The Gathandrian Trilogy 02 - Hallsfoots Battle

and skin, a circle of agony. At the edge of his vision he could see Annyeke lurching towards him, obviously trying to help in some way. Behind her, Johan grabbed Talus and pushed him out of danger.
    The mind-cane jittered on the stone slabs, moving once more towards the boy. The humming had vanished, but the impression of threat had not. More than that, he could sense a strange purpose emanating from the cane, but what it was eluded him.
    “ Simon.”
    The scribe blinked. The voice was not audible but in his head only. It was Johan. Despite everything that had happened and the situation they now found themselves in, he couldn’t help but smile. Over the last two day-cycles, he’d missed the Gathandrian’s thought-voice.
    “ Yes?” he replied, in mind only.
    “ Pick the cane up.”
    “ What?”
    “ Pick it up,” Johan said directly to his mind again. “Now. Please?”
    The cane’s humming began again. Sending a variety of thoughts towards Johan, none of which could be spoken with the child present, Simon skidded along the floor in obedience. His eyes were fixed on the length of vibrating ebony and silver. His heart was beating fast and his skin felt cold, a relief after the heat of pain a moment ago.
    Once between the cane and his companions, he slowly, so slowly, stretched out his hand. The mind- cane’s trembling became more violent and the feeling of thwarted anger more powerful, but the noise it was making lessened. He thanked all the stars for that, as the sound had pierced his skull, making it almost impossible to think.
    Just as his fingers were only a shade or so away from the cane’s dark mass, Annyeke spoke.
    “Wait,” she said.
    “Why?” This from Johan.
    “I don’t know if the cane meant to frighten us. Simon, what were you thinking when Talus came in?”
    The scribe swallowed and for a long moment the world in front of him blurred before coming back in clarity again. “Nothing. Except that …”
    “Except…what?”
    “Except when he greeted Johan, I thought of Carthen.”
    As he spoke his apprentice’s name aloud for the first time, his voice shook and he pushed back a fresh wave of memory. As he did so, the cane started its strange humming again and began to slide along the floor like strange water, heading towards Johan and the boy.
    Simon.
    This time the voice in his mind was Annyeke’s and the shock of it made him shake his head, as if to dislodge her. He wondered for a heartbeat or two if all Gathandrians were like this, or whether privacy was a shifting notion here.
    “Never mind that, Simon,” she said, aloud this time, and quickly, as if getting all the words out into the open before danger struck again. “I think the cane is picking up on your thoughts, acting on them. Perhaps mine, too, but not so greatly. You thought of your friend and the cane homed in on Talus. It’s responding to you as it has been over the last two day-cycles. You must clear your mind. ”
    How? With that thought came another flare of anger towards Annyeke, but he quelled it at once, putting into his head the picture of the river he had once shared with Johan, something calm, flowing and blue. With every breath, he eased himself more into those waters, imagining the refreshment, the happiness he would gain from that. As he did so, the noise the cane was making changed into a purring sound, it rested back down on the floor and spun slowly into his hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world. For one long moment, he could feel no burning, as he had before. Then the palm of his hand began to grow hot and he let the cane go.
    It lay beside him, silent and still, at last.
    Annyeke sighed and got up as the boy ran towards her.
    “Good,” she said. “And thank you, Simon. I think perhaps here is where we’ll begin.”

Second Lammas Lands Chronicle
    Ralph
    He barely reaches the castle in time before the clouds descend upon them. Nightcloud is as nervous as a rabbit in spring and the groom struggles to hold him. Glancing backwards at the darkening sky, Ralph places his hand on the horse’s neck where the servant can’t see and sends a flow of calming thoughts through the skin of his palm into the animal’s hot flesh. At once, Nightcloud trembles into stillness. The groom’s eyes widen as he glances at Ralph, but he is wise enough to say nothing. Ralph knows, however, there will be rumours tonight and he curses his own desperate need for haste. He will have to be more careful in