Part 23 (2/2)
Anna walked to the stables, followed once more by the guards. As she crossed the north courtyard, her glance went to the rear of the courtyard, where Jecks was instructing Kinor and Jimbob in some aspect of using a blade, while several of the younger lancers watched. Anna wondered if Jimbob was really paying attention.
”Lady Anna?”
Her head turned back toward the stables. Outside the open doors in the already hot morning sunlight stood Quies.
”Yes, Quies?”
”If I might ask, Lady Anna, from where does this Halde hail?” inquired the stablemaster.
”He's been the saalmeister at Synfal, Lord Arkad's hold at Cheor,” Anna answered. ”When Lord Jimbob received those lands, he also decided to replace the saalmeister with someone from Lord Jecks' lands.”
Quies nodded.”I thought Halde had done an excellent job in the weeks after Lord Arkad's death and the death of the head saalmeister, and I've had him working under Herstat. I believe he will do a good job. He's fair, and he works hard.” Anna looked at Quies. ”If he has any fault, it is that he may not praise good work enough, but those who have worked with him for years say he does not bully or cheat, but expects the best out of each person.”
Quies pursed his lips before speaking. ”You won't be here long, will you, lady?
And you won't be here that much.”
”No,” Anna admitted. ”I can't be. Not now. I might be here for a week, or less, and I don't know when I'll be back.”
”Lady...?”
”Yes, Quies.” Anna smiled.
”I'd not be the youngest stablemaster... and the horses are not Albero's love...”
”You want to train someone else to help you?”
”Aye...my sister's bairn Vyren. A bit young, not twelve, but he loves the horses, and they love him.”
”Can he learn the rest of running a stable?”
”That young, I'd not be knowing for sure, but I'd send him home if he could not.” A crooked smile appeared on the stable-master's face. ”With two... we could build up the stable more.”
”Then have him come to work for you... you tell Serna and anyone else who needs to know.”
”Thank you, lady.”
”Thank you. You do the work, and Farinelli's shown me that you do it well, Quies.”
A nervous smile appeared.
”I meant it.” Anna stepped into the comparative cool of the always-clean stables and toward the front stall where the big gelding greeted Anna with a whuff, as if to ask why she'd taken so long.
”Business, fellow, business.” She slipped into the stall and brushed him briefly, not all that necessary since she'd groomed him thoroughly the night before, tired as she'd been.
The ride out to the workshop buildings was almost too short, except for the heat, and, again, almost a parade, Anna felt, with Wiltur and two of her guards following her.
Wiltur insisted on checking the building before she entered. Then, as Anna carried the lutar, a water bottle, and a sheaf of her notes into the building, Wiltur stationed himself by the door, joining Rickel and Blaz as guards.
After closing the door behind her, the sorceress and Regent wandered through the dusty workrooms, then through the larger room where Brill's players had practiced, and where hers would later.After checking the last of the three workshop rooms, she stopped by the pool in the scrying room, pondering. It's been long enough... do you dare? Besides, when and where else can you try? She nodded and took out the lutar, beginning her vocalises, as she tuned the instrument. When she was ready, she faced the pool, not that she needed it, and sang the simple spell.
Bring to me the letter I desire, from my daughter, safe from fire across the void from Earth to here, let all words from her appear....
A column of flame exploded beside the scrying pool, forcing Anna to lurch backward-then died abruptly, leaving a steaming oblong lump of blackened matter on the stones beside the pool. Her eyes went to the object. She swallowed.
”s.h.i.+t...” Then, as she continued to study the object, she smiled, realizing that the black was a heavy black fabric. Once the steaming subsided, she set aside the lutar, laying it on the small worktable behind her, and bent down.
Her fingers brushed the heavy cloth-almost like a stage curtain.
Within the crude bag was an envelope of some sort of synthetic material, and within that were two envelopes. The first contained a small pencil sketch of Elizabetta, and the second a thick letter. Anna looked at the sketch for a long time before she opened the letter and began to read.
Mom- Your letter arrived. It just popped into the pa.s.senger seat of my car. The outer envelope was pretty charred, and there's a brown spot on the upholstery now, and it reminds me of you. I'm leaving this under the stairs like you said, but I found pieces of an old stage curtain, lined with asbestos or something, in the back rooms at PSC. One of my friends goes there, and I made a pouch out of it for this. I hope it works.
The sketch is because I don't know if a modem picture would get there. The sketch of you got here, so I was pretty sure this would. Cortland was happy to do it, and I didn't tell him why.
Anna took a deep breath, looking at the black blot of soot on the stone floor.
She turned to the careful script and kept reading.
I decided not to show Dad the coins. Mr. Asteni paid me by their weight, cause he says there isn't any speculative market for private mint coins. He thinks they were minted by those creative anachronism folks, and I'll bet he's keeping a few for himself. I told Mario you'd left money hidden in the jewelry case I brought back from Ames, and I just found it. I tried to give him half that way, but he wouldn't take it. He said he had a job, and I'd need the money more.
I'm headed back to school. Because you're ”missing”-and Dad thinks you're dead because even he admits you would stay in touch, that means you're presumed to be dead. The insurance people said it could be years, but the school gave me full tuition and room and board. So don't worry about that.
You can't be dead. Ghosts don't send messages on real parchment or whatever it is, and funny gold coins. Especially not coins worth that much. I worry about you, and I was really glad to get your last letter. When I come back to the lake house for Christmas, if this one is gone, I'll leave another letter there, and I hope you can use your sorcery or whatever to pick it up. It sure is weird to write each other this way, but it helps to know you're all right somewhere. It'dbe really hard if you had just vanished into nowhere. I don't know how people stand that.
By the way, my grades did go up second semester, and I made the honors list.
German was easier than I'd thought it would be, but I barely sc.r.a.ped out a B+ in theory. You said it would be hard, and it was. My voice teacher sounds like you, always talking about keeping the sound free....
The police in Iowa haven't closed the case, but they're not actively investigating anymore. I think they think you just adopted a new ident.i.ty. You did, but not the way they think...
Anna blotted her eyes, and cleared her throat, then blotted once more. She had trouble swallowing, but she looked back at the letter, reading quickly, almost as if she were afraid it would turn to dust in her hands... or disappear.
...still hard to think of a world or a place like you describe. Somehow, I can see you running things, though. You neyer got a chance here, not taking care of us, and always being there and picking up all the messes...
Anna had to set the letter down...letting the sobs come.
After another interval, she sniffed, blotted her eyes once more, and continued reading the rest of the long and chatty letter, collapsing into sobs with the closing lines.
...Wherever you are, even if you can't ever write again, I love you.
A good half-gla.s.s or more pa.s.sed before Anna was ready to tackle scrying again.
She'd also finished off most of the water in the bottle she'd brought out to the domed building.
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