The Stolen Child (45 page)

Calmly, the figure drew back her white hood,
revealing the face that Arsha remembered from her father's sending stone.  She felt butterflies dancing in her stomach as she tried to keep her expression calm.
 

“My name is Maya.  I'm a
very close
friend of Rishi Chandra, and I am very
grateful
to finally meet you.”

“Can I... Can I offer you anything?”  Milima said, still clearly nervous and confused.

“Tea
would be lovely, thank you,
” Maya said with an angelic smile, as she settled herself at the table.

Milima nodded and
turned to set a kettle on the stove
.

“I... I suppose you know
Rishi's situation,
” Milima said, as Rachael and Arsha took seats across the table from Maya.

“Yes, and
your husband's
too.  
I've been sitting in on the sessions.  
Milima, I
am
so very sorry.  I know this must be awful for you all.”

“We'll pull through,” Milima said, with a faltering attempt at a smile.  
“Seeker... I don't meant to impose, but is there anything you can tell us about what's going to happen at the hearing tomorrow?  Anything you might have heard?”
 

“I'm afraid there's very little I can tell you,” Maya said.  “Beyond my own suspicions.”

Milima nodded, unable to hide her disappointment.

“I have heard a little about Reuben Ben Mahir,” Maya continued.  “He's an earnest and forthright young man, by all accounts, just like his sister.  Very eager to prove that his family's influence had nothing to do with being granted his appointment, whatever the truth of that might be.  And he's gained a reputation as something of... A troublemaker, I suppose.  He's embarrassed more than a few nobles already, exposing dirty secrets and a few shady dealings.  I couldn't say if he actually believes in what he's doing, or if it's just more Guild politics, but he's
certainly ruffled a few feathers.  But going after Manindra... I really don't think he knows how dangerous an enemy he is making.  That worries me.
”

“
Well it's about time somebody stood up to the man.  Honestly, Maya, the thought of Manindra Bhandari finally getting what he deserves is the only silver lining I can see in all of this,” Milima said, as she set a steaming mug of tea down in front of the woman.  For a while Maya just stared down into the surface of the liquid, as if seeing something there.
 

“Manindra's plans don't fail,”
she said.
  “They just get... More dangerous.  The man has no concept of defeat.  He is entirely possessed of the certainty of his own importance, his... His
'
right
'
to the things he has set his eyes on.  There is nothing in this world that he does not believe he can bend to his will.  It's just a matter of how far he will have to go to make it happen.  So yes, that scares me.  Manindra is never more dangerous than when he has been defeated.”

With a heavy sigh, Milima set herself down at the table.  Maya raised her cup, blew gently on the surface, and took a long sip.
 

“
I'm sorry, I don't mean to seem ungrateful.  I appreciate your insight, Seeker, I truly do,” Milima said.
 

“
You're carrying a lot right now, Milima.  I understand.”
 

“And being a terrible host.  I'm afraid I'm not really sure what we can help you with, though.  Rishi and Abasi are both in holding, and it's just myself and the girls here on the ship right now.”

“
Actually, my visit concerns the young ladies.  I wondered if
you might permit me to speak with them alone for a little while?
”

“
Uh... Certainly,
” Milima said,
taken aback
.  “If it's alright with the girls,
of course
.”

Confused, Arsha glanced at Rachael, who looked just as perplexed.  The girls both nodded.
 

“
Wonderful,” Maya said.  Then, with a glance upwards, at where Rukiya was no doubt still holding guard on the floor above, she added “Is there somewhere we might...”
 

“
If you're looking for some privacy, Rishi's library is at the end of the hall,” Milima said quietly.
 

“
Thank you,” Maya said with a warm smile.  As the woman stood, Arsha jumped to her feet and lead the way.  Her father's library was located at the very back of the ship, past the stairwell and just above the engine room.  She opened the door and let the others step into a room that would have seemed large if it was not some completely filled with bookcases.  Each shelf was filled to the brim, the books strapped into place with leather bindings to keep them from shifting with the movements of the ship.  In the centre of the room stood a round table with four chairs, and a single ghostlamp at its centre.
 

Arsha closed the door and turned to see Maya standing in the centre of the room, hands folded in front herself.  The woman's poise and grace seemed entirely flawless.  Rachael stood a little to one side, looking nervous, unsure of what to do with herself.  As Arsha stepped towards the table, however, Maya moved towards her.
 

“May I?” the woman said, reaching out to take her hand.  Dumbstruck, Arsha just nodded, as Maya
held her palm up between them
.  Then she realised what the woman was looking at, the thin line of the scar standing out clear against the skin.  Maya's soft fingertips brushed across the knotted
line
.

“You did this yourselves?” she said.  Arsha nodded.  “Very well done.  This is a strong binding.  Any fateworker would be proud.”

“How... How did you know?”

Maya smiled.

“Red string.  It took me a while to puzzle it out, of course, but two nights ago I dreamed of a hand clutching a bloody knife.  
The rest was easy to put together.
”

Arsha nodded, not saying a word.

“Oh
there's no need
to
be so cautious my dear.  I assume you already know about the prediction I shared with Rishi, yes?”

Arsha blinked.

“How did you...?”

“You recognised my face, darling.  The moment you saw me.  Your father refuses to even keep a
holo
in case he lets slip that we stay in touch, and that was first sending I'd made to him in ten years.  The only way you could recognise my face is if you'd found a way to listen in.  Rishi is too careful for anything else.”

“I... Yeah.  I did, a bit.  
I'm really sorry,” she said, lowering her eyes.  Maya's hand settled lightly on her shoulder.
 

“
It's done now, and for the best I suspect.  Have you told Rachael yet?”
 

Arsha nodded.
 

“
Good,” Maya said, smiling.
 

“
So... Is that what this is about?” Rachael said.  “This prediction stuff and all?”
 

“
In a way.  We should sit,” Maya said, gesturing towards the table.  Still feeling a little dumbstruck, Arsha followed Rachael, taking a chair beside her.  Maya sat down across from the two of them, folding her hands on the table.
 

“
So... What else can you tell us about your prediction?  About what's going to happen?” Arsha said.  Her throat felt dry.
 

“
Very little I'm afraid.  Most of it is still fairly opaque to me.  I've been having visions ever since, but they've been confused, fragmentary, very little that I can piece together.  That's the nature of predictions, I'm afraid.  Mostly the Chamber collects these pieces, cross-references them with what the other seers have seen, and builds up a larger picture.  Seers very rarely have a complete prediction on their own.  The intelligence that the Chamber passes on to the Guild council is usually gathered from hundreds of seers across thousands of visions, and even then the results are generally murky at best.  But, the truth is, these last few weeks, I've been keeping most of what I've seen to myself.  I fear there's something rotten at work in the Chamber, and I can't escape the feeling that whatever I've been seeing... That it wasn't meant for them.”
 

“
Won't you get in a lot of trouble for that?” Arsha said.
 

“
Perhaps.  But that can't be helped.”
 

“
You don't seem all that worried,” Rachael said.
 

“
The life of a Seer is a little hard to explain.  I know this all must seem very strange to you, Rachael.  In this world, people with abilities like mine... The Guild needs us, but it also fears us.  We live very constrained lives.  I have not left the Citadel since I was 12, and I will probably remain here until the day I die.  After a while you grow used to the idea of living in a cage.  It certainly leaves you with very little to be afraid of.  I might lose a few privileges, perhaps, but I'm too valuable for anything worse than that.”
 

“
That's...” Arsha began to say.
 

“...
Awful,” Rachael finished for her.
 

Maya simply spread her hands, palms upward, in a helpless gesture.
 

“
There is one thing that I am absolutely certain of,” the woman said.  “Something has started here, something much bigger than what we can see now.  The two of you are standing together at the eye of a storm.  The choices you make now could change everything.  The fate of worlds will be reshaped by what you two have done, and what you continue to do now.  I know that's an awful responsibility to place on you both, and I wrestled without myself about whether to say anything at all, but... But I know that no matter what else happens, you are going to need each other.  You must find strength in each other, because soon there is going to be very little else left to you.”
 

Arsha turned to look at Rachael.  The girl looked just as nervous as she felt.
 

“
I'm sorry.  I know that isn't exactly what either of you
wanted to hear,” Maya said.  For a while neither Arsha or Rachael made any reply, an uncomfortable silence settling in the air.
 

“
I was wondering before,” Arsha said, “h
ow do you know my dad?”
.
 

“I'm his sister.  Of sorts,”
Maya replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
 

Arsha's eyes widened.
 

“Sister?  Dad never mentioned having any brothers or sisters.”

“No, he wouldn't have.  We're not related by blood.  Rishi was my father's ward.  You know about the wreck that killed his parents, I suppose?”

Arsha scrunched her nose up, confused.

“Dad told me that he grew up with his granddad, after his parents died.”

Maya nodded.

“
I know
.  You have to understand, Arsha, he
had his reasons for lying
.  After everything that happened, Rishi wanted nothing to do with our family.  The truth is, I envy him, being able to leave it all behind so easily.  Even sequestered in the Citadel here, I've never really felt like I was far enough away from my father.”

“Your father?”

Maya paused, her shoulders settling in a heavy sigh.
 

“Manindra.  Manindra Bhandari.”

“That crazy old...” Rachael interjected, seeming to catch herself just in time.

Maya just nodded.

“I was the youngest.  I think even as a little girl I recognised the madness in my father... And how it had infected my brothers.  In a way, it infected Rishi too, but there was a kindness in him that my father could never quite find a way to cut out.  Not like he did with Rakesh and Naveen.  As for Dayaram... I don't know.  Whatever part of himself he managed to hold onto, he's buried it deep inside.  He plays the dutiful son so well that he's forgotten how to be anything else.”

“
No... I can't believe that.  How could my dad be anything like those people?”
 

“
For all the poison in his heart, there is much in my father to admire, Arsha.  Much that your father learned from him.  Rishi is driven, resourceful, determined, inspiring, and fearless.  All things my father taught him.  Our parents shape who we are, whether we like it or not, but that doesn't mean that we can't decide what kind of person we will become.  Rishi has gone to the ends of the earth to cut away my father's influence from his life, and he has become a very different man from the one that Manindra wanted him to be.”
 

“
But why didn't he ever tell me this?”
 

“
Why do you think?  Rishi never wanted you to have anything to do with my family.  Arsha, believe me, I couldn't agree more.  If I could somehow erase that part of myself, I gladly would.  If there was a surgeon's knife that could cut deep enough to extract every last trace of him, I would hold it myself, and I would smile with every cut.”
 

“
He still shoulda let her know,” Rachael said.  “It weren't
right, keeping that from her.”
 

“
Perhaps.  Rachael, I'm not trying to pretend that anything about Rishi is perfect.  We are all flawed creatures.  He's made the best choices that can, given his circumstances.  I'm not in a position to judge him.”
 

Rachael said nothing, obviously holding back whatever thoughts she had on the matter.
 

“
Is there... Is there anything else you can tell us?  Anything at all?” Arsha said.
 

Maya considered this for a moment.
 

“
This is a marvellous library,” she said, at last, looking around the room in apparent wonder.  “I suppose Rishi must have a copy of the Guild laws and statutes here somewhere.”
 

Arsha looked around, uncertainly.
 

“
I guess,” she said.
 

“
Volume Three, if I recall correctly,” Maya said.  “There is a chapter on the subject of lineage and inheritance.  You'll find some interesting notes on the subject of blood-bonding, and how it relates to Guild law.”