Edris stepped into the clearing with both hands visible.
The guard near the tipped cart shifted to follow him. Edris held up a palm. The man remained where he was, weapon down but ready.
“I asked for conversation,” Edris said. “They were told to secure the relic.”
“By stealing my pack.”
“The fragment is dangerous.”
“So is a man pulling a woman into a moving root.”
His eyes went briefly toward Chaska’s vanished place. On the other side of the barrier the courier called, “We’re here. Lilt’s clear.”
Ysabet answered so she could be heard, “Stay back from the roots.”
