When I arrived for dinner that night I noticed spiked tension in Lord Cadfael. His face was drawn and his eyes distant as I was seated across from my father. He barely acknowledged me as I greeted the both of them. I heard the soft scuff of feet behind me and turned to see Lady Ai and a man who could only be Lord Gidean enter the dining hall.

“I present Lord Gidean and his wife Lady Ai of West Port,” Bran announced to the room. Lord Gidean, a tall man nearing his late thirties already had gray hair which he had swept over one shoulder without adornment. He wore extravagant robes of yellow and orange decorated by a gold chain encrusted with rubies. Lady Ai nearly matched him for height and wore yellow robes with a white sash. Among the ladies who lived close to the mainland she was considered the most beautiful and the most ruthless. It was rumored that she had caused her brother’s madness in order to gain his inheritance of their father’s waters then had her sister and unborn illegitimate child banished.

She smiled coldly at Lord Cadfael then turned her gaze on me. I was stunned by the intensity of rage held in her eyes. Her lips twisted in a sneer before she cleared her throat. “May I also present Lord Aur Cadfaelson,” Bran said hurriedly. He stepped away from the door and a small boy entered, his robes matching Lady Ai’s. He had her lips and shape of face, but the rest of his features were that of Lord Cadfael.

I glanced at him and saw the barely suppressed rage as he glared first at Lady Ai then Lord Gidean. “Did he say Cadfaelson?” My father whispered. Lord Cadfael pushed back his chair slowly and stood up, his eyes never leaving Lady Ai. The woman was gripping the boy’s shoulder tightly and he squirmed under her hand.

“Go and greet your father Aur,” Lady Ai said then pushed the boy forward. He tripped and landed face down on the floor. “Get up you worthless child.”

I immediately hated Lady Ai as I watched her son sniffle as he stood up on unsteady legs. “H-hello father,” the boy said as he stopped in front of Lord Cadfael. The lord swiftly picked up the boy and kissed him on his wet cheeks.

“It will be alright,” I heard him whisper to the boy. Lord Cadfael’s eyes were stricken with pain. I could not stop myself from glaring at Lady Ai. So this was the great mystery that had been kept secret from the household. Lady Ai had given birth to Lord Cadfael’s son and kept him hidden away for the past five years. The thought sickened me and I felt my stomach churn in response.

“Vael, why is such common drift sitting at the table,” Lady Ai asked as she stared at my father. I stood and broke her line of sight. “Oh hello dear, such an ugly child you are. I would be surprised if Vael found someone much prettier than me. I guessed he was only able to pick a shiny pebble out of all the common ones. What would be the appropriate term?” She pursed her lips and tapped her chin as she pretended to think hard. “Fool’s gold; it looks like the real thing, but at the end of the day it is worthless.”

I shifted back from the table nearly knocking my chair over in the process. Lady Ai simpered. “She has a temper, must be from her father seeing as how-“

I never gave her the chance to finish her sentence. Lady Ai stumbled back after my fist connected with her left eye. She grabbed Lord Gidean’s arm and pointed at me shrieking incoherently. He brushed her off his arm and distanced himself from her. “You come into this home as a guest and insult everyone as if you have the right. You do not rule here treacherous serpent. You can insult me all you want but not my father nor my fiancé and his child.”

“Sol!”

I Looked back at Lord Cadfael, his son was clutching him tightly, his face buried in the crook of his neck. Lord Cadfael looked as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he beckoned me to his side.

“Well, I see you have chosen a warrior to be your wife Cadfael, well done,” Lord Gidean said clapping. I could not tell if he was being sarcastic as he smiled at us. “I stole away your wife, but it seems you have found her match. I will not require punishment for her injury; she has been rather unsettled for the past few months.”

“Husband, do you not see what has been done to my eye! I want her flogged; she is not a noble yet.”

“Silence Ai! You have shown much disrespect by insulting our host and his other guests. We only stayed this long to give him his child.” Lord Gidean approached me took my hand and kissed the back of it. “It was an honor to meet you Lady Sol. Please take care of my cousin.” He released my hand, smiled at Lord Cadfael then dragged Lady Ai out of the room. She gave me one last glare before the door closed behind them.

I covered my face and began to laugh drily. “I can’t believe I just struck a noble.” I felt a warm hand on my shoulder.

“Sol, that was very reckless of you,” my father said before kissing my forehead. “I am an old man, I don’t care about insults anymore, they are just a sign of insecurity. So, are we still eating dinner?”

“Papa!”

“Insults may not be important but food is.”

“I would have to agree with your father, food is important. Are you hungry Aur?”Lord Cadfael asked. The boy nodded his head still buried in his father’s neck. I felt Lord Cadfael slowly relax as we ate dinner quietly. Aur sat in his lap refusing to leave his father’s side. I smiled a little when the boy looked at me. Lord Cadfael whispered something in his ear and the boy left his lap and came over to me. He looked up at me with his big brown eyes filled with fear and wonder. I smiled, filling it with as much warmth as I could.

“Papa said that you’re a warrior and will protect us from Mama,” Aur said in a small voice. I looked up at Lord Cadfael not knowing how to respond then looked back at the boy. Something within me stirred and I picked the boy up and cradled him in my lap how my mother used to cradle me.

“Of course Aur, I’ll be your warrior,” I whispered to him and kissed his hair. He twisted around and hugged me. I looked up at Lord Cadfael and he shrugged while I saw my father smile out of the corner of my eye.

“Can I sleep in your bed tonight?”

“Well, that would be up to your father.” I mouthed ‘what do I do?’ to Lord Cadfael. He smiled and nodded at me and I felt my stomach sink. I didn’t know anything about taking care of a child. While older children were fine infants scared me the most. I knew I could never be a mother, but for some reason children liked me. Though Aur was not an infant I still felt that same panic that I did around them. He was going to be my son, I realized with horror. Once I married Lord Cadfael I would become a surrogate mother to the child I held. My stomach flopped.

Lord Cadfael must have sensed my distress for he left his seat and kneeled beside my chair. “Sol, are you still sick?”

“My stomach is unsettled. It’s nothing serious.” I smiled weakly as my stomach continued to roll.

“Do you need to lie down? Don’t over exert yourself; you’ve barely been out of bed for a day.”

“So attacking guards and nobles doesn’t count as over exertion?” I batted my eyelids at him.

“What do you mean by attacking guards?”

I covered my mouth; he wasn’t supposed to know about the incident with the warrior. I shook my head and looked away. “It’s nothing,” I said quickly. I felt his heated stare as I avoided his eyes. What would he do to his warrior or me if he found out what had happened? I had handled the situation already although crudely. Then again, this was not my household yet and I would be seen as undermining Lord Cadfael’s authority.

“Sol, I asked you a direct question and I expect an answer.”

“Vael I don’t want to talk about it,” I whispered. I still could not look him in the eyes making me feel shameful.

“Did he attack you?” he asked standing up sharply. “No other man touches my woman and lives.” I grabbed his hand before he could storm out of the room searching for blood.

“It’s not like that! I told him to hit me! Wait, wait, listen,” I said holding a hand up as I saw the hurt in his eyes. “They were abusing Ryaa. They spat and pissed in his food then beat him when he refused to eat it. They soiled his bedding and chained him to the wall. Is this how you treat your prisoners?” I felt Aur shaking in my arms and I patted his back to soothe him.

“No, that is not how I treat prisoners, only Landwalkers.”

I stood up and placed Aur in Cadfael’s arms then ran from the room. Ryaa could not stay in this place. It was wrong of me to let him live in such suffering. Why was it that I was the only one who cared about him? Yes the Landwalkers attacked us centuries ago because of jealousy, but why did the hate have to continue?

I would escape, I would find a place to leave Ryaa so that his family could find him then I would disappear. I would travel to another village, maybe Aquarian, the main city. There was no place for me here.

I held back a sob as I thought of my father living alone without me. I halted in my tracks and wiped my eyes furiously. My plan would not work if I was crying when I showed up.

The guards were the only ones in the hall when I approached it. They were the same ones from earlier, with luck this would be easy. “I’ve come to move the prisoner back to his original place.”

“What? We’ve received no word from Lord Cadfael about this,” the guard I had hurt responded. I leveled a cold look at him.

“He is my prisoner to do with as I please. Do you think that I’m not strong enough to handle him myself?” Everyone knew that Waterfolk were naturally stronger than Landwalkers. A woman as short as myself could easily handle one grown man twice my height. Two men though could give me a struggle. The two men looked at each other then the younger unlocked the door. I calmly stepped in the cell and found Ryaa asleep in the corner in fresh clothes. The room had been cleaned up and I smiled; sometimes terror could go a long way.

I kneeled beside him and gently shook him awake. He stretched and yawned then jumped as he noticed me beside him. His jaw dropped. “Quit drooling and get up. I’m taking you to a safer place,” I whispered. His mouth closed with a snap and he stood up carefully.

“May I ask where we’re going?” I put my finger to my lips and pointed to the door. A mischievous glint entered his eyes and I wondered what he was thinking. I stood, grabbed his arm then led him out of his cell.

“Thank you for your services,” I said as I passed the guards. We made it through the household without anyone trying to stop us. From my tour I knew of a stairwell that led to the roof of the manor. The passageway was dusty and by the time we reached the door both of us were coughing and sneezing. I tore a strip from my robe then beckoned to Ryaa; he didn’t move. “I forgot Landwalkers can’t see as well as Waterfolk.” He grunted. “Here, lean down so I can blindfold you.”

“What’s to stop me from taking it off and strangling you with it?” I smiled even though he could not see it.

“Because I could snap your neck before you even got the chance. Look, I’m trying to help you escape. This is no place for a man like you. If I had known that they would treat you like that I never would have allowed them to touch you.”

“Oh, don’t tell me that you demons have become soft. I’ve seen what you can do to a grown man.”

“Hmph, demons. 400 hundred years ago we were all Landwalkers, but after the great flood that split the land we who had sunk beneath the waves were saved by the Gentle God and turned into what you see now.”

“Horse shit, you demons caused a great wave and devoured our people so that you could assume human form, but my ancestors fought you off and kept you confined to the sea.”

I laughed. “Believe what you want. It was the Landwalkers who first attacked the Waterfolk because they were jealous of our power and blessing. We have freedom to move in two worlds while you are confined to one and can only brush the surface of the other.” I secured the cloth around his eyes then tried the door. It was locked but luckily it was wooden. I punched through the wood and opened the door from the outside. My knuckles stung as I pushed the door open. Suddenly the wind took it from my hands and it banged against the outer wall. I heard Ryaa curse behind me and sighed.

It was a moonless night but I could see the out cropping of rocks that covered the roof of the half sunk manor. Trees and other scant plant life grew resiliently between the stones. I was amazed with how large Lord Cadfael’s household was. The areas that were open for living was small compared to the immense size. The stone that made up the manor was white granite that shone gently like bone. I secured my grip on Ryaa’s wrist and led him through the maze of tree and stone until we reached the edge of the roof. Far below the waves crashed against the walls of the manor and off in the distance I could see the tall solitary island where I had kept Ryaa before.

“Hold your breath!” I shouted over the wind. Before he could protest I picked him up and jumped over the edge.

Within half an hour we made it to the shore of the mainland. I dragged a shivering Ryaa out of the water and above the tide line of the small beach I had found. He gasped and ripped his blindfold off. “Will you be okay here until morning?” I asked.

“I’ll be fine freezing to death in the cold and wind. If that doesn’t kill me then the sickness from being cold might.”

I rolled my eyes knowing that he could not see me with his poor eyesight. “I would stay, but if I do I could be killed by one of your kin. What I suggest is that you spend the night in the cave up there, I’ll find wood for a fire. After that you’re on your own.”

“Oh, so gracious you are.”

“Why thank you.”

After leaving Ryaa in the safety of the cave I trudged uphill to the tree line. Many branches had fallen during the wind storm. I gathered them quickly then turned to make my way back to the cave. I heard the snap of a branch from deep within the trees. I immediately turned. After hearing nothing I ran the rest of the way back to the cave. I dropped the branches and Ryaa’s feet and watched him jump at the sound. “True to your word I see. I find it strange that a demon like you can be so kind. Why are you being kind?”

“Kindness? Consider it guilt for bringing you among my people. I wish you a good life. May we never see each other again.” I turned my back on him and left the cave. Suddenly pain ripped through my shoulder and I staggered. I saw blood spattered on the sand and an arrow. I felt my shoulder; my hand came away wet and warm. More pain bloomed in my shoulder then lower as an arrow pierced my thigh. Quickly I sprinted for the water line hearing the ssish of arrows as they landed in the sand. Another arrow pierced my body and I staggered while grunting in pain. Someone had spotted me from the cliffs. I knew next to nothing of the mainland, only stories of cities farther inland long since barred to us.

“I hit it again! I can’t tell if it’s male or female from this distance.” I heard a man shout. I gritted my teeth and put in my last bit of strength to reach the water. Suddenly boats appeared around the edge of the cliff illuminated by lanterns. Nine men sat within them aiming guns and crossbows at me. I felt my heart freeze within my chest and I collapsed in the sand. They had trapped me. Somehow I must have wandered into a scouting party. “Drag me in a whirlpool,” I whispered as they dragged their boats to beach.

I felt new energy surge within me; they would not take me down easily. I was not some weakling to go quietly. I tore the arrows from my body and gripped the flints between my fingers. Before they could react I was among them punching and slashing. As close as I was I knew it would be too dangerous for them to fire upon me at such close range.

I felt my body slowing down as my fist connected with an overweight burly man. His eyes rolled back in his head as I stumbled away from him and closer to the water. I swayed on my feet and my vision blurred briefly. “Tempest and waves,” I growled as I realized what was happening. I was losing too much blood; I had to hurry into the water. I stumbled back until the waves crested against the back of my knees. I felt my body trying to change, but I was too close to the beach. If I changed they would be able to overpower me quickly.

“It’s trying to escape, Jon, the net!”

I saw a man bend down and grab something at his feet. My legs buckled as I lost concentration. Pain shot up my tail as I tried to force it to turn back. “No,” I sobbed. I fell backwards at a mass of interwoven ropes was thrown over me then cinched tight. I screamed as loud as I could, the sound echoing back to me from the cliffs. All of the men flinched at the sound. I continued to draw it out, the pitch going higher and higher until they were covering their ears and screaming in pain. I saw movement in the corner of my eye then watched helplessly as the butt of a gun came down on my head.

I moaned as I felt my body rock. My skin felt dry, gritty and hot. All of my limbs were sore and ached as I shifted position. A bright light made the inside of my eyelids red as I rolled over on my back. “Tempest and waves,” I muttered as I forced my eyes open.

The first thing I noticed was that I was in a wooden cage in the back of a cart. The cart was being pulled by one horse led by a small youth with dark brown hair. All around us were trees. I could tell we were headed east by the position of the sun. I turned my head and saw more cages with small furry animals curled around each other asleep and a barrel where the strong smell of fish came from. I sat up slowly hissing in pain as all of my wounds protested. Dried blood stains and tears marred the beauty of the robes I had been dressed in before my escape turned capture. At least my Grace was intact underneath.

“Look, it’s awake,” I heard a man say. I looked up to see two horse riders. One was Ryaa, the other I did not know. Both watched me with hostility and I smirked at them. They could not hold me in this cage.

“She, she’s awake,” Ryaa corrected the other man.

“They look like us but everyone knows they’re sexless.”

“No, I was among them for over a week remember, they definitely have gender… As well as a sophisticated society.” I skimmed over Ryaa’s appearance, sometime between I was unconscious and now he had shaved making him look noticeably younger, his hair was still long and was now braided down his back. He wore a simple blue shirt and black pants that brought out the color of his eyes. The other man had hair like sunlight and his eyes were the color of the sea on a stormy day. He wore red and brown. “Did you have a good sleep milady?” Ryaa asked addressing me. I snorted and turned my back on him.

“Lady? Why are you giving her such a title, she’s a demon.”

“She’s engaged to a lord below the waters. All of his guards fear her and the servants respect her. She seems to be a warrior of standing among them.”

“A woman as a warrior?” the sun-haired man scoffed. He shook his head in disbelief. “If I had not seen the damage she had caused for myself I would not believe it. She’s as small as a child, do you know her age?”

“No, they address her as an adult and she is developed like one, only short, like May.” I crossed my legs and stared hard at Ryaa. I did not like being treated as if I wasn’t present, but the more information I could gain about these two would be helpful. They had not killed me, which was surprising seeing as how ruthless most Landwalkers were. It was as if each one of them had a personal vendetta against us. Most Waterfolk did not want to be bothered with Landwalkers, but our land bound brethren insisted on disturbing us.

“Why is she staring at you like that?” Sun-hair asked looking nervous. I smiled at him.

“Well, I’ve been her prisoner these last few days, maybe she expects something from me? Well demoness?”

I rolled my eyes at the both of them then faced forward in the cage. My stomach growled but I ignored it. This was no time to be thinking about food. I needed to know where I was and how to get back to the sea. I sighed; this would be no easy task without a map. The men seemed relaxed on their path of choice which meant that they knew the area and where they were going, they would not have a map. My only choice was to navigate by the heavens.

I reached between the bars of my cage and inspected the padlock. It looked to be made from iron with speckles of rust from weathering and age. Given time I would be able to snap the clasp, but would it cause more noise than destroying the cage itself? The bars of the cage were made from dozens of thin branches bound together by iron bands. They would be easy to break but it would take time to do it quietly; I would have to wait until everyone was asleep.

I heard a sharp bark and jumped. They had hounds with them. Was fate placing obstacles in my way to punish me? Suddenly I missed Lord Cadfael. I wanted to feel his arms wrapped around me, his lips pressed against mine. Why was I so rash to leave, why couldn’t I have stayed and talked with him? Now I was far over the Forbidden line with chance of escape slowly dwindling with each step of the horse. “Vael, Papa, I’m sorry,” I whispered under my breath. I held back the tears that burned my eyes; I deserved no pity for myself.

In the late afternoon after we stopped so the men could water the horses. By then my stomach was hurting from hunger and each of my wounds were throbbing and stinging. I shivered as I watched Ryaa and Sun-hair take care of the horses. I licked my lips as I watched the horses dip their heads into the small brook that paralleled the road. Would they let me drink or force me to dry out until my skin became like jerky?

“Why are we travelling with that demoness instead of just killing her?” Sun-hair asked as he patted the neck of his dappled gray. The horse snorted at him then went back to drinking. I watched its strong muscles move, my mouth watering as I thought of sitting in the brook and letting the water run over my skin.

“We need a chance to study them. There is a lot to be gained from knowing our enemy.”

“Won’t they come lookin for her?”

“No, they’ll expect her to be dead. She’s only a ghost now.” Ryaa bit a nail off then flicked it on the ground before turning to look at me. He folded his arms and I mimicked him. “You look like shit, is it because you’re away from the sea?” I rolled my eyes at him then pretended to look at the sky. Waterfolk rarely paid attention to the sky, but when we did the elders would describe it as the sea beyond, a special sea where the Gentle God and his attendants swam. Only when it rained did our worlds connect.

“Are you hungry?” I shrugged my shoulders. “Look, I know you can fucking talk. Are you just going to starve yourself?” I closed my eyes, still shivering and went to sleep.

The next time I woke it was evening and the sun was setting to my right. Ryaa and Sun-hair were pitching cloth huts while the youth secured the horses. Every now and then he would cast furtive glances my way. One of those times I winked at him and watched him jump. If I was going to be a demon to these people then I might as well draw out my act as long as I could. I figured I had a couple of days left at best, one at worst. If they wanted to study me as Ryaa claimed, who knew how long I would last. Better to escape or die trying.

After pitching the cloth huts Ryaa came back to the cart and removed some of the crates loaded near the front. I heard the rattle of look objects and became curious to know what they were. “What’s in there?” I asked as soon as Ryaa came back and picked up a blanket. He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Supplies… Why are you speaking now?”

I shrugged. “Just curious. When were you planning on killing me?”

“Oh, am I keeping you from a very important appointment?”

“Well I was due to be married, but I guess that plan is chum.” I yawned and stretched then immediately regretted it. My wounds seemed to catch fire as they began to seep more blood and pus. I gritted my teeth and tried to force myself to breathe. My head spun and I vomited through the bars of the cage.

They should have just finished me at the beach, I thought as I shivered. I heard Ryaa and Sun-hair arguing about opening my cage to let me out. It looked like Sun-hair was winning until Ryaa came back to the cart with a key, climbed in and opened my cage. He lifted me out then jumped over the side of the cart and laid me next to the closest cloth hut. I felt too weak to resist him as he wrapped ropes around my wrists and ankles before entering the cloth hut. He came out with a bundle of blankets and partially wrapped them around me before opening the front of my robes.

I closed my eyes at the sight of angry red flesh that was torn around the exit wounds. A clear liquid striped with blood was seeping from them. My body continued to shiver uncontrollably and my teeth rattled in my head. Why was I so cold? I had never been this cold before, I needed heat. Ryaa’s hand touched my forehead and I sighed as I moved into it. His warmth felt so good against my skin. “She has a fever. Quick, boil some water and get the rags from that pack over there.” I felt his hands inspect my thighs then my shins, his fingers like a soft warm breath against my skin. Distantly I heard myself moan as I enjoyed his heat.

“Here, what’s wrong with her?” I did not recognize the voice that spoke so close to me.

“Her wounds have not been treated and they’re infected. Go help set up camp, it’s improper for a child to look upon a woman,” Ryaa said.

“I thought it was improper for an unmarried man to look at an unmarried woman.”

“She’s a demon, it doesn’t count.”

“Then it shouldn’t count if I see her!”

“Fire, now!” Ryaa snapped and I assumed he was speaking to the youth. I heard the boy scramble to his feet taking his warmth with him. “Damn kid…”Ryaa cursed under his breath. “Stay still, you’re not going to like this.”

My eyes flew open as I felt a knife cut through my skin like a thin brand of fire. I screamed and a rag was shoved into my mouth. The foul taste of the fabric made me gag and my eyes watered blurring my vision. Two hands grabbed my bound arms and pinned them under a great weight. Without proper leverage I could not shake it off. I felt someone straddle me and I bucked trying to throw them off. “Please hold her still, I don’t want to do more damage than I have too.”

“I don’t see why we can’t just let her die.”

“When you figure out the answer tell me,” Ryaa murmured over my muffled screams. For what seemed like days my body burned and sweated as Ryaa first drained then cleaned my wounds. When he began to sew them shut I lost consciousness.

I heard Ryaa’s voice whispering in the darkness of the night. I cracked my eyes open and found myself back in my cage which had been moved inside his cloth hut. There campfire had died down to coals in the night and a mist had filtered into woods. Sun-hair was lying on his side listening to Ryaa as he continued to speak in low tones. I assumed the youth was asleep. Briefly I wondered what the boy’s name was, the Landwalkers had been very careful not to mention their names in front of me.

I lay still so they would not be alerted to my wakefulness. “Just that when I tried to kill her, I couldn’t. I had her in my grasp, knife to her throat and I hesitated. When I looked into her eyes I saw such fear, it was as if I was looking at my sister.”

“You know that’s ridiculous, she died years ago, besides that demon is much too young to be her.”

“I know, but I can’t shake the feeling from my head. I see Melinde falling into the sea over and over again; I had to move away from it, but I was called back by my father…” Sun-hair touched Ryaa’s shoulder and shook it gently.

“I know, many of us despise that demon pool, but it is our mission as followers of the Gentle God to rid the earth and waters of all demon spawn. Until they are gone we will never know rest.”

Ryaa sighed and rested his chin in his palm. “Yes, and yet we were asked to bring Sol to the temple.”

“You sound like it’s a bad thing. Were you really going to let her go after she left you in that cave?” Ryaa nodded. “You weren’t planning on sneaking up behind her and…” Sun-hair mimed stabbing and I felt a chill go down my spine. Ryaa stared off into the distance for a moment then shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

“Get some sleep, we still have six hours journey ahead of us,” Ryaa said getting to his feet. He stretched then entered the cloth hut. I held my breath as he sealed the flap closed. He started to undress then paused as I covered my mouth, but the little gasp had already escaped. “You’re awake aren’t you, how long?”

I counted to five in my head then answered. “Enough to know you had a sister.” I heard him sigh in anger as he threw his shirt at the back wall of his hut.

“I see you’re willing to talk to me now. What else do you have to say?”

“Why haven’t you killed me yet?” He shook his head and began taking off his boots while muttering under his breath. As he reached for his belt buckle I held up my hands then remembered that he could not see me in the dark. “Stop, I can see you!”

“What?”

“Waterfolk can see at night almost as well as we see in daylight.”

“You could have told me this before I began stripping,” Ryaa said flopping down on his bedding and pulling the blanket over his head. “Why can’t you have human eyesight…” he grumbled as he twisted beneath his blankets. His pants soon followed his shirt and he rolled over to his side, back facing me.

“I am human and my sight is a gift of the Gentle God.”

“As you say.”

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at his sulking, he reminded me of my cousin Ollin always on the edge of things offering his own comments wanted or not then sulking when he was chased away. A pillow hit the bars of the cage and I snorted. “Go to sleep or stay quiet,” Ryaa growled then turned over. Soon he was snoring and I was left alone to think. My thoughts drifted to Lord Cadfael. I wondered what he must be thinking now that I was gone. How angry was he with me? Soon I drifted off to sleep.

I felt the earth tip and woke quickly. I looked up to see Sun-hair lifting the end of the cage where my head was, Ryaa was at my feet. They both grunted as they lifted it to shoulder level and carried it to the cart. The camp had already been dismantled and the boy was waiting at the front of the cart looking nervous. When the cage was set down I sat up and stretched. Sun-hair muttered a comment and Ryaa sighed.

The wood was still misty, the sun a pink sliver resting on the treetops. I rarely saw the sun unfiltered by the sea. All the different colors that the sky reflected always fascinated me. I remembered Lord Cadfael’s painting of the waves reflecting the sunlight; I wanted to see it again. Why did I run away? If I ever saw Lord Cadfael I would apologize and beg him to let me see it again. There was no way he would want to marry me after I ran. Going back to the fields wouldn’t be so bad, but I couldn’t convince myself of that.

A stone marker alerted us to the nearness of our destination. I looked at the carved words wondering what they said. I never learned to read, it wasn’t needed for field work. I could count and write numbers and knew the many symbols that represented different items we used every day.

I steadily felt the tension in the men around me rise the closer we got to our destination. I kept quiet and my head forward so I could see what was coming. The trees were thinning around the roadside letting more light reach us. I rubbed my dry skin feeling it begin to itch. My wounds twinged but the pain was manageable. “Are you alright?” Ryaa asked. I briefly looked over my shoulder at him and smiled. I figured the less threatening I seemed the easier it would be to escape, but if I seemed weak they might take advantage of me.

I heard the boy gasp and turned forward to see we had crested a hill and before us was a wide bridge spanning a deep chasm. Across the bridge were several guards sitting outside a shack. They immediately stood and grabbed their weapons. I sat as still as I could and slightly lowered my head. The cart wheels banged and rattled against the wooden planks of the bridge. I could feel the void below like a deep black wound that cut through the rock and soil. Suddenly I couldn’t catch my breath. It felt as if a giant cold hand was pressing against my chest, its fingers around my throat. The wind picked up around us and I heard a whisper within it. You are mine, echoed in my ears. My heart threw itself against my ribs straining to get out.

Something had made this chasm in the ground, something that was old. The nearer we got to the edge of the bridge the stronger the voice was. The air seemed thicker and the sunlight dimmed to shades of gray. No one else seemed to notice the difference between the wooded side of the bridge and the field beyond. Was their eyesight that much weaker than Waterfolk’s?

Two guards lowered their halberds, the weapons looking menacing. “What is yer bi’ness here?” the tallest one asked. He had a thick red beard which looked striking with his light brown hair. I wondered how such colors appeared in hair; among Waterfolk we all had black hair, brown a rarity. Some nobles dyed their hair or wore wigs to get the vibrant colors seen among the fish and plants.

Sun-hair stepped forward and removed a token from around his neck. “This is our citizen pass. We’re on business.”

“Why d’you cart a demon with you?” I looked him straight in the eye as he called me a demon. I saw him flinch then adjust his hands on his weapon to mask his fear. “What kind of bi’ness d’you have?”

“Shepherd Stone requested that we bring her here.”

“Her? That’s a female? Thought they were all male n’that.” I saw Sun-hair blush.

“Will you let us pass,” Ryaa asked. The halberd man nodded and stood aside. The boy tugged on the leather harness and the horses began to move. I looked at every guard silently. One spat at me as I passed. As soon as we entered the town a mob formed around us yelling and screaming. Food and liquid, fresh and otherwise were thrown at me as we continued down the main road. I resisted the urge to wipe away the mess from my clothes, the robes I did not care about despite their beauty and my Grace could never be stained. I fingered the necklace that was still around my neck then stopped; I mustn’t show fear.

Over the heads of the crowd a large stone building came into view. The outside was simple with no adornments, but I could feel power resonating from its walls. I felt my stomach twist as the power settled over me like rank oil. The cart slowed to a stop in the open courtyard before the temple. Many men dressed in gray robes stood in formation in front of the temple. In the shadow of the doorway another similar clothed man holding a staff. His eyes reflected the light much like my own did at night and I knew he was not a Landwalker. He waited until the crowd finished forming before stepping out of the shadows into the weakened sunlight. Immediate silence fell over the crowd. I was surprised to see that he did not look like Waterfolk, his trimmed beard and brown hair marking him as a Landwalker.

“Good people of Naomi, I know that you have many comments and concerns about our visitor, but you must know that I requested that this demon be brought to us. Once I divine who its evil lord is, it shall be executed for its crimes against humanity,” the man answered. I gritted my teeth at his words. I considered playing the demon for him then mentally shook myself. Acting like a fool would not help me escape. “These brave citizens fought hard to bring this spawn of the abyss; they shall be treated with respect and honor.” The man then gestured to a line of guards that stood off to the side of the courtyard. They stamped their spears then rushed forward to surround the cart. I looked at each of them noting their sweating faces and fearful eyes. I was sick of seeing such faces.

“Don’t look it in the eyes,” one of the men hissed. I couldn’t stop my eyes from rolling. These people were more superstitious than my own. What could a normal person like me do, but then to them I was not normal.

Sun-hair unlocked my cage and I was allowed to slip over the edge of the cart onto the ground. I stretched out all the kinks that had gathered in my limbs after being stuck in a low cage. Several people jumped back as I swung my arms down then twisted side to side. I heard a few people laugh at me. Here I was a short woman surround by tall muscular guards stretching as if I wasn’t in danger. I know I looked practically harmless, but most knew Waterfolk had superior strength; we needed it to survive in the harsh sea.

I felt a hand on my shoulder; it was Ryaa holding a set of shackles. “Stay still,” he ordered me. I held out my arms wrists together so that he could secure the clasps easily. I wondered if he was going to treat me as Lord Cadfael’s guards had treated him. So far he had been kind in his own way. He was really nervous standing beside me so I smiled at him then stepped closer to the guards. His eyes widened in surprise making me wonder what he was thinking, it didn’t matter though; if the strange man was true to his words I would be executed.

The guards closed rank around me and we began to walk forward. The crowd had started to mutter, the sound a dull roar like the waves striking a cliff side. “Sol!” I paused and turned to look over my shoulder. Ryaa still stood next to the cart twisting his hands. His lips thinned then parted as if he wanted to say something when Sun-hair pulled on his arm while glaring at me. I raised my hands and waved then went silently with the guards.