Frozen Prospects (13 page)

"Not
with bladed weapons, surely?"

On'li's
cup was empty. She thought about pouring herself more water and
indulging in a second cup, but tea had to be brought up from the
lowlands, and consequently wasn't something even a Councilor could
really indulge in on a regular basis.
Or
maybe I should say especially a Councilor. We should be the first
to go without for the benefit of the People, but there are a few of
my fellows who can't seem to understand that.

"No,
he bluffed Be'ter into accepting a match fought with practice
weapons. Not that it would have made much difference from what I
hear. The boy was out for blood, and if Va'del had been one bit
less skilled, he'd be in the healers' care right now, or possibly
even dead."

Mar'li's
eyes widened again. "You mean Va'del won?"

"He
did. Even more astonishing, considering that Be'ter's got at least
a couple of years of instruction on him. Of course you know how
that fool is. He spends more time making sure his sponsors are
wrapped around his fingers than he does actually trying to learn
anything. Fi'lin said he came into the fight overconfident as
anything, and then Va'del tricked him into thinking he didn't have
to worry about the boy's dagger."

"He'll
be Va'del's enemy for life after having lost an honor match.
Powers, that's the last thing the boy needs with everyone else's
hand already turned against him."

On'li
rubbed her temples, hoping to stave off the headache she felt
starting to build, and nodded. "Worse than that, Be'ter lost
his head and attacked Va'del after the match. So, now he is
disgraced even more, but there isn't anything we can do about it
because as long as his sponsoring family continues to support him,
he'll continue with his training."

Mar'li
rinsed her sister-wife's teacup and then sat back down with Jasmin's
journal. "I've never liked that rule. It lets far too many of
Be'ter's type get away with too much."

"I
agree in his case, but it's also what we are counting on to get
Va'del back as a candidate despite half the Council being convinced
that I'rone's death was all the poor boy's fault."

An
expression of pained sympathy crossed the younger woman's face.
"Isn't there something you can do about that? Somehow make
people understand he wasn't to blame, so they'll stop ostracizing
him?"

On'li
shook her head. "We've already interfered enough that certain
people on the Council have tagged him as our special project, and
will oppose his advancement solely on the basis of trying to cause
us problems. If he shows the level of sorrow that everyone expects
it will go easier."

"Can't
you tell him and just have him pretend to still blame himself?"

"I
wish we could, but he wears his thoughts on his sleeve. He's just
not deceptive enough to pull something like that off. We'll have to
wait until Piter and his wife get back next month so that they can
sponsor him."

The
twinkle in Mar'li's green eyes was something few people ever got to
see, but it heralded some of the gentle teasing she was so fond of
with her close friends and family. "And there is, of course,
no doubt that Piter and Bay'del will choose to sponsor young Va'del.
After all, Piter thinks you and Javin can do no wrong, so even if
Bay'del doesn't want to sponsor the boy, Piter will bully her into
it."

The
mental image of mild-mannered Piter bullying his wife into anything
drew a short laugh out of both women. On'li shook her head. "Fat
chance of that. The closest Piter gets to bullying is simply
setting his foot down regarding some issue and refusing to budge
until Bay'del finally decides it isn't worth the effort to keep
arguing. Which has happened all of twice that I know of in the last
five years."

On'li
shrugged. "I do however think that they'll choose to sponsor
him. The boy has more potential than anyone we've seen in the last
century. Not only that, I think he has the hunger to help people,
and it would be a true shame if he never got to do so."

"Jasmin
said as much in her journal, but I still find it hard to believe he
could be that easy to link with."

"It's
the truth. Half-trained as he is, there was still barely more
resistance when I linked with him than some of the boys we've
shepherded over the years just before they took their final vows.
When I think of what he'll be able to do when he's had another year
or two of training and truly trusts the person linking to him, it
takes my breath away."

Mar'li
nodded, probably lost in thought at the idea of what it would be
like not to have to fight Javin's mind at the same time she was
trying to shape the magic that gave him, however briefly, superhuman
speed and strength.

"What
about the darkness you said is starting to take root in his mind?"

On'li
cocked her head to the side and considered her sister-wife. There
was obviously more to Mar'li's question than just her concern about
Va'del. The three of them had been together for years, but there
was still a little part of the younger woman that had been kept
secreted away from her spouses.

On'li
had a suspicion that it was somehow linked to Mar'li's reluctance to
link with Javin, but the time still wasn't right to try and tackle
the issue. Instead she returned to their discussion about Va'del.

"I
don't know. Most of the Stephens men have a little darkness inside
them as candidates. The things they've gone through can't help but
lend themselves to that kind of thing. With Va'del, though, it's
worse. He really believes that he killed the three people who loved
him most in this world. I hope we can save him, but part of me
fears that my need to replenish the bloodline is overcoming my
common sense. He could end up as bad as Be'ter if he's not handled
just right."

Va'del
leaned back against the hard stone of the cave wall and was once
again grateful he'd found a refuge. A small spring in the
center of the cavern heated the air and walls to a comfortable
temperature. Bitter Rocks had been heated in the same manner, but
after seeing so many villages heated by worked stones he'd almost
begun thinking that Bitter Rocks was the exception rather than the
rule Betreec had told him it was.

Makes
sense. When the Goddess led the People here there probably wasn't
time to create heat spheres, so she brought them to a place where
they could survive without them. Bitter Rocks was probably settled
for the same reason.

The
teenager had held out some small hope that beating Be'ter would win
him a little respect. It hadn't. Instead, all of the apprentices and
candidates had closed ranks against him. In the several weeks since
the fight, he'd found it rare to make it through an entire cycle,
let alone an entire day, without being tripped, shoved or otherwise
harassed.

The
violence was always kept to a level that the trade masters and
instructors couldn't really respond to, even assuming that they
noticed it and wanted to. That saved Va'del from serious injury,
but the small hurts he took over the course of the day added up.
Especially bad was the way that everyone, even girls so thin as to
hardly weigh anything at all, had taken to stepping on his feet.

Back
home it was really only the boys who were mean to me. I wonder
what's set them against me so badly here.

The
ever-degrading state of Va'del's feet had finally led him to this
quiet pool where he could soak them each night while practicing the
meditation exercises Jasmin had taught him.

As
an added bonus it got him out of his room and yet still away from
everyone else. He hadn't realized how much of a prison the tiny
space would become. He'd expected the isolation to be roughly the same as
what he'd experienced back at Bitter Rocks, but there at least he'd
had Pa'chi. Having no one at all was making a bigger difference
than he'd expected.

Loneliness
and despair had become near-constant companions, but thoughts of
Pa'chi brought them back with even greater strength than usual.

I
wonder how she's doing. Have Jas'per and the girls in the village
left her alone now that I'm gone, or is she completely friendless
now?

Blinking
away tears that tried to form in his eyes, Va'del slipped his feet
into the spring, wincing slightly at the heat as he tried to clear
his mind. Despite his best efforts, his mind refused to settle down
and he instead found himself fingering the little, wickedly-sharp
knife that now more than ever went everywhere with him.

It
wouldn't take much. Nobody would miss me for days. Maybe even
weeks.

All
the reasons for and against had been through Va'del's mind so many
times that he sometimes dreamed about them, but he once again put
the blade away.
There's
still a chance. I can't give up yet.

The
sound of feet drew Va'del's attention away from his exercises once
again, and he opened his eyes to the soft white light of a
heavily-muffled glow sphere making its way around the corner in the
tunnel that led to the springs.

Anger
that someone was about to find his hiding place and deprive him of
his sanctuary raged through him in a powerful wave, before subsiding
to a resigned acceptance of his fate.

There
isn't anything I can do, but at least most people my age are kept on
a shorter leash than I am. I should be able to find another cavern,
and the Capital is full of so many empty caverns that they won't be
able to sneak out often enough to discover it very quickly.

The
person who finally came into view was the last person Va'del
expected, but she was the one person who might not torment him.
Jain's never done anything
mean to me.

The
pretty young lady jumped a little, her delicate face blushing
slightly when she saw Va'del, barely visible in the darkness. "Oh,
I didn't see you at first. Why are you sitting here in the dark?"

Va'del
looked up for a moment and then, to his surprise, found himself
answering honestly. "I've always liked the darkness. Plus I
don't want anyone to notice a light and come looking to see who is
here so late."

"I
guess that makes sense. Do your feet hurt?"

Shrugging,
Va'del shifted his feet in the hot water. "Yes. Having people
step on them all day tends to do that."

Jain
seemed a little embarrassed at the reminder of just how cruel
everyone was being, but after a second she walked further into the
little cave. "Can I use the pool too?"

"Is
that why you came here?"

"They
made us start learning unarmed fighting today. I pulled my right
calf. One of the apprentice miners saw me limping and said I should
spend some time in a hot pool. I heard there were a bunch in this
area, so I slipped out of the dormitories and wandered around till I
found one."

Va'del
slid over slightly to free up room on the ledge he was using as a
bench. "Make yourself comfortable."

The
pair sat in silence for quite a while, and Va'del had just about
managed to quiet his mind enough to practice his mental exercises
when Jain spoke up. "Why did you attack Be'ter?"

Even
in the near darkness, it was probably hard to interpret Va'del's
expression as anything other than disgust, and Jain's blush said she
knew how her question sounded. "I mean after all of the other
stuff I see people doing to you that you don't fight back against.
I think it's all wrong, but I don't understand why you attacked
Be'ter but don't do anything to the others."

Va'del
shrugged, but then decided that answering the question would provide
him a chance to learn more about her. "Be'ter didn't just
insult me, he insulted the family that sponsored me."

Jain
nodded even though Va'del was fairly sure she didn't really
understand. He thought about pressing the issue, but there wasn't
anything to be gained by trying to explain further. "Can I ask
you a question now?"

Again
a nod, even though it was plain she was worried he was about to ask
something 'difficult,' like why she didn't stand up to everyone else
regarding their cruelty. "Why did they make you carry all of
that wool by yourself the first time I met you?"

Jain
ducked her head in embarrassment. "I argued with Guadel Ah'bi
that day, so she punished me."

The
image of the quiet, seemingly well-behaved young lady next to him
arguing with a Guadel nearly made Va'del smile, but he suppressed
the desire so she wouldn't think he was mocking her. "Can I
ask what the argument was about?"

Jain
dropped her eyes for a second. "She was going on and on about
how important the traditions and law around Guadel sitting in
judgment are. I told her that it was all fine in theory, but it
almost never happened. As long as the villagers are careful when
they elected their headmen, they'll have an honest man. If they
don't have an honest man for their Headman, then it's their own
fault, and maybe they didn't deserve to have a Guadel come in and
confirm or overturn the judgment."

In
response to Va'del's look of amazement Jain dropped her eyes again.
"She probably wouldn't have punished me, but it made the other
girls laugh."

The
pair sat in silence for several more seconds before Jain turned
towards Va'del again. "Aren't you going to tell me you think
I'm right? Everyone else does when I tell them she made me carry
the gurra wool back all by myself."

Va'del
shook his head. "Well, you didn't actually have to carry the
wool very far because I helped you, but apart from that I think
you're wrong."

For
a second it looked like Jain was going to get mad, but then she
cocked her head to the side. "Why?"

"Well,
the headmen are elected to such long terms that sometimes the
wronged villager wasn't one of the people to vote for him. Maybe
they moved into the village after the election, or maybe they were
too young to vote when it was held. I don't know that you can say
they are always responsible for who ends up as Headman."