Free Embers at Galdrilene by A. D. Trosper Page A

than take you with us. There is danger along our path though. Kellinar and Serena must decide if they travel with me or find their own way. You will have to decide, too.”
    “I’m going where Kellinar goes.”
    Serena wondered how well things would go with the child along. “Are you sure Emallya? Loki can be a handful.”
    Emallya kept her eyes on Loki’s and said, “You will not cause me any trouble will you, young man? You will have to agree to do as I say if you wish to come.”
    “Yes ma’am,” Loki said. He looked at Emallya as if she was some great and wonderful goddess. Serena had a feeling Loki might find himself actually behaving around the older woman.
    “We take a child into danger?” Vaddoc asked.
    Emallya nodded. “The Fates have brought him here; his path lies with us now. It is late and we should all get some sleep. Serena, Kellinar, think about what I have said and what I have offered. I will have your answer in the morning.” She rose and began laying out her sleeping roll.
    Serena shivered when she thought about the thing on the road hunting her. She knew what her answer would be in the morning. If the woman knew of a safe haven, she was going with her. She had just passed her nineteenth birthday and the woman had to be at least fifteen to twenty years her senior. Somehow, she had learned how to deal with her magic without going insane and Emallya’s powers were considerably stronger than her own.
    The presence in her mind crooned. Her decision to journey with the older woman made it content. The feeling spread through her and for the first time in a year she felt relaxed and sleep came easily.

    Emallya sat staring into the flames. Loki was a surprise she hadn’t expected. She couldn’t send him away though. If they all decided to come with her, she would need to begin training their minds immediately. Alden may have fled for now, but the Benduiren wouldn’t stop. These Foundlings were too important. Later, they would have all the protection they needed. They were far too vulnerable right now.
    Vaddoc’s mind was already surprisingly strong and his blocks were well made. But then, control over their minds and emotions were part of Border Guard training. It was understandable considering they still fought to keep the Kojen out in the desert and away from civilized lands.
    Kojen. Those twisted remnants of the War of Fire, left behind when the Shadow Riders were killed five hundred years before. The majority left to breed and run wild; they roamed the desert in packs, raiding into Shadereen and Calladar. Traders on the Blood River knew better than to put in for the night on the east bank.
    She thought of all the people so afraid those who could use magic would turn evil, so willing to put to death any unfortunate enough to show signs of its touch. She marveled at how much time could change history. She had walked these lands since they rose from the ashes of the war. Only a small group of people in the downlands even knew who she was anymore. She sighed and lay down on her sleeping roll. As she drifted off to sleep, she felt a light brush across her cheek and a whisper in her mind.

 
     
     
    D awn found Emallya stirring the coals from the night before. The sleeping forms of the young people were no more than dark mounds in the predawn light. She moved quietly about the campsite, laying out a small leather packet of traveling cakes for each person and setting the small kettle on the fire for tea. She sat down and ate her own food, her thoughts reaching out to the other newly emerged Foundlings. The faint contact was easier and she let the connection fade, satisfied they still moved toward her.
    Then she turned her mind to what she thought might be another Foundling. She tried reaching out to the source of the threads of power and found nothing. She stared at the fire, watching the flames as she considered the flickering of energy that stirred in her mind. She should be able to follow that