A couple of miles out from the tower, the landscape began to change. The trees thinned out, and I spied purple rivulets of water winding their way across the land. Several times, I had to avoid patches of quicksand that attempted to swallow my walking stick. More than once, I found myself so surrounded by them that I was forced to levitate across to keep myself from getting suckedin.
My skin prickled with anxiety as I did my best to stick close to the trees—I felt far more exposed in the open than I had in the shelter of the forest. Thankfully, a grove of golden trees with bright pink fruit surrounded the tower, and I was able to take cover there. I expected there to be guards outside the buildings, but to my surprise, no one was around. Crouching behind a bush, I studied the unguarded entrance, wondering if there were any traps waiting to annihilate me the moment I came close enough. Did I dare risk testing itout?
“Nachdan,”a booming voice said from behind me, and I froze. Turning slowly, I gulped at the sight of two Tua and a blue lizard-like creature standing between them. How had they sneaked up on me so silently? The Tua towered over me, both at least twenty feet tall, dwarfing the lizard-creature, which was merely the size of a dachshund. The way its tongue lolled from the side of its mouth as it regarded me curiously made me wonder if it was apet.
“Come again?” I asked faintly as I rose. These Tua looked quite different from Ta’sradala—they had silvery hair and skin like starlight, and were dressed in tunics woven from some multi-hued fabric that was constantly shifting in color. I had to squint just to look at them, and I felt a headache beginning to come on. Would I go blind if I stared at them toolong?
One of the Tua laughed, and suddenly their brilliance dimmed to something more manageable. Now that I was looking at them properly, I saw that one was male, the other female. Their features were similar enough that I judged them to be relatives—twins, perhaps? Like the lizard, they were looking at me curiously, with no malice in their gazes. Maybe they thought I was some kind of exoticcreature?
The female Tua spoke again, but the rush of words was too fast for me to make out, even if they hadn’t been in a foreign language. No human had ever mastered Tua, as far as I knew. Frustrated, I made a helpless gesture with my hands, trying to tell them that I didn’tunderstand.
“My name is Sunaya Baine,” I said slowly, hoping that maybe they knew Northian. If not, I could try Manucan next. I gestured to myself as I spoke my name. “Who are you?” I asked, pointing tothem.
The male said something to the female, then reached for me. I hastily backed away and found myself pressed up against a tree, heart pounding. I clutched the chakram in my hand, wondering if I dared risk hurting one of them, but the Tua only pressed his finger against my forehead and said something else in that strange language. Something in my brain shifted, and my eyes crossed as I swayed, feeling suddenlywoozy.
“There,” the male said, speaking perfect Northian. I blinked up at him, trying to get my bearings. “Your language is harsh on the tongue, but it is easier for us to learn it than to teach you to speak ours. This is my sister Arala, by theway.”
“Now, Nalan,” Arala said, nudging him gently. “There is no need to be rude; it is not her fault if her language is crude. What a fascinating guest we have! She is a very long way fromhome.”
“Indeed she is!” the male said as the lizard scampered toward me. The animal sniffed at me with his broad snout, wagging his long tail, and I couldn’t help but smile and reach down to pet him. His scales were smooth and warm to the touch, almost like silk beneath myhand.
“You are the first non-Tua we have ever seen in our realm,” Nalan said. “How did you come to behere?”
“I was sent here against my will by another Tua,” I explained as I continued to pet the lizard. He curled up near my feet, and I crouched down, deciding that there was no advantage to standing since the Tua dwarfed me anyway. “She wanted to see if I would survive theexperience.”
The Tua shook their heads at this, and the lizard made a disgruntled sound in the back of his throat. Was he able to understand me too? Perhaps the local pets were as superior to ours as the Tua were tomages.
“That sounds cruel and barbaric,” Arala said. “We have not brought humans here in an age, precisely because they never survive very long. It isforbidden.”
If it was forbidden, I thought morosely,then why had Ta’sradala sent me here? Did she have enough clout to flaunt her own realm’s rules, as she did onRecca?
“I imagine the only reason you are not already dead,” Arala continued, “is because you are not entirely human yourself. Our forests harbor manydangers.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I can’t imagine a normal human surviving very long.” Annia was a good fighter, and very fast, but she would almost certainly have been gored by that beast last night. And the quicksand would have made short work of anyone who couldn’t levitate. “Is there any way you might be able to help me get back home? I really would prefer not to die here, ifpossible.”
The Tua exchanged glances. “We would like to help you, but the knowledge you seek is a closely guarded secret,” Nalan said. “My sister and I would need to learn more about you first before we can consider sharing this withyou.”
“All right,” I said warily. “What do you want toknow?”
“May we…may we touch you again?” the female asked. “It is the best way for us to learn who youare.”
My skin prickled at the thought—the sensation I’d felt when the Tua had plucked my language from my brain had not been pleasant. They might learn more about me than I was comfortable with. But did I really have a choice? And besides, once I got out of here, I’d never see them again. In a way, that was better than sharing my memories with anotherhuman.
“All right,” I said heavily, getting to my feet. It wasn’t exactly like I had anything to hide anyway. All I wanted was to go home, and I was no danger to them. “As long as you promise not to use the information against me or others onRecca.”
“We wouldn’t do that,” Nalan assured me, “but there are some Tua who might. I don’t blame you for beingwary.”
“Well, get on withit.”
Arala reached out and gently placed two fingers on the nape of my neck. At the same time, she linked her free hand with her brother’s, while the lizard leaned against me. I expected the same strange sensation as before, but instead, she merely stroked her fingers down my spine in a soothing, repetitive motion. Slowly, the tension began to drain out of my body, and with it, I felt my memories pass from my mind into hers. It was a little disconcerting at first, but when I realized she wasn’t stealing them, merely copying, I relaxed. What would these strangers make of my life in a totally different setting? Could they even understand our customs andvalues?
“There,” the female finally said, removing her hand. “It is done.” I looked up into her sparkling gaze. “What a fascinating creature you are! A shape-shifter and a magic user all atonce!”
“You’ve had quite your share of vivid experiences for someone who has lived for such a short time,” Nalan commented as he passed a palm over the lizard’s head. His scales had turned bright pink for some reason, and I wondered if they were an indication of hismood.
“It would seem,” Arala said, “that humans, mages, and shifters live life more quickly and dangerously than we do. I had no idea the barbarian dimension was soexciting.”
“Barbarian?”I said, a little indignant, as the two began to talk excitedly in their own language. I was disgruntled that they were leaving me out of the conversation, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.At least they weren’t torturing me, I thought as I bent down to pet the lizard again. He rubbed against me, loving theattention.
