by Murray, Dean
The younger boy turned and walked away, noticing that Jain was among the many girls who had arrived while he'd been talking to Be'ter. Va'del saluted her with his practice weapon and then began the third form. I wonder why the girl on the far end of the Daughters flinched when I saluted Jain.
Chapter 7
Jain slipped out of the dormitories and headed through the dimly-lit tunnels towards Ah'bi's rooms. She just needed to continue on in that direction for a little while in order to make sure nobody was following her before doubling back to the hot spring.
Normally Jain didn't bother worrying about anyone following her, but Mali had been acting oddly all night, and the only thing the teenager had been able to come up with was that the other girl must suspect that she wasn't really going to visit Guadel Ah'bi.
After several minutes of walking the empty corridors, Jain finally felt confident enough to double back. Impatiently wishing she'd already arrived at the hot spring, she'd almost decided she was the only one awake in this wing of the Capital when a sudden flash of movement and a half-glimpsed face as someone ducked into one of the small service tunnels proved her wrong.
Jain nearly tripped in surprise, but when nothing else happened, she started walking again as her thoughts worried at the strange familiarity of the face.
She really was following me!
Jain nearly turned around and confronted Mali, but then she saw Be'ter walking casually in her direction.
As always, the candidate's gaze made her feel more than a little dirty, but he passed by without saying anything, and suddenly Jain realized where he was headed. Mali hadn't been following Jain, she'd been sneaking out to meet Be'ter.
A short time later Jain had navigated the last corner, and almost before she could sit down on the hard rock floor, Va'del's strong arms were tightly wrapped around her.
"I was starting to worry. You were late."
Her concerns about Mali momentarily forgotten, Jain drew back and punched him playfully in the chest. "You never used to worry if I was a minute or two late."
"You used to have to sneak out of the dormitories to come here. Some nights you didn't even make it out. Now you've got a free pass, so I figure if you are late something bad must have happened."
The comment dispelled the momentary feeling of tranquility that being with Va'del had conjured. "Not quite a free pass. I thought someone was following me tonight."
Va'del stiffened. "Were they?"
"No, it was just one of the girls off to meet up with Be'ter."
Jain had been lost in her thoughts for several minutes before she realized that Va'del had been patiently waiting for her the entire time.
"I'm sorry. I guess I was thinking about stuff."
"Like whether or not to turn them in?"
"I suppose. What they are doing is wrong, and I'm positive that he doesn't really care for her. On the other hand, how can I feel good about turning someone in for the same thing I'm doing?"
Several more seconds passed before Va'del placed his hand under her chin. "And you're worried that it will further alienate the other girls."
"How, how did you know that?"
"Since we got back to the Capital you haven't really talked about any of them. You used to talk about them all of the time. I figured that means you're probably getting a bit of a cold shoulder."
Jain felt tears coming, but fought them down. "I'm not going to cry tonight. It seems like every time I see you I break down and it isn't fair to you."
Va'del pulled her close again. "It's okay. You've had a pretty rough time of things; I don't begrudge you a few tears now and again. I'm just sorry I've made things so hard for you."
"You saved me when just about anyone else would have left me there for the bandits to kill. Whatever happens now would be a small enough price to pay for that, even if I didn't love you for so many other reasons."
"If it makes you feel any better, turning them in won't make any difference to Be'ter. He's been slated for some kind of advanced testing. The rumors all point to the idea that once he and the others are done they'll be able to get married. With everything else he's gotten away with in the last little bit, I have a hard time believing this will bring him down."
Jain knew that Va'del didn't like the idea of letting Be'ter get away with yet another violation of the rules any more than she did, but she finally decided he was probably right even as a surge of anger washed over her.
"So he breaks four or five of your bones, intimidates most of the candidates and they reward him by making him a Guadel. You, on the other hand, save the People by cutting down a dozen bandits and they throw you in jail where you almost die. Don't you get tired of the way that doing the right thing never seems to pay off?"
Va'del laughed as she forced herself to calm down and close her eyes to begin checking the growth of his augmented bones, but it was a bitter sound. "Very much so. Unfortunately, right now there isn't anything I can do about it."
"It just doesn't seem fair. Doing what is right should result in rewards, and the people who don't do the right thing should be punished."
"The religions book I'm reading says that is exactly what happens, but just not immediately."
"Why doesn't the Goddess speed things up then?"
"Maybe because if you were punished or rewarded immediately, there wouldn't be any reason to do anything wrong. Everyone would just do what is right all the time, and you wouldn't be able to figure out which people do the right thing because it is right, and which people just want the reward."
##
Fi'lin limped into the rooms he shared with Ah'bi and collapsed onto their bed.
"You are positively filthy, but I won't make you move since it is obvious you've had a bad day. Just don't try to get under the covers until you've cleaned yourself up."
The Guadel groaned, and then rolled halfway over so that he could look at his wife. "Powers! I never expected these stupid tests to be as bad as they are. They don't trust me to be independent, so they've got no less than five observers in there watching as the boys are put through their paces."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"It wouldn't be except for the fact that in order to really test how good someone is, you have to be better than they are. Since they obviously picked the best of the lot to test, it was I or my two assistants who were forced to fight candidate after candidate."
Ah'bi looked up, startled, as she finally realized what Fi'lin must have been through. "Surely there are others who could have helped with the testing?"
"Of course, but politics being what they are, none of them were trusted to be unbiased enough. I did finally manage to convince them to let one of the more senior guardsmen help, but even then, there were ten of them and only five of us, so we got worn down at twice the rate they did."
"Five? You said you only had one guardsmen helping. A guardsman, you and your two little henchmen only makes four."
Fi'lin shifted slightly, like a little boy caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. "Well, it became obvious pretty quickly that the four of us wouldn't be able to keep up. Since there wasn't another instructor from the Guard who could be spared to help, and none of the observers were willing to help, I convinced them to bring Va'del onto the testing staff."
Ah'bi graced her husband with a look that he'd come to dread over the years. At least it was one he didn't get hit with too often.
"What if they'd realized that he's been augmented?"
Fi'lin shook his head. "This was a test of the other kids, not of Va'del. Nobody really ever saw his full speed or strength. Besides, they watched Be'ter run everyone but Va'del around the ring at some point or another and never seemed to think that was out of the ordinary."
"Is he really that good?"
"I'm afraid so. To think that I actually used to wish he'd apply himself to his weapons training. Since Va'del beat him, I wonder sometimes if he's not skipping his other classes just so he can practice."
Ah'
bi nodded. "I can tell you that he does skip classes now and again. It seems he's decided that they don't offer him the concrete power being capable of killing someone does."
"That or he's just scared of Va'del. That kid worked as hard as any of us, and never complained once. He pulled out tricks and combinations I know he hasn't learned from me. I keep thinking maybe I'rone taught them to him, but that doesn't make sense, they're just too advanced. All I can figure is he's a natural. He's either coming up with this stuff while practicing on his own, or improvising on the spot and doing it spectacularly."
Ah'bi set down the law book she had been reading and came over to hug her husband despite the fact that he was most definitely hot and sweaty. "You sound a little scared sweetheart. Worried that he'll take over your job soon?"
Fi'lin snorted. "Hardly, I can still take him. No, I'm more worried that his real potential won't ever be realized. I don't know what to make of Per'ce's reports that both Cindi and On'li have now implied that the kid has some kind of unusual ability when it comes to linking. That's all out of my area of expertise, but when it comes to weapons skills, the boy's as gifted as anyone I've ever seen. He seems to be a fairly good teacher too. Tim'i, that little runt of Bay'rol's, has been struggling since he got here. Mich'a had all but given up on him when Va'del strolled past and told the boy to bend his left knee more, and to stay on the balls of his feet."
In response to his wife's skeptical look, the arms master continued defensively. "No, it didn't fix all of the kid's problems, but it was the root of them. Once that was taken care of Mich'a was able to start making some progress with him."
Ah'bi let go of her husband and leaned back away from him. "We've been married long enough for me to be able to tell when you're working your way up to something. Powers, it is like you're presenting a case, putting all of the evidence out into nice separate packets."
Caught partway through stripping off his tunic, Fi'lin realized she was right, both that he was working up to making a proposition, and that he was presenting it like he was in court. "I think it is because that's the way your mind works, love. I learned long ago that if I'm to convince you of anything, my evidence has to be presented in an orderly manner or you make me look like a fool."
"Well, having presented your case, out with it."
"Would you consider sponsoring Va'del? I mean, test him and see if he's someone you could sponsor. I wouldn't want to interfere with the sponsoring process, not that you'd let me if I did, but I want to give the boy a chance to reach his potential."
Ah'bi shook her head. "It won't work."
"I know what you're thinking. Tradition frowns on full-time instructors taking a candidate, but it doesn't have the force of the rules that prohibit On'li and Javin from sponsoring the boy. We could probably make the sponsorship stick."
Ah'bi responded without meeting her husband's eyes. "No, that isn't the reason. It won't work because I won't do it."
Fi'lin looked at his wife in amazement. "You won't even scan the boy? Why not?"
"That isn't important. I just won't do it."
The wiry Guadel jumped to his feet, truly angry with his normally-reasonable wife for the first time in years. "Just like that? You're not even going to give me a reason? Every time I try something like that you tear into me like a snow leopard looking for its next meal. You at least owe me an explanation for why we, just like almost everyone else from the Council on down, aren't going to give the boy the chance he's earned more times over in the last year than I care to count!"
Ah'bi turned away from Fi'lin, which only made him madder. "You're so big on justice, how do you rationalize your way into something like that?"
Fi'lin grabbed a robe and started to storm off in the direction of the wash room when his wife called out to him.
"I'm sorry, you're right, you at least deserve an explanation. I've known this was coming ever since you asked me to modify his body. I've been over the arguments for and against so many times in my head, I forget you haven't been privy to any of them."
Fi'lin stopped, but he still felt the anger bubbling below his surface, an emotion he'd almost stopped believing he could feel with so much intensity.
"I knew I'rone better than anyone else outside his bloodline. You and his wives all slept through enough of our discussions on the theory of law to know he knew me better than anyone else except you."
Ah'bi forestalled his question with a shake of her head and continued.
"I knew him just as well, I knew how good of a man he was, but he scared me despite that. I study law, I understand the necessity of punishment for criminals, but it isn't the same thing as what he felt. That man was ready and willing to kill. He even sought out killing where he felt that doing so would uphold society and the rule of law. I have enough dark places in my own soul, but I'rone was a thousand times worse, and the boy will be just as bad in his own way. I don't know that I could handle exploring his mind, let alone linking with him as often as a sponsor would have to. I'm sorry, Fi'lin. I wish I could do this for you, but I can't. I can't be responsible for giving that kind of power to someone I can't be sure won't misuse it, and I won't scan him and invade his privacy like that when I already know I can't sponsor him."
"What are you talking about? It isn't like we're making him one of the super Guadel that Pat'rec said Ja'dir wanted to create."
"Do you really believe that? If he is sponsored, he and Jain will marry, and then it will only be a matter of a few years, and he'll have a second wife, maybe even a third one."
"That is absurd."
"No it isn't. Haven't you noticed how the girls look at him? He's every bit as attractive as Be'ter, and his darker skin makes him exotic. Not only that, he's so considerate it's almost painful to watch. No, once the stigma of not being a candidate is washed away, the girls will flock to him and the next thing you know we'll see Ja'dir's super Guadel, and all with nothing more than a group of foolish youngsters to ride herd on him."
Chapter 8
Va'del wondered what the summons from On'li was about. Luckily they'd finished testing for the day and the notice had come early enough for him to have plenty of time to get there. Of course plenty of time didn't mean quite the same thing as it would have before all of the insanity started.
Va'del had never been quite so sore and tired at any other point in his life. For once he'd actually been relieved when Jain hadn't been able to slip away and meet him. He'd missed her, but her absence meant he'd been able to strip off his clothes and soak his whole body in the pool. Even after a full night's sleep he was still moving like an eighty-year-old, which didn't worry him as much as the way his muscles had started twitching. That probably meant they were nearly depleted enough to go into seizure. If Jain didn't manage to sneak away tonight, he'd have to find a pretext to visit Ah'bi tomorrow.
Once Va'del finally made it to the suite of rooms that On'li, Javin and Mar'li shared, he clapped twice and waited for an invitation before venturing around the privacy corner.
"Va'del, you look like you're three days dead."
The teenager laughed, and then grabbed his side as forgotten bruises reminded him of their presence. "I'll be okay; it's just been a long couple of days. I didn't realize that the testing Fi'lin recruited me for would be quite so brutal on the testers."
"I don't suppose I look any better, the Council sessions have been especially heated lately."
Mar'li appeared from the other room with a cup of something steaming, which Va'del accepted with a nod of thanks.
The liquid turned out to be remarkably sweet and smooth, and Va'del found himself smiling.
"It's very good, isn't it? Mar'li makes it from a lowlander food called honey. Javin claims it helps restore his energy levels after training, and Piter always agreed emphatically, but I think they both just have a weakness for sweets."
On'li's face fell a little when she mentioned Piter, but she took a seat as she motioned for Va'del to sit, skillfully dodging the awkwardnes
s that could have otherwise resulted from the painful memory. It must have hurt her as much to lose Piter as it did for me to lose Jasmin, I'rone and Betreec.
"I'm sorry I didn't arrange to talk to you sooner than this. I owe you an update on where things stand. Cindi made a valiant effort to try and get you sponsored, but it backfired on us."
Va'del's response was preempted by Mar'li's return, this time bearing a small plate of sweet bread.
"I've missed seeing you, Va'del. Please don't think that you have to wait for an invitation from On'li to stop by for an occasional visit."
The teenager thanked Mar'li, and then turned back to On'li only to see that the older woman had her eyes closed. Before Va'del could call out to Mar'li that the bread was delicious, On'li opened her eyes and shot to her feet.
"Who the hell did that to you?"
Va'del felt a sudden surge of fear as he realized just how angry the Guadel was, but he also felt the first flickerings of anger that she would just invade his body without asking.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do, I can see it in your eyes. Someone has started augmenting you. It was bad enough that Jasmin augmented your ability to put on muscle, but this is enough to get Javin and me kicked off of the Council. Nobody will believe it wasn't us who did it."
The anger was a roaring furnace now. Va'del was fed up with everyone forgetting that this particular pawn was regularly taking a beating. On'li was obviously only mad because of the possible implications to her personally. Va'del hadn't realized just how short-sighted the old woman could be. She'd just jumped right over the question of what might happen to him as a result or why someone might have chosen to augment him other than to discredit her.
On'li took his silence as a refusal to cooperate and hissed the one threat guaranteed to get his attention. "Tell me who did it immediately or I'll see to it you're never sponsored. Not only that, I'll make sure that you're exiled from the Capital and sent somewhere you'll never see Jain again."
