Page 57 of Bull Moon Rising

“Terrain practice,” Magpie repeats.

Gwenna slings her pack off her back, ever the hard worker. “Great. Shall we set up tents and get started, then?”

“No tents just yet. It’s too bright out.” Magpie squints at the sky.

“It’s sunset,” I point out. At my side, Kipp snorts, and I don’t know if he’s amused or irritated.

Magpie just grins at me. She’s got deep hollows under her eyes and her skin has a greenish cast to it, but if she feels poorly, she’s hiding it well. “Sunset, aye. We want it to be fully dark.”

“Why?” Gwenna blurts.

“Because it ain’t well lit in a tunnel,” Magpie says, enunciating each word slowly. “Just like it ain’t all even and level, either. Or dry. Some tunnels are wet. Some are nothing but rocks. There’s nothing about it that’s easy. So we’re going to keep those packs on your backs.” She points at Gwenna’s pack, indicating she should put it back on. “And then we’re going to go marching up the stream. The water here is only ankle-deep. It makes the rocks slippery and treacherous, which means it’s perfect terrain practice. I haven’t been in a tunnel yet that’s as smooth and easy to navigate as the streets of Vastwarren.”

Considering that the streets of Vastwarren are cobbled (terribly cobbled, I might add) and slant heavily, this is a rather alarming piece of news.

“And we do this in the dark?” Mereden asks, her voice timid.

“It’s all good, Mer,” Lark says in a confident voice. “We’ll be tied together, just like in the caves, right?”

“Exactly,” Master Magpie says. “You’re getting it now.”

“But it’s going to be too dark to see anything,” I point out. I can barely see as it is. In the dark? I’ll just be stumbling.

Magpie turns to me. “Then light a fucking torch and quit complaining. You think it’s bright in the caves?”

“I think I preferred it when Hawk was teaching us,” Gwenna mutters.

I do, too.

NINETEEN

ASPETH

Despite our generalhelplessness, the evening isn’t as bad as I expect it to be. Gwenna makes a fire and we light a torch, only to find that the torch doesn’t burn for very long at all. Magpie then produces an oil lantern and lectures us. “When I say come prepared, I mean it.”

After the oil lantern is lit, we’re tied together. Kipp takes up the front, followed by Lark with the lantern. Gwenna follows behind her, then Mereden, then me in the back. We march up the slippery stream, and Magpie’s right—it’s only ankle-deep. It’s still incredibly treacherous, though, and we end up slogging with each step, our boots heavier with water every moment. I decide that I’m going to get myself a staff before anything else. A short one, so no one can gripe about my having it inclose quarters. Maybe just to bosom height instead of past my shoulder. I like that idea—a staff to assist with walking, and to put a lantern atop because not being able to see is maddening. Right now, I can’t see anything except Mereden’s backside and the coiling puff of her dark hair.

We march up the stream.

Down the stream.

Up the stream again, this time in a different order with me at the front. This goes badly for all involved and Magpie barks things at me like “Are you blind?”

(I don’t point out that in fact I am quite night-blind without my spectacles.)

We march up and down the stream until all three moons in the sky have disappeared again and the night grows bitterly cold. Our teeth chatter and Kipp gets too cold to function, so we take turns carrying him.

“Enough,” Hawk finally declares. “You’ve shown them you know what you’re doing, Mags. Let them rest.”

“Oh, fine,” she says. “Though I know Hawk’s just griping because he wants time with his wife. I suppose you all get a break.” She claps her hands together. “Now we make camp and another fire.”

“What happened to the last bloody fire I made?” Gwenna demands.

“Were you tending it?”

“No! I’ve been marching upstream all night and scaring all the fish!”

“Then it’s out, isn’t it?” Magpie’s smile is evil in the shadows. “So make another fucking fire. You’re not going to have anyone to depend on in the tunnels to keep things lit for you. Don’t expect different out here. My job is to prepare you.”

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