any good.
His consciousness wavered, and his next sensation was a powerful, hurtful grip under both of his arms as someone hoisted him to his feet.
Nic smacked at the arms supporting him, but he might as well have been beating the thick branches of the largest heartwoods in Dyn Mab.
“I won’t harm you unless you try to harm me,” said a man’s voice as Nic felt himself propped against the wagon, shoulders against the rough boards for support. Fear flooded through him, but he didn’t have the strength or coordination to resist or flee. Standing was hard enough.
“I haven’t come here to kill children,” the man said, “though it looks as if someone already had a fair go at you.”
The man let him go.
Nic struggled to keep his feet and his wits. The man who had lifted him off the chilled ground was tall and dressed in dark robes, with what looked like a standard military sword belted at his waist, but the metal scabbard was scorched almost black and seemed to be rusting in places. That was strange enough, but the man’s face and head were wrapped in the fashion of those who lived near the Barrens in Dyn Altar. Nic could see nothing of the man’s features but an outline. Even his eyes were obscured by a thin piece of gauzy cloth. His hands, though, those were bare, and huge, and scarred and calloused, like the hands of men who worked hard at some physical labor the entirety of their lives. Some of the flesh seemed red and angry, as if he might have thrust his fingers and palms into boiling water.
Trembling and hating himself for his physical weakness and his fear, Nic took in the air of menace about the man. Threat and despair seemed to hang above his robed shoulders like the smoke over the trees in the distance, tainting every aspect of his being. The rawness of that danger made Nic’s breath come in short pants. He wanted to run, but he didn’t know where to go, and he knew he’d likely collapse after a few steps anyway.
The man pointed to Nic’s limp arm. “Did the Stone Guild do this to you?”
“No. Of course not.” The absurdity of the question cleared Nic’s senses completely, and shifted some of his panic to anger. “Who are you? Where is Snakekiller?”
The man cocked his head as if considering the question. “I don’t know any Snakekiller, but I’m called Canus these days. Some extend that to Canus the Bandit. And you are?”
Nic let go of the wagon, intending to get himself far away from this Canus and his well-hidden face. Immediately, he swayed and had to grab the wagon’s sideboards to steady himself.
Canus held up both hands as if to show he hadn’t drawn any weapons, that he meant Nic no harm, as he had claimed. “I don’t think you’re ready to light out on your own, boy. Be sensible.”
“Where is she?” Nic snarled as he gripped the sideboard with his good hand and wished he had a sword to pull, then wished harder that he had the strength to wield it. Morning sunlight made him blink too fast, and the cold air he kept gulping made his chest hurt. “What have you done with Snakekiller?”
“Your guild master is female?” Canus lowered his hands, obviously surprised. “Snakekiller is a woman?”
Nic’s body tightened at the subtle insult, and he stood up straighter, without propping on the wagon. “She’s a Stone Sister. She could kill you before you finish your next breath.”
“A pleasing thought,” said a hypnotic voice from the other side of the wagon.
Before Nic could react, Tia Snakekiller leaped into the wagon, then out of it, reaching Canus in a single jump. Her jagged blade was drawn as she landed, and the tip of her sword gleamed in the sunlight as she drew back into ready stance, close enough to take the man’s head if he twitched in a manner that displeased her.
Relief almost made Nic fall back to the ground. He didn’t care that she had come to protect him, only that she had come back to him. Her face, arms, and gray robes were bloodied and soot-streaked, and he noticed she was breathing heavier than usual—but she was alive.
The man once more raised his hands in a gesture of weaponless peace, though this time much more slowly. Nic knew the man was likely surprised by the combination of her brown skin and white-blond hair, that he couldn’t determine