Page 47 of Ash and Feather

Or maybe it was just part of the spell—a charm on the mind to make one calm enough to walk in whatever skin they found themselves in. If this was the reason, I silently hoped that part would linger even when the rest of the disguise faded away.

I returned to the road I’d been following. Thoughroadwas becoming a misnomer the deeper I went; it was turning more and more into an overgrown, barely-there path.

There were others moving along this path, however—elves passing me occasionally, going in both directions. They seemedto have set destinations in mind, and were untroubled by the increasingly wild landscape. So I pretended I wasn’t troubled, either.

I belong here, I kept telling myself.I know where I’m going.

I trudged forward. I couldn’t hesitate. I wouldn’t show fear. It felt like I had the entire divine world watching me, pressing against my back, waiting for me to fail or succeed.

I blinked and slowly scanned my surroundings more closely. I was supposed to be acting as the eyes and ears for the Marr. Whether literally or not, it still wasn’t clear; the Star Goddess had said something about how this territory limited her divine vision…but Dravyn had occasionally been able to see what my eyes were seeing, thanks to our connection.

Could he see through my vision now?

I wouldn’t truly know what he was seeing until I returned to him, I supposed—although every now and then I would have sworn I could hear his voice in my mind, telling me to be careful. Just occasional, quiet words—only a memory, perhaps.

Or was it?

After a few more minutes of walking, the road began to widen and clear once more.

Soon after this, I came upon a junction of sorts, with five different roads leading in different directions. A nearby sign indicated that each road led to the same city—Ederis—but to different entrances.

I didn’t know which entrance would be most conducive to my mission, so I stood to the side of the sign for a moment, pretending to be adjusting the fastenings on my cloak while I observed the passersby.

Most seemed to be taking the center road. And the more common and well-trafficked the entrance, I decided, the easier it would be to slip in unnoticed.

Once I’d made up my mind about this, I waited for a large group I could follow and integrate with; it didn’t take long before a promising crowd appeared, talking and laughing, paying little attention to me or anything else outside their boisterous conversation.

I exchanged a few pleasantries and then followed them closely for a half-mile, without incident, until a glimmer of something in the air ahead brought me abruptly to a stop.

It was barely noticeable—like a finely spun spiderweb catching a bit of the sun—but I could feel the web’s energy radiating outward. It was strange. Uncomfortable. A faint wind swirling toward me, catching at my hair and clothing and pulling, almost as if it was trying to suction the life from my body.

I’d encountered a similar energy before, while traveling into a different elvish city, so I knew what this barrier was: A ward against divine magic.

This one felt stronger than any other I’d come across, however.

My heart raced even though we’d expected this sort of anti-magic. I absently wrapped a hand around my right forearm; the mark Mairu’s magic had left was hidden there, gently pulsing beneath the long, flowing sleeve of my shirt.

Was her spell deep enough to withstand what I was walking into? That ward…would it simply prevent anyone from doing magic once they passed its threshold, or would it alsoundoany spells that were already in progress?

Only one way to find out.

Bracing myself, I hurried forward. As I walked through the barrier, the uncomfortable pulling sensation grew briefly more intense before fading to a mere tickling against my skin.

Once I was on the other side, I ducked off the path, hiding behind a group of trees as I looked myself over, watching for any changes in my appearance.

I waited as long as I dared—until the group I’d been following was nearly beyond my range of hearing.

Nothing changed.

Mairu’s spell still looked to be perfectly intact.

There was no telling how many more wards I’d have to walk through, however, or how their collective energy might chip away at my disguise over time. But I’d known the risks going into this, so I didn’t let them stop me.

I quickly carried on—though I did take greater care to memorize the route I was following, now, leaving occasional claw marks on the trees I was passing; if I was going to return myself to the divine realm using magic, as planned, I likely wouldn’t be able to do it unless I was first able to get back to clearer air. I couldn’t afford to get lost.

The road stretched on and on beyond the first anti-magic ward, winding much deeper than I expected, and still there was no city in sight.

Every step I took made the way back seem a little more daunting.

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