Six Heirs (16 page)

“Good, good. Hand me object. One you carry often. One you have for long time.”

Yan considered it. What could he give her? At home, he had a pile of souvenirs and keepsakes, from his parents, Léti, and Norine, or ones he acquired on his own. Like his crossbow harpoon, for example. But here?

He made a mental list of all the things he had on him. And finally remembered. Hanging around his neck underneath his tunic, Léti’s seashell. The one she’d given him when they were only eight years old; the one he’d never been apart from since. The little blue queen moon that she’d given him as a token, perhaps nothing more than a kids’ game, but one he had always taken seriously.

Of course, he had changed the leather lace a few times, but since Léti gave him the shell, he had never let a day pass without it around his neck. It had become so natural he never even thought about it. Yes, if he had to pick an important object, it was that one.

He took it off from underneath his tunic, hesitant at first, but he handed it over quickly to avoid ridicule. Léti shot him a look that he couldn’t decipher. Was she irritated that he took it off? Or maybe she thought it was stupid to have kept this little trinket for all these years? Or maybe she didn’t even remember giving it to him? He preferred to not think about it and focused all of his attention on the old woman.

She held it tightly in her hands, after taking a moment to examine it. Her eyes closed, and almost as if possessed by spirits, her head began to turn slowly back and forth in exaggerated movements. Yan realized how ridiculous the situation was, but it was too late to turn back now. And, in spite of it all, he was curious to hear what story she would tell him, false though it might be.

The crone emitted a long quavering moan that sounded either like she was suffering deeply or its opposite, as though she were letting out a sigh of relief. Then she opened her eyes.

“You be fisherman.”

Yan waited for her next revelation, before realizing that she was waiting for his confirmation. He nodded.

She smiled, all the while spinning her head around in circles like a carriage wheel.

“You want to do something. You don’t want to be...only a fisherman.”

Yan, not knowing what else to do, nodded again. The old woman let out a sort of strangled guffaw.

“You want woman badly, young man. Eh?”

The young Kaulien didn’t move an inch. He wanted to say yes, but he was afraid of Léti’s reaction.

The old fortune-teller sneered, almost mockingly.

“Now, I give you tomorrow.”

She closed her eyes, sighed, and began speaking in a deep, monotone voice.

“You marry the woman you want next year. She be village chief. You never fisherman. Travel a lot. Then you have many money. Very happy. Then two sons. Very strong. You be strong. Very happy. You live long time with woman. You want to know when you die?”

“No, not at all!”

Yan didn’t really want to know the possible date of his death, whether it be true or false. The old woman nodded.

“You are right. Not be good to know too strong things about tomorrow.”

She handed him back his queen moon. Then she turned and walked away with small steps, leaving Yan to unravel his feelings.

What nerve, to leave like that! “Not be good to know too strong things about tomorrow.” All right, then why did this old woman go around predicting people’s futures?

“That went well, you’re lucky.”

Yan turned toward Léti. Was she mocking him? No, she looked sincere. They left the weapons stall.

“Why do you say that?”

“She could have given you bad news, misfortune, sickness, death...She could have even put a date on everything. But she only talked about the good things, while staying vague. So you are lucky.”

“I didn’t think you believed in that sort of thing.”

“Oh yes, I certainly do...The heirs of Ji, my aunt...You know, it all makes me wonder if the impossible may be possible. But, in my opinion, we shouldn’t try to know our future. And she looked more like a beggar than a divinity.”

“What does your aunt have to do with the impossible?”

“Don’t worry about it. Maybe I’ll tell you someday.”

Yan frowned. For his part, he was largely disappointed with the fortune-teller, and he kept discovering that Léti and Corenn were hiding things from him. For now, he preferred not to dwell on it, knowing that it would only upset him.

“Do you think what she told me will come true? You think that my life will unfold like that?”

“Perhaps. It’s not too bad, as far as destinies go, right?”

“I’m not sure.”

“If only you could see your face right now! I was right, it’s better not to know.”

He kept quiet for a while. Seeing the serious look on her friend’s face, Léti picked up the conversation.

“Wouldn’t you be pleased with two sons? To travel? To be rich? Live a long, full life? Were you hoping she would tell you ‘You will be king, you will command armies, you are the savior from some forgotten prophecy, you will live a
life full of adventures, and blah, blah, blah’? We aren’t living in a fairy tale.”

Despite her sarcastic remarks, Yan noticed that she had omitted his predicted Union for the coming year—probably on purpose.

“Of course, that would all be very nice...But I think she made it all up. What she said about the present, anyone could guess, and the rest, it’s just her imagination. And it makes me think that I would in fact be very lucky if it all turns out like that.”

They both dove back into their own thoughts. Curses, and what was more, he was making Léti sad. She really didn’t need that right now; he was being foolish.

They joined up with Corenn in silence, dragging their feet.

“And here we are, Aunt. See? There was no reason to worry.”

“It is only after the dog bites that you know it is rabid. I’m glad that it went well, but you should realize that things could have gone otherwise.”

“All right, perhaps. If you think so.”

“You shouldn’t use today’s experience as an argument for next time. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes,” Léti admitted against her will. Her aunt always had something to add. Reasoning, giving in to secondary points, avoiding thorny subjects, but always having the last word, even if it was just to end up right back at the status quo. She could do all of this without lying, pressing, or even raising her voice. Léti knew this talent of her aunt’s quite well; she had seen it used many times while accompanying the Mother on her travels throughout Kaul. But still, even she was sometimes the victim of her aunt’s machinations, and her
powerlessness to resist vexed her. Sometimes, she asked herself if her aunt wasn’t using her magic powers to sway the minds of her listeners. But that was unlikely.

“Where’s Grigán?”

“He shouldn’t be long now.”

Indeed, the warrior rejoined them quickly thereafter. He didn’t say a word.

The ferry was close to shore now, and travelers crowded the dock, guarded by three tall, burly men. Grigán led the small group to the waiting line. The ferry docked and the passengers spilled out, pushing their way through the crowd toward the inn or the road. Finally, they began boarding.

Watching each step of the process, Yan realized that you had to pay to cross the river. To think that with his own boat he would be on the other side with a few oar strokes! Then again, they would still have the problem of the horses...

“Master Grigán?”

The warrior and Corenn couldn’t help but smile at Yan’s use of this title.

Yan disregarded this and continued.

“I still have the money that belongs to you. Of course I’ll pay you back in full, but I’m afraid I don’t have enough to pay for the crossing.”

Corenn reassured him.

“Don’t worry. I have enough to take us all the way to Goran, if it came to that.”

“I’m pretty sure it would take me quite a while to pay back such a large amount.”

“We’ll work it out later.”

As a member of the Permanent Council, Corenn received one of the highest salaries in the Matriarchy. She couldn’t imagine herself running a young, honest fisherman into debt, especially one who would no doubt become a part of her family someday. It was simply inconceivable.

The line moved quickly, and it was soon their turn. Corenn exchanged a few words in Lorelien with one of the three dock guards, a few coins changed hands, and finally the little group could board the sizable barge.

Three crew members were bustling about carefully arranging packs, passengers, and goods, paying close attention to balance the load and guarantee stability. A fourth man was busy lighting oil lamps that hung from poles at each corner of the boat, as well as at random points along the deck.

“To my knowledge, this is the only ferry that makes night crossings,” announced Grigán. “Also, I think it’s one of the largest.”

Léti answered the man in black in a hushed voice.

“Doesn’t that make it all the more dangerous to take this one? I mean, won’t that make it easier for them to spot us?”

“No, no. There are thirty or so ferries for every three-or four-league stretch of water along the Gisland. Each one makes at least five or six crossings a day, I think. It would be impossible to monitor all the arrivals and departures, unless they had an army. The Züu won’t even try.”

“But that’s just a guess.”

“Yes. Do you have a better idea?”

“Unbelievable! You’re so insensitive, do you know that?”

“I don’t tolerate criticism, that’s all,” Grigán answered calmly.

That could very well be the warrior’s motto, Yan thought to himself.

Once all the travelers had boarded the barge and spread out on the deck, the ferrymen untied the mooring lines and pushed the boat away from shore by inches, using long wooden poles. A resounding “plop” brought the maneuver to a halt. A rather drunken passenger had lost his balance and gone for a swim in the cold river. Everyone roared with laughter, except for the captain, who delivered a lecture to his men and the suddenly sober victim, who was being helped back on board. Then they launched a second time.

“It’s almost a tradition for the ferrymen,” said Grigán. “I’ve even heard that now and then they organize some secret splash competition. I’ll bet they made a point of putting that fellow near the edge.”

“The Loreliens have some odd pastimes!” Yan exclaimed.

“Am I wrong, or don’t Kauliens amuse themselves by diving off of cliffs? That doesn’t seem much smarter to me.”

“That’s different. No one is forced to do it.”

“Oh, come on, Yan, I heard you laugh too,” Léti interrupted gleefully. “It wasn’t all that cruel.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Grigán went on. “There’s a popular prank in Romine where you release a red pig in heat inside a friend’s house. After blocking off all the exits, if possible...Needless to say, if the victim doesn’t give the prankster a real thrashing, he’s a true friend.”

“I’ll believe it. What’s a red pig?”

“What! You’ve never seen one, Yan? And you, Léti?” asked Corenn, shocked.

“No.”

“I can’t believe it. They look like a mix of a boar and a pig, except they’re completely red. They travel in packs of fifty or sixty, but people have seen hordes of more than three hundred. They’re incredibly destructive. Romine is infested with them. A few years ago, we had to organize hunts just west of Kaul because they were beginning to spread throughout the Matriarchy.”

“This is the first I’ve ever heard of them. Anyhow, Master Grigán, what does a red pig do when it’s in heat?”

“It grunts, it squeals, it bites, it races about, it charges at anything that moves. Well, everything, for that matter. But worst of all, it stinks. They say that even with all the willpower in the world, you still couldn’t stay within ten yards of a male in such a state.”

“Actually,” Léti guffawed, “that sounds like Yan when he comes home after fishing for vase eels!”

“Very funny. Remind me to bring some back for you next time.”

“Eels are delicious,” noted Corenn.

“Do you want to come along? I’ll gladly take you. You’ll see how much fun it is.”

Yan’s mood was improving. He had forgotten his worries about the future. Right now, he needed to enjoy today.

The barge glided silently along the calm river, disturbed only by the movement of the wooden poles pushing into the depths and fish jumping at swarms of insects. The soft light of the lamps and the crescent moon didn’t dispel the already thick darkness, but it was soothing. Bénélia’s distant lights to the south didn’t shine as brightly as the fireflies fluttering in the vast darkness. Buildings on the banks lit up to signal piers and nearby inns...a promise of imminent comfort. The
temperature had dropped, and Yan wrapped himself up in his tunic the best he could. It occurred to him to check on Léti’s well-being, but he didn’t dare break the calm spell cast by the croaking of frogs, the murmur of passengers, and the sound of the waves. She thanked him with a smile. If only things could always be that way between them.

He wrapped his arms around her, and Léti rested her head on his shoulder. They remained silent and still, hidden together in the darkness, surrendered to their feelings.