Seasons, page 12
As the acrobat fell toward the ground, she found the unprotected core of thought it had been shielding.
Images and memories flooded over her. Remnants of conversations, snippets of agreements made, and payments given. The layout of maps, and a plan hatched to enter a chamber and pour poison into a nightstand cup. She couldn’t see the intended victim, but part of Haven showed outside the window in this forethought.
The man was an assassin.
He was planning to kill someone.
Surprised at Nwah’s intrusion, the barker gave a start, and the acrobat, in midair, suddenly lost control.
The crowd’s fearful call rose to a fervor as the man hit with a sickening crunch.
Then the sound faded to silence, and no one moved.
The accident was clearly bad. One of the acrobat’s legs was shattered and an arm was bent underneath him.
Finally, he moaned in the ugly tones of someone who knew exactly how badly he was hurt, and Winnie, her fingers drawn to her lips in concern, moved forward to help.
Another person screamed, and others followed.
Amid the early chaos that broke out, a few gawkers came forward to help Winnie.
“Stop!” she called as one of the men tried to move the acrobat, but the sound of her voice faded as Nwah focused on the portly barker.
Rather than go to the acrobat’s aid, when she regained her composure, the barker unleashed a bolt of energy at the mangled acrobat.
Nwah instinctively threw as much magic between the barker and the acrobat as she could, deflecting the bolt to wildly scorch the city wall, and she raced toward the portly magician, understanding now that the barker was trying to kill the acrobat to protect their plan.
She leaped with a wild yowl that carried all the day’s frustration and anger. Her body crashed into the woman, and they tangled as they fell hard to the ground.
The barker managed to press her hand against Nwah’s flank and unleash another bolt that made her freeze in pain. But even knowing she was badly wounded, Nwah managed to sink her teeth into the fleshy part of the magician’s shoulder.
The taste of blood came sweet and metallic against her throat.
Her back claws raked her foe’s legs as her foreclaws pinned the woman to the ground until the magician used her girth to roll away.
Nwah tried to twist away, but the woman reversed her, and had her pinned.
Unbidden, Nwah’s magic broke free.
It flowed inside her, powerful and pure, filling her with its presence.
As the barker nearly suffocated her, Nwah called out. As the battle raged between her and the barker, birds came forward, and cattle, and market monkeys, and stray cats and dogs, and boar, and chickens and turkeys. All answered Nwah’s call, all leaping on the woman as she screamed, all biting, pecking, stamping until, finally, the barker struggled no more.
The animals faded into the background then, and, indeed, as Nwah lay damaged in the grime, it was only the presence of buzzards still circling in the sky above her that made Nwah certain her horde had even come at all.
Shocked gazes fell on the bloody body beside her.
She explored her wounds and found her flank burned and glistening, her pads torn and bloody.
She tried to rise, but collapsed in pain.
Her gaze went back to the humans surrounding her.
They were afraid of her now, and they wouldn’t understand what had happened. Perhaps they would wait for the guard to take care of their fears, but eventually they would sense her helplessness, and they would come for her. She saw it etched in their expressions. It was only a matter of time.
Across the way, Kade appeared, his face ashen.
:Are you all right?: he said, rushing to her side.
Her vision wavered, but she saw his face take a stern set.
:You need help,: he said.
Some in the crowd warned Kade to stay away, others urged him to kill her.
Instead, Kade put his hand on her side and suddenly Nwah once again felt the power of his gift. A closeness dripped into her. A golden heat brought her the smells and images of the family farm where he’d been raised, and the sound of his voice as he’d once sung to her in the barn he’d chosen as her sickbed.
His healing slipped into her as it had before, removing her pain, or maybe not so much removing it as overwhelming it.
:I’m sorry about the college,: she said.
Kade nodded, but continued working.
Yes, she thought as pain flared inside her again. It was Kade’s concern that overwhelmed the flare, not the flare that fell away.
:That’s your real Gift,: Nwah said weakly.
:What’s that?: Kade replied almost as if he wanted her to keep talking more than anything else.
:That you care so much,: Nwah said. She sent a smile into his mind.
:Only for you, you silly mutt,: Kade snapped back.
:I’m not a mutt.:
:I know exactly who you are,: Kade replied with such clarity that she thought her heart would burst.
Perhaps their connection wasn’t that of a Companion and a Herald, but they were connected, and that made all the difference.
A moment later he backed off.
:Can you stand?:
Nwah gathered her strength. :I think so.:
She stood, shaking but firm enough.
“Kill it!” the acrobat screamed with raw throat as he lay bleeding and unable to move. “You saw what that beast did to Shaval!”
Winnie, who still knelt beside him, punched the acrobat on the jaw, and he fell silent.
Some in the crowd turned to her.
:The acrobat is an assassin,: Nwah said, passing images to Kade.
:I see,: Kade replied. :I recognize the maps. He’s from Ancar.:
:I don’t know what that means.:
:I don’t either,: Kade replied.
As the crowd suddenly hushed, another voice replied.
:It means the Queen is going to want to speak with him.:
From the direction of the city, almost as if she had simply appeared in the area, came a Companion, as strong and as pure as the Companion Nwah had seen earlier. This one, however, was alone.
She came forward, her mane almost silver in the evening gloaming as it fell over her forehead, stopping as she stood before Kade.
Through their link, Nwah felt the Companion take him in.
She felt Kade’s confusion.
When the Companion glanced at Nwah, admiring Kade’s handiwork, the lines of magic bent around her, and a dread rose inside Nwah that was deeper and more terrifying than anything she’d ever felt.
No! she thought. Not Kade!
Limping forward in her weakness, she stood between Kade and the Companion and bared her teeth.
:There’s no need for that, little kyree.:
:Yes, there is,: Nwah said. :If he leaves me, I’ll die.:
:Of course you would,: the Companion replied. :The two of you are Lifebonded.:
Nwah’s gaze narrowed, and she felt her energy falling.
:But there can be room for three of us,: the Companion said.
:Three?:
:If you can manage it. Things will be different, though, and not all creatures are strong enough to share the focus of their love.:
As Nwah paused, the word Lifebonded settled over her. It felt right, and for a moment she was pleased merely to know there was a term for it.
Everything was still too confusing, though. Happening too fast.
She didn’t know what to think.
The Companion used the break to return her attention to Kade.
:Troubles are coming, Kade of the Southern Lands,: the Companion said. :And your Gift is clearly strong. I am named Leena, and I Choose you as my Herald-in-Training.:
:Choose me?: Kade said.
:Are you deaf?: Leena replied.
:But I was rejected at the—:
:The Collegium is known to make occasional errors in judgement.:
Kade swallowed, then looked at Nwah. :She has a Gift, too,: he said.
Leena glanced to the remains of the barker’s body.
:I’ve seen as much,: she said. :And, since she has no self-control, we’ve all felt as much, too. I’ll be interested to learn how a boy Healer and a kyree with nature magic came to be in such a bond, but probably no more interested than Darkwind will be to have a kyree in the Mages Collegium.:
:She can study here, too?: Kade said.
:We couldn’t leave her as she is, now, could we? Otherwise she’d be far too attractive to any BloodMage she ran into. I’d say you can blame only luck that you haven’t fallen prey to one already.:
:I don’t think I can live here,: Nwah replied, catching on to the argument.
:It will be all right, little kyree. The Queen has some very quiet corners, and you won’t need to stay in Haven throughout your studies. You’ll have plenty of time to take care of that coat.:
Nwah sat back, so tired her forelegs still shook, her body aching from everywhere at once. The idea of staying in Haven was still crushing. And, yet, an offer to study magic with a true Mage was something that felt right. And there was Kade, of course. He was Chosen now. She understood what that meant. But Leena knew Nwah’s bond with Kade was real. If she could find a way to stay here, she would not have to lose him.
She felt his hand on her shoulder and knew her answer without speaking it.
:My name is Nwah,: she said to the Companion.
“What’s happening?” Winnie said as she came to Kade’s side.
Kade looked at Leena and shrugged.
“This is Winnie,” he said to his Companion. “I love her, too.”
:And she has a Gift of her own,: he added. :Or at least a calling.:
The Companion blew a damp-sounding breath from her wide nostrils, and, as Nwah, Kade, and Winnie stood together, Leena’s tail gave a twitch that was large enough to qualify as the first break in composure Nwah had seen from a Companion.
:I suppose all families have their complexities,: she said, pausing again to take them in. :We’ll work them out. In the meanwhile, it’s time we take this man to the Palace. Nwah needs her rest, and the Queen will want to hear what you have to say.:
An Omniscience of Godwits
Elisabeth Waters
“All the animals on the property are tattling on me, aren’t they?” Keven winced as he set his crutches to one side and sank into bed.
“If by ‘tattling’ you mean reporting to me on your progress in learning to walk again, they thought I’d be interested,” his wife replied from her dressing table where she was brushing out her hair. “They’re right; I am.”
Lena and Keven were still virtually newlyweds; they had married in Haven and escaped (both of them agreed on the description) to the nearest of the estates Lena had inherited. As the last surviving member of her family, she had several estates and enough wealth to make her an attractive target for fortune hunters. It was, therefore, ironic that in fleeing from Keven’s brother and their ambitious father, she had met Keven in the quiet, out-of-the-way temple where they had consigned him to obscurity after his injury.
“Are you still thinking of offering land here to the Temple of Thenoth, Lord of the Beasts, so they’ll have someplace to keep more of his animals?” It was something they had discussed during their journey here. With the special saddle Lena had given him for a Midwinter gift, Keven could ride, but the pace was necessarily slow. It would have been slower with baggage wagons, but both of them had pared their luggage down to what could be carried by horses.
“I’m still thinking about it.” Lena laid down her hairbrush and started to braid her hair for bed. “I’m concerned about the game warden here.”
“Why? What’s he like?”
“I haven’t officially met him yet; he’s gone to spend the Vernal Equinox with his mother and sisters.”
“That’s more than my father would do,” Keven said. “He’s ignored my mother and sisters for years; he even leaves them in the country while he spends Midwinter Festival at Court.” After a few seconds’ thought he added, “Of course, they may prefer it that way.”
“I don’t know what Algott’s family prefers,” Lena said, finishing her braid and tying it off, “but I’m afraid that his departure may be due less to filial piety and more to a desire to avoid me. He probably thinks I’ll stay here for a week or two and then be off to the next estate, and I’m sure he has comrades in the village who will send word to him when I’m gone.”
“Are the animals saying bad things about him?” Keven didn’t share Lena’s gift of Animal Mindspeech, so she had to relay anything she wanted him to know.
“The animals aren’t saying much, but the Steward here tells me that Algott got his job because he was a friend of my brother’s.”
“I don’t really know much about your family. How bad is that?”
Lena climbed carefully into bed next to him. Keven was wonderful, and she, unlike his father, didn’t think less of him because of his injured leg. She really wanted to be a good wife and make him happy—or at least not cause him unnecessary physical pain.
“It’s pretty bad,” she admitted. “My parents died when I was about four, so I don’t really remember them. Markus became my guardian because he was my only living relative. He died about five years later. I wasn’t there and don’t know all the details, but apparently he made up his own religion, used it to steal and blackmail people, and died at a hearing in front of a good portion of the court, the Prior, and my friend Maja, who says the gods struck him down for his crimes.”
“Did they really?” Keven asked, fascinated.
“I don’t know. The Healers said it was his heart, but he wasn’t even 30 years old. Anyway, he was cruel to me, my governess, and my animals. I had a charm of finches—”
“A what?”
“A group of finches is called a charm, the way a group of puppies is called a litter,” Lena explained. “Some of us at the temple keep a list of odd collective nouns—did you know that a group of vultures is a wake?”
“How appropriate. So you had birds . . . did any of them come with us?”
“I’m sure quite a few crows did.” Lena sighed. “The finches have all died of old age now. At least none of them died from being used for target practice by Markus and his friends, though one of them got a miniature sword through her wing, which is how we wound up at the Temple of Thenoth. The Temple Healers made me leave her there, and Markus took me home, but I snuck out early the next morning and never went back.” She smiled reminiscently. “Dexter was my first friend at the temple.”
“Maja’s raccoon?”
“Maja’s friend who happens to be a raccoon, yes,” Lena replied. “By the time the Prior realized I was there, they knew I had Animal Mindspeech, my brother was dead, Maja had unofficially adopted me as a little sister, and I petitioned to stay there as a Novice.”
“But you were a child, weren’t you?”
“I was ten, I was Gifted, and I had no living family. The King became my official guardian, but he gave me into the Prior’s custody while I was a child. As I got older, I had to spend some time at court, and after I turned seventeen last summer, the King said I had to participate in the winter social season—and we know how that turned out!”
“Do you . . . regret being married to me?” Keven asked cautiously.
Lena laughed. “Of course not, but I didn’t have to go to court to meet you. I might just as well have stayed at the Temple and been spared the misery of fortune-hunting suitors.”
“And my brother’s attempt to force you into marriage.”
“To be fair to your brother, the rape was your father’s idea.”
“And which one did you jump out your bedroom window to escape?”
“The important thing is that I did escape, you and I are married, you are legally part of my family and not your father’s, and if Thenoth is good to us, we won’t ever have to deal with your ex-family again.”
“Amen to that,” Keven said. “So is your game warden here one of those friends who uses birds for target practice?”
“Yes,” Lena said grimly.
“Well, if he’s off to visit his family, let’s enjoy the Spring Festival in his absence. We can ride into the village for the festivities, eat ourselves sick on sweets, and do all the things we never got to do as children.”
“That sounds like a great plan,” Lena said, curling up next to him with her head on his shoulder.
* * *
• • •
Lena was surprised when, two days after the Festival, the crows told her that Algott had returned. She walked out to the front garden to meet him and waited on a bench there. His demeanor was very different from the last time she had seen him, but she was no longer a child, and he wasn’t drunk, which probably accounted for a great deal of the change.
“Would I be correct in believing that you want to keep your position here?” she asked bluntly.
“Yes, Lady Magdalena,” he replied, “but first I owe you an apology. I treated you badly, and I treated your birds worse.”
“By which you mean you didn’t throw knives at me.”
“I certainly hope I didn’t,” he said. “I wasn’t at my best that day, and you ran into the room suddenly.”
“That’s true. I suppose we were all lucky that the damage wasn’t worse.”
He shuddered. “Having a position that allows me to spend more time with my mother and sisters has given me a new perspective on the way I behaved then. I suppose ‘young and stupid’ doesn’t serve as an excuse when I was older then than you are now, but I like to think I’ve matured since then. And the way your brother died . . .”
“Were you there?” Lena wasn’t sure who had been, aside from the King, the King’s Own, a few Heralds she knew, the Prior, and Maja.
