She stared at him; he felt a butterfly-flutter of magica"then her eyes widened incredulously, as if shead heard something more than head said. aI am Seraph, Raven of the Clan of Isolda the Silent. I give you greetings, Bard.a aWell met, Seraph,a he said. Doubtless her answer would have conveyed a lot to a fellow Traveler. Maybe theyad even know why she addressed him as bard, doubtless some Traveler etiquette. aI am returning to Redern. If my map is accuratea"and it hasnat been notably accurate so fara"Redern is about two daysa travel west and north of here.a aMy clan, only Ushireh and I, was traveling to the village we just left,a she returned, shivering now. aI donat know where Ushireh intended to go afterward.a Tier had been counting on being able to deliver her back to her people. aIt was just the two of you?a She nodded her head, watching him as warily as a hen before a fox.

aDo you have relatives nearby? Someone you could go to?a he asked.

aTraveling clans avoid this area,a she said. aIt is known that the people here are afraid of us.a aSo why did your brother come here?a He shifted the saddle to a more comfortable hold, resting it against his hip.

aIt is given to the head of a clan to know where shadows dwell,a she replied obscurely. aMy brother was following one such.a Tieras experience with mages had led him to avoid questioning them when they talked of magica"he found that he usually knew less after they were finished than he did when he started. Whatever had led the young man here, it had left Seraph on her own.

aWhat happened to the rest of your clan?a he asked.

aPlague,a she said. aWe welcomed a Traveling stranger to our fires one night. The next night one of the babies had a cougha"by morning there were three of ours dead. The clan leader tried to isolate them, but it was too late. Only my brother and I survived.a aHow old are you?

aSixteen.a That was younger than he expected from her manner, though from her appearance, she could have easily been as young as thirteen. He shifted his saddle onto his shoulder to rest his arm. As he did so, he heard a thump and the saddle jerked in his hold. The arrow quivered in the thick leather of the saddle skirt, which presently covered his chest.

He threw himself forward and knocked her to the muddy ground underneath him. Holding her still despite her frantic battle to free herself of him, a hand keeping her quiet, he spoke to her in a toneless whisper.

aQuiet now, love. Someone out there is sending arrows our way; take a look at my saddle.a When she stilled, he slid his weight off of her. The grass was high enough to hide their movements in the dark. She rolled to her belly, but made no further move away from him. He rested a hand on her back to keep her in place until he could find their attacker in the dark. Her ribs vibrated with the pounding of her heart.

aHeas two dozen paces beyond your horse,a she whispered, aa little to the right.a He didnat question how she could see their attacker in the pitch-darkness of the forested night, but sneaked forward until he crouched in front of Skew where he held still, hoping that the mud that covered him head to toe would keep him from being a target for another arrow.

He glanced back to make certain that Seraph was still hidden, and stifled a curse.

She stood upright, her gaze locked beyond Skew. He assumed she was watching their attacker. Her clothes were dark enough to blend into the forested dark, but her pale hair caught the faint moonlight.

aSeraph,a said a soft voice. It continued in a liquid tongue Tier had never heard before.

aSpeak Common,a answered Seraph in cold clear tones that could have come from an empress rather than a battered, muddy, half-grown girl. aYour tongue does not favor Traveler speech. You sound like a hen trying to quack.a Well, thought Tier, if our pursuer had intended to kill Seraph, head have done so already. He had a pretty good idea then who it was that had tried to put an arrow in his hide. He hadnat seen that Lord Wresen carried a bow, but there might have been one in the manas luggage.

aI have killed the one who would hurt you,a continued the soft voice.

Tier supposed that it might have appeared that head been killed. Head thrown himself down half a breath after the arrow hit, and the saddle and blanket made a lump on the ground that with the cover of tall grass might look like a body from a distance.

aCome with me, little one,a Tieras would-be killer said. aI have shelter and food nearby. You canat stay out here alone. Youall be safe with me.a Tier could hear the lie in the manas words, but he didnat think Seraph could. He waited for the man to get close enough for Tier to find him, hoping that Seraph would not believe him. After spending two silver and four copper on her, as well as missing his dinner, Tier had something of an investment in her well-being.

aA Raven is never alone,a Seraph said.

aSeraph,a chided the man. aYou know better than that. Come, child, I have a safe place for you to abide. In the morning Iall take you to a clan I know of, not far from here.a Tier could see him now, a shadow darker than the trees he slipped between. Something about the way the shadow moved, combined with his voice, gave his identity to Tier: head been right; it was Wresen.

aWhich clan would that be?a asked Seraph.

aIa"a Some instinct turned Wresen before Tier struck, and Tieras sword met metal.

Tier threw his weight against the other man, pushing Wresen away to get some striking distance between thema"where Tieras superior reach would do him some good.

They fought briskly for a few minutes, mostly feeling each other out, searching for weaknesses. The older man was faster than Tier had expected, but he wasnat the only one whoad underestimated his opponent. From the grunt Wresen let out the first time he caught Tieras sword, head underestimated Tieras strengtha"something that was not uncommon. Tier was tall and, as head often been teased, slight as a stripling.

By the time they drew back to regroup, Tier boasted a shallow cut on his cheekbone and another on the underside of his right forearm. The other man had taken a hard blow from Tieras pommel on the wrist and Tier was pretty sure head drawn blood over his adversaryas eye.

aWhat do you want with the girl?a asked Tier. This was too much effort for a mere bedmate, no matter how Wresenas tastes ran.

aNaught but her safety,a insisted Wresen. The lie echoed in Tieras ears. aWhich is more than you can say.a He made an odd gesture with his fingers, and Tier dropped his sword with a cry as it became too hot to hold.

Wizard, thought Tier, but neither surprise nor dismay slowed him. Leaving his sword where it lay, Tier charged, catching the other man in the stomach with his shoulder and pushing both of them back into a mass of shrubs, which caught at their feet.

Wresen, unprepared, stumbled and fell. Tier struck hard, aiming for the throat, but his opponent rolled too fast. Quick as a weasel, Wresen regained his feet. Twice Tier jumped and narrowly avoided the otheras blade. But he wasnat a fool; unarmed, his chances werenat good.

aRun, Seraph,a he said. aTake the horse and get out of here.a With luck he should be capable of holding her pursuer long enough that she could lose him in the woods. If he could keep him busy enough, Wresen wouldnat have time to work magic.

aDonat be more of a fool than you can help, Bard,a she said coldly.

The other man swore, and Tier saw that Wresenas sword had begun to glow as if it were still in the blacksmithas fire. Steam rose from his sword hand as he made odd gestures toward it with his free hand. Wresen was no longer giving any heed to Tier at alla"which was the last mistake he ever made.

Tier pulled his boot knife out of the manas neck and cleaned it on the otheras cloak. When he was finished, he looked at Seraph.

Her pale skin and face were easy to find in the darkness. She reminded him of a hundred legends: so must Loriel have stood when she faced the Shadowed with nothing more than her song, or Terabet before throwing herself from the walls of Anarorgehn rather than betraying her people. His father had always said that his grandfather told him too many stories.

aWhy choose me over him?a Tier asked her.

She said, aI heard him at the inn. He was no friend of mine.a Tier narrowed his eyes. aYou heard me at the inn as well. He only helped the innkeeper add coppersa"I bought you intent on revenge.a She lifted her chin. aIam not stupid. I am Ravena"and you are Bard. I saw what you did.a The words were in Common, but they made no sense to him.

He frowned at her. aWhat do you mean? Mistress, I have been a baker and a soldier, which is to say swordsman, tracker, spy, and even tailor, blacksmith, and harness maker upon occasiona"and doubtless a half dozen other professions. But I make no claim to be a bard. Even if I were, I have no idea what that has to do with you. Or what being a raven means.a She stared at him as if he made as little sense to her as she had to him. aYou are Bard,a she said again, but this time there was a wobble in her voice.

He took a good look at her. It might have been rain that wet her cheeks, but head bet his good knife that there would be salt in the water. She was little more than a child and shead just lost her brother under appalling circumstances. It was the middle of the night, she was shaking with cold, and shead held up to more than many a veteran soldier.

aIall dispose of the body,a he said. aNeither of us will get any sleep with him out here attracting carrion-eaters. You get out of the rain and into dry clothes. Weall talk in the morning. I promise that no one will harm you until morning at least.a When she was occupied getting her baggage out of the cart, he led Skew to the body and somehow wrestled the dead man onto the horseas wet back. He had no intention of burying the man, just moving him far enough away that whatever scavengers the body attracted wouldnat trouble them. It occurred to him that Wresen might not be alonea"indeed, it would be odd if he were because noblemen traveled with servants.

But all he found was a single grey horse tied to a tree about a hundred paces back down the trail and no sign that another horse had been tied nearby.

Tier stopped beside the animal, and let the body slide off Skewas back into the mud, sword still welded to his hand. Skew, whoad borne with everything, jumped three steps sideways as the body fell and snorted unhappily. The grey pulled back and shook her head, trying to break freea"but the reins held. When nothing further happened the horse quieted and lipped nervously at a bunch of nearby leaves.

Tier rifled through the manas saddlebags, but there was nothing in them but the makings of a few meals and a pouch of silver and copper coins. This last he tucked into his own purse with a soldieras thrift. He took the food as well. There was nothing on the body eithera"except for a chunky silver ring with a bit of dark stone in it. He deemed the ring, like the horse and the manas sword, too identifiable to take, and left it where it was.

In the end, Tier found no hint of who Wresen was, or why head been so intent on getting Seraph. Surely a mage wouldnat have the same unreasoning fear of Travelers that the villagers here had.

He took his knife and cut most of the way through the greyas reins near the bit. When she got hungry enough shead break free, but it wouldnat be for a while yet.

By the time he rode back to camp, Tier was dragging with fatigue. Seraph had taken his advice; he found her huddled under the tree.

A second oilskin tarp, bigger and even more worn that his, increased the size of their shelter so that he might even be able to keep his feet dry. His saddle was in the shelter too, the mud wiped mostly off. He rummaged in the saddlebags and changed to his second set of clothing. They werenat clean, but dry was more important just now.

Seraph had turned her face away while he changed. Knowing shead not sleep for the cold on her own, nor agree to snuggle with a strangera"especially not in the present circumstances, he didnat bother to say anything. He wrapped an arm around her, ignored her squeak of surprised dismay, and stretched out to sleep.

She tried to wiggle away from him, but there wasnat much room. Then she was still for a long time while Tier drifted into a light doze. Some time later her quiet weeping woke him, and he shifted her closer, patting her back as if she were his little sister coming to him with a scraped knee rather than the loss of her family.

He woke to her strange pale eyes staring at him, lit by sunlight leaking through morning clouds.

aI could have used this on you,a Seraph said.

He looked at the blade she held in her dirty handsa"his best knife. She must have been into his saddlebags.

aYes,a he agreed, taking it from her unresisting hand. aBut I saw your face when you looked at our dead friend last night. I was pretty certain you wouldnat want to deal with another dead body any time soon.a aI have seen many dead,a she said, and he saw in her eyes that it was true.

aBut none that you have killed,a he guessed.

aIf I had not been asleep when they were killing my brother,a she said, aI would have killed them all, Bard.a aYou might have.a Tier stretched and slid out from under the tree. aBut then you would have been killed also. And, as I told you last night, I am no bard.a aJust a bakeras son,a she said. aFrom Redern.a aWhere I am returning,a he agreed.

aYou are no solsenti,a she disagreed smugly. aThere are no solsenti Bards.a aSolsenti?a He was beginning to get the feeling that they knew two entirely different languages that happened to have a few words in common.

Her assuredness began to falter, as if shead expected some other reaction from him. aSolsenti means someone who is not Traveler.a aThen Iam afraid I am most certainly solsenti.a He dusted off his clothes, but nothing could remove the stains of travel. At least they werenat wet. aI can play a lute and a little harp, but I am not a barda"though I think that means something different to you than it does to me.a She stared at him. aBut I saw you,a she said. aI felt your magic at the inn last night.a Startled he stared at her. aI am no mage, either.a aNo,a she agreed. aBut you charmed the innkeeper at the inn so that he didnat allow that man to buy my debt.a aI am a soldier, mistress,a he said. aAnd I was an officer. Any good officer learns to manage peoplea"or he doesnat last long. The innkeeper was more worried about losing his inn than he was about earning another silver or two. It had nothing to do with magic.a aYou donat know,a she said at last, and not, he thought, particularly to him. aHow is it possible not to know that you are Bard?a aWhat do you mean?a She frowned. aI am Raven, you would say Magea"very like a solsenti wizard. But there are other ways to use magic among the Travelers, things your solsenti wizards cannot do. A few of us are gifted in different ways and depending upon that gift, we belong to Orders. One of those Orders is Barda"as you are. A Bard is, as you said, a musician first. Your voice is true and rich. You have a remarkable memory, especially for words. No one can lie to you without you knowing.a He opened his mouth to say somethinga"he knew not what except that it wouldnat be kinda"but he looked at her first and closed his mouth.

She was so young, for all that she had the imposing manner of an empress. Her skin was grey with fatigue and her eyes were puffy and red with weeping she must have done while he slept. He decided not to argue with hera"or believe what she said though it caused cold chills to run down his spine. He was merely good with people, that was all. He could sing, but then so could most Rederni. He was no magic user.

He left her to her speculations and began to take down the camp. If Wresenas horse made it back to the inn, there might be people looking for him soon. Without saying anything more, she stood up and helped.

aIam going to take you to my kin in Redern,a he said when their camp was packed and Skew once more attached to the Traveler cart. aBut youall have to promise me not to use magic while youare there. My people are as wary as any near Shadowas Fall. Redernas a trading town; if there are any Traveler clans around, weall hear about them.a But she didnat appear to be listening to him. Instead, when shead scrambled to Skewas back she said, aYou donat have to worry. I wonat tell anyone.a aTell what?a he asked, leading the way back to the trail theyad followed the night before.

aThat someone in your family, however far back, laid with a Traveler. Only someone of Traveler blood could be a Bard,a she said. aThere are no solsenti Bards.a He was beginning to resent the way she said solsenti; whatever the true meaning of the word, he was willing to bet it was also a deadly insult.

aI wonat tell anyone else,a she said. aBeing Traveler is no healthy thing.a She glanced up at the mountains that towered above the narrow trail and shivered.

There were not as many thieves in that part of the Empire as there were in the lands to the east where war had driven men off their lands. But Conex the Tinker, who found the dead body beside the trail, was not so honest as all that. He took everything he could find of value: two good boots, a bow, a scorched sword with scraps of flesh still clinging to it (he almost left that but greed outweighed squeamishness in the end), a belt, and a silver ring with a bit of onyx stone set in it.

Two weeks after his unexpected good fortune a stranger met up with him on the road, as sometimes happens when two men have the same destination in mind. They spent most of the day exchanging news and ate together that night. The next morning the stranger, a silver ring safely in his belt pouch, rode off alone.

Conex would never more go a-tinkering.

CHAPTER 2.

aYou see those two mountains over there?a Tier gestured with his chin toward two rocky peaks that seemed to lean away from each other.

Seraph nodded. After several daysa travel she knew Tier well enough to expect the start of another story, and she wasnat wrong.

Tier was a good traveling companion, she thought as she listened to his story with half an ear. He was better than her brother Ushireh had been. He was generally cheerful and did more than his fair share of the camp work. He didnat expect her to say much, which was just as well, for Seraph didnat have much to saya"and she enjoyed his stories.

She knew that she should be planning what to do when they reached Tieras village. If she could find another clan, theyad take her in just for being Traveler, but being Raven would make her valuable to them.

If Ushireh had been less proud they would have joined another clan when their own clan died. But Ushireh had no Order to lend him rank; he would have gone from clan chiefas son to being no one of importance. Having more than her share of pride, Seraph had understood his dilemma. Shead agreed that they would go on and see what the road brought them.

Only see what the road brought, Ushireh.

There was no reason now not to find another clan. No reason to continue on with this solsenti Bard to his solsenti village. There would be no welcome for her in such a place. From what Tier said, it lay very near Shadowas Fall. There would be no clans anywhere near it.

But instead of telling him that she would be on her way, she continued to ride on his odd-colored gelding while Tier walked beside her and amused them both with a wondrous array of stories that touched on everything except his home, stories that distracted her from the shivery pain of Ushirehas death that shead buried in the same tightly locked place she kept the deaths of the rest of her family.

Arrogance and control were necessary to those who bore the Raven Order. Manipulation of the raw forces of magic was dangerous, and the slightest bit of self-doubt or passion could let it slip out of control. Shead never had trouble with arrogance, but shead had a terrible time learning emotional control. Eventually she had learned to avoid things that drew her temper: mostly that meant that she kept to herself as much as possible. Her brother, being a loner himself, had respected that. They had often gone days without speaking at all.

Tier, with his constant speech and teasing ways, was outside of her experience. She wasnat in the habit of observing people; it hadnat been a skill that shead needed. But, if truth be told, after journeying with Tier only a few days, she knew more about him than she had most of the people shead lived with all her life.

He wasnat one of those soldiers who talked of nothing but the battles head fought in. Tier shared funny stories about the life of a solder, but he didnat talk about the fighting at all. Every morning he rose early and practiced with his sworda"finding a quiet place away from her. She knew about the need for quiet and let him be while she did her own practice.

When he wasnat talking he was humming or singing, but he seldom talked of important things, and when he did he used far fewer words. He didnat make her talk and didnat seem uncomfortable with her silence. When they passed other people on the road, he smiled or talked as it came to him. Even with Seraphas silent presence, a moment or two of Tieras patter and the other people opened up. No wonder she found herself liking hima"everyone liked him. Isolated as most Ravens were kept, even within the clan, shead never paid enough attention to anyone outside of her family to actually like them before.

aWhat are you smiling at?a he asked as he finished his story. aThat poor goatherd had to live with a wealthy manas daughter for the rest of his life. Can you imagine a worse fate?a aTraveling with a man who talks all the time,a she replied, trying her hand at teasing.

Thankfully, he grinned.

It was evening the first time Seraph laid eyes on Redern, a middling-size village carved into the eastern face of a steep-sided mountain that rose ponderously from the icy fury of the Silver River. The settling sun lent a red cast to the uniform grey stones of the buildings that zigzagged up from the road.

Tier slowed to look, and Skew bumped him. He patted the horseas head absently, then continued at his normal, brisk pace. The road they were on continued past the base of the mountain and then veered abruptly toward a narrow stone bridge that crossed the Silver at the foot of the village.

aThe Silver is narrowest here,a he said. aThere used to be a ferry, but a few generations ago the Sept ordered a bridge built.a Seraph thought he was going to begin another story, but he fell silent. He bypassed the bridge by taking a narrow track that continued along the riveras edge. A few donkeys and a couple of mules occupied a series of pens just a few dozen yards beyond the bridge.

He found an empty pen and began to separate Skew from the cart. Seraph climbed down and helped him.

A boy appeared out of one of the pens. aIall find some hay for aem, sir,a he said briskly. aYou can store the cart in the shelter in the far pen.a He took a better look at Skew and whistled, aNow thatas an odd one. Never seen a horse with so many colorsa"like he was supposed to be a bay and someone painted him with big white patches.a aHeas Fahlarn bred,a said Tier. aThough most of them are bay or brown, Iave seen a number of spotted horses.a aFahlarn?a said the boy, and he looked closer at Tier. aYouare a soldier then?a aWas,a agreed Tier as he led Skew into the pen. aWhere did you say to put the cart?a The boy turned to look at the cart and his gaze touched Seraph and stuck there. aYouare Travelers?a The boy licked his lips nervously.

aShe is,a said Tier closing the pen. aIam Rederni.a Tier was good with people: Seraph had every confidence that the boy wouldnat make them move on if she left Tier to talk to him.

aHe said to put the cart in the far pen,a murmured Seraph to that end. aIall take it.a When she got back to Tier, the boy was gone, and Tier had his saddle and bridle on his shoulder.

aThe boyas gone to get some hay for Skew,a he said. aHeall be in good care here. They donat allow large animals on the streetsa"the streets are too steep anyway.a He didnat lie about that. The cobblestone village road followed the contours of the mountain for almost a quarter of a mile, with houses on the uppermost side of the road, and then swung abruptly back on itself like a snake, climbing rapidly to a new level as it did so. The second layer of road still had houses on the uphill side, but, looking toward the river, Seraph could see the roofs of the houses theyad just passed.

Stone benches lined the wide corner of the second bend of the zigzagging road, and an old man sat on one of them playing a wooden flute. Tier paused to listen, closing his eyes briefly. Seraph saw the old man look up and start a bit, but he kept playing. After a moment, Tier moved on, but his steps were slower.

He stopped in front of a home marked by sheaves of wheat carved into the lintel over the doorway and by the smell of fresh-baked bread.

aHome,a he said after a moment. aI donat know what kind of welcome to expect. I havenat heard from anyone here since I left to go to wara"and I left in the middle of the night.a Seraph waited, but when he made no move to continue she said, aDid they love you?a He nodded without looking away from the door.

aThen,a she said gently, aI expect that the men will bluster and the women will cry and scolda"then they will feast and welcome you home.a He laughed then. aThat sounds about right. I suppose it wonat change for putting it off longer.a He held the door open for her and followed her into a largish room that managed to be both homey and businesslike at the same time. Behind the counter that divided the room in half were tilted shelves displaying bread in a dozen forms and a burly red-headed man who looked nothing like Tier.

aMay I help you, good sir?a asked the man.

aBandor?a said Tier. aWhat are you doing here?a The big man stared at him, then paled a bit. He shook his head as if setting aside whatever it was that had bothered him. Then he smiled with genuine welcome. aAs I live and breathe, itas Tier come back from the dead.a Bandor stepped around the counter and enveloped Tier in a hearty embrace. aItas been too long.a It was odd to see two men embracinga"her own people were seldom touched in public outside of childhood. But Tier returned the bigger manas hug with equal enthusiasm.

aYouare here for good, I hope,a said Bandor, taking a step back.

aThat depends upon my father,a Tier replied soberly.

Bandor shook his head and his mouth turned down. aAh, there is much that has happened since you left. Draken died four years ago, Tier. Your sister and I had been married a few years earliera"Iad taken an apprenticeship here when you left.a He stopped and shook his head. aIam telling this all topsy-turvy.a aDead,a said Tier, his whole body stilled.

aBandor,a said a womanas voice from behind a closed door. The door swung wide and a woman came out backwards, having bumped open the door with her hip. Her arms were occupied with a large basket of rolls. aDo you think I ought to do another four dozen rolls, or are the eight dozen we have enough?a The woman was taller than average, thin and lanky like Tier. And as she turned around, Seraph could see that she had his dark hair and wide mouth.

aAlinath,a said Bandor. aI believe you have a visitor.a She turned toward Tier with a polite smile and opened her mouth, but when her eyes caught his face no sound left her lips. She dropped the basket on the ground, spilling rolls everywhere, then she was over the top of the counter and wrapped tightly around him.