"Then why are you not interested in me? Am I ugly? Do I repel you in some way?" The dryad seemed genuinely distressed that he wasn't falling all over himself to become her plaything. Will glanced up at her, then realized his mistake. Her emerald green eyes pierced into his, capturing his gaze and holding it as power poured forth from her.

Will frowned. Looked away from her and over at Cicero. "You okay, buddy?" he asked the elf.

Cicero had his eyes tightly squeezed shut now, and sweat poured down his face. "Must ... not ... look...," the kindari gritted out from between clenched teeth.

Will looked back at the dryads draped all over him. What was the big deal? This time he looked directly at the females. Both of them frowned in concentration, obviously doing their best to do whatever it was they did to most men.

He shrugged. Grinned apologetically. "Sorry, ladies. You are very attractive, and I appreciate your interest. But I've had a long day and I could use some sleep. If you don't mind, it looks like my friends have had about all they can take, too."

All three dryads froze, staring in shock. He stared back at them, perplexed by how confounded they seemed.

"Who are you?" one of them whispered.

"I am Will. Uhh, Will Cobb."

"You are well named. Will, indeed," another murmured.

The one who appeared to be the leader of the pack stared at him long and hard. Finally, she said soberly, "I know not who or what you are, young human. But I will tell you this-and it comes from a servant of the Green Lady herself, so I speak truth. Someone dangerous comes this way. And he comes for you, strange human."

That was the second time someone had told him that. Will snorted. "So what's new?"

The dryad stared at him intently, not as if trying to control his mind but as if willing him to take her seriously.

"All right. Fine," he replied to her unspoken demand, "I believe you. I will have a care for my safety."

She nodded, relieved.

"Do you know who comes for me, then?" he asked her.

"Nay. I only know the message I was given. Safe travels unto you strange human." As one, the dryads rose gracefully, stepped up to the nearest tree trunks, and disappeared into them. Just melted right into the solid wood.

Will stared. "Did they just-"

"Tree walk," Eben replied, relief that the creatures had left palpable in his voice. "They move from tree to tree that way. They're forest spirits."

Will jolted. The world as he knew it shifted upon its axis. He'd heard stories of tree walkers but had always guffawed at the tales, knowing them to be pure fiction. But if dryads truly did exist ... what other legends and fairy tales of his childhood might also be true?

Like stories of long-ago kings sleeping in wait for a time when they would be needed once more. Until now, his father's quest had been a hypothetical thing. He had been going through the motions out of respect for his parents' memories. But of a sudden it hit him: What if their quest was real? What if a king did exist with the power to throw off the yoke of Koth?

And of more immediate concern, what other magical or fantastic creatures were out here lurking in the forest? He glanced at the ancient rowans around him, suddenly feeling like a stranger in a strange land. What else didn't he know about these woods ... or about the wider world?

Raina was too keyed up after the bandit attack to sleep for the remainder of the night. Which was why, deep in the night, she heard Kendrick creep away from his bed and one of the dryads emerging from her tree quietly coo in greeting. Raina rolled her eyes and stuffed her fingers in her ears.

She woke a little before the gray of dawn, and while Cicero scouted out the locations of Anton's men the others quietly broke camp. Whatever hold over Kendrick and Eben the dryads had before, it appeared to have been released. Likewise, if their pursuers had posted any guards in the night, they were all sleeping like babes, now. Whether from lack of discipline among them or the machinations of their dryad hostesses, she could not tell. Either way, she was deeply relieved that they would not have to fight their way out of the grove.

The party slipped quietly from the grove and Cicero led them around the sleeping bandits or soldiers or whatever their attackers had been. The dryads did not make another appearance, for which the male members of their group seemed relieved.

That annoying lizardman girl insisted on tagging along. Something about not leaving until Will handed over that wooden disk of his to her. Raina wished he could just do it and get rid of the surly female. But no such luck.

Their odd little party set out, everyone watching everyone else with veiled suspicion to one degree or another. Not exactly an auspicious start for this journey of theirs. Rosana was furious with Sha'Li for attacking Will. Will was angry at the lizardman girl on Rosana's behalf. Eben was angry at Kendrick for dallying with the dryads, Kendrick was angry at Eben for being angry, and Sha'Li was angry at everyone, it seemed.

They trudged along, mostly silent through the morning, for which Raina was grateful. It was better than the bickering her brothers-her half brothers, she corrected herself bitterly-would have engaged in under the same circumstances.

They stopped for lunch, and the conversation turned to what threat the dryads might have been trying to warn Will of the previous night. The consensus was that a superpowerful dryad who could command Will's mind was en route to restore the dryads' reputations. For some reason, she and the other girls in the party found the whole notion much funnier than the fellows did.

The party was less tense through the afternoon, but quiet as fatigue set in. Not long after they'd started looking for a likely spot to stop for the night, Cicero abruptly called a halt, studied what looked like some random scratches on a tree, and, without explanation, plunged into the trees. He returned a few minutes later, grinning widely.

"What?" she demanded.

"Follow me. We will sleep safe from Anton's soldiers this night," he declared.

Perplexed, she and the others followed him off the path and into heavy woods. The trees were huge here. Old-growth forest. Somehow, this stretch of timber had escaped the ravages of the Forester's Guild.

They picked their way through dangerous tree roots and thick brambles for several minutes. Without warning, a half-dozen elves dropped out of the trees around them. Raina noticed intricate russet-colored swirls decorating their faces. Kindari. Cicero must have seen their sign along the margins of the road.

Cicero murmured under his breath. "The ursari. Bear clan." Louder he said, "Greetings, cousins. I am Cicero of the arachnari."

One of the elves stepped forward. He was tall and held an axe in his right hand, but the blade was behind his body in a nonthreatening fashion. "Ho, long legs. Do northern stars take away your sorrows?"

Cicero replied, "Would that they could. We travel in search of a lost friend. And this night, we seek safe shelter."

"Then come with us and be welcome," the big elf replied.

In short order the kindari had invited the party to their village, tucked into the hillsides and roots of the largest trees in the forest.

They were ushered into a large roundhouse, some sort of gathering place for the village. The construction was beautiful, with arched wooden ribs that looked carved directly from tree roots climbing to a point in the center of the high ceiling. The wood-paneled walls were carved with gorgeous representations of nature-vines and flowers and fanciful creatures. It was a room worthy of any king, tucked here among the trees.

Food and drink were brought, and dinner was a merry affair with laughter and song aplenty. The kindari embraced life with zest, not shying away from displays of emotion like their cousins of other elven persuasions. They laughed loud, freely shed a tear at a sad song, and seemed more at ease in their skins than any other elves she'd met.

After everyone had dined and the assemblage was served mugs of bracing hard cider, the kindari elders and travelers settled down around a bonfire to trade news.

Raina sat quietly, listening to the events of the day. The big news was that an expeditionary force from Dupree marched north to the Forest of Thorns and was wreaking havoc along the way, requisitioning whatever food and supplies it wanted. She wondered how these forest dwellers managed to get such current information way out here. Word had it the governor was leading the force personally. The idea concerned the ursari greatly.

Rumor also had it the governor was looking to provoke a war with the Boki. The kindari elders, led by a fellow with a thick head of snow-white hair, predicted that in his ambition and greed Anton would use the invasion as a free pass to steal all the gold and other resources he could lay his hands on. Or worse, he might attempt to make a great conquest of the Forest of Thorns, an endeavor the ursari scorned as folly.

If Anton truly provoked the greenskin tribes, it was generally agreed that the Empire would be forced to send a large Imperial legion to Haelos to quell the hornet's nest Anton would stir up.

Cicero chimed in, "The way I hear it, the governor is unbalanced in the head. Kothite nobles always seem to be a little off, if you know what I mean."

This from the man whose friend and colleague had ranted about her bringing down a kingdom, compliments of a vision from his dragon lord?

Knowing nods bobbed all around. Several ursari spoke in quick succession while she was momentarily distracted by the reminder of the elf Moto's disturbing prophecy.

"... The people of the Black Flame go a little mad with power when they come to Haelos...."

"... If the Viper knows what's good for him he will stay clear of the sky people of the Ariannas.... ."

"... But if he fells the nomads then all the Valelands would be his for the taking.... ."

"... The Wyldes will be lucky if he stays occupied high of Dupree...."

"... the Lady knows the Boki will draw much blood. Fighting in the thorns is madness."

A momentary silence fell. Kendrick leaned forward, grinning with surprising violence. "Personally, I'd like to see the governor try the full might of the Boki. If anything, their strength has grown since the last time he quelled them. They'd crush Anton."

Eben argued, "I dunno. I've run my caravans through the Forest of Thorns, and those orcs are always brawling and squirmishing among themselves."

The white-haired elder replied sagely, "Ahh, yes. Wolves fighting over a single bone are fierce individually. But such a pack will rend the bear that comes to their supper limb from limb. The Lords of the Boar have an entire forest under their control and all of its power."

Rosana piped up, "Like our violent little colony is not the same way if properly provoked?"

The ursari elder shrugged. "We make our homes in a dangerous land. Those who live here must keep their reflexes and swords sharp to survive."

Cicero commiserated, "Better perilous freedom than safe and certain servitude. Is that not what our kind always says?"

The elder nodded slowly. Raina's head was in a whirl. These people were speaking treason. Casually! Surely there was an informant somewhere in their midst. Merely thinking these sorts of thoughts was a crime punishable by death. Her parents had no love for the Empire, but never ... ever ... would one of them utter aloud anything like these folk were chatting about over mugs of hard cider.

Furthermore, the vitriol dripping in the kindari's voices at any reference to Koth was breathtaking. The Empire was all-powerful. All-knowing. One did not gainsay it. Ever. And yet, these wild people dared to speak their minds.

A staggering exercise of freedom.

Freedom. A notion for which she had a new and utterly profound respect after her own narrow escape from unwilling servitude to the Mages of Alchizzadon. She had to find a way to rouse the Great Mage. And sooner rather than later.

CHAPTER.

20.

Aurelius peered surreptitiously out the window of his office high in the Mage's Guild. He spotted the individual he awaited entering the far side of Eldritch Circle. How could anyone miss the man? Not only was he a head taller than any other person in the open space, but he still moved as gracefully as a dancer, still exuded an odd sense of utter calm in the midst of a great storm, still wrapped himself in an aura of deadly menace.

But from this vantage point Aurelius watched most of the people in the plaza completely failing to notice one of the most feared assassins on either shore of the Abyssmal Sea. Shaking his head, he headed downstairs to greet his guest.

When a knock sounded upon the guild's outer door, Aurelius brushed aside the apprentice on door duty and opened it himself. He grinned at the faint shoulder twitch that was his guest's only indication of surprise.

"Come in, you old reprobate." Aurelius laughed. "Are you wearing that getup to frighten small children, or do you seriously think it hides your identity?"

Selea shrugged out of his voluminous hooded cloak and passed it to Aurelius. He stripped off the black gloves that completed the ensemble. "It seems to do the trick. So, Aurelius. I am surprised to find you here. You do not accompany our illustrious governor?"

"What's this? Is your spy network failing you?"

The nulvari grinned, his smile all the whiter for his midnight dark face. "Go ahead and think that, my friend. We'll see who's still standing in two hundred years."

Aurelius had no illusions as to why Selea had come to visit. The nulvari had come to collect on the favor owed him and would finally demand answers. Answers Aurelius had avoided giving the assassin for sixteen years. Selea followed him into his office complete with its new desk, making no sound whatsoever with his passing.

Aurelius ushered Selea to the pair of new armchairs he'd brought in after De'Vir's boy blew the place to bits, propped his feet on the raised hearth before the fire, leaned back, and feigned a casualness he was far from feeling. "What can I do for you, my old friend?"

"I seek answers to questions you already know I am here to ask."

Like most nulvari, Selea could be incredibly obtuse when he chose. He was a master at speaking around a subject, at conveying vast amounts of information without ever once mentioning a thing directly. And vice versa, he could talk for hours and never actually reveal a thing. Interesting that he indulged in no pleasantries today, no subtle wordplay, no hints or innuendos. The reappearance of the names De'Vir and Ki'Raiden in the same week must have worried Selea as much as it worried Aurelius.

Seeking to delay the real issue, Aurelius asked, "What news of the boy?"

In much more typical Selea fashion, the nulvari answered a question with a question. "What do you know of the lad?"

He temporized, "I'm assuming this conversation is between two friends and not the representatives of our respective guilds?"

"Of course."

Even Aurelius, who'd known Selea for some two hundred years, had no idea what Assassin's Guild rank the man held. But his assertion that this was not a guild matter seemed to relax the nulvari. Ever the cautious one, he was. Didn't entirely trust his closest acquaintances, even after centuries.

Selea finally ended their verbal dance by saying bluntly, "I sought out the boy as you asked. Delivered him to the Heart. And at my request, Lenora duly let him slip out with that gypsy girl he came to Dupree with. As we expected, they headed toward the Forest of Thorns. My informant reports that your boy caught up with Hyland's son before they even passed through the city gates."

"Excellent," Aurelius murmured. "On what pretext did Lenora let the boy go?"

"I suspect all she had to do was leave the door unlocked and look the other way." Selea added reflectively, "That boy gravitates to trouble like his father did."

Aurelius rose and went to the liquor cabinet. "Your usual?"

"Indeed."

He poured honeyed mead into a pair of tall glass mugs and carried them back to the fire. The two men sipped in silence, contemplating the flickering flames for several minutes. It was a pleasure to be in the leisurely company of another elf. Humans were always in such a blasted hurry. They talked fast and moved fast, racing through life like madmen. Of course, with so little time to live he supposed they had cause.

"Why this particular chain of events?" Aurelius murmured. "Why now?"

Selea frowned to show he'd heard the question, but the silence stretched out while he considered his answer. Finally, the nulvari murmured back, "Perhaps it is merely coincidence."

"Cursed improbable coincidence that the Boki leave their forest for the first time since the incursion, De'Vir's boy shows up out of nowhere, and Anton goes tearing off to the Forest of Thorns on some flimsy pretext. You'll forgive me if I'm not that big a believer in random chance."

"What's your take on it, then?"

Aurelius shrugged. "Something's afoot. Something having to do with that twice-cursed Boki grove and the legend surrounding it."

"Like what?"

"I haven't the slightest idea." He huffed in frustration. "I even resorted to consulting a seer about it."