Moons' Dreaming (Children of the Rock) by Susan Sizemore, Marguerite Krause Page B

Greenmother and leaned against her. She was nearly as drained of strength as he was. “ Why is Dea allowing her brother to threaten her son? ”
    “ Morb really didn ’ t tell you anything. Dea ’ s dead. ” She looked sadly at Pirse. “ Somehow, Palle laid the blame on the boy. Something to do with his dragon sword. ”
    Aage twisted his head against Savyea ’ s soft shoulder to take a second, closer look at the prince. “ Only Pirse can wield that sword. Could Palle be right? ”
    “ Of course not. That would be Abstainer madness, and this child is no Abstainer. We ’ ll talk about it when you come back. Morb did tell you what we need? ”
    “ A Keeper. Yes, but —”
    “ Later, dear. Go. ”
    Aage allowed himself an exasperated sigh, but obediently got to his feet. There was no discussing anything with Savyea except in her own good time. If she said Juniper Ridge was the place for the prince, then to Juniper Ridge he must go.
    Unfortunately, Aage ’ s options were limited. He was too drained to flit limitlessly from one kingdom to another. He could transport himself to Raisal and confer with his king, or go to the nearest village in hopes of finding a suitable Keeper there. But he would have to make a choice. It usually took days to recover his strength after fighting in Morb ’ s place. Bending the power now, so soon after leaving the battle with the Others, would not be easy.
    A responsible Keeper. That was easy enough. As unpredictable as many of the Shaper families had become, the Keepers, for the most part, still took their vows seriously. He needed a Keeper responsible enough to be trusted, but atypical enough to be willing to leave home for a few days.
    Aage stepped out of the cave. Keyn was a great lopsided ball hovering above the peaks to the east, her light washing out all but the brightest stars. He closed his eyes and sought within himself for the power he needed. A mental twist applied just so opened the path to nearest sizable village, Live Oak. The power wove dizzily around him for a long instant, then faded to leave him standing close beside the low-hanging branches of a huge old oak tree in front of the village inn. He left its shelter, dry leaves crackling under his feet, and mounted the stairs.
    A short conversation revealed that Live Oak ’ s carter was not in town, and not likely to return in the near future. The few townspeople present in the inn ’ s common room encouraged Aage, however, with the news that a Rhenlan carter had passed through Live Oak that very day, and would surely be able to help him. Aage expressed proper gratitude for the information. Inwardly, he groaned. The gods always provided. Unfortunately, what they provided was seldom exactly what their Children expected.
    Aage knew the Rhenlan carter. Stubborn, opinionated, and generally annoying, but more than responsible enough for the task. If he ’ d been too far away to be of any use — Eastern Sitrine, preferably — Aage could have ignored the suggestion to go see him. As it was, he had no choice. He fixed the location in his mind, then bent the power to transport himself to the soon-to-be-indignant carter.
    * * *
    Tob was sound asleep by the time Jordy got up to extinguish their campfire and make his own bed for the night. He got the boy ’ s blanket down from the wagon and spread it on the ground beside him. Tob rolled onto the blanket and covered himself with only a slight prodding from Jordy, and without ever really waking up. Jordy tucked the blanket in around the boy ’ s shoulders, then got to his feet and stretched tiredly.
    They were camped in the lush river valley three days north and a day west of Juniper Ridge. The smell of thick vegetation was not unpleasant, but the increasing proliferation of insect life as they moved into a warmer, wetter climate was less to Jordy ’ s liking.
    Only one log still flickered with flames in the banked fire. It cast insufficient light to reveal the warning wisp of