[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
remembers what I learn.
Then you who remain behind can make the poison, and my spirit will watch our
victory if my body does not. "
"Father-" began Eye of Crystal. She took a deep breath, crossed her hands over
her breasts, and got herself under control. "Father, do you wish what I think
you do?"
"Yes. I will cause the poison to enter my body, and you will join me in the
Sphere of Wisdom while it does its work. Remember what I say and what you see
as I taught you, and you will be able to make the
poison as easily as the Wise One."
"Father, I know I must help in the reading. I have the healing knowledge more
than anyone else here.
But must-must it be you?"
"I am dying, daughter. Indeed, I have been dying since the spring. My heart
Page 77
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
has been failing. I knew that
I would be of little use next year, so I chose to die by the Challenge."
No one said anything. They all seemed to realize there was nothing to say. The
Guardian smiled. "Come, daughter. Be true to all I have taught you. I cannot
condemn anyone to die by the poison just to spare your heart. The only
condemned man in the village now is River Over Stones. Would you choose to
spend time in his mind?"
Crystal shuddered at the idea. "His mind is like a nest of snakes at best. It
will be even worse tonight.
Also, he does not have the Voice so strongly. He might not be able to tell me
what must be known, even if he wished to."
"Which he will not," said the Guardian. "Do you know what must be done?"
"Yes." Crystal stood, blinking back the tears for a moment, then motioned to
the others. "Leave us, please. "
Blade obeyed so quickly he almost felt guilty. He would have given a lot to
stand by Crystal in her coming ordeal. What made it worse was that she'd
brought it on herself. If she hadn't revealed the archery to Winter Owl, he
would never have spoken to the Guardian. If the Guardian hadn't known about
archery, he would never have insisted on this painful method of reading the
poison.
But if the poison wasn't analyzed the Uchendi would lose a major weapon
against their enemies. And this after losing the Guardian's telepathic skills
and leadership!
As usual, there was no easy solution.
Blade had long since become reconciled to this fact of life. He still hadn't
managed to get used to seeing people like Eye of Crystal ground to mincemeat
by the machinery of a badly run universe.
Chapter 21
The Guardian died at dawn. Eye of Crystal managed to gasp out how to make the
poison, then collapsed so completely that Blade was afraid she was dying, too.
Her mother assured him this was probably not so. "She would spare herself no
more than her father,"
Kyarta said quietly, "but this is most likely no more than a sleep that will
heal her if she is left in it. I will watch over her to be sure that it is
nothing worse. You and Winter Owl will be the first called if I need anyone."
Then, dry eyed, she gave orders for litter-bearers to carry away her
unconscious daughter to their hut and her dead husband to the Dead House.
There he would be embalmed with herbs and ashes. After lying for a month he
would be cremated at the Burning Stairs by the river.
Kyarta, who Blade wouldn't have been surprised to see fall completely apart,
seemed to be taking things calmly. Blade was glad to have someone else watch
over Eye of Crystal. He and Winter Owl already
had enough to do without that.
Warriors had to go find Ellspa's hiding place and if possible Ellspa herself.
Cheeky gave the best directions he could, but no one could follow his route
through the treetops. It was three days before they found the ruined hut. By
that time the bird had flown so long ago that Winter Owl didn't even try to
pick up her trail.
"I'd rather have bagged her along with her Mistress," Blade reassured the
chief. "But I don't think she'll do much harm. She won't be able to learn
about the archery and warn the Rutari."
"Perhaps not," said Winter Owl. "But I think it would be best if the men we
are teaching the archery were to go to a new camp. No one except those men
will be allowed in it, or even near it. If Ellspa is hiding somewhere in
Uchendi lands or if the Rutari have other spies, this will keep them from
learning what they should not know."
"Good idea," said Blade. In fact, Winter Owl seemed to have got a firm grip on
himself. He'd stopped arguing with Blade and even refused to quarrel with his
Page 78
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
niece. His brother-in-law's death and the knowledge that the war with the
Rutari was fast approaching had sobered him. Blade no longer worried about
Winter Owl's turning the warriors of the Uchendi against him or his new ideas.
In fact, Winter Owl worked nonstop for a week to get the Uchendi archers off
to a good start, taking time off only for food and sleep and not much of
either. By the end of the week he'd picked a hundred men to learn to shoot and
fifty craftsmen to make bows, bowstrings, and arrows. Blade helped choose the
wood for the bows and arrows.
"With the poison, the small reed arrows I used may be enough," he said. "But
we have not made any of the poison yet, let alone tested it to make sure it is
strong enough. So we must be ready to make arrows strong enough to hurt a
shpuga without the poison.
"Also, when the shpugas are all dead and the Rutari are defeated, you will be
using the arrows to hunt birds and animals. We do not know if the poison will
make them bad to eat. Again, you will need strong arrows so that your children
may have full bellies."
The warriors looked at him, trusting but obviously confused. Without any
telepathy, Blade could tell what they were thinking: Is he mad, to be so sure
of victory over the Rutari?
Blade wasn't mad. He wasn't even overly confident, at least by his own
standards. He simply had a piece of knowledge no one else among the Rutari or
the Uchendi had, and he had no intention of sharing it with anyone right now.
He knew where the Rutari had hidden the stolen Idol.
Blade learned this from Cheeky, which was one reason he couldn't talk about
his discovery. The
Uchendi were still a little suspicious of Cheeky. Of the two people who might
have trusted him, the
Guardian was dead and his daughter sick. Blade couldn't help noticing the
number of people making motions to avert evil Spirits when they saw Cheeky.
Blade saw even more gestures than usual the morning he and Cheeky buried
Moyla. Blade dug the hole and laid her in it, then shoveled the earth back.
Cheeky mourned with a high-pitched wail that set Blade's teeth on edge, then
piled stones on the grave until there was a little cairn. As they walked back
to the village, Blade saw people not only making gestures of aversion but
actually stepping out of their path.
Apart from the burial, Cheeky didn't spend much time mourning for Moyla. ("She
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]