She tried to tell herself that it was irrelevant. Paul was nearly an adult anyway, and in another couple of years, he’d be off on his own, finding a wife and an apprenticeship for a trade.
But he’d been deprived of a father figure for most of his life, and Koradan seemed to fit the bill perfectly.
But what if he started teaching Paul to fight? Koradan was a warrior in his own right, after all…
She dismissed the idea a moment later. There was no way Paul was going to run off to Minia and join the warriors of the gate. Not after seeing what Koradan was and how misguided it was to be killing those trying to cross the gate. And if he ended up with some handy skills to defend himself, was that actually a bad thing?
Lynette suddenly realised the direction her thoughts were taking, and her shock was so great that she actually stopped in the middle of the road. She was considering Koradan in terms of a partnership. A relationship. A… lover?
Great gods. Her mind ground to a halt, just as surely as her feet had done. He hadn’t said anything specific to make her think he would consider the idea…
Aside from complimenting her. Repeatedly. He’d compared her to his sister-in-law, an admirable woman, by Koradan’s reckoning. He’d said she was courageous.
Enough, she scolded herself. She had far more important things to be doing here than letting her imagination run away with her on fantasies of weddings and happily-ever-afters.Focus. You’re walking into the lion’s den and you need to be paying attention.
The first signs of the city began to appear, as she resumed her march; a cluster of cottages by the side of the road, a sign advertising hot meals and a room for the night. Further on, the trees thinned out and smallholding blocks appeared, with chickens roaming the yards and vegetables growing in neat rows. Then the dirt road gave way to paved cobblestone and the buildings got larger. Houses were replaced with shops and inns, and she knew she was in the city now. It was still unreasonably early in the morning, just past sunrise, so there weren’t many people about, but the few she did see nodded and smiled at her. It was jarring, in a way. She felt so out of place, not only because it had been so long since she’d been here, but because she’d changed so much in the past few days. She’d flown here on a dragon. She was consorting with demons. She was about to drag a bunch of doctors and nurses out of the hospital and introduce them to Koradan, fooling them all into believing he was just a regular human. How could anyone even look at her and not see the myriad of changes that had taken place?
She kept walking, her legs feeling wooden, until she recognised a pub. Many of the shops were the same, though a few had changed – not surprising given that nearly ten years had passed since she’d lived here. Then she rounded one last corner and saw the town square, where a festival was held every forty-six days to celebrate the closing of the gate, the warriors showered with food, wine and gifts as the city celebrated surviving one more cycle.
Lynette did a quick mental calculation. Was it odd that even after so many years, she still kept meticulous records of the opening and closing of the gate? For people living in towns and villages so far from the epicentre of chaos, the exact timing of the gate’s movements was little more than an academic curiosity.
Regardless, it was another thirteen days until the gate was due to close, so all the warriors would be camped to the north of the city, kept busy by the hapless people trying to cross the gate. It was both a relief to know they were safely occupied, and a heartbreaking realisation, as she now knew the reality of the world beyond the gate.
Focus, she reminded herself again. After all, if this mission was successful, it would be the first step in changing thousands of people’s minds about the true nature of the mysterious world of Chalandros.
The hospital was coming up on her right.All right, Lynette, she schooled herself, as she strode towards the door.Game face on. It’s show time.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“By the gods, is that you, Lynette?” Henrietta, the nurse at the hospital’s front desk, leapt to her feet as she saw Lynette coming. She rushed out from behind the desk and engulfed her in a hug, which Lynette eagerly returned. “What on earth brings you to Minia? It’s been, what, five years?”
Lynette nodded. She’d visited the city once with Paul since moving to Varismont, and it had been enough to remind her of all the reasons she’d left in the first place.
“Business rather than pleasure this time,” Lynette said. Then she added, “But it’s damn good to see you. The hospital’s still chugging along, I see?”
“Chaos as usual,” Henrietta said with a grin. She and Lynette had been through their training together, and then worked side by side for a couple of years before Lynette had moved away. “How’s Paul? Has he come with you?”
“Not this time. He’s doing well, though. Almost all grown up. He still can’t decide what he wants to study as an apprenticeship. I don’t think mining is going to be his thing, but he took a shine to leatherwork at one point. The trouble is finding someone to train him. The local tanner already has an apprentice and isn’t looking for another one for at least two years.”
“He’ll land on his feet,” Henrietta said, all smiles and optimism. “He always does.” She’d been just as cheerful in her youth, and Lynette longed to drag her aside for a cup of tea and a heartfelt chat for the next hour or two.
“I’d love to catch up on all the news, but I’m afraid I do actually have some urgent business,” Lynette said. “Is there a doctor around at the moment?” There was usually at least one on night duty, it still being too early for the day shift to have arrived, but it was possible they were already busy with a patient.
Henrietta nodded. “Doctor Samuel’s on shift tonight. Come through and we can go find him.”
She followed Henrietta through the corridors, as familiar now as they had been ten years ago, and they found the doctor in one of the rear offices. He was seated at a desk, reading a medical text on digestive problems. Normally a stern man, his eyes lit up as he saw who had just come in the door. “Lynette! How lovely to see you again. In town for a visit, I take it?”
“Actually, no. More of a business call. I’ve got a patient who needs some urgent attention.”
“Well, let’s go see him, then,” Samuel said, setting down his book and standing up.
“It’s not quite that simple. He’s outside the city. About half an hour to the south. Broken leg, both the tibia and the fibula. I brought him as far as I could, but we’re going to need a horse and cart to bring him the rest of the way.”
“Right, well, I’m sure we can find someone willing to…” Samuel paused, a frown creasing his forehead as the details caught up to him. “You still live in Varismont, correct?” he asked her.
“Yes, I do.” She braced herself for the inevitable onslaught of questions, and the deep consternation that her answers would cause.
“So how did you end up with a patient stranded to the south of the city? Did your cart lose a wheel? And did you seriously drive him all the way here from your little village?”
