Changing the World: All-New Tales of Valdemar

“Thank you.” Samina opened the case and removed three arrows. One had a green band and the other two had yellow bands. With shaking hands Samina bent several of the barbs on the fletching of each arrow and tied the arrows together so that they didn’t interfere with the patterns in the fletching. “Clyton,” she said, “These need to go to the Healing Temple—you know the one.”

“Clyton can’t take them,” Maia said. “He was shot, too; didn’t you notice that he’s walking on only three legs?”

Samina buried her face in her hands and moaned.

“Does he have to be the one to take them?” Maia asked. “Or will they be enough of a message if they just get there?”

“They’ll be enough by themselves, but how else can we get them there? Can you take them?”

Maia shook her head. “I know a faster way. Clyton,” she asked, “exactly where is this temple?”

“You can hear my Companion?” Samina asked in astonishment.

“Yes,” Maia said. “He says I’ve got Mindspeech.” A view of a road and the temple at the end filled her vision. She passed it on to the nearest group of crows. “Do you know this place?” she asked them. “Can you find it?”

About a dozen crows spiraled down out of the trees to perch in front of her, assuring her that they knew exactly where to go. “Take the arrows then,” she told them, “and make certain that nobody on the ground sees them. I recognized my brother, but I don’t know who his friends are or where they live. Fly safely.”

One of the crows grabbed the arrows, and they took off clustered together. Even knowing that the arrows were there, Maia couldn’t see them.

Maia didn’t know how many days passed before the crows returned with a healer. Clyton’s leg was obviously hurting, and Samina, despite Maia’s—and Dexter’s—best efforts, became feverish and delirious. Maia collected several bruises trying to care for her. She wondered, when she had a moment to think, if she would have done a better job if she actually knew anything about healing. “Just keep her alive till the Healer gets here,” she told herself. “That’s what matters.”

Finally she heard the chatter of crows escorting the healer. A woman in green robes arrived in the clearing riding double with another person dressed in white and riding a white horse, presumably another Herald and Companion.

The crows were all talking at once, telling her all about their adventure, but Maia was too tired to care. As soon as she finished telling the Healer what little she knew and what little she had done and explaining to the new Herald what she knew about the attack, she fell asleep and didn’t wake for days. By then the military units had rounded up her brother and his fellow bandits and taken them away for trial. The Healer explained that Maia would not be needed for the trial as she had not been present during the attack.

“I guess I’d sound pretty silly telling a judge that I saw the attack hours later through the eyes of a horse,” Maia told Samina later. Samina was recovering, but the Healer didn’t want her to move yet, so she encouraged Maia to sit and talk to her. Clyton was doing better also, but he still wasn’t up to galloping at top speed while carrying a rider, so they were still camping in the safety of Sorrows. It was a much more comfortable camp now; someone had brought three mules and a load of actual camping supplies, so they were no longer making do with what Maia had been able to scrounge from the Waystation.

Samina looked sharply at her. “You can see through Clyton’s eyes?”

“Only when he wants to show me something,” Maia clarified, “but when he does, I can see what he saw.”

“And you can communicate with the raccoon . . .”

“His name is Dexter,” Maia said.

“ . . . and the crows. Anything else?”

Maia shrugged. “I can understand pretty much anything that wants to talk to me. Why?”

Samina smiled. “It’s one of the Gifts. We Heralds call it Mindspeech. It appears that you have a strong aptitude for it.” She paused, and then asked, “Could you hear your brother?”

Maia shook her head. “Just animals. And Clyton. I didn’t even know that my brother wasn’t supporting us by selling the arrows I made, the way he told me. He was using them to rob people.” She frowned in thought. “Does that mean that my arrows aren’t good enough to sell?”

“I though they were very effective,” Samina said dryly. “They certainly made an impression on me.” Her face was straight, but Maia could tell that she was joking.

“Several impressions,” Maia agreed, keeping her face straight and as innocent as possible. “But I didn’t put the barbs on them,” she added quickly. “Did Clyton tell you that?”

“He did,” Samina reassured her. “He also said that you saved my life.”

“It was the least I could do, after having made the arrows that nearly killed you.” Maia shrugged off the praise and returned to her original subject. “I notice that you carry arrows. If my arrows are good enough, can the Heralds use a fletcher?”

“I’m sure we can find a place for you.” Samina smiled. “Are you saying that you want to go back to Haven with us?”