The Gathandrian Trilogy 01 - The Gifting

it was best to be safe. Perhaps the enemy was expending his powers on the scribe and had less time for other battles? She hoped so, especially as Simon Hartstongue appeared to have abilities greater than they’d credited him with. Was that why the elders seemed taken by surprise? As she’d always suspected, their leaders weren’t quite as much in control of Gathandria—and Gathandrians—as they’d assumed. Well, more power for the people then—indeed, there was something to believe in.
    Outside, the streets were quiet, with only small groups of people keeping to the shadows and scuttling home. Being on her own made her conspicuous but it couldn’t be helped now. She hurried along, tracking the elders’ path by the imprint of their thought-flashes in the air. It seemed odd that she could only see theirs and no one else’s.
    She turned the corner of the street, stepping carefully through rubble and broken glass which had still not been swept to the side of the walk-path. Those whose jobs took them onto the roads had suffered most in this war, and there were few with the courage to replace them. Catching the faint scent of the breeze, she smiled. The elders were heading towards the park. And beyond that, their old offices. Was that their destination? She would follow them until they separated to see what they did. After that, she would be wise to go home herself. Talus would be waiting. Anything she discovered could be dealt with another day.
    Soon they were outside the former Council buildings. Annyeke drew back into the shadows to avoid detection. For a few moments, the elders huddled together, not talking but communing. The flames around them crackled and spat before merging into a darker blend. Something had been decided. But what?
    Annyeke stretched and yawned. As quietly as she could. This tracking business was quite exhausting. Almost as tiring as being a mother. Really, she had no idea how women with children managed. They deserved a place of honour on the Council of Elders for sure, simply for being able to stand up at the end of the working day. She glanced at the elders to see how they were getting on with whatever they intended to do next.
    They were no longer there.
    Annyeke blinked. That couldn’t be right. Where were they?
    She hurried forward to where they had been standing only moments ago. Nothing. Only broken pavement and dead soil. The Council door had not been opened and, peering through the gaps in the wood, she could see no figures in any direction. Damn them to the gods and stars. She took in a deep breath. She wasn’t going to give up now, not while some light still hung in the western sky. Later she would take her chances; it wasn’t far to home.
    She knelt down, sweeping her skirts underneath her knees for comfort. Close to where they had been, hints and promises of the elders’ flames still glimmered. Yes. She smiled and followed the trail with her eyes.
    It didn’t lead anywhere she’d expected. Instead of tracing a path around the building or to one of the other, now non-existent, doorways, the flames simply led to the wall and stopped. She pursed her lips. What was going on?
    She hadn’t any idea, but she was going to find out. What did Johan always say? The best answer can sometimes be the most obvious one, so always discount it first. Glancing round, she could still see nobody so, understanding how much of a fool she was likely to look if anyone did spot her, she walked up to the wall and rested her hand against it.
    Yes, it was a wall. No movement there. Annyeke shook her head. She should have been paying attention to the job in hand and not dreaming of Gathandrian women’s rights. It was her own fault that she’d failed. She’d just have to go home, try again later. Whenever the elders next called for her.
    She took her hand away. As she did so, a tongue of fire leapt from the mind-glow on her skin and pinioned her wrist back to the stone work. What, by the stars’ names…? She gasped as the flame licked the wall, disappeared for a heartbeat and then returned. A surge of warmth flooded her being and she heard in her thoughts the sound of a faint click .
    Annyeke only had a moment to link the noise to the concept of a key before the wall began to shift and undulate. She gasped and stepped back. As she continued to stare, the section of the wall where the flame had been vanished entirely and she was faced with only darkness.
    She twisted her plait in her fingers.