“They all do that,” Rudiger replied. “That’s horses for you.”


    Felit?a stood up and brushed straw and dirt off her body, then began pulling bits of straw from her hair. “You have to do this every day?”


    “New rules. Inspection at dawn. I’ve slept here the last couple nights to make sure I’m here on time. Also have to have Borisin ready to be summoned on a moment’s notice. Fortunately, none of them can tell when a horse has been properly prepared. Haven’t done a thing with Borisin this morning. We were up too late; I slept in. Uh huh. Yeah, sure, okay. He says I should be ashamed of that. Not the talking with you part, the not having him ready part.”


    “I got that, thanks,” Felit?a said.


    “All right. Be back soon.” She heard him rummaging about for a few moments and then the doors opening and closing behind him.


    She went over to the doors, cracked one open, and looked out. It was still dark, but not the pitch darkness of last night. The dim glow of dawn provided some light, and the clouds had parted so the stars provided a tiny bit more. She closed the doors again.


    Moving around in the daytime would not be ideal, but she could get Rudiger and Nin-Akna to make the initial enquiries. Once they’d determined where the priest was, she could go herself.


    The news she had sent Meleng and Quilla straight to the headquarters of the Ninifin Resistance was unexpected but welcome. That would have reunited them with Jorvan, and they were hopefully now working with the Resistance and whatever the Resistance was planning. It would give Garet something to do, at least. Perhaps they might even make some insights into Zandrue’s location.


    Zandrue’s disappearance concerned her. She wasn’t particularly worried about Zandrue—she knew full well Zandrue could take care of herself. It was the manner of it, a lot like when she used to take off in Quorge: sudden, no explanation other than it was for everyone’s safety, no indication of where she was going, and only a vague statement of when she’d be back. Felit?a had hoped the disappearances had stopped, though Zandrue had said they’d be at a reduced frequency, not stopped completely. But at the very least, Felit?a had hoped Zandrue would have the decency not to take off during a delicate time like this. Yet that was another similarity. These disappearances happened regardless of what else was going on, like Zandrue really had no choice and somehow no advance warning of them either. That Rudiger said she’d seemed ill did worry Felit?a. There hadn’t been any indication of illness on her previous departures, although on those occasions, it had been easier for her to get away. What if Zandrue had tried to wait longer this time? What if what Rudiger saw was an example of what happened to her while she was away? Had it always been to cover up some illness?


    Felit?a hurried back into hiding as the two children who assisted Rudiger arrived. They cleaned the other horses and swept the floors. None of them looked into her stall or came in though, so she didn’t need to expend any magical energy to hide from them.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    “It doesn’t matter,” the woman said. “We don’t actually need him here. Check all the stalls. You two, stay out of our way.”


    Felit?a made a quick check of how many mental presences there were and cast the spell to hide herself from them. A moment later, a warrior opened the stall door, walked in, looked around, and walked back out. Felit?a could hear others moving about in the stables, and two others passed her stall.


    “All right, let’s go,” the first woman said. “She can’t have gotten far.”


    “That’s good. Everything looks good. Why don’t you two take your afternoon break a little early? Come back in a couple hours.”


    “Hopefully,” Felit?a said, though she wasn’t feeling hopeful at the moment. The Ninifin secret writings said she was the harbinger of a time of destruction, one that might be starting right now. “Were you able to find out anything about Fra-Atl?”


    She awoke to the sound of Ses-Izel’s voice. “Your friend’s arrival has really shaken things up, and Fra-Ichtaca has started moving faster than I expected.”


    “Does it really matter right now?” Rudiger said. “It’s done. We have to deal with it, so let’s deal with it.”


    Ses-Izel took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right. I came here to tell you that I’ve received a message back from Fra-Tepeu. They’re coming today. I’ll let Nin-Akna know to be ready.”


    “They’ll pin this on me whether I’m there or not,” Felit?a said. “They’re already doing that. I’ll get her out.”


    “Thank you,” Felit?a said.


    “Clever,” Felit?a said.


    After what seemed an eternity, Nin-Akna arrived. She was alone, but carrying three spears and a shield. She passed a spear to Rudiger. “Ses-Izel wanted you to have this. She said you’d go for your sword if I didn’t push it on you.”


    “With Ses-Izel,” she said.


    Nin-Akna nodded. “As long as you can keep us unseen, I can get us exactly where we need to go. Whenever you’re ready.”


    “Okay,” Felit?a said. “Move casually, no sudden movements. Don’t do anything to draw attention to yourselves. Let me open any doors. Just point to them when we need to go through. Ready?”