‘Is everything clear?’ I asked.

‘Yes, Your Highness,’ the guard answered, his visualized form in the dream nodding.

I would have preferred to talk directly to Tenira or one of the others, but none of them were asleep right now. Lei was supposed to be, I thought, but given the situation with my disappearance, it didn’t surprise me. I had to make do with one of the Imperial Guard.

‘Then I’ll help you wake up now,’ I said. ‘Focus on remembering the message and passing it to one of my cousins, or my husband, as quickly as possible.’

I withdrew my mind a little and flexed some of this strange power. It was more instinctive than even shapeshifting, going by feel and desire. I managed to shake the dreaming mind, push him towards the surface, towards waking. The connection fizzled out as the guard woke up.

I turned my attention outward again, searching. The cluster of possible sleeping minds I was looking for now were much farther away, but distance didn’t matter much in dreams, and I had a close connection to some of them.

I could tell pretty quickly that Mother wasn’t dreaming. Around her, few people were. A few I’d interacted with before were possibilities, including someone who worked closely with Kariva. But I hesitated and instead chose another mind, one I was more familiar with.

Maybe he subconsciously recognized and welcomed me, but it was very easy to make contact. I let my presence radiate outward so I wouldn’t surprise him too much, and slowly dove into the dream. It was a chaotic jumble of images and concepts, half-formed thoughts perhaps interrupted by my arrival. I exerted a bit of influence to help it stabilize.

‘Nari!’ Al exclaimed. His representation of himself was clearer now, basically a projection of his real body standing in a half-formed landscape of mist and frozen waves.

I condensed into a similar dream-body and stepped forward to hug him. Of course, it wasn’t physical contact, but it sent subtle signals of acceptance and affection. ‘Hi, Al. I need your help.’

His expression turned serious. ‘It’s good to know you’re alive, you know. We were worried. Are you alright? What can I do to help?’

I smiled. ‘I’m fine. But I may not have much time, I don’t want to be asleep long. Can you go and find Mother, tell her I need to contact her?’

He nodded. ‘Of course. Let me try to wake up …’

I helped him with that, as well, though Al was much more focused. As a low-level genius, he’d remember all of my dream visit, as well. At least, I was pretty sure of that.

The wait seemed to take ages, even though I knew it wasn’t that long. I hung around, in a weird limbo state between dreams, reaching out with my mind but not really connecting with anything, just sensing what I could here. Finally, Mother’s mind appeared to my senses, more clearly as she sank deeper into sleep.

I didn’t waste time, but immediately contacted her. She had control over her mind even asleep, but invited me in right away, letting my consciousness slip into her dream. It was a scene of the rooftop terrace where we’d spoken several times. I let my dream-self look around for a moment before I turned to her.

‘Inaris, I’m glad you’re okay,’ she said. ‘Did the Zarian capture you?’

‘So you got my message?’

‘Yes, your friends sent a wind cultivator in the seventh stage to deliver it, as soon as Tenira realized the note you’d written was in English. You’re lucky they found it at all. From what I gather, the storage ring fell into a crack and wasn’t easy to see.’ She grimaced, and I could feel an echo of frustration and concern. ‘I was unsure what to do, to be honest. “Betrayal, Hajake and Jian traitors, I’m disguised, probably taken by Zarian” doesn’t give us much to work with. Of course, it’s still good you got the message out.’

I shrugged, trying not to feel embarrassed. ‘I didn’t have much time to think. Anyway …’ I told her what happened, trying to give pertinent details while being concise. Talking about it rekindled the anger, but I focused on Mother’s reaction, what I could sense of it.

After I’d finished, Mother was quiet for a moment. Then she nodded. ‘I see. That complicates things there.’ The dream around us shuddered, the environment contracting inward in reaction to her. ‘Do you think Tenira and Kajare can handle this?’

I shrugged. ‘I think so. I’m planning to lay low for a while, see how I can get back safely. Now that they’re forewarned, I hope we’ll manage. We still have the Zarian to deal with, the war …’

‘Should I send Kariva there?’

I hesitated. ‘Only if she isn’t needed here. I’m not sure how much she could do that Tenira or Kajare can’t.’

Mother nodded. ‘We’ll see.’

For the next few minutes, we talked about the state of the war. She caught me up on what had happened on the southern front. The Zarian were advancing, but our defensive line had performed reasonably well. It looked like things were going to stall out. I was a little concerned that things might devolve into a long slaughter, fronts grinding to a standstill, but it was better than having the south of the Empire overrun.

When the conversation stalled, I hesitated again. We looked at each other, and I felt a bit of awkwardness surface.

Mother made as if to raise her arm, then dropped it and gave me a small smile. ‘Come back safely, Inaris.’

‘I’ll do my best.’

I let the dream dissolve around me, rapidly withdrawing my consciousness back to its anchor in my own body while I started to wake myself up. I didn’t have time to waste, not when I was basically alone in hostile territory.

When I opened my eyes and sat up, I saw that not much had changed. I could hear the people in the building going about their business, and one of the small, dusty windows let the light of the day in. My qi senses showed that no one was too close, and my wards hadn’t been triggered.

My bed was just a blanket over a wooden board, but I didn’t feel stiff. I walked to the doorway, brushed back the fabric serving as a curtain, and entered the main area of the building. There were rooms in the upper levels, but I wanted to be close to the center of the action.

I could tell everyone noticed my arrival, though few made it obvious. Many just averted their gaze, continued with what they were doing, maybe stepped out of my way a little more than they would have before. But their regard still prickled at my skin like an electric charge. I had to force myself to relax as I walked to the basin they’d set up. A number of jugs and assorted containers had been gathered beside it, and it was already mostly empty.

I came to a stop before it, then closed my eyes and focused on the qi. The air was still a bit humid from a recent rainfall, and the river not too far away. I drew the water qi in and the moisture out of the air, making it gather in the basin and containers. Water qi was almost harder to handle than fire qi, but I dragged it through my channels without showing the effort it took. After a minute, everything was full and I stopped.

Once I finished, I stepped away to give the people a chance to get to the water if they wanted, and turned to the entrance. I could sense the girl approaching. She arrived just as I took a seat on the overturned crate, a bit of space around me.

“We sold your talismans. Here.” She held out her hand, coins glinting in it.

I raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t I say to buy food for it?”

“We did.” She nodded to another group who’d just come in from a side room, handling what I realized was food packed into bags. “This is what’s left.”

“I see. Thanks.” I took the money, putting it into the pocket of my pants.

Not much, but it seemed my enchanting sold well enough. I’d already been sure that I could support myself just with my hobby, but it seemed like I could provide for the people here just as easily. That’s good. Reliable support breeds loyalty. I glanced over at the people, noting the way none of them met my gaze. Well, they’d accept me being in charge based on strength, I guess, but it’s always better if they’re less likely to give some gang the time of day instead.

“Is there anything else you need from us?” the girl asked.

I considered for a moment. “Not right now. Feel free to go take your share of the food.”

If she detected the bit of irony in my words, she didn’t show it, just nodded. She turned away.

“Actually,” I said, on impulse. “What’s your name?”

She’d turned back to face me, and her eyes narrowed a fraction. She could only be my age, maybe a year older, but there was a hardness to her expression and bearing that showed she’d learned hard lessons. Maybe just recently, maybe not, but she wasn’t a kid. “Elia,” she finally said.

I smiled. “Nice to meet you, Elia. You can call me Nera.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

I rolled my eyes theatrically, and caught a hint of a smirk when she turned around again. Boss. Not sure if I like that more or less than ‘my lady’.

After a moment, I shook my head and stood up, stretching. Then I made for the food, as well. I might not need it, but I could use the energy, and it might be better for everyone to see me eating alongside them. There weren’t many at the table yet, though I noticed many people eying it, hesitant but clearly tempted. I took a plate from a stack and loaded up a sandwich made of some kind of flatbread with vegetables inside. It tasted a little smoky, the vegetables a bit overripe, but the food shouldn’t be a problem for the people’s health.

When I finished and stepped away, they approached. I noticed that while they didn’t come near me, they also gave a little bubble of space to Elia. Hierarchies, pecking orders. I suppose she’s my lieutenant, not that I intended to be a gang leader. Or am I missing something?

My musings were cut short when the door opened and one of the younger men stepped inside, obviously breathing heavily. Every eye turned his way, and he hesitated for a moment before going in my direction.

I stepped away, toward Elia, and he followed. He had a broad frame, the brawn not yet faded to the crisis, and was in the middle of the second stage. I’d seen him with her, together with the group of young people who’d gone with her to sell my enchantments.

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

He nodded, not quite meeting my eyes. “Don’t know, boss. Maybe? The Zarian … uh … my Zarian not good.”

“Tell her, then,” I said.

The two of them exchanged a few sentences. I hadn’t been here long enough to pick up more than a few words, and they talked too quickly for me to make any sense of their conversation, anyway.

Elia turned to me. “He said the Zarian are stepping up patrols. They’re declaring a curfew, doubling guards at the city gates, and it looks like they’ve started to do a sweep of the city, including the poor districts.”

I frowned. That sounded like they may have gotten wind that their escapee was supposedly a member of the Imperial Guard. Of course, there could be unrelated reasons. “Anything in particular they’re looking for?”

“Not really.” She shrugged one shoulder. “He said they’re checking people, from what he heard.”

“I see. Alright.” Both of them had dark expressions, probably their attitude towards the Zarian, but they didn’t seem overly worried. I sighed. “If anyone here’s doing anything illegal, make sure they stop. Otherwise, we’ll just let them come. We have nothing to hide, and I doubt they’re evicting all of the people squatting somewhere.”

“Yeah, we would’ve heard about that,” she agreed. “Lots of people in situations like that.”

She didn’t look away from me, though, and I had an inkling of what she was thinking. I didn’t speak the local language, only Zarian, and I’d shacked down in a building like this. Not hard to figure out I might be trying to hide from something.

Of course, speaking Zarian as well as I did would hopefully assure them it wasn’t the Dominion authorities.

I retreated to the space I’d claimed for myself and prepared for the visit, which mostly meant tucking away some of the talismans I’d been working on and preparing others. I didn’t have the best materials to work with, and they were quick-and-dirty jobs, but I didn’t need them to last too long.

It helped take my mind off things. I told myself that it was better to test my disguise like this, against a partrol in a controlled space when I was expecting them, than risk discovery outside. That didn’t stop me from feeling uneasy when I noticed the Zarian approaching. I let the others open the door and listened as they began their search.

Maybe I should have just tried to go back right away, but that wouldn’t be easy. Even with a good disguise, I’d need to travel through Zarian-controlled lands alone, with a war going on, and find some way to cross a border that would certainly be watched by strong cultivators.

Unless I don’t need to cross a land border. I sat up straighter, feeling as if I’d been struck on the head with a sudden idea. I could go to the ocean. With my shapeshifting and cultivation, I should be able to hold out against the spirit beasts long enough. I could get the sea dragons’ help in getting back.

I groaned a little, then cut myself off as I noticed the Zarian soldiers getting closer. Stupid. Why didn’t I think of this before?

The knock on the doorframe made me jump a little, despite myself. The soldiers didn’t wait for an answer before coming in. It was a pair of men in the late part of the fourth stage, one of them carrying a clipboard.

I bowed. “How can I help you, honored soldiers?”

The frown on the first one’s face eased. “Routine check, miss. We’ll need to search the room first.”

“Of course.” I stepped aside.

The two soldiers methodically checked the room and every piece of furniture. They spent a bit of time examining my talismans, but only made a few notes before putting them back. Then the leader glanced at me. “You have permission to stay here?”

I hesitated, but the tired look on his face was prompted me to say, “Of course, I do.”

He nodded. Not like he believed me, just like he didn’t care. “Please demonstrate your qi.”

I help up a hand and focused on putting some of the qi I’d just been gathering into it. “My first affinity is to fire.” A small flame flickered to life above it. I made it grow for a second before extinguishing it. Then I closed my eyes for a moment and focused on drawing in water qi from the environment, instead, making sure that my aura reflected what I was doing and no more. “My second affinity is water.” I created a ball of water above my palm and spun it in the air before letting it dissipate.

The soldier made another note, then nodded. “Be aware, as a cultivator of the third stage or above, you’re entitled to go to the council hall and ask the civilian support office for assistance or apply for relocation, miss. That will be all.”

“Thank you, and thank you for your service and protection.” I gave them my best smile. “May I ask what it is you’re looking for? Something we could look for or report, or some kind of danger?”

The soldier sighed and shook his head. “Classified, miss.”

“Of course.” I opened the door for them, or at least held the curtain. “But I hope the gate and travel will be opened at some point? I’m waiting for the rest of my family, you see …”

He grimaced. “I can’t say, miss. It could be a while. Days, at least. But I’m sure your family will be fine.”

“Of course, thank you, sir.”

I watched the soldiers go, then stepped back into my room, taking a deep breath.

It seemed like my disguise was pretty reliable, and unless they stepped up the search, I was safe for the moment. But I might have to bide my time for a bit.