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  Daum said slowly, “Except, you’ll be in Murchison and we’ll be here. As you just pointed out, traveling between the two towns bears a significant amount of risk.”

  “No, that’s not a problem. Once Nylin’s married, I’ll have to return to our hometown to take over my father’s business. After the wedding, I’ll have enough money to travel with the next caravan coming this way. I’ll pay you when it passes through Clancy Vail.”

  Daum eyed Farlin for a bit, then suddenly turned his eyes to Nylin. “What’re your thoughts on this Nylin? Tarc says he doesn’t think you want to marry this man from Murchison.”

  Dark eyes flashing, Nylin gave Farlin a glare, then turned to Daum, “I don’t!” she said hotly. “My brother’s selling me like I’m some kind of horse!”

  “What else am I supposed to do Nylin?!” Farlin broke in exasperatedly. “We’re penniless and in strange country. Carrying through on the marriage father arranged will make you wealthy, and provide me with enough money to get a start in life.”

  “Except I’ll be saddled with a man I can’t stand,” she said bitterly.

  “You don’t know that. It might be love at first sight. Father told us he’s a fine young man.”

  “He said that in an effort to make me biddable. He was selling me for money, a nightmare I didn’t think my brother would participate in. I was wrong. You seem to be happy pimping me like a prostitute, just like your father!”

  “Our father.”

  “No. Even before this happened, I didn’t consider him my father.”

  Tarc’d been getting more and more uncomfortable with their feud. He felt a huge sense of relief when Daum interrupted their quarrel by saying, “Farlin, Nylin, it’s important you understand we’re big believers in personal freedom. Even if we thought—which we don’t—that Nylin should go with you to Murchison, we believe it’d be her right to decide whether or not she did. Even if we thought it was a foolish decision on her part to stay here, we not only wouldn’t help you take her, but we’d actively prevent you from doing it.” He shrugged, “Now, I suspect that if Nylin isn’t going to Murchison, you don’t want to go either. That solves the problem of how you’re going to get there. The issue that remains is, what’re you going to do instead?”

  Farlin stared wide-eyed at Daum for a moment, then glanced at his sister. Beseechingly, he said, “With a broken arm, I’m not going to be able to support you in Clancy Vail. I don’t know how we’d get back home, and if we did, I’m not sure father left much for me to inherit—other than debts.”

  Tarc noticed that—as opposed to how she reacted to Tarc—Nylin didn’t have trouble meeting Farlin’s eyes. She said, “Then, I’d suggest we start looking for work here.” She turned to Daum and Eva, “It sounds like you have a lot of plans. Would you be interested in hiring,” she lifted her arms, “a pair of hands?” She tilted her head at her brother, “and maybe one additional hand?”

  Eva smiled, “We’d be happy to. Hopefully, about the time Farlin’s arm’s healed, we’ll have enough work to keep both his hands busy.” She turned and looked at Farlin, “if he wants the job.”

  Farlin nodded, but it was surly.

  Tarc noticed Daum didn’t look pleased about taking them on. He wondered about Grace, but only for a moment because Eva turned to her next. “Grace, would you like some work too?” She glanced around at all three of them. “We’d be paying you now, as opposed to simply providing you passage in the caravan.” She looked thoughtfully toward the town, then said, “And we’d have rooms we could rent cheaply, as long as you’d be willing to move to the wagon when we had patients that needed the rooms.

  ~~~

  After the Hyllises finished their meal and the family meeting, Daussie and Kazy made their way to the caravan’s big fire, wanting to listen to the musicians and start their goodbyes. As they stepped between the wagons into the caravan’s circle, Kazy’s head turned suddenly.

  Daussie followed her eyes to see Sam standing there.

  “Hey ladies,” he said, starting after them.

  Daussie thought he meant it to sound friendly, though something made the words seem creepy. Do they really sound creepy? Daussie wondered, Or is it because Kazy’s told me the kinds of things he’s usually thinking?

  As they walked, Sam closed the distance between them.

  Daussie checked her amulet to be sure she had enough chili pepper and cayenne to protect them, thinking, I’ve got to remember to refill it every time it’s been used! There was plenty of pepper, she hadn’t used but a tiny bit on the guy at the Odd Duck. But only about one-third of the cayenne was left. One third’s probably plenty. Two-thirds of it was a lot more than I should’ve put into that guy’s nose.

  “Hey ladies, wait up,” Sam said. “What’s this I hear about you leaving the caravan?”

  Daussie turned her head but kept walking. She said, “Yeah, we’re staying here in Clancy Vail.”

  “Oh man, that’s a tragedy in my book,” he said. He was right behind them now.

  Daussie felt a little itch between her shoulder blades.

  Sam continued, “Hey, let’s sit over on the log there. I’ve got a little bottle of a nice shine they make here in Clancy Vail. We could share it to say goodbye.”

  Daussie continued toward the group around the big fire. Over her shoulder, she shot, “We’re too young to be drinking hard liquor and we’re too young for you Sam. Give it up.” She’d turned her eyes far enough to see anger flash across his countenance. I could have said that more civilly, she thought. Worried about what he might do, she sent her ghost into the cayenne chamber of her amulet and turned to look him full in the face.

  Sam’s face calmed. A moment later, he looked embarrassed. Then, without saying another word, he turned and walked off toward the guards’ wagon.

  Daussie stared after him, wondering whether he’d just realized how young they actually were and felt ashamed. Or, is he beating a retreat with the intent of going on the attack again later? “What got into him?” she asked—rhetorically, she thought.

  Kazy answered though. “I adjusted his attitude,” she said matter-of-factly. “He’s feeling really embarrassed for putting the moves on girls our age.”

  Daussie turned to stare wide-eyed at her cousin. “Really?!”

  Kazy gave a half shrug, “Yeah.”

  “Is it going to stick?”

  Kazy shrugged again, “How should I know? I’ve never done it before. If I were you, I’d still watch out for him until he’s gone from here. He’s really got the hots for you.” She looked at Daussie’s chest, “And, I’d refill that amulet.”

  “You listened to me worrying about not having refilled it?”

  Kazy gave a little nod, “Yeah. Not exactly ‘listened,’ but… you know, more like ‘heard.’ You were right next to me and broadcasting really loud ’cause you were upset.” She shook her head, “It’s almost impossible to ignore when someone does that.”

  “Geez. I’m starting to feel like I have no privacy.”

  “Yeah,” Kazy said with a sigh. “You want to have thoughts that’re private from me, you’re going to need to move away, or think them calmly.”

  “Like thinking how irritating it is to have you listening in on my thoughts?”

  Kazy snorted, “Like worrying about you shoving pepper up my nose.”

  “Touché…”

  ***

  The next day passed like a whirlwind. They cooked a final breakfast for the caravan, both as a way to say goodbye, and because they needed the coin for all their new investments.

  Then they were saying goodbye to the friends they’d made. Many promises were made about the next time the caravan came through Clancy Vail. Norton promised to collect their money from the bank and the tavern in Walterston. Kazy confirmed he really meant to try. She said he was concerned about how much he’d be able to collect—of what was owed—and what Daum’s reaction might be if the people in Walterston stiffed him.

  Norton’s final w
ords were, “I’ll do my best. I hope you understand I can’t force them to pay if they…” He trailed off, but the meaning was clear.

  Tarc had tried to find Lizeth after the family meeting the night before but the other guards said she’d gone into town. He got up early and looked around the caravan for her but couldn’t find her then either.

  Then, when they were serving breakfast to everyone, he thought he’d see her there. He purposefully put himself on the serving line rather than helping with the cooking, just so he wouldn’t miss her.

  But she hadn’t come to breakfast.

  Crushed, he hadn’t had any idea what to do. As they finished cleaning up after serving the breakfast, the caravan started pulling out. Tarc found his mother. Blinking in hopes his mother wouldn’t know how close he was to crying, he said, “Lizeth and I had a fight yesterday. About…”

  Eva gave him a knowing nod, “About whether you should both go, both stay, or split up, right?”

  Tarc nodded, “But I haven’t seen her since.” His voice cracked, “And I want to say goodbye. Is it okay if I take Bayby and…”

  Eva, apparently recognizing why he was talking to her rather than Daum, said, “Go. I’ll cover you with your dad.”

  Tarc had never tacked up a horse quite so quickly, worried at every moment that his dad would come around the corner and ask him where the hell he thought he was going. It’s not like I’m leaving them, he thought, though he wondered whether he might if Lizeth said the right things. And, it’s not like they could make me stay if I didn’t want to.

  Nonetheless, he was glad to be in the saddle and riding to the head of the caravan.

  Arriving there, he found Sam leading the mules for the guards’ wagon. He didn’t want to talk to Sam, considering their history. Realizing he needed the info, he said, “Where’s Lizeth?”

  Sam gave him an aggravated look. For a moment, Tarc thought he was going to refuse to answer. But then he shrugged and waved ahead of the caravan, “She took the far point. Said she hoped it’d keep her from having to see your ugly face.”

  Sick at heart, Tarc urged Bayby on without making a retort. Fairly quickly he caught up with Jason on near point. “Lizeth’s still ahead, right?”

  Jason gave him a sympathetic look, “Yeah, but you are not in her good graces. Were I you, I’d leave her alone.”

  Tarc shook his head, “I may never see her again. I can’t let her leave like this.” He kicked Bayby up to a canter again.

  Tarc rode about 300 meters past Jason. Much further ahead than he pictured the far point position. Either she’s way out there, or she hid when I went by. Tarc expanded his ghost as far down the road ahead of him as it would go without encountering any warm bodies. Then he expanded it back behind him. There was a warm spot in the trees back at the limits of his ghost. He turned and rode back.

  When he reached Lizeth, he turned off the road and walked Bayby right to her. This despite the fact she’d ensconced herself deep in the brush when she’d seen him coming. Looking directly at her, even though she was almost impossible to see through the leaves, he said, “Hello Lizeth.”

  “What do you want?” she asked in a truculent tone.

  “I think I love you,” Tarc said sadly. “My parents would say I don’t know what love is, but it hurts a lot to think you’re leaving. It hurts even worse to think you’re leaving without even saying goodbye.”

  “You’re right. You don’t know what love is.”

  “Please. Stay,” Tarc rasped out.

  “With the guy who’s accusing me of being a witch? Hell no!”

  “Not a witch. A girl with a talent. A talent I think’s amazing. One that makes me love her all the more.”

  “Yeah. A witch. Get the hell away from me.” He couldn’t see it well, but his ghost showed her arm was pointing back toward town, “Go back to your shitty little town. Settle down to your shitty little life. Marry some shitty little woman. Live your shitty little…”

  Tarc turned Bayby back toward the road. “Goodbye Lizeth,” he said sadly, though he feared it wasn’t loud enough for her to hear over her own rant.

  As he rode away, he sent his ghost back to listen near her, in the hope she’d hear her change her mind. Instead, he heard her say, “Asshole…” then his ghost delivered the sounds of her horse pushing through the brush.

  When he looked back, he saw her horse, out of the brush and onto the road. She rode away down the road.

  She didn’t look back at him.

  He sent his ghost after her and had it speak near her ear, “If you get over your pout by the time the caravan comes back to Clancy Vail, look me up.”

  Her head spun around to stare after him. But she turned back to the front quickly enough.

  ***

  In no hurry to get back to his family, Tarc walked Bayby back along the road. However, it put his back up when he passed Jason and the guard said, “Sorry.”

  Worse, Sam said, “Told you so.”

  Unable to bear hearing from anyone else, Tarc turned Bayby off the road and walked him cross country back to the caravan grounds.

  When he arrived back at the wagon, it had already started rolling toward town. He pulled up beside the wagon and got off the horse, tying its lead to the wagon like they usually did in transit. He didn’t try to remove Bayby’s saddle, figuring someone might need to go somewhere in town soon. No one said anything to him, though Daum did roll his eyes.

  Vyrda was still with the Hyllises and Tarc found himself walking beside her. After a moment, she said quietly, “I hear you lost your girlfriend.” She gave Tarc a moment to respond. When he didn’t say anything, she followed up by saying, “Sorry.”

  They walked a little farther in silence, then Vyrda said, “I heard George treated you like a real jerk. I guess, fortunately, your girlfriend came along about then and put a stop to it.” She gave a sad little laugh, “I wish she’d come with me when I go talk to George. That’s going to be a tough conversation.”

  Tarc still felt sullen, but he said, “I’ll come with you.”

  Vyrda patted him gently on the shoulder and said, “That’s sweet. But I’m thinking you got a big enough dose of George already.”

  Tarc laughed inside, realizing that she had no idea how much danger George’d been in when he’d had his hold on the front of Tarc’s shirt. Then he remembered that this woman was telekinetic. “Would you like to talk about… about telekinesis? I think it’d be good. Take my mind off of Lizeth.”

  “Oh, sure!” she said eagerly. “Your mother said you might be able to teach me how to strengthen my ability?”

  Tarc waggled his hand, “Maybe?” Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, he said, “I know you already have control of your ghost, because—”

  “Ghirit,” she corrected.

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry. You have control of your ghirit because you’ve been using it to look inside your patients, right?”

  She nodded. “And Eva, Daussie, and Kazy can all do that, just like you, right?”

  Tarc nodded. “Daum has a ghirit also, but he can only feel the outsides of things, not the interior.”

  Keeping her voice low, Vyrda said, “That’s too bad.”

  Shrugging, Tarc said, “It’s too bad for healing, but it’s still very useful.”

  “What for?” Vyrda said, sounding puzzled.

  “Getting around in the dark, for one thing. How far can you sense things with yours?”

  She didn’t answer, so Tarc looked at her. She had a stunned look on her face. After a moment, she breathed, “I don’t know. I’ve never tried to do anything but look inside patients.”

  “Well,” Tarc reminded himself not to sound impatient, “try it now. It helps if you close your eyes so you have to use it. Then try to sense where you’re going using your gho… your ghirit.”

  Wanting to catch her if she stumbled, he kept an eye on her as she closed her eyes. At first her brow creased in concentration, then her eyebrows lifted and a huge smile app
eared on her face. “I can sense you. Oh, and the rest of the Hyllises! And, and the mules in front of the wagon and the horses behind it.”

  Tarc said, “That’s good, and pretty typical. The warmer something is, the easier it is to sense. You can probably feel the sun over to the east too, and at night you’ll be able to sense where it is right through the Earth. That’s pretty helpful too, just because you can tell about what time it is in the middle of the night.”