To Walk Through a Dream Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven With Wavering Footsteps Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Stone Song Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three A Tale of Winter Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Destiny Inescapable Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Epilogue The Cycle's Continuing Beginnings Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Two Spirits Akin

With Wavering Footsteps Chapter Three When the man in the bar had told her to try the carnival, she had assumed he'd only meant it as a joke. Then there was the scent, and the music, faintly familiar. She doubted he'd be here, but it was worth a try. "Can I 'elp you?" Rayven looked down, a little unsure as to whether she should squat down to his level, or if she would offend him by doing so. Her hesitation was almost imperceptible, then she dropped to one knee and immediately wished she hadn't, realizing what sort of trouble her hip was going to give her when she tried to stand up again. "I'm looking for someone. Very tall, dark skinned. Doesn't speak French well. I was hoping you might have seen him?" "Can't say as I have. Come on, we'll ask the rom baro." The little man helped her up, then led the way through the labyrinth of tents. He looked a little like a child, but very stocky. The brown curly hair on his bare feet matched that on his head. "My name's Panther! Panther Darling. You look like you've had a hard travel! You're a gypsy, aren't you? Not one by blood, myself, but they put up with us, my brothers and I. Always willing to share what they have. And such good healers! What's your name?" He paused to let her answer. "Rayven." "Such a pretty name. Doesn't quite suit your hair though. It's got these red highlights. Should've named you 'red-winged blackbird', but then I can see where maybe that's too long, and not nearly so pretty. And ravens are more prophetic. Are you a prophet? We've a few fortune tellers here. The gypsies run the whole carnival..." She followed him through the colorful maze, half-listening to his constant chatter. The people they passed smiled and waved, but none of them were the one man she was searching for. She sat back and waited while the king thought with his brow furrowed. She was a little tired from making such a long speech, as she was not accustomed to talking much. But then, she was not accustomed to going hunting after something in such a manner either, usually things just came to her. Assembled there in the large wagon, besides herself and the rom baro, was Panther and his brothers, 15 little child-sized rogues in all. She had been personally introduced to each of them and the gypsy king had to roar (good-naturedly) at all of them to get things quiet again, as it seemed all the Darling brothers shared Panther's penchant for talking. Finally the rom baro spoke "I wouldn't know where he went, but I do remember him. Strange man. It was many moons ago, and we were in a different town then. You have very powerful senses!" "It was faint, but I could feel his touch." "My only suggestion is to ask around and see if he told anyone where he was going. You're welcome to stay with us as long as you like." "It's not my fault if you can't remember what he said." "Is too!" "Is not!" While the argument in and of itself was not so terribly interesting, watching it was. The reason for this was that the two women involved were attached to each other. Panther had introduced her to Betty, and Sue, nearly five minutes ago, then asked if they remembered the strange dark man saying where he was headed. They had been arguing since. The cloth sign by their tent read "The incredible bearded tattooed Siamese twins", and the picture on it was not nearly so bizarre as the actual person. Persons. "It's entirely your fault! I never even saw him." "How could you have not seen him!!?! I saw you see him!" "I was asleep!" "Were not!" "Was too!" A very large crab claw lifted up one flap of the tent and the owner of it roared at the both of them to shut up. It was fantastically loud, especially considering the "amazing crab boy" (also known as 'crabby', but only out of hearing) was not much taller than Panther. Betty and Sue turned to him "I was asleep, right, Sam?" "Hey! No fair! He always takes your side. I'll give you a really good tattoo if you take my side!" "I'll hit you both upside the head if you don't be quiet. And I'll do it with the good hand, too." He said, indicating the pincer-like appendage. They gave it up as a bad job and left Betty, Sue, and Sam yelling at each other. "That's everyone. Guess he was just too mysterious to leave any clues. Sorry we joined up after he passed through. But then we still wouldn't have known what to listen for." "You've done what you could. Thank you." "You're awfully mysterious too, you know that? Maybe we should keep track of where you're going." He looked up at her for a smile, but her thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. "So where are you going next?" She shrugged in response. "I've no trail to follow to find him just now. But..." "What? You're thinking of something else. I can see that much. Just because we talk so much doesn't mean we aren't observing at the same time. You've looked sad from the moment you walked in here." "I.....I don't know. There's just this strange feeling..." "What sort of feeling?" "Like I've forgotten something. Left behind something important." They stood together in silence for a few moments, watching the carnival workers about their evening business. "It's sort of funny. We're all outcasts here, and yet, in a way, we're sort of proud of it." Then he noticed Rayven's eyes snap into focus. "I know where I have to go." "Milady? What, now?" "Yes. Thank you. I owe you a debt." She leant down and placed a small stone, mottled rust red and black, in his hand. "If you need me..." He looked up at her, the sunset lit the red in her hair on fire and made the black more intense. The gray that ran through it looked like a silver misting from the rain that morning. There was a restless tension in every line of her body. "You have to go, don't you." She nodded. He stood on his toes and kissed her cheek. "Good luck." He watched her limp across the fields, her path unfaltering, until she vanished into the cypress trees like a dream. Chapter One of Stone Song