Read First Comes The One Who Wanders for Free Online

them."
    "You know I can't go back to them." Leilas saw a dark, longing cross her mother's face. Joshuas' comment had reached a part of her mother she hadn't been aware even existed.
    "They would welcome you," Joshuas disagreed with her softly. "Your father is no longer their king. They no longer follow his bannings. Many of the Menas didn't agree with his actions thirty years ago, but were afraid to openly oppose him. They wouldn't consider your return a dishonor. Some would even welcome you as their Queen Apparent."
    "Even if I did wish to return, it's too late. The soldiers are at the doors and you have spent your magic protecting this room."
    "I could get us out," Leilas interrupted, "if you wanted to leave. It’s not too late. Weaving binding spells isn't very taxing and the effort wouldn't have been wasted if we decide to leave. It's kept us safe while you decided." Leilas barely paused for breath before she continued. She didn't want to lose the opportunity her mother had given them. "I know a way under the city that doesn't emerge until we are well out of town." Leilas felt her hopes lifting. Perhaps she would get her mother out of Dirth alive. It might mean leaving her dream of becoming a master behind, but maybe there was a place in Menas for her, as well.
    Joshuas tilted his head at the queen awaiting her decision. She turned to face her son, who couldn't keep the hope from showing on his face.
    "I see. I seem to be the only one who thinks it would be honorable to stay in Dirth." She looked down at the lounging gown she was wearing. "I can't go dressed like this," she acquiesced. "If you'll help me, Leilas, I'll try to hurry."
    ~~~
    Joshuas held his hand out to keep Leilas from stepping into the hallway until he was sure the way was clear. Leilas could hear the fighting in the chambers below. There had been very little resistance against the advancing soldiers as they descended on the Manor. It hadn't taken them long to reach the King's stronghold and the doors to the School of Sky. Yet, even when her father had known that Darryl was at their door, he hadn't come to see to the safety of his family. He hadn't even sent an emissary to check on them. If she had any doubt that she was doing right by taking her mother and brother away from this place, or any thought that she should stay and fight with her father, his callousness had driven it from her mind.
    She'd never been to Menas, but she knew where it was and a little about the people. It had surprised her to discover her mother was Menas. No one had ever said her mother came from a people who were renowned for their uncanny ability to know what they had no way of knowing. There wasn't really a name for it. People called it Menas, –named for the people who possessed it.
    If it had been left to her, she'd have taken her mother to Magnus Crog, but maybe her walk in the mists had been warning her against that idea. They could have been telling her Magnus Crog was no longer friendly to her or her family. That suspicion had kept her from protesting when Master Joshuas had suggested Menas as a destination.
    "Let's go quickly. I hear soldiers on the stair, although I don't see anyone yet." Joshuas stepped aside and let Leilas take the lead. Brenth followed her with his mother by his side. Joshuas brought up the rear. He took a few minutes to mend the spell of binding on the door. When the crafters came looking for them, the diversion of a spell-bound room would give them a little more time to put distance between themselves and Dirth.
    Leilas moved quickly and quietly toward a tapestry hanging at the end of the hall. Pushing the hanging aside, she stepped into the alcove behind it and ran her hand along the wall until she found the latch that sprang the door. The door swung open with a soft groan and Leilas stepped inside. Instinctively, she knew that Joshuas would keep his position in the rear and ward off any danger from that direction. Her job was to ward off the