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more time and practice& . She sighed.  Never mind. Leave that till later.
Ah& . She sucked in a deep breath, then pushed herself up until she was
leaning against the wall. Her head ached until she sent the pain away. She
closed her eyes and built a mandala in her mind.
For the next hour she sat in meditation, passing slowly through the mandalas
Vajd had given her. Slowly, slowly, the great circles revolved before her,
bringing comfort and tranquility into her uncertainty.
A hand touched her shoulder. She looked up, moving her head with slow
reluctance, to see Stavver s anxious face swimming over her. Her mouth
stretched into a smile, then drooped as she forgot to hold the corners up. His
voice sounded harsh against her ears. Distant. As if he spoke through wads of
cotton.  Wake up, Leyta. Time to eat.
Aleytys rocked gently from side to side, breaking herself out of the
stillness.  I think I went too deep.
Stavver shook his head.  It s beyond me. He stretched and yawned.  Fix me
some tea, will you? I need to wash the fog out.
 Yes, master, certainly, master, anything at all, master. Her grin faded.
 Miks. He was at the door, his hand on the curtain.  Wart a minute before you
go out.
He leaned against the back wall, smiling sleepily at her.  What is it?
 Sit down. Please. She waited until he dropped onto the bunk, his face
twisting into an amused somewhat impatient scowl.  I m going with you
tonight.
 No.
 Miks, I d keep out if I didn t think I could help. No. Hear me out. I ve got
in touch in a way with the diadem. Look. You say you re the best. Maissa says
you re the best and she doesn t like you. But any thief can find himself in a
tight place even if he is the best. You ve seen what the diadem can do.
There s more. It warns. You re going in late when all sensible beings are
asleep, but how can you control the actions of the Karkiskya. Or there might
be guards in the halls. I don t know, you may have instruments that could do
the same for you, Miks, but should you reject this extra edge? You told me
always learn as much as you can even if you don t need the knowledge. Isn t
this the same thing? She dropped her hands in her lap and waited for his
response.
Stavver sat frowning, eyes focused somewhere beyond her. After a minute he
blinked.  You feel a strong need to go?
 Yes.
He straightened the curve in his spine, rubbed the tip of his long nose.  You
haven t shown any sign of clairvoyance before.
 What s that?
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 Never mind. He pushed off the bunk and stood looming over her, staring
intently into her face.  Do you ever find yourself developing new talents?
 I don t know. She ran her hands through her hair, then reached out and took
hold of his arms.  What s it matter now? I haven t thought about it. Do I go
with you, Miks?
 You come. Keep your mouth shut and don t do anything unless I tell you to.
 I won t mess things up, Miks.
He ruffled her hair, grinning affectionately at her.  Good. Now, woman,
remember your promise. Fix your master some tea.
She bowed until her hair tickled her knees.  Yes, wise and honored master,
full of& um& extraordinariness beyond description.
Chapter VI
A fugitive breeze fluttered the worm-eaten leaves sending a rain of powdery
dust over Aleytys. She sneezed and wrinkled her nose then followed sounds of
laughter down slope to the stream.
Loahn and Puki stood talking animatedly beside two strings of horses
obviously having timed their arrivals so they would meet while the horses
sucked greedily at the sluggishly flowing water the two young Lamarchans stood
very close but not touching. Aleytys scratched Olelo s stomach. Looks like
he s serious about this one. She smiled, feeling a gentle surge of affection
for the boy. Then he turned and saw her.
 Si a gikena?
 Good evening, Loahn, Puki. She glanced up at the darkening sky and
shivered, nerves tightening as she remembered what was to come.  Loahn, leave
the horses with Puki. I have to talk with you. She set Olelo on the ground
and pushed him toward the girl.  Keep watch for us, little one.
The speaker sat up on his haunches and regarded her with a suspicious gleam
in his black eyes. Then he flipped onto all fours and trotted briskly to Puki.
With a quick nod, Loahn tossed the lead rope to the girl.  They ve had about
all they need. Take the team to Kale when they re done.
She ducked her head and watched unhappily, radiating a confusing queasy blend
of fear and jealousy, as Loahn walked apart with Aleytys.
Breaking through the flimsy line of spindly low-growing brush, Aleytys came
to a backless wooden bench. She turned and waited for Loahn.
 What is it, Lahela? She could hear the concern in his voice. He wasn t
worried yet, simply disturbed that she should call him apart this way. She
brushed at the dust and leafy debris on the heavy plank seat, then dropped
down facing him.
Rubbing at her forehead, she stared past him at the muddy water.  Poor Puki,
she didn t like your going off with me.
 You didn t call me to talk about the demoiselle. The archaic term of
respect for an unmarried girl was a deliberately unemphatic refusal to discuss
his relationship with Puki.  What do you want?
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 Sit down. When he was sitting stiffly beside her, she went on.  You know
why we re here. We hit tonight. I want you to stay with the baby. I don t
trust Maissa with him and I can t leave him alone that long. Kale&  She
shrugged.  He ll be at watch.
His head jerked up.  You?
She laughed, the brief low sound almost lost in the increasing rustle of the
leaves overhead.  I m a thief as much as any of the others, Loahn. I can t let
him go in alone. The silence between them thickened. Aleytys rubbed her
thumbs over the folds of the cloth where it bent with her body, feeling
through her preoccupation the smooth movement of the coarse weave over the
skin of her thighs. Abruptly she broke the silence.  I saw your face when
Firstman gave you back that knife. She bent forward and flicked the hilt with
her forefinger, feeling him shudder with a kind of dread.
 Without it I m not a man, he said simply.
 That I can t believe. You were very much man with me the night after we
found you on trail.
 The blade was mine again as soon as you lifted curse; there only remained
the actual body return. He shrugged, stroked the smooth worn hilt with loving
fingers, touching it with the familiar affection and ease of a long accustomed
lover.  The Karkesh blade cut my foreskin at my blooding, drank the dark blood
that ran warm from the center of my being.
 Ummmm. What if a man has sons but nothing to buy the steel?
Loahn shuddered again.  Never. Don t say such a thing. He stared at his toes
as they dug into the dampish earth and flung tiny clods into brief flight  Why
do you ask such things?
 What if Karkys vanished?
 You?
 I don t know?
 Why? His thumb caressed the colored stones set into the hilt moving up and
down over the smooth surfaces.
 Lakoe-heai set me four things to do. The second was to curse Karkys and
drive the off-worlders away. She pinched her lips together and clasped her
arms over her breasts, running shaking hands over her biceps, fumbling toward
the only certainty she knew, the solid reassuring feel of her own flesh.
 Ahai, Loahn, I don t pretend to know the rights and wrongs of this. It seems
to me the Karkiskya do no real harm here. You ve made them part of your lives, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]