Jayne Castle [Jayne Ann Krentz] (31 page)

also."

"Who were the Dawn Lords?" Kalena asked, completely fascinated now. "Another race that inhabited

this planet before us?" Valica answered cautiously. "We don't know for certain, but it is possible the

Dawn Lords were as human as we ourselves are. Some students here in the valley," she glanced around

at the faces of the other women, "think that the Dawn Lords were our ancestors and that they arrived on

this planet from a world that turns about another sun."

"They brought the Stones and the Keys with them?" Kalena asked.

Valica shook her head in denial. "No. At least, we don't think so. We believe they discovered the

Stones and the Keys here when they arrived and recognized them as sources of power that were beyond

even their comprehension or ability to handle. Such things of power could not be destroyed, so the Dawn

Lords hid them, hoping, no doubt, that they would stay buried forever, or at least until we were capable

of controlling them."

"What became of the Dawn Lords?" Kalena demanded.

Valica shrugged. "There appear to have been only a few of them, but they fitted themselves to this new

world. They seem to have been trapped here, but they were determined that they and their children

would survive. They did what was necessary, creating a new society that has proven viable and has

flourished. I can tell you little else, Kalena. We simply don't know much more than that. A great deal of

what I have told you is speculation and intuition."

"And now your speculation has convinced you that I must take up the Light Key and carry it out of the

valley?" Kalena finished warily.

"So we believe."

"You are wrong," Kalena said resolutely. "You have set your lures for the wrong woman. Surely if I

were called to such a destiny, I would know it deep inside."

"Who can say?" Valica smiled again. "We are almost as ignorant as you about your fate. Perhaps

matters would be clearer now if Olara had brought you here years ago when she found herself in charge

of you. Or perhaps it was not meant for you to grow up here at all. In any event, Olara's notions of

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vengeance and House honor were stronger than the part of her that was drawn to life here in the valley.

She tried to twist you to her own ends, and in the process perhaps she succeeded in suppressing your

own inner knowledge and instincts too far. Or perhaps it was meant for those things to be temporarily

suppressed. Who can say? The ways of fate are often exceedingly complex."

Kalena was feeling desperate. "How long have you known that I was the one you sought?"

"The woman who held my position in the valley before I did first sensed the truth. She was gifted with

the ability to slide deep into a Far Seeing trance. That particular gift is very rare, and the results of such

trances are often difficult to interpret. My own trances have proven remarkably frustrating at times. Her

name was Bestina, and her intuition was astonishing. It was she who named the one who would take up

the Light Key. Before she died she summoned Olara and informed her of what she had learned. But by

then it was too late. Olara was already started down the path of her choice and she made it clear she was

taking you with her. Bestina could do nothing more. But when she told me that I was to take her position

here in the valley, she gave me some advice."

"What advice?"

"She said that something stronger than your aunt's training in vengeance was destined to break through

the barriers Olara had raised within you. A new bond between you and another would be formed, one

that would be stronger than the bond between yourself and your aunt, stronger, perhaps, than even your

sense of honor."

"You knew I would form a trade marriage?"

Valica smiled. "Years ago we began insisting on dealing only with married women traders. It was a way

of ensuring that the women Quintel used received some legal protection and the right to retain a portion

of the profits of the Sand."

"Quintel got around your edict by inventing the institution of trade marriages," Kalena pointed out. "Such

marriages are little more than business arrangements. The bonds between men and women in a trade

marriage are slight, to say the least. It is a business association."

"True, but marriage agreements serve the purpose of providing the women involved with some legal

status. Since we had decided to deal only with such women, it was reasonable to assume that somehow

when you came to us it would probably be asa trade wife. We didn't know for certain, of course. Fate

could have chosen another way to bring you here, but it was a logical assumption. None but Quintel's

traders climb the trail to this valley."

"I understand."

"Several months ago," Valica continued, "when we began to grow anxious about what we sensed was

happening with the Dark Key,we decided it would be necessary to give fate a small push. We began

informing Quintel's traders that we would deal only with a woman who was truly married, emotionally as

well as by contract. We said we wanted a woman with at least a touch of the Talent, although she needn't

necessarily be a Healer. Between the information gained from Bestina's trances and my own, we knew

that much about you. We could not ask for you directly."

"Why not?"

"For one thing we had lost track of you. We did not know where Olara had taken you to live or under

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what new House name you were being raised. I was forced to rely on logic and hope to locate you."

"The logical part being that Quintel wouldn't rest until he'd found a way to reopen the Sand trade route.

He'd keep searching until he found a woman you would accept through the mist."

"We knew Quintel couldn't get a trained Healer to agree to the kind of contract marriage necessary for a

trading venture. He had to come up with a new arrangement a Healer would agree to, which was

unlikely, or find an untrained Healer, like you, willing to enter into a trade marriage. There aren't many

untrained Healers like you Kalena, so we knew that once we exerted the maximum pressure on Quintel

and closed the trail entirely to everyone but you with the mist, we would find you, sooner or later. There

was another angle of logic involved, too. Don't forget we were aware that Olara, wherever she might be,

was looking for a way to get to Quintel. With Quintel searching for a woman

who came from a family of Healers, and Olara waiting for an opportunity to use you against Quintel, the

results were inevitable."

"It's all very twisted and complicated, full of what-ifs and hadit-not-been-fors." Kalena shook her head.

"There is a logic to it, however. There is always a hidden logic behind all that happens. We call it fate,

but in reality that word means nothing more than the inevitable conclusion of forces that have been set in

motion. Once in motion, all such forces must eventually play themselves out." Valica quoted a tenet of the

Philosophy of the Spectrum with the certainty of a true believer.

"It was only supposed to be a trade marriage," Kalena said softly. "And it was never meant to last more

than a day. You specified a woman who was well and truly married, not just one involved in a business

arrangement."

Valica looked at her knowingly. "Would you say that the bond between you and your husband is based

only on business?"

Sudden heat burned in Kalena's face. "It's hard to explain my arrangement with Trade Master Ridge.

There are times when I'm not certain I understand it, myself. But I am certain it is not my task to take up

the Light Key. You have drawn the wrong woman to your valley."

"None of us here tonight can fully explain just why and how you are here, Kalena. Nor will we try more

than we already have. It grows late and we are farming women who must rise early. I think it is time we

went to bed." Valica's tone of voice announced that the session was at a close.

"Farmers are not the only ones who rise early. So do trade masters," Kalena muttered, getting to her feet

along with the others. "Especially when they are anxious to complete a journey. Ridge will want to leave

as soon as possible in the morning."

"I will walk with you to your cottage," Arona said, moving close to Kalena as the others filed out of the

room.

"That's very kind of you."

"Not at all. My cottage is only a short distance beyond yours." Arona's blue eyes were very deep and

intense in the light of the lamps. She touched Kalena lightly on the arm and turned to lead the way out of

the dining chamber.

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Kalena walked beside her new acquaintance in silence, thinking of all that had been said in the dining

hall. But soon she grew uncomfortable, and searched for casual conversation.

"How does the valley floor stay so warm and balmy even though it's surrounded by snowcovered

mountains?"

"There is a source of heat hidden deep in the heart of the mountains. Perhaps the remains of an old

volcano. We don't understand exactly how it works, but the waters that bubble to the surface nearby are

hot and there is always warmth in the air."

"Some of the water flows out of the mountain into the pools of Hot And Cold, and even beyond, doesn't

it?"

"Yes." Arona said nothing more for a while, and when she spoke her words surprised Kalena. "You are

a woman who seeks her freedom."

"You are perceptive."

Arona's mouth curved faintly. "Not particularly. But I, too, once went in search of freedom. Perhaps

now I simply recognize the desire in others when I see it."

Now Kalena was curious herself. "You did not find your freedom in the outside world, did you, Arona?"

"I don't think I could ever have found it in a world of men," she said simply. "But I am happy here in the

valley."

"I understand." They were nearing the cottage. Kalena saw the glow of the lamps through the windows.

Ridge would be waiting, just as he had said.

Arona halted and turned to face her companion. She put a hand on Kalena's shoulder. "You, too, could

be happy here, Kalena. Do you understand? There is a freedom to be found here that does not exist in

the kind of relationship you have formed with your husband."

"I know," Kalena said gently. "There is very little freedomin marriage."

Ridge stood in the shadows near the cottage and listened to Kalena's words. His restlessness had made

him walk out to check the creets for the second time that evening. He had seen Kalena and Arona

approaching in the moonlight. Something within him had tightened into a cold knot as he sensed all the

lures of the valley reaching out to take Kalena from him.

"Here in the valley you are free, Kalena," Arona said softly. "You can make your own choices. There is

no need to be guided by the wishes of a man."

Ridge sucked in his breath and stepped out of the shadows. In the moonlight he faced the two women.

"Kalena, I've been waiting for you."

"I know, Ridge." She turned to him with an unreadable smile on her lips.

Ridge stood very still, every part of him prepared to fight, but he was unsure of how to go about it. He

could easily imagine himself protecting his wife from the attentions of another man. But this sort of

situation was totally outside his experience. What did he have to offer that could counter the valley's

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lures? He sensed that his only hold on Kalena at that moment consisted of the tenuous bonds of a trade

marriage. The fact that he could make her respond in his arms might stand as nothing compared to the

exotic kind of freedom the valley offered her.

"It's time to go to bed, Kalena." He could think of nothing else to say.

"Yes," she agreed and turned back to Arona. "I wish you good evening, my friend. There is much for me

to think about tonight."

"That's very true. Go to bed and dream of freedom."

"I'm not sure any of us are ever completely free," Kalena murmured.

"You are a wise woman. Too bad you were not allowed to become a Healer. I wish you good evening,

Kalena." Arona disappeared into the balmy night, her long tunic swirling gracefully around her ankles.

Ridge exhaled slowly, but none of his tension diminished. He moved to stand in front of Kalena and

caught her face between his rough palms. Her eyes were wide and luminous as she looked up at him.

"Sometimes you scare me almost to death, lady," he rasped. "Do I?"

"I won't let you go easily, Kalena," he said thickly as his mouth hovered above hers. "I can't let you go.

You belong to me. Somehow I must make you understand that." And with that he picked her up and

carried her into the cottage.

The lamps cast a warm glow that was pale in comparison to the brilliant glow of Ridge's eyes. Kalena

was vividly aware of the leashed strength in him as he carried her across the tapestry rug and lowered her

to the narrow pallet in the far corner. The warmth of the fire was nothing compared to the heat she

sensed in Ridge.