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Saturday, January 25, 2014

First Star I See Tonight

This concludes the story begun in "Star Light," and continued in "Star Bright."

Wonderful rain, Teegan thought as she, Ren, and Onli walked. Make me cooler. She looked up, feeling the drops on her young face. All her life she'd hated the rain, now she needed it, or she felt she would fry.
    They'd been waiting for Momono and Tien to get back from the city. Teegan had just woken up that day, and felt tired and sore. The next few events were nothing but jumbled feelings, and then she was being carried by Ren, as he and Onli ran through the forest away from the city. Teegan could hear raindrops boiling on her skin. Onli and Ren were hurrying, their breathing ragged. Onli limped.
    She slept.

The old woman, bundled warmly in her wheelchair near the fire, inspected the man across the table from her as well as she could. She was Councilwoman Gwynda, the woman Momono once called mother. She has, she hoped, safe in her house, deep in the city of Breston. The man across from her was named Roland. It had just been a day since Momono had so brutally taken her from her home and spit the most awful words at her.
    "You understand what I say?" She asked. Roland looked like a stupid one.
    "Yes, Madam Councilwoman. Kill the other Day-lighters, but bring your son back to you." Roland smiled, his pudgy face splitting in an ugly grin. "Your son decided to hit me over the head with his guitar a few weeks back. I'll enjoy seeing him squirm in irons."
    "Don't hurt him," Gwynda said softly. "I want him unharmed when he gets back to me."
    "Such grace and forgiveness. Just what I'd expect from a Councilwoman," Roland said.
    "Forgiveness?" Gwynda laughed. "No! He will rot for what he said to me! I just want to be the one to hurt him! He should have known better than to go against his dear mother's wishes!" She laughed again, and rubbed her bony fingers over each other.
    Roland swallowed. "Yes ma'am, of course."
    "Good boy," Councilwoman Gwynda said, sitting back in her chair. She motioned to the man standing behind her. Her old helper, Lecks, had been cruelly injured by her son. "See the good man out. Give him coin for an inn tonight." She looked back to Roland, holding out a rolled scrap of paper. "Bring this to the guardhouse tomorrow morning. Take a half dozen of the best men." Roland took the piece of paper, and Gwynda leaned forward. Her small body trembled. "Find that boy." She sat back. "He'll pay for the things he said to me," she said quietly. "He'll pay."

Three days had passed since Momono and Tien's escape from the city where Momono's mother held power as a Councilwoman. They had been trying to follow the path that Onli, Ren, and Teegan had taken, but the only things they had to go on were Tien's strong eyesight, finding places that looked traveled. They had some money, but there was no one to buy from and they had no food of their own. They were forced to scavenge from berry bushes, and the odd rabbit that had been forced out of its home by rain.
    Their relationship, previously strained, had gotten better after the event in the city. Tien had witnessed the real reason Momono wanted to travel with them -- an escape from his mother -- and Momono could trust Tien not to stab him in the back because of it.
    So they forged through the wet woods after -- they hoped -- Ren, Onli, and the young girl that could create heat.
    The third night they sat across a small fire from each other. The rain wasn't bad, but would soon get worse. They hadn't talked much, preferring to save their breath for walking or running. They both suspected soldiers, from the Council of One Hundred, were after them, and they didn't want to know what would happen if they were caught. Momono had gagged and kidnapped his mother, a Councilwoman, and dumped her in a puddle.
    "What do you think happened to them?" Momono asked.
    "Who knows?" Tien responded. "Most likely they were spotted by some guards from the city and had to escape."
    "But the ground-"
    "I know. The ground," Tien said. At the spot they were supposed to meet the other three they found only a scorched circle. Rain had already started mixing with hot ash, creating black streaks as it ran down the hill. The trees around them were snapped and broken, burnt on the sides that faced the spot. "I don't know. I couldn't see anything. We didn't really have a lot of time to look, either."
    Momono nodded. Guards from the city were hot on their heels after they'd left. Momono wasn't sure why they weren't caught; they surely could have been.
    The rain worsened and the small fire went out. Momono frowned down at it. "Good a time as any to get to sleep," Tien said. "I'll take the first watch."

Momono watched the second part of the night. Even wrapped in his cloak he was freezing. It was no surprise; the rain pounded down on him. It had long quenched the warm coals. It was still dark when he heard voices in the forest. At first he thought, and hoped, that it was Teegan and the others, but another moment and he knew they weren't friends. Keeping low, he went to Tien's sleeping form, and shook his shoulder.
    Tien didn't wake until Momono pinched his cheek and shook his face. Only then did the man open his eyes, and he was still mostly asleep.
    "Voices!" Momono whispered. It took a moment for Tien to realize what he meant, and then he got up and looked around. He pointed in one direction, the direction they'd come from. "Friends?"
    Tien shook his head, and put his pack on his shoulders. He jerked his head and moved into the forest as quietly as he could. Momono followed, keeping low. The driving rain hid the noises they made.
    They got a few dozen feet away, and Tien stopped. He looked back and frowned. "One of them looks familiar, but I can't place him." He stared. "I feel like I should. They're at our spot right now. I can't hear what they're saying, though." He watched through the dark rain. "They're moving again. Let's go."
    They went through the cold rain and dark forest, keeping low to the ground. They could just barely hear the people behind them. They kept coming after them, but they didn't seem to be following, just moving in the same direction. They found a little hollow in the ground and hunkered down in it. Tien squinted through the rain, watching them.
    He focused on the one he recognized. He wasn't sure, but he thought he'd seen him before. "They're looking for us,"
    "Couldn't agree more," Momono said, and they snuck away.

A few hours later it was lighter, and the rain was less. The heavier rain had passed south, and they were out of the forest. They walked together on a muddy road, heading towards a small village. Both men dreamed of warm rooms and hot food. Tien had kept a sharp lookout, but had not seen Roland or the guards from Breston again.
    "Here's what we do in the village," Tien was explaining, keeping his eyes on the horizon. "Ren is my brother, Teegan is his daughter, and my niece. Onli is your wife. We were traveling, and got separated in heavy rain. We ask around if anybody has seen them. Don't mention the Day-lighters, don't tell them your name. Don't say or do anything memorable."
    "Got it," Momono said. "I wish I'd known that before I played in Breston. All of this could have been avoided."
    "You didn't want to tell us you were a Councilwoman's son, for good reason. I doubt even Onli would have trusted you if she'd known." Tien hesitated. "I think I demonstrated how I would have acted, at least." Momono nodded. "Will anybody recognize you in this village?"
    Momono shook his head. "I don't think I've ever been here. It used to be unconnected to Breston, but things might have changed. Bigger cities sometimes let small nearby villages use their guards and other things, and subject them to taxes. If that's true with this village, they might have my picture. Maybe even yours."
    "Is it worth it?" Tien asked nobody in particular.
    "Onli and the others wouldn't have known all of that, and they should all be safe. Nobody saw them. If they knew about this village, they'd go to it."
    Tien recognized the logic. They kept quiet, walking by the side of the road. It was an old road, and after heavy rains couldn't be used unless you wanted to pull your feet out of your boots with each step. They walked on the shoulder, on drowning grass. The rain went from a heavy mist to a light rain and back again. They reached the village and headed for a bar to warm up and eat.
    It was a small and dingy place, words that described the village as a whole rather well. After eating plates of wet fish, they asked around about Teegan, Ren, and Onli. Nobody had seen them. They left the bar.
    "Where would they have stopped?" Tien asked. "An inn?"
    "The meeting spot had burn marks on it," Momono said. "Teegan might have fallen ill again. They had plenty of money to pay for a doctor, after everything I earned playing and singing."
    "Okay. Let's check around. Stick to the story and try not to let anyone recognize you, please?" Tien said. Momono sighed and nodded. They headed in separate directions.
    Tien went to an inn, but found no luck. He talked to a council doctor, not believing that Onli would risk it with all the money she had, and was proved correct. He found a non-council doctor and went in. He was struck by a strange sensation, even before Dr. Amesis came around the corner.
    The two looked at each other for a moment.
    "Well well," Amesis said, removing his paper mask. "You, again. Your daughter, is she still sick?"
    Tien smiled. His heart pounded. He had to be careful. "Wouldn't you know it, she got better the same day I came to see you?"
    "How lucky," Amesis said. "And here you are, in a different village, again in a non-CD. Who's sick this time?"
    "Actually, after we left Breston, our group got separated. My brother, my wife, and our daughter got lost. We thought they might have gone through here."
    "And you check in a non-CD? Was somebody else sick?"
    Tien quickly licked his lips. "We want to cover all our bases. Our daughter woke up, but she wasn't fully better yet."
    Amesis tilted his head back and regarded him.
    "Why are you here?" Tien asked, trying to change the subject. "Why did you leave Breston?"
    "Maybe you weren't there when it happened, but apparently some Day-lighters broke in Councilwoman Gwynda's house and kidnapped her, threatened her, and left her for dead out in the rain a few nights ago." The doctor sighed and leaned against a table. Tien kept his face as neutral as possible, and simply nodded. "The next day the Councilwoman staged some kind of hunt for people who weren't working under the Council. I usually go around to some of the other villages a few times a year and work, but I decided to make a longer stay this time." Amesis walked behind Tien to a shelf near the door and checked a few vials. He looked at the list next to it and tsked.
    "Interesting," was all Tien said.
    "Yeah. Sorta sad. I heard one of the Day-lighters was the Councilwoman's son. I heard the other one was you."
    The doctor leaned against the door, and his smile lifted up a corner of his lips. Tien stared with his mouth open.

Soft, warm sensations caressed her. The air was empty, and clear. There was no rain. Above, the clouds shifted and motioned, swaying one way and then the other.
    With a soundless crack, they parted, and crushing openness descended on her, bearing down on her with too much freedom for a small mind.
    It stopped, and she spied the great fire in the sky. She looked long, drawing in its every feature. The white, stinging light, the corona her eyes made in the blue sky, the pumping heat on her body.
    There was a sudden singing sound, and the ground was gone from under her feet. She went past the drawing clouds as the land under her lit up like a room that had suddenly been flooded with firelight. The orb of the planet fell away. She entered the sun, and was warmer than ever before.
    Then she was awake.
    "Good, you're up," Ren said without turning. He was bent over Onli. "We have to get going again. There's a little bit of breakfast left for you."
    Teegan rubbed her eyes as the last pieces of the dream became nothing more than unreal memories. She pulled the blanket off of her and got to her feet unsteadily. A few sausages sizzled over a shielded fire. They might have been hot, once, but they were warm at best when she gobbled them down.
    "How do you feel?" Ren asked her.
    "Okay," Teegan said. She walked beside him. "How is she?"
    Lying on the ground, Onli breathed uneasily, yet smiled at the girl. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me," the woman said.
    "It's too much damage for us to care for here," Ren said. They'd turned Teegan's cloak into long strips to cover the burns, but with no medicine they were bleeding and festering. "We'll need to find someone who can help her."
    "Only if it's safe," Onli said through gritted teeth as Ren replaced a bandage. "I won't let you risk Teegan for my skin's benefit."
    "Your skin," Ren said. "Your life is in danger. The burns are deep. They'll get infected soon. Either you get help or we lose you. I'm not going to let that happen."
    "Me neither!" Teegan said. After all, it's my fault.
    The memories came back to her as they went, heading for a safe Day-lighter base. They'd waited for Momono and Tien to come back from the Councilwoman; Teegan knew that one or both of them might not come back, and was trying to avoid thinking about it. But she thought about Momono, and how much he seemed to care for her, and how silly he was even when he didn't mean to be, and she thought about Tien, and how he protected her, and how he freed her from the terrible place the Council had her at, and she started to get upset. She fought to keep the tears back, but they came anyway.
    There was a rush of powerful heat, and for a moment Teegan couldn't feel any rain. There was a ringing in her ears. She looked up. It wasn't her dream -- the clouds were still there -- but the rain had stopped.
    She looked over at Onli and Ren, smiling. She'd never been out and not been wet, none of them had. Instead of finding the other two gazing in wonder, however, she found Onli on the ground and Ren running to her.
    Onli's left leg and arm were baked, covered in burns. Some of her torso was also burned, but her clothes kept the heat off her there. Ren told her later that a bubble of heat and air had come out of her, blasting the rain away and scorching the ground near her. Onli had been close, but Ren had only been saved by walking away a bit and trying to listen to something. Soon guards started pouring out of the city, no doubt heading for them, and they had to run.
    Teegan watched Onli sit up and smile at her. They're afraid of me now, Teegan thought. They know if I get upset I'll do something terrible again. They're trying to keep me happy.
    Onli stood, wincing. She took a few steps and leaned against a tree. The destroyed skin on her left hand made Teegan's stomach turn, and she went to Onli. "Do you need help?"
    Onli looked down at her and smiled, shaking her head. "No dear, I'll be fine. I'm just dizzy from lying down too long."
    "I can help you," Teegan said, almost touching her hand. She stopped herself at the last moment; it surely would have hurt Onli. "You can lean against me."
    "I'm too heavy for you!" Onli said.
    "Nuh uh!"
    "Okay you two," Ren said. He handed Teegan her pack. "I'll help Onli for now until she can get her legs under her. Don't go too far, Teegan."
    Teegan nodded. The standard warning. Don't go too far. Something could leap out of a shadow and grab you, or you could fall in a hole and die with a leg twisted under you, never to be found.
    They set off from the hilly area they were in, going east, toward other Day-lighters.

Tien reached for his sword.
    "Wait!" Amesis said, putting his hands out. "I don't mean to hurt you, or turn you in. Why do you think I moved out here? I'm no friend to the Council."
    Tien clicked the sword back home, slowly. Quickly, he looked around him. He couldn't see evidence of any other people in the building. "You work by yourself?"
    "I have a nurse, but she isn't in yet. It is only about seven in the morning."
    "I guess it is," Tien said. "So I'm a Day-lighter."
    "It wasn't hard to figure out. You had to see a non-CD, didn't have a lot to pay with, and couldn't talk about why. After the events a few days ago in the city, it didn't take any kind of genius."
    "Why say this?" Tien asked. He almost wished Momono was around, just to have someone else on his side. "The people I'm looking for aren't here. Why not just let me on my way and forget about it?"
    "I know who you're looking for," Amesis said. "A man, a woman, and a child with light hair. She had her hood off, and somehow seemed to be enjoying the rain, even as heavy as it was. The woman had big scars, or burns, on the left side of her body. Her clothing had been destroyed."
    Tien reeled back. "That is them! How did you know? What happened to the woman?"
    Amesis shrugged. "Don't know. Didn't stop to ask. I was in a carriage heading to this village, and they were walking by the side of the road, looking over their shoulders and appearing generally mistrusting."
    "Do you know if they were coming to the village?" Tien asked frantically. What on Earth happened?
    The doctor shrugged again. "Don't know. I've been here pretty much ever since I got to the village, and they never stopped by."
    Head spinning, Tien found a chair and sat. "Are you all right?" Amesis asked. Tien nodded, rubbing his face.
    "I need to go," he said, standing. "I need to find them."
    "Go, then. If you ever find yourself in the area, come and see me. I'd like to get another look at the girl with the light hair. You don't see that anymore." He laid a hand on Tien's shoulder. "You've got one friend in this town, at least."
    "Thank you," Tien said. He reached for the door, then stopped. "Why don't you like the Council?" He asked.
    "My reasons are my own, just like yours were," Amesis answered. Tien smirked and nodded. He walked out of the hot building into the rain. For a single moment he stood, letting it wash over him.
    He went down the street, searching for Momono. It didn't take him long; he quickly spotted Momono on the main street, talking with a large woman. The woman walked away before Tien got close.
    "No luck," Momono said. "How about you?"
    Momono's face turned concerned as Tien told him what had happened. "So they didn't come into the city. Why not?"
    "I can only guess," Tien said. They stood under a hanging porch and watched the rain sheet off the roof. The village would be fully awake soon. "Maybe they thought it would be too risky. Teegan with light hair, Onli injured . . . maybe Ren thought they'd be too easily remembered. Then why," Tien suddenly shouted, "did they walk right next to the road?"
    He put his head against the porch's post, sighing. Momono patted his back.
    "What's our next step?" The singer asked.
    Tien stood with his head against the post for a few seconds. "We need to figure out which direction they went. There's a lot of other things to figure out, but that's the important one. I think-"
    His head snapped up, looking toward the edge of town. "No."
    "What?"
    "I think they followed us into town."
    "Teegan and the others?" Momono said, hopeful.
    "No! The people that were looking for us in the forest!" Tien said. "I recognize that person now . . . he's leading them!"
    "Who is it?"
    "It's Roland!" He turned and looked at Momono, expecting a reaction. Instead, Momono just looked at him quizzically. "You know, from the inn?"
    Momono shook his head.
    "He's the one you hit with your guitar," Tien said. Momono's face slouched down into a grimace.
    "He isn't going to be happy to see me," he said.
    "I have a feeling that might be why he's following us. No thanks, probably, to your actions with your mother." A thought occurred to Tien. "Oh no."
    "What now?"
    "We just went around for the last hour asking everyone we could find about a bunch of people. Now these people are about to go around and ask everyone about us!"
    "This is just getting better and better!" Momono said. "What do we do!?"
    "We have to get out of here!" Tien said. Even as he said it, Roland and the soldiers -- seven in all -- split up and started banging on doors. "They'll see us for sure if we make a break for it. We need to hide. Come on, I know where." He sank low, and waited until most of the soldiers were looking the other way. He crept around the corner into an alley, and Momono followed him. Tien led them to Amesis' clinic, and pushed the door open.
    Again, doctor Amesis came around the corner, again finding Tien. "I assume this is the Councilwoman's son?" He said, pointing at Momono.
    "Yes, and it's come back to haunt us. Soldiers are combing the village, looking for us. We just need to hide a little bit, until we get a chance to escape."
    "Doctor?" A woman called from around the corner. "Who's there?"
    "Just a few old friends," Amesis called back. "My nurse. Am I going to get in trouble with the Council for harboring known fugitives?"
    "Momono kidnapped a Councilwoman," Tien said. "Yes."
    "Good." Amesis led them into a small, warm wooden room. "This is my waiting room. How long do you think you need to wait."
    "I don't know," Tien said.
    "Then let's make it a little easier on you."

"Ren! Stop!" Teegan shouted. "Onli's hurt too bad!"
    "No," Onli said, limping horribly. "I can still walk. Don't worry if I fall behind."
    "No, you can't walk," Ren said. "Your bandages are caked with filth. I need to change them. You're going to get infected if you keep this up. I told you we should have stopped at that village."
    "It was too risky," Onli said, panting. She sat as Ren unwrapped the bandage on her hand. Rain and sweat mixed on her forehead. "We would have been picked out in a moment."
    "Onli, that's the whole reason we were on the road! To help Tien and Momono find us if they could! We should have gone straight to a non-council doctor and had him help you! We have the money!" He looked up from his work. "Onli? Onli, wake up!"
    "Awake, I'm awake," Onli mumbled.
    "Don't fall asleep Onli," Ren said. "I will press down on this burn to keep you awake."
    "You wouldn't," Onli said.
    "Try me." Ren raised an eyebrow. Onli breathed out a laugh and shook her head.
    "Okay, I'll stay awake. I promise." She took in a long breath, and grabbed her left side. "It hurts."
    A sudden wind across the plain they were on blew the rain over them. Ren shielded Onli from it and brushed her soaking hair out of her face. "We're going back to the village we passed last night. I don't care what you say," he told Onli. "I've made a decision. You can barely stand, and I won't be enough to protect both of you." He looked at Teegan. "Get her pack. I'll need to carry her." Teegan nodded and slipped Onli's pack next to hers. The coins inside jingled and the straps dug into her shoulders.
    Soon Onli was latched onto Ren's back, and he pointed the way they'd come. "We should be able to get back in a few hours." He started forward, clutching Onli's legs. Teegan went after him, trying not to look at the line of bandages that started at Onli's ankle and went up past the knee.

Momono and Tien were also thinking of bandages, but for a different reason.
    Doctor Amesis stood back, surveying his work. His nurse, a woman named Liliana, took the remaining bandages from him and bustled away.
    Both Tien's and Momono's face were wrapped in bandages that left only  slits for their eyes and mouth. Momono's legs were similarly wrapped under his pants, and both of Tien's arms were covered. Each finger was wrapped individually.
    "This should help you get out of the city without attracting too much attention. At least it will keep people from noticing you right away. If you're lucky, people will think you're lepers, and won't come near you."
    "Thank you, doctor," Tien said, slightly muffled. He stood, stiffly moving his arms to test the give of the bandages.
    "I don't think I've ever heard somebody use the word lucky and leper in the same sentence," Momono said, also muffled. Amesis chuckled.
    "Now, which way do we go?" Tien said. "I have a few ideas. They could have gone north toward the mountains, to get away from whatever was chasing them. They also could have gone east, heading towards . . . " Tien found Liliana replacing the bandages in a far cabinet. "a Day-lighter enclave," he finished quietly. He pulled at one of the bandages around his eyes.
    "I hope they didn't go north," Amesis said. "If they did, you might as well just go east. You'll never find them, even if they are still alive." Tien looked at him. "I'm sorry to put it that way, but it's true. The mountains are treacherous and deadly. If those three went in there, either they know something I don't, or they're in for a nasty surprise."
    The small office was quiet. Momono heard the rain through a window. The candlelight shifted. Tien sighed, and flexed his fingers in their bandages. "We'll go east, then, and pray they did too."
    Amesis nodded. "I don't have anything else to give you." He looked at the door. "I expect the soldiers you mentioned will be along soon to ask if I've seen you. It will easier to say no if you aren't here."
    Momono and Tien thanked him, and left. Amesis stood in the dark, empty clinic. Liliana came up behind him and coughed delicately. Amesis looked at her over his shoulder.
    "Those were Day-lighters, weren't they? Why did you help them, doctor?" She asked, with her hands linked in front of her.
    Amesis sighed. "I have my reasons for working against the Council, just as I'm sure you do," he said. "And, just like you, I wish to keep mine a secret."
    "You could get us in trouble," the nurse said.
    "You're free to get the soldiers and tell them I've been harboring criminals," he said. "It will undoubtedly leave you without a job. Not many non-CDs left around here, and Council Doctors don't count non-CD work as experience, or so I've heard." Amesis walked past her. "You might have a bit of difficulty staying on your feet." He lit a cigarette. "A young woman like you. It's a shame."
    The nurse's face stayed neutral, but she quickly walked past him into the operating room.
    Doctor Amesis, traitor to the Council and in hot water with his nurse, blew out a funnel of smoke. He knew he shouldn't smoke, of course, but it helped him calm down.
    There was a knock at the door. Amesis rubbed the cigarette out and strode to the door, heart pounding. He opened it and found two armor-wrapped soldiers.
    "Gentlemen," Amesis said. "Can I help you?"
    "You're Doctor Amesis?" One of them asked. Rain spanged off their helmets, splashing Amesis.
    "That's right."
    "Have you seen either of these men?" The soldier unwrapped a cloth drawing of Tien and Momono. "They're traitors to the Council. Anyone harboring them will also be considered traitors." Amesis pretended to inspect the drawings.
    "I don't see your identification. Council rules say you have to have your permit next to the door," the soldier said.
    "I'm a non-CD," Amesis said. He was slightly pleased to see the soldier's looks darken.
    "May we come inside?" The soldier asked, before pushing past him. The other soldier followed, glaring down at Amesis. The men, big in their armor, filled up the entryway. "Do you have any patients right now?"
    "None, in fact," Amesis said. "You boys are the first ones to step foot in here all day, thank goodness."
    "You're aware of what happened in Breston four nights ago?" One soldier asked.
    "I heard something about the Councilwoman. I was working on a patient at the time and had to concentrate on my work."
    "She was kidnapped and abused by Day-lighters." The soldier gestured with the drawing. "These men."
    They heard footsteps behind them and turned, putting their hands on their swords. They found a startled Liliana.
    One of the soldiers grew a leering smile. "Hello there miss," he said. "How do you do?"
    "Fine, sir," Liliana said. Amesis' heart jumped when she spoke. "Are you injured?"
    "Yes ma'am. I have a broken heart. Maybe you could help me?" The soldier said. He took off his helmet and put it over his chest.
    "I'm afraid I don't know how to fix that," Liliana said.
    "Oh, I think you might be able to do something," the soldier said. He took a step closer.
    "Excuse me," Amesis said. "May I see the drawing again?"
    The lecherous soldier nodded to the other one, and Amesis was handed the drawing. "I don't know about this one," Amesis said, pointing at Tien, "but this one here is kind of familiar. One my way here this morning, as I came in to work. He looked like he was heading north." He handed the drawing back. "Toward the mountains."
    "The mountains, are you sure?"
    "He looked like he was sizing them up," Amesis said. "To see if he could take them on."
    The soldiers smiled at each other. "Thank you, doctor. We'll be out of your way now." The soldier threw one last wink at Liliana, and soon the clinic was empty except for Amesis and his nurse.
    "Thank you, doctor," Liliana said after a minute. "I don't know if I would have been able to stop them if they had . . . but why did you tell them the Day-lighters went north?"
    "We won't be seeing those soldiers again," Amesis said. Anger surged through his veins. He thought about the step the soldier took toward Liliana and he felt his fist curl.

"All the rain is making it hard to hear anything," Ren said. He looked down at Teegan. "Let me know if you see anything. I think we're getting close to the village now. It's a bit hard for me to see through the rain."
    "Okay," Teegan said over the rain. It was getting much stronger, and stinging drops burned into her skin. Onli tried to hide the damaged areas of her flesh. They'd been walking back toward the village for a few hours, searching for it in the rain. They were on a big empty plain, which Ren seemed to remember was outside of the village.
    Teegan was tired, and she felt a strange mixture of heat from her skin and the cold rain. The two packs she carried stung her arms, but had gotten easier as they walked. She even felt a little dizzy, like the air was being sucked out of mouth before she could breath it. "Hey!" She said. "Hold on, I need to rest."
    She slipped the packs off her shoulders, and they landed on the ground in heaps. She took in a few deep breaths and rotated her shoulders. "We can't take too long," Ren said. "Onli- What's that?"
    Teegan looked behind her. She expected to see soldiers, hoped to see Momono or Tien, but saw neither. She didn't see anything. "There, on the ground," Ren said. Teegan looked.
    There was a coin. "Ooh," Teegan said. She picked it up and put it in her pocket. "That's cool." She spotted another on the ground. "Oh, another one." Past it, the way they'd come, was yet another coin. "Uh."
    "How much money is left in Onli's pack?" Ren asked. Teegan picked up the pack she'd been carrying at an angle for several hours. It was too light. There was a coin-sized hole in one corner, and nearly all of the money was missing. She looked up at Ren, scared.
    "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was happening," she said. She felt small and useless. She'd been given a simple job and failed.
    "It's all right. We have more, and we don't have enough time to go back." They turned toward the village again.

"What is it?" Momono asked.
    Tien shifted and looked up at him. He was crouched in the rain and holding a coin. "It's money. I know you've seen it before."
    "Well, yeah, but why are you inspecting it?"
    "Because we've been following a trail of it for an hour."
    "What?" Momono looked. There were coins leading in both directions. "Why is it here?"
    "The coins were minted in Breston. These must have come from Ren or Onli."
    "So if we follow the coins, we'll find them?"
    "We'll find something," Tien said, pocketing the coin and standing. "Let's go."
    They headed east.

"There it is," Teegan said. "I see it!"
    The rain had gotten worse, a true storm that threatened to blow them down. The rain soaked them, sticking their clothes to their skin and getting in their eyes, and fierce winds blew at them, tugging them in one direction and then the next. Ren and Teegan had pushed on, hoping that they still pointed the right way.
    They reached the first level of buildings and leaned against the walls, resting. The storm dropped a flood around them, turning the dirt under their feet to mud and bending the stilted houses. They went farther in.
    Ren headed for the first door he saw, and banged on it.
    "What now?" The man yelled when he opened the door. "All day, people coming to my door and bothering my business!" He saw who it was, and who he carried. "What's happened to her?"
    "She's badly burned. We need a doctor. Can you tell us where the closest one is?"
    The man looked at Ren closely. Finally, he said: "Yes. Doctor Amesis; just a few rows over. He's got the little place with the heavy wooden door."
    "Thank you," Ren said. He and Teegan searched for Amesis' place, until they found a door that matched the description. Ren went in.
    There was a young woman inside, and she gasped when she saw Onli. She helped her to a raised bed and looked at the burns. "This is too extensive for just me. I'll need to get the doctor. Stay here, please."
    Ren watched her go through a doorway and up a set of stairs. She disappeared from view. Soon enough two sets of steps came back down.
    Doctor Amesis looked them over when he stood at the bottom of the steps. His eyes were drawn to Teegan's light hair.
    "Doctor, thank you for coming," Ren said. "Onli is badly hurt. I'm afraid the burns are infected."
    Amesis walked next to Onli and carefully unwound the bandages. The burns dribbled liquid. Cracked, scabby skin molted as the bandages came away. "Yes, they're infected. It's a good thing you came here. Liliana, bring the antibiotics, clean bandages and knives, thread . . ." The doctor continued to list items. The nurse bustled away, grabbing things from shelves and cabinets. "How do you feel?" Amesis asked Onli.
    "It doesn't hurt much," Onli said. "I swear."
    "Are you sure? You're telling me the truth?" Amesis asked, looking down at her unblinkingly.
    "Really," Onli said. She tried to smile.
    "Third degree burns," Amesis said. "You should have sought help as soon as possible." The nurse appeared and held out a bottle of liquid. Amesis took it and mixed a portion in a glass of water. "Take this, it's to keep from getting infected." He tipped the liquid into Onli's mouth. Her face crinkled, but she swallowed it. "How did she get these injuries?"
    Onli, Ren, and Teegan all froze. Amesis spotted it. "You can't tell? Figures. A lot of that going around." Amesis took a number of damp towels and placed them over burned areas as Liliana cut away Onli's clothing. He gave Onli another liquid. "This will taste foul, but it will dull the pain."
    Onli swallowed the liquid and almost gagged. She set her head back down. "I told you I don't feel pain, doctor."
    Amesis took a small, sharp knife from Liliana. "You would have. I need to trim off infected tissue. I'll give it a moment to take effect. You'll be pretty hazy until it wears off."
    He looked at Ren. "I met Tien and Momono."
    "What?" Ren said, eyes going wide. "You know who we are?"
    "Yes. Don't worry, I won't turn you in. There were soldiers in the village earlier looking for them. I covered them in bandages and sent them east. They were looking for you."
    "Bandages? Were they hurt?"
    "No, it was just a disguise. You didn't see them?"
    "No," Onli said. It was a single, long breath. Amesis touched her clean skin with the edge of the knife and saw no reaction.
    "Soldiers were here? Are they still?"
    "No. They're heading north towards the mountains. With the storm outside, they're treacherous until the water drains away." He began to slice away blasted skin with the edge of the small knife. Teegan watched Onli's face and saw no reaction. Onli stared at the ceiling, oblivious.
    "Do you need anything, dear?" The nurse asked Teegan. Teegan looked at her, confused.
    "What?"
    "You have injuries on your face," the nurse said, "and on your hands."
    "Oh. They're old," Teegan said. "They don't hurt." The nurse nodded and went back to Amesis' side. Teegan ran a few fingers over the back of her hand. There was a scar that stood raised and red there.
    "She'll be all right, won't she?" Ren asked the doctor. The doctor patiently finished with a cut before answering.
    "I don't think it's life threatening," he said. "But she'll need treatment. I'd say she shouldn't be allowed to travel-" he looked at Ren "-but I know that you'd rather keep moving."
    Ren watched Onli's motionless face.
    "The damage will be too extensive for the body to heal itself," Amesis continued. "Frankly I'm amazed she could walk at all."
    "She's strong," Ren said.
    "I suppose," Amesis said. He dropped a piece of cut skin into a pan. "Even trimming the tissue will take a few hours. You two might as well find a place to rest. I'll keep working."
    Ren fell asleep quickly in the small, warm waiting room. Teegan, sitting in a chair, looked at the scar on her hand.
    She rolled up her right sleeve. There was a long scar from her wrist to the elbow. This one was a little newer. She could still feel something when she touched it.
    "Stop struggling, girl. It will only hurt more."
    She took off her boot. Each toe had a scar that blended into one long scar that went from the top of her foot to above her ankle.
    I will never walk again, she thought, staring down at the mutilated mess that used to be a foot. She did.
    She rolled up her pant leg. Her knee was a mess of scars.
    "The joints regularly produce incredible force. Perhaps there we will find your mysteries, girl. Ouch, you're getting hot again! Quick, fetch doctor Morlin!"
    She replaced her pants and boot. He hand went under her shirt to feel at the huge, round scar on her stomach.
    "Where else but the torso could the heat come from?"
    "I agree. We must be careful not to kill the girl."
    They did not kill her, but the scooped hole that had been a part of her made her sick and hot. One of the doctors burned his fingers -- they were in her at the time. The metal shackles that held her down burned her as she heated them. She smelled smoke.
    "How is she doing it?"
    "I don't know!"
    "Sedate her, quickly! She's going to melt through the iron!"
    The next thing she knew, Tien entered her cold cell . . .

    "Young miss."
    Teegan looked up. Doctor Amesis stood in front of her. "You were asleep. You looked like you were having a nightmare."
    Teegan pulled her hand out from under her shirt. Her skin was hot. "I don't remember what I was dreaming about."
    Amesis sighed and sat in the chair next to her. Ren snorted in his sleep. "I've been around people a long time, miss. I know when they are lying. You don't want me to know your dreams, that's all right." Amesis looked at her bright hair. "There's strangeness around you. Liliana told me about your scars."
    Teegan said nothing.
    "Lots of people have scars, of course," Amesis said, leaning back in the chair. "I have a few. Scalpel accidents." He showed her a finger. There was a small dimpled arc at the end of it. "But not as many as you."
    Teegan was still silent.
    "And I know you won't tell me." Gently, he touched the tip of her hair. "Scars all over, bright hair. You're a strange one, miss. Tell me, what's your name?"
    She kept her eyes on the floor. "Teegan."
    "Teegan?" Amesis seemed surprised. "That sounds like a name from before the rain."
    "What do you mean?" Teegan asked. Nobody had ever commented on her name before. They usually kept their words focused on her hair.
    "I'm a bit of a historian in my free time," Amesis said. "I enjoyed learning about what the world was like before the rain came. Back when the sun shined."
    "That's why you helped us when you knew we were Day-lighters," Teegan said. "You know what is was like."
    Amesis nodded. "I suppose that's true enough. I read about famous people and events. Names like ours -- Onli, Ren, Amesis, Momono -- they weren't heard before the rains came." He regarded her. "But I remember hearing yours."
    "Why?"
    "There was a Teegan a long time ago. She was a singer."
    "Like Momono? Could she play the guitar, too?"
    "She could. She was very famous. People from all over the world loved to watch her and her sister perform," Amesis said. Teegan gasped. "You know what else I discovered? I discovered what the name means."
    "Teegan? What does it mean?"
    "It means 'special thing,'" Amesis said, pointing at Teegan. Teegan imagined hurting Onli so badly that she could hardly walk, and her head sank down.
    "I'm not special."
    "No?"
    Teegan shook her head. Her hair flared in the candlelight as the storm pulsed in the window outside. "I hurt Onli. Everybody's been risking their lives for me."
    "You're the one that burned Onli?" Amesis asked, surprised. "How could you have done that?" When Teegan didn't answer, he sighed. "More mysteries. Did you mean to hurt her?" Teegan shook her head. "She can't possibly blame you. I know why they run; they run for you."
    Teegan looked up, surprised. This doctor could see much more than she thought. He stood. "I'd better go check on Onli. Why don't you get some rest, Teegan."
    Teegan nodded and put her head down when he left.

"I couldn't find anything," Momono said.
    "Neither could I." Tien looked around again. They'd both spent the last hour looking all over the area the trail of coins had stopped. They'd walked for two hours until they found a small pile of iron close to some trees.
    The storm had gotten worse as they walked. It was only Tien's strong eyesight that helped them find the next coin. Now the sky had cleared a small amount and the rain had lessened, but it was still a chore walking. They found the pile of coins, and started searching the area, but could find nothing else.
    "Maybe they got attacked," Momono said. He watched Tien play with the coins on the ground. "And couldn't drop any more."
    "Maybe they didn't realize they were dropping coins, and patched the hole when they got to this point." He thought. "No, they would have picked up the coins that were right here."
    Momono, exhausted, sat. "Now what?"
    "You ask that question too much," Tien said.
    "It's because I don’t-" Momono stopped talking, and reached under him. He pulled up a torn strip of cloth, wet and stained with something. "What's this?"
    "It looks like a bandage," Tien said. He took it from Momono. "Ren made this bandage!"
    "What? How do you know?"
    "He's my brother, I can tell. Are there any more?"
    Momono stood up. "A lot more! There's practically enough to mummify a person here!"
    "What's that on them?" Tien wondered. "It doesn't look like blood."
    "I can't tell, but there's a lot of it," Momono said. "It's on every bandage, and some of them are covered in it." He brought a strip close to his nose and sniffed. "I don't really smell anything. Can you see any difference?" He looked up and found Tien bent close to the ground, staring at something. "Did you find something?"
    "A footprint." He traced it with his finger. It was sunk in the mud. "It looks like Ren's . . . but it's too heavy." He moved his head, eyes wide in the rain. "There's another one." He pointed. "It's going back towards the beginning of the coin trail."
    "Doctor Amesis said that Onli was hurt. She was covered injuries." Momono held up the bandage. "Ren would have helped her."
    "The bandages are soaked in something, but it isn't blood. The meeting spot outside of Breston was burnt."
    "She must have had burns!" Momono said. "Bad ones that didn't heal! That's why the bandages have something on them -- pus from the burns!"
    "Amesis said she had burns everywhere!" Tien said. His eyes blazed with excitement. "She might have fallen here and Ren had to carry her! Amesis said they didn't stop at the village, so she couldn't have gotten help!"
    "That's why the footprint is so deep," Momono said. He was grinning. "But Ren couldn't carry everything, so he gave his pack or Onli's pack to Teegan to carry!"
    "She didn't realize coins were dropping out," Tien said. "We aren't at the end of the coins, we're at the beginning!"

"Is she all right, doctor?" Ren asked, coming into the room. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and looked at Onli.
    "As I said, she'll survive. I've had to trim of a lot of tissue, and there's still a lot of damage. She'll be in quite a lot of pain when she wakes up." Amesis inspected a bandage. Liliana stood by her side. "I spent a bit of time talking to Teegan. She's quite the interesting girl."
    "We think so."
    "I understand that you Day-lighters have your own agenda -- one that, on the surface at least, I support -- but I have to wonder what her place in it is. Something I could hardly guess, I bet. I ended up telling her more about herself than she told me."
    "She's like that," Ren said.
    "Beware the quiet ones," Amesis said. "That's something my mother told me. They don't talk because they're thinking of ways to destroy you." There was a knock at the door. "Liliana, would you get that please?"
    "Teegan wouldn't hurt a fly."
    "She hurt Onli," Amesis said, looking up at Ren as Liliana left the room. "I don't believe she meant to, but she did. Am I right?" Ren said nothing. "I take your silence to mean I'm correct. She has a power. You and many others have your ears -- no, don't deny it -- Tien has his eyes, others have speech, or touch. Some have supernatural empathy, some can smell like bloodhounds . . . and then there is Teegan."
    They heard a scream, and the collapse of a body. Shouts came from the front of the clinic. Ren looked at Onli, and then darted for the entrance.
    He found two drenched and angry soldiers, and another man that Ren placed as someone from an inn some time ago. Then, from a distant memory, Ren heard the sound brrang.
    "You?!" The man said, and he pushed to the front, stepping over a cowering Liliana. "You're one of the Day-lighters from the inn!" He turned to the soldiers. "Spread out! Momono is here, I know it!" The two soldiers, both wearing dented and ruined armor, moved into the clinic with swords drawn. Ren's hand reached for his sword hilt, but it wasn't there. He remembered taking it off before resting in the waiting room -- the waiting room that Teegan currently slept in.
    He didn't see her at the inn. He doesn't know about her. He's just looking for us and Momono, because of whatever Momono did to get out of Breston.
    "Don't make any moves!" One of the soldiers shouted in Ren's face. Ren closed his eyes and didn't move. He didn't look toward the waiting room. He hoped Teegan had woken up already. A gust blew across him from the open door, and his skin prickled with the chill of the storm.
    "Find the doctor!" Roland, the fat man from the inn, yelled. "If he gets away I'll cut your throats!" He looked at Ren. "I have a lot of questions for you," he said. "You're going to tell me where your friend the Councilwoman's son is."
    "I don't know where he is," Ren said. "He separated from us after we left the inn you were in."
    "Liar," Roland said, smiling. "Witnesses at the Titan's Mug say you were there with him when he sang. You and the other one that I fought. You're going to tell me where they are, or-"
    "Sir!" One of the soldiers appeared. "We have the doctor and the nurse! There's also a woman here, badly burned! She's unconscious!"
    Roland's fat face shifted into an ugly leer. "I remember her, too," he said. "Bring her out here!"
    "No!" Ren shouted.
    "Do it!" Roland said.
    "No! I swear, we don't know where the other two are!" Ren said. "We were going to meet up with them after they escaped Breston, but . . . they took too long! Please, don't touch her, she's very hurt!"
    "Bring her out here," Roland said again. "And wake her up. Bring the doctor and the nurse, too." He drew his sword and pointed it at Ren. "Go, I'll make sure this one doesn't move."
    Ren and Roland stood very still, hearing the movement from the next room. Amesis protested moving Onli until a sudden stop. He appeared rubbing his jaw, prodded forward by one of the soldiers. The nurse and the other soldier supported a groggy Onli. Ren went to help Onli, and the soldier drew his sword.
    "Everybody all right out here?" Amesis said to Ren. Ren took a moment and then nodded.
    "I'm fine."
    "All of you, outside," Roland said. "You, doctor, have some things to answer for." He looked at Ren and Onli. "And you two are going to tell me everything you know. Outside, now."
    He and the soldiers marched them past the waiting room and out the door. Wet wind gusted in the empty waiting room's open window.

The doctor said he sent Tien and Momono east, so she ran that way. She'd just had time to grab her cloak after slipping through the window, but she didn't have her pack. She didn't know what she would do if she couldn't find Tien or Momono. She knew there were Day-lighters east -- she'd have to find them herself. She wondered if she could find her own red ball.
    The storm yanked her in every direction with powerful winds and strong rain. Even with her cloak she was soaked almost before getting to the edge of the village. Her hood was down and her hair flapped behind her like a bright banner. She wondered if she should take the small knife Onli trusted her with and cut it to attract less attention.
    She ran until the rain forced her to stop. She fell to her knees and braced herself with her hands, panting.
    She didn't want to cry; she wanted to keep going. She placed her head against the ground as the wind and rain attacked. She was their enemy, and they fought her.
    Onli's thrown body tumbled in the soaked grass, flesh burning.
    She felt tears drop from her eyes, disappearing in the running water.
    For a brief, silent second, no rain fell. The air was dry.
    She covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to sob too loudly. The storm crashed overhead, applauding her misery.
    The sky opened up, and the sun burst through, showering the plain not with rain, but blessed, beautiful sun, bringing aching light instead of wretched darkness and heat instead of cold. She watched as the clouds went away, scattered by the sun's force. The entire world was open, and Teegan's hair sparkled.

"I think I see something over there," Tien said, peering through the rain. "It's a little lump on the ground." Thunder cracked.
    They had been following the trail of coins back toward the village. Momono was having trouble figuring out what time it was. Some of the coins had been washed away by the rain, but Tien would usually be able to spot the next one. "I don't remember seeing anything like that the first time."
    "Can you tell what it is?" Momono asked.
    Tien shook his head. "It could be a lot of things. The rain is too heavy for me to see it." He stared for a little bit.
    Lightning pulsed down, and Tien jumped. He took off, running from the path of coins. Momono stood taken aback, and then ran after him, stumbling in the wet grass. Tien easily outstripped him, running with manic energy. Just as Momono saw a huddled mass on the ground, Tien slid to his knees and collided with it. It came alive, and latched on to him. Momono got closer and found Tien clutching a sodden, miserable, lonely Teegan. He felt a surge of energy and caught up, dropping to his knees like Tien had. Teegan disconnected from Tien and hugged him, pressing her wet face into his shoulder, shuddering and trembling.

"Then I pushed open the window, grabbed my cloak, and got out the window," Teegan said. "I was so scared. I didn't know what I was going to do."
    They were walking back toward the village in the rain. Momono held Teegan's hand. They had pulled off their bandages after finding her, yet she knew it was them anyway. She said she could tell. She'd just finished telling them everything that had happened since leaving Breston. She could barely talk when she told them what had happened when Onli got burned, and they could hardly believe their ears. Teegan found it difficult to describe.
    "We'll figure out what to do," Tien said. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. How do you feel? You aren't sick?"
    Teegan shook her head. "No, not sick."
    "We'll be at the village in a few minutes," Tien said. "Let's all try to be quiet. Hopefully they're still in Amesis' office, or at least in the village.
    Tien was correct, and in a few minutes Momono began to see the village's outer buildings through the rain. They crept up to one of the buildings and started winding their way through the narrow alleys as small streams of water flowed over their feet and under the stilted houses. Tien made Teegan put her hood up, even though she complained about it making her too hot.
    They reached Amesis' office, finding it empty and cold. There were no signs of a struggle.
    "Teegan, you stay here," Tien said, as he closed the window she'd used to escape. The building started to warm up again. "Momono and I will look around the village. I don't think they'll come back here, but if they do be prepared to hide or escape again."
    "I don't wanna hide," Teegan said. "I want to help look for them. Onli's really hurt!"
    "We know, but she wouldn't want us risking you. You're more important than any of us. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Teegan frowned and nodded her head sadly. Momono watched Tien walk to the front door. "Coming?" Tien said to Momono. After a pause, Momono followed him back into the rain.

"I ought to gut you," Roland said to doctor Amesis, as he pulled his head up by the hair. Blood ran from bruises and cuts on the doctor's face. Roland dropped his head, and it landed in a puddle of mud on the outskirts of the village. "Tricking my men like that. And you thought you'd get away with it? You're lucky I'm a forgiving man. A stupid stunt like that would never work."
    Amesis coughed and used one arm to lift himself out of the mud. His other arm was attempting to hold together his ribs. "Well then . . . where are the rest of your soldiers?" He said. Ren stiffened as Roland turned back to him; he almost let Onli fall to the ground. "The mountains got them, didn't they?" He laughed, and groaned. "You're lucky to be alive. They could have taken all of you." He spat out blood. "The mountains don't usually let people go."
    Roland's boot caught his stomach, and he fell to the ground with a grimace on his face. "Shut up!" Roland shouted. "You'll never heal another person after I tell the Council what you tried to do!" Roland cocked his foot back for another swing, then halted. He put the foot down. "In fact, I'm going to make you wish you had never said a word against us. You," he pointed at the soldier that held Liliana. The nurse was soaked to the bone. "Take her behind a house and do whatever you want to her, but . . . make sure she screams."
    "No!" Amesis said. He tried to reach out a hand but brought it back quickly, cupping his stomach.
    "No, no," Onli whispered just above the rain. Her wet bandages stuck to her skin. "Stop him."
    "Wait!" Ren shouted. "Don't do it!"
    Roland made the soldier stop. The soldier looked visibly upset. "You have something to say?"
    "We'll tell you where Tien and Momono went, as long as you promise not to hurt her," Ren said. "As long as you leave us in peace."
    "Leave you in peace?" Roland laughed. "You lot are traitors! Day-lighters and sympathizers, and you're destined for a cold cell at best!" He stopped laughing. "But I'll promise not to hurt you if you tell me where the Councilwoman's son and the other one went."
    Ren looked at Onli. She stared back with glazed-over eyes. "They have us," she said. The pounding rain nearly drowned it out. "We'll figure out a way to get away. We just need to survive until then."
    "All right," Ren said. "They went east, in search of us. The only reason we came back to the village was because Onli was too hurt."
    "How do I know you're telling the truth?" Roland asked. He nodded to the second soldier, who had a sword trained on Ren. The soldier lifted it and poked Ren in the back. "What if you're just sending us on another wild goose chase?"
    Ren failed to find his voice. "I'm waiting, traitor," Roland said. "You'd better come up with something quickly."

Teegan wandered through the dark, deserted streets of the village, staying in the shadows or under buildings. She couldn't stay inside, even after what Tien had said. Onli was hurt, Ren was in danger, and even nice doctor Amesis was in trouble.
    She was looking in an alley at the edge of the village when she saw someone standing looking away from her. It looked like a soldier. She crept closer, staying hidden under a house, and saw that it was a soldier, and he was holding the nurse from doctor Amesis' clinic. She looked wet and scared -- Teegan knew how she felt. She moved a little closer.
    She saw a fat man standing over doctor Amesis. He didn't look like a soldier, but he was the one in charge. He was shouting and pointing his sword at something she couldn't see. She got a little closer, and looked around the corner of a building.
    She saw the other soldier with his sword pointed at Ren and Onli, and she gasped. For most people, the gasp was too quiet to be heard in the rain, but Ren's head shifted in her direction for just a moment, and the fat man wheeled around, finding her.
    Teegan tried to back out from under the house but didn't have enough space. The fat man reached her quicker than she expected and grabbed her hood, dragging her forward on her face. Roland grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. Mud covered her face and shirt. Roland yanked her forward, toward the others.
    He felt a strange warm gust.
    "Spying, eh?" He shouted at Teegan over the storm. "Watching the fun?" He looked at Ren and Onli. "Tell me where they really went, traitor, or I'll cut this poor innocent girl's throat."
    Teegan's eyes went from the blade at her neck to the doctor. He very slowly lifted a finger in front of his lips.
    "I'm telling you, they went east!" Ren shouted. "I swear, I'm telling the truth! I have nothing else to tell you!"
    "Then I hope you're ready to have innocent blood on your hands," Roland said, and brought his sword around for a strike.
    "Stop."
    Roland's sword halted, and he glanced behind him. Tien and Momono stood in the rain, weapons drawn. Loose bandages gusted around their necks.
    "Uh!" Ren said, surprised. They're back!
    "There you are, you bastard," Roland said, shoving Teegan forward. He motioned at the two soldiers. They collected Amesis, his nurse, Teegan, Ren and Onli together, immobilized by their swords. "I was hoping I'd get the chance to see you again," Roland said. "I owe you a crack on the head for what you did back to me at that inn." Roland frowned. "But I promised your mother I'd deliver you unharmed."
    Momono scowled.
    "You though," Roland said, pointing his sword at Tien. "I'm going to gut you right here! I believe I remember you saying that the people you were traveling with were 'no kind of troublemakers.' Just your brother, wife, and-" He stopped, and a wet, ugly grin grew on his face. He twisted his neck to look at Teegan. "Daughter. And here I just thought she was a street urchin. And you!" He gestured at Momono. "A Councilwoman’s son! She thought you knew better! But don't worry, I'll bring you back to her."
    "You should talk to the last person who tried to bring me back to her," Momono said, steel in his voice. "I'm afraid it's impossible; I crushed his throat."
    Roland sneered. "Childish anger doesn't scare me. I'm a man of actions. I advise you two to keep still, or my blade might just find its way somewhere unseemly."
    He looked at Ren. "You lied."
    Ren paled. "No. I swear. I thought they went east! Please!"
    "Quiet!" Roland snarled, brandishing his sword at the sodden group. "Now, because of you, I have to exact my revenge! I'm going to make you choose, traitor. In this warm rain, pick which one of you will die!"
    "Don't do it, Roland!" Tien shouted. "You'll have a fight on your hands against a couple of angry traitors!"
    "I said to keep still!" Roland yelled back. "I'm just going to kill one! If you two don't move, the others will go free."
    "Don't trust them, Tien!" Ren shouted. Roland moved and cracked him in the jaw with the pommel of his sword.
    "Shut up, you! Pick quickly; all this excitement is making me hot!" He pointed his sword at Liliana, the nurse. "This young thing?"
    Ren said nothing. Roland moved the sword to point at Amesis. "The good doctor?" He smiled, darting the point closer to Amesis, beaten body. "No, you barely know him." The sword moved to Teegan. "Her? Quite a future ahead of her. I'll cut it down."
    Tien's strong eyes saw Ren's clenched lips quiver. He shook his head slightly. Ren said nothing.
    "Not her. She's just a niece. Maybe your sister-in-law?" Roland asked. The sword came to rest on Onli's shoulder.
    "Me," Ren croaked. "I lied to you, kill me."
    "I knew you'd crack eventually," Roland said. He grabbed Onli's hair and pulled her away from Ren.
    "No! Kill me!" The soldiers moved in, keeping Ren from moving.
    "You're half dead anyway," Roland said to Onli, who had fallen to her knees. Roland shifted the metal grip of his sword around, as if it was too hot to hold. "I'm doing you a service." He lifted the sword.
    "Roland!" Momono shouted. "If you kill her, you'll have to kill me, too!"
    Roland hesitated for a moment, the sword, held high, gleaming in the low light. "More childish words," Roland said, and he swung down.
    Onli's face landed in a puddle. Her blank eyes gazed down at the ground.
    There was a sudden, eerie stillness. There was a quiet never experienced before. Roland and the soldiers looked around. Ren took the chance to jump away; he grabbed Liliana and they fell to the ground.
    "What's that?" Roland asked. He looked around -- the immediate area was clear. "I don't believe it, the rain's stopped."
    Tien and Momono looked at Teegan.
    Her mouth was curling into a vicious snarl. Little lifts of her lips made her appear unhinged. Her mud-covered brows bent. Her hands doubled into small, burning fists. The soldiers backed away, feeling prickly heat flow out of her.
    It stopped, and she spied the great fire in the sky. She looked at Onli's still body. There was a ringing in her ears. She looked up. Her eyes rose to the clouds. Crushing openness descended on her.
    Onli is dead; it is your fault. Everything you did lead to this. You burned her. They didn't stop at the village to protect you. The fat man grabbed you and Onli is dead because of it.

    "Get down," Tien said to Momono.
    Swirling, blistering heat billowed out from her, the endless patter of rain ceased. The village heard blessed stillness.
    Teegan's feet lifted off the ground. Her small body was slouched and bent, her fists curled up to her chest.
    Her red, furious eyes focused on Roland. He still held the dripping sword.
    The world spasmed.

Even as far as Breston the rain stopped. Guards and civilians alike looked up in awe. Soon the sky would reveal greater wonders.

Translucent waves of energy poured out, spreading in a hot bubble. It surged away with all the power of an enraged child. Roland and the soldiers were torn away, driven across the ground like rags. Tien and Momono felt shocking power batter them. Teegan rose higher.
    Onli is dead.
    Teegan screamed, and the power shot up. All the multitudes of fires inside her scorched the clouds in the dry quiet.
    Like a ravaging horde against a fortress, the clouds ripped. A hole grew.
    A small light sat in midnight darkness. It twinkled serenely, unaware of the power that had revealed it. All present looked up at it, struck by its cold beauty and the open space around it.
    More power blasted forth and tore the hole wider. A panoply of stars greeted them. Tien and Momono gazed up, silent and wondering. Neither could have guessed such splendor rested just over their heads. No man or woman in hundreds of years had seen them.
    And then Teegan released everything she had.
    The clouds were pulverized before their eyes, struck to bits in an instant, cleansing even the hard mountains to the north and exposing the whole world to the empty, frightening abyss that had laid hidden on the other side of humanity's gray prison. The world over panicked, and then looked up at what had once been Earth's constant companions. Mars winked down.
    Those who could see the sun fell to their knees and cried out in pain and wonder; the rain was gone from their lives for one bright and shining moment. The moon struck mad a multitude, enchanted by its silver gleam.
    Teegan hovered there, arms out and head back, roaring. It was the second greatest thing Momono would ever see.
    Slowly the near-bottomless chasm of energy was emptied. Teegan floated back down to the ground, pale. Roland was nowhere to be seen. The soldiers had fled, fearing for their lives. Onli's body was untouched.
    Teegan touched the ground and crumpled. Ren ran to her and hoisted her in his arms. Tien ran to Onli's body and touched her. She was cold, even after Teegan's heat. Momono helped Amesis to his feet with Liliana and gave him an arm to lean on. The five of them, plus the sleeping Teegan, ran back to Amesis' office and gathered their things. They went east even as the clouds started to return.

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