by Dawn Cook
“Actually,” Alissa said softly, “it’s been longer than that.”
As one, the assembly turned to Keribdis. Their faces wore frowns ranging from accusing to frightened. “No,” Neugwin said, her voice unreadable. “We knew Silla hadn’t been sleeping well. But only Masters can dream-touch. How—” The matronly woman’s eyes lit up, and she took Alissa’s hands, staring at her normal fingers. “You’re the Hold’s next transeunt,” she whispered. A stab of angst went through Alissa, but Neugwin’s eyes were dancing with delight. “But how, love? We hadn’t planned any such as you for another fifty years.”
Keribdis cleared her throat dryly. “Obviously there’s been a mistake,” she said, doing an ill job of concealing her displeasure. “It’s almost worth the trip home to check my books as to who calculated the probability chart on her parents’ union.”
“Then we’re going home?” Neugwin asked. “Now that we have a boat?”
Keribdis blinked. “Whatever for? I don’t need the Hold to begin schooling her.”
“But I came to bring you home . . .” Alissa said, bewildered. She’d never considered they wouldn’t want to leave. She reddened, embarrassed. Strell, too, wore a blank look. But no one heard her over the buzz of agitated conversation.
An annoyed, calculating look flickered over Keribdis. “Nothing has changed!” the woman asserted; then, seeing the cross expressions in the crowd, she smiled. “But of course we will discuss it in detail later. Tonight we celebrate one of the lost returning to us. Connen-Neute’s name is circled no more!”
They cheered at that, and Alissa had to soothe both Beast and Talon. Keribdis’s smile had no feeling. Cold slipped through Alissa. Keribdis was playing them as if she had been doing it for her entire life. Unsettled, Alissa carefully scanned the faces before her, seeing who among the crowd realized Keribdis had intentionally distracted them. Lodesh, too, was making meaningful eye contact with several people. She felt a rush of gratitude knowing Lodesh, at least, could effectively move in the conclave’s political circle.
The noise eased, and a clean-shaven Master in a simple gray tunic lined in purple said, “You mean, of course, we will be celebrating Alissa’s appearance as well as Connen-Neute’s.”
“Of course.” Keribdis made an expansive gesture. “So prepare what we have in the stores. Make everything ready. And leave them alone!” she said with a friendly tone of exasperation. “They’re tired. You’ll hear their stories tonight.”
17
The crowd obediently broke into smaller groups, talking loudly as they dispersed. Talon started at the sudden, combined movement and launched herself from Alissa’s wrist to vanish into the mirth trees. Alissa rubbed her arm and smiled uneasily at those who met her eyes in passing. A few people clasped Connen-Neute’s hand warmly before they left, making promises to talk later. Alissa watched in relief as the fifty or so Masters dwindled to their original group plus the fat Master, Neugwin, and the somber Master in gray who had suggested they celebrate Alissa’s presence as well as Connen-Neute’s.
Strell leaned close to Alissa as Keribdis started across the open space under the trees. “They don’t want to leave?” he asked, his brown eyes holding a defensive cast.
Lodesh shook his head. “Some do. Keribdis doesn’t. Most follow her.” He gave Alissa an encouraging smile. “It will make for an interesting party tonight.”
Keribdis turned on the path, seeming surprised they weren’t following her yet. “You’re tired. Let’s get you settled.”
Connen-Neute hastened forward with Silla. Alissa stepped to follow, hesitating as Captain Sholan took her elbow. “Ma’hr,” he said. “I’m goin’ back to my boat.” His frightened eyes tracked a Master who had shifted and was flying up into the trees. “I have to tell Hayden.”
Alissa found enough empathy in her scattered confidence to smile. A part of her wanted to follow him to the boat and skate across the waves back to Useless. “Fine,” she said, not caring that Keribdis’s waiting stance had grown impatient. “You know the way?”
“Aye,” he said, visibly relieved she wasn’t asking him to stay. “There’s the water to restock and the boom to repair. We’ll be ready when you want to leave.” His brow furrowed in warning. “She’s a manta ray of a woman, Ma’hr,” he whispered. “A devilfish. Be careful.”
“Thank you, Captain,” she said, taking the time to touch his arm in parting despite Keribdis’s obvious irritation. Though she knew it was ill-advised, Alissa obstinately kept her pace slow as she joined Keribdis’s small following. Connen-Neute’s eyes were wide at her defiance. The increasing wind of the approaching storm pulled at her hair, and she relished it.
“Lodesh?” Keribdis said as Alissa joined them and they moved forward. “We have a few huts on the beach. We use them for various tasks, but perhaps you would like to put your people there? No need to climb into the trees when there’s lodging on the ground.”
“Actually,” Lodesh drawled as he took Alissa’s arm, “this is Alissa’s affair. I’m along to keep her company. You ought to talk to her about such arrangements,” he finished lightly.
“Alissa’s?” Keribdis’s voice carried a hint of mockery. “Forgive me.”
Alissa stifled her frown. This wasn’t going well. Strell looked sullen, and Alissa knew it was from Keribdis’s not-so-subtle slights.
“Warden,” the rotund Master said as they moved. “I’m dying of curiosity. How did your people absolve their curse?”
Keribdis cleared her throat. “Tonight. He’ll tell us tonight,” she said as the wind increased. A few patters of rain encouraged them to walk faster.
Lodesh glanced slyly at Alissa. “It was a Keeper. I think you know him. Bailic?”
“Bailic!” Beso-Ran exclaimed. “If I had the little worm before me right now, I’d toast his toes good for sending us on a fool’s errand the way he did.” He puffed at the new pace. “But I thought you said Alissa woke you.”
“Bailic didn’t wake me,” Lodesh said, “but when he found the people roused, he made the improper assumption that he had. He was going to send them into the foothills and plains to bring about another plague of madness, punishing them for having cast him out. My people tore his soul apart to prevent him from starting the same plague that caused their own plight. It was enough to free all of them or singly me.” He shifted his shoulders, clearly not upset. “I’ll find another way to free my soul.” He gave Alissa a knowing smile. “But not anytime soon, I think.”
From behind her came Strell’s indistinct mutter. There was a buzz in Alissa’s mind of a private conversation, and Keribdis sighed. “Your huts need some repair,” she said. “You can wait out the rain at the community shelter until they’re ready. Quick. You don’t want to be caught in it.” Not waiting, she turned sharply and headed for a large covered structure. It was the only building Alissa could see on the ground, open on all sides and thatched with huge leaves.
Alissa looked behind her as a hissing roar came faintly. Several calls of warning came from the trees above. Her mouth gaped as she realized the roar was from an advancing wall of rain. Strell tugged at her arm, and, giving up any pretense at decorum, everyone ran.
Patters of rain struck her shoulders as they all rushed under the shelter. Silla was laughing, and Alissa spun to watch as the world turned gray and sound thundered down upon them. It was almost deafening, and she could do nothing but stare. The wind drove the rain under the covering, and they clustered together at the center. She wondered how Hayden was doing. The downfall was so heavy, it seemed as if they were underwater, and Alissa took a deep breath to assure herself she could. She hoped Talon was all right.
The deluge slackened almost as quickly as it had advanced, slowing into an easy cadence. “That’s it?” she said, invigorated by the short run and the new coolness to the air.
From beside her came Beso-Ran’s deep harrumph. “It does that every day,” he said.
Only now did Alissa turn to look at the shelter. A large central hearth kept it
lit, presently filled with ash-dusted coals. Just above her head nets were strung between the supports, and she wondered if they dried food there. Strell had settled at one of the benches surrounding the coals, and she moved to sit beside him. Immediately Lodesh took her other side.
She smiled at the sight of Connen-Neute easing himself nervously down between Silla and his aunt. The two women were chattering happily around him, leaving the young Master with a bemused expression. Beso-Ran had taken up a bowl of berries, offering them to everyone before settling himself to eat when they all refused. Alissa became distant, reminded of how Redal-Stan used to do the same in his attempts to get her to try his beloved ham rolls.
Looking across the hearth, Alissa blinked. Keribdis had taken a position directly opposite her, arranging her clothes carefully as if to point out Alissa’s simpler attire. “Forgive me,” the woman said, her words precise and clipped. “I must excuse myself. I’m anxious to plan out where I’m going to start with you.” Her black eyebrows arched mockingly as she looked at Alissa. “Neugwin can show you the shelters when they’re ready.”
“Connen-Neute can stay with me,” Neugwin bubbled, and Connen-Neute flushed at his aunt’s enthusiasm. “But I’ll show you the shelters. They’re just down the path to the beach. Warden, you and Strell can have the larger one if Alissa doesn’t mind.”
“I’m not Warden any longer, Neugwin,” Lodesh said as he pilfered a berry from Beso-Ran’s bowl, tossing it into his mouth in apparent unconcern. “Just Lodesh. Keeper of the Hold.”
Beso-Ran made a harrumph of dissatisfaction. “Nonsense,” the large Master grumped. “Once a Warden, always a Warden. I don’t care that you’ve been dead.”
Lodesh’s gaze flicked to the distant trees. “Talo-Toecan struck my title—”
“That takes an entire quorum!” Keribdis exclaimed. “You’re still the Warden.”
“It was deserved.” Lodesh raised a hand to forestall any more argument.
Neugwin ceased talking with Connen-Neute, and an uncomfortable silence descended. “What could warrant such a punishment?” the matronly Master asked in wonder.
Lodesh met her gaze evenly. “I kept silent when I should have warned him of a coming danger. That my betrayal was to further my own desires made it twofold the crime.”
Alissa felt Strell’s breath quicken. Lodesh had betrayed her in the name of love, wagering Useless’s trust and her friendship that she would grow to love him in the past as he had fallen in love with her. She had, but the cost had been very high. She had forgiven him for his betrayal. To forget was harder.
It was obvious volumes were being unsaid, but the surrounding Masters respected his new silence. Keribdis, though, seemed to know that Alissa was behind this effrontery, too, and her eyes tightened. “Don’t enjoy yourself too much tonight,” she warned Alissa. “I want you on the beach at sunrise. That’s Silla’s usual time for lessons, and I imagine you’re anxious to learn what a Master your age is expected to know. We’ll start with how to find your tracings and source. Silla could do with the refresher.”
Silla cringed, and Alissa felt a wash of empathy. It wasn’t pleasant being asked to slow to someone else’s pace. “I already know how,” Alissa said softly.
A puff of amusement came from Keribdis. “Re-e-e-eally?” she said, her voice so heavy with sarcasm, Alissa was surprised she couldn’t see the vowels rolling along the ground.
Beso-Ran looked up from his berries. “Talo-Toecan has begun your studies?” he questioned. His gaze went to Keribdis. “That was your task.”
“Yes. I know,” the woman said vindictively. “Well,” she said to Alissa, “if you think you’ve mastered that, we can move on to nonverbal speech.” Keribdis stood.
“I already know that, too.” Alissa hated herself for flushing, and pride prompted her to add, “I can speak to Keeper as well as Master.”
Keribdis’s high cheekbones showed a tinge of red. Stomach tight, Alissa looked up at the consternation on the surrounding Masters’ faces. The last Master—the quiet one in gray—was the only one who didn’t look surprised. Arms crossed, he leaned against one of the shelter’s supports and watched Keribdis, not Alissa. His Master’s vest had a very simple cut, reminding her of Redal-Stan’s attire. His sash was yellow.
“I don’t think you understand what I’m asking, poor child,” Keribdis said. “Be on the beach tomorrow. Sunrise.” As if that ended it, she gestured for Silla to accompany her as she walked into the last drops of rain glittering in the newly unveiled sun.
Beso-Ran nodded to them, and with more grace than Alissa would have credited him, got to his feet. “Keribdis?” the fat Master said. “A word with you?”
Alissa’s mouth turned down as he paced quickly after Keribdis with the bowl of fruit. What did Alissa care what they thought? Her studies were none of the woman’s affair.
Strell rose to his feet. Alissa became alarmed at the determined clench of his jaw. “No,” she said, pulling on his sleeve to get him to sit down. “I’ll explain later. It doesn’t matter, and rubbing her nose in it now will only make things worse.”
“It does matter,” he said roughly, anger making his eyes hard. “She’s treating you less than a Keeper, less than me.”
“Strell,” she pleaded, but he wouldn’t be deterred.
Tugging his rough tunic straight, he said loudly to their retreating backs, “Alissa can speak soundlessly to Keepers. She can touch my mind as well. She did so just today, to ask me to bring along her hat she dropped while chasing Silla.”
Beso-Ran swung his bulk around. “You were chasing Silla?” he asked, his brow arched.
Alissa tensed. “She, uh, was afraid of me, and I wanted to explain—”
“Afraid.” Face tight, Keribdis strode back under the shelter. “I can understand why. You have the manners of a back-hills farmer. We will attend to that tomorrow as well.”
Alissa felt her face go bloodless in anger. There was nothing wrong with her manners.
Silla had put herself between Alissa and Keribdis. “I’m not afraid of Alissa anymore,” she said, clearly distressed. “You told me she was a dream-demon. That’s why I ran.”
Keribdis’s face went unexpectedly soft. “Hush, Silla,” the woman said. “We’ll talk later. Why don’t you see if the tide has left any fish in the pools?”
“I want to stay here,” she said, her golden eyes going wide.
The Master in gray pushed himself upright from the shelter’s support. “Let Silla stay,” he said lightly. “We all want to hear how Alissa can talk to commoners.”
His head tilted in question. Alissa met his golden eyes without dropping them, knowing anger from Keribdis’s insult still burned in her gaze. He was silent for a long moment, then, apparently satisfied, he extended his hand. “I’m Yar-Taw,” he said formally.
Alissa covered it with her own automatically.
“I’m glad to meet you and Strell.” He glanced at Strell, and Alissa’s breath came easier after the Master took the time to recognize him.
“Alissa Meson,” she said as her pulse slowed.
“Meson?” he asked. “Your father is a Keeper, yes? Talo-Toecan’s student. Is he well?”
She looked up at him in wonder. He had known her father. Probably better than she had. “He died after you left the Hold,” she said, hoping her bitterness didn’t show.
“I’m sorry,” Yar-Taw said. “He was a good man and student.” He took her hands, his golden eyes intent. “Alissa,” he said, “can you really reach the Warden’s mind?”
“Yes, and Strell’s, too, when my emotions are strong.”
Face blank, his hands slipped from her.
Brushing the extravagant length of black hair from her, Keribdis laughed. “She obviously doesn’t understand the question.”
“She can touch my thoughts,” Lodesh said, and Alissa gave him a grateful look as he broke his conspicuous silence. “And don’t ask us to perform like trained bears. Talo-Toecan believes because sh
e grew up as a human, her mind was forced to develop around verbal language, not mental, thereby giving her common ground to be able to understand a Keeper’s thought patterns. I think it was one of the reasons she was able to wake me.”
Neugwin murmured a soft agreement, and Yar-Taw rubbed a hand over his shaven cheeks in thought. Alissa’s shoulders eased, but Keribdis ruined it all with a derisive snort. “Look what Talo-Toecan has done to our transeunt,” she said bitterly. “She may be a Master, but her mind has been warped by living with humans so long. She should have been isolated until her mind recovered its proper schematic before beginning her studies. Who knows what ramifications this will have? What she won’t be able to do?” The woman’s lips pursed, making her all the more severe. “This is Talo-Toecan’s failing.”
Alissa’s breath caught in outrage. Keribdis thought her ability was a failing? Strell moved forward a step, and she put a hand on him. “Alissa’s mind isn’t warped,” he said, his eyes hard. But he was ignored. Yar-Taw eased back to the outskirts, watching.
“So,” Beso-Ran said as he settled his bulk in Keribdis’s old spot and resumed eating his berries. “Talo-Toecan has been teaching you. Has he given you warming wards yet?” His tone was jovial, clearly trying to ease the mood. “Keribdis,” he cajoled, “teach Alissa warming wards right away so we don’t have to hide them from her. I like my tea hot.”
Realizing her only option was to overlook Keribdis’s slights, Alissa resolved to ignore the woman. “Actually, that was one of my first wards,” she admitted, her pulse slowing. “Talo-Toecan likes his tea hot, too. And it was snowing a great deal of the time we were together.”
“How about fields?” Neugwin wanted to know. “Has he taught you—” She hesitated.
“Impervious as well as permeable,” Alissa finished for her, thinking Neugwin didn’t want to give away anything Alissa might not know about yet. Lodesh had a pained look on his face, and she added, “I had to so as to keep myself alive.”
Neugwin glanced at Keribdis, her eyes large. “That wasn’t my question,” Neugwin said. “I wanted to know how many fields you could hold independently.”
