The moods of the emperor, his personalities, were distinct, but Webster could explain it no better than he could the emperor’s sleep patterns. He had heard of people who exhibited more than one personality, had even examined a few over the years, but this was very different, as if the emperor was inhabited by three different personalities, rather than that they originated from within him.
Webster had once questioned the witch about it. All she had said was, “Two I love, one I do not.”
Always cryptic was Yolandhe, no matter how they tortured her, but he got the impression that if they loosed her, she would kill the three despite her love of the two, because of her hatred for the one. In fact, when the emperor rose to power, she had turned on him, but was captured before she could harm him. The emperor must never learn she still lived, for he would go to her. Webster could not imagine the destruction and chaos that would ensue. It would unmake the empire. He had put too much of his soul into it for that to happen, and he was prepared to hold Yolandhe prisoner for all eternity if need be.
GOSSHAM
In the morning, while Cade made use of the tub, Karigan readied herself for the day, dressing once more in the rumpled clothes that had belonged to Luke’s son, the farrier. When she checked her pocket to ensure her moonstone was where she always kept it, it lit up.
“What?”
When she drew the moonstone out, it shone with a wavering glow. The whole room did not fill with silver moonlight, but the moonstone was brighter than the feeble glimmer it had emitted since her arrival in Mill City. It must be true that the closer they got to Gossham, the more etherea was present.
She replaced the moonstone in her pocket and decided to try another experiment. She reached for her brooch where it was pinned to her shirt, and wished herself to fade out. Like the moonstone, she wavered, flickered in and out. Cade, who had just stepped out of the bathing room, gasped behind her. Before she could explain, a fierce pain rammed through her head like a spike. She let go, fell to her knees, and vomited.
In a moment, Cade was crouched beside her with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He touched her arm as if to ensure she was real.
“Karigan?”
When she finished another round of retching, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. A dull pounding in her skull replaced the sharp pain of before.
“You—you were there, then only half there,” Cade said, sounding worried. “You came and went.”
“Etherea. My Rider magic,” she said wearily. “The empire’s etherea.” Not only had she tried to use her ability where the etherea was weak, but it was, as the professor had once explained, etherea pulled from Blackveil. It was “filtered” he’d told her, but she had the feeling it was not enough to purify it. It was not etherea in its natural form. It was tainted.
When she sighed, Cade sat there on the floor and drew her onto his lap. He pressed her head against his chest and stroked her hair. There she rested with her eyes closed, the thump of his heart soothing away the pounding in her head.
“My Green Rider,” Cade murmured, “you are full of surprises.”
“I surprise myself sometimes,” Karigan admitted with a smile. “But it worked, sort of. I still have my ability.” Though she had not reacted well to its use, the fact that it was still there was an enormous relief and gave her hope she could once again cross thresholds, return to her own time with both Cade and Lhean.
“You are light as a feather,” Cade said, shifting her on his lap, “and sometimes I think fragile as well, until I remember how well you can beat me in a bout of swordplay. And then I see you demonstrate an amazing power. I have never seen anyone fade out like that, not ever. Not even remotely.”
She understood. She’d grown accustomed to having that ability and living in a world where magic still existed, even if only in a much diluted form compared to what had once been known.
“We are apt to see etherea wasted on meaningless diversions when we reach Gossham,” Cade said. “But your ability, that is something wondrous.”
She did not bother to tell him how minor it really was. She was just glad it hadn’t spooked him, caused him to see her as something other than human. It was not every person who would react in such a positive way to someone who could do something so very strange.
“I suppose we should get going,” Karigan said with regret. As much as she enjoyed sitting in Cade’s lap, she didn’t think Luke would appreciate having to wait around for them. Sorely tempted as she was to whip off Cade’s towel, she restrained herself and rose. Evening would be soon enough, and she’d probably be feeling better by then, as well. Besides, she did not think he’d find her vomit breath particularly alluring.
• • •
The road grew continually busier as they traveled deeper into the Capital. There was less cropland and more habitation. Karigan saw nothing like the rectangular brick buildings of Mill City, but edifices of granite with masterfully carved embellishments around windows and doors. The finery worn by the people was more colorful, and she saw that, like at Dr. Silk’s dinner party, the women of the Capital wore their veils stylishly short, or perhaps provocatively short, depending on one’s point of view. Many were followed by unveiled slaves, who appeared better dressed and fed than their counterparts in Mill City, although just as many of their faces were marred with brands. Well fed or not, they were still slaves.
The irrigation ditches widened into transportation canals with breadth enough to permit small boats, but too narrow for the wheel-sided chugs. One man poling a flat boat full of flowers beneath an arched stone bridge looked like a whimsical painting. Many rowed ladies from one landing to another.