No True Way Read Free Page A

mean?”
    â€œRunes.” He used the snow to scribe one of the characters he’d seen in the ledger. “Like that one.”
    She shook her head. “I’ve not seen such. Why do you ask?”
    The Herald shrugged. “Just some books of Lelia’s I found. Nothing important.” He cleared his throat. “I have a little less than two weeks. We’ll start moving Ivy’s things over next week, maybe have her spend a night to get used to your home. In the meantime, could you come over and watch her some nights, so she gets to know you?”
    Maresa smiled. “I’d be delighted.”
    He breathed a mental sigh of relief. Lyle had gone back on Circuit, and Wil still had much to try to unravel in Lelia’s former quarters.
    Maresa left not long after, and he watched as Ivy began to slowly wilt over Vehs’ neck.
    In the distance, at the outskirts of the old Grove, hesaw a lone white figure. Just one Companion among many. It shouldn’t have caught his eye, but it did.
    :That’s Aubryn. Jalay’s Companion.:
    :How is she?:
    Vehs glanced in her direction. The mare turned and trotted off.
    :Defying the odds,:
he said.
:Honestly, I don’t know. She isn’t talking to anyone. Not even Rolan, and I know he’s tried. There are definitely some Companions who think she should go Choose immediately, get past this. But I think she needs time.:
    Time. Again, that finite, precious resource.
    The one thing we all know Valdemar cannot afford,
Wil thought.
    He collected Ivy from Vehs’ back and carried her to their room for a nap. Later, they would go into Haven and have a nice meal. Tomorrow, he’d get her whatever she wanted—picture books, dolls, wooden swords. Anything.
    Two weeks.
    He would make what he could of them.
    *   *   *
    Lelia sat before him, alive, healthy.
    One of the ledgers lay open on the desk, alongside her gittern, pens, and a cast-off scarlet cloak. More ledgers rested on the bookcase behind her.
    She picked up a pen, a faint smile on her face—
    The Vision evaporated, and Wil found himself alone in the darkened room, grasping at shadows.
    A steady stream of curses issued out of him as he angrily paced back and forth in front of the desk. Every passing day the imprint of her life eroded from this place,and the Visions became more fleeting. They certainly didn’t give any insight on the cypher.
    He didn’t doubt that Lelia had had the runes in her head—most Bards had incredible memory—but if she wrote it down then she did so with the intent of someone reading them. And he
had
to believe that there was a corresponding code to break the cypher, and that if he could just go back far enough, he’d find it in her past.
    But where? Or, alternately,
who
had she intended the ledgers for?
    If he knew
that
, the whole thing would unravel.
    If his Gift were just stronger. . . .
    :Ahem.:
Vehs’ mind-voice was the equivalent of a delicate cough.
    :Yes?:
    :You’re in the Palace. You’re two hallways down from the workroom.:
    At first the suggestion confused him. Then realization dawned.
:Would that . . . work? I’ve been assuming
this
room was the key.:
    :It’s worth a try. Maybe all you need is the ledgers and . . . whatever it is that makes the workroom special?:
    Wil picked up a stack of the ledgers and headed out.
:Hellfires. Won’t know unless I try.:
    He opened the door to the closet-sized space slowly and peeked in. Empty. He set the stack of ledgers next to the crystal sphere and settled onto a padded bench. He knew about the “workroom”—most senior Heralds did—but didn’t have much cause to visit it. Amplifying his Gift had never been a desire. If anything, he’d been plagued by Visions
too
strong. He hadn’t needed the ancient room and its curious power.
    The room had an oddly calming quality to it—as if it muffled some