Beyond the Boundary Stones (The Chronicles of Tevenar Book 3) (30 page)

Elkan grinned and tousled his former familiar’s mane. “Better stick closer to him than you did tonight, if you hope to keep him out of trouble.”

Josiah glared at the donkey.
Whose side are you on, anyway?

The Mother’s.
Sar blinked guilelessly and plodded to his side.

Josiah rolled his eyes. He followed Elkan as Nirel led them out of the tent.

As soon as they emerged, she edged away. “My father will be wondering where I am. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“We’ll be starting work as soon as we can after the ships sail. See you then.” Elkan nodded to her.

“Wait,” Josiah said. Nirel had been acting very strangely. He wanted to find out what was going on. “I need to talk to you.”

“Sorry, I can’t right now. Maybe later. Good-night.” She flashed him a smile, and was gone.

Eighteen

T
he Matriarch’s bright laughter rang through the hall. Kevessa wondered if it sounded as false to everyone else as it did to her. The performer’s juggling skills were excellent, but his banter was inane and his jokes fell flat. Kevessa would enjoy the show a lot more if he’d just be quiet. But the Matriarch acted as if he was the funniest thing she’d ever seen.

At her side Lord Renarre was grave and quiet, as he always was on the rare occasions he appeared in public. He was gone so often on trading voyages that Kevessa, along with the rest of Ramunna, frequently forgot the Matriarch was still married.

There was a hostile undercurrent to the way the two of them avoided looking at each other that made Kevessa wonder how long that would remain true.

The juggler concluded his act with a spectacular feat involving five balls, a knife, and an apple that ended up in a dozen pieces. Kevessa rose to her feet with everyone else, applauding. The juggler beamed, gave a sweeping bow and exited. He’d doubtless be rewarded with a heavy purse.

Surely the Matriarch would let them retire now. But no, she was gesturing for her steward to bring out another act. Kevessa yawned, envying Nina. The squirrel was curled on the table, fast asleep.

All around the table chatter broke out. Gevan turned to Kevessa. “When did Elkan say he’d be back? I need to check with him one more time before morning. Captain Yosiv swears he can personally vouch for every member of his crew. He’s dismissed anyone who hasn’t been sailing with him for years. The other captains as well. But Elkan promised he’d keep searching for any signs of Purifier sympathies among them.”

“He’s had us all scanning every minute we aren’t healing. But we haven’t found anything. None of the ships have been in port more than a few weeks out of the past year, and in that time none of the crew members have had any contact with Yoran Lirolla or his underlings.” Other than Fiv, of course. When they’d tracked him back through windows they’d observed several clandestine meetings with Purifier agents. But Fiv had hired on with another ship and sailed out of range before Kevessa was released. “Or known Dualists, either.”

Master Elkan had listened earnestly when she reported her observation of Tharan, but everyone had been too busy in the days since to follow up on her discovery. She was going to have to continue the investigation on her own. She had an idea how to proceed, but it would require a couple hours of free time. She could have arranged it for this evening if she’d known the other wizards were going to abandon her to the Matriarch’s frivolous entertainments.

But maybe it wasn’t too late to set it up for the morning. No one would care if she skipped the ceremony for the departure of the ships to Tevenar.

She spent a few more minutes trying to convince her father that the wizards had done everything they could to assure the ships hadn’t been sabotaged. When he sank back into a stew of private worries, she summoned a servant and requested pen and paper. Carefully she composed a message she was sure would seem innocuous.
Vigorre, when you go to pick up Nirel in the morning, can I ride with you? I’ve had so little time to visit with either of you since I returned. Pick me up at the palace. It looks like it might rain, so you’d better bring the closed carriage.

Pleased, she folded the paper, sealed it, and gave it to the servant. The Matriarch’s messengers would deliver it within the hour. Vigorre’s route led directly through the Dualist Quarter. She’d have plenty of time and privacy to trace Tharan’s movements through a window.

Only after the message was on its way did she wonder what Josiah would think of her going off with Vigorre in a closed carriage. She sniffed and tossed her head. Josiah knew very well she and Vigorre were only friends. Anyway, Vigorre was so infatuated with Nirel he’d never look twice at her. And Josiah had no claim on her. They’d only held hands.

Her face got hot, thinking about that moment. Josiah was a full year younger than she was, still boyishly lanky and awkward. She’d been aware of his attraction to her since they first met, but had dismissed him as too immature for her interest. But it hadn’t faded as she’d been sure it would. His intelligence and perseverance had become evident as he tirelessly assisted her father with his experiments. Since they’d arrived in Ramunna he’d worked with adult dedication in the Beggars’ Quarter. His energy and enthusiasm often kept her going long after she would have given up on her own.

And his touch hadn’t felt childish in the least. It had aroused all sorts of strange feelings in her she still wasn’t sure whether she liked or not. She’d been avoiding him ever since. But more and more she was realizing she wanted to find some excuse to be alone with him and explore those feelings further.

It reminded her of the first time she’d tasted Girodan curry. She’d made a face at the intense, exotic flavor. But for some reason she’d felt compelled to take another bite. Before long it had become her favorite. Now she ate it any chance she got.

Hooves clicked behind her. Her heart jumped, and she fought to wipe all evidence of her thoughts from her face. Only when she was sure she could maintain a normal casual friendliness did she turn. “Hey, Josiah.”

“Hey.” He plopped unselfconsciously into the seat next to her. Sar took up his normal station behind his chair. “Got any food left? Elkan and I grabbed a bite from a street vendor, but that was a long time ago.”

“Here.” She pushed him the remains of her dessert, a rich cake stuffed with fruit and nuts. He devoured it enthusiastically.

Master Elkan bent to converse with her father. A servant brought a chair for him, but he waved it away. “I’ll only be here a moment. I need to speak with the Matriarch. Kevessa, why don’t you come with me? Josiah’s had a chance to get familiar with her case. Now it’s your turn.”

Josiah started to protest, but Master Elkan gave him a look, and he turned back to the cake with a resentful shrug. Kevessa looked back and forth between them for a moment, but Josiah wouldn’t meet her eyes. Master Elkan wore a blandly expectant expression. She rose, tucking Nina into the crook of her arm. “Yes, sir.”

“Be sure you get to sleep soon,” their master told Josiah. “I need you well rested for the sailing ceremony in the morning. We have to make sure no one interferes. You know how important that food is to Tevenar.”

Josiah shivered, his annoyance forgotten. “Will it get there in time, do you think?”

“Barely, but yes. Captain Yosiv said the weather should be favorable. Although he tried to talk me into coming with him to fill the sails.”

“He’ll miss our help.” Josiah grinned at Kevessa, inviting her to remember the long hours they’d spent together in the stern of the ship, using the Mother’s golden light to move the wind. Greatly daring, she grinned back, and their eyes connected for a dizzy instant.

Apparently oblivious, Master Elkan shook his head. “He’ll have to do without. It will be a long time before we finish our work here. Come on, Kevessa.”

She broke away from Josiah’s gaze and followed him, hoping her flush didn’t show in her cheeks. By the time they reached the head of the table she’d forced her thoughts away from Josiah by wondering what Master Elkan wanted to speak to the Matriarch about. She’d understood it would be at least another week before they’d be able to determine if the initial treatment had been successful and she’d gotten pregnant.

The Matriarch greeted Master Elkan enthusiastically. Kevessa waited as they exchanged greetings and small talk, content to be the wizard’s unnoticed shadow.

Almost unnoticed. After a few minutes Kevessa became aware that Lord Renarre’s gaze was fixed on her with unmistakeable hostility.

She frowned at him, puzzled, and he looked away. Master Elkan said, “Your majesty, I’ve been thinking about your condition. There’s something I’d like to try, with your permission. Can we withdraw to your private chamber for a few minutes?”

The Matriarch practically leaped to her feet. “I’ll do anything you think might help. Will you require my husband’s presence?”

“Not this time.” Elkan nodded at Lord Renarre. He blinked when Renarre answered his greeting with a cold stare, then pointedly turned away.

If the Matriarch noticed her consort’s odd behavior, she ignored it. “Come with me.” She swept away, accompanied by her usual escort of servants and guards. Master Elkan followed, and Kevessa hurried after.

They settled into a plush sitting room. The Matriarch gazed eagerly at Elkan. “Tell me what you want to try. I thought you said you could do nothing until my courses were due.”

He rested a hand on Tobi’s head. “In normal circumstances that would be the case, but time is so urgent for you I think an exception is warranted. I was hesitant to suggest it, because what I’m thinking of requires extremely precise control of the Mother’s power, and Tobi and I are so new to each other I wasn’t sure we could coordinate our efforts well enough. But we’ve gained a lot of intense experience in the past few days. It’s strengthened our bond to the point I’m confident we can manage it.”

“Excellent. Please begin immediately.”

He held up a cautionary hand. “This will only work if a child has already been conceived. Is that a possibility?”

The Matriarch glanced at the door, toward the dining hall where they’d left Lord Renarre. An odd expression crossed her face, a mix of tenderness, longing, and baffled anger. “Yes.” She sighed, shook her head, and lowered her voice to a confidential tone. “That first night, everything was perfect. Like it hasn’t been for years.”

“You settled your argument?” Master Elkan’s voice was politely neutral.

She shrugged. “Of course he wants to be involved in his child’s life. How could I respect him if he didn’t? I realized he’s hungered for a child all these years, always despairing it would ever happen. I promised I wouldn’t keep her from him, as long as he followed my wishes. He agreed. After that…” A smile played around her lips, and she blinked coquettishly at Master Elkan. “I don’t think it’s any of your business.”

He didn’t respond to her flirting. “It’s not. As long as—”

But she’d quit paying attention. Her brows drew together, and a deep crease furrowed the smooth expanse of paint on her forehead. “The next night, though, he turned cold, angry. But he wouldn’t tell me why. He still won’t. He barely speaks to me. Yesterday he said it was time he took his ship out again.” She looked at Master Elkan pleadingly. “What happened?”

He reached for her hands, and she let him take them. “Would you like to call him in? I can mediate between you.”

She pulled away. “It wouldn’t help. Just go ahead with what you brought me here for.”

He hesitated a moment, then collected himself. “As I was saying. If you’ve conceived a child, it’s only a few days old. At this point in its development it floats free in your body, almost too small to see. In the normal course it would reach your womb after about a week and take root there.”

He drew a deep breath. “The Mother’s power can speed up any natural process. Including growth, as long as enough resources are present for the body to consume. Your child, if it has come into being, is so small it requires only a tiny amount of nutrients. There should be plenty available. We ought to be able to accelerate its growth considerably. I think it might be possible to bring it to the point of implantation with a few hours of careful work.”

The Matriarch leaned forward, her face avid. “Yes,” she breathed. “Oh, yes. Do so, right now.”

He glanced at Tobi. “I have to warn you, I’ve never tried this before. It’s within the Mother’s Law, it’s just that usually there’s no need to interfere with the natural process. Everything is at such a small scale that extreme delicacy will be required. If the child’s development goes even a tiny bit wrong, major consequences will follow. If that happens, I’ll have to reverse our work and let things proceed at their normal pace.”

“I understand. I’m willing to take the risk.” She swallowed. “Unless there’s a chance you might cause what would have been a normal pregnancy to miscarry?”

“I don’t think so. I should be able to identify any issues soon enough to stop and go back before anything goes irreparably wrong.” His voice went gentle. “If the child’s inborn pattern of being—which has already been fixed—is such that it can’t develop properly and would inevitably miscarry at some point, we won’t be able to fix the problem.”

She shuddered, but didn’t look away. “Better to find out now and be done with it,” she said, softly, but with steel in her voice.

“I understand.” Master Elkan pulled his chair close to the Matriarch’s couch and took a firm grip on the nape of Tobi’s neck. The mountain cat sat up attentively and perked her ears at the Matriarch. “Lean back and relax while we work. Kevessa, move in close and follow what I’m doing. You may need to know how to do this someday.”

Kevessa dragged her chair over and shook Nina awake. The squirrel sleepily sent a wave of golden power from Kevessa’s hand to wash over the Matriarch’s belly, a moment behind Tobi and Master Elkan’s.

At first all Kevessa perceived were the calm, pleasant sensations of a healthy, normally functioning body. She focused on the ovaries and uterus, and the flexible tubes that connected them. The right ovary had the squishy feeling and ripe fruit taste that indicated its egg had been released a few days before. She’d learned to recognize the signs during the voyage, when Master Elkan had taught her to control her own cycles. But he’d said pregnancy would be indicated by a low hum and a spicy scent, and she didn’t sense either.