked, completely confused.
"Or that this was me gate we"d be coming through?"
"Laciel, there are only so many worlds each world leads to," InThig had reminded me, a definite satisfac- tion in its tone. "Every gate leading to a world has a diagram of sorts that demons have learned to read, and that diagram indicates the worlds that are reachable through each world the gate opens on. I took an alternate route to
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the one you six did, one that let me reach most of the worlds your route did, and began checking gales. When I found this one I picked up the-scent, I suppose you might call it-of the one who has been carrying the balance stone through the worlds, and knew by that that this was the gate you"d be coming through. I must say it certainly took you long enough,"
"But-a search like that would take forever," I"d pro- tested, only partially understanding what I"d been told. "To check every gate on a world? InThig, it isn"t possible to do something like that!"
"For demons it"s more than possible," it had answered smugly, licking at one paw. "For us it"s downright easy.
We don"t have to constrain ourselves to the same use of time and distance that humans do. Or speed, if you want to go into details. And would you mind my asking why you"re all standing there soaking wet?"
"We were in need of baths, but we had to settle for showers," I answered, blinking in surprise at having for- gotten what state we were in. "I"ll make camp for us in a minute, but I still have one more question for you: why weren"t you able to go through the gate we did? We all thought those things had killed*-you."
"Hardly," it answered with a sniff, dismissing the hor- rors that had sent us racing through the gate. "i tore up a few of them and entered the gate, and then discovered that I couldn"t follow you through to that world. There"s a-barrier of sorts that prevents us from entering certain worlds, a barrier we can get through if we really try, but even considering trying isn"t very intelligent. The worlds behind the barriers usually mean the end of existence for my sort of life, or a madness that can never be recovered from. Some of us have seen a few of those worlds by reaching them through a special entry, but the area around the entry must be protected by one of the Sighted or the madness takes us- If the protection is breached, we"ve even been known to turn on the Sighted who helped us through me entry."
With my hand on InThig"s shoulder I"d been able to feet it shudder, so I"d dropped the subject and hadn"t brought it
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up again. I"d heard stories once about that sort of thing, but I hadn"t really believed them-then- Right after that I"d set up camp, and once the horses were seen to, we all went to our pavilions to dry off, eat and rest. I"d made sure to include bathtubs filled with hot water in my spell, and that was the first place I"d gone to.
During the bath and the following meal I"d told InThig something about what had happened to us on that blind world, and then I"d gotten into bed and pulled the covers up, intending to lie there only for a short while. The short while had become a long while, and if anyone had dropped by to visit, I never knew about it.
We"d started our new "day" in the same place that we"d left it, learning from InThig that the time hadn"t seemed much earlier or much different even when if had gotten there. The world still felt empty, and we rode for hours without seeing a single tree-and without being attacked even once. There was nothing but the short, unending yellow gra.s.s and the darkening yellow sky, and even the climate seemed without life. It was neither too hot nor too cold, no wind to speak of, no sunshine, rain, snow or storms, nothing but sameness. When I"d gotten up that "morning" I"d recreated my lost clothing, and then had returned Rik"s shirt with a polite thank-you. He was wearing it again during the ride, but he needed it less than he had on the previous world.
By the time we stopped for a meal, the others were trying to decide how they should be feeling. They were glad not to have to beat off attacks every five or ten minutes, but that meant the first attack was stilt ahead of them-at an unknown place and time. The world we rode through was too quiet, too monotonous, too easy; there had to be a catch in it somewhere, and everyone was worrying what that catch might be. I thought I knew what it was, but saying anything just then didn"t seem like a good idea. If I was wrong it would put them off their guard-and give them a lot more to worry about.
"Good meal for a lunch stop," Su said, bringing me out of my thoughts when she sat down next to me on the ground. "Liked these meat pies a lot, back at the fair.
Something bothering you?"
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"I was just considering the benefits in being wrong," I told her with a smile, watching her brush crumbs from her hands. "1 suppose it"s a matter of timing, just like every- thing else. If you can manage to be wrong at the right time, life becomes a lot easier."
"You sure didn"t pick the right time in that fight," she said, not quite returning my smile. "What did Rik do to you once he got you out?"
"What did he do to me?" I echoed, not quite under- standing the question. "He didn"t do anything. I told everyone about it this morning, just before we left camp.
Once we got out of the city we spent the day in the barn, and then we went to meet you four. Two search parties stopped outside the bam and two or three others went by fairly close, so we spent most of the time hiding- What made you think he did anything to me?"
"Never saw a man madder than Rik when he and the others came to tell us you"d been taken," she answered, still looking at me strangely. "Swore he"d beat you good and proper when he got you back. and you"ve been avoid- ing him the whole morning"s ride. He didn"t hurt you, did he?"
"No, he didn"t hurt me," I answered, looking down at my hands while trying to think of"what else I could say.
Telling the truth would be too embarra.s.sing for Rik, but I couldn"t seem to think of a lie. And then it came to me that there was one piece of the truth that should be told, no matter what else was or wasn"t spoken about.
"Su, do you or any of the others know why Rik was made leader of our expedition?" I asked, looking up at her again. "And I mean the real reason, not the excuses that he"s bigger and stronger than 1 am, has more experience leading than the rest of us, or anything like that. Was I the only one who didn"t know?"
"n.o.body told me any different," she answered with a frown, the strange look fading from her eyes. "What makes you think it"s anything else?"
"He told me yesterday what the real reason is, and it"s been bothering me ever since," I said, wishing I were telling a lie instead of the truth. "Graythor made him leader because he"s the only one of us not absolutely
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necessary to the quest-and therefore the one meant to die if that"s what it takes to keep the rest of us alive. If there"s real danger in something he"s the one who does it, because he"s the one who gets to say who does what. That"s what he told me, and I believe him."
"Don"t think I like the way that sounds," she said, the frown even more evident. "The rest of us get to live because he was sent along with us to do the dying? Don"t it bother him that it"s unfair?"
"He thinks it"s necessary for the quest, and better that one life is lost than millions," I told her. "I want to save those millions, too, but not by simply handing over some- one else"s life. None of us came on this quest expecting it to be safe, and I mink if we share the danger equally we can all survive, not just some of us."
"Now that sounds like something I can live with," she said with a nod, straightening where she sat. "And we ought to tell the others."
"Would you do that?" I asked, feeling considerably better than I had just a few minutes earlier. "I haven"t had any of those meat pies yet, and I"d like to have some before we get moving again."
"No problem," she said, rising to her feet and heading resolutely to where Zail, Dranna and Kadrim all sat to- gether. 1 rose, too, but went instead to the food I had created, this time with an appet.i.te that hadn"t been around sooner.
I was just finishing up a second pie, ready to wash it down with ale, when mere was something of a distraction.
Rik had eaten alone and then gone to his horse to look it over, with InThig discussing that world beside him, but enough of his attention had left that discussion to notice the second one going on. I"d kept an eye on the four people discussing our mutual problem and had seen how indignant Zail and Kadrim had grown, Dranna more shocked than anything else, and apparently I hadn"t been alone in seeing it. Rik left his horse with InThig padding along beside him, and walked over to the group.
"What"s wrong?" he asked, looking from one to the other of them. "You all look as if you"ve just discovered we"re about to be attacked."
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"Nothing that simple," Zail answered, still looking outraged. "But at least 1 know now why all that scouting became your job."
"And why you kept yelling at poor Laciel every time she tried to do something herself," Dranna put in, making it sound like a personal insult. "We won"t stand for it. you know."
"Indeed," Kadrim said from where he sat beside Su, his blue eyes harder than usual. "For one to bear the burdens of all is not a thing a true man will accept."
"What are you all talking about?" Rik demanded, his confusion echoed less strongly in InThig. "What aren"t you going to stand for or accept?"
"We don"t like the idea that you mean to die for us,"
Su said, surprising him by speaking up that way. "We decided seven"s a luckier number than six, and we"re going to need all the iuck we can get. If all of us don"t make it, none of us will."
"This is ridiculous," Rik said when the othe"-s nodded their agreement with Su, too involved to notice how pleased InThig was at being numbered one of the group. "Who told you 1 was supposed to- Laciel!"
His head turned to me when "he said my name, and those bronze eyes weren"t glowing with" anything like pleasure.
He looked as though he"d caught me reading his secret diary, which was definitely ridiculous.
"I think I can go along with that," 1 told him pleas- antly, just as though he"d been asking my opinion. "If all of us don"t make it, none of us will."
"That isn"t the way the wizard said it had to be done,"