Frozen Prospects (3 page)

The
women both looked at Va'del as if they'd seen too many scared young
men that morning, but their individual reactions were quite
different. The older woman's manner suggested a resigned acceptance
of a situation she couldn't control, while the younger seemed mad
enough to strangle someone with her bare hands.

The
way the angry woman pointed to a low chair without saying a word
wasn't reassuring in the slightest, but mindful of the fact that her
husband could easily back up the command with force, Va'del did as
he was told.

"I'm
Jasmin. Despite what you've heard, we aren't looking
for an excuse to take you out in the cold and eat you, or something
equally stupid."

For
just a second it looked as though Jasmin was going to say something
else, but the man quietly cleared his throat, and her mouth slammed
shut with an audible click. "Never mind. There isn't any
point fighting decisions made centuries before any of us were born."

Jasmin
sat down in the chair positioned directly in front of Va'del and
leaned back. "Try to relax. Don't be too alarmed if you feel
a strange pressure inside your mind. It probably won't come to
that, but don't fight it if it does or you'll just make both of us
tired. If you fall asleep that's acceptable."

Jasmin
closed her eyes and sat motionless for several minutes. Va'del
began to feel restless, but one look at the massive man, now
sharpening his sword with a painful casualness, convinced him to
remain motionless.

Va'del
leaned back and tried to relax enough to go to sleep. As the
teenager finally started to drift off he felt something alien slowly
swimming through his mind.

A
bolt of fear shot through Va'del as he reflexively shoved at
Jasmin's presence inside his mind.
None
of the rumors even touched on the idea that they might be able to
invade my thoughts.

The
panic hammering away at Va'del's composure spiked as he felt
Jasmin strengthen her efforts and force him aside. Sharp knives of
pain raked through his head as she sifted through memories and
feelings that he'd thought would always be private.

The
struggle raged on despite Va'del's realization that he couldn't win.
Even the sheer pain involved in fighting wasn't quite enough to
overcome the innate desire to maintain the sanctity of his mind.

When
Jasmin finally withdrew from his mind, the young man opened his eyes
and raised a shaking hand to stem the blood he felt trickling from
his nose.

Sara
nonchalantly handed Jasmin a cloth to staunch her nosebleed, and
then turned to Va'del and offered him one as well.

"Pa'chi,
you can come inside the room now. Take Va'del back to my rooms
please. Don't let Jas'per or any of his cronies give either of you
any problems. Come get me if necessary, or if they won't let you
get away then make sure they understand that I've had it with their
antics and will invoke healer's right to punish them if they push
the issue."

Pa'chi's
eyes widened in shock, but she curtsied respectfully and helped
Va'del to his feet.

##

After
the pair were gone for several minutes, I'rone rose to his feet and
walked down the corridor to ensure that the two youngsters had truly
left. Once he returned to the room, Sara felt her strength leak away
like melting snow, and collapsed into a nearby chair.

"Powers!
Since you pushed yourself and poor Va'del so hard, am I correct in
assuming he has whatever it is you're looking for?"

Betreec,
the older of the wives, looked as though she were torn between old
loyalties and present duty. "You know we can't tell you
anything about what we're really looking for in a candidate."

Sara
snorted. "Please spare me. I understand why the Council wants
such a ridiculous level of secrecy regarding the Guadel in these
backwards villages, but I'm from the Capital. Not only that, I
trained with you and remember perfectly well when you were moon-eyed
over I'rone, and worried he'd snatch up a second wife before the two
of you even made it through your first year together. I know
exactly the kinds of things that drew you to him, and I think the
boy has many of the same qualities."

"I
never..." Betreec momentarily looked shocked until I'rone's
gentle chuckle seemed to make her realize Sara was joking.

Jasmin
pulled the cloth she'd been holding to her face away and
checked to make sure the bleeding had stopped. "I don't see
why we shouldn't tell Healer Sara; it isn't like most of what we
look for isn't an open secret back at the Capital."

As
the younger wife looked at Sara, the older woman suddenly got the
feeling that beneath the pretty exterior and calm eyes, Jasmin was
nearly ready to explode.

"Your
boy Va'del was the easiest to link with of any male I've ever
tested. Not just slightly easier, vastly easier. That being said,
he still may not be a suitable candidate."

Sara
started to bristle. "What do you mean he may not be suitable?
That child is one of the least-judgmental people I've met. He's
much more considerate than some of the potentials I saw come in
while I was in training."

Jasmin
held her hand up. "I won't argue with you there. You know,
I'm sure, that we can't really read someone's thoughts. Another
person's mind is too alien for any of us to really know for sure
what a given thought means, but we can get a feeling for their
emotional state, and their general character."

Sara
nodded impatiently, knowing very well she gave off the air of
someone who thought she was too old now to be lectured. That was
only fair; she hadn't particularly enjoyed being instructed when she
was younger, either.

Jasmin
started pacing. "He has all of the attributes we normally look
for in a candidate, but I think he's suicidal. There's a kind of
darkness to him that I'm not completely comfortable with. Every man
in our bloodline is more than capable of violence, but I can't tell
for sure that he'll keep that capacity chained as tightly as I'rone
does."

"Fifteen
years ago I might have argued with you over the exact level of
I'rone's restraint. I know better now. Fear is the only thing that
keeps an ice wolf like Ma'del in line. If anything you dealt too
softly with him. Eventually he'll slip his leash and when that
happens people are going to be hurt. Doesn't Va'del's darkness have
a place? He might have arrived at a more permanent solution to
Ma'del than you or the Council."

Jasmin
started to respond, but it was I'rone that answered. "Darkness
is only valuable in as much as it is demanded by his duty.
Otherwise he's no better than the Headman."

The
healer finally nodded jerkily, and then put her face in her hands.
"I suppose I should have expected as much, I just so hoped when
you arrived that it would be possible to get him out of here."

Betreec
walked over to the healer and put a hand on her shoulder. "How
did it get this bad for him?"

It
was I'rone who responded. "It is the Headman and his people.
They mistreat him to garner support with the rest."

##

Pa'chi
had reported back with a steady stream of names as the rest of the
young men and the girls of the appropriate ages were tested. None
of the others seemed really shaken when she saw them, and Va'del was
certain his experience had been unusual.

"I
think we need to get you out of here for a while, Va'del. Being
stuck in here for days on end would make anyone go crazy."

"It's
not going to make any difference. We're less than a week away from
the decision day and none of the masters have talked to me even
once. They can't choose me if they haven't found out anything about
me. At this rate I'll end up forced to go to the Capital, the one
place I'm guaranteed to be even more of an outcast than here."

Pa'chi
shook her head vigorously. "I don't want you to have to leave.
I'll...I'll talk to my father. I can convince him to select
another apprentice this year. It won't matter that Sara is keeping
you sequestered away here."

Jas'per's
words from the other day seemed to burn Va'del's mind and it was all
he could do to stop himself from yelling at Pa'chi. "I don't
want his charity. I want to make it on my own."

The
words came out harsher than he'd meant for them to, and Pa'chi
looked as though she was fighting tears when Sara came around the
privacy turn and nodded at them both.

"You're
up. Good, let's go, Va'del."

Va'del
felt a surge of anxiety as he remembered the last time she'd dragged
him somewhere, but even his slight delay at rising kindled a spark
of anger in her stern brown eyes.

Va'del's
fears were confirmed as they turned off towards the Guadel's rooms,
but Jas'per's friends were loitering near the guest rooms and Sara was
obviously ready and spoiling for a fight. Va'del decided against
protesting her choice in destinations.
I
won't let them see me dragged into the guest rooms kicking and
screaming like a child.

The
Guadel seemed to be expecting him once again. Jasmin flashed him a
kind smile, Betreec gave him an absent-minded one, and even the man
seemed slightly less foreboding than usual. As before, Va'del was
directed to a seat, but this time it wasn't Jasmin that sat down
opposite him.

"My
name is Betreec. Jasmin said you did an excellent job trying not to
fight her last time you were here, do you think you can do as well
or better for me?"

Va'del's
fear of the Guadel hadn't gone away, but Betreec seemed very kind.
Besides, one look at Sara's face told him he'd better say yes and
mean it. He nodded hesitantly.

It
seemed to take Betreec longer to touch his mind than it had Jasmin,
but when Va'del felt the first alien tendrils touch his thoughts he
found he wasn't as alarmed as he had been previously.
Jasmin
has obviously told them what she found inside my mind, so in a sense
this all doesn't matter anymore. There isn't really anything left
to hide from them.

When
Betreec finally stirred in her chair, Va'del had the barest
beginnings of a headache, but he wasn't shaking this time, and
neither he nor the Guadel were suffering from a nosebleed.

The
older woman waved Sara away and looked at Jasmin for several seconds
before the pair finally nodded at each other.

Jasmin
came and kneeled before Va'del. "I'm so very sorry we had to
put you through that. I'm told it's quite painful. I wish
there was another way to accomplish the test, but for now, you'll
just have to take my word for it that we didn't intend you harm.
Luckily it shouldn't be necessary to ever repeat the experience."

"So
you won't have to get inside my mind again?" The question
slipped out before Va'del had a chance to remember that these
weren't the kind of people to suffer questions gracefully.

Jasmin's
eyes went wide, and for a second her gaze flickered back to
something outside of Va'del's field of vision. Sara, standing
against the wall behind Jasmin, looked surprised for a second, and
then emphatically shook her head.

A
moment later Betreec's frail hand came to rest on Va'del's shoulder.
"What do you mean, Va'del?"

It
was too late to do anything other than tell the truth. Va'del
hadn't ever been a decent liar, so he spared just a moment to curse
the evil powers, and then cleared his throat hesitantly. "I'm
not sure. It just seemed as though there was something inside my
mind that didn't belong there. I thought it was you."

Jasmin
recaptured his attention, giving him a surprisingly reassuring
smile. "You're a very perceptive young man, Va'del. You're
right that part of the test involved us getting an impression of
your mind, but you need to know that we can't really read your
thoughts, we just get a good feeling for the kind of person you are.
Kind of like the things a best friend would know."

Is
she telling the truth? How would I ever really know?

Looking
at Va'del with earnest blue eyes, the Guadel continued. "If
you trust Sara, she can confirm everything I'm telling you and
that we'll never tell anyone else what we learned."

Va'del
found himself cautiously nodding, and Jasmin seemed to relax
slightly. "You need to make a choice now. You can either stay
here, or you can come with us when we leave."

Va'del
was amazed at how quickly his body responded to the surge of fear.
It was suddenly hard to think over the pounding of his heart. Sara
looked at him and shook her head.

"These
people aren't the ogres you've made them out to be, child. I can't
tell you as much about them as I'd like, they won't permit it in
case you decide to stay here, but they aren't evil. What is more,
it appears you're right about the masters. That fool Ma'del and his
son Jas'per seem to have them all bullied into treating you like a
plague victim. This is your chance to be apprenticed. Go with
them."

Fingering
the knife concealed in its usual place, Va'del realized that there
really wasn't anything left for him at Bitter Rocks. Even Pa'chi
would be better off without him.

Looking
from one Guadel to another, Va'del finally nodded, and was surprised
to find it was the man's face which seemed to brighten the most at
his decision.

Jasmin
woke Va'del while the time globe was still giving off a very faint
green glow, but he'd learned that asking questions about what was
happening was almost completely useless. He simply wiped the sleep
from his eyes and gathered up his few possessions at her command.
Once the decision to leave with them was made, Sara brought his
things. The Guadel hadn't seemed willing to let him out of their
sight.
Was that because
they are trying to protect me, or are they just trying to ensure I
don't slip away?