The First Lesson Read online

  “There are many things about Taren you will learn in time,” Leko said. “I’ll share about me, but if you want to know more about him, then you must speak with him.”

  Pia nodded, though she had no intention of speaking to Taren yet. He was strange and cold, his manner uninviting. “You left home alone?” Pia asked, hoping to learn more about Leko.

  “I did,” he replied. “And everyone told me I shouldn’t. But I was determined to find a dragon. I went anywhere I could, listening for rumors of dragons. I wanted to find one, no matter how many people told me I was crazy.”

  “Did you find one?” she asked.

  “That’s a story for another time,” he replied, grinning.

  Pia sighed, accepting the half-answer. It was how adults always dealt with children. They still treated her like she wasn’t ready to learn the truth. The trip began to wear on her, and she was ready to be off the ship. Like Leko, she yearned for solid ground beneath her feet.

  “When will we be back on land?” she asked.

  “Not soon enough,” the elf replied. “But I’d say in about a week.” To pass the time, he began pointing out different trees and telling her about each of them. Many of the same species grew near his homeland, which was a thousand miles away by now. She listened with interest, wondering about the strange fruits he described. Most intriguing was his description of creatures. There were strange animals in the woods that she’d never even imagined. Leko claimed most of them were docile. She would have liked to see them, but the ship sailed on, gaining speed as it emerged from the far end of the river, rejoining the endless ocean.

  Chapter 7

  On the morning they were to disembark, Pia awoke in a panic. Blood soaked her shift, seeping into her mattress. Pain erupted in her head and midsection. She thought back, trying to determine the cause of her sudden illness. Dinner, she realized. The night before she’d eaten a fish with blue scales. It was the prettiest thing she’d seen when she watched it being pulled from the sea. She had eaten it anyway. There was no alternative. That must have been it. The fish was poisonous.

  “Embyr,” she called. “Help!”

  The woman came and gently sat next to Pia on her cot. “What is it?” she asked.

  “I’ve been poisoned,” Pia said.

  “By whom?” Embyr asked. “What’s happened, Pia?”

  The muscles in her midsection tightened, and the girl doubled over, sitting up in her bed. The blood beneath her was now visible.

  Embyr lifted Pia’s chin and looked at her face. Tucking the girl’s hair behind her ear, she said, “It’s not poison, sweet child. You’re becoming a woman. That’s all.”

  “What?” Pia asked.

  “Your cycle, dear,” she said. “Did your mother not tell you?”

  Pia thought back. Yes, her mother had mentioned it on a few occasions. She’d already learned how to properly clean the blood-soaked linens. Suddenly feeling embarrassed by her own ignorance, she said, “She told me. Why does it hurt?” She couldn’t remember her mother ever mentioning pain.

  “Not all women experience discomfort,” Embyr replied. “There are remedies for those of us who do. I’ll ask Leko—”

  “No!” Pia shouted. “Please don’t tell him. I don’t want anyone else to know.”

  “I’ll tell him it’s for me,” she replied. “He’s a skilled herbalist, so you’re lucky to have him. I didn’t think to bring anything for your symptoms.”

  Pia slumped back in her bed. She hoped there would be time to wash everything before they made land. Her new shift was ruined otherwise.

  “I’ll fetch the medicine and help you clean up,” Embyr said. “Then we have to gather our things.”

  Pia sat back up. “Can you see land?”

  Embyr nodded, her eyes bright.

  Land. They had arrived at wherever it was. And at the same time, Pia had awoken to womanhood. She didn’t feel much different. But she could sense an air of joy on the ship. Even sailors enjoyed coming back to land. She was eager to see it but waited for Embyr to return.

  “Drink this,” Embyr said. “Not too fast.”

  The concoction was bitter with a strong woody taste. She swallowed a mouthful. “It’s awful.”

  “It works,” Embyr replied. “Drink all of it.”

  Pia took the draught in sips as large as she could stand, holding her breath each time. By the time the cup was empty, her head felt much better, and her stomach was somewhat settled. “You won’t tell Taren either, will you?” There was no need for either him or Leko to know about her condition.

  Shaking her head, Embyr replied, “Not if you don’t want me to.” Helping the girl out of her shift, she presented her with fresh linen to absorb the blood. “There’s a moss that works very well for this,” she said. “If we can find some in the forest, I’ll gather it for both of us.”

  Pia managed a half-smile. At least she wasn’t alone. Nearly every woman in creation had to go through it at some point. She envied those who didn’t. Now that she had a cycle, she wasn’t sure she wanted to keep it.

  The two of them gathered their belongings, making ready for the travel ahead. Embyr asked Leko for a special potion, one that could remove stains from soiled garments. She’d seen Taren use it before and hoped Leko knew the recipe.

  “I know how to make it, but I don’t have the ingredients with me,” he replied. “It’s not easy to make, and when I do, Taren usually helps himself to it. His cloak is a magnet for blood stains.”

  Embyr groaned. They’d have to wash the shift the old-fashioned way, and there was little time to allow it to dry. She found a bucket in the ship’s kitchen and brought it to Pia. “I think your washing skills are better than mine,” she said as she watched the girl scrub the fabric. “Most days I toss whatever is dirty. Saves me a lot of time.”

  “Papa wouldn’t let me do that,” Pia replied. “There wasn’t money for new clothes often.” She lifted the garment to see if the stain had come out. It had.

  “Let’s tie it to the edge of the ship and let the wind dry it some,” Embyr suggested.

  “Are you sure it won’t blow away?” Pia had grown fond of the garment. Its fabric was soft and comfortable, not scratchy like her old one.

  “Let’s hope not,” Embyr replied.

  After securing it to the ropes, the pair sat down to watch as the land drew ever nearer. A port city appeared just past the shore, small structures dotting the land. Pia wondered if it was as large as the city they’d last visited, or if it was small like Lyraeus.

  The sailors rushed all over the deck, and Pia watched them with interest. One man climbed up the rigging, perching himself on a high platform. She wondered what the wind felt like from that height. Everyone but she and Embyr seemed busy, making ready for bringing the ship to harbor. Even Taren reappeared from his solitude, his hands pointing at the sails. There was magic in them. She couldn’t see it, but she could feel it. It felt like the spark in the air when a storm is about to begin.

  It had a scent too, but it changed with each passing spell. From spicy to sweet, the different spells left their scent in her memory. None of the magic she’d accidentally used had ever had a smell, or a feeling for that matter. It had simply happened without her knowing how or why. With their journey by sea at an end, she hoped Taren would begin to explain things. Neither Leko nor Embyr seemed capable of magic. They couldn’t answer her questions. She would have to talk to Taren.

  The thought of doing so didn’t seem so frightening anymore. She’d spoken with Leko and Embyr over these weeks of travel, and they had only good things to say about the sorcerer. Some of their tales were even humorous where he was concerned. He wasn’t infallible; he wasn’t unapproachable. He was their friend. Could he be hers as well? He’d come to fetch her when she might have been taken away by the Red Council. That had to say something about what kind of man he was.

  Then something clicked in her mind. He was only a man. Yes, he was a sorcerer, and he obviously had great
power, but underneath he was a man. She hoped he would turn out different from her father. Danik withheld his affection, and focused on discipline and hard work. That was the extent of their relationship. Taren could hardly be worse. If the sorcerer was meant to be feared, Embyr would have warned her. Pia trusted Embyr, and Embyr looked up to Taren. She had even mentioned thinking of him as a father. Pia found herself suddenly hopeful. She would speak to him soon.

  The ship slid into port, smoothly docking near the shore. Pia looked out on a large city, larger than she’d seen before. Sounds and smells overlapped each other, confusing the senses. It was overwhelming, and she turned away from it, preferring to look back at the sea.

  “It’s time,” Embyr said, offering her hand.

  Grasping her hand, Pia joined her as she strode down the plank to the docks. Leko followed them, and Taren joined them after a short discussion with the ship’s captain.

  “We need more food for the road,” Leko said. “You want to come see the city?”

  Pia didn’t, but she nodded anyway, squeezing Embyr’s hand tighter. Taren remained silent as they moved through the city, and Pia wondered if it might be a good time to talk to him. Finally, she summoned her courage and asked, “Uncle?”

  He looked down at her, surprise registering on his face. She hadn’t spoken to him in days. “Yes?”

  “What is this city called?”

  “Althez,” he replied. “It’s the largest port we’re likely to see this journey.”

  She’d found her opening. “Where are we going?”

  “Far from the Red Council,” he replied.

  Frowning, she asked, “How far?”

  “I’d estimate about six thousand miles,” he replied.

  She gasped. How was such a thing possible? She couldn’t wrap her mind around being so far from home.

  “Taren’s magic speeds the journey,” Leko explained. “He likes to keep it a secret, but he’s pretty good at manipulating wind and water.”

  “Too bad he can’t speed us on land,” Embyr put in. “I still wish we could travel on horseback.”

  “I don’t know how to ride,” Pia said.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Embyr replied. “Taren frightens horses. None will carry him, so we walk.”

  “It’s not only that,” Leko said. He nodded toward the woods at the edge of the city. “There are creatures in those woods that horses find disagreeable. No horse would go there willingly. There’s no alternative but to walk.”

  “So we’re traveling through the woods?” Pia asked, squinting toward the trees. “There’s a road there.” It appeared well-kept and heavily traveled. They’d be safe along that road, and they might meet interesting travelers.

  “It doesn’t run the direction we need to go,” Taren explained. “Our path has no road.”

  “There he goes being mysterious again,” Leko said, smiling.

  Taren gave him a scathing look. “Don’t frighten her,” he said.

  “Your sullen attitude does enough of that,” Embyr scolded. “I promise he’ll be better now that we’re off the ocean.”

  “We all will,” Leko added.

  “You still haven’t answered me,” Pia said. “Where are we going?”

  “Into those woods and places beyond,” Taren said.

  “That’s not an answer,” she said. Why was he being so evasive?

  “Where we are going has no name,” Taren said. He paused a moment, then added, “It did once, but it is lost to time.”

  “Don’t worry, Pia,” Embyr said.

  It was just as well. Even if Pia heard the name of the place, she wouldn’t know where it was. She’d laid eyes on a map only once, and she didn’t know what the symbols on it meant.

  They didn’t spend long in the city. Pia saw only a few shops, and then they headed toward the woods. Passing the stables, she indulged her curiosity and looked at the horses. They were tall and powerful. She wondered what it would be like to ride one, but she wasn’t about to find out. They wouldn’t even be bringing a horse to carry their supplies.

  “Farewell, horses,” Leko said.

  Pia wondered if he’d noticed her interest in the animals. She’d rarely seen them. They weren’t much use on a ship, nor did they seem to enjoy being on board one. To her knowledge, neither of her parents had ever ridden a horse. “Farewell,” she echoed.

  “We’d only be endangering the horses by bringing them along,” Taren pointed out. “They’d bolt out of fear and end up harming themselves.”

  “Yes, but there’s a freedom to riding a horse that’s unlike any other,” Leko said.

  “Will you teach me to ride one day?” Pia asked.

  “I promise,” he replied with a wink.

  Pausing at the edge of the woods, Taren stopped to lecture the girl. “We’ll be entering the woods now. Don’t stray from us. Stay as close as you can, and keep your mind focused on walking. Don’t think about anything else. Can you do that?”

  She nodded. Of course she could do that.

  “There may be distractions,” Taren said. “Trees, animals, and whatever stories Leko decides to tell.” He glanced at the elf. “Watch and listen, but don’t focus on those things. Keep your mind as empty as possible. Sing a song if you need to. Do you understand?”

  She did. He wanted to make sure she didn’t accidentally use any magic. “I do,” she said.

  “Save any questions you might have for later,” he continued. “Don’t focus on them. Keep walking, and stay close. It’s probably best if you keep a hold of Embyr’s hand.”

  “What about Leko’s hand?” Pia asked. “Or yours?”

  The sorcerer paused a moment. “Yes, that’s fine too.”

  As they passed through the tree line, the air instantly felt cooler. The flesh on Pia’s arms rose in tiny bumps, and she rubbed at them.

  “Put on your cloak,” Embyr reminded her.

  She had already forgotten she owned one. Retrieving it from her pack, she wrapped it around her shoulders. Soft and warm, it was exactly what she needed. She was a real traveler now, cloaked and booted, no longer a barefooted girl playing by the docks. A woman in search of her destiny, whatever it might be, she stepped lightly through the forest.

  “The trees here are spectacular,” Leko commented, cutting through the silence. “You should see them in fall. It’s a sea of orange and yellow and red.”

  “Have you been here before?” Pia asked.

  “Years ago,” he replied. “I stayed in Althez for nearly a year.”

  “What did you do?” she asked.

  “I loaded crates in a warehouse,” he said, laughing. “Pretty unromantic, huh?” He shrugged. “Not everything can be an adventure. I needed money to travel, and that was the easiest way I could find to earn it.”

  They pressed on, walking for what felt like hours. Pia’s boots protected her feet from every root they encountered. Her only regret was they were quickly becoming dirty. They’d stayed quite clean during her stay on the ship. She would have to ask Embyr how to go about cleaning leather.

  Creatures scurried beneath the fallen leaves, and she wondered what they might be. Were they lizards or mice or something she had yet to see? She wished they would stay awhile before running to hide. Birds called high in the trees, and she occasionally saw the flutter of wings racing away from her. They were frightened as well. It was probably a good thing they hadn’t brought any horses. Everything in the forest seemed frightened. It was a shame. She would have dearly loved to see those birds.

  Finally, Taren called for the group to halt in a small clearing. “We’ll make camp here,” he said.

  “Let’s gather some wood for a fire,” Leko said.

  “I think she might be tired,” Embyr said. “Stay here with Taren. Leko and I will gather wood.”

  Pia would rather go with them, but she nodded in agreement. Plopping down on a fallen log, her legs and feet began to ache. She hadn’t realized how tired her muscles were until she stopped using th
em. Now it felt as if she wouldn’t be able to stand up again. Sleep would certainly find her easily this night.

  Chapter 8

  By morning, Pia’s legs were aching. Leko offered her a cup of tea filled with aromatic herbs. She pressed it to her lips and inhaled deeply. This tasted far better than the last brew she’d been given. Her eyes shifted to Embyr, who nodded approvingly.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  “You didn’t tell him, did you?”

  The woman shook her head. “Of course not. But this will help the pain in your legs and any other discomfort you still have.”

  Except for the first night, Pia’s cycle seemed to be rather light. She was grateful for it with all the walking. “How long will it last?”

  “A few days,” Embyr replied.

  “And then years,” Pia added.

  “That’s part of being a woman,” Embyr said.

  Finishing her tea, Pia returned the cup to Leko and thanked him. “My legs feel much better,” she said.

  “We’ll have more stops to rest today,” Leko said. “There’s not so much of a hurry now.” He cast a wary look in Taren’s direction.

  Pia suspected they’d always be in a hurry. With Taren, everything seemed to be dire. But she was feeling refreshed by the tea, and she was eager to see more of the forest. “Will you tell me what the animals are if we see any?”

  “You got it,” Leko replied.

  After gathering their things, they continued along their journey, stopping at four-hour intervals. Pia was learning to count the hours by the sun’s position. Before she knew only when it was sunrise, midday, and sunset. She was learning already.

  By night two, she found herself sharing wood-gathering duty with Taren. Choosing dry, spent wood from the ground, she stayed close to him, as he’d instructed. “Uncle?” she said.

  He raised one eyebrow in acknowledgement.

  “Are you going to teach me magic?” He was a sorcerer, and she had powers. At the very least, she wanted to learn how to contain them.

  Taren gave a single nod.

  She picked up another stick, but it crumbled at her touch. Tossing it back, she chose another. “When will my lessons begin?”