Finding the Way and Other Tales of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey

Author:Mercedes Lackey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2010-10-20T16:00:00+00:00

A vigorous shake of her shoulder woke her. “Mghmghhhhhh.” Her eyes snapped open as she felt another stab of fear, blurry and indistinct but very, very real. Dionne!

“Fifteen minutes, miss,” a small voice said. “I brought you food.”

She sat up, jarring her ankle so hard she almost screamed. “What time is it?”

Sylvie pushed a bowl of soup into her hands. “When we said. Paula wants to know if you can ride.”

Rhi immediately felt better. Paula had arrived. She finished off the bowl as fast as her tongue could handle the hot soup, feeling as if each bite was bringing her a tiny bit more awake. She had to lean on the girl to get out by the gate, where she found Paula, her newest Trainee (a young man named Gossy that Rhi had met once before), and at least fifteen other men on horses. They all wore leather armor and carried weapons of one kind or another. Rhi spotted longbows and swords and even two staffs sticking way up above their riders’ heads while the base settled into their boots.

A sturdy little palomino mare with four white legs stood bridled and saddled, her reins grasped lightly in Paula’s free hand. Paula was on her Companion, Loden. Both were big and bulky, and neither had their usual look of benign humor. “Can you lead us there?” Paula asked.

Rhi felt a grin stretch all the way across her face as she realized that not only were the Heralds going to help, but that the whole town had shown up. Almost every horse in Lookingfall must be part of the assemblage.

“It’s okay,” Paula said. “We’ll save her.”

They arrived at the top of the hill overlooking Paradise just a mark or so before sundown, the shadows already long on the hills. Rhi felt despair more than fear from Dionne, a soft dull ache in her breast.

There was only one way in that she could see. Straight ahead of them. They weren’t going to surprise anyone, anyway. Rhi asked Paula, “No need for quiet, right?”

The Herald shook her head. “No need.”

Even though she was tired and bruised and her ankle screamed bloody murder at her, Rhiannon drew in a deep breath and started singing. She chose a simple song of Valdemar, one they taught the new students at Bardic in their first year and which people requested in inns throughout the kingdom.

As she sang, Paula and Gossy and the men of Lookingfall passed her and the little bay mare. She joined up at the end, singing them down the mountain so loud her biggest hope was that Dionne would hear it.

When they came to the closed gates, five men walked the broad top of the wall, waving bows and arrows. James stood among them, in the center, directing and encouraging and glaring down at the arriving riders.

Rhi leaned in close to Paula and whispered in her ear. Paula nodded, and Rhi extracted Hunter carefully from the group threatening the gate. He gestured for one more man to follow him.

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