Sarabande: River of Falcons Book 4

48. To the Rescue

"Come on, I need to show you something," Zibellina said, pulling Drift by the hand.

"Where are we going?"

"To your bedroom. It's this way, right?"

"Yes, but I thought you wanted to talk to Sasha."

"It's important. If you care about your friends. Do you care about your friends?"

"Of course," Drift said. "Which friends?"

"Come on." Zibellina pulled Drift down the corridor and practically sprinted upstairs. They arrived out of breath. Drift followed Zibellina in and swung the door closed behind them. "What's the hurry?" she demanded.

Zibellina chanted and ran her hands over her body, and the blue silk dress shimmered and was replaced by her normal outfit of hand-made leather leggings covered by a short patchwork dress of animal skins with leather lacing at the neck. She was also wearing her shawl, a warm garment made of the pelts of snowshoe hares. She reached into an inner pocket and pulled out the two pieces of Sasha's scrying mirror. "This was tickling me at breakfast," she said. "And I kept getting a feeling about your friends. Two women. One of them wears a white cloak. I like white cloaks, do you?"

"Sarai," Drift said. "She was with June. Ubi told me they'd flown down to the Garden to look at scrolls. We should've asked Onuma if she'd seen them."

"She didn't see them. She left before they got there. They decided to follow that boat and see what was in the big chest. They didn't know the others were going to the Keep to try to meet the wagon. They followed it from behind."

Drift frowned. "How do you know all this?"

"My mirror. I was watching everything last night. I talked to the mage in it, and then I watched Nautilus and Magus. And I saw your friends. Sarai and June, right?"

"Right."

"But then I lost track of them. Now I think we need to look for them. Here," she added, laying the two pieces of the broken mirror side by side and passing her hand over them. They began to glow, then a scene appeared in them. Drift leaned over to take a closer look. It was a river bank. The morning sun was shining on the yellowing leaves of a stand of pussy-willows, and a red swamp maple was glowing above them.

"Wow, that's pretty," Drift said. "Hey, there they are." She could just make out the forms of Sarai and June, walking slowly along the bank. They looked weary. "They're coming up the river now," she said. "But why aren't they flying?"

"They are being followed," Zibellina said. "See? Some crows are behind them. They keep stopping in treetops, then flying on again."

"Probably apprentices," Drift said. "But I wouldn't worry too much. Sarai can take care of them."

Zibellina frowned. "I don't think they look very strong."

"Who, the crows?"

"No, your friends. They look tired. See?"

Drift stared into the tarnished silver of the mirror. "I can't really see them very well," she complained. "What do you see?"

"It's what I don't see. I don't see their magic."

"What do you mean?"

"I can see people's power," Zibellina explained. "Like you. You have a glow around you. Do you see it?"

Drift held her hand up. "No. I don't know what you mean."

"And me. Do you see my glow? I have a different kind of power than you but it shows, too."