Frozen Prospects (18 page)

He
still didn't understand why On'li and the others hadn't done more
for him sooner than they had, but he was more and more convinced
that they really did want to help him out. He wouldn't mistake them
for family, or even friends, but he was happier than he'd been at
any point since I'rone, Jasmin and Betreec had been killed.

Va'del
dropped back into a crouch as his shorter opponent edged towards
him.
He usually rushes
me. Half the time he gets me before I can take him down. Of
course, the other half I make him look like a complete idiot.
Fi'lin is serious when he tells Bi'li not to take wild gambles.
Time to show him it's stupid to risk your life on a fifty-fifty
chance.

Bi'li
did indeed rush, but his weight shifted a little too far to the
right, telegraphing what he was going to do. Va'del slid just far
enough to the left to avoid the attack while simultaneously landing
a blow that would have taken Bi'li's arms off at the elbow.

Even
Alir wouldn't have been able to ignore such on obvious strike, and
Fi'lin immediately ruled that Bi'li was disabled.

Va'del
wasn't tired yet, not with the additional muscle he'd put on. Of
course, the fact that Fi'lin didn't throw opponent after opponent at
him until sheer exhaustion caused him to lose bouts helped too.
Regardless, the teenager stretched quickly to try and keep himself
loose. He didn't want tension to rob him of energy he'd need later.

After
verbally flaying Bi'li for the better part of five minutes, the
whip-thin Guadel looked Va'del over for a second with an odd gleam
in his eye before turning and calling out Se'ath's name. As quickly
as that, Va'del felt his stomach drop.

Se'ath
is Be'ter's best friend. His teasing is even more vicious than
most.

As
if the Goddess was looking down and had decided that Va'del's
impending humiliation wasn't nearly severe enough, the sudden sound
of footsteps and giggling signaled the arrival of Jain and the rest
of the Goddess-touched Daughters.

Fi'lin
has always been fair before this, why is he trying to humiliate me
now?

There
was no time to consider the question further as Fi'lin called the
two boys together and instructed them. "It will be Ba'tier
rules for the two of you and I'll have the ears of the boy who
permanently damages the other or breaks any bones. You hear me?"

Se'ath
and Va'del both nodded their understanding and then backed away and
put their practice helms on.

Va'del
tried to focus, but it was hard. Ba'tier rules didn't allow the
match to end until one opponent had conclusively demonstrated his
superiority over the other. If Va'del wasn't able to hold Se'ath
off, then the other boy would have the chance to hit him again and
again until Fi'lin finally declared the winner.

He
really does want me humiliated.

The
two boys bowed to each other and then clashed in a whirl of arms
that only the most skilled could have differentiated from the
battles of the full guardsmen fighting on the other side of the
cavern.

Va'del
had gotten so used to seeing Se'ath triumph over all but the best
fighters among the candidates that he was more than a little
surprised when the blond boy didn't disarm him in the first pass.

He's
strong, but not stronger than me. Seems to rely on his sword too
much, just like Be'ter.

For the
next pass, Va'del tested his theory and was rewarded with a near
touch when the older boy's dagger almost wasn't in place quickly
enough to block a blow that would have been fatal in a real fight.

By
the third pass Va'del had completely lost any fear of Se'ath and
instead started pressing the boy as hard as he could across
the rough floor of the cavern. The gathering crowd of observers
seemed to drop away and fade from focus, leaving only the match.

Se'ath
was good, and he was obviously doing his best to connect with his
attacks, but for every one he landed, Va'del scored twice.

An
attack that Va'del recognized at the last second as the fourth
movement from the third form nearly gained Se'ath another touch, but
was executed poorly enough that it left him open to a basic slashing
attack. Va'del pulled the blow, but he knew it would leave a nasty
bruise on the face that nearly a quarter of the girls sighed over
every night before they went to sleep.

Another
handful of minutes passed before Va'del sensed an almost
imperceptible shift in the tempo of the fight. Acting as much on
instinct as anything else, he pressed Se'ath even harder and found
that the other boy was almost completely on the defensive.

He's
tiring.

Thoughts
of winning were now secondary to the need to defeat Se'ath in such a
way that he'd be too ashamed to harass Va'del in the future, and the
younger boy found that his blows were landing again and again with
just a hair less than bone-breaking force.

Se'ath
dropped his weapons and turned to run, and only Fi'lin's sudden roar
stopped Va'del from pursuing.

Almost
as if awaking from a dream, Va'del came back to himself and realized
that he was dripping sweat, tired and bruised in more places than he
could count.

Fi'lin
sent one of the guardsman after Se'ath to verify that the boy wasn't
seriously injured, and then turned back to Va'del.

He's
going to reprimand me for using too much force. For attacking too
aggressively, for almost chasing a retreating training partner.

The
triumph and glee that Va'del had been feeling seconds before faded
away to be replaced by guilt over how close he'd come to really
hurting Se'ath.

Fi'lin
studied Va'del for several long seconds with dark eyes that didn't
give away even the slightest clue to the thoughts behind them. "Are
you okay?"

Va'del
found that he wasn't able to speak, and nodded cautiously.

"You
both came very close to seriously hurting each other, but I think
he's relatively undamaged, so I won't have to take your ears after
all."

The
Guadel leaned in close with a stern look on his face. "I don't
think you'll have to worry about him hassling you anymore, but don't
get a taste for humiliating your fellow students or you'll end up
facing me across the ring and I'll give you a lesson you won't be
forgetting."

Was
I just chastised or commended?

Va'del
couldn't be sure, but he was starting to suspect that he had a
nominal ally in the arms master. The teenager turned to look for
Jain, only to feel hurt and confused at her brief wave. When he
turned back after racking his weapons, she was gone.

##

By
the time the messenger finished his tale it was so quiet in the
Council chamber that On'li wasn't sure that anyone was even
breathing.

A
few weeks ago the message that one of the Guadel had been struck
down would have brought shouts and recriminations echoing off of the
ornately-carved walls, but now there was just a tired resignation to
the fact that the Council had already done all that they could in
the face of this new threat.

A'vril
was the first to speak and seemed mostly interested in clarifying
one last point. "So the guardsmen we sent with Guadel Gia'to
and his family were also dead? The corpses were left where they
fell, only those of the Guadel showing signs of having been looted?"

The
messenger nodded and then bowed his head respectfully as he was
dismissed.

Per'ce
said what most of the Councilors were thinking. "They were
after the glow and heat stones that they were carrying, but why?"

On'li
shrugged. "We have no real contact with any lowlander mages, a
decision that I wholeheartedly agree with, but one that means we
don't know what they are really capable of. Possibly those worked
gemstones represent items of value great enough to justify
undertaking these attacks. Replacing the worked stones we've lost
in the last two attacks will take decades and for all we know the
lowlander mages no longer have the secret of their manufacture. If
so, even a single stone would be of incalculable value."

Even
Ja'dir seemed subdued by the knowledge that another of their number
had fallen.
Then again,
this time it was from one of the two bloodlines currently allied
with him, so maybe he's thinking more of the fact that it might make
it harder to keep someone in line than that someone we all knew, at
least a little, is now dead.

"Let's
not jump to any conclusions yet. Yes, the worked stones are
missing, but the Guadel were obviously the leaders of the group—it
is only reasonable that they would be searched for valuables. It is
entirely possible that these attacks are still motivated primarily
by the desire to weaken the People in preparation for some kind of
invasion."

Per'ce
didn't look like he wanted to agree with Ja'dir, but he nodded,
sending his perfectly-arranged hair swaying. "There is still
the rise in bag'lig activity to consider."

Ja'dir
jumped on the idea like someone running from an avalanche.
"Exactly—the bag'ligs are likely being driven up the mountains
by the same people who are attacking our patrols. If we can tie
all these pieces together we'll know who to go after down in the
lowlands to make sure that all of these problems stop."

On'li
didn't like the way Ja'dir was acting, but she was even more
disturbed by the fact that none of the rest of them had thought to approach the
problem from the standpoint of seeing which lowlanders had an
interest in causing the People problems.

Apparently
the rest of the Council felt the same way, and it took less than a
quarter cycle for a motion to be made and seconded that a group be
sent down to the lowlands in an effort to determine what was going on.

Shortly
thereafter, the Council session was adjourned and On'li and Javin
returned to their rooms where Mar'li had lunch waiting for them. It
wasn't until On'li was on her second cup of tea that she finally
managed to push her worries about Ja'dir out of her mind so she
could focus on the items that would be covered in the next meeting.

##

Jain
felt bad about snubbing Va'del, especially knowing what he'd been
through in the last few months, but she kept telling herself that
she had a right to be angry.

I
can't believe he forgot my birthday. I told him about it weeks ago
before Piter and Bay'del were even killed. He's had plenty of time
to come up with something, but he didn't do a single thing for me
yesterday. He didn't even say anything last night when I snuck away
to see him.

Some
of the Daughters had already mastered the ability to work magic
while angry or in the grip of other powerful emotions, but Jain
wasn't one of them. Instead, she generally found that if she was
anything other than completely calm she couldn't conjure anything
more complex than a simple ball of light.

For
all that Jain wasn't one of the more powerful students, she had
always dedicated herself to her studies and learned new things
quickly. It wasn't a surprise when Guadel Bell quickly realized
that there had to be something wrong for Jain to be fumbling the
basic working they were practicing today.

"Come
now, Jain, this isn't at all like you. What is the problem?"

Jain
looked around at the other girls, unsure of whether or not she
wanted to say anything where they could overhear. More than one of
the Daughters was jealous of the amount of attention Jain's
attractive features and uncommon blond hair brought from the
candidates.

Luckily,
Mistress Bell caught the look and gently pulled her to her feet.
"Come now. I think we need to talk in my office."

The
Guadel's 'office' was little more than a storage closet with a cloth
door, but by long-standing tradition once it was occupied she worked
a complex bit of magic that stopped sound from passing out of it,
thereby guaranteeing that anything discussed inside would stay
confidential.

Jain
felt more than a little foolish now that she was sitting across from
Guadel Bell, but the older woman smiled at her. "Now, now,
don't go having second thoughts on me, the magic's already done."

When
Jain didn't immediately respond Guadel Bell smiled once again, an
expression that lit up her hazel eyes. "You know my policy,
you all have to feel like you can ask me questions. If not you'd
probably all end up killing yourselves and each other with magic
gone awry. How can I expect you to ask the big questions that will
save all of our lives if I'm not willing to discuss the smaller
things?"

Mistress
Bell had a reputation as the most approachable of all the Guadel,
and watching her patiently await an answer, Jain decided she really
could trust the older woman.

Almost
before she knew what she was doing, Jain spilled the entire story to
her instructor, everything except the fact that it was Va'del she
was mad at.

Bell
nodded once her student was done. "Did you have a good
birthday other than that?"

Jain
nodded, smiling a little. "All of my friends
remembered—everyone but him."

"All
of your girl friends remembered yes, but what about the other
candidates?"

Jain
had to think for a second before shaking her head. "No, a
couple of them did, but not all."

"Child,
I'm going to let you in on a little secret. It's the result of all
my years of experience as a wife, and though it seems the simplest
thing in the world I think it accounts for more of our heartache
than most of us would believe. Men and women are different."

Jain
felt her eyes go big as she tried to reconcile the statement with
the teachings of all her other instructors who routinely said that
women and men were equal.