Threading the Needle (2 page)

“Did the attackers follow you?”

“I left that to Allan and the other Dogs. Ask him.”

He turned toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Kara asked. The Dog stopped at the entrance, half turned. “Someone needs to tell Terrim's wife that he's dead.”

Then he was gone, replaced by the bright sunlight of midday.

Kara stood stock still, a hot ache in the center of her chest. She'd forgotten about Terrim in the rush to help Claye.

Hernande appeared in the door. He heaved two buckets of water up onto a smaller table set off to the side of the door, some of it sloshing onto the floor. He panted, his dark complexion tinged a deeper shade of red.

“I'll be fine,” he said. “I should have brought the buckets one at a time.”

Kara didn't have a chance to answer as Logan entered. He took in everything with a quick glance.

“Everyone out,” he ordered, his voice deep and booming. He shifted to the table, two others coming in behind him. One of them was
Morrell, Allan's daughter. “Even you, Sophia. I'll handle it from here. You'd only hover and be in the way.”

Sophia gave Logan a hard stare, which he ignored, already intent on his patient. Sniffing, she pulled back and let Logan and Morrell take her place. “We'll be waiting in the meeting hall.” She ushered the others out before her, snagging one of Kara's unused cloths to wipe her hands clean. Morrell took Kara's place with a worried frown.

Kara gripped her hand and squeezed. “Bryce said your father was fine.”

Morrell gave her a relieved smile, then began tearing more bandages.

Kara stepped outside, exhaling harshly as tension sloughed from her shoulders. Sovaan, Hernande, and Sophia were standing with Cory, waiting for her. A few other members of the Hollow had gathered to see what the commotion was about.

“Will he be all right?” Hernande asked quietly, one hand stroking his scraggly beard as he contemplated the small cottage. A ragged bellow came from the open doorway, and Kara flinched.

“It's hard to say. The arrow hadn't penetrated that deeply. Thankfully, it was close to his side. I know there was a lot of blood, but he hadn't yet passed out, which is a good sign. It will depend on whether Logan can get the arrow removed and the bleeding stopped.”

“Where did Bryce go?”

“To tell Sara that her husband is dead.”

“And the others?”

“Left behind to travel on foot.”

Hernande nodded. “Then there's nothing we can do but wait.”

“Agreed.” Sophia paused long enough to eye the Hollowers watching, then announced, “The expedition to Erenthrall was attacked on their way back, and Claye was wounded. Logan's seeing to him now. If you'd like to make yourselves useful, I'm certain Jasom could use some help unloading the new supplies from the wagon.” She lifted one eyebrow meaningfully. Those who'd gathered started, with some guilt, then began to disband.

Sophia shook her head, mumbling, “Gawkers and gossips, all of them,” under her breath, before heading to the long stone building that served as the village's meeting hall. Kara and the others followed. “I don't like the news that there's a group operating so near the foothills, especially one proficient with the bow and arrow.”

“It does mark a change in tactics,” Hernande agreed.

“And a shift away from the city.”

“What do you mean?” Sovaan asked as they entered the meeting hall. Sunlight poured in through the windows in shafts, revealing rows of seats scattered in the center of the room, tables shoved up against the walls, and a raised platform at the far end. A few of the decorations left over from the harvest festival months before remained—sheaves of grain tied with ribbons, gourds, cornstalks, a few dried flowers. The wooden floorboards creaked underfoot as they moved down the center of the room toward the platform.

Sophia began pulling wooden chairs into a rough circle. “After the Shattering, most of the people who'd lived within Erenthrall returned to the city, even with all of its dangers. Or they fled to some of the outlying towns, those connected to the ley lines near the city.

“Nearly all of you came from the University or were Wielders before. You were taken from your homes, from your families and familiar surroundings, and thrust into studies at the college or the University, exposed to new things, new ideas. Most of those in Erenthrall would have grown up and lived within only a few districts. Being forced to abandon everything would be terrifying.”

“Yes, yes.” Sovaan waved a hand impatiently. “So they returned to Erenthrall. Or as close as they could get. What's your point?”

Sophia's mouth pinched in annoyance. “My point is, now they're leaving again. Why?”

“There isn't enough food.”

All of them turned toward the still-opened doors, where Bryce stood in silhouette before moving deeper into the room. His entire stance radiated tension, danger. He reminded her of the Dogs combing the streets before the Shattering, following the Wielders, following her.

“The entire city has changed. It's dividing up into sectors, each controlled by different groups—the Temerite enclave to the northeast, the Gorrani to the southwest, others. The Wolves have expanded into new territory. We heard them toward the end of our excursion. Allan was hunted and only escaped by going into the distortion and hiding out.”

“Is he all right?” Kara asked.

“A few cuts and bruises, nothing serious.”

“And how did the expedition go?” Sophia asked.

“It's getting harder and harder to find anything of worth, especially
food. There isn't much that hasn't spoiled in the parts of the city left unclaimed.”

“Which is why people are leaving,” Hernande said. “If they aren't part of one of the main groups, then they're running short on supplies. They're being forced out, like we were.”

“And the attack on our wagon near the foothills means it isn't only the city that's dangerous. It's spread to the plains.” Bryce sank into a chair and leaned forward. “They're beginning to form larger, more organized groups in the towns surrounding the city. Our safe little haven here in the Hollow isn't so safe anymore. We need to come up with some defenses. We need to protect ourselves.”

“We have sentries—” Sophia began.

“Four!” Bryce interrupted in frustration. “Watching the most obvious paths into the valley! That isn't going to cut it. We need to come up with something better—scouts, patrols, expand the ranks of those who can fight beyond the few Dogs in my group. We need to protect ourselves before one of these bands find us and attacks us here on our own turf!”

No one moved, facing each other across the rough circle of chairs.

Then Sophia shifted uneasily. “The Hollowers aren't going to like that. We settled here to escape violence and the misuse of power.”

“Would you rather let the thieves and brigands overrun us all?”

“We're deep enough in the foothills that I don't think we'll have to worry about it immediately,” Hernande said as Sophia stiffened. “But it is something we'll have to consider as people become more desperate. Bryce is right: this valley is not easily defended.”

Sophia's body didn't loosen, but she said nothing. It was clear to Kara there would be resistance from the original Hollowers.

“What about the distortion?” Kara asked.

“What about it?”

Kara shot Bryce a black look. “Has Erenthrall's distortion changed at all? Does it show any signs of weakening? We won't be able to return and rebuild Erenthrall if the distortion collapses and destroys everything inside before we find a way to heal it.”

“How in hells should I know? I'm not a damned Wielder.”

Shouts rang out from outside the meeting hall.

“Sounds like the rest of the expedition has returned,” Bryce muttered.

Kara almost pursued her questions about the distortion, but dropped
the topic with a shake of her head. She rose and moved to the door, along with Hernande and Cory. Outside, the rest of those in the Erenthrall expedition were straggling in, some of them carrying the supplies Bryce had thrown from the wagon to make room for Claye, others helping a few wounded. Those in the Hollow rushed forward, taking the supplies and setting them aside or offering up water skins. A few of the expedition collapsed to the rutted road, their exhaustion evident in the lines of their faces.

The last stumbled in, with Allan and two other Dogs at their back. Kara sagged in relief. “I'll go get Allan.”

Hernande caught her arm. “No need. He's headed this way.”

The ex-Dog had seen them standing in the doorway and, after saying something to the other two Dogs, he moved toward the meeting hall, accepting a skin from one of the boys.

“Claye?” Allan asked as soon as he was within range.

Hernande nodded toward the healer's cottage. “Logan is working on him now. Bryce already informed Sara about Terrim.”

Allan's shoulders sagged. He looked weary, dark smudges under his eyes. Kara noticed a few new cuts on his face, mostly healed, and the yellowed remnants of fading bruises.

“Did anyone follow you?”

“Not as far as I could tell. They retreated onto the plains, to the east.” His glance shot over Kara's head, to the others waiting inside. He thrust his chin forward. “We should join them.”

They shifted back into the room.

“Did they attack again?” Sophia asked immediately.

“No, and no one followed us into the foothills.” He looked toward Bryce. “Have you told them about the city?”

“About the Wolves, yes. I tried to convince them to increase our defenses, but they're being stubborn.”

Sophia bristled.

Allan grabbed a chair and settled in with the rest, slinging the bag he carried over one shoulder to the floor. “What about the quakes?”

Hernande and Cory glanced toward each other.

“Quakes?”

“They haven't ended. You may not have felt anything here, but they're continuing in and around Erenthrall. We felt one on our way out, strong enough to collapse a few buildings.”

“We thought the earth was settling. Stabilizing.”

“I don't think so.”

Hernande leaned forward. “We'll have to take a look at the sands again, see if the ley has been disturbed.”

“Does it matter?” Sovaan demanded. “If the city has run out of supplies, then why would we want to go back?”

And there it was, what Kara had feared since the discussion began.

“We have to go back.”

“Why?”

“Because we have to heal the distortion. We have to repair the damage that we caused.”

Sovaan straightened in affront. “
We
didn't cause this damage. The Nexus exploded because of the Baron and his Prime Wielders and the damned Kormanley. We are simply suffering the consequences. I say we leave the city to the Wolves and the scavengers, let them tear each other apart. We can start fresh here. The Hollow has everything we need.”

Sophia cut off Kara's response. “The Hollow barely had enough food to feed those of us originally from here this past winter. We certainly didn't have enough to feed those of you we took in. We survived on what was gathered from Erenthrall.”

“I thought that's what the new fields were for,” Sovaan countered, “to grow enough food for all of us.”

Sophia's eyes narrowed. “Crops and harvests are anything but certain. Weather, disease, drought—any of it could destroy everything. We need those supplies from the city. Besides, I don't recall us agreeing to let you stay here long-term in the first place.”

Allan reached for his bag. “The city provides more than just food. I found these in an apothecary.” He pulled out a few small bottles and handed them around.

Sophia gasped as they reached her. “Logan would kill for this bottle of seranin alone. And I ran out of devil's claw before the Shattering.” She clutched the small vial close to her chest. “It helps with the arthritis in my hands.”

“I don't understand,” Kara said. “I thought you'd already raided all of the apothecaries in the uncontrolled areas of the city. Where did you get these?”

“Inside one of the shards.”

It took a moment for it to sink in, but when it did Kara's eyes widened. “You pulled these out of the distortion?”

“The Wolves trapped me close to the distortion. The only way to escape was to go inside. But the pack's leader—a man half-transformed, like Hagger—set the Wolves on watch around the shard, waiting for me to come back out. I was forced to move deeper into the distortion to bypass them, and along the way I found the apothecary.” He pulled out a glass jar of peaches. “Along with this. There was enough food in that shard to last us a few days, perhaps a week. None of the others in Erenthrall can reach it.”

Hernande was chewing on the end of his beard now, head bowed in thought. “Is there another way to gain access to these supplies?”

“I can take someone into the distortion with me, but getting them in and back out would be unpleasant.”

“That's not what I meant. We've been discussing how to heal the distortion. While we all agree we don't have enough Wielders or mentors to take it down all at once, what about healing a single shard at a time?”

Kara drew breath to protest, but paused.

They'd never considered healing it piece by piece.

She glanced up at the others, all waiting expectantly. “It might work. But we'd never be able to heal the entire distortion this way. There are hundreds of shards, if not thousands. It would take too long.”

“What could go wrong?”

“Distortions are delicate. Any change in its configuration, like the removal of a shard, could cause it to unbalance. We may unwittingly set off its closure. And then everything and everyone currently trapped inside would be killed or destroyed. We'd never be able to recover the central part of Erenthrall.”