Doppelganger (19 page)

"Indeed," Miryo said when she was sure she would not laugh. "Has anyone in the Earth Ray sensed any further weather problems?"

Morisuke shook her head. "Rain along the coast, which is to be expected for this time of year. But it shouldn't be more than an annoyance."

Miryo nodded and rose to her feet.
Kan
stepped forward. "Thank you for the information. I'd considered taking the northern route east, but I'll take rain in the hills over raids in the mountains."

The Void witch also rose. "I'm glad to be of help."

And glad to know that the new little half-witch is going east. Now if anyone asks, you can tell them
. Miryo had no reason to hide where she was going—she doubted her doppelganger would hear of it—but the prying habits of the Void Ray irritated her.

She walked slowly once they were back outside, lost in thought.
Kan
followed her as before, keeping an even sharper eye out now that it was fully dark.

Her steps took her, not to the inn, but to the fountain that stood in the center of Samalan. It was not elaborately carved, but a spell cast by an Earth witch many years ago had arranged for it to never run dry. Even in the depths of winter it flowed, the water always warm enough not to freeze over.

Miryo stood next to it in the moonlight, watching the water leap and dance. She was aware of no sound save for its splashing, until
Kan
spoke. "Katsu?"

The quiet word made her blink. It was, she realized, the first time anyone had addressed her by that honorific. That pleased her unexpectedly; every sign that someone considered her a proper witch was encouraging.

"Yes,
Kan
?" she said at last.

"We should return to the inn."

"Not yet,
Kan.
No one's going to attack me out here, I'm sure, and I'd like a moment to sit." Behind her she heard the Cousin's footsteps, backing away.
No doubt she'll stand like a guard dog in the shadows now. Well, she can if she wants to.

Miryo continued to watch the water, listening to it play. She was torn by indecision, unsure of her path.

When it was one hunch against another, I trusted my own. But now I
know
Ashin went north
—
she's probably into Abern by now. I could try to follow her. It would be a lot more logical than wandering vaguely off to the east, following a choice made at random late one night. Ashin might even know where my doppelganger is. She might be heading toward it right now; maybe that's why she left so suddenly. But if that's the case, why wouldn't she tell someone
?

She seated herself on the edge of the fountain, trailing her fingers in the cool water.
Kan
was a barely visible shadow at the edge of her vision.
If I follow logic, I should go north
.

And yet…

Miryo knew she had no reason beyond gut feeling to think there was anything for her in the east. The river lands were more populous, it was true, so simple probability was on her side if she went in that direction. But she could hardly examine every person living in the eight domains that lay that way.

So the question is, how much should I trust my gut feeling ? Do I believe Narika, and believe myself? Or do I tab the safer, more assured path, and follow Ashin?

Miryo stood abruptly, making
Kan
shift. "Let's go back to the inn. I've changed my mind; tomorrow we'll go north to Askavya."

Kan
went the next morning to buy a few more supplies; the lands to the north were less heavily settled than those to the east. Miryo and Sai took their bags down to the stables and rearranged the packhorse's load to make more room for the additional food.

The Cousin was back not long after the town bells rang First, and before the scheduled hour was up, they were ready to go. They led their horses through the market crowd, then mounted up as they neared the edge of town. Miryo cast an eye to the west; Morisuke's house lay not far in that direction. If they were going to head north, they should ask about the conditions in that direction.

She and
Kan
left the Void witch's house not long later, leaving Morisuke manifestly curious as to why they had changed their path. Miryo knew she'd pass the information on to others. Morisuke probably suspected she was following Ashin, and that was excellent gossip. She put the woman's machinations out of her mind, though, as they went to rejoin Sai on the main road and begin their trip north.

Ten steps into that trip, Miryo sawed her horse's reins around so sharply that it almost reared.

The Cousins glanced at each other, then watched her as she sat in the middle of the road, biting her knuckle in indecision.

Ashin's in the north. Goddess only knows if there's anything useful to me in the east.

"Misetsu and Menukyo save me from my own stupid impulses," Miryo muttered. Then she raised her voice so the Cousins could hear. "Forget it. I've changed my mind again. We're going east."

The moonlight was strong enough to show the road, so the two Hunters rode away from Vilardi without stopping through what remained of the night. An hour or so before dawn, as the sky began to lighten, Eclipse left the road and found a tangle of brush where a tree had recently fallen. He set about constructing their camp while Mirage eased herself out of the saddle and fought down pain and nausea.

She woke at midmorning and felt better. Her head would take a while to recover, but the pain in her knee and ribs, while still there, was at a level she could cope with.

Coping with her memories was harder.

Eclipse was not inclined to blame her; in fact, he was generous with praise for her quick thinking and quicker feet, catching up to the other Hunter at all. The blow to the head she'd taken in the brawl, in his opinion, excused her failure to win the right.

Mirage didn't agree.

"Tell me about the Hunter," he said, when it became obvious she wasn't going to leave off accusing herself any time soon. "You said he was a Wolfstar. What did he look like?"

Mirage closed her eyes to concentrate, searching for details her mind had subconsciously recorded during the fight. "Tall—a bit taller than you, and slightly broader in the shoulders. Hazel eyes, close-set, with long lashes. Most of his height is in his legs, which makes him
a fast
runner, even though his reflexes aren't anything special. He favored kick-fighting a lot; makes sense, given his build."

"But it's unusual for a Wolfstar. Anything else?"

There was something… ah
. "You remember what I said about the way we fell? We both fell onto our right sides, and I know
my
arm wasn't happy about it. Yet he still punched more from the right than the left. Which suggests his ambidexterity leaves something to be desired."

"Useful to know, though I'm surprised he made it through training with a flaw like that." Eclipse chewed on his lower lip, then shook his head. "No one's coming to mind. We can send a message back to Silverfire, once we get to an agent. They may be able to identify this guy there."

"Let's not waste time, then," Mirage said, and stood to begin saddling Mist.

Eclipse opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Mirage was grateful for his silence. She wasn't in great shape, but right now they needed speed more than anything else. The sooner they got to an agent, the sooner they'd know who the Wolfstar was.

And, since I can't believe that it's pure coincidence Avalanche was killed, chances are we'll have found Tari-nakana's assassin as well.

"So here's a thought," Mirage said when they were two days away from Ravelle. "I'm not so sure that brawl was an accident."

Eclipse gave her a startled look, which changed to thoughtfulness. "Delay?"

"The way that guard showed up—it looked
purposeful
. He was looking for us, I'm sure of it. And while he might have just been spoiling for a fight, it seems too convenient."

"Because if we had gotten to Avalanche's room just a minute or two later, we'd never have seen the Wolfstar."

"And we might well have gotten pinned with the murder. At the very least we would have been under suspicion, and detained, and there would have gone any chance of catching up to the killer. It almost worked anyway."

Eclipse pulled Sparker to a halt and crossed his arms over the saddlebow. "All right. So what are we doing?"

Mirage blinked. "Explain?"

"The guard is behind us, back in Vilardi. He may know something worthwhile. We left to avoid getting arrested, but is there anything worthwhile in this direction? We need to decide where we're going and what we're doing before we ride any farther."

He had a good point. Mirage leaned her head back and considered it. And, out of the corners of her mind, a thought emerged. "We keep going this way. We're going to Miest."

"To Silverfire. Why?"

"Because I'm going to talk to Jaguar. I can't accept it as coincidence anymore that he chose us for this job, or explain it away with a simple desire to see us get an important commission. Tari-nakana was
tracking
me. I don't know if he knew that, but I'm sure he had a reason for choosing me. And I want to know what it was."