Eva looked around, examining the city they'd sought refuge in. It was quiet, except for the Trateri who had come out at their reappearance. The inhabitants’ absence was curiously loud amid the tall buildings surrounding the courtyard, their windows dark and ominous.
"Where is everyone?" Eva finally asked, interrupting the two men.
Darius broke off, his expression grim. "Gone. We found the city abandoned."
How was that possible? It wasn't a huge city, but there had had to be several hundred living here prior to their arrival. Perhaps even a thousand.
The buildings were well-maintained, and there was no sign of violence or beast activity. It was like the inhabitants simply got up and walked away.
"What does the pathfinder have to say about that?" Caden asked.
Darius shook his head. "He's as flummoxed as the rest of us."
"A city of ghosts," Eva whispered. The feel of the place held an eerie chill, unwelcoming, but then most of the Highlands was unwelcoming, much like its inhabitants.
"The mist seems content to stay outside its borders so for now we've set up camp in a few of the buildings," Darius said.
"How long have we been gone?" Caden asked.
The mist was known to cause jumps in time, twisting and turning in on itself. What felt like minutes for them might have been hours or days for the rest.
"You came out pretty close to when you left, only a few hours off at most," Darius said.
Eva slid a glance toward the mythologicals. She wondered if they might have had something to do with that.
She left the two men to their discussion, moving toward Ajari. "Have you seen Sebastian?"
"I haven't, but I have many things to discuss with my old friend," Ajari said unhappily.
Curiosity moved through Eva at the dark undercurrent in his voice. He seemed angry, but Eva couldn't figure out why.
"What's wrong?" Eva asked.
Ajari hesitated. For a moment she thought he wasn't going to answer as his lips pressed together in an unhappy frown.
"We're not where we're supposed to be," he said.
Eva looked around. No, she supposed they weren't, but Sebastian couldn't have known about the mist or any of the other obstacles that had thrown them so far off course.
"This place is nowhere near the herd lands," Ajari continued. "Either the pathfinder is way off in his calculations or Sebastian misled us."
Eva frowned. There was conviction in his words even if she didn't understand why. "Wouldn't you have known we were going the wrong way before now?"
If Ajari had realized they were off-course, why wouldn't he have said anything? Why allow them to be led all the way out here?
Ajari sighed, the sound long, as his expression made it clear he found her question foolish. She gave him a humorless look. If he wanted to be an ass, she'd treat him like one.
"You assume we know every little thing about each other. Think. How well do you know the Trateri? The mythologicals are like humans—each with our own culture and society. My people may have an alliance with the Kyren, but we’re not Kyren." His eyes were dark chips of granite. With the mist rising behind him, he looked like a creature from the murky beginnings of time. Ethereal and primal. "The Kyren protect the location of their herd lands because it houses their most vulnerable. While we might have known where it was once upon a time, the awakening has forced all of us from our former territories."
"What makes you think he would intentionally lead us astray?" It didn't make sense. Why would he drag all of them out here if his herd lands weren't in this direction?
"That is a very good question," Ajari said, appearing deep in thought. "One I plan find the answer to."
He strode out of the gate and into the mist before Eva could ask how.
She glanced down at the fox. "Did any of that make sense to you?"
The fox yipped.
