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k_a_webb“There is a silver lining to every cloud,” Meriwether said, as he sat with them. “It’s good to see you both here. We are going to need your help.”
“We’ll do everything we can, Merry,” Sal replied, “but it’s not going to be easy. None of us want the Fasachis to be involved. Preparing for the possibility of coming up against a number of them at the same time…” He shook his head. “When we’re not all going to be working together it’s going to make things ever harder and anyone who agrees with Hereward isn’t going to be ready for what’s coming, which is yet another problem. Being at cross purposes when you’re in that sort of situation is almost worse than going in blind.”
“Did I do the wrong thing?” Peric asked, sounding uncertain, and Lucille put her hand on his paw, to support him.
“No, you didn’t.” Durai smiled. “I’d rather know that there is a chance we might be coming up against someone new, even though there are more guards who have chosen to disbelieve the anonymous note than they are who accept it is a possibility.” He shrugged. “As much as I like Hereward he can be difficult to work with. Some of the guards couldn’t believe that you’d be permitted to work on the case, until they came to the conclusion that it was purely because of Lucille. Having a Moonjumper here, a Moonjumper who wanted to help, well it opened their eyes a little, although they are still very close minded, sadly. That’s a problem with not having much of a connection to the rest of the Web.”
Lucille bit her lip. “Some of the towns and cities closest to the doors are very connected to the Web, but it isn’t unusual for the majority of the worlds to be disconnected from the other worlds. I’ve been to some places where they haven’t even heard of Moonjumpers and my arrival was met with a lot of confusion. One of the things I want to do is change that…”
“Lucy, to be able to do all the things you want to do in one lifetime you’ll have to stop sleeping. And eating. And having any relationships.” Meriwether sighed. “Pass some of them onto other people, like Kester.”
She smiled. “What do you suggest I focus on?”
“Teaching.” Meriwether smiled back. “If there’s one thing you’re amazingly good at it’s teaching other people about the Web and I truly believe that’s something you should be focusing on, once you’ve brought an end to the counterfeit ring.”
Becoming a teacher was something that Lucille had thought about before, but she didn’t think she had the skills to be able to teach anyone anything until she’d had a chance to spend time doing just that. All of the children she had worked with did seem to like her and she enjoyed being able to pass on what she knew, hoping that they would then be able to pass on their newly learnt knowledge to their friends, and it could go from person to person. Finally she nodded. “Maybe you’re right, Merry. It’s definitely an option.”
“Writing the books about the Web and the fae would be a good way to start,” Bertram suggested. “I know you can’t do that now, but maybe you can start off by talking to me and Peric, so we can tell you what works and what doesn’t.”
“You just want an excuse to ask more questions.” Lucille’s eyes met his and he shrugged, before wincing. “How about we start tonight, Bertram? I’ll tell you stories about any world you want.”
“That would be nice. Sini’s been talking to me about Mothar, and Seahorse Port, and what her life was like growing up, so she’s been helping to take my mind off my wing, but I do want to learn more about the Web.”
For a moment Lucille studied him. If she was in his position she could easily imagine what she might do, but leaving his best friend behind would be hard for both of them, especially as Peric was still dealing with the choices he’d made. Yet being able to travel, on one of the other worlds, might help them to let go of the memories of what had happened. She tried not to make it obvious what she was thinking about, although she was planning another trip to see Kaito as soon as possible, so she could talk to him about the possibility of getting both Peric and Bertram through one of the doors. Maybe she could take them to Kniroch.
“It seems like everyone I’ve met here wants to learn more about the Web.” She smiled. “Is it really that fascinating?”
“When we have a Moonjumper here, yes.” Durai smiled. “Most of the time I don’t think about the Web. It’s not something that matters much. With you here I start thinking about where you came from, where you’ve been, what the races you’ve met are like… there are so many question that only you have the answers to, but they aren’t questions I would have had naturally. You change things.”
“Thank you.” Lucille smiled back at Durai. “That’s the nicest compliment I’ve had in ages.”
“You want to change things?”
“Of course I do. It’s part of being a good Moonjumper, even though the fae don’t think it is, which is why they created the first rule.” She shrugged. “I, fortunately, don’t feel the fae’s rules have any effect on me, so I plan on changing the Web, the same way I’m certain other true Moonjumpers are.”
“We’re lucky to have Lucille,” Meriwether said, looking at the two guards. “Quiar chose her as our true Moonjumper, so I don’t doubt she’ll be spending a lot more of her time here.”
Lucille nodded. “As much as I can. I do have other worlds to look after, but they have other Moonjumpers who’ll help, and I know that I’m one of the few people that Quiar truly trusts.” She looked at Durai. “How much do you know about this?”
“One of my daughters spent three days here. She told me about everything she learnt here and then told me she wanted to be a Moonjumper when she was old enough.”
“Tell her she has my backing. That should be enough to get her into training, but if it isn’t let me know. I have some people I can talk to I know will help me and I really do think it’s time we had more Quiaran Moonjumpers. Many more.”
“What happens if they don’t accept her?”
“I have a couple of ideas. The Council ignore Quiar as much as possible, so I could always create a school here, because I know there are people who would help me with that, or I could look into getting her to one of Kniroch’s sibling worlds, as there are a couple of schools there. My cousin told me about them and the plans that the owners of those schools have, in the hope that I’ll get involved in the future.” Lucille shook her head. “I think you’re right, Merry. I’m going to have to stop sleeping.”
“Lucy…” Meriwether shook his head, seeming to be doing his best not to smile. “Pick one job and stick to it. Right now you need to be focusing on the counterfeiters.”
“They’ll come to us, Merry. Right now I need to be focusing on my people. They’re the most important thing.” She ran a hand through her hair, trying to work out when the people of Quiar became her people. “I think tomorrow I’ll go to the market. I’ve been offered a teaching stall there more times than I can remember, so it’s time I took them up on that.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Sal asked, sounding worried.
“Yes, I am. They know I’m here, they know they can attack me whenever they damned well please, and I’m not going to hide from them. Not now.”
“Okay, but I will be sending some of my people to watch over you.”
She couldn’t help smiling at Sal. “Thank you. I do appreciate that. I just don’t think they’re going to hit us, now. They’ve tried and failed, so they’re going to attempt something else, something that might stand a chance of working.”
Peric looked at her. “Kidnapping you, maybe?”
“Don’t.” She squeezed Peric’s paw. “I will be fine while I’m here, Peric. It’s not until we start getting close to the big boss that I’ll really need to worry and I think I’m ready for what might happen.” She shrugged. “Quiar hasn’t told me what will happen, but she’s scared and she only gets scared when something bad is coming. That’s the one issue with knowing her so well.”
“Why aren’t you scared?”
“I am scared. It’s where I get my strength from. I gather my fear, I wrap it around me, and I use it to protect me from everything.”
Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.