'I thought it might be something like that. Thanks for telling me.' Richard stroked his beard. 'Warren, I need your help.'
Warren lifted the sleeve of his robes and wiped it at his wet eyes. 'What help can I give?'
'You said there are prophecies about me. I want you to study everything about me you can find. And about the Towers of Perdition, the Valley of the Lost. I also need to know everything I can about the veil.' Richard pointed at the book on the table. There was a drawing a few pages before you stopped on the prophecy. It was a teardrop shape. Do you know what it is?'
Warren went to the book and turned the pages back. This?'
'Yes. That's it.' He remembered seeing it around Rachel's neck, in his vision of her and Chase in the Valley of the Lost. An image of Zedd came into Richard's mind. His heart thumped faster. That looks like the thing I saw. What is it?'
Warren gave him a puzzled look. The Stone of Tears. What do you mean you saw it?'
'What is the Stone of Tears?'
'Well, I'm not sure. I'd have to study about it, but I think it might have something to do with the veil, if drauka could be interpreted to have something to do with the underworld. What do you mean you saw it?'
Richard ignored the question for a second time. 'Warren, I also need to know about the Stone of Tears, and everything you can find about the people who used to live in the Valley of the Lost. The Baka Ban Mana. Their name means "those without masters." And about one they call the Caharin.'
Warren stared dumbly at him. This is all a lot of work.'
'Will you help me, Warren?'
Warren looked down, picking at his robes. 'On a condition. I never get out of this place. Not that I don't like working with the prophecies, you understand, but people think that I have no interest in anything else. I'd like to see the country around the palace - the woods, the hills.'
He twisted his fingers together. 'I'm afraid of big places. The sky is so big. That's the other reason I stay down here, because it feels safe to me. But I'm sick of living like a mole. I would like to try going outside and seeing it. Would you, well, show me the countryside? You look to me like someone familiar with the out-of-doors. I think I would feel safe if you went with me.'
Richard smiled warmly. 'You've come to the right person, Warren. I was a woods guide, before all this started. I don't know all the country around the palace yet, but I surely intend to. I'd really enjoy guiding you around. It would be just like old times.'
Warren's expression brightened. 'Thank you, Richard. I look forward to seeing open places. I need some adventure in my life. I'll start right away on the things you want, but the Sisters give me work, so I must search when I can find the time. And I'm afraid that I must be honest; it will take a long time. There are thousands of volumes here. It will take months, just to get a good start.'
'Warren, this may be the most important thing you ever studied. You may be able to save time if you start by reading everything the Prelate has been reading.'
A sly smile came to Warren's lips. 'I thought you said you weren't good with riddles. That is what I was thinking.' His smile turned to a concerned frown. 'Why do you want to know these things?'
Richard studied the other's blue eyes for a long moment. 'I am fuer grissa ost drauka. Warren, I know what it means.'
Warren clutched his fingers to the sleeve of Richard's red coat. 'You know? You know which is the correct translation?' His fingers trembled. 'Would you tell me?'
'If you promise not to tell anyone else, for now.' Warren nodded eagerly. 'No one has been able to figure out which one of the three is the true translation because in trying to justify one, they invalidate the whole.' Warren frowned. Richard leaned toward him. They are all true, Warren.'
'What?' he whispered. 'How can that be?'
'I have killed people with this sword. I am the bringer of death in that sense. That is the first meaning of drauka.
'In order to prevail against otherwise impossible odds, such as defeating the mriswith, I use the sword's magic to bring forth the spirits of those who have used it before me. I have called the dead forth, called the past into the present. In that way, I am the bringer of spirits. That is the second meaning of drauka.
As for the third meaning, bringing forth the underworld, I have reason to believe that I may have somehow torn the veil. That is the third meaning of drauka.'
Warren gasped.
'It's very important that you find out the information I asked you about. I don't think I have a lot of time.'
Warren nodded. 'I'll try. But I think you put too much faith in me.'
Richard lifted an eyebrow. 'I have faith in a man able to break Jedidiah's leg.'
'I did nothing to Jedidiah. Jedidiah is a powerful wizard. I would never dare to oppose one of his powers.'
'Oh, come on, Warren. There are ashes of the burned carpet on the shoulder of your robe.'
Warren brushed frantically at his shoulder. There is no ash there. I see no ash.'
Richard waited for Warren's eyes to come up. Then why are you brushing at your robes?'
'Well, I ... I was... I just ...'
Richard put a reassuring hand on Warren's back. 'It's all right, Warren. I'm a believer in justice. I think Jedidiah got what he deserved. I won't tell anyone. And you must not tell anyone about any of this.'
'I must warn you, Richard, you did a very dangerous thing yesterday when you told all the Sisters that you were the bringer of death. That is a well-known, and hotly debated, prophecy. There are Sisters who believe it means you are one who kills. They will try to comfort you. There are others who think it means you will bring forth the dead, call the spirits. They will want to study you.' He leaned a little closer. There are others who think it means you will tear the veil, and bring the Nameless One to swallow us all. They might try to kill you.'
'I know, Warren.'
Then why would you let them know you are the one in the prophecy?'
'Because I am fuer grissa ost drauka. When the time comes, I will kill any of them I must in order to get this collar off. I had to give them fair warning first, give them the chance to live.'
Warren touched his fingers to his lower lip. 'But you wouldn't hurt Pasha. Not Pasha.'
'I hope to hurt no one, Warren. Maybe with the information you help me with, I won't have to hurt anyone. I hate being fuer grissa ost drauka, but that is who I am.'
Warren's eyes teared. 'Please, you wouldn't hurt Pasha.'
'Warren, I like her. I think she is a lovely person, inside, like you said. I only kill to protect my life, or the lives of innocent people. I don't believe Pasha would ever give me cause, but you must understand that if I am right, and the veil is torn, then more is at stake than any one person's life. Mine, yours, or Pasha's.'
Warren nodded. 'I have read the prophecies. I understand. I will search for the things you need.'
Richard tried to reassure him with a warm smile. 'It will be all right, Warren. I'm the Seeker; I'll do my best. I don't want to harm anyone.'
'Seeker? What is the Seeker?'
Richard slapped his hand to the metal plate. 'I'll tell you about it later.'
Warren glanced down at the plate as the door slid opened. 'How are you able to do that?'
Pasha was standing calmly, waiting, her face making a good effort at not showing her anger.
'And just what was that all about?'
Richard stepped through the doorway. 'Boy talk.'
Pasha stopped him with a hand to his arm. 'What do you mean, boy talk?'
Richard looked into her warm brown eyes. 'I was twisting Warren's arm, making him tell me about the test of pain. You failed to mention it, so I had to ask him about it. Or were you planning on waiting until you came to do it, before you told me?'
Pasha rubbed her bare arms, as if to warm them. 'I do not do that, Richard. I'm only a novice. Full Sisters must do it.'
'Why didn't you tell me about it?'
Tears welled up in her eyes. 'I don't like
to see people hurt. I didn't want to frighten you about what may not come for a long time. Sometimes the waiting can be worse than the actual experience. I didn't want you to have to wait in fear.'
'Oh.' Richard let out a long breath. 'Well, I guess that's a good reason. I apologize, Pasha, for what I was thinking of you.'
She forced a smile. 'Shall we go start your lessons?'
Above ground again, they passed down halls and through several buildings until they finally reached Gillaume Hall, where his room was. The fabric of Pasha's dress made a swishing sound as they climbed the wide marble stairway. The walls and columns were a matching tan, variegated marble.
It was a beautiful place with elegant rooms, but it was not as impressive as the People's Palace, in D'Hara. Before he had seen that magnificent edifice, he would have been astonished by the opulence of this place. Now, he simply noted its layout in reference to everything else. Upstairs, as they went down another wide, carpeted hall, he saw several other young men wearing Rada'Han. At last they reached his room.
Richard caught her wrist as she reached for the door handle. She looked up in puzzlement.
There's someone inside,' he said.
CHAPTER 55
'It is my job to watch over you,' Pasha said.
She used her Han, breaking his hold on her wrist and throwing him aside as if with an invisible hand, and then charged through the door. Richard rolled, finishing on his feet, drew his sword, and flew in after her. Only the small flames from the hearth gave light to the otherwise dark room. They both stumbled to a halt in the near darkness.
A voice came from a chair beside the fire. 'Expecting a mriswith, Richard?'
'Sister Verna!' Richard slid his sword back into its scabbard. 'What are you doing here?'
She rose to her feet and swept her hand in the direction of a lamp, bringing the wick to flame. 'I didn't know if you heard.' Her face was unreadable. 'I'm once again a Sister of the Light.'
'Really?' Richard said. That's great news.'
Sister Verna clasped her hands in a relaxed manner. 'Since I'm a Sister, again, I wanted to come and speak privately to you for a moment.' She glanced to Pasha. 'About same unfinished business Richard and I have.'
Pasha looked from the Sister to Richard. 'Well, I guess this dress is, well, not the most comfortable thing to give lessons in. Why don't I go change.' She curtsied to Sister Verna. 'Good night, Sister. I'm so happy for you; you should be a Sister. And Richard, thank you for being such a gentleman tonight. I will return after I change.'
Richard stood facing the door once he had closed it behind Pasha.
'Gentleman,' Sister Verna said. 'I'm delighted to hear it, Richard. I would also like to thank you, for my being returned to Sister. Sister Maren told me what happened.'
Richard laughed as he turned to her. 'You've been around me too long, Sister. But you need more practice at telling lies; you're not yet totally convincing.'
She couldn't keep a small smile from coming to her lips. 'Well, Sister Maren told me that she had prayed for guidance, and decided I would serve the Creator best if I were a Sister, in view of my experience.' She lifted an eyebrow. 'Poor Sister Maren; lying seems to have become infectious since you arrived here.'
He shrugged. 'Sister Maren did what was right. I think your Creator would be pleased with the outcome.'
'I heard that you killed a mriswith. News spreads through the palace like a blaze through dry grass.'
Richard walked to the hearth. He leaned on the dark granite mantle and stared into the flames. 'Well, I had no choice.'
Sister Verna stroked a hand tenderly down his hair. 'Are you all right, Richard? How are you doing?'
'I'm fine.' Richard pulled the baldric over his head and set it and the sword aside. He tossed the red coat on a chair. 'I'd be better if I didn't have to wear these silly clothes. But I guess it's a small price to pay for peace. For now. What did you want talk to me about, Sister?'
'I don't know what you did, how you got me returned to Sister, but thank you, Richard. Does this mean you would like for us to be friends?'
'Only if you will take this collar off me.' She looked away from his eyes. 'Someday, Sister, you will have to make your choice. I hope when the time comes, you choose to be on my side. After all we've been through, I would hate to have to kill you, but you know what I am capable of. You knew what my answer would be; surely, you came here for more than that.'
'I have told you before how you are using your Han without knowing what you are doing, remember?'
'Yes, but I don't think I'm using my Han.'
She lifted an eyebrow. 'Richard, you killed a mriswith. As far as I know, that has not been done in the last three thousand years. You had to use your Han to do that.'
'No, Sister, I used the magic of the sword to kill it.'
'Richard, I have observed you, and learned a little about both you and your sword. The reason no one has ever been able to kill a mriswith is because they never knew it was coming. Even the Han of Sisters and wizards could not sense its approach. Your sword may have killed the mriswith, but your Han let you know it was coming. You are calling on your gift, but without control.'
Richard was tired. He didn't feel like arguing, so he didn't.
He flopped into a plush chair. He remembered the way he had seen the mriswith in his mind, had seen it coming. 'I don't understand what I'm doing, Sister. The mriswith came, and I protected myself.'
She sat in a chair opposite. 'Look at it this way, Richard; you killed a beast as deadly as anything walking the land, yet that little girl with the big brown eyes, and about as much power compared to you as a sparrow compared to a hawk, just used her Han to throw you down the hall. I hope you will study hard so you may learn to control your Han. You need to get it under control.'
She looked at him intently. 'Why did you go into the Hagen Woods, after I told you that they are dangerous? The real reason. Not the justification, but the deep-down-inside reason. Please tell me the truth, Richard.'
Richard stretched back, looking up at the ceiling. He finally conceded with a nod. 'It was like something drew me in. It was a need. A hunger. It was like I needed to pound my fist against a wall, and that was the way to do it.'
He thought she might launch into a lecture, but she didn't. Her tone was sympathetic.
'Richard, I've been talking to a few friends of mine. None of us knows everything about the magic of the palace, and especially the Hagen Woods, but there is reason to believe that the Hagen Woods were placed there specifically for certain wizards.'
Richard studied her quiet expression, the creases in her face, the sincerity in her eyes. 'Are you saying, Sister, that if I need to pound my fist against the wall, maybe I should do so?'
She gave a slight lift to her eyebrows. The Creator gave us hunger so we would eat, because eating is necessary.'
'What would be the purpose of a hunger like mine?'
She shook her head. 'I don't know. For a second time in as many days, the Prelate has declined to grant me an audience.
But I'm going to try to find some answers. In the meantime, just please don't let the sun set on you in the Hagen Woods.'
'Is this what you came to tell me, Sister?'
She looked away, and paused, rubbing her forehead with two fingers. She looked uncertain. He had never seen her like this. 'Richard, there are things going on that I don't understand, and they are connected to you; events are not happening as they should.' She saw his curious look. 'I can't talk about them just yet.'
She cleared her throat. 'Richard, I don't want you to trust every one of the Sisters.'
Richard lifted an eyebrow. 'Sister, I trust none of you.'
That brought a short-lived smile to her face. 'For now, that would be best. That was what I wanted to tell you. I'm going to find the answers, but-for now, well, let's just say that I know you will do as you must to stay safe.'
After Sister Verna left, Richard thought about what she had said, and about the
things Warren had told him. Mostly, he thought about the Stone of Tears.
It puzzled him that the magic in the Valley of the Lost would present him with a vision of something he had never seen before, and put it around Rachel's neck. The other visions seemed to have been anchored in his longings and fears. Maybe because he missed seeing his friend, Chase, he saw the vision of Rachel, too; she would be with Chase. But why would the vision put around her neck something he had never seen before, which turned out to look like a drawing in a book?
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