Death Weavers (8 page)

“No,” Hunter agreed pensively. “They didn't.”

6

C
ole and Hunter found Joe and Mira lounging near a well in the town square of Rincomere. Joe stood and waved as they rode up to them.

“What took you so long?” Mira asked.

“We had to kill six Enforcers,” Hunter said, dismounting.

“You're not serious,” Joe checked.

“There's a story to it,” Hunter said. “We'll fill you in later.”

Fewer than a hundred buildings formed the village of Rincomere, most of a modest size, with walls of gray stone and roofs of dark shingles. All could have been designed and built by the same team. Every structure looked like it had stood for a long time. Cole noticed swallows flying in and out of muddy nests clustered under many of the eaves.

Weathered flagstones paved the few streets in town and covered the entirety of the square. The whole village had a sleepy feel. Cole had seen a few women sweeping porches and a couple of men leading mules. The square around the well was vacant except for a few scrawny kids playing marbles in one corner.

“No sign of Dalton?” Cole asked.

“Not yet,” Mira said. “We got here last night.”

“I expected to be first,” Joe said. “We swiped a pair of horses from a farm just south of the crossroads. We left more than their value.”

“We bought ours the morning after we escaped,” Cole said. “No trouble since then.”

“When in doubt, steal horses and ride hard,” Joe said. “The Outskirts has taught me that much. There are worse lessons to learn, I guess. Rincomere is quiet. A bunch of old folks hang around the two inns. A big ranch just outside of town breeds mules. There is some farming and some sheepherders in the hills to the east.”

Hunter handed his reins to Joe and sat down by the well. Cole swung down from his horse as well, keeping the reins in his hand. Hunter bowed his head and pressed his knuckles together. After a moment he looked up.

“Lots of echoes,” Hunter said. “I didn't feel special attention from any of them. They're regulars, I think. Feels like this town has been here for a long time. I'll shield our conversation just to be safe.”

“We learned the way to the cave,” Mira said. “We just follow a trail outside of town. I think Cole should go inside.”

“Won't your sister's imprint be more likely to talk to you?” Cole replied.

“Joe and I talked about it,” Mira said. “If I go in, I leave behind proof I was here. That doesn't make sense if we can avoid it. Same with proof of Hunter. We need somebody who can win Destiny's trust and who will leave behind a smart imprint that won't blow our secrets. Joe would do well, but I worry about Destiny trusting a strange adult. She's always been more open to young people. Cole, I think you've proven yourself more reliable than Jace and Dalton for this sort of mission. Jace is brave but not always careful. Dalton hasn't been tested enough.”

“I'm pretty great,” Cole said, unable to resist a grin. “I get why you would pick me over those wannabes. But don't forget that Nazeem is after me too. An imprint of me could heat up the hunt.”

“We thought about that,” Joe said. “After your interactions at the Seven-Cornered Shrine, your cover might already be blown. We heard all the Enforcers turn north, the way you went.”

“Not only that,” Hunter added. “They went straight to him. There must have been a perceptive with them. I don't know exactly how the secret got out, but they were after Cole.”

“How'd you get away?” Mira asked.

“A wild horse came and killed them all,” Cole said.

Joe and Mira exchanged a look.

“Six Enforcers?” Joe verified.

“And two of their mounts,” Hunter said.

“A horse did that?” Mira asked. “Working alone?”

“It came galloping out of the night,” Cole said. “It went on a rampage and then ran off.”

“My best guess is an echo controlled the animal,” Hunter said. “Maybe the echo that bargained with Cole.”

“That would be one powerful echo,” Mira said.

“It's a guess,” Cole said. “All we know for sure is it happened. We hadn't seen the horse before, and we haven't seen it since.”

“Somebody is on our side,” Mira said. “Cole's echo gave us a key tip. The warning got us out of there.”

Cole slid his hand into the pocket with the ringer. “It sure seemed like the echo meant to help, whether or not he controlled the horse.”

“So will you go?” Mira asked. “Into the Cave of Memory, I mean?”

“If that's what you want,” Cole said, not overly excited at a chance to let everyone down. “Are there any secrets that could help get Destiny to trust me?”

Mira beckoned Cole close with her finger. He drew near, pulling his horse as well, until Hunter relieved him of the reins.

Mira whispered, “Tell her about speaking to our mother and knowing that she marks us with stars. Only the most trusted people know about that. Tell her the haystacks have fallen down. That's the master code phrase for identifying a messenger from Mother. Also tell her I'm with you. Mention that I needed to avoid making an imprint. But tell about the time she wet the bed and I threw her underthings and sheets out the window to help her hide it. That didn't work, by the way. She was four, I was six. Remind her of the time her tooth fell out, and she lost it and was sad because she couldn't put it under the pillow for the Toothmonger. I found a little pebble that looked almost like a tooth on the white gravel path in the East Garden. I told her the Toothmonger would accept it. She used it and still got some ringers the next morning.”

“Our Toothmonger is called the Tooth Fairy,” Cole explained quietly.

“Ours is a hairy demon,” Mira whispered. “Yours sounds nicer.”

“Ours brings money too,” Cole explained. “Same result. Any other secrets or memories?”

“Tessa liked when I sang to her,” Mira said, her voice catching. “She was my only little sister. The one I cared for. She could be freaky. She would sometimes say things that sounded way too adult. Or even beyond adult. Mysterious prophesies wrapped up in riddles. She was kind of like a perceptive, but more than that. She said things that she had no business knowing. But then a lot of the time she was just a small girl. My little sister. I sang songs about talking flowers. She loved flowers.” A tear slid down Mira's cheek.

“I'll find her,” Cole assured her.

“Please,” Mira said, nodding and then wiping her eyes. “I don't know if I can handle losing her.” She squeezed her eyes shut, but more tears spilled out.

Cole hugged her. “It's okay. Her imprint is just the start. We'll find
her
.”

As Mira clung to him, Cole felt his resolve strengthening. Mira had been through a lot. Her little sister obviously held a special place in her heart. There were a lot of things Cole hoped to accomplish, including finding Jenna and getting home, but right now this was the most urgent problem. They had helped two of the other sisters. He wouldn't blow it with this one.

“Stop traumatizing Mira,” Hunter scolded.

Cole realized that Hunter and Joe couldn't hear their whispered conversation. “She's telling me about Destiny,” Cole explained. “I have a way with the ladies.”

Mira pushed Cole away and wiped her eyes again. “I'm sorry,” she said, glancing at Cole and the others. “I don't know what came over me.”

“Don't apologize,” Joe said. “You're under so much stress.”

Mira shook her head. “I can't afford to crack up. Weakness doesn't help anybody.”

“You're tired,” Joe consoled. “We've been riding hard.”

“There is plenty more travel ahead of us,” Mira said, looking more or less composed again. “I'm not comfortable sitting still. It's early. Maybe Cole and I can go ahead to the cave? Then Joe and Hunter can catch up after Dalton and Jace get here.”

“Be sure to tell Jace that Mira chose me for cave duty,” Cole said. “So he'll get why we didn't wait.”

“Better yet,” Joe said to Mira, “Hunter and Cole can visit the cave while you and I keep watch for the others. Maybe you can sneak in some rest.”

“But I should be there,” Mira said.

“Sitting outside a cave alone?” Joe asked. “Not on my watch. You're too valuable.”

Mira stared at him.

“What?” Joe finally asked.

“I'm trying to decide whether you mean valuable or incompetent,” Mira said.

“The revolution depends on you girls,” Joe said. “The Unseen tasked me with keeping you safe. I'm doing my best.”

Mira gave a single nod. “Cole? Hunter? You up for it?”

“It would be a shame to waste the day,” Hunter said.

Cole mustered his most confident tone. “Let's go caving.”

*  *  *

The nondescript cave opening looked like a little cleft in the rocks that probably went back no more than fifteen feet. Given the reputation of the Cave of Memory, Cole had pictured something more grand—yawning darkness fanged with stalactites.

“Think that's it?” Cole asked.

“Joe pointed out the trail and told us to go left at the fork,” Hunter said. “Looks like the trail ends here.”

The leather saddle shifted slightly and creaked as Cole dismounted. The ride from Rincomere had only taken a couple of hours. Staring at the unassuming gap in the mountainside, Cole patted his horse.

A sound from a stand of trees off to one side made Cole turn abruptly. He could make out a vague shape in the trees.

Nudging his horse to a trot, Hunter rode that way. “It's a horse,” he soon called. “Wait. Two horses. I don't see riders. They must be in the cave.”

“Enforcers?” Cole asked.

“Doesn't look like their kind of mounts,” Hunter replied, turning his horse to ride back to Cole.

“Great,” Cole said. “I'll have actual people to worry about in there as well.”

“It's a little surprising,” Hunter said, swinging down from his horse.

“Why? Don't lots of people know about the cave?”

“Sure, but they stay away because of the curse.”

Cole stared at his brother. “
Now
I hear about a curse?”

Hunter shrugged. “You already know the basics. Whoever goes in leaves an imprint. Think about the downside. People can figure out you went there. By speaking with your imprint, strangers can find out about you and potentially use the info against you. And bad people have gone inside. You can meet some serious evil in the Cave of Memory. Most people in Necronum have decided the place is bad luck.”

“But nobody can touch me,” Cole checked.

“Not physically,” Hunter said. “You won't get punched or stabbed, unless real people do it. But bad imprints could mess with your head. Watch out.”

Cole took a deep breath. Except for meeting live people inside, Cole had thought through these dangers. “I might as well get going.”

“I'll be waiting,” Hunter said.

Shielding his eyes, Cole glanced toward the sun. It wasn't high enough to be noon yet.

Leaving his horse with Hunter, Cole walked to the gap in the rocks. Cool air wafted out. He had to crouch a little to proceed. The way curved, narrowing somewhat, and looked like it probably stopped just out of sight. But as he crept forward, the opposite happened. The tunnel widened, opening into a vast chamber, the air cool enough that Cole wished he had a jacket. Cole could see where four different tunnels branched out from the large chamber, each lit by a different color—red, blue, green, and purple.

A woman stood on the near side of the chamber. She was heavyset and in her fifties, with short black hair and a long brown fur coat. She held up a hand. “Halt. Do you know where you are?”

“The Cave of Memory,” Cole said, holding still.

The woman gave a nod. “All who enter leave behind a permanent impression of themselves. If you come any farther, you will do the same when you leave.”