FORBIDDEN TALENTS (18 page)

Back in her room, Halla helped her pull off her high boots.
“
Did you have a fine time of it, my lady?
”

“
Yes, indeed.
”
She gestured toward her bathroom.
“
Draw me a warm bath, please. I can manage the rest myself.
”

Halla nodded and disappeared into the bath. Celia had stripped out of all but one pair of pants and a light knit undershirt when a knock sounded at her door. She answered it herself.

It was one of Wirmund’s acolytes.
“
My Lord Overprest Wirmund requests you attend him in his chambers, my lady.
”

What the hell does he want
? Wirmund was no fan of hers, though he had painstakingly tutored her in the Nuvinland religion. It differed at several points from what she remembered of Norse mythology, and he hadn’t appreciated it when Celia had pointed out the Christian similarities to his faith. He liked it even less that she refused to accept his dogma as truth.

She didn’t want to cross swords with Wirmund today, but she shouldn’t deliberately offend him. He was powerful, and Dahleven had to work with him.
“
Tell Father Wirmund that I’ll join him as soon as I’ve dressed for dinner.
”

The acolyte bowed and Celia shut the door.
There. That’s polite enough. And at least I’ll get my bath first, this time
.

An hour later, Wirmund showed her the courtesy of rising as she entered his chambers and directed her to a chair.
“
Lady Celia, thank you for joining me. I trust you are feeling better?
”

Celia expected to hear an edge of irony in Wirmund’s voice. It wasn’t there. She nodded and gave him one of the polite non-committal smiles that Gudrun had taught her.

“
Would you care for refreshment?
”

Celia shook her head.

“
No? Well, I won’t keep you long.
”
He sat down again in a high-backed chair that looked like a throne.
“
We are both expected elsewhere shortly.
”
He leaned forward as if in friendly intimacy. It made her want to pull further back in her chair.
“
You no doubt know Lady Saeun is under suspicion for violating the Laws of Sanction. You must also know that the woman is missing. The Tracker Talents I sent to find her have failed. I ask your help.
”

Celia barely kept her composure, but Gudrun’s tutoring hadn’t been wasted. The idea of helping him find Saeun sickened her, even without the threat the woman’s capture would pose to Dahleven.

But how could she refuse? As Dahleven’s betrothed, she couldn’t seem to be aiding the escape of a possible criminal. If she did, Wirmund could accuse her of breaking the law, too.

She wanted to shout
“
Not just no, but hell no
!
”
at the wizened old goat, but she smiled instead. There was no way to decline, even politely. He was an old hand at the game of diplomacy and she was a novice. No matter how tactful or evasive her refusal, he’d know she was willing to block his interests. She would be labeled an enemy, and fair game. And if Dahleven tried to protect her, he’d become a target for Wirmund’s wrath as well. Neven might be able to stop him, but at the very least it would screw up Nuvinland politics for years. She could see only one path to take.
“
Of course. I’d be glad to help.
”
She would put on a show of Finding Saeun and then lie to him. He might suspect it, but he could never be sure.

“
Good.
”
Wirmund rose.
“
Let’s go up to the walls at once then, so you can show us a clear direction.
”

“
You want me to do it
now
?
”

“
There is no time to waste. The trail grows colder even as we speak, and she moves further from our grasp. Once you Find her direction, I shall send the Trackers out again. Your Talent will show them where to resume their search.
”
He opened a tall cupboard and pulled two cloaks from hooks there. Numbly, Celia took one and followed him out the door. They were joined by two guards, one whom she knew was a Truthsayer Talent.

Celia suppressed a shiver. The insult wasn’t important, but the implication was.
He was prepared for me to lie to him
.

They climbed several flights of stairs. Stoneshapers hadn’t worked their Talents in this out-of-the-way staircase; it was made of fitted blocks. Cold seeped from the stone. At the top, one of the guards shouldered open a heavy wooden door. Celia stepped out onto the parapet. The snow Fender had predicted stung her face, driven by a stiff wind. She pulled the cloak tighter, hunching her shoulders.

“
Now, my lady. If you would?
”
Wirmund said.

Celia looked out over Quartzholm, past the dim lights of the village below the walls, into the swirling darkness of the storm, her heart aching.

“
She may be too far away for me to Find
…
”

“
Nonsense, my lady. Everyone knows you have a great Talent.
”
The Overprest’s eyes glinted as he gave her an unctuous smile.

She did have a powerful Talent, but Wirmund’s choice of words held a subtle threat. When Fanlon took the Great Talents from the nobles some two hundred years earlier, he’d saved Nuvinland from being destroyed by their arrogant abuse of power. It had long since become unacceptable to call a Talent
“
great,
”
regardless of its strength.

Celia set her jaw. She couldn’t see any way to protect Saeun—or Dahleven.

She had no choice.

Celia reached out with her Talent.

*

Ragni lifted an eyebrow, surprised to see Celia coming toward him down the hallway in the company of Father Wirmund. Their wet cloaks suggested they’d just come outside.
What were they doing out there in this weather
?

They drew closer, and a wave of dismay and distress flowed from Celia so strongly that Ragni stopped in his tracks. Wirmund had removed the amulet he’d worn earlier. His emotions were a swirl of frustration and satisfaction.

Ragni’s heart froze.
Saeun
? Had she been found?

Wirmund stopped in front of him.
“
Your sister need no longer worry about the embarrassment Lady Saeun will bring upon her and your family, Lord Ragnar.
”
The Overprest’s sharp eyes glittered.
“
The apostate is dead.
”

DAHLEVEN STOOD BESIDE Neven in the reception hall as his father greeted Solveig and Hafdan. As the Jarls of Quartzholm’s nearest neighboring provinces, they’d been invited to celebrate Winterfest and to witness Ragni and Utta’s betrothal. Solveig’s stag and Hafdan’s mountain cat banners hung half a span lower than Neven’s hawk did from the rafter over the dais, along with Magnus’ red boar. Many of Neven’s vassal lords had already arrived; their colors already decorated the walls. If both parties agreed, they’d hold Ragni’s and Utta’s betrothal ceremony in a few days. With any luck, Ragni would have a son planted in Utta by spring.

Utta stood stiffly between her father and Neven, obviously feeling the insult that Ragni was not at her side. Magnus and Neven had long been friends, but that alone would not secure Utta’s good will. Ragni was not making a g
ood start with his bride-to-be.

Dahleven’s gaze swept the entrance again.
Where
is
Ragni
?

For that matter, where was Celia? She should have been present as well. It wasn’t like her to ignore her duties. At least, he didn’t think it was. Dahleven realized he’d been gone so much of the last five months that he didn’t know if she was more likely to arrive late or early.

Dahleven tried not to show his impatience as he greeted another of the lords who had come to celebrate Ragni’s betrothal. He’d much rather be tracking down his own betrothed than standing here, wondering what in Niflheim was keeping her.

*

“
Dead?
”
Ragni tried to speak normally, to keep his expression impassive. He stood in a corridor facing the Overprest. Now was not the time to let the stunning pain in his heart show.

Celia wrung her hands. Even though his emotions were clouding his Talent, her distress clawed through him, leaving his belly roiling. He tried to shut down what was left of his Empathy, but her unhappiness still felt like a rough stone rasping against the inside of his skin, weighing heavy in his chest.

“
Lady Celia Found no trace of the apostate. It isn’t possible the woman could have gone so far as to be beyond Lady Celia’s formidable Talent.
”
Wirmund smiled smugly.
“
Not in this weather. There is only one possible conclusion: Lady Saeun cannot be found because she’s dead.
”

She could be wearing an amulet to shield her from Trackers and Finders. Ragni grasped at the thought. It was a weak chance. Not many existed, and they weren’t left just lying about. Such amulets were very difficult to make—as he knew all too well. But it was possible. Just barely
.

Or maybe Celia had lied to protect Saeun.
Yes
!
Of course
. Ragni clutched at that hope, but it died as abruptly as it was born. Celia wouldn’t be drowning him with anger and distress and sympathy if she’d Found Saeun and lied to Wirmund. Ragni’s fear for Saeun rose and his sense of Celia faded as shock and grief clouded his Talent.

Wirmund was watching him, waiting.

Ragni forced himself to respond. He shrugged and shook his head.
“
How unfortunate. Her trial would have served well as a warning to others.
”
The tightness in his throat threatened to strangle him; the words felt stiff on his tongue.

Celia’s eyes widened but she made no other protest of his attitude. Ragni tried, but he could sense neither her nor Wirmund’s feelings past the tumult of his overturned heart. Ragni assumed an expression of mild concern, but he couldn’t tell if the Overprest believed his performance.

Wirmund curled a lip.
“
Indeed.
”
He turned to Celia and inclined his head toward her, smiling slightly.
“
Thank you for your assistance, my lady. Until later. Father Ragnar.
”
He nodded to Ragni and walked away in the direction of his apartments.

Celia’s hands clenched while she waited for Wirmund to turn the corner.
“
I could strangle that smug bastard,
”
she growled. Then her eyes filled and tears began to roll down her cheeks. She looked up at him.
“
Oh, Ragni! I’m so sorry.
”

Ragni put an arm around her.
“
I know.
”
The direct touch sharpened his fear-swamped Talent. Celia’s sympathy and anger swirled into him, cutting like glass and burning like hot iron. The crushing weight of it nearly smothered him. He stepped back with a gasp, breaking the contact.

“
Ragni?
”
She reached out to him, then pulled her hand back.

“
Come,
”
he said in a rasp, gesturing her down the hall. They shouldn’t stand about weeping where any curious person could see. He found a storage room nearby and twiddled the lock open with the same ease he’d used as a randy youth when he needed a place to tumble a willing serving girl.

He guided Celia to sit on a stack of boxes inside and lit a candle.

“
Tell me,
”
he said, closing the door and leaning against it,
“
what happened,
exactly
, when you tried to Find Saeun?
”

Celia swept the remnants of tears from her cheeks.
“
She wasn’t there. I was going to lie to him, but he brought along a Truthsayer as an ‘escort,’ the bastard. So I had to really Find her, and
…
I couldn’t.
”
She looked up at him, clearly wanting to find some hope that Wirmund’s conclusion was wrong.
“
Maybe the terrain’s too rough for me to Find her, or she’s out of my range?
”

Ragni gave her a solemn look.
“
You Found Ari through miles of tunnels when your Talent had barely Emerged. You’ve better control now than you had then. Wirmund is right about one thing: she couldn’t have gone far in these mountains, not in the storm.
”