not need my help with that?]
That didn’t matter anymore. He had gotten them to listen, which felt in a strange way as though he had gotten some revenge. Like the rivers of white-and-purple marching beneath him proved his worth.
That was silly, but he felt pride in it anyway.
Yerin shaded her eyes with one hand and looked east, toward Mount Samara. “Well, bleed and bury me if that isn’t a problem.”
With so many weak presences beneath him, Lindon couldn’t sense anything in that direction. At least not through the power of the Wandering Titan and the suppressive field of Sacred Valley.
But with Dross’ help, he picked out figures moving through the woods on either side of the road.
Heaven’s Glory. Armed and moving his direction.
[They really don’t learn their lesson, do they?] Dross mused.
Lindon was more than capable of flying over and taking them out himself, but he was worried about Yerin and the Wei clan. It was hard to tell how weak Yerin might be, and if any of the enemies made it past him, the Wei clansmen would have no warning.
He tried to keep his irritation from rising into anger.
The Heaven’s Glory School just would not leave them alone. He didn’t know how they made it past Eithan, but he couldn’t imagine they’d harmed him.
Then again, these were the very same people who had managed to kill the Sword Sage.
His frustration started to fade into worry as he landed next to the Patriarch. Wei Jin Sairus and a handful of Elders made a boulder in the flowing stream of the clan, and they stopped barking orders to turn to Lindon.
A couple of them saluted and bowed to him, and one elder Lindon didn’t recognize beckoned to nearby servants, but Lindon kept his eyes on the Patriarch.
Sairus dipped his head slightly, but that was all.
“The Heaven’s Glory School is coming,” Lindon reported. “They’ll reach our vanguard in minutes.”
The Patriarch’s gray eyebrows pinched together. “A battle group?”
“Weren’t coming to scratch our backs,” Yerin said.
“Then we should meet them ourselves.” Sairus gestured, and the nearby servants—who had been rummaging in saddlebags—instead dashed off to prepare mounts for the elders.
“We’ll meet you there,” Lindon said.
Yerin had never stepped off the cloud. This time, she sat down, her legs dangling off the edge. “Not saving any for them,” she muttered.
They arrived back at the forefront of the Wei clan evacuation as the people in purple-and-white were coming to a confused halt. Remnants pulled up short, carriages ground to a stop, and constructs settled to the ground.
Heaven’s Glory stretched across the road, a dozen Irons led by half as many Jades. Including Grand Elder Emara.
What was Eithan doing?
The Grand Elder stepped forward…and bowed at the waist. “Wei Shi Lindon, I apologize if we frightened you. Your master, Eithan, sent us to help you.”
Lindon felt like the world had flipped upside-down. He settled his cloud onto the ground as Thousand-Mile Clouds spread out behind the Heaven’s Glory artists.
Yerin kept a hand on her sword as she hopped to the ground, clearly on edge against the Heaven’s Glory Jades.
But the clan didn’t stop just because they were blocking the road. Wei clansmen bustled around him, flowing along, intermittently cutting off his view of the Grand Elder as travelers passed between him and the old woman.
“I admit, I did not expect to hear from you yet, Elder,” Lindon called over the din of the crowd. “If you could coordinate with the Wei elders, they will lead you to families that can use your help.”
The Jade dipped her head again. “Our paths up the mountain are already crowded. We will carry some through the air, and others through side paths.”
Heaven’s Glory spread out even as the Tenth Wei Elder scurried to greet their leader.
[I don’t like it here,] Dross muttered to Lindon. [There’s too many people around, and I can’t sense anything.] Between the normal Sacred Valley restrictions and the presence of the Wandering Titan, Lindon’s perception was restricted to the point that he felt as though he wore a wet sack over his head.
Keep an eye on them.
They had seen how strong Lindon was, and it seemed true that Eithan had sent them…but Lindon had killed several members of the Heaven’s Glory School. He didn’t trust them, and Yerin certainly didn’t. He expected them to have some kind of plan.
Of course, no matter how a spider spun its web, it was useless against the tiger. Lindon would scatter Heaven’s Glory one more time if it weren’t for the Wei