Page 75 of Sightwitch
I should have known, Ry. I should have known it was a trap. How did this Dalmotti know where to find me? How did he know who I was to begin with? But the prospect of food and trade clouded all judgment. I left immediately, and though my lungs protested at the demands of a flight without breaks, I crossed all the way to the coast in a single day.
I met the tradesman on the shore. He had two ships, one on which he had sailed and another packed with food and livestock. Mine for the taking if I would just give him the one thing he wanted.
Me.
He wantedme, and though I plied him with the wares of Nubrevna (we have excellent sheep), he grew more and more insistent.
Then he turned on me completely and attacked. He and thirteen ofhismen. I am anexcellent fighter, Ry, but even I cannot take on that many trained sailors. I had to use my magic, and for the first time in my life, I had to use it to cause harm. Without aim, without focus, I had to blast my winds crudely and try to flee.
But when an arrow hit me … That was when everything shifted. In a haze, I flew ashore and found my way through the jungle. Somehow, I discovered that door and entered the mountain.
I don’t remember what came next. Not clearly. All I recall with any clarity is you. I woke up, frozen to my core, and there you were.
I thought you were either a ghost or goddess. Luckily, you were neither. Iwouldcall you a goddess, but I know you’ll just scowl and tellmetoshoveoff.
I don’t know if the arrow wound or the magic of the mountain rattled my brains, but I forgot who I was or how I’d gotten there. It wasn’t until I returned to the jungle that my memories came back.
The sailors and tradesman came back too. I would have thought they’d have left me to die, but there they were, combing the beach in search of me. When they found me, the arrows hit me in quick succession.
After that … I really don’t remember. I lost all control. Heat took over. It throbbed inside me, and I was hungry—soblightedhungry.
But then you saved me. Clanging a bell and singing a shanty, you brought me back from the edge.
I owe you everything, Ryber Fortsa. My life, my mind, my—
Ryber Fortiza
Y18 D223 — 49 days since I became the last Sightwitch Sister
MEMORIES
CaptainKullen left me today. With his wounds fully healed, his memory returned, and even his uniform scrubbed clean, there was nothing left to keep him here.
We sat on that boulder by the grassy knoll that overlooks the falls. Even the Rook had joined us, though he seemed more interested in bathing himself than watching the river below.
Nubrevnans crawled across the forest, the shore. At least a hundred women and men, and with one angry Windwitch at the fore.
“Merik,” Kullen informed me, “acting like he always does. He will budget and ration, even to the detriment of his own health …untilI’m involved. Then he will waste a hundred sailors and witches and boats and food.”
“It’s what Thread-family does,” I said quietly.
Something in my tone must have betrayed my thoughts, for Kullen’s brows pinched, and he offered a gentle smile. “I’m sorry about the Sisters.”
I pretended not to hear, and in my most Hilga-like, matter-of-fact manner, I got to my feet, dusted off my tunic, and declared, “There’s something I need to tell you.”
He winced. “That sounds ominous.”
“When you leave the glamour”—I gestured south—“you’ll forget everything that happened here. The memories will get buried in a place you cannot find them.”
His eyebrows shot high. Then, in a flurry of limbs and speed, he hauled to his feet. “I’ll forgeteverything? Even you?”
I nodded.
“I didn’t forget when I left Paladins’ Hall. On the beach, I remembered you!”
“Because the glamour doesn’t reach inside the mountain.”
“But I don’t want to forget you, Ryber. Or … anything that’s happened. Please—can’t you change the spell?”
