[Lanen Kaelar 01] - Song in the Silence (25 page)

He was silent. I stumbled a bit from
sitting long in the cold and began to pace the clearing to warm myself, and
because the plight of the Lesser Kindred spoke to my heart and would not let me
be still.

Akor moved in the darkness. I waited
for his words: ached for them; he was silent yet for some time. From what I
could see, he stood in an odd position and seemed distracted, as if he warred
within himself and only the victor might speak.

I paced back and forth, stamping and
rubbing my arms to try and coax a little warmth back into my hands and feet.

Akhor

“Akhor, you must not! Already
she knows more of us than any Gedri since the Peace. Would you tell her all?
And what more of her people have we learned? Always it is her questions you
answer, never she yours.”

“And what should we ask of her,
Shikrar? Have you questions to ask the Gedri? I have a few, indeed, but they
are mere curiosity. The child has barely begun to live, and will surely die
long before she has time to learn aught of much interest to us. I have touched
her heart, my friend. She will not harm us, and there is no taint of the
Rakshasa in her. ”

“There is always room in the
hearts of the Gedri for the Rakshasa. They are free to choose, Akhor, and they
may change at any moment. I tell you, be wary! Her very weakness is her
strength. Through if she may learn enough to destroy those of us who remain.
”

“I shall be on my guard. But I
must answer her last question. Her concern deserves that at least.”

“Very well. But keep your answer
short, and end this meeting as soon as you may.”

Lanen had begun pacing back and
forth, rubbing her arms. It looked most peculiar. I decided to indulge my
curiosity and Shikrar’s prejudice.

“What are you doing, little
one?”

“Waiting for your answer,”
she replied. I was amused to hear an edge of anger in her voice. How quickly
the Gedri change! Not long since she had been terrified of me. Then she said,
“Oh, you mean walking around? I’m cold, this is the only way I know of to
get warm without a fire.”

I couldn’t resist.

“Go fetch some wood and set it
ready,” I told her.

She furrowed her face at me but did
as I asked.
“I must ask about that sometime,”
I reminded
myself idly.

“Stand clear,” I told her.

As soon as she was out of the way, I
summoned my Fire and breathed on the wood.

I’ve always been proud of my aim.

Lanen

I leapt back as a thin stream of fire
shot past me and struck the wood. It instantly burst into roaring flame,
fiercer by far than any tire I had known.” The warmth was most welcome,
though, and once I was sure he wasn’t going to do any more than that, I stood
near. I shuddered gladly with the heat as it began to thaw my hands and face,
and smiled when I heard a gentle hissing laugh from Akor. It was just occurring
to me that I had at last seen dragonfire when Akor said, “Do you know,
Lanen, this is probably the first time since the Peace that our two Kindreds
have cooperated in even so simple a thing as this?”

I thought of the lansip harvest, but
realised that was not so much cooperation as simple permission. My, no, our
little fire suddenly warmed me more deeply. A little light in centuries of
darkness, just like the flickering soulgems of the Lost Ones….

“Akor, forgive me, I must ask
again. Are you certain there is nothing to be done for the Lesser
Kindred?” ”

He drew in a deep breath and let out
as human a sigh as I could imagine.

Akhor

“We have sought to aid them ever
since it happened, Lanen. We have tried everything we can think of countless
times in the hope that some new voice, some new soul’s influence might make the
difference. If it lay in the power of the Kindred to do aught, they would have
been restored long since. Surely you do not think we neglect our own kin, or
forget that they lie trapped? At least that is what most of us believe.”

“Is there some question?”
she asked.

“There are those who say the
gems of the Lost Ones flicker only with demonfire, and that the souls of those
who bore them are long since passed to the Winds. “I paused. “It
could be so, in truth, but my heart rebels at the idea. And they do not smell
of the Rakshasa. No, since I came into my own I have dreamt of them, the Lost
Ones, calling ceaselessly to us, their blood and bone, to release them. It
haunts me as it does Shikrar, in whose charge the soulgems lie. I do not doubt that
they are imprisoned and aware. The wonder would be if they were still
sane.”

She stood silent for a moment, in
what looked like the Attitude of Deep Thought. It was obscurely pleasing to me
that the Gedri seemed to use Attitudes instinctively, as we did, though theirs
were as minimal as those of the eldest of my people. They had developed mobile
faces to express their thoughts, which meant they used only a small range of
Attitudes. However, I was beginning to intuit some of the meanings of those
facial expressions, combined as they were with voice and stance. In all my
studies, none had ever mentioned how their faces changed. I was entranced.

I watched her closely as I waited for
her words. The firelignt was playing on her features, strong and blunt, and
turned her long hair to the colour of ripe autumn grain. I had never considered
that the Gedri might have a kind of beauty. I caught a glimpse of it then.

“I wish I could help,” she
said quietly.

“Akhor, have you not yet
finished with the little one?”   

Lanen

Of all things I least expected what
happened. Suddenly through the gathering darkness I saw Akor’s great head come
towards me like a striking snake. I didn’t even have time to move away or cry
out when I heard his thoughts rolling over my mind, so quickly I could barely
understand him, and so soft I could hardly hear.

“Lanen, I beg you do not reply
in truespeech, Shikrar would hear your lightest thought. We must meet to
discuss these things when he will be elsewhere and not aware of us. Come here
tomorrow just as the last light leaves the sky and we shall find a private
place. We must end our speech together for now. I will speak with you then.
”

It took only an instant; he was back
al a distance and speaking normally. “You are kind to offer, littling, but
there is nothing to be done.”

It took me a moment to recover, but
at least I knew now what had been going on. I need only think of a way to leave
without sounding as though I were sure of another meeting. In the meantime…

I moved closer to the fire, which had
begun to die but was still enough to warm me. “I must believe you, but I
mourn for the Lesser Kindred as I would for my own folk.” And that was
true enough.

I could hear the smile in his voice
as Akor replied, “Perhaps you are part of our Kindred at that, littling.
But will not your own folk begin to fear for you? The moon is down, they will
soon be stirring.”

“I don’t care what they do. Must
I go so soon?” And for Shikrar’s benefit—“Akor, please, may I not
meet with you again? There is so little time, and I will be here only four more
nights.”

“I must speak with others of my
Kindred before we meet again, little one. But do not lose heart, I trust my
people will at the least allow us to meet once more, if only to say farewell.
”

Only the sure knowledge of our secret
meeting kept me from weeping. As it was, I think I sounded impressively forlorn.
“I will do as you command, Lord Akor.” And that reminded me …
“That is what Shikrar called you, wasn’t it? Lord Akor? Why ‘lord’? Is
that the custom of your people?”

“It is because I am the Lord and
King of the Kantrishakrim, Lanen Maransdatter. And that is the last question I
shall answer this night. Fare you well. I shall bespeak you when I have
consulted with my people.”

My heart was teeming so many things I
could not speak. I bowed to Akor and left, hugging myself, and not against the
cold. I was so full of joy, of wonder, of fear and anticipation that I could
hardly keep from laughing aloud.
Trust you, Lanen,
I thought.
Not Just
any Dragon, no, the KING of the Dragons himself is the one you find to talk to.
I never thought they would have a king. It sounds like something out of a fairy
tale. Dear Lady, will I ever believe that this has truly happened when I leave
this place?

That pulled me up short, for it was
then I realised that I did not seriously intend to leave.

Akhor

I watched her walk away. I could
almost see the joy in her step. Truly there was a universal nature to the
Attitudes. If she had been a youngling of my Kindred I would have expected her
to take off into the night sky, singing.

“That was well done,
Akhor,’” said Shikrar from the darkness.

“No, my friend, it was
not,” I replied. “I wished to speak with her for some time yet. Why
did you demand that I cut short our speech?”

“You were losing your
perspective, Akhor. She is an engaging creature, surely, and for all I can
tell she is as free of Raksha-trace as you or I. But that cannot be said for
all her people who are here. Surely you have smelled it?”

“Many of them are tainted, yes,
and their leader worst of all: I have never smelt a shipload of these merchants
that did not have its share of the Raksha-touched. Yet now that you have heard
Lanen’s truespeech, can you honestly believe that she would have dealings with
them?”

Shikrar sighed. “Akhor; my
friend, your innocence in these matters concerns me. Surely you know they use
force on one another? What is to stop one of the tainted ones from holding a
blade at her heart and demanding that she tell all she has learned?”

I did not answer. Truth to tell, I
had forgot for the moment how debased the creatures could be, for in her I knew
only good. However, I kept my thought to myself when Shikrar asked his
question, for the answer in my heart was simply “I am.” It did not
require thought on my part, it was as natural a response as breathing. I was
certain that if Lanen found herself in danger she would bespeak me, and no
boundary existed that I would not break to save her.

And still I did not realise. I think Shikrar
did, at least in a vague way. He bade me call a full Council to inform the Kindred
of my meetings and ask their permission for one more. I agreed, left him as
Guardian and walked slowly back to my chambers.

The long autumn night was nearly
over; false dawn lit the sky, the leafless trees casting intricate shadows
against the light. Their complexity gave me obscure comfort, as though the
existence of something so simple yet wondrous as a naked tree against the sky
meant that there was in truth an underlying pattern to all things. I hoped
against hope that my people would be able to hear my words, that some others
who knew the burden of the
ferrinshadik
would listen to me.

And my heart was large with the
thought of being Lanen’s protector and advocate. I was still unaware of the
depth of what I felt for her, or that what I was truly feeling was love—but I
had never known love before.

I have no other excuse.

X

TWILIGHT

Lanen

I arrived back in the camp, being
careful to disguise the direction I had come from, just as false dawn began to
lighten the sky. Many were stirring but none seemed to notice me. Even Marik,
who appeared to be madly busy, spared me little more, than a glance. In
passing, though, I heard a few words dropped about “fruit,” and
suddenly the frantic activity made sense.

We had been told several times on the
voyage out that finding a late-fruiting tree was like finding your own private
fortune buried beneath a stump. The fruits were large and their weight in silver
was considerable, but it was a mere fraction of their worth. Lan fruits can
restore lost years, or lost health, to any creature still or live, and when the
Harvest ships had been used to return from the Dragon Isle every ten years, any
fruits that might be found were purchased long ere the ship left the harbour.

From what I overheard that morning,
there were rumours that someone had found a sheltered holt where the fruit hung
still on the boughs. All the Harvesters rushed where rumour led as soon as they
heard it, and several fights broke out even before they left the camp. I could
imagine what would be happening at the grove and decided I was not interested
in forcing my way in among the crowds. I had to keep gathering leaves for now,
lest Marik take note, but I did not seek vast wealth.

I may not have needed silver, but I
did need sleep. I decided to stay at the camp and rest a few hours, though I
did take breakfast with those who stopped long enough to eat. By that time I
was ravenous, and the warmth of chélan was most welcome. It smelled better
than usual as I filled a mug and drained half of it in one draught. I was not
prepared for the taste.