The Matriarch’s brow creased. Smash it, she was going to ask why that happened, and he had no idea how he’d explain, because he didn’t fully understand himself.
Sure enough, her lips shaped a “W—” before a stir by the door caught her attention. Josiah breathed a sigh of relief as her gaze went past his shoulder. For a moment an odd combination of eagerness and wariness flashed across her features, before she smoothed them into their usual uncommunicative mask.
“We must continue this conversation later,” she said to Josiah as she rose, without moving her gaze from the door. She swept across the room, extending her hands in welcome. “Renarre.”
Josiah swiveled in his seat, curious to see what sort of man was married to the Matriarch. It must be an odd sort of relationship, with one partner having so much more power than the other. He must love her an awful lot to put up with always being in her shadow, subject to her whims, vulnerable to being discarded if she tired of him or if he failed to meet her needs.
The man in the doorway was tall and solidly built, with close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair and weathered skin. He was dressed in the same sort of elaborate silk and velvet clothes as Gevan and the other men of the Matriarch’s court, but the colors were more muted than most Josiah had seen, dark blues and browns. He bowed to the Matriarch, took one of her hands in his, and brushed the back of her fingers with a light kiss. He straightened with a reserved but genuine smile. “Verinna.”
“Come meet the wizards, Renarre.” She pulled him over to where Elkan and Yerenna had risen. Josiah belatedly jumped to his feet as well, hoping his delay hadn’t been too rude. “This is Master Elkan. He examined me and says he’ll be able to use the Mother’s power to allow me to bear an heir, just as I hoped. He wants to examine you as well and fix whatever keeps you from siring a child.”
If Renarre disliked the way his wife spoke so carelessly of his failing, he showed no sign. He inclined his head to Elkan. “Thank you for coming so far for our sakes. If you’re able to help Verinna, it will be an answer to many prayers.”
“It will be my joy to serve the Mother in that way.” Elkan and Renarre moved to the seating area at the Matriarch’s urging. Renarre chose a place on the couch beside the Matriarch. Josiah settled into his chair. Hopefully they wouldn’t waste time on chitchat and get down to business quickly. He really was starving.
The Matriarch shared his impatience. She looked expectantly from Elkan to Tobi. “Go ahead.”
Elkan nodded to her and smiled apologetically at Renarre as he placed his hand on Tobi’s head. “May we use the Mother’s power to examine you? From your wife’s account, it seems clear that apart from her own difficulties there’s some factor in you that prevents the two of you from conceiving. Some causes of infertility in men can’t be helped by the Mother’s power, but some can. If we’re able to determine what’s causing the problem we’ll likely be able to correct it.”
Renarre held up his hand and glanced at the Matriarch. “I’ve long assumed something in me was lacking. I was never able to give my first wife a child, either. I’ll welcome your healing, wizard. But only if Verinna will assure me of something first.”
The Matriarch turned to him, startled. “What?”
Renarre took her hands and drew them toward him against her resistance. “Verinna, if you want me to make a child with you, I need your promise that you’ll never bar me from her life. I will be her father, and I want the full privileges and responsibilities of that role, even if someday you choose to end our marriage. You have the power to deny her to me, but if I believe you’ll ever use it I can’t go along with this.”
The Matriarch jerked her hands away. “How dare you make such demands of me? Our child will be the future Matriarch. I alone will determine what will best prepare her for her destiny. If you ever give me reason to believe her relationship with you undermines that purpose, you’ll never see her again.” She glared at him.
He met her gaze with quiet implacability. “Then I’m afraid I can’t go through with this. Put me aside for another if you must.” He turned to Elkan. “No, wizard, you may not use the Mother’s power on me.”
The Matriarch whirled on Elkan. “I order you to heal him, no matter what he says!”
Elkan looked back and forth between them cautiously. “I’m afraid that’s impossible, your majesty. The Mother doesn’t allow me to heal someone against their will.”
Josiah shrank into his chair, wishing he could make himself invisible. Elkan was right, no matter how furious his refusal made the Matriarch. It wasn’t something wizards had to deal with often—in Tevenar people were nearly always eager to receive the benefits of the Mother’s power. But the point had become very clear when Master Dabiel’s assassin had been mortally wounded but adamantly refused healing. The familiars had refused to go against his wishes, even though it meant he’d died and they’d lost the opportunity to discover who he worked for.
The Matriarch grew cold and still. “I can rescind the shipments of food to Tevenar. Your people will starve.”
Josiah could see the tenseness in Elkan’s hand on Tobi’s head, but his master’s voice stayed calm. “Nevertheless, I can’t do what you ask. The Law forbids it.”
The Matriarch stared at him for a long moment before rising majestically to her feet. One long stride brought her to tower over Josiah. “You, boy. You’re smarter than your master. You know I hold your life and the lives of your companions in my hands.”
Josiah cowered, gaping up at her threatening form. He hadn’t seen her give a signal, but suddenly a dozen guards were in the room, swords out, moving to enclose both wizards and their familiars in a deadly ring. Josiah knew with sickening certainty that the Matriarch wouldn’t hesitate to kill them if they thwarted her will.
She jerked her head at the guards. They hung back warily from Tobi, who lashed her tail and snarled at them, but didn’t retreat. “I have scores of soldiers I can call if these fail. And I think your beast is somewhat more vulnerable than the cat.” Before Josiah could react a guard had his sword at Sar’s throat. “I suggest you reconsider what’s possible. Is following your precious Law worth more than your lives?”
Elkan’s hand pressed hard on Tobi’s head, ready to send the Mother’s power against any who attacked them, but he didn’t act, just looked steadily at Josiah. Josiah had seen what the Mother’s power could do in a fight, but they were greatly outnumbered. He was achingly aware of the blade poised close to Sar’s vulnerable flesh.
He gulped and laid a shaking hand on Sar’s back. Sar, please…
The donkey was angry, but his voice in Josiah’s head was certain. Not without his consent.
She’ll kill us!
Nevertheless. Sar’s muscles tightened under his hand. I’ll worry about the soldiers. You concentrate on keeping contact.
Josiah clutched the donkey’s mane and tensed his other hand, ready to whip it up as soon as Sar sent the Mother’s power surging through him. “I can’t,” he whispered, averting his eyes from the Matriarch’s cold gaze.
For a long tense instant soldiers and wizards remained motionless, watching to see who would make the first move.
Renarre’s quiet voice cut through the thick silence. “Verinna, stop acting like a spoiled child. There are thousands of young and virile men who would leap at the chance to be your consort. Don’t expect me to believe you’ll sacrifice access to the wizard’s power rather than exchange me for one of them.”
She jerked to face him. “The wizards will do as I say. And so will you, or I’ll divorce you and exile you from Ramunna!”
“Verinna.” Renarre’s voice was gentle. He rose and moved to lay a hand on her shoulder. She stood rigid, neither responding to his touch nor rejecting it. “You can’t threaten wizards into obedience the way you do your nobles. And you can’t dominate me. We established that long ago.”
Josiah thought he saw the Matriarch’s eyes flicker away from Renarre’s, but then her imperious stare was back, mo
re arrogant than ever. “Nor will I allow you to dominate me.”
Renarre stepped back with a sigh. “No.” He looked around at the frozen tableau of guards and wizards and took a deep breath. “I’ve changed my mind. Master Elkan, I want you to use the Mother’s power on me. If you can make it possible for me to sire a child, please do so.” His voice dropped. “What happens after that will be settled between us in private, Verinna.”
She glared at him for a moment longer before turning. “Guards, at ease. But stay close.” She fixed Elkan with her stare. “Are you satisfied, wizard?”
“Yes.” Josiah was impressed with how well Elkan gave the impression nothing unusual had happened, even as the guards sheathed their swords and withdrew to the edges of the room. “Sit down and relax, Lord Renarre. This will only take a moment. Josiah, observe.”
Josiah wished fervently he could make some excuse to flee the room, but he knew it was hopeless. He sighed. Sar?
The donkey sent their golden light to join Elkan and Tobi’s as it bathed Renarre’s body. Male anatomy wasn’t quite as embarrassing to deal with as female, but he still had to remind himself there was nothing personal about their scrutiny.
“Ah, we’re lucky,” Elkan said. “It’s a common condition, easily cured. See the network of small blood vessels there, Josiah, how they’ve become stretched and weakened so that blood pools in them?”
Sar guided their attention to the place. Josiah felt a heavy sense of pressure against his throat, like someone slowly strangling him. He heard a wheezing noise, and saw dull purple blobs overlaying the usual blue whirls of blood flow. “That’s the problem?”
“It is. Would you stand up please, Lord Renarre?”
The effect got much worse with Renarre’s shift in posture. Elkan gestured as he explained. “The valves in the veins which usually keep the blood moving toward the heart are damaged, so blood flows backward and builds up in this area. There’s an artery—see it, Josiah?—that carries blood to the tissues in the testicles where the seeds of life are created. The distended veins put pressure on it, constricting it and reducing the flow of blood. Without sufficient blood, the tissues can’t function properly. Feel how much less activity there is than normal.”
Back home, many people who didn’t want children at the moment, men and women both, came to the Mother’s hall so the wizards could suppress their fertility. Elkan had taught Josiah how it was done. Men’s testicles constantly produced great numbers of tiny sparkling seeds, which the Mother’s power could speed to the end of their lives. That would give a man a few months of infertility until new seeds matured.
But in Renarre, the tissues that would usually have glittered with life in Josiah’s altered sight were a dull grayish-yellow, only a few dim sparks sputtering. No wonder he wasn’t able to pass that life on to a child. Josiah made a face. At least Elkan had said they could fix the problem.
Elkan paused and looked at Renarre. “We can restore your fertility. You’re certain that’s what you want us to do?”
Renarre glanced at the Matriarch. Her expression remained stony. He sighed. “Yes.”
“All right. Sit back down. This will take half an hour or so.”
Elkan murmured explanations to Josiah as he and Tobi worked, and occasionally had Josiah and Sar do part of it. The weakened valves had atrophied past repair, and the body had no way of creating new ones, so they couldn’t salvage the distended veins. But there was a whole network of tiny vessels in the area, with many paths for blood to work its way through and travel back to the heart, and most of them were still healthy. Elkan showed Josiah how it was possible to close off the damaged vessels and redirect blood through the sound ones. As one by one the enlarged vessels were sealed, the cramped artery expanded, sending fresh blood into the starved tissues.
When it was fully clear, Elkan turned his attention to the places where the seeds were generated. “Now that the blockage is cleared, this would heal itself in time, perhaps two or three months. But since time is of the essence, we’ll spare the energy to speed it up.”
He let Josiah and Sar take one side while he and Tobi attended to the other. This was the simplest sort of healing, just accelerating what would happen anyway. Sar flooded the area with the Mother’s power without any need of direction from Josiah. It was fun to watch how the dull grey brightened to lively yellow and orange. Soon a few seeds appeared, then more, brightening until the whole region sparkled just as Josiah was used to seeing in any healthy man.
“That will do it,” Elkan said. Sar ended the flow of power and Josiah sat back with a satisfied sigh at a job well done.
Renarre blinked at them. “That’s it? I feel no different.”
“Yes,” Elkan told him, as he stretched his fingers and scratched Tobi’s ears. “You should have normal fertility. It’s possible the problem will recur at some point in the future, but we can deal with it again if that happens. For now, I suggest the two of you enjoy relations as usual and allow nature to take its course.” A touch of wariness entered his voice as he looked between Renarre and the Matriarch. “If that’s what you choose to do.” He inclined his head to the Matriarch. “Around the time your monthly bleeding is due we’ll be able to tell if you’ve conceived. There should be no need for us to attend you further until then.”
“Excellent.” The Matriarch rose, pointedly not looking at her husband. “I will summon you again at that time. Until then, you may enjoy the hospitality of my palace and devote your days to whatever pursuits you choose.”
“Thank you, your majesty.” Elkan inclined his head to her and rose.
“Come,” she said, in a tone that was more an order than an invitation. “The feast is waiting.”
She swept from the room. Elkan waited for Renarre and Yerenna to follow her, then fell in behind them. Tobi padded at his side.
Josiah eagerly joined him. Sar had to break into a trot for a few steps to keep up. “It’s about time she fed us. I’m so drained I couldn’t heal a stubbed toe.”
Elkan grinned at him, his eyes tired. “I must admit, food and bed will be welcome. Hopefully by next Restday we’ll have things under control well enough to be able to observe it.”
That’s right, it was still Restday. It felt like at least a week had passed since they’d sailed into the harbor. He suspected the rest of the coming week would be just as full. A whole city starving for the Mother’s power was going to be quite a challenge.
Elkan put a hand on his shoulder. “You did well in there. I never imagined she’d threaten you. I’m sorry I brought you into such danger.”
“No, it’s fine. I mean, I wouldn’t have missed any of this.” Josiah suppressed a shiver. “Lord Renarre was right. She wasn’t really going to hurt us. I’m glad he backed down, though.”
“Thank the Mother for that.” Elkan cast a calculating glance to where Renarre had quickened his steps to catch up to the Matriarch. Renarre offered his arm, and she took it without looking at him.
Josiah followed his gaze. “So what do you think? Will they—you know?”
Elkan shook his head with a rueful laugh. “I have no idea. What a strange relationship that is.” He gave Josiah a mock-severe glare. “And none of our business. Unless and until the Matriarch needs our help with a pregnancy we’re going to be much too busy to worry about their private affairs.”
Josiah groaned, but he didn’t really mind. He enjoyed days when they saw lots of patients with a variety of interesting problems. There was certainly plenty of that to look forward to.
Five
Kevessa stayed a few steps behind her father as he hurried from the throne room. As she’d hoped, Gevan was so intent on his business he didn’t notice her following him. She kept carefully back while he asked a guard the way to the office of the Matriarch’s steward and continued to follow as he set off in the indicated direction. He stared into the distance as he strode along, his mind as usual lost in brilliant, esoteric wanderings.
As soon as they ente
red a deserted corridor, she quickened her pace and came to his side. “Father,” she said.
He jerked to face her, eyes coming into focus. “Kevessa! What are you doing here? You’re supposed to stay for the Matriarch’s feast.” With visible effort he softened his expression. “I expect you need to eat after how hard you worked this afternoon.”
Kevessa stroked Nina’s head. The squirrel pressed into her touch. It was true they were both tired and hungry, but they weren’t so badly drained they couldn’t attend to one more urgent task. “We can get something to eat later. You’ll be going down to the dock, yes? I thought this would be a good opportunity to see if we can discover who sent Tharan.”
Gevan grabbed Kevessa’s shoulders. “That’s far too dangerous for you to attempt. Let Master Elkan handle it.”
Kevessa worked hard to keep her voice calm and reasonable. That was the only way to deal with Gevan. She knew her father’s protectiveness sprang from his love for her, but it often went to unwelcome extremes. “There’s no danger. I left some of my things in my cabin. I can say I want to pack them myself.” She lowered her voice, even though no one was visible in either direction. “A window will be able to observe the day Tharan boarded the ship. We can trace his movements and find anyone he spoke to on the ship or near the docks. If we don’t find anything, we can mark where he goes out of range and follow him from some other safe, private place later.”
Gevan glowered at her, but she could tell he was weakening, persuaded by her logic. She gave him her most winsome smile. “Master Elkan and Josiah are going to be busy healing people. If they spare the time necessary to trace Tharan, people will notice. The Purifiers might realize what they’re doing. But no one will suspect a rich young girl taking a little extra time fussing over her clothes.”
She kept up her facade of cheerful good sense as Gevan wavered. As long as he didn’t realize how strongly she really felt, she had a chance to persuade him. If she let him glimpse the truth, though, he’d never let her do what she must.
Beyond the Boundary Stones (The Chronicles of Tevenar Book 3) Page 6
