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  Looking out at the hanged man, Codrin shook his head. Sometimes, I don’t enjoy ruling, but at least there is one robber less, he thought. The other two will be hanged tomorrow. Since he had invaded Severin a week ago, his scouts had gone from one village to another and caught two large bands of thieves, men who thought that no one was in charge, and they were free to prey on the peasants. To stop the lawlessness, he decided that all the robbers, twenty in total, would be hanged in the villages where they were caught. The one he had hanged in the plaza was an exception. Wrapped in his inner thoughts, Codrin looked over the gate, toward the mountains. A disturbing haze clouded his vision, and he started to see double. The second image parted from the first, twisted, altered. After a while, it cleared, and the landscape changed swiftly until Mehadia came in sight. What is happening to me? He blinked, but continued to see into the impossible distance, known and unknown places. He passed the Rhiun River, the Cursed Forest, Muniker. Where am I going? Then came Baia, the region where he had spent a winter in Grand’s house with Vlad and Pintea. She was a fine woman. “Nera’s gorge,” he breathed. I don’t want to see it. He closed his eyes, to avoid the place where his brother and Tudor were killed, but found that he had no control over his Vision – he could see everything, even with his eyes closed. The place came to him, and a tear ran down his face, then Nera faded away as new places came in sight: Silvania, Arenia, until he found himself looking at an unknown land. That must be Nepro River. The river vanished from sight, and he was now inside a strange city, seeing through a closed window, into a castle. A man stood in front of the window, staring at him. “Baraki,” he whispered and unsheathed his dagger. That cursed man was once the Chief of the Royal Guard of Arenia. The traitor who had killed Codrin’s family, and who was now the King of Arenia. There was no person in the whole world that Codrin hated and despised more.

  “You are new to this,” Baraki laughed. “There is no way to fight when the Eye of the Seer is open into the Farsight. We are not in the same place. I have been wandering across Frankis to find you.” His hand went to Codrin’s throat and passed through it. “How did they choose a weakling like you to become a Seer?”

  “What makes you think that you are strong? Betrayal? Poisoning? Night killings?”

  “The throne of Arenia makes me strong and soon, the throne of the Khadate will make me even stronger. I was told that you were in Frankis. Soon, I will come after you.”

  “You will come after me? No, Baraki, you will send soldiers. You are too cowardly to come after me. You almost died once, and you had fifty soldiers with you. There were only three of us.”

  “I will have enough soldiers.”

  “Yes, if you have enough soldiers, you will come. Make sure you have enough,” Codrin said, and extracted himself from the building.

  Baraki stretched his mind, trying to keep Codrin inside the Vision; he had not yet found out his location. Their eyes locked, and slowly Codrin retreated, feeling as if some invisible cords were trying to keep him tied to Baraki. He is trying to find where I am; Codrin suddenly understood, and fought against the invisible tendrils Baraki placed around him. Once he was out of Nerval, Codrin felt free and, a moment later, he was back in Severin, leaning against the window, breathing hard. A fierce headache and a wave of nausea made him shiver. He clamped his mouth shut to avoid retching, and staggered drunkenly before managing to steady himself and walk on weak legs across the room until his sense of balance returned. Like an old man, he threw himself into a chair. Head in hands, he groaned, trying to understand. “I need to learn, but who can teach me?” he muttered, voice cracking.

  “I can.”

  Codrin raised his head abruptly. The strange pain surged, gnawing at his mind, and his breath quickened, wheezing through his nostrils. His eyes blurred, and almost blind, he moaned his pain and fear. It took a while, but when they cleared, he saw a woman, her white dress absorbing the light of the fading sun through the window. Shadowed, her face remained hidden. “Empress, I don’t know if you need to, but if you do, please sit down,” he said, struggling to gather his mind. The pain was still there.

  “A woman likes to be treated courteously.” She seated herself in the chair across the table, looking at him. A change in the light on her dress finally revealed her face. “Questions?”

  “Is Baraki a Seer?”

  “You are asking much better questions this time. Yes, he is a Seer.”

  “Why did you choose him?”

  “Wrong question. He is the Seer of the Serpent.”

  “The Fracture...” Codrin said, his voice hoarse.

  “Yes, it will come. Perhaps.”

  “What is different now from what happened when my father defeated the nomads. Baraki?”

  “He may become their next Khad, but it’s not only that. Twenty years ago, the Serpentists found some powerful Talant artifacts. Then they found the Sanctuary, which was built by the Talants in Nerval. Mordanek, their Great Priest, had exceptional powers and opened the Sanctuary. He made it into a temple for the Serpent. Did Dochia tell you about the Maletera?” She looked at Codrin, who shook his head. “It’s a tool which can pervert one’s mind, making you a slave. She was almost killed in Silvania, when Meriaduk, the High Serpentist Priest, used a Maletera, trying to enslave her. She saved Ada, the Second Light of Arenia, too. You know Ada. We were lucky that Dochia is such a strong Wanderer. Losing both her and Ada would have been a great loss for us. The Maletera is also a tool enabling communication at long distance. Dochia destroyed a second one on the road to Nerval, but Meriaduk has more. And there are artifacts which can kill people at a distance, through the strongest armor.”

  Dark magic? I thought it was only a story for children. But I thought the same about Seers. “How can we defend ourselves from such weapons?”

  “That is Dochia’s task. She is now in Nerval to seal the Sanctuary and the artifacts. Enough of that. How do you think that you went to Nerval?”

  “That was Nerval? I thought it might be, but I was not sure. I’ve never been there. I suppose that Baraki used his ... Seer power to draw me there.”

  “He can’t do that.” The Empress shook her head.

  “Then?”

  “Then?” A trace of amusement flashed in her eyes.

  Codrin closed his eyes, and his feverish mind recalled everything that had happened during the dream-like journey. “Somehow, I went there,” he said, just to say something. “Was it my ability?”

  “A good question. Seers have this ability through the Blue Light, to see beyond what the eye can perceive. Dochia detected it in you, a few years ago. You are not alone in having the Blue Light, a few Assassins have it too, but only the Seer has the Farsight.”

  “Am I a Seer?” he breathed, and she nodded. Since when am I a Seer? “I don’t feel anything special.”

  “Except that you can fly from here to Nerval. Usually, it’s a four-month journey; if you are lucky.”

  He stood up abruptly and walked around the room. “Can I go anywhere?”

  “Almost, and always within a certain radius. You are untrained.”

  “But I went to Nerval.”

  “You went there only because Baraki opened a channel for you, and you fell into his trap.”

  “He was looking for me.” Codrin stopped walking and looked at her. She nodded. “And he is able to search as far as from Nerval to here.”

  “He can’t do that on his own, but Meriaduk has the Map. A Talant artifact that can show any point on the continent. A Seer can use that to his advantage, but control of the Farsight is more difficult. By using the Map, it’s more like trying to see in the night using only moonlight. At the moment, Baraki can see things in a twenty-mile radius.”

  How far can I see? “Do you think that I can find Saliné?”

  Marie of Tolosa was meant for you, not Saliné. Drusila will take care of that. You need the power of the duchy behind you. “Farsight is a potent tool, but its power depends on how you train it. Use it for pe
rsonal gain, and it will not serve you well, and anyway, I doubt that you can use Farsight at more than two thousand paces yet. That’s less than you can do using normal sight, but on the other hand you can see through walls or over hills. You must train. Don’t complain that you don’t know. Barakis’s intrusion has already opened the path for you. You know how to do it.”

  Before Codrin could voice his irritation, the Empress was gone, and he was looking at an empty chair. I will use the Farsight to find Saliné. La naiba with the rules, as Dochia used to say. He let his mind wander over Severin. Once. Twice. At the third attempt, the Farsight came to him, and he could see the land from a hundred feet above. Suddenly tired, he stopped and shook his head to overcome a burst of dizziness and pain. Less than half a mile... My Farsight is not very strong. I will try again later. Now, I have to leave. Codrin stood up and, walking slower than he would have liked because of the persistent lightheadedness, he left the room and the palace. Twenty men, their horses and Zor were already waiting for him and, in a minute, they were storming out of Severin. To his surprise, Verenius was taken out of the jail and ordered to go with them.

  Chapter 3 – Codrin

  They rode at a fast canter for three hours, on the western road, up to the place where a scout was waiting for them. Aron had left the road there and headed through the forest. Night found them still in the forest, and they camped when the tracks on the ground were no longer visible. No fire was lit. They set off again early in the morning when the first cherry glow of dawn was creeping over the hills. An hour later they found Vlad and most of his scouts on the bank of a small river, its water going up to a horse’s knee.

  “They went into the water. I’ve sent scouts along both banks of the river,” Vlad said.

  “You should look for a small black ribbon in the water,” Verenius said, and at Codrin’s questioning look, he told them about the letter he had given Saliné, and the ribbons tied to small stones that he had planted in her saddle. He smiled sheepishly at the end of the story.

  Saying nothing, Codrin went downriver, walking along the bank, occasionally stepping into the shallow water. Vlad went upstream. Thirty paces on, Codrin bent abruptly and picked out a small black ribbon from the water. “We go this way,” he pointed downriver, and most of the scouts mounted and rode with him. Two of them stayed behind to wait for the team which had traveled upstream. Fifteen minutes later, they met the second team, sent out by Vlad an hour earlier.

  “We know where they left the river,” the scout leader said, and they rode along the bank to the point where the tracks showed that many horses had turned into the forest again.

  Vlad sent four squads of three skilled scouts to ride parallel to the main group. It was a tactic that Codrin had copied from the Arenian army. He mixed both Arenian and Assassins ways in their training. The outriders were not slowed down by the need to follow the tracks on the ground and had more scope to search for unexpected things. At noon, one squad returned and reported riders ahead.

  “There are two riders, wearing the colors of Leyona,” the lead scout said, “and they are coming your way. They are not riding hard, and they will be here in less than ten minutes.”

  “I will hide, with Pintea and Lisandru,” Codrin said. All three were dressed in dark blue and all fought with two swords, like the Assassins. “Vlad, interrogate them.” He walked away, then turned. “Verenius, come with me.”

  “I will wait there.” Vlad pointed to a place where the small road through the forest, more a path than a road, curved abruptly, and hid most of his men behind some thick bushes. He kept only five soldiers with him.

  Five minutes later, they met the riders and surrounded them, before they knew what was happening. The two frightened men unsheathed their swords.

  “I would not do that,” Vlad said, and reluctantly the men from Leyona sheathed their swords. “You could have been dead by now. I am not fond of Leyona, and nor am I fond of the Circle’s men.” He pointed at their insignia. “But that’s not enough reason to kill you. Who are you, and why are you here?”

  “My name is Eric, and I serve the Master Sage. I am travelling.”

  “I am looking for Aron, one of your Sages.”

  “What business have you with him?”

  “An unpaid debt. A large one. Did you meet him? He was headed that way.” Vlad gestured at the curve from where the riders had come.

  “In a manner of speaking.”

  Vlad frowned, but chose to remain silent, moving his horse closer to the man in front of him, and at his discreet sign, his men tightened the circle.

  A second team of scouts returned, and its leader approached Vlad. “There are six graves at the edge of the forest, about five miles from here. There is a circle drawn on one of the graves.”

  “Who died there?” Vlad aimed his question at the Leyonan riders.

  “Some men, perhaps,” Eric said, and his lips drew back in a sort of grin.

  “Hang him,” Vlad ordered, pointing at the second rider.

  “Wait!” Eric cried. “An Itinerant Sage, and some guards.”

  “Petronius?” Vlad asked casually, and Eric nodded while his gray eyes flashed, unable to mask his surprise. “Who killed him? Aron?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Vlad sensed that the man was still hiding something, and pondered how much pressure he could apply. “Were Bucur and his wife to be there too?” he asked, his eyes cold and staring, half-concealed by the droop of his eyelids, and again Eric nodded in haste. “Where are you going now?”

  “Leyona, we need to report the death of Petronius.”

  “Where is Aron going?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “How will the Circle react if we catch Aron?”

  “In a favorable way, if you deliver him and his son to us. After killing Petronius, he is now an outcast. Maud wants the girl too. She wants to protect her, and the Master Sage is a generous woman.”

  “My impression is that Aron does not have much money left to pay his debt. He left Severin in a hurry. Once we capture them, I will send a man to Leyona, to contact the Master Sage. I will require five thousand galbeni. And, Eric,” Vlad looked straight at him, “don’t play games with me.” Their eyes locked, and the Circle’s man nodded. “Let them go,” Vlad said, after a few more questions, and his scouts pulled back.

  They found the graves and the head of a small black ribbon sticking out of the freshly dug soil of one of them, almost invisible. Codrin pulled the ribbon, which was tied to a piece of wood this time, and there was a word scratched on it with the tip of a knife: Dog. There was another stick carved with the word Pirenes, at the edge of the grave, signaling that Aron was taking Saliné to the southern mountains. One of Eric’s men had stepped on it by mistake and covered the ribbon completely. Codrin played the ribbon between his fingers, having the feeling that Saliné was there with him. She thought this was important for me to know. Why Dog? Does Aron have dogs with him? There are no dog prints. Maybe small dogs carried on horses? I can’t attack Aron directly, Saliné would be in danger. That bastard would not hesitate to harm or to kill her, if he had to. I have to surprise them during the night. The dogs might detect us. It was logical, but somehow he was not pleased by his logic, and continued to play with the ribbon. Why was Eric here at the same time as Aron? This is just a path in the forest, not a road. And why did Aron kill Petronius? Aron is a bastard, but he is not a stupid bastard. Perhaps Maud planned something against him. Dog is Maud’s top assassin. Not many people know this. Saliné used a capital D. Why Dog? “Verenius, what do you think of this?” He gave the ribbon to the Sage. “Man or animal?”

  He doesn’t know that Eric is the chief of the Circle’s assassins. Dog was the famous one, Eric worked in the shadows. “Man.”

  “Why were they here? Dog, and the other two.” Codrin gestured back toward the path they came into the clearing on.

  The only reasonable guess
is that Dog tried to kill Saliné, but I can’t tell Codrin that, at least not now. He needs a calm mind. “I don’t know, but after this affair with Petronius, Aron is no longer the Circle’s man. Neither is Bucur. That bodes well for you.” He returned the ribbon to Codrin.

  “And that means that Aron will not take Saliné where the Circle wanted them to be. That’s both good and bad.” He put the ribbon in his pocket. I must hurry. I will think about this later. From Eric, they knew that Aron had left the place two hours after dawn. We are getting closer. Codrin was now convinced that they were less than six hours behind Saliné. Soon, I will reach her, and Aron will pay for everything. And Bucur too.

  The next day, they found another grave where Aron and his men had camped. Codrin searched for another message from Saliné. There was nothing. Whoever did this, it delayed them, he thought, looking at the grave. Saliné? She has killed Aron’s men before. “Ride!” he shouted, and mounted his horse.

  At the end of the fourth day, they were close to Rochil, and ten miles north-east of the city was Windcross, a large crossroads where the roads going north and south met the one coming from the east. While not a large town, Rochil was a rich one – both the intersection of the roads and its natural harbor gave it a natural advantage.

  Nightfall found them still among the small mountains through which Aron had led his small force. They were at the edge of the plateau, from where the path went down abruptly through the scree, and there was no way to go down in the low light – the sun was already drowned in the sea. They ate in silence and sat in silence.

  Codrin searched for an isolated place on the ridge and leaned against a black stone, three feet tall, its western side still warm. He knew he was very close to Saliné, maybe less than three hours ride. Let’s see if it works. Eyes closed, he tried to use his Farsight to search for her. It did not work, but he persisted, forcing himself to try, even when he did not fully know how to do it. After a while, his strained eyes started to feel the pain, and he decided to take a break. Freed from the effort, his mind wandered back to Severin, to their cherry tree, and good old memories came back to him. He saw a younger Saliné playing with Vio. It was his second day in Cernat’s hunting house, more than four years ago, but he felt it like it was yesterday. Focused on Saliné, he smiled. After a while, there was a subtle change in what he was seeing. Caught in his thoughts, he was slow to realize it. In his inner vision there was now an older Saliné, dressed in her riding suit, sitting alone in an unknown room. I am using my Farsight… Realization came with the sudden pain in his head. He ignored it, fighting to keep the Vision, which stretched further than his previous attempts. Seven or eight miles, he thought and moaned; the pain was also stronger than before. A man entered the room. Bucur. The image blurred, and he almost lost his Farsight. Without really knowing what he was doing, he left the room, keeping an eye on Saliné, the same way he had left Baraki a few days earlier, through the window. He moved further away. In front of him was the Albatross Inn in Rochil, a city he had visited only once. A moment later, he was back again on the ridge, and saw Vlad looking curiously at him.