The Gates of Night_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [70]
Daine took one last glance at Huwen, wondering what the next innkeeper of the Crooked Tree would look like.
Don’t even think about eating that,” Lei said.
Daine paused, a chunk of bread halfway to his mouth. “What?”
“By the Sovereigns, you’re lucky your voice was all that you lost. Don’t eat the food. Did you have a mother?”
“She was a swordsmith,” Daine said. “My bedtime stories taught me the dangers of battle, not traveling through other planes.”
“Just trust me. Leave it alone. I’ll make you a bowl of gruel when we find a place to stop.”
“Oh, gruel,” Daine said, regretfully tossing the bread into the bushes. “Now there’s an appealing offer. Aren’t you hungry?”
“I’ve got other things on my mind right now. You,” she said to Xu’sasar. “That weapon of yours. What is it?” Her voice was hard, her anger still searching for an outlet.
“It is nothing of your world,” Xu’sasar replied. “I said before, our people tell different tales.”
“Then tell me a story,” Lei said. “Because we’re not going anywhere until I choose our path.”
Pierce looked to Daine, but it seemed that the captain had chosen to leave this in Lei’s hands. Pierce himself was curious. While Xu’sasar seemed to be an ally, there was much they didn’t know about the drow girl. Where had this weapon come from, and what was it capable of?
Xu’sasar stared at Lei, silver eyes gleaming with the light of the moon. But Lei wasn’t backing down. Xu’sasar brought the bone blades together, and the two weapons merged, twisting into a longer sword with a blade made from a giant tooth.
The total mass of the weapon has increased, Shira observed. I am still unable to ascertain its true nature, but it holds great power, such that I can sense its energy, even over the ebb and flow of the realm.
“Behold the Tooth of the Wanderer.” Xu’sasar said. “The world is filled with spirits. You outlanders do not see them and do not heed their calls. Tree, scorpion, wind. Vulkoor the scorpion is predator and provider, and there is power and wisdom in his lessons.” She ran a finger along the opalescent vambrace covering her right forearm.
Scorpion chitin, Shira observed. Alchemically treated. Flexible but strong.
“The scorpion of our world is a symbol of Vulkoor, a lesson we must learn. So it is with all things in the first land, from the shifting panther to the foul giant.”
“I asked about the blade,” Lei said.
“Then listen,” Xu’sasar replied. “The great spirits are known by name. Hul’drac. Vulkoor. Kura’tra. Each one is a lesson, and each guides us down a particular path. But there is one who bears no name, who cannot be bound by a single form, a wanderer who follows every path, and none.”
Lei’s eyes narrowed. “And this Wanderer … does he give gifts, perhaps?”
The drow girl clicked his tongue. “Dangerous gifts, traps for the weak and unwary. The Wanderer is the lesson that remains unknown until the end, and those who survive will be stronger for it.”
“And you’re carrying his tooth? How is that even possible, and who would be fool enough to do such a thing?”
“The Wanderer is not bound to mortal flesh.” As Xu’sasar spoke, the blade in her hands shifted, transforming into the three-pronged throwing wheel she had used before. “The blade is an idea, just as the Wanderer is … chaos and change, bound together as tooth and bone. It is my destiny to bear it, and if I am strong, I will survive this task. Already, my blade restored the voice of Daine when you lacked the courage to act. Who are you to question it?”
Lei took a step forward, but Pierce put a hand on her shoulder.
“I understand your frustration, my lady,” Pierce said. “But perhaps it would be best to continue this conversation when we are no longer standing in the shadow of an enemy.”
Lei took a deep breath, then released it. “It’s not that easy, Pierce.” Lei looked at the forest around them, and a mournful whisper filled the air, the voice of the darkwood staff. “As long as we remain in this wood, the enemy is all around us.”
“The Woodsman,” Daine said. “In Aureon’s name,