Mercedes Lackey - Changing the World - All-New Tales of Valdemar

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Acknowledgements

The One Left Behind

For Want of a Nail

Softly Falling Snow

The Reluctant Herald

A Storytelling of Crows

Waiting To Belong

The Last Part of the Way

Midwinter Gifts

Wounded Bird

Defending the Heart

Matters of the Heart

Nothing Better to Do

The Thief of Anvil’s Close

Twice Blessed

Be Careful What You Wish For

Interview with a Companion

RAVES FOR THE PREVIOUS VALDEMAR ANTHOLOGIES:

“Fans of Lackey’s epic Valdemar series will devour this superb anthology. Of the thirteen stories included, there is no weak link—an attribute exceedingly rare in collections of this sort. Highly recommended.”

—The Barnes and Noble Review

“This high-quality anthology mixes pieces by experienced

author and enthusiastic fans of editor Lackey’s

Valdemar. Valdemar fandom, especially, will revel in

this sterling example of what such a mixture of fans’ and

pros’ work can be. Engrossing even for newcomers to

Valdemar.”

—Booklist

“Josepha Sherman, Tanya Huff, Mickey Zucker Reichert, and Michelle West have quite good stories, and there’s another by Lackey herself. Familiarity with the series helps but is not a prerequisite to enjoying this book.”

—Science Fiction Chronicle

“Each tale adheres to the Lackey laws of the realm yet provides each author’s personal stamp on the story. Well written and fun, Valdemarites will especially appreciate the magic of this book.”

—The Midwest Book Review

NOVELS BY MERCEDES LACKEY available from DAW Books:

THE NOVELS OF VALDEMAR:

THE HERALDS OF VALDEMAR

ARROWS OF THE QUEEN

ARROW’S FLIGHT

ARROW’S FALL

THE LAST HERALD-MAGE

MAGIC’S PAWN

MAGIC’S PROMISE

MAGIC’S PRICE

THE MAGE WINDS

WINDS OF FATE

WINDS OF CHANGE

WINDS OF FURY

THE MAGE STORMS

STORM WARNING

STORM RISING

STORM BREAKING

VOWS AND HONOR

THE OATHBOUND

OATHBREAKERS

OATHBLOOD

THE COLLEGIUM CHRONICLES FOUNDATION

BY THE SWORD

BRIGHTLY BURNING

TAKE A THIEF

EXILE’S HONOR

EXILE’S VALOR

VALDEMAR ANTHOLOGIES:

SWORD OF ICE

SUN IN GLORY

CROSSROADS

MOVING TARGETS

CHANGING THE WORLD

Written with LARRY DIXON:

THE MAGE WARS

THE BLACK GRYPHON

THE WHITE GRYPHON

THE SILVER GRYPHON

DARIAN’S TALE

OWLFLIGHT

OWLSIGHT

OWLKNIGHT

OTHE R NOVELS :

GWENHWYFAR

THE BLACK SWAN

THE DRAGON JOUSTERS

JOUST

ALTA

SANCTUARY

AERIE

THE ELEMENTAL MASTERS

THE SERPENT’S SHADOW

THE GATES OF SLEEP

PHOENIX AND ASHES

THE WIZARD OF LONDON

RESERVED FOR THE CAT

And don’t miss:

THE VALDEMAR COMPANION

Edited by John Helfers and Denise Little

Copyright © 2009 by Mercedes Lackey and Tekno Books.

All Rights Reserved.

DAW Book Collectors No. 1494.

DAW Books are distributed by Penguin Group (USA).

All characters and events in this book are fictitious.

All resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

First Printing, December 2009

DAW TRADEMARK REGISTERED

U.S. PAT. AND TM. OFF. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES

—MARCA REGISTRADA

HECHO EN U.S.A.

eISBN : 978-1-101-18498-1

S.A.

http://us.penguingroup.com

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

“The One Left Behind,” copyright © 2009 by Mercedes Lackey

“For Want of a Nail,” copyright © 2009 by Rosemary Edghill and

Denise McCune

“Softly Falling Snow,” copyright © 2009 by Elizabeth A. Vaughan

“The Reluctant Herald,” copyright © 2009 by Mickey Zucker Reichert

“A Storytelling of Crows,” copyright © 2009 by Elisabeth Waters

“Waiting to Belong,” copyright © 2009 by Kristin Schwengel

“The Last Part of the Way,” copyright © 2009 by Brenda Cooper

“Midwinter Gifts,” copyright © 2009 by Stephanie D. Shaver

“Wounded Bird,” copyright © 2009 by Michael Z. Williamson

“Defending the Heart,” copyright © 2009 by Kate Paulk

“Matters of the Heart,” copyright © 2009 by Sarah A. Hoyt

“Nothing Better to Do,” copyright © 2009 by Tanya Huff

“The Thief of Anvil’s Close,” copyright © 2009 by Fiona Patton

“Twice Blessed,” copyright © 2009 by Judith Tarr

“Be Careful What You Wish For,” copyright © 2009 by Nancy Asire

“Interview with a Companion,” copyright © 2009 by Ben Ohlander

The One Left Behind

by Mercedes Lackey

Mercedes Lackey is a full-time writer and has published numerous novels, including the best- selling Heralds of Valdemar series. She is also a professional lyricist and licensed wild bird rehabilitator.

Marya was doing her shopping when the Heralds rode into the village, and the flash of white and sudden turning of heads in the corner of her vision made her stomach twist into an angry knot, her jaw tighten, and her fists clench. She knew what it was. Only one thing could be that white in the middle of a village in the middle of a rainy spring.

“Done,” she said, cutting off her bargaining abruptly and leaving Druk Pelan, the egg seller, open-mouthed in astonishment. She shoved the coppers at him, took up her basket and the eggs, and strode quickly back toward her house at the east edge of the village without getting any of the other things she’d meant to buy.

The house, inherited from her mother, which had been her parents’ before her, was really more of a cottage. They hadn’t needed much space: the loft bed for her, the bedroom her mother had slept in once she inherited the place until the day she died, and one big room that served as kitchen and work space and held her baskets of yarn and the big loom. So far as Marya knew, the cottage had been built around the loom; she couldn’t imagine how some of the big beams had been brought in otherwise. The windows were all positioned to give the person sitting at the loom the best possible light, all day. The kitchen was almost more of an afterthought; more often than not, Marya, her mother, and her grandparents had eaten food cooked at the baker’s or cold meats, raw vegetables, bread and cheese. Well she would have to make do with what she had, now.

The plain linen warp was half full of colorful woof threads now, with the cartoon beneath, for Marya was not just any weaver; she was a weaver of tapestries. So her mother and grandparents had been. People sent commissions to her from all over Valdemar, mostly from extremely wealthy households, for when you wanted to really impress people, there was nothing like an enormous tapestry hung against the wall. Ordinary arras hangings would do to keep down drafts, but a tapestry! That meant something.

This one was of some fancy family or other’s coat of arms, a pair of stags fighting on their hind legs. Some tapestry weavers sent out for their cartoons or used images that they kept carefully folded and put away. Up in the loft, there were stacks of those, some going back a hundred years or more. Her family had relied on such aids since they had begun weaving.