The Blending 07 - Deceptions, page 36
“The rest of us got home early today, and I was really worried when you didn’t,” he began, once again delighting in the smile that she reserved for him alone. “You did finish your training today, didn’t you?”
“I … haven’t been training,” Asri replied after a definite hesitation, her lovely smile fading. “I … have a position that I really enjoy, one that lets me keep Dereth with me. Most jobs for women don’t allow them to take their babies along, so I consider myself very fortunate.”
“It would be easier yet for the both of you if you worked here in the house,” Kail pointed out at once, pouncing on the opportunity. “The group I’m a part of will be meeting for the first time tomorrow here in the sitting room, and there’s no reason to believe that we’ll be moved elsewhere for quite some time. If you start right now I’m sure you could get through the training really quickly, and then we could—”
“No, Kail,” Asri interrupted immediately, giving him no time to mention how much more time they’d be able to spend together. “I’ve already asked to have my job made permanent, so I’m afraid it’s too late to change my mind. But I appreciate your interest, really I do … I … had something of a hard day today, so I think I’ll go straight to bed. I’ll see you again tomorrow at breakfast.”
The smile she gave him then was nothing like the usual one, and then she was gone toward the stairs. Kail watched until she disappeared upward, and then he turned to Ren and Tansomia, who had come over to join him.
“What did you say to her, old fellow?” Ren asked with gentle concern. “I could feel her agitation and distress all the way over on the other side of the room.”
“All I did was ask her to join the group,” Kail answered, feeling more bewildered and upset than he ever had before. “I don’t understand why she reacted that way, Ren. She hasn’t been in one of the training classes, and doesn’t even want to hear about starting one.”
“Maybe she has so little talent that she’s ashamed,” Tansomia suggested, sympathy clear in her tone. “We’re all rather strong for Middle practitioners, don’t forget, so a really weak Low would feel completely out of place with us. What aspect is she?”
“I really have no idea,” Kail answered, realizing that Tansomia might be right. “The subject never came up, so I never asked. But now I can understand why she reacted like that. An overgrown fool tried to talk her into something that she’s un-suited to do, and almost refused to take no for an answer. She should have hit me over the head with something hard to get my attention, and then explained the facts of life to me. Maybe then my foot would not be so firmly wedged in my mouth.”
“I suggest that you wait until tomorrow morning to apologize, and then merely mention the apology in passing,” Ren said with a hand on Kail’s arm to keep him from going after Asri immediately. “If you follow her now you’ll have to say why you’ve changed your mind, and that will be just as embarrassing for her. Tomorrow you can just say you didn’t mean to demand that she leave something she enjoys doing for something you enjoy. After that you promise never to do the same again, and then you change the subject.”
“Yes, I can see you’re right so I’ll wait,” Kail said with a sigh after thinking about the suggestion for a moment. “She’s so strong and vital a woman, it never occurred to me … Yes, waiting is definitely a good idea, but now I’m not fit company for anyone. I’m going to turn in early, and I’ll see you two at breakfast.”
Ren and Tansomia both obviously understood, so they just wished him a good sleep and let him walk away from them. Kail climbed the stairs slowly, most of his inner being yearning to go to Asri so that he might comfort her, but that was a bad idea. Comforting someone without mentioning what you’re comforting them for isn’t easily done, and telling Asri that her weakness of talent didn’t matter to him would just be giving her more pain. No, better to take Ren’s advice and leave the whole thing for the morning.
Kail expected to be up tossing and turning all night, but he’d worked too hard finishing up his training. Sleep had no trouble finding him not long after he lay down, and he was already awake when the glass chimes in his bedchamber were rattled to let him know it was time to get up. One of the servants had Air magic, and the woman would walk past each room rattling chimes to wake the residents. She was also obviously a morning person, and so had no need of help herself to wake up on time.
In spite of the need to speak with Asri this morning, Kail couldn’t keep from feeling excited. This was the first morning his group would be meeting, and he looked forward to the time as he had little else. He still wished that Asri could be a part of it and him, but if she couldn’t be with him then he would just have to share the time with her when he saw her. That way she would be a part of it all, just not as a participant.
Asri was already downstairs when Kail reached the dining room, so he joined her in setting the table and then in carrying out the food from the kitchen. Asri looked a bit down to Kail despite her efforts to seem as pleasant and happy as usual, so Kail didn’t hesitate. When they were settled in their places and reaching for the food, he took the first step toward easing her mind.
“I really do have to apologize for trying to bully you last night,” he said in a murmur that hopefully only she would hear. “If you enjoy the job you do, I had no right to insist that you do something else. If you forgive me, I’d like you to stroll with me tonight after dinner. If you’re not too tired, of course.”
All those “ifs” in his little speech made Kail want to wince, but apparently they didn’t bother Asri. She gave him the smile he’d loved from the first time he’d seen it, true warmth and happiness behind it.
“I should have known better than to think you would try to run my life the way my husband always did,” Asri answered in a matching murmur. “Thank you for proving me wrong, and I’d love to stroll with you tonight after dinner.”
So that was it, Kail thought as he did his part in passing around the platters after helping himself to some of their contents. Asri had reacted so strongly because she thought Kail was acting the way her husband always had, and that had never occurred to him. Maybe it meant she wasn’t a Low after all, and once she heard what his group was doing she would decide to join them after all. If not it would still make no difference to the way Kail felt about her, but now he had even more of a reason to see that the group came up with good ideas as quickly as possible.
Breakfast disappeared behind idle but pleasant chatter, after which Asri went to get Dereth. Kail waited until the two came down so that he could wish them a good day, and once Asri and her son were gone it was time. Ren and Tansomia had waited for Kail, so the three of them walked into the meeting room together.
“About time the three of you showed up,” Belvis Drean said with a wide smile, most likely to let them know he was just joking. “The rest of us have been here since we helped to clear the breakfast table.”
“We would have been here as well, but we had someone to speak to,” Ren said at once with his own smile, speaking to everyone in the room. “I hope you’ll forgive us, as we’re just as eager to begin as the rest of you. Has anyone thought of anything for us to begin with! “
No one spoke up to say they’d thought of anything as the latecomers—and Drean—made their way to chairs around the large table, but Kail had a different question.
“There are only the eight of us here, and we’re all from the residence,” he remarked as he sat down. “I was told that an equal number of native Astindans would be joining our group, so I wonder where they are.”
“Possibly they couldn’t find anyone willing to work with us,” Drean suggested, faint disturbance behind his words. “I can’t say I really blame the Astindans, but we’re all trying so very hard …”
Ren exchanged a glance with Kail, most likely even more aware of Drean’s disturbance than Kail was. Drean had been a different man since the time they’d helped to bury that family on the road to where they were now, and the new Drean was actually pleasant and likeable. It was as though Drean had never before been allowed to show his pleasant side, and so now took great enjoyment in showing nothing else.
“That may not be the truth of the situation,” Kail said after a moment of thought. “It’s possible that it took longer to find Astindans for this group, so they haven’t yet finished their training classes. If no one shows up in two or three days we can ask someone about it, but right now I have a question. Someone here has Air magic, I hope?”
“Yes, I do,” an older woman responded with a smile, a woman Drean had sat down next to. Her name was Vantin Flain, and she was actually a bit smaller than Drean. “What question do you have?”
“Well, in a manner of speaking the question is personal, but it’s occurred to me that there might be a broader application for the solution as well.” Kail felt vaguely uncomfortable asking for something personal that might not have other applications, but with no one ready to discuss anything else … “As most of you probably already know, I’ve been … spending most of my free time with Asri Tempeth.”
“Anyone not living locked in a wardrobe knows that,” Vantin replied with a wider smile. “Are you asking us to comment on your relationship with Asri?”
“No, I’m not,” Kail replied very firmly at once, matching the woman’s smile. “What I wanted to say was that Asri and I enjoy strolling together after dinner, but we’ve never been able to go very far or stay out very long. Asri worries that her son, Dereth, will wake up crying without her knowing about it, so she never stays away from their bedchamber long. Is there some way to … do something with air that would … let Asri listen in on her bedchamber from a distance? I don’t know if I’m explaining my question clearly, but—”
“No, no, you’re being very clear,” Vantin interrupted to assure him, her amusement obviously gone. “And you’re right, the solution to that problem would have other applications, some of which I can see right now. For instance, if it’s possible to hear things from a distance, it might also be possible to speak from that same distance. Speaking to someone without one of the two having to go to where the other is … What a treat that would be!”
“More than just a treat,” Drean enthused as everyone else began to comment with excitement. “It would save everyone so much time and effort … But, Vantin, you haven’t yet said if any part of that is possible. Can you do something like that just by manipulating air?”
“A week ago I would have said no,” Vantin answered, her renewed smile now showing delight. “After going through the training class, I’m now convinced that all parts of the idea should be possible. I simply can’t do it alone, so we’re going to have to ask for help. Oh, I can’t wait to get started!”
Kail felt the same delighted enthusiasm, and apparently so did everyone else in the room. They’d produced their first good idea, and all because Asri had a baby she worried about. Kail knew he’d have to thank Asri for helping out the group even without being a part of it.
“I have a question for Spirit magic that I’ve been thinking about,” Dobranin Corb said suddenly from the other side of the table. Corb was tall and thin and very much on the quiet side, as though he were most often wrapped up in private thoughts. “I have Water magic like Kail there, so I have no idea if what I want is possible. And I think I ought to mention first that there are too many times when I have to … fight off feelings of believing that everything I try to do is … futile.”
“We all have moments like that, so please don’t feel that you’re alone in the experience,” Ren told the man at once, his tone gentle with understanding. “If you ever need help with regaining your proper balance, you have only to ask.”
“Yes, I know, but there’s a limit to how often a man feels comfortable asking something like that,” Corb pointed out with a smile that contained almost no amusement. “Just because you’re a decent man who’s willing to help, that doesn’t mean you want to spend your life doing nothing else. Which is why I’d like to know if it’s possible to … put ‘balance’ in a corner of a room, somehow. That way anyone who needs the help can just step into the corner and get it without bothering anyone else.”
“You know, it would probably take the help of someone with Air magic, but I think it just might be possible,” Ren said, his voice filled with awe and revelation. “And if everyone had a corner like that in one of their rooms, people would no longer have to start the day in a foul or miserable mood. Or bothered by nervousness or anger or any of the other disruptive emotions.”
“Well, it looks like a personal question has done it again,” Tansomia said with a delighted laugh. “Two questions, two bright new ideas. Does anyone else have a personal problem. I hope?”
That question produced laughter in everyone including Corb, but Kail knew it wasn’t at all a joke. It became clear that the others knew the same when Vantin held up her hand.
“As a matter of fact, I had a passing thought just yesterday,” Vantin said to everyone. “During dinner I managed to get a stain on my skirt, and I had to bother Belvis to use his Earth magic to remove the stain. It occurred to me to wonder if there could be some way to treat material before it’s made into clothing that would keep it from getting stained to begin with. Do you know if that’s possible, Belvis?”
“Why, it just might be,” Drean said after a moment, his expression riled with surprise. “There are substances like resin that resist everything at a certain point, so why couldn’t material be coated with something like that? Not resin, of course, or our clothes would be too heavy to wear comfortably, but one of the others …”
“I … hate to interrupt, but I have a suggestion about that,” a tiny voice said, sounding as though the woman producing the voice had had to force herself to speak. The woman was Effella Tantor, a very shy little thing who rarely joined a discussion unless deliberately invited. Kail and the others had made a point of inviting her to comment on a regular basis, and now the effort had apparently paid off.
“Yes, please give us your suggestion, Effella,” Drean told the woman in a kindly way. “Your Earth magic is every bit as strong as mine, and you’ve never wasted our time yet with nonsense.”
“I … I appreciate that, sir,” Effella answered with a blush covering her young and pretty face. “My … father liked to make things from wood, a hobby that relaxed him after a long day working in the government. Once he made a cabinet, and he didn’t use ordinary varnish as a finish. He used a very thin extract of resin, so thin that once it dried it was almost impossible to tell that it was there. The wood looked as if there was nothing on it, but even dust found it impossible to cling. If that substance could be used on cloth …”
“Then we would have the perfect protection against staining, and maybe even dirt in general,” Drean finished when she didn’t, his nod clearly distracted. “That would make it unnecessary even to wash the clothing, which couldn’t be done in any event. The only question I have would be about odors, and also how the extract would behave in the presence of dyes. I think we’ll just have to try it and see.”
When Effella realized that Drean’s “we” included her, the shy young woman beamed even while she blushed. The man beside Effella, Jadro Marth, patted her arm gently with murmured words that were probably congratulations. Marth was as interested in Effella as Kail was in Asri, and the young Fire magic user always made sure to give Effella as much encouragement as she needed.
“All right, now I have a question for our Water magic users,” Ren said suddenly, looking between Kail and Dobranin Corb. “If the two of you laugh at me I’ll probably turn violent, but there’s something I’ve always wanted to ask about.”
“And I’ve always wanted to see you turn violent,” Kail couldn’t help commenting with vast amusement. “For that reason I just may laugh even if I don’t think your question is funny.”
“You’re a true friend, Kail, and I knew I could count on you,” Ren came back with wry amusement that was on the dry side. “So I’ll admit that I won’t get violent, but I’m still going to ask my question. The first time I saw a water wheel that powered a mill’s grindstone, I was fairly young. For that reason I wondered why carriage wheels couldn’t be made with water inside, so horses would be unnecessary to make the carriage go. Now, of course, I know that it was falling water that turned the wheel, but I still wonder if there isn’t some way for Water magic to make the water fall inside a carriage wheel …”
Ren had been glancing around as he’d asked his question, possibly looking for the laughter he’d mentioned and might even have expected. For himself, Kail felt stunned, and if the expression on Dobranin Corb’s face meant what Kail thought it did, Corb was just as stunned.
“You know, boiling water roils by itself,” Tansomia commented into what had become a very deep silence. “I wonder how boiling water would do inside that wheel, and how much water would be necessary to make that carriage go.”
“However much it is, the wheel would have to be sealed with resin or something against a loss of the water or even of the steam,” Drean put in, his brows still high. “But keeping all four wheels turning separately might not be necessary. If all the water was used to move something that in turn moved the wheels, there would be only a single device that needed Water and Fire magic applied.”
“But the water container couldn’t be sealed,” Vantin said, distractedly putting her hand on Drean’s. “The steam would cause so much pressure against whatever held it that the whatever could well rupture explosively, with violently moving air doing the dirty work. Haven’t any of you ever seen a teapot filled with water heating on a stove? Not everyone uses Fire magic, after all, so some of you must have seen it.”
“A teapot has something that lets the steam escape with a high-pitched whistle,” Effella offered with less shyness. “Would that something also do the job for our device that moves the wheels?”
“Maybe it would also do the job of calming the device instead of having to use Spirit magic,” Ren put in, now obviously as deeply into the matter as everyone else. “The water in the device would have to be replaced, of course, but that’s what people with Water magic do. So how do we get started with building this device?”
