“Probably not. It shouldn’t be dangerous—or not more dangerous than entering the border zone.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“We’re going to let you guys lead.”
“We can’t see much.”
“Exactly. If we want to explore the border zone here, it’s harder for the rest of us—we can see the street, we follow the street. I’d like to know how Nightshade or Terrano navigated when they were in that zone.”
Entering the border zone from Liatt showed Kaylin a different street with different buildings. Mandoran’s view was the same as it had been on the other side: a lot of fog and little visibility. This time, however, Kaylin decided to try a shortcut, passing between buildings to see if she could find another street. She used Mandoran’s vision—or lack of vision—to skirt the border zone. The first time, she turned toward Elantra and emerged, eventually, at the boundary between Nightshade and the city—which would be the Ablayne.
The border zone could not be entered from the Elantra side of the fiefs. They couldn’t see it; they couldn’t cross into it. It appeared to exist as a function of the fiefs themselves. She wondered if the entry fromRavellonwas just as impossible, but doubted it, and didn’t ask because it was exactly the kind of question that would make Bellusdeo go red-eyed.
They entered Nightshade and started again; this time close to the Ablayne. Kaylin began to follow the border, using the cohort’s lack of clear vision as a guide.
“You don’t think Terrano would have been foolish enough to enterRavellonby accident?” Bellusdeo asked.
Kaylin frowned. “I’m not sure Terrano would see what the others are seeing. Teela doesn’t, except secondhand. They’re both outliers when it comes to the cohort. Terrano is pushing the limits in one direction, and Teela is—”
“Boring,” Mandoran supplied.
“Incredibly tolerant and forgiving,” Teela said.
Kaylin snorted. She’d gone out drinking with Teela and Tain.
“We have lower standards for both,” the Barrani Hawk added when she caught sight of Kaylin’s expression. “What are you looking for?”
“Streets.”
“In backyards?”
“The visible—to the non-cohort—street follows the street from the fief. I want a street or two that goes parallel to the fief, rather than perpendicular, in the border zone. I think there has to be one—but we weren’t looking when we left Killian behind; we just wanted to get out.
“Killian’s building looked like a town hall, but bigger. And the exit didn’t run in the same direction as the border zone streets generally run. We turned right, onto a street, and followed it out.”
“And couldn’t get back.”
“More or less.”
“Could you see it from above?” Teela asked Bellusdeo.
“No—but Kaylin wasn’t keen on aerial exploration.”
“That’s odd—she usually loves flying.”
The Dragon reached out and grabbed Mandoran by the arm. “I could see. You can’t. Don’t even try it.”
“I could probably trace an area of the fog zone from above. I want to know what the border zone looks like from above. Is it all just fog for days or can we rise above it?”
Bellusdeo glared.
Mandoran was immune to that, as he saw it all the time.
“He’s kind of tethered to the rest of them,” Kaylin pointed out.
“You think it’s safe?”
“Not really. But I don’t think it will kill him.”
