The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [140]
Brydda’s shoulders slumped. “I should be glad.…”
I did not wait to hear any more. Taking the chance offered by the momentary confusion, I slipped into the street.
It was dark and very cold, the moon obscured by clouds. I shivered and wished I had not left my coat on the cart. I had delivered my message, I thought bitterly, but at what cost?
When I had gone a safe distance from Brydda’s hovel, I stepped into a darkened doorway and closed my eyes, sending my mind to the other side of town. My mind played back and forth, seeking Jik’s familiar pattern. It seemed ages before I spotted a dull glimmer at the farthest edge of my reduced lowland range. I sent a farseeking probe gratefully.
“Elspeth?” Jik’s thoughts were faint.
“Jik, are you in the Herder cloister?” Lightning flashed, making it a strain to communicate at such a distance.
“Yes,” he sent.
“What about the others?”
“I’m on my own in a cell. Kella and Pavo are here somewhere. Avra is in the stable,” Jik sent. I was filled with loneliness and apprehension but realized Jik was empathising his own emotions to me.
“What happened?” I asked.
“One of the priests recognized me from Darthnor. I tried to tell them Kella and Pavo didn’t know about me, but I don’t think they believed me. They want to know how I got here and how I made it look like I died. They want to know where I’ve been and if I had help. I’m scared. I think they mean to take me out to Herder Isle.” Jik’s terror spilled over into my own mind, and for a moment, I saw his nightmarish vision of the interrogation methods awaiting him.
“I won’t let that happen. I’m coming,” I sent, but the contact had begun to fade.
I found myself slumped in the doorway, gritty water seeping through the knees of my trousers. Sweat was freezing on my cheeks, and my teeth were chattering violently.
I had meant to try farseeking Darga as well, but that would have to wait. I needed to reach the cloisters as fast as I could and get Jik away from there. Get him away, or erase his mind, a darker voice reminded me. I shuddered and walked faster.
I was limping badly by the time I reached the area of the city nearest the cloister, certain that all Kella’s good work on the scars had been undone. It was not hard to tell which building was the cloister. Set apart from the other buildings, it had its own high wall. Branches of trees and leaves visible at the top told me there was a garden inside. I made my way carefully around the perimeter, looking for a weak point. There were two small gates, barred and guarded, and one larger gate, open but heavily guarded. The contact with Jik had left me too depleted to coerce a guard, let alone more than one. Somehow I had to get in without being seen. I decided I would have to climb over the wall.
Leaning against it to gather my energy for the climb, I realized a dog was pacing on the other side. He had sensed me and was about to bark. I sent a quick greeting, and his urge to bark diffused into curiosity.
“Who/what are you?” It was a dog named Kadarf.
“I am a funaga. I mean no harm. I want to come over the fence and visit a friend,” I sent. Fighting a wave of nausea, I gave his mind a coercive push. I climbed the fence with the help of a spindly tree growing by the wall. Sitting on the top, I could see the Herder cloister through the trees, a dark, squarish building with few windows and no visible doors.
At the foot of the wall, a muscular, brindled dog watched me slither awkwardly to the ground. He bore a strong resemblance to Darga, and I remembered how the townspeople had eyed him warily.
I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind for Jik. When I farsought him, he almost overwhelmed me with a wave of emphathised terror.
“Elspeth!” Jik sent. “They’re taking me to the Herder Isle tonight!”
“I’m right outside. Now, how long before they come?”
Jik made a concentrated effort to control his panic. “In … in an hour, they said. But that was a while ago. Is Darga with you?”
I sent a gentle negative.