Trial by Fire (Worldwalker 1)

Lily swiped the back of her hand across her forehead, and it came back glistening with sweat. “Great,” she said. Half her mouth tilted up in a wry smile. “Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll have another seizure and wake up back home.”

A

frown creased Rowan’s brow. “Come on,” he said sharply.

As they walked back to the campfire, he reached out and took her by the wrist. She tried to edge away but he persisted, lightly pressing on her pulse point with soft, sure fingers. She glanced over at Rowan and saw the willstone at his throat glittering subtly. Her fever ebbed out of her, like hot water swirling down a drain. Before she could ask Rowan what had happened, they’d reached the fire.

Several conversations, spoken in a language Lily couldn’t even begin to place, hushed at once. A dozen men and women sat in a circle, staring at Lily with wide eyes and blank faces. Some of them had graying hair and craggy faces, but they all seemed to be remarkably fit and strong. Lily wondered why they were called elders when none of them seemed all that old. There were certainly no frail or elderly people among the Outlander elders.

“Well—that’s Lillian,” said a wiry woman with a thick mane of salt-and-pepper hair. She had cinnamon-colored leather for skin, and a dried and spicy voice to match. “Kill her,” she said with a shrug, like she couldn’t believe no one had done it yet.

Half a dozen bows were drawn, creaking ominously to fulfill the woman’s order. Lily stared over the fire at a semicircle of arrows pointed at her face. Her jaw fell open and a whimper squeaked out.

“Wait!” Alaric shouted, his hands up in appeasement. “Yes. She is a Lillian, but not the Lillian we know from this world. Rowan. Explain.”

Lily realized that she had grabbed on to Rowan’s arm. He had stepped in front of her so quickly she hadn’t immediately noticed, and now he pulled her forward so she stood in front of him. Lily’s knees shook, and she leaned her back against his chest. A dozen arrows were still aimed at her face. Rowan slowly took a hold of the collar of her shirt in both hands and opened it so everyone could see her bare throat and chest.

“No willstone,” Rowan said. His voice rumbled against her back. The tips of half the arrows dropped to the ground hesitantly, then Rowan continued. “I brought the shaman to the Citadel almost two years ago. I didn’t know that Lillian trained with him, and I still don’t know how this is possible, but somehow Lillian has managed to spirit walk into another world, locate another version of herself, and bring her here.”

The fire popped and Lily felt the weight of everyone’s hate and fear pressing in on her. Her breath hitched in the back of her throat. Deep in the crowd, she saw Tristan’s worried face staring back at her and Caleb’s stern face right next to his. Rowan slowly shifted her behind him and out of the remaining line of fire.

“This version of Lillian is from a world so different from ours that she studies science, not witchcraft,” he said with disbelief. A murmur swept through the mob. “And she likes to be called Lily,” he finished, allowing a note of humor to enter his tone.

That strange language rose up again as the elders began to argue. Rowan’s head snapped around in reaction to what some in the crowd were saying, and as he listened, he became increasingly tense. He reached back for Lily, keeping her close to his body. As the infighting between the Outlanders escalated and braves began to stand and face off with each other, Lily could see Tristan and Caleb weaving their way through the crowd toward her and Rowan. Rowan suddenly held up his hands again, waving for everyone’s attention.

“Who here knows Lillian better than I do? And who here has more reason to want her dead?” Rowan announced loudly. The bickering ended abruptly. “I swear on my life this is not Lillian. If it was, I would have strangled her myself.”

The wiry woman stepped forward again. “Alright, Rowan, we believe that you believe. And since we knew your father, that’s good enough for most of us.” The wiry woman paused in a moment of reverent silence, and the crowd followed suit, some of them even bowing their heads. “But if what you’re saying is true,” she continued after a suitable amount of time, “what does it mean?”

“I don’t know yet,” Rowan said quietly, his eyes reaching back to meet Lily’s. “But the possibilities are literally infinite.” Rowan kept his eyes on Lily. She didn’t know what he was thinking, but whatever it was, it frightened him.

“She’d have to be trained first,” Alaric said into the long silence. “Where’s the shaman?”

“He hasn’t been seen in months,” answered a voice from the crowd.

“Is he dead?” another voice asked.

“Who would be daft enough kill a shaman and risk being haunted forever?” the wiry woman said derisively. “He’s probably out on the Ocean of Grass, smoking funny herbs and doing one of those vision quests.”

“Find him,” Alaric ordered. Two of Alaric’s specially painted braves nodded in obedience and left the group.

Distant yips and cries from the perimeter guards reached the group at the fire. Lily felt Rowan grab her by the arm as his eyes flew to the treetops, his knife glinting in his other hand. Her heart flew to her throat, and she scanned the trees, like Rowan, for Woven. The call “Citadel guards!” was heard and Rowan’s eyes dropped back down to the ground.

“Take Lily,” Alaric ordered. “Hide in the woods for five, six days if you can. We’ll try to get word to you before a week is past.” Alaric’s painted warriors flocked to his side, forming a circle around him. Caleb was among them, but Lily didn’t see Tristan anywhere. “If we don’t make contact in a week, try to smuggle her back into the city when things have died down,” he said hurriedly to Rowan. One of Alaric’s guards handed Rowan a pack. He opened it quickly and scanned the contents. Lily heard the whiz of arrows. “Run, Rowan!” Alaric shouted. “And keep her alive.”

Rowan nodded once and pulled Lily along beside him. His face was drawn and intense, his eyes skipping through the trees as he looked for the best route. Lily could hear the pounding of horses’ hooves, shouts, and screams. Rowan dragged her into a run, leading her away from the sounds of chaos.

“What do they want?”

“To capture as many of us as they can,” Rowan answered, his eyes still darting this way and that. “You can’t be seen. Here,” he rasped, and pulled Lily down behind the trunk of a large tree.

He pushed her between the thick roots and into a shadowy hollow that was barely large enough to conceal her, and covered the opening with his body. She saw his willstone flare, and his face relax in meditation. The dark wearhyde jacket and backpack that he wore seemed to blend with the shadows cast by the tall tree. He didn’t disappear, but he was so well camouflaged that he was nearly impossible to see.

Horses thundered past, carrying men heavily armed with crossbows, blades, and what she thought was a kind of gun. The men wore the same uniforms Lily had seen on the guards of the Citadel. She looked at Rowan’s calm face. His eyes were closed, his breathing regular. At any moment, she expected to hear the thwap of an arrow as it sank into his back, but the horses rode right past. Rowan opened his eyes and met Lily’s, the focus of his gaze swallowing all of her thoughts. She heard herself breathe, in and out, and didn’t dare move any more than that.

Rowan’s head flicked to the side, an ear cocked to listen behind him. Lily looked over his shoulder and saw a group of elderly men and women hurry past their hiding spot. They began to shout to each other. They tried to run, but they were too old to do more than shuffle through the leaf litter with frantic hopelessness. The mounted soldiers ran them down easily, trampling the unlucky ones. Lily heard the cries of pain and she tensed, her body straining to go to their aid. Rowan put his hands on her shoulders to stop her.

“No,” he whispered, his eyes pleading with her. “You can’t help them now.”