The road north had turned from packed earth to stone that cracked under the wagon wheels. Aiden rode at the front with Elizabeth and Kaelara flanking him. The air carried the usual cold of the highlands, but something underneath it pulled at the Ley Bond like a bad tooth.
They reached the first village at midday. It looked ordinary until they got close enough to hear the sounds.
A group of farmers stood near the well arguing about grain stores. Mid-sentence one of them dropped to his knees. His mouth opened.
The sound that came out was not a prayer. It was a choked, unwilling moan that cut off as quickly as it started. He stayed on the ground shaking while the others looked away.
Elizabeth dismounted first. Her face stayed controlled, the expression she used in council when numbers refused to add up.
"They're not crying out in worship," she said. "They're crying out like something is being taken from them. If this continues, the northern houses will call our faith a disease."
