Marie Brennan - Doppelganger

She seated herself on one of the benches in the empty hall and rubbled on a hard roll. Motes of dust drifted through the early morning sunlight, mesmerizing her. It would be easy to fall asleep right here, were her mind not racing.

She couldn’t believe she was about to leave Starfall. She hadn’t left it for more than a few days at a time since she had come here from Tsurike Hall fifteen years ago.

And yet, if she were to join the Air Ray, this would be her life. Assuming she was a Hand, of course, but as she had said to Eikyo, most of the Air Ray acted like Hands anyway. Which meant a lifetime of traveling, always on the move, lending her skills wherever they were needed, to whomever needed them. Within reason, that was; no witch was bound to aid a cause she deemed unjust.

Was that the kind of life she wanted? It was more uncertain than most of the other Rays. Fire witches received food, housing, and pay from the Lords and Ladies they served; Water got the same, on a much smaller scale, from the villages they watched over. The Void Ray was supported by the labor of the Cousins and the tithes paid by domains for the aid they received from other witches. Only those of the Earth Ray had a lifestyle at all like that of Air; they lived off the land. If Miryo were to follow this path, her life would be like that: traveling, living off the land as often as not, receiving occasional rewards for her work, but unable to depend on such generosity. The people the Air Ray served often had little or no money to spare.

With a start, she realized the beams of sunlight had moved. Time was passing, and she was wasting it. Rising to her feet, Miryo scanned the few women down at the other end of the hall; Narika was still not among them.

Nor was title witch outside, nor was she in the stables. Miryo bit one knuckle, wondering if she should go seek Narika out, or send a Cousin to find her.

“Good, I was hoping you hadn’t left yet.”

The sudden sound made Miryo jump. “You startled me, Narika.” She managed to swallow the “kai” just in time. It wasn’t wrong to address a fellow witch with the honorific, but neither was it necessary, and Miryo was determined not to do anything to reinforce the idea that she was not really a witch.

“I do apologize. You don’t look like you slept much last night.”

“Packing took longer than I had expected.” That, and she had spent well over an hour poring over a map, trying to figure out where she was headed in the east, where her doppelganger might have holed up. Assuming her choice wasn’t really random.

“That’s why I’m not a Hand,” Narika said with a smile. “They all quickly learn not to pack more than necessary, I’m told, but I take forever to get myself together.”

Miryo smiled and tried to figure out how to broach the subject of Ashin.

“Do you have any further questions before you leave?” Narika asked.

Well, that made it easy . “I was wondering, actually—do you happen to know where Ashin-kasora has gone? Satomi-aken told me she left not that long ago.”

Narika looked thoughtful. “I’m not certain. She travels so much, and she’s not my Key. She might have gone up to Askavya; Geike was saying there had been some troubles up there.”

Askavya was due north. Miryo sighed. “Thanks.”

Narika gave her a curious look. “Were you hoping to talk to her? I can try to spell to her, if you’d like.”

“No, thank you. That won’t be necessary.”

“Are you traveling toward Askavya?”

“No, I was thinking of heading east instead.”

“Does something draw you there?” Narika’s ears all but pricked.

Miryo shrugged helplessly. “I honestly don’t know. It doesn’t seem wrong , so I guess it’s as good a direction as any.”

Narika looked disappointed; Miryo supposed she had been hoping for some great revelation. “Very well. I would offer you a searching spell , but it would be confused between you and your doppelganger. You’ll have to trust instinct.”

Let’s just hope it’s doing something worthwhile for me . “I will. At least until I have something better.”

“Very well. I suppose I should let you go; you’re losing valuable traveling time, and if I keep talking like this, you won’t even make Samalan before nightfall.” Narika followed Miryo out of the stables into the early sunlight, where the Cousins waited with saddled horses. “Goddess go with you, Miryo. Travel swiftly, and return to us soon.”

“Thank you, Narika.” Miryo was surprised when the witch hugged her, but she returned the embrace. Then, before anything else could delay her, she mounted and turned her horse’s nose toward the road. She did not look back toward the students’ hall.

Trees enveloped them a few minutes into the journey. Miryo and the two silent Cousins rode through green shade dappled with pale, sharp morning sunlight. She let her horse choose its own pace; the road was well-built, but the rocky mountain soil here made for poor footing, and she had no intention of laming her horse on the first day out.

The ride was quiet and soothing. Given the Cousins’ habitual unobtrusiveness, she felt almost as if she were on the road alone, with no one around save rabbits, squirrels, and her horse.

“Miryo!”

Eikyo materialized out of the bushes so suddenly that Miryo’s horse almost reared. Her friend had the bridle in a heartbeat, though, and she soothed the animal with a soft word. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you like that. I was just practicing moving quietly in the woods.”

Miryo smoothed her hair back with one hand and shook her head. “I’d say you don’t need much more practice.”

Eikyo eyed the Cousins, who were sitting impassively on their horses, and edged closer to Miryo. “Did you ask Narika?” she said in a low voice.

Miryo nodded. “She thought maybe Askavya, but she wasn’t sure.”

“Are you going to go north?”

“Not without more confirmation than that. If it’s just one hunch against another, I’ll stay with my own.”

“That’s probably good.” Eikyo gave the Cousins another sidelong glance and lowered her voice even more. “Do you—do you want me to come with you?”

She didn’t even have to think about her answer, but she did, just to be fair to her friend. It didn’t change. “No. This is… it doesn’t get more personal than this, Eikyo. I’m only taking the Cousins because I have to. Besides, you have your own test coming up.”

“Not for a while. You won’t be gone that long, will you?”

“I don’t know.”

Miryo’s words fell more heavily into the silence than she’d meant them to.

“And don’t follow me, either,” she added firmly, to quash any rebellious ideas lurking in Eikyo’s head. “I mean it.”

Eikyo looked unhappy. “I just wish I could help you somehow.”

“You can,” Miryo said. “Pray for me.” She shook her head when her friend laughed. “I’m serious. I’m going to need it.”

Eikyo sobered up and nodded. “All right.”

“Thanks.” Miryo leaned down from her horse and gripped Eikyo’s arm. Her friend squeezed hard, still looking worried.

“Goddess be with you,” Eikyo said. Then she released the bridle of Miryo’s horse and stepped aside so she and the Cousins could pass.

They rode through the day, stopping briefly to eat and rest the horses, and came into Samalan in the late afternoon. The town, which sat just on the Currel side of the border, was a natural stopping point for people traveling to and from Starfall. It had taken a rare collaboration on the part of the Fire, Water, and Void Rays to keep the prices in Samalan fair; too many merchants saw it as a golden opportunity to gouge all who passed through.