Compline, Eleventh Day Before Kalends of May

Baba Nush’s Cottage, Estrul Marketplace, Estrul, Tarrin, Drum

And so the two nobles found themselves sitting on the dusty floor of Baba Nush’s Cottage. She emerged from behind a curtain, a tiny, ancient woman with large, blind eyes, holding a kettle and two porcelain cups on a tray. She sat before them and poured the Logan and Kate tea with a shaking hand.

“Thank you Baba,” said Kate, smiling. She took the cup and drank the tea in one long gulp.

Logan looked down at the tea, murky brown with kinked tea leaves. As he looked down at it he felt that the leaves were moving now, grasping each other with crooked fingers and pointing inwards, where the leaves had now formed a small bed of flowers. And it seemed now that blood was pouring out of this bed of flowers, soaking the tea redder and redder —

Baba Nush snapped her fingers and Logan looked up at her large, blind eyes. “Drink,” she said hoarsely. And Logan found himself reaching forward to hold the cup, then his Mind once again gained control of his Body and he put the cup back down.

“You know Connexion,” said Logan.

“Connexion, that is what you helia call it,” said Baba Nush. “We braxin call it Magick.”

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“Only helia can know Connexion.” said Logan.

“That is what helia say,” said Baba Nush.

Logan turned to look at Kate. She shrugged and smiled. He could not understand how she was so calm. This was no mere trickery. The braxin woman had Transcended both his Mind and Body. Such Connexion required years of training to master, and most importantly one needed to be a descendant of Heion, or helia. If this old woman was correct, that meant that the Young Kardas’ claims, too, were correct, which meant that the revolutionaries were justified in their anger.

But before he could untangle these thoughts in his head Baba Nush began speaking. “You are destined for the Child of Light,” she said.

“Hazel,” said Logan.

“The woman will die,” said Baba Nush, her voice quivering.

For a moment there was a tense silence.

“On first name terms with Captain Drina, are we,” said Kate. “Well you heard Baba, you are destined for the Child of Light. Follow me to your destiny.”

With this she flew out of the cottage.

Logan turned to follow her, but Baba Nush said, “there is death around the corner.”

Logan could not help but smile, and he said, “do not worry Baba, I have faced death all my life.”

Then, as he left the cottage, he added, “perhaps I have already died.”

Tenth Day Before Kalends of May

Tarrin, Drum

Logan and Kate set off at dawn the next day. They paid off a farmer heading north to Bahim territory, where Kate claimed Drina and her mercenary band were hiding. To Logan’s surprise, and much to his relief, Kate did not speak throughout this journey. She merely looked out at the rolling hills of northern Tarrin. With each bump along the rocky road, Logan felt pain burst forth from the injuries. He had not been injured so badly in a very long time. But he was used to pain.

He fell asleep before night fell.