Page 36 of A Fractured Song

“So surely,” Zev argued, “whatever effect heartsong might have had should have occurred generations ago, when the monarchs were overthrown.”

“I can’t answer that when I know nothing about heartsong,” Marieke said fairly. “That’s why I want to find out more.”

“But even if that was the cause of the deterioration of the land, that would hardly be causing raging wildfires or storms,” said Zev. “Any more than it could cause attacks on singers like the ones that turned out to be orchestrated by Gorgon.”

“Why not?” Marieke shrugged. “Why couldn’t it cause storms and wildfires?”

Because that’s not how heartsong works. Zev didn’t say the words aloud, of course. He fell silent, his certainty more shaken than he’d like to admit. From what he knew of heartsong, he couldn’t imagine it causing fires or storms. But then, he wouldn’t have guessed it would keep out that survey parchment, either.

“I’m not saying I know it’s all caused by the same thing,” Marieke said, panting a little as she clambered up a ridge of jagged rock. “In fact, I doubt it can be. Like you said, the attacks against singers were carried out by Gorgon, not caused by the magic of the land acting on its own as I’d started to fear. And the fire I fought a couple of weeks ago was fueled by manipulated magic. A singer must have done it. But even if different magic caused these different crises, I’m convinced it’s all connected somehow. And I still think Sundering Canyon is the place to look for answers. This is where Gorgon came from. He grew up among a people who choose to live in the one place in the Sovereign Realms where magic is most potent and least predictable. If anyone will know the link between Gorgon’s attacks and the way the magic of the land is turning on Oleand, it’ll be these canyon-dwellers.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Zev said slowly.

Truthfully, he’d also be glad to find answers as to how it was all connected—the deterioration of Oleand, the contrasting thriving of Aeltas, the inexplicably magical nature of the attacks Gorgon and his followers had carried out against singers in Oleand, and the recent spate of natural disasters that were apparently not natural at all. If the monarchists in the canyon knew something he didn’t know, he’d like to hear it. But it would be a delicate balance, trying to learn new informationwhile steering Marieke away from the information he already knew about heartsong.

A double purpose he hated to be hiding from her. But his own words to his family haunted him.

What is it that’s made you all think I’ve forgotten everything I’ve ever believed?

He knew what it was—it was Marieke. And here he was, against his family’s wishes, accompanying her on her quest to unlock the secrets of heartsong. His family expected him to take every opportunity to steer her inquiries away from the truth. She expected him to genuinely help her search for the answers to every aspect of Oleand’s troubles.

How could he possibly do both?

Do you think I don’t understand what’s at stake?

He’d used those words to reassure his family, and they were true. He did understand what was at stake. But for his part, he felt no reassurance. He had no idea how to walk the tightrope he was on and still maintain his integrity.

“Zev?” Marieke’s voice drew him from his thoughts.

He turned his head, realizing that she’d stopped walking and was now a few paces behind him.

“What?”

“I said, do you have any more questions?” Marieke’s expression was solemn. “Because I acknowledge that you have the right to some answers about what I’m doing here, given you’ve now been drawn into whatever misadventure this will turn out to be. But I think we should stop and get it out now, so we can move forward silently. We can’t be far from where I encountered the monarchists last time. And this time, I’d rather they didn’t sneak up on me.”

Zev nodded. “I agree. And no, no more questions. At least for now.” He had plenty to think about already. “Let me go first.”

He moved ahead, paying more attention to where he placed his feet. He grimaced as he accidentally kicked a rock noisily across the gorge. If they were attacked, he would give a good account of himself, but stealth wasn’t his strong point. Although he’d been taught from earliest memory the power of hiding in plain sight, his particular method for doing so was based entirely around getting on with life in a straightforward way and avoiding anything clandestine which might draw attention by its secrecy. That way no one suspected something more was going on. He’d never been taught to creep and hide.

After perhaps ten minutes of quiet walking, he was startled by Marieke’s hand on his arm. Looking down, he saw that her gaze was fixed ahead, where the canyon was mostly blocked by a gnarled and twisted tree trunk.

“I think someone’s ahead,” she murmured, her voice barely audible.

Zev frowned in concentration. “I don’t hear anything,” he breathed back.

She shook her head. “Neither do I. But there’s a concentration of magic that feels more targeted than the chaos in the ground beneath us.”

“I thought you couldn’t access your song,” Zev whispered.

“I can’t, but I can still sense the magic around me,” Marieke said, her tone suggesting that it was ludicrous to question her ability to do so.

“Well, I don’t know how these things work,” Zev said, hearing the defensive note to his own muttering.

Marieke just flapped a hand for silence, hoisting her rucksack higher up her back as she crept forward. Zev paused to tighten his own pack before placing a hand on the hilt of his sword. Neither he nor Marieke had made it around the bulk of the tree trunk, however, when a high-pitched voice made them both freeze in their tracks.

“Look, this one’s lighting up. Someone must be approaching.”

Zev and Marieke exchanged a look before Zev shifted to put himself in front of his companion. Perhaps he should have been looking for a place to hide them both, but, again, literal hiding wasn’t his way. He’d prefer to fight if it came to blows.

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