Oathbreakers (Vows and Honor) by Lackey Mercedes

Author:Lackey, Mercedes [Lackey, Mercedes]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: DAW
Published: 1989-01-02T16:00:00+00:00

“Any sign of tracking?” Tarma asked her partner, reining Ironheart in beside her as they slowed to a brisk walk.

Kethry closed her eyes in concentration, extended a little tendril of energy along the road behind them, then shook her head. “My guess would be that they haven’t missed the spy yet. But my guess would also be, that with all the mages I sensed in Raschar’s court, they’ll be sending at least one with each pursuit party.”

“Anything you can do about that?”

“Some.” She reformed that tendril of energy into a deception-web that might confuse their backtrail. “Listen, we need supplies; how about if I lay an illusion on you and ‘Heart and you go buy us some at the next village we hit?”

“How about if you spell all three of us right now? Say—old woman and her daughter and son? Nobody knows Shin‘a’in battlemares out here, and ‘Heart and ’Bane are ugly enough to belong to peasants: you needn’t spell them.”

“Huh; not a bad thought. What about Warrl?”

: I can seem much smaller if I need to.:

Kethry started. “Furface, I wish you wouldn’t just speak into my mind like that—you never used to!”

:My pardon. I grow forgetful of courtesy. How does the Wise One?:

Jadrek was three-quarters asleep, slumped forward in Kethry’s hold, his head nodding to the rhythm of Hellsbane’s hooves. Kethry touched his neck below his ear lightly enough not to disturb him. “All right; his pulse is strong.”

:If you would have my advice?:

When the kyree tendered his opinion, it was worth having. “Go ahead.”

: Rouse him up and make him speak with you. He will do his body more harm by riding unconscious.:

“On that subject,” Tarma interrupted, “how long can you keep our illusions going? What kind of shape are you in?”

Kethry shrugged. “I’ve been mostly resting my powers so far. I can keep the spell up indefinitely. Why?”

“Because I want to stay under roofs at night for as long as we can. Rough camping is going to be hard on our friend at best—be a helluva note to save him from assassins and lose him to pneumonia.”

Kethry nodded, thinking of how much pain the Archivist was already in. “What kind of roofs?”

“In order of preference—out-of-the-way barns, the occasional friendly farmer, and the cheapest inns in town.”

“Sound, I think. Pull up here, I might as well cast this thing now, and I can’t do it on a moving horse.”

“Here” was a grove of trees beside the road; they got the horses off and allowed them to browse while Kethry concentrated.

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