Rain, the first real precipitation I had felt in this world, spattered my face and beaded on Seraf’s waxy shell, but the skies overhead were clear. I noticed a cloudburst over the mesas. A stiff wind had flung some of its moisture over the valley. When the wind shifted, the rain ceased abruptly, as if someone had turned a valve.
“Who is this man?” said Urszula, all anxious and agitated. “Why is he riding with you?”
“He’s … uh … from that place you left me. I don’t know his real name. I’ve been calling him Mr. O.”
Mr. O broke into Duster speak and the two of them argued. For the next two minutes I don’t think I heard a single vowel spoken. Mr. O held out his arm and showed her the moss that clung to his elbows, the mineral stains crusting his side. He continued to explain to a disbelieving Urszula. Flabbergasted, she cut him off and turned to me.
“Is he for real?” said Urszula. “Am I to believe him?”
“Why? What did he say?”
“He says you woke him from the long sleep.”
“Um, yeah. I guess I did. But I didn’t mean to. It was an accident.”
“But how? Our best shamans have tried for years to revive the Old Ones. Yaqob himself has tried many times and failed.”
“I don’t know. I was just messing around. I was lonely. After you left, I needed someone to talk to. And he reminded me of this guy I used to know. And so, I took this new sword and….” I reached back and pulled it out of the crude back harness.
Seraf hissed and raised her forelegs defensively.
“Where did you get that?” said Urszula, astonished.
“Found it … in the ruins.”
She came and took it from me, examining the blade carefully.
“This comes from the Deeps,” she said. “Crafted by the first rebels.”
“Rebels?”
“Neueden’s founders,” she said. “Metalwork is a challenge there. Nothing binds together. All crumbles into dust. Making weapons of this quality requires potent spell craft.”
“Can you please tell him I’m sorry? I didn’t mean to bring him back here. He was pretty upset.”
“What do you expect? You uprooted him. Tore him from his world without warning. Maybe he left loved ones behind, if such a thing is possible for his kind.”
“His kind? Isn’t he your kind?”
“Not anymore,” said Urszula. “Existence evolves. He comes from a different plane. You would find it very strange.”
A Reaper howled across the river. At least a dozen other bellowed in response. That got my heart thumping like a flat tire.
“What the heck’s going on over there?” I said.
Her eyes went beady and hard. “Frelsians. They are coming for us.”
“What do you mean?”
“They are staging for an attack on Neueden, the fourth. Maybe the timing is coincidence, but maybe it is retribution for our little raid. They aim to clear the mesas …to exterminate us.”
“You mean I caused this? It’s all because you rescued me? Dang it, Urszula, you never should have—”
Her flat gaze did not waver.
“It was inevitable. They have been preparing for a long time. They would have come for us eventually. We just forced their hand. Better we face them now. They will only get stronger with time.”
