Undestined: Fight your Fate

Chapter Nine: In the Silent City, Pt. 3

Talis returned around lunchtime, much to Silay’s and Jarlen’s surprise. Even more surprising was the amount of food he brought with him, scavenged from the abandoned houses. Lunch was eaten in silence, and the rest of that day was spent organizing for the arrival of help from Sojan.

The wall around Turvew wasn’t very high, but it still afforded a good view of the road from where Silay sat on it. She was perched near the edge of the wall, her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. She had been there since sunrise. The Seer had contacted them the night before to let them know that rescuers from Sojan were on the way, and Silay was silently willing them to move faster. Riya was looking worse, and there was only so much food to be scavenged in the abandoned town.

Finally, she saw three riders approaching, each with a spare horse in tow. Even from a distance, Silay recognized the bright blue and gold of the Sojan Guard uniform on two of them. She scrambled down from the wall and pulled open the gate before heading down the road to meet them.

“Hello, again.”

Silay looked in confusion at the Guardswoman who had greeted her. “Do I know you?”

“Praesi. I was one of the guards who arrested you.”

“Ah.” Silay paused. She was surprised she hadn’t remembered her. The woman towered over Silay, and her hair was blond, a rare color to see in Ohicink. But then, she’d had other concerns back in Sojan. “I don’t really know what else to say to that.”

“Not to worry.” Praesi smiled. “How about you lead us to where you’re staying?”

Silay nodded, and set off through the abandoned town. The horses’ hooves echoed eerily in the empty streets as they followed at a slow walk.

“So, this what Turvew looks like without people.” The rider in front broke the silence.

Silay glanced over her shoulder. The rider was clearly tall even taking into account the size of the horse he was riding. He had one of those faces that could be any age, though Silay guessed he wasn’t much older than herself. 

 “What happened here? We’ve been so busy, we forgot to ask.”

“Evacuation.” Praesi was the one to answer. “The seers saw some unspecified trouble, so the town moved into Sojan. We’re quite crowded now.”

“Unspecified?” Silay gave a short laugh. “They were probably Seeing us. Or my friends, at any rate.”

“Or Kahoz.” It was the man who had spoken earlier. “I was given to understand he was tracking you.”

Silay nodded. “And you are?”

“Edo. Also, a magician. I’m going to see if I can get the collar off of your thief friend.”

Silay was about to respond to the ‘thief’ comment, but bit her tongue instead. These people, whatever their opinions, were here to help. She didn’t want to offend them.

Jarlen must have heard the horses, because he was standing outside the house to greet them. After introductions, Praesi and Edo went in, leaving the third man to stay with the horses. Jarlen led the Guardswoman to the kitchen where they had assembled their few remaining supplies, and Silay led the magician to Riya’s room.

Riya was awake and sitting up, which Silay took as a good sign, but her skin was so pale it was almost transparent. Still, she managed to nod a greeting to the newcomer.

He returned the nod, causing his longish brown hair to fall into his eyes. “I’m Edo. Shall we take a look at things?” He walked to the bed, and Riya leaned forward so he could see the magic seal on the back of the collar.