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long. I have no doubt, said the cahndor, that I will live that long. So did he reassure me, though it was he whose hands were braceleted behind him, he who languished, banded, in the dharen s most impregnable prison. I put my lips to his ear, kissed a spot upon his neck that had been much between us. Is there anything I can do? I whispered. None can hear us, except perhaps Khys himself. And at those words, I formed it, a shield meant for Carth, who doubtless listened beyond the gold-flickered walls. No, the cahndor said slowly, his nose in my hair. It is ours to do, and ours alone. I, too have grievances. Be easy, he advised severely. Seek owkahen and make yourself ready. Though I cannot see, I have seen. His eyes gleamed, and the membranes snapped sharply back and forth across them. As of old, when none stood above him, spoke the chosen son of Tar-Kesa. And I knew then that he yet stalked. I might be of some little use, I pressed him. A timely visit, surely, would not prove unwelcome. I had, already, a suitable plan. My hands went to the chain that safed the borrowed cloak at my throat, that I might implement it. That, warned Chayin, his lips nibbling my ear, most of all, you must not do. I had thought to discard my cloak. Upon pretext returning to claim it, I would have acquired the rest of the lock s combination from Carth s mind. I had half already. You must go with Khys, Estri. Accompany him from the Lake of Horns. Trust us. Do as I say. His lips hardly moved. His whisper was dialectic Parset. And thought I had boasted that my shield could protect us, I wondered. As you wish it, Cahndor. I agreed, rising. Khys had informed me that our travels were not yet done. Chayin directed me now to accompany the dharen elsewhere. The sort, so clear to them, sat easy with the hest shown to me on the sands by the Keening Rock. I stared down at Chayin, the bound dorkat. And I was greatly saddened. Such a wild thing should never know collar and cage. And yet, he knew them not, in his conception. I shook my head in answer to his carnivorous grin, trying to retain my solemnity. But his called its mate onto my face. We had no need of sensing skills, Chayin and I. We had well known each other when neither would employ them. We had been, then, naive. But we had found, in those times, means of communication other than words. I had seen the cahndor, before, upon the kill. I must go, Chayin, before I become certain enough to be a danger, I said, turning from him. I felt his eyes upon me as I crossed to the padded, featureless door and pounded upon it. Tasa, Estri, growled Chayin. Keep safe. We are short of crells in Nemar. I flushed, my back to him. My hand, of its own volition, sought Khys s device upon my breast. The door opened before me. As I stepped through, I spoke over my shoulder once more. I will try to get you uris, lest you sweat to death, I promised, stepping into the hall. When Carth s eyes rose from securing the lock, mine met them, accusing. You cannot withold uris from him. You might as well savage him as you did Sereth, and put him in yit-infested cell thirty-five, if you do that. Carth looked away. Speak to me, I jeered, arrar, council member, vessel of justice and truth, explain to me this which you have shown me today. You and ten others you say, all highly skilled, did this? I spat, You must be deaf Page 95 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html to your own teachings, to do such a thing. My fists wrapped in my chald. I waited. It took a time before Carth found words. You asked me also what kept Khys so long at the lakeside, he reminded me finally. I will tell you that, if you will walk with me. His voice was very grave. But ask me no questions of fitness. I have as yet come to no conclusions. I have my doubts, but I am undecided. When I have taken stance upon this matter, you will be the first to know. He met my gaze, unshrinking. I let him take my arm, and we walked the hallway toward the stairs that led down to Khys s chambers. Khys, said Carth in the tone of a man who hopes to make sense of a thing for himself by attempting to explain it to another, has long had problems with Gherein. And even longer has he been aware that someday it would come to this. But he was loath to do what needed done. He and others have suffered many indignities because of Gherein. Vedrast, whom Gherein swayed to his thinking, was not the only one. Such diversity to opinion within a group that links minds cannot long be sustained. He cast his eyes about the passage, his mouth a crooked line drawn dark across his face .. Khys had come to this decision previous to your abduction. I believe, at this moment, that he even knew of it. But he waited, that he might have proof. In such affairs, it is well to obtain incontrovertible evidence. He did not need it, seemingly, with Vedrast, I interrupted. You do not understand. Gherein is the dharen s most vehement detractor. He leads some few others. He is volatile, unstable, contumacious, amoral, and exceptionally talented. He is sterile. He is Khys s son. We were passing a benched alcove. I sought it. And what I wrote, what Khys s Estri wrote ... Nor was that all that had been revealed to me by Carth s words. He smiled grimly. We are dealing with it now. We have been coming aware. But until Khys replaced lake-born with a mixed-bred upon his council, none dared speak of it. Between father and son, that was the final insult. Gherein was more than ready, with his M ksakkan pawns. His stance in the time is never faulty, only his use of it. When Khys put a child upon you, and that child matched his expectations, Gherein had to act. He felt his ascendancy in danger. And well it might be! With those words he confirmed what I had seen. Over me, and the spawn of my womb, had Khys and his favored son come to contest. 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