“Rinli of Garla.”
Rinli popped up from her seat, recognizing Elder Folzon’s voice.
“Folzon,” Hozia said, “as the advocate of the accused, I ask that we wait until her father arrives.”
“He’s a witness,” Folzon said. “He can’t sit inside during testimony.”
“He’s a witness to the end of the confrontation. He did not witness the crime we deal with here.”
“Are you questioning me, Hozia?” Folzon asked. “You were the one who appointed me to preside in your place.”
“Then question him first.”
Rinli watched as Elder Bota leaned over to whisper something in Folzon’s ear. After they conferred for a moment, it appeared a compromise had been reached.
“Call him in,” Folzon ordered, and one of the two Defenders not guarding Rinli stepped through the curtain to the waiting area. After a brief moment, her father stepped in with the guard and forward into the circle.
“Korin,” Folzon began, “we’ve called you to testify now so you may sit with your daughter through the rest of the proceedings.”
“I appreciate that, Elder.”
Folzon nodded and continued. “Now, you arrived just as Tinlo dropped his shindah, eliminating the threat to your daughter and Madlen Por, correct? That’s what you testified to in Tinlo’s trial.”
“Yes,” her father replied.
He didn’t hear me say “Don’t”? Rinli wondered.
“Tell us the rest,” Folzon encouraged.
“Tinlo ran out past me, leaving his shindah behind.”
“And why didn’t you run after him?” Elder Oku asked.
“My first thought was for my daughter. I wanted to be sure she was all right.”
“It’s a hard lesson to learn in life, that what is all right is not necessarily what you think is all right. But hold on to that thought. It will be all right.” Rinli could hear her mother’s voice as though she were there in the room. It was a hard lesson.
“And Madlen?” Elder Oku bore on in her quest to open up inconsistencies in her father’s testimony.
“Of course I was concerned for Madlen as well. She’s been dear to me since before Rinli’s emergence.”
“Once you had assured yourself of their health?”
“I brought them up here, to the Elders’ Chamber.”
“And when you arrived?”
“I learned that Tinlo had already confessed to what he’d done.”
“So,” Elder Raakon took her turn, “you arrived after the incident in question here today.”
“As I said, I arrived just as Tinlo dropped his shindah.”
“And your daughter said nothing about how she’d disarmed him?”
“No. I don’t believe she realized what she’d done.”
“No speculating, please,” Elder Folzon said.
Elder Ninal, one of Rinli’s supporters in the council, took his turn. “Now, Korin, did she ever say anything about this before her arrest on your return to us?”
“No.”
“Korin,” Hozia said, stepping over to stand beside him, “you and Rinli are very close, correct?”
“Yes.”
“So if something were to happen, she’d likely share it with you before anyone else.”
“With the possible exception of Madlen.”
“Yes, Madlen,” Hozia replied.
After a pause, Elder Folzon spoke. “Are there any other questions for this witness?”
“Uh, yes,” Elder Oku said, seeming to hesitate, but an unyielding yearning to defend struck Rinli like a blow from the weapon she’d prevented Tinlo from using.
“Carry on,” Folzon said to Oku.
“You were not taken completely by surprise when you were told the reason for your daughter’s arrest, were you.” A statement, not a question. What is Oku doing?
“Elder?” her father said.
“You’ve known for some time that Rinli is…shall I say...gifted? In fact, both you and your spouse have been concerned about her for some time now.”
“I don’t know where you heard such things, Elder. I can assure you that her mother and I have a great many concerns about Rinli. Were that one of them, we would have managed it by now.”
Rinli didn’t dare smile, but she admired her father’s ability to lie without precisely lying.
“In addition,” her father continued, “I am the spouse of the Empir of Garla. It is my sworn duty to reveal nothing of what she shares with me in private conversation. Therein lies the opening for a traitor.”
Elder Oku jumped right in on that one. “And what about your duty to Thristas?”
“I believe that in maintaining my silence regarding spousal conversations, I am keeping my duty to Thristas.”
“Enough,” Hozia stepped in. “Elder Oku has no proof of this. She’s just trying to get Korin to give her proof. Which, as he’s explained, he cannot reveal one way or the other.”
“I agree,” Folzon said, then turned to Rinli’s father. “You may join your daughter.”
Rinli sighed in relief as her father took the empty space on the bench beside her. His tenderness and his love for her cut into the chill in her soul and spread warmth through her body. She wasn’t alone.
“I am here, too.” Her mother’s voice, calm, strong. Rinli took a deep breath and waited.
“Madlen Por,” Folzon pronounced, and one of the Defenders left, returning a moment later with Madlen who looked at Rinli with eyes etched in pain, then turned to face the seven inquisitors in the room.
“Madlen Por,” Hozia said.
“Yes?” Madlen’s voice was fragile.
“You are a friend of Rinli of Garla, correct?”
“Yes.”
“One might say,” Hozia continued, “that the two of you are very close.”
“Yes.”
“So, if she were to confide her deepest secret, it would likely be to you.”
“Yes, I think so.”
“What happened on the night that Tinlo Randa approached the two of you in the kitchen?”
It seemed odd to Rinli that nearly all the Elders had taken a turn questioning her father, but only Hozia posed questions to Madlen. So far, she reminded herself.
“Rin…I mean, Rinli and I had finished up the breakfast dishes from that night, and dinner was simmering. With nothing to do, we’d settled into our little corner behind a cupboard in the kitchen to talk. Everything was good, and then Tinlo appeared. He had a shindah, and he called me a ‘Garlan-scum-lover.’” Madlen paused.
“And then?” Hozia said, encouraging her to continue.
“Rinli shouted out ‘Don’t,’ and he dropped his shindah and ran out past Korin who’d just arrived. Then Korin grabbed both of us and brought us up here to tell the Elders what had happened.”
“What do you think had happened?” Elder Rostor, Tinlo’s grandfather, asked.
“Just what I said. Tinlo had started out to attack Rinli, but he must have changed his mind. Maybe he heard Korin coming.”
Rostor continued. “Did you and Rinli ever talk about it?”
“I didn’t think we were supposed to, not really, since you all hadn’t decided on Tinlo’s guilt or innocence before Rinli left for Avaret a day-and-a-half later.”
“She never said anything about what she’d done?”
“No.”
“Well, I’ve heard enough,” Rostor proclaimed, dismissing Madlen with a swipe of his hand. Madlen looked to Hozia, and Rinli recognized fire in the Elder’s eyes.
“Elder Folzon?” Hozia said as though the name alone were a cautionary tale.
“Anyone else have questions for this witness?” Folzon asked. When no one said a thing, Hozia reached out to Madlen and offered her a hand to urge her out. Madlen looked to Rinli, her eyes begging to stay, but Rinli shook her head. Madlen shrugged without surprise. She knew as well as Rinli did that witnesses weren’t allowed to sit in during testimony.
“Tinlo Randa,” Folzo
n declared.
A Defender headed out the door and returned with a shackled Tinlo. He took his place in the middle of the room, and Rostor smiled at his grandson and began.
“Tinlo, you admitted freely to your crime, correct?”
“Yes.”
“For which you have been judged guilty.”
Tinlo looked down at his cuffed wrists. “Yes.”
“In fact, you came directly up here from the kitchen and made a complete confession. Before Korin arrived with his daughter and Madlen.”
“Yes.”
“But you added something that no one else ever mentioned.”
Tinlo nodded to Rostor, and Rinli realized they were in collusion. No matter that what Tinlo had accused her of was true, Rostor had stepped in on this one and forced it. He was the enemy. And how many others did he carry with him?
“Yes. When I threatened Rinli, she ordered ‘Don’t.’ That one word made my whole body tingle, and without a thought, I dropped my shindah. That’s why I fled. Because I knew she’d done more than uttered an order. My whole mind and body were on fire.”
Destroyer, Tinlo. I’ve felt it. It’s not like that at all. She hoped that she’d have a chance to counter his exaggeration. Or maybe even demonstrate.
“Which you interpreted to be the hermit push.”
“Yes.”
“I’m satisfied,” Rostor said. “Folzon?”
“I would like to question the witness,” Hozia protested.
“Of course,” Rostor allowed.
Hozia stood up from the bench and stepped to Tinlo, then circled him once, ending up facing him. “You left your task for the night and went to the kitchen intending to do harm to Rinli, correct?”
“I wanted to scare her more than anything.”
“Are you sure that was all?”
“Well…yes.”
“Or perhaps you wanted to kill the person who, in your mind, had stolen your beloved from you. All while excusing your actions with the claim that your true motive was to rid Thristas of its Garlan Protector.”
“I…I don’t know.”
Hozia whirled around and faced Rostor. “I submit that Rinli, daughter of Korin and Lisen, correctly sensed Tinlo’s true intent and pushed him to protect herself and her friend.” Hozia returned to her place and sat down. “I am satisfied.”
“Anyone else want to question this man?” Folzon asked. Receiving no response, he waved Tinlo out, and Tinlo’s guards removed him from the room. “Rinli of Garla, step forward.”
Her stomach swirling, unwilling to settle, Rinli rose and stepped to the center of the room.
Hozia came to her, gave her a reassuring smile and then spoke. “Tell us what you recall about that night.”
Rinli took a deep breath and began. Her story paralleled Madlen’s, but when she got to the point where she had shouted “Don’t,” she diverged from her friend’s testimony. “I was afraid of what Tinlo might do. I had to stop him, somehow. That was all I knew at the time.”
“Explain what you did,” Hozia asked calmly.
“I shouted ‘Don’t.’ I was trembling with fear at the time, and if I understand the power of the push correctly, that might have been all it needed.”
“You were unaware that you had this power?” Hozia began to pace back and forth in front of Rinli, rubbing her chin, appearing to contemplate Rinli’s answers.
“It was a thought I had never considered.” She wanted to get as close to the truth as she could, just as her father had.
“And when did you finally consider it?”
“After my arrest.”
“And what have you done since to ensure such an outburst will never happen again?”
“I’ve spent time in my cell learning how to keep my emotions in check and separate from my gift. I promise. It will never happen again.”
“Thank you. You may—”
“Wait!” Oku stopped Rinli as she was about to return to her seat.
“Yes, Elder?” she said with humility.
“You have no such prohibition against speaking of your conversations with your mother or your father, am I correct?”
“Actually, Elder, you are not correct. I am the Empir’s daughter. The content of any of our conversations can only be revealed by her.”
“Well, it’s a pity she’s not here with us today, isn’t it.”
Oku had a spy somewhere in court, that was clear. Rinli knew her mother would investigate this as soon as she got back to Avaret. Luckily for Rinli, it would be shameful for Oku to admit such a thing as the treaty had expressly forbidden anyone entering either country from the other for the purpose of foraging out information that could interfere with the peace provided by the treaty. Everyone knew there were spies, on both sides, but everyone agreed not to talk about it. As long as no one said anything, it wasn’t a problem. So Oku had to call an end to her line of inquiry as she had no way to support it.
“Oku, if you’re finished?” Hozia asked.
“Yes, yes. Let her sit.” Oku brushed Rinli off like the inconsequential fly she obviously thought Rinli to be.
As Rinli sat down beside her father, he turned and whispered in her ear. “You did well.” She smiled to herself.
“Elders,” Hozia said, “Rinli doesn’t deny she pushed Tinlo Randa, but when have we ever denied anyone the right to protect themselves from harm? And that was exactly what the young man in question had set out to accomplish, to harm the woman who he believed had stolen Madlen Por from him. The fact that Rinli, daughter of Korin, possesses this power is not something over which she has control. But she has assured us that she now has developed control over her use of it, and such a thing will not happen again. I contend that she is innocent of practicing forbidden magic within our borders as she was unaware at the time of her abilities. Beyond being Protector of Thristas, she is claimed by many to be Mantar’s Child. I ask that we keep that in mind as we deliberate this matter.” And Hozia sat down.
“Testimony is finished,” Folzon declared. “Return the accused to her cell. We must now consider the evidence carefully. We will reassemble when we’ve made our decision.”
With that, the Defenders grabbed Rinli up and dragged her away from the room, away from her father. She turned to him, and for a breath, their eyes met. He nodded once, and then she was out the door, moving at a quick pace through the tunnels and away from him, away from the living of Terses. Her cell was like a place where one might store dead things. Perhaps she, too, was dead and just didn’t know it yet.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
THE LOT OF THE PEOPLE IS GRIEF
Lisen remembered at eighteen waiting for someone to come save her as Ariel’s anaca—the drug that he’d forced down her throat to make her compliant—worked its way through her system. That night it had been Captain Palla, Korin’s friend, who’d shown up first to pull her out of danger. Now, she waited again, more anxious for Rinli’s life than she’d ever been for her own. That’s what parenting did to a person—the child became the focus of survival.
She heard the sound of boots striking rock. Korin’s rhythm. Korin’s walk. With a breath of relief, she huddled into place. Waiting was over. The curtain pulled away from one side of the doorway, but she wouldn’t move until she heard his voice.
“Lisen?” he whispered, and she unfolded to sit down on the floor. He settled down in front of her and took her hand.
“Well?” she whispered back. They had to keep their voices from carrying out into the tunnel.
“You’d be proud of her. She never broke. She answered their questions perfectly, including the difficult ones.”
“The ones where the truth is a lie and a lie is the truth?”
“Exactly. And there were plenty of those. Oku tried to catch Rinli and myself both on questions about our prior knowledge of her abilities. I’m guessing she has a spy in Avaret close to us.”
Lisen shook her hand at him in dismissal. “We’ll worry about that later. What did you say?�
�
“We fell back on being sworn to silence regarding all private conversations with the Empir.”
“None of our children have made such an oath.”
Korin smiled. “But the Elders don’t know that. And by the time they do, hopefully Rin will be safe.”
“Her chances? Be honest.”
“By my count, we have three definitely in favor of Rinli, two definitely not and two I couldn’t judge for sure.”
“Which way would you place them?” Lisen couldn’t stand it. “And when will we know?”
“Let’s see, the sun’s about to rise, so tonight they will announce the verdict, and the punishment, if necessary. As far as the unknowns, I can only guess. One for, one against? Which puts Rinli’s innocence in the majority.”
“Creators, Korin, what if…what if they…go the other way?” She felt so powerless. She could push. She could definitely push. But if anyone found out, including Hozia, that would be the end of everything. None of them would survive. “And the punishment is…” She couldn’t say it
“At the best,” Korin replied, “she’ll be locked up like Tinlo.”
“We could work with that,” she said, hope rising for a great escape to save them all.
Korin nodded. “We could.” Her hope dissolved at his hopeless tone.
“And at the worst?”
“Execution. The most likely outcome.”
“Creators.” Lisen felt her body sag.
Korin took her hand. “That’s if she’s found guilty of a crime against Mantar.”
“She’s Mantar’s Child, for Creators’ sake. They can’t have it both ways.”
“To some it’s sacrilege we’ve made that claim. And to some it’s just a tale told to soothe the masses. So no one wants to believe it anymore.”
“And…their method of execution?” She didn’t really want to know, but she was Empir Ariannas and it was her duty to know.
Protector of Thristas: A Lisen of Solsta Novel Page 39
