Read Heart of the Exiled Online

Authors: Pati Nagle

Tags: #Vampires, #General, #Fantasy, #Historical, #Fiction, #Elves

Heart of the Exiled (9 page)

BOOK: Heart of the Exiled
3.67Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads
 

Eliani paced beneath the trees, impatient for Vanorin’s return. Dark was falling swiftly, but she did not want to ride north without knowing his fate, the fate of half of her escort.

A new presence caught her attention, and she ceased her restless walking. The guardians all turned southward to listen, and she could taste the edge of fear in their khi. A moment later she placed the approaching khi as ælven and horse, and relaxed.

A lone guardian. Eliani watched and listened as he dismounted and greeted his compatriots, then came toward her and made a formal salute.

“My lady, Captain Vanorin sent me to inform you that the kobalen attackers have been dispersed. Many were slain, but not all—some escaped into the canyon. The party is hunting them down.”

Eliani nodded. “Were any hurt?”

“Two wounded, neither dangerously. They will be returning here shortly. The rest should be back before the moon rises.”

Eliani glanced at Luruthin. “We had best make camp, then. Our mounts need a rest, and so do we.”

Drawing her horse’s reins over its head, she led it toward the river. The guardians followed, save for one who gave his mount to a friend and stayed to build a fire.

At the river’s edge Eliani stood listening and scenting while the horses drank. Stars were beginning to gleam out above the dark shoulders of the mountains, even where the sky still glowed slightly with blue. All was quiet under the deepening night. She felt a wild tremor of khi to the south and west—too distant to read—and nearer from a smaller, uneasy presence that she soon identified as the two wounded guardians, slowly returning.

She saw them come onto the road a short distance to the south, their tired horses walking with heads low. One was hunched forward in the saddle—Eliani could see a dart’s fletching protruding from one shoulder—the other’s left arm was bound with a makeshift bandage. Two of the guardians went to meet them and lead their mounts through the ford.

The horses having drunk their fill, Eliani and the others followed their wounded companions back to the camp, where golden firelight glinted between the trees to guide them.

My love?
Turisan’s touch was gentle.

Yes?

You have been quiet for a time
.

Oh—not much has changed. Vanorin sent a message, and two wounded have returned
.

She gave him what little news she had while she unsaddled her horse and hobbled it near the camp, where it could graze on the dry grasses beneath the trees. Turning to the fire circle, she found a courteous welcome and a cup of hot tea awaiting her. She sat near
the fire and held the cup close to her face, inhaling the spiced aroma while its warmth spread through her fingers.

Berephan recommends you continue north. The kobalen are not likely to follow in darkness
.

The horses need rest
.

The wounded came to the fire, helped by their friends. Eliani felt a stab of loneliness, for these guardians showed one another the care of longtime compatriots. She had known such friendships in Alpinon’s Guard, but these all were Southfæld guardians, strangers to her.

The one was having the dart drawn from his shoulder, his face set in grim endurance while a fellow guard carefully worked to free the wicked barb. Eliani winced in sympathy.

The wounded will need rest as well
.

Turisan’s concern rippled through her.
Perhaps some from the Midrange outpost can replace them
.

Perhaps, but we are probably two days from there
.

Shall I ride to join you?

She smiled despite the sharp longing caused by this suggestion.
There is nothing I want more, but you know you must not
.

I know
.

She sensed an echo of her own loneliness, a hollow yearning. To resist it, she sent forth her love, closing her eyes briefly as she reached for Turisan, then as quickly drawing back.

You are still in company
.

Yes
.

She opened her eyes and glanced at the strained and weary faces around the fire.
I had better get the others to eat something. I will let you know when Vanorin returns
.

All right. Berephan means to send twenty guardians to reinforce the Midrange outpost
.

Excellent. I will tell the guardians there when we reach it
.

Eliani finished her tea with one deep swallow and rose to return the cup. She suggested to the others that they eat, then turned to the two wounded guardians.

Both were bandaged now, leaning against tree trunks. The one with the shoulder wound had his eyes closed; the other was sipping at a cup of the hot tea.

Eliani addressed them gently. “I am sorry you were hurt. You should probably not ride farther with us.”

The second guardian nodded, regret in her eyes. She held out her newly bandaged arm. “Will you bless me, my lady?”

Eliani hesitated, discomfited by the request. “I am not a healer.”

The guardian smiled a bit crookedly. “Indulge me?”

With a shrug, Eliani sat beside her. If she could offer comfort thus, she would gladly do it. Taking the guard’s hand in one of hers, she gently laid her other over the wound.

At once she felt a strong stirring of khi in her hands and an answering glow from the ribbon on her arm. She drew a sharp breath and heard the guardian do the same.

Yielding to what she assumed must be an echo of Heléri’s power, she closed her eyes and allowed the khi to flow through her. It rose warm and tingling in her arm and on her scalp and grew hot in the palms of her hands.

Eliani? What are you doing?

I am not sure
.

The ribbons—

I know. Wait
.

For some moments the sensation continued, then it gradually faded. When it was gone, Eliani opened her eyes and drew a deep breath, releasing the guardian, who looked dumbfounded.

“Thank you, my lady.” The guardian’s voice was a whisper. She gazed at Eliani in awe.

“It was the ribbon.”

The guardian’s eyes—dark Greenglen eyes—glanced at Eliani’s handfasting ribbon, then strayed to her wounded comrade. “Perhaps—?”

Eliani swallowed, then nodded. She did not fully understand what had happened, but if blessings were coming through her to others in need, she could scarcely refuse.

“Sirinan.” The guardian touched her friend, who opened his eyes.

Love? What was that?

A healing, I think. I will explain later. You will probably feel it again in a moment
.

The female guard was murmuring to the other, Sirinan. He looked doubtfully at her, then somewhat anxiously at Eliani. She could see the pain etched in lines of tension on his face, no longer sharp but still present.

Eliani moved to sit beside him, careful not to jostle his injured arm. His dark eyes followed her. She looked at his bandaged shoulder, then realized she was gnawing the back of her thumb. She folded her hands and met his gaze.

“Do you want me to try?”

After an instant’s hesitation, he nodded. Eliani gently took his hand and slowly reached toward his shoulder. Heat leapt into her palm even before she touched it. She did so lightly, scarcely feeling the cloth of the bandage against her skin.

Sirinan made a small, startled sound, then sighed deeply and closed his eyes. Eliani did likewise and again felt powerful khi flowing through her.

Her breathing slowed, and that of the wounded guardian matched it. She had little sense of time passing, though she thought the heat remained in her hands longer this time before fading. She could feel it flowing between her palms, through the guardian’s arm and his wound. At last it ebbed, and she drew back, opening her eyes to find Sirinan gazing at her in amazement. She sat back on her heels.

“It was the ribbon. Not me.”

Sirinan looked at his comrade. “You had better get a ribbon like that one, Kiravhi.”

Both guardians laughed, and Eliani joined them. Turning her head, she saw all the others around the fire circle watching intently. At once she felt uncomfortable, and to hide it she looked away, back at Sirinan.

“Can you eat a little, do you think?”

He nodded. Kiravhi stood up, leaning her good hand against a tree for balance. “I will fetch your pack.”

Eliani would have followed, but Sirinan touched her arm. “I do not know how to thank you, my lady.”

“Recover your strength; that is how you can best thank me.” She squeezed his wrist and gave him a smile that she hoped was less awkward than it felt, then got to her feet.

“The others are returning!”

Glad of the distraction, Eliani hastened to the river to meet Vanorin and the others. She was relieved to be away from the fire circle and those dark, intense Greenglen eyes. Her people now, she reminded herself, feeling a stray pang of homesickness. It was not that they were Greenglens—she liked Greenglens perfectly well,
one in particular—but that they stared so. Even Luruthin had looked astonished at the healing. Well, so was she astonished.

Spirits guide me, she thought. Even resting in camp, I am moving too fast.

 

Rephanin stood before his circle of mages, nervous for the first time in centuries. More cloaks yet to be blessed waited in chests by the door. He had already set the circle for the evening, and there was no need for him to delay their work with further discussion, except that he had agreed to do so.

His gaze flicked to Heléri, who was sitting at one end of the row, gowned in Clan Stonereach’s blue and violet. He wondered if Davharin was with her now.

Annoyed with himself, he straightened his shoulders and swept the circle with his glance. “It has been brought to my attention that it might benefit you all to be introduced to mindspeech.”

The mages stirred, and some exchanged looks with their neighbors. He did not know or particularly care what rumors were in circulation about his ability. What he was about to do would no doubt give rise to a whole new crop of them.

“Because this form of contact is … somewhat intimate … anyone who does not wish to experience it is free to decline. There are new cloaks by the door if you prefer to take them away and continue your work.”

Rephanin walked to the table that held the timekeeper, averting his attention from the circle so as not
to discomfit anyone who chose to leave. The arrows still lay scattered there. He reached a hand toward them, feeling their varying levels of focus, slightly jarring, a chorus out of harmony. Gathering them into both hands, he swept them clear with a single white wave of prime khi. Time to begin their focus anew, as he was about to do with his circle.

He looked up at the mages. Not a soul had moved. They sat watching him, some ill at ease, some excited, all expectant. He laid the arrows down and moved to stand before the fire.

“Once I have addressed you in mindspeech, you will be able to answer in like fashion. I will speak to all of you together and ask that you signal your desire to respond. If several of you speak at once, your voices will be indistinguishable.

“We will be able to communicate thus as long as we remain together. Once we are separated by any sort of barrier—a door, a wall—the contact will be broken.”

He paused, glancing at the hearth, where the flames had retreated, leaving a bed of coals glowing orangehot. He licked his lips.

“I encourage you to attempt to contact me after we leave this session, when you will have a better understanding of mindspeech. The ability is very rare, but it is possible that any of you may possess it. Some mindspeakers do not discover their gift for decades, even centuries. Certainly it is worth the attempt.”

He glanced across the circle of faces. Valani showed her palm, and he acknowledged her with a nod.

“Will we all be able to speak to one another?”

“That will be possible, yes, but please allow me to guide the discussion. My purpose is to demonstrate my technique of laying in khi to a focus. Are there further questions?”

Silence answered him, a palpable tension in the circle. Time, then, for it to be dispelled.

The warden of the Guard—

A collective gasp swept the circle before he finished the thought. At the same time Rephanin was suddenly acutely aware of each of them, the brilliance of their khi almost overwhelming. He paused to allow himself and the mages to recover composure. Heléri kept her eyes lowered, but he saw her lips curve in a smile.

The warden of the Guard has asked me to extend to you his thanks for your work on the cloaks
.

He looked around the circle, searching each face for any sign of distress. Finding none, he continued as he moved to the chests of cloaks and withdrew one.

A number of new recruits are waiting for cloaks, so I will not take up much of your time this evening. Have you any questions before I proceed to demonstrate focus-building?

Jholóran showed a hesitant hand. Rephanin nodded to him.

Have you ever been unable to speak to someone?

A good question. No, I have never met anyone to whom I could not speak, though not all choose to answer
.

BOOK: Heart of the Exiled
3.67Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

REAPER'S KISS by Jaxson Kidman
The Vanishing Point by Judith Van Gieson
Hazardous Materials by Matthew Quinn Martin
Los hijos de Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien
Home by Marilynne Robinson
The Art Dealer by West, Megan