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“Yes.”
“Do I have to?”
Silas stopped Vala and looked Mara in the eyes. Close up, they made him feel on edge. “You would prefer to return to Talon?”
“No.”
“Then, yes, you have to.”
“Can’t I just stay with you? Can’t you teach me?”
Something stirred deep in Silas’s stomach when Mara said it. He couldn’t take him with him, could he? I could teach him. No, impossible, he’d get in the way. “I am afraid not. I must continue alone. The Shadows will teach you better than I can.”
“How long will I have to stay there?”
“For as long as it takes for you to complete your training, years maybe.”
“Will there be others like me there?”
Not quite like you, I’m sure. “There were many when I was.”
Mara twisted the sheathed blade in circles. “How old were you when you went there?”
“About the same age as you. This is your chance to make something of yourself. No more hungry nights. No more hiding. You’ll have money, and a bed, of course.”
Mara looked up. “Okay.”
The sunlight glimmered on the silver blade and golden handle as Mara twisted it. It felt nice to own something.
What wasn’t nice was the death smell that came from the grass, and all the flies, hundreds of them. They were easy to swat away. Twice the size of the flies in Talon and much slower, but they wouldn’t give up. Mara waved his blade at some that hovered close by, little tings letting him know he’d hit them. “What do they want?”
Silas waved a hand in front of his face. “To drink our sweat.”
“I hate them.”
“They love you.”
The red grass looked like it would never end. It was hot, and they hadn’t been in any shade all day. “How long ’til we get there?”
“We should arrive before nightfall,” Silas said.
“Are there flies all the way?”
“Pretty much.”
“Did the others come this way?”
“Others?”
“Arnolo and…” He couldn’t remember the other man’s name, only that he didn’t talk much.
“Thomas. Unlikely. If they found the man they were looking for, they will travel back to Talon.”
“It’s hot out here.”
“It is.”
“I’m hungry.”
