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blacker still. From time to time the moon found a gap in the clouds and Auraya
was able to make out roads and houses.
Now there was an aberration below. An interruption of the natural pattern,
poised at the meeting of land and water. As moonlight once again bathed the
world it showed hard angles and a jumble of interconnecting lines. Two
buildings caught the light and seemed to throw it back. The Dome shone like a
second moon, half-buried in the ground. The White Tower stretched up, like an
accusing finger.
Moving toward the Tower, she considered once again the reception she might
receive. Would all four White meet her? Would they be sympathetic or angry?
Would she be expected to apologize or explain herself? As she descended she
braced herself for a meeting that was probably going to be awkward, if not
unpleasant.
As her feet touched the roof her surroundings darkened. She looked up to see
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that the clouds had covered the moon again. No one stepped out to greet her. She
waited for several heartbeats, then laughed quietly.
I assumed the gods would let Juran know I was coming. Looks like they didn t.
She moved toward the door, amused to feel a faint disappointment. They might
be waiting inside, or in my room.
She entered the building, opening and closing the door to the roof quietly.
Moving down the stairs, she did not meet anyone not even a servant. Reaching
the door to her rooms, she paused to listen. No sounds came from within. She
opened the door and found her rooms dim and empty.
Putting her pack down, she created a spark of light. A sleepy Mischief crawled
out. He blinked at her then jumped onto a chair and curled up. She patted him,
then looked around.
Everything was how she had left it, yet it did not feel like the place she had left.
She felt no lifting of her spirits at familiar surrounds. Walking from room to
room, she wondered if her lack of relief at returning home was because it was
going to be something like a prison for the next decade.
She sat down on the edge of her bed and twirled the ring on her finger.
During her long flight, with nothing to distract her, she had spent a lot of time
thinking. At first she had decided there was no point agonizing over her future. It
was set and there was nothing she could do to change it. But something nagged
at her and eventually she had admitted to herself that she did have choices, even
if they were foolish or ridiculous. She began examining them, weighing up the
consequences, in order to convince herself they were not ones she wanted to
make.
By the time she had reached Jarime she had come to the realization that some of
these choices weren t as foolish as she d first thought. That she might be
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happier, or at least more useful to the world, if she made them.
At the same time they frightened her. She had decided she needed to sleep before
making any decision. And there was something else she needed to know.
Lying back on the bed, she let herself sink toward sleep. When she judged the
time was right, she spoke a name.
:Mirar!
There was a long silence, then a familiar mental voice replied.
:Auraya? Is that really you?
:It is. I have a question for you.
:Yes?
:Will I be able to teach your healing Gift to others?
:Only in rare circumstances.
:What circumstances?
He did not answer.
:Mirar?
:Have the gods chosen a punishment for you yet? he asked.
:Yes.
:What did they decide?
She hesitated. If he had any intention of causing trouble, knowing she couldn t
leave Jarime might encourage him.
:That is none of your business, she told him.
:Isn t it? Consider it an exchange of information. I will tell you the
circumstances which limit the teaching of healing for the gods decision on your
punishment.
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She felt annoyance, but pushed it aside. She could give him part of the truth.
:They sent me back to Jarime.
:Ah. So the Siyee are without a healer, which explains your question about
teaching. They ve punished you by punishing the Siyee. I guess they didn t have
much else they could take from you.
:You did not expect them to remove my ability to fly?
:No. I ve suspected that ability is your own since the day I taught you healing.
Now I am sure of it.
A shiver ran down her spine.
:What do you mean?
:You were already a powerful sorceress when you joined the Circlians. I saw the
potential in you long before that. Doesn t it seem odd to you that the other White
were not given this ability?
:Yes, but they weren t meant to go to Si.
:Weren t they? You discovered your ability yourself. If the gods meant you to
have it in order to befriend the Siyee, wouldn t they have given it to you in a
ceremony, with great fanfare, so that people adored them for it?
:But if Juran is more Gifted than me then surely he could learn it.
:Did you try to teach him?
She paused. Juran s efforts had come to nothing.
:But that would make me more Gifted stronger than him!
:Not if the gods are holding you back. They put you in third place, but since you
started showing signs of growing beyond the limits of your position they ve had
to suppress you.
:How do you know this! she demanded.
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:I don t. I am guessing. But I do know that you are stronger than you think.
Stronger than the gods intended you to be. I felt it the day you tried to kill me.
Auraya felt a stab of frustration.
:You haven t answered my question: What circumstances will stop me teaching
others your healing Gift?
He paused before answering.
:Only powerfully Gifted sorcerers will be able to learn it. Perhaps your fellow
White can, perhaps not.
She felt her heart sink. There would be no priests or Siyee returning to fight
Hearteater.
:What other circumstances are there?
:Did I say there were more?
:You spoke in plurals.
:So I did. There is this: if you did manage to find someone Gifted enough to
learn my healing method, the gods may have them killed. Remember that Huan
said it was forbidden.
:Why?
:That I cannot tell you.
:Cannot or will not?
:Will not.
:Why not?
:I can t tell you that either.
She felt her frustration growing and took a deep breath.
:So why don t they kill me?
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:You re a White.
:So if I wasn t, they d kill me?
:Yes. Or maybe not. It depends if you re speaking of yourself before you were a
White or not. If before, then yes.
:And if I were a former White, no?
:I m not sure. Are you thinking of quitting?
She paused, knowing he would sense the lie if she denied it.
:Because if you are, he continued, the gods might be so angry that they ll kill you [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]