I looked away as the hunter took my hand in both of his, knowing it would be worse to watch.  His hands, which had only exerted pressure initially, now began to manipulate my hand painfully and I bit my lip harder.  It felt as if he was trying to detach my last two fingers, not realign a bone. 

I felt the bone go back in place, gasping as fiery pain shot through my hand.

“Wait here.  I’ll be right back.”  The hunter’s voice seemed to be coming from far away.  My world was dark and I swayed with sudden dizziness, sinking down onto my knees.  I would not pass out.  I would not!  I focused exclusively on inhaling and exhaling, gradually regaining my power of sight.  I felt weak, but no longer faint.  Looking around, I saw no sign of the hunter.  How long had he been gone?  Had it been a few seconds or several minutes?  Shaking my head to clear it, I examined my hand.  Should I ask the hunter how to get to the village?  At the least I would ask him how far it was.  It might seem suspicious if I asked how far and didn’t know the direction to go.  Then again, it surely seemed suspicious that I had been riding an elk.  Maybe I couldn’t win this one.

“Here, drink this.”  The hunter appeared and handed me one of those leather canteens.  I was thirsty but had trouble lifting the awkward thing up to drink with only my right hand.  Frustration!  The hunter knelt down beside me to assist.  Of course I was grateful as the cool water calmed my burning throat, but my frustration increased too.  Few things infuriated me more than feeling helpless and I was feeling more helpless by the minute. 

“Better now?” the hunter asked.

I nodded.

“Hold out your hand, if you would, my lady.”  His addressing me in this manner immediately brought to mind images of Trenwyn and I wondered what had happened to him.  Hopefully he’d had better luck than I had.  I began to wonder if all men here would call me “my lady.”  More importantly, where was “here?”  Slowly, I was coming to believe the unbelievable.  Wherever here was, was a very different place than the one I’d gone to bed in last night.  And somehow Leo had caused it all, I was sure.  I wanted to ask the hunter more, but that would reveal too much about my pitiful ignorance.  Even though he was helping me, I was wary. 

Somewhere, the hunter had acquired several yards of black linen.  He’d also brought back four small pieces of freshly cut wood, split into thin slabs.  He took my hand, gently once again, and poured the remaining water over it, washing away the dirt.  He then proceeded to wrap each of the pieces of wood in the cloth.  This done, he positioned them around my arm and hand.  I realized he’d wrapped the cloth around these pieces so that they would not rub my skin uncomfortably.  Very thoughtful.  I doubted I would have thought of that if I were creating a splint.  

Once more I wondered exactly who this man was who seemed to know so much about injuries.  Was he indeed another maj?  If, as Trenwyn had said, all majai could sense me with whatever “sign” I had, then he knew I was marked for death.  Therefore, if he was a maj, he was not part of the group trying to kill me. 

He finished wrapping the cloth around my hand.  I moved my arm and flexed my thumb as he stepped back.  My hand still throbbed, but the splint was well made, especially considering the circumstances.  The hunter seemed satisfied with his work and turned away to a leather bag he’d brought from somewhere.  He must have a camp nearby.  Pulling out an oilcloth, he unwrapped some bread and a hard white cheese.

“You’ll feel better after eating,” he told me, holding out the food.

Rising, I experienced only a second of dizziness and, taking the food from the hunter, I held his gaze.  “Thank you.  For everything.”

The hunter nodded acknowledgement and his eyes suggested that he was smiling beneath his mask.  I didn’t know exactly what to make of that smile.  I turned back eagerly to the bread and cheese in my hand.  It was not a feast by any standard, but it was food, and my stomach was infinitely grateful.  The hunter leaned against a large boulder, watching as I ate.  His manner reminded me of how a benevolent dog might watch a strange cat; interested but not quite sure what to do with it. 

“Is it far to the village Rhir?” I asked after the silence began to wear on my nerves. 

The hunter gave me a quick, appraising look.  “Maybe five miles from here, but it’s rough terrain.  I will take you there, if you’ll allow me.”

A wave of gratitude washed over me.  It left behind a bitter aftertaste, though, reminding me of just how much I needed his assistance.  I’d begun to trust him—a little—and I felt more secure knowing he could take me to Rhir.  “I would definitely owe you one.  Or,” I looked down at my bandaged hand, smiling wryly, “I guess I’ll owe you two now.” 

His eyes smiled again.  “You owe me nothing.”

I smiled back and popped the last bit of bread and cheese into my mouth, chewing, and swallowed quickly.  “I’m ready if you are,” I told the hunter. 

 “I’ll just be a moment.”  He bounded up the rocks like a mountain goat and disappeared over the ledge above.  Whoever he was, I was certain he could handle any problems we might encounter on the way to Rhir.  I wanted to ask him so many things—to just be open and honest—but should I?  He had helped me, probably more than he knew, and I would have to confide in someone eventually, be it this hunter or Trenwyn.  But, if I was honest with myself, I was more drawn to the mysterious hunter.  Besides, Trenwyn was a maj, whatever that meant.  Until today, I, like everyone else in their right minds, dismissed ideas of magic and spells as nonsense, but Trenwyn had commanded an elk—that was no parlor trick. 

The hunter reappeared on the ledge above, climbing down the rocks.  He now carried a quiver with his bow and arrows buckled over his cloak, confirming in my mind that he was indeed a hunter.  He retrieved the leather bag he’d left next to me, slinging it over one shoulder, and indicated the direction we would descend the hill.  Still bearing south.  

After a few minutes of walking in silence, I made a bid for answers.  “I’m Annalie.  Annalie Robertson.”

He stopped dead in his tracks and I almost bumped into him.  Even with his mask, I could see the shock on his face.  People here had the most bizarre way of reacting to introductions.  It was almost enough to discourage introducing oneself at all.  I made no attempt to hide my irritation and he began to speak.

“That’s your real name.”  It was a statement.

“Of course it is.  What’s wrong with you people?”

“You’re not from here.”  Definitely not a question.

“No, I’m not,” I replied anyway.

“Don’t tell anyone here your real name, please.”  He faced me, laying a firm but gentle hand on my shoulder.  I was certainly listening.  “If a maj discovers your real name, he will be able to control you.  You would do best not to tell anyone else your true name and I’ll try to forget it.”

“And have you forgotten it?” I asked, a tad spiteful.

The hunter’s eyes took on a pained expression and then he looked down at the ground, letting his hand slip and speaking in a whisper. “No, Annalie.”  

I pressed my lips tightly together in a frown and took a small breath.  “And what shall I call you?” I asked.  I was getting tired of trying to drag names—false ones nonetheless—from the men I encountered in this place.  I could only hope the women were better.

“I’m known as Masad.  It’s not my real name,” he added quickly.

“No, I wouldn’t really expect it to be.  But it’s nice to meet you anyway.”  I smiled wryly.

“I will not betray your trust, but is there some other name I can call you?”

“Well, the maj I was with came up with one.  Ethereal.”

“What maj?”  Masad’s voice became urgent, his eyes concerned. 

I sighed deeply.  “The maj who…well, in effect, he kidnapped me last night.  But he says he was saving me from the bad majai who are trying to find me and kill me because of some sort of sign or something that I’ve picked up somewhere.”  I paused and looked up at him, anxiously.  “Does any of this make sense to you or do you think I’m absolutely crazy?”

His eyes were as readable as the rest of his face behind the mask at this moment.  “What else do you know of the majai who will kill you?”  He was utterly serious.

I’d still not entirely accepted this new reality.  “Not much.  The maj I was with—Trenwyn is what he said his circle name is, whatever that means—took me from my house in the middle of last night.  Sometime this morning, we heard hounds behind us.  Trenwyn really hadn’t told me anything up to that point.  But I learned that, somehow, I’d picked up some sort of sign that drew this circle of bad majai to kill me.  Apparently all majai can sense this sign, though only the bad ones will kill me.  You’re not a maj, are you?” I asked, hurriedly. 

Masad shook his head.  “No.  I am not a maj.”  There was something like bitterness in his voice and I wondered if he had wanted to be one but couldn’t.  “The circle that’s chasing you is known as the Seti Circle.  They are the most cunning and powerful of the majai circles.”

Finally, some answers.  “Wonderful.  It would have to be the most powerful circle of wizards after me.”

“You didn’t tell this maj, this Trenwyn, your real name, did you?”

“No.” I shook my head.  “I tried, but he wouldn’t let me.  That’s when he came up with the name Ethereal.”

Masad shot me an unreadable look.  “I am the only one who knows your true name?” he asked after a moment.

“Yes.”

“Let’s keep it that way.”  He started walking again.  “If the Seti are after you, we’ll have to get to Rhir as soon as possible.  Did your maj call that elk?”

“Yes,” I answered again.

“The Duri,” he muttered under his breath.  “And how did you get separated?”

“He stayed behind after helping me onto the elk.  He said the other majai could not hurt him as long as I wasn’t with him.  I don’t understand,” I shrugged.

“Did he say what you were to do once you reached Rhir?”

“He said he would meet me there later.  That’s all.”

Masad nodded and was silent for a long while.  We were walking through a thick evergreen forest.  The land had leveled out compared to what I had passed through with Trenwyn.  It must have been over an hour later that Masad stopped again.

“We’re nearly there, my lady.”

“Please, Ethereal is fine.”

His eyes smiled briefly.  “Very well, Ethereal.  Before we reach the outskirts of the village, I wanted to ask a favor.”

I raised an eyebrow.  “Ask.”

“The people that are after you are dangerous.  More than you would understand.”  He pulled deftly at a leather cord around his neck, releasing a medallion.  It was about the size of a silver dollar, made of the same dull silver metal as the rings both Trenwyn and Masad wore.  In the middle there was a black stone, matching the one in his ring, octagonal in shape.

“You can think of this medallion as a sort of charm.  If you get into trouble, if your Trenwyn fails to meet you, or if you run into a member of the black circle—“

“The black circle?” I interrupted.

“The Seti,” Masad explained, dismissively.  “If any of these things happen, hold this and channel your anxiety into it.  I will come find you and help if I can.”  He looked at the medallion for a long moment before holding it out to me.  “Will you wear it?  At least until you find this Trenwyn?”

I nodded, taking it from his outstretched fingers.  Looking at it closely, I saw that there were scratches in the metal around the jewel that could be letters of a foreign language.  But wearing a medallion, however strange, seemed a small price to pay for a guide to Rhir so I slipped it on and tied the cord securely.  Then, for some reason, it seemed prudent to conceal the thing so I slipped it beneath my shirt.  Masad seemed satisfied at this and we started off again.