First Comes The One Who Wanders by Lynette S. Jones

have already found them? Nudging her mount closer to Brenth's, she satisfied herself that they were alone.
    Trying to shrug off her uneasiness, she settled in for a long ride. Yet, she found herself unable to relax. Throughout the two hour ride to the bottom of the foothills, she found herself constantly looking over her shoulder and her hand never left the hilt of her sword. The trees whispered softly in the breeze. Usually, Leilas found this comforting. But today, she heard only danger in each whisper that floated from the depths of the grove.
    Joshuas and her mother talked quietly as they rode. Brenth seemed content to ride in silence. Leilas would have liked to join in the conversation between her mother and this stranger, but a premonition told her she needed to be diligent in looking for danger. She couldn't seem to find time to delve into serious conversation or engage in idle banter.
    "We can rest here for a few minutes," Joshuas stopped at a small stream. Leilas looked forward rather than back and was surprised to find they were at the beginning of the foothills. The path they were following crossed the stream and continued upward into the hills from this point.
    Joshuas slipped off his horse and helped Queen Daina from her mount. Brenth slipped from his and removed the bag of food that Leilas had tied over the saddle horn. Leilas followed more slowly, running her eye over the terrain they had just covered before she was content to take the bag of food from her saddle horn and pick up the water skin that was also hanging there. She picked up each water skin as she passed by the horses and made her way to the stream where Joshuas, Brenth and her mother were washing the dust and blood from their hands and faces.
    Placing the water skins by the bags of food, she silently joined them in cleansing the vestiges of the battle from her hands and face. If she'd been with Gidron, he would have pestered her until she began to talk about how she felt about this battle and what she'd done today. He wouldn't have let her go for hours without a word. He'd seen the effects of letting her go too long without intervening, after she'd returned from the Echoes. He'd let her dwell on her experiences for months before he'd realized that she had needed help. After that, he'd always asked and been persistent until she talked about what she was feeling. But she wasn't with Master Frey and it was unlikely that her mother or Master Joshuas would care enough to want to know her feelings.
    Looking down at the ugly brown stain on her breeches, Leilas decided cleaning her clothes would have to wait. She wasn't willing to ride for hours in wet pants. Her body was already protesting the unaccustomed exercise.
    "With two magiks, we should be able to defend the cave easily." Joshuas' conversation with her mother floated over to her. For the last two hours she'd wanted to join their conversation. Now that she had the opportunity, all she wanted was to be alone. But Joshuas' words brought back the voice from earlier and worry twisted her stomach. It wasn't a voice she’d recognized. The fact that someone had penetrated her thoughts could be detrimental to the safety of their trip. If they could find her thoughts, they could find her. Rather than being a help to Joshuas on this journey to Menas, she might actually be the weak link. She knew she should tell Joshuas about the voice, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him. She didn't want him to think she wasn't worth much as a magik. For reasons she couldn’t understand, she didn’t want him to think badly of her. He’d already made it clear he thought she was too young and inexperienced to be considered a master. What had he said, he hadn’t wanted an apprentice? She was Gidron Frey’s apprentice and he’d declared she was ready to be a master. Joshuas’ words made it clear he didn’t agree with Gidron.
    Sitting down with her back to a rock, facing the way they'd come, Leilas chewed on the