Doppelganger (7 page)

Then you'll talk to her later
, Miryo told herself irritably.
You haven't even passed your test yet. If she isn't here, then you'll just put the cart back behind the horse, where it belongs
.

But as the silence stretched out, Miryo could not shake her feeling of disappointment.

"Can I help you with something?"

Miryo turned to find the very witch she was looking for coming down the hallway toward her with what looked like a saddlebag draped over one arm. The Key stopped abruptly, staring at her. "Miryo, isn't it?"

"Yes, Kasora," Miryo said. "That is—I'm sure you must be busy. I can wait until later—"

"No, no, come in," Ashin said with surprising eagerness. She shifted the saddlebag over to her left arm and dug out the key for her door. "You—that is, you haven't been tested yet, have you?"

"No, Kasora." Miryo followed her in hesitantly, and stood with her hands clasped to keep them still as Ashin moved about lighting lamps with quick spells.

"I thought not. I would have remembered the questioning session." Ashin dropped the saddlebag onto a nearby chair, atop the pile of things already there. Most of the offices Miryo had visited in Starfall were cluttered to one degree or another, but usually with papers; Ashin's was crowded with all manner of other stuff instead. A lantern, a compass-there was a saddle on the floor. "What do you need?"

"Oh, I don't—that is, Ashin-kasora, I'm here more for curiosity than anything else. You see, I'm considering joining the Air Hand after my test, and since you're at Starfall right now, I thought I might take the opportunity to talk to you about that."

Ashin stopped abruptly again, as she had in the hall. Her voice, when she spoke, was oddly tight. "After your test."

Miryo hastened to explain. "I'm sorry, Kasora. I know it's early for me to be thinking about that. But you're so rarely here—I apologize if I'm overstepping my bounds."

The Key began moving again, rummaging through piles as if searching for something, only she seemed to have no clear idea what she was looking for. "Oh, no. Not a problem. A lot of students start thinking about it early. It's good to be optimistic, I suppose."

Optimistic
? Miryo's nerves returned full force. No one would ever quote an exact statistic on how many witches failed the test. It wasn't many; she knew that much. But Ashin's words were hardly encouraging.

Ashin glanced up and must have seen something on Miryo's face, because she smiled. Was it Miryo's imagination, or was the smile forced? "You'll be fine, I'm sure. The questioning is nothing to worry about; we just want to make sure you know what you need to, before you go into the test."

But the questioning wasn't what she'd been referring to a moment before. Miryo laced her cold fingers together. "Kasora—"

"After your test, why don't you come visit me again? We can talk then about your Ray and Path. The Air Hand might be an ideal place for you. You'll know better afterward, though."

And again that edge of artificiality. As if Ashin were not half so sanguine as she was trying to appear.

What did she know that Miryo didn't?

Miryo could not come out and ask; the Key's tone was too clearly a dismissal. She made herself bow politely. "Thank you, Kasora. I'll be sure to do that."

Ashin came around the desk and led her out to the hallway. "I look forward to it." And then the door closed behind Miryo with a thud.

"Have you wondered at all why Jaguar picked us?" Mirage asked as they rode.

They were well into the plains of southern Currel by the time she made up her mind to air the question, but it had been on her mind since they left Corberth. She asked it now because they were nearly to the domain border of Starfall, and once they got there they'd have other concerns to keep them busy. Riding, however, had been dull and uneventful, and had left her time to wonder.

Eclipse gave her an arch look. " 'Us' ? What's this 'us' I hear? As I recall, the commission was given to
me
."

"Right. And Jaguar no doubt expected you to pick Willow as your partner."

He shuddered. "Warrior's teeth. I haven't seen that girl since we left Silverfire, thank the Warrior. No, you're right; it never occurred to me to look for someone else, and he probably knew that."

"So why us?"

Silence for a moment. Their horses ambled on in the late afternoon sunlight, surrounded by the greenery of ripening corn. Then Eclipse shrugged. "Why
not
us?"

"We're
young
."

"But not inexperienced. You've had a commission before, after all. And did it ever occur to you that
you
were the one he really wanted, and I was just a way to you?"

"Okay, two answers to that. First, as you said, the commission was given to
you
."

"Jaguar knew where I was. You were harder to find. And they say a witch has to know where you are, to send things to you. Besides, how would you have reacted, if the commission just showed up in your lap that way, by magic?"

"Is that how it was delivered?"

He nodded. "Dropped out of thin air, with a note from Jaguar explaining the situation."

If Eclipse was right about witches needing to know their target, that meant the witch in Corberth had known where they were staying. Mirage ground her teeth. He had a point about her probable reaction, though, if the commission had been sent straight to her. "All right. Second point, then. What's so special about me?"

"You're a damn good Hunter."

Mirage shook her head. "I'm a good fighter. That's all. When it comes to skulking and spying and all the other things we do, I'm no better than anyone else."

"Well, you're better than
some
." He grinned at her. "Willow?" It had the desired effect; Mirage began laughing. "You're not bad at the skulking and spying. And Jaguar's got some kind of liking for you; always has, what with letting you into Silverfire late. Maybe he wants to see you get good opportunities."

"Or maybe he expects danger on this job."

That sobered both of them up. They rode silently for a moment before Eclipse shrugged again. "Bring it on. I haven't had any excitement in a while, either."

They found no excitement on the remainder of the ride. But both Hunters sat straighter in their saddles when they approached the border of Starfall; riding through the witches' domain in a daze would not be a good idea.

After a night in Samalan, a town just on the Currel side of the border, they rode east, then left the road and crossed the border when there was no one in sight. Mirage half expected to feel something marking the boundary, but there was nothing; she was only certain they were in Star-fall when they reached the foothills. Soon they were riding through a sparse forest of cypress and pine, and she felt uneasy; large areas of the domain were supposedly uninhabited, and she had seen no one, but what if someone was spying on them magically? Camping that night was worse. Even though they lit no fire and were as silent as possible, she felt as though their presence must be glaringly obvious. Surely their trespassing would bring punishment.

Now why would I feel that way? We're here on Hunt, after all. It's not trespassing when you have permission.

With that thought, she was able to see her emotions as if from the outside, and it became much clearer.
More spells. Bloody witches. It makes sense, though; nice security measures, which make anybody skulking around suspect every shadow. I assume it doesn't affect witches or Cousins
.

She voiced her thoughts to Eclipse, and his face lightened. He, too, had been feeling the pressure. Understanding its source did not make it go away, but they were better able to ignore it after that, and managed some sleep at last.

The next day saw them winding through increasingly higher peaks, these covered in more obviously cultivated forests, with orchards of apple, pear, and pomegranate. They kept an eye out for Cousins tending the groves, and gave the highest peaks a wide berth; that was the heart of the domain, the one large settlement. The Primes who ruled the witches lived there, along with their daughters in training. Neither Hunter wanted to approach the seat of their power.

By midafternoon they were near the valley that held Tarinakana's private house, from which she had conducted much of her business. Among the many benefits of magic was the ability to work from a place other than an administrative center—which, along with other perks, was why every Lord in the land, and half their governors, took on witches as advisers.

After a short debate, they agreed to rest for a few hours, and continue on once night fell; even though they were entering with permission, they preferred to do so in relative secrecy. Mirage took the first watch, and spent it in a tree. It wouldn't protect her much from magic, but it would do nicely against roving Cousins, if they had such things as patrols. She would, were she in their shoes.

But no one appeared, either during her watch or Eclipse's, and after night fell they approached the house.

It was small, and much less sumptuous than Mirage had expected from the witch whose prominence in the Fire Ray had only been exceeded by that of her Prime. She had not indulged in the kind of extravagance some of her sisters did. There was, however, a lovely garden in front, filled with hyacinth and other blooming flowers, which Mirage saw as they scouted the surrounding area. It had not yet had time to become overgrown. The witches had hired them quickly in the aftermath of Tarinakana's death.