Frozen Prospects (15 page)

Va'del
felt his throat closing off with sorrow as he thought about Jasmin,
Betreec and I'rone. "I don't think I've ever wanted anything
as badly as I want to become a Guadel, but that probably won't
happen now. I didn't really have a reason to believe it would, but
somehow I kept hoping all of this time. It's been so long now
though I don't think it will happen."

The
earnestness in Jain's voice caught Va'del off guard. "No,
don't say that. Something one of the Guadel told me indicated that
they thought the head of the Stephens bloodline is just waiting for
a Guadel pair to return to the Capital. Once that happens, you're
sure to be sponsored again."

The
mix of emotions that washed over Va'del was too intense and varied to
be fully described. Unable to speak, he sat in the darkness next to
Jain and tried to gain control of himself. As the strength of the
emotions started to fade slightly he realized that foremost among
them was something he hadn't felt since I'rone and his wives died.
Hope.

Mar'li
leaned back from the tiny ruby she'd been working on for most of the
day. With her sister-wife and husband largely confined to the
Capital as Council members, and her shyness precluding her from
teaching, she had unfortunate amounts of free time.

She
helped Pati or one of the other healers fairly often, but the
majority of her magical energy was spent creating a heat sphere that
could be used by patrolling Guadel when in way caves, or even more
importantly, when they were forced to spend the night in one of the
light tents they used when caught in a snow storm or otherwise
unable to make it to a cave.

Mar'li's
gift was much weaker than those of most of the female Guadel, but
she still made fairly respectable progress. The fact that she
didn't have to worry about being awoken in the middle of the night
to augment Javin, so he could fight off bag'ligs or some such
threat, helped. Even so, changing the nature of the gemstone so
that it could draw power and order it to a specific purpose was a
task measured in years at the very least.

Which
is more than a little depressing. Then again, it's slightly warm to
the touch now when I activate it, so I should just be satisfied with
my rate of progress. Bay'del will be jealous anyway. She's lucky
if she gets to work on hers a few times a year. I guess that's the
price of being married to a young husband who wants to be out and
about on patrols.

Her
insides were starting to feel raw from all the magic she'd done so
far today, but she wasn't to the point of feeling serious pain. She'd
leaned back down to do just a little more work when she heard
footsteps out in the corridor.

Too
light to be Javin, too early to be On'li back for lunch. Oh well,
I'll put some water on to heat anyway. It won't hurt anything if it
turns out not to be her. She's under so much stress right now that
the least I can do is have a cup of tea in the works when she comes
in.

It
was indeed On'li that came around the privacy bend, but her face was
such a mask of pain and hurt that for a moment Mar'li had a hard
time believing it was her sister-wife she was looking at.

"What's
wrong?"

On'li
looked like she wanted to collapse into a chair. Instead she
wrapped her arms around Mar'li as if to shelter her from the coming
news.

"It's
Piter and Bay'del. One of the villages sent a messenger. They're
both dead."

Mar'li
felt her world tremble and fade out of focus. Bay'del had been her
best friend all through training, the one who convinced her she'd be
happier as a Guadel than as a healer somewhere trying to offset some
fool Headman's influence and power.

"How
did it happen?"

On'li
hugged her sister-wife tighter. "It's hard to tell since there
weren't any survivors this time, but it looked like the same kind of
ambush that took down I'rone and his wives."

Mar'li
wanted to turn and run away, but she knew doing so would hurt
On'li's feelings, so she collapsed into the older woman and let her
sobs run their course.

"I'm
so sorry, my heart. I know how close the two of you were."

Mar'li's tears hadn't stopped, and she could still feel the pain
eating away at her insides, but she knew from past experience that
the quickest way to heal involved looking outside herself for
others.

"What
about Va'del? What will happen to him now?"

On'li
looked at her sister-wife with amazement and pride before shrugging
painfully. "I don't honestly know. The Stephens bloodline is
nearly gone. There are just the three of us, Ba'loc, and Pavir
left."

Mar'li
felt a new twinge of pain as she realized that On'li was right. The
Guadel as a whole had diminished in numbers over the last few
hundred years, but Stephens' line had borne a greater share of the
loss than most. "It's like we're being punished, like our men
being driven to make a difference is an affront to the Goddess.
It's like she disapproves of their efforts at ensuring others aren't
suffering the injustices that made them into what they are."

On'li
shook her head. "It's not our place to question Her actions.
Not every trial comes because of an affront to her eyes, sometimes
they come about for unrelated reasons."

"Ba'loc
and Pavir can't take Va'del; they're already sponsoring Mi'lo."

On'li's
sigh sounded as though she'd aged decades in the last few cycles.
"And we can't take him because traditionally the duties of
sitting on the Council preclude the kind of time and energy required
to sponsor someone." As she finished, a sliver of anger edged
into the loss that still was dominating her expression.

Mar'li
let go of her sister-wife and stepped back a little so that she
could look her in the eye. "What are you going to do?"

"I
don't know. Under normal circumstances, we might be able to convince
the Council that we have to sponsor to ensure our bloodline doesn't
die out. Right now however, Ja'dir is dead set on blocking just
about anything Javin and I put forward. The fact that we're losing
so many Guadel in general may work in our favor, but that also
reminds everyone that Va'del was there when I'rone and his wives
were killed."

The
mention of their husband made Mar'li start guiltily. She hadn't yet
thought about how Piter's death would affect Javin. "Oh,
Powers. How is Javin taking it?"

"Badly.
About as badly as you could fear. We both feel so old, we've seen
so many of our friends, both the children we sponsored, and others
die. Javin feels like he should be out there hunting those animals
down. It's bad enough when it's bag'ligs or when he knows that the
ones responsible are already dead like with what happened to I'rone.
This is far worse—he's barely functioning. He's stronger than
anyone else I know but this is attacking the weakest part of his
will, cutting at the scar tissue formed over the wounds he took as a
child."

Mar'li
looked at her sister-wife and sighed. "We'll just have to do
what we can to shore Javin up, but you have to promise me you'll do
something about Va'del. Whether you decide to try and get him
approved as a candidate or not, you need to talk to him. I
understand that you didn't want to do anything to spark a fight in
the Council before you had to, but if you aren't going to sponsor
him, it won't matter if you or Javin spend some time explaining
things to him. If you do push for him to be accepted as a
candidate, then your talking to him doesn't matter because you've
already provoked as much fight as you're going to see regardless of
what else you may do."

##

Va'del
wrapped his blanket more tightly around himself to ward off the
ever-present chill. He sighed as he leaned back into the thick
brown padding of his low, metal chair. It was all he could do not
to yawn as he turned the next page in the law book Jain had found
for him.
Goodness, this
is dry stuff. I wonder how Jain is making out with it.

It
was relatively rare that Va'del preferred his work at the stables to
studying or working on one of the other skills that a candidate
needed, but today looked like an exception. He had a feeling he
wouldn't have any regrets when the time came to put the book away
and go feed the gurra their second meal of the day.

After
wading through the legal guidance on who was to administer the
deceased's belongings depending on which family members were still
living, Va'del was just about to start the next section when a quiet
clap alerted him to the fact that someone was waiting outside his
room.

Va'del
asked whoever it was to come in as he shed the blanket and rose to
his feet, only to find in surprise that it was On'li who'd come to
visit him. She hadn't visited since taking him to start weapons
training. Seeing her now, with her eyes bloodshot and her hands
shaking, was an incredible surprise.

After
looking around the sparsely-furnished room as if to verify that they
were indeed its only occupants, or possibly as a way to buy time,
On'li turned back to Va'del and took a deep breath.

"Va'del,
I'm sorry I haven't taken the time to sit down with you and explain
everything that's going on. I appreciate you being patient and not
causing any problems over the last month or two. I know that
probably hasn't been easy, especially in light of how the candidates
and apprentices as a whole treat you."

The
hope sparked by Jain telling him there were plans to try and get him
sponsored, battled with the fact that On'li didn't look like someone
about to deliver good news.

"You
probably don't know very much about the sponsoring process. We try
to keep the candidates fairly ignorant about certain things, though
a fair amount leaks out from well-meaning instructors at some point
or another."

She
took another deep breath, as if she was having a hard time
controlling her emotions. "The fact of the matter is that
traditionally nobody has the right to dispute a sponsoring decision.
The Council can refuse to let a candidate take his final vows and
marry, but nobody can stop a sponsoring family from putting him
through the training if that's what they want to do. I shouldn't
say this, but that's largely the reason Be'ter is still here,
despite the fact that most of his instructors are confident he isn't
suitable and is actually ruining some of the other candidates."

The
things that On'li was telling him for the most part meshed with what
Jain had told him, but Va'del's mind was still reeling from the fact
that someone who actually knew what was going on was trying to
explain it all to him.

"Javin
and I had counted on that tradition to get you sponsored by Guadel
Piter and Guadel Bay'del. Obviously it would have been their
decision, but I was confident that after Bay'del saw your potential she'd
agree to do so."

There
was a catch in On'li's voice now. "Unfortunately that isn't an
option any longer. They were both killed in an ambush similar to
the one that killed I'rone and his wives."

Va'del
felt his world start to crumble, but he forced himself to listen to
On'li, if only to try and keep from thinking about the fact he was
never going to become a Guadel.

"Javin
and I are going to do everything we can to still somehow see that
you are sponsored, but the chances are honestly not very good. If
it were to happen, it would be the first time something like that
had ever been done. Even people who otherwise might not be against
your being sponsored are going to be very much against the precedent
it would set."

Va'del
nodded numbly. It seemed On'li could tell it didn't matter much
what she was saying, but it apparently wasn't enough to stop her.
"Va'del, I really do think you have the potential to make a
very good Guadel. If you need to talk about anything I would be
more than happy to spend whatever time is necessary to answer any
questions you might have."

The
teenager shook his head. "No, that isn't really necessary.
I'm sure you're both very busy, and you've already told me
everything I need to know."

On'li
reached out and placed a hand on Va'del's arm. "Still, the
offer is open. Would you be willing to come have dinner with our
family next week on first day?"

Va'del
would have agreed to anything at that point if he thought it would
end the conversation sooner so he could run away somewhere to be
alone. The teenager nodded as he fingered the tiny knife hidden in
his pocket.

On'li
smiled. "Very good. I'll send Javin by for you that
afternoon."

As
soon as she'd been gone long enough to be out of sight, Va'del left
his room and ran in the direction of his pool.

Just
a little longer and then I can escape for good.

##

The
day was looking as though it would be longer than Jain had expected.
Even law from Guadel Ah'bi was dragging by slower than usual, and
it had become her favorite subject.
Who
would have thought that would ever happen? Definitely not Ah'bi
after that first class. At least it's nearly lunchtime.

Ah'bi
was in the middle of describing some very subtle points of
inheritance law when her husband, Fi'lin, stepped into the classroom
and caught her eye.

"You
girls finish reading through the section and don't talk to each
other. I'll be back in a moment or two."

Jain
hardly had a chance to begin reading before Ah'bi was back in the
classroom obviously struggling to maintain her composure. "Girls,
I have some terrible news. Guadel Piter and Guadel Bay'del have
both been killed in an ambush similar to the one that claimed I'rone
and his wives two months ago."

Gasps
came from around the room as the girls tried to process the idea
that yet another Guadel family had been cut down. Years, or even
decades, were known to go by without any of the Guadel dying from
anything other than old age. Five dying by violence in just a few
months was unheard of.