Part 36 (1/2)

Payne stepped forward from another part of the crowd. ”I, Payne Aranur neBentar, ranked scout; first bar, general science; Ramaj Ariye and Ramaj Randonnen, witnessed the examination of the cage. I offer my corroboration of all that my sister has said.”

Hunter also stepped forward. ”I, Condari Rahnbada neKeatus Brithanas, First Son, of the First House Wyakit, also witnessed the examination of the cage. I offer my corroboration.”

Brean looked at Wakje. The ex-raider's gaze flickered, but he said curtly, ”It's as she said.”

Brean stifled his irritation. Like others of the Wolven Guard, Wakje consistently refused to identify himself when speaking to the council.

The Hafell let his gaze sweep the crowded circle. He could see the closer faces clearly, but many of those in the back were in shadow from the lanterns. He projected his voice harshly. ”Is there any among us who will admit to this action?”

No one moved.

Brean waited. Finally, he looked at the girl. Mian sucked in a breath and forced herself to stand. The Hafell's voice was flat. ”Mian maBrekiat, do you accept the judgment of the council and the reparation sentence for those who have been harmed?”

”Yes, Hafell,” she whispered.

Brean then looked across the circle to where the injured were present. ”Repa Ripping White.” He called the woman forward. She limped up to the front. ”You are among those injured in person and in goods.

You have the right of second verdict, if you so choose.”

The woman's face was badly swollen and bruised, and Mian had to force herself to face the wagon driver as the woman met her gaze. Repa's face was tight with anger, and her words slurred as she spoke around the swelling of her lips, but she nodded curtly to the girl as if in apology for what she had thought.

”I hold no grudge hand to the girl, but my pain and my anger have influenced my judgment. The wisdom of the elders will be greater than my own. If they are willing, I ask that they speak for me in this.”

Brean identified the next man. ”Bere Quiet, also known as Bere Verian and Bere Never Bet, you are among those injured in person and in goods. As the driver forchovas Ki, you have the right of second verdict, if you so choose, or of separate trial.”

Ki's driver stood stiffly. His ribs were bound tightly, making it difficult to bend, and his hands and arms were heavily bandaged, but his face was as expressionless as Repa's had been angry. His voice was so low as to be nearly a growl. ”I hold no grudge hand to the girl.”

”You will allow the council to speak for you in this matter?”

The man nodded.

Frekka Wrongway, Jeri Dancing Mad, One For Brandy, and each of the others whose cargo, wagons or dnu had been damaged rose when called and relinquished the verdict right. Cy Windytrack started relinquis.h.i.+ng his verdict rights against his daughter almost before Brean finished the question, as did the woman who spoke for Mian's injured mother.

Then it was Hunter's turn. An edge of distant formality entered Brean's voice as he called the Tamrani.

With his open collar, the blood marks on Hunter's neck stood out harshly. Mian couldn't hide the tremble in her hands when that last name was called. Tamrani were powerful, sometimes even more so than a county's Lloroi, and they had long memories. It was almost moot that this one was a First Son, and that he'd survived the tano's attack. Most Tamrani would consider it unforgivable either way, to have been set upon by some cozar's untamed pet.

Brean said to the Tamrani stiffly, ”You are among those injured in person and threatened with death, yet you have no ties to us. You have the right of second verdict, or of separate trial or of transport trial, if you so choose.”

Mian made a tiny sound.

Hunter looked at her directly. ”I do not require separate trial or transport trial. Your council may speak for me with regard to the girl.”

Brean hesitated, but nodded. He'd been fairly sure the Tamrani would not insist on a Sidisport trial, but like most Ariyens, he didn't quite trust them. With regard to the girl alone . . . Brean bit back the question and let it pa.s.s.

As Hunter stepped back, the Hafell looked at the eleven judges and finally nodded his permission. It was a large council, and a larger crowd. The damage and injuries had been extensive, and the men and women chosen to judge included almost every one of the train's highest-ranked elders, as well as the four borrowed from the other caravans who shared the circle. Now the first woman in the long line of elders leaned forward and used her middle finger to push the green stone forward. Green for punishment. Mian looked as if she would faint.

The second elder used his middle finger to push his green stone forward across the black line. None of them looked at each other. There was a hesitation before the last elder stretched out his gnarled finger.

Then he s.h.i.+fted and pushed the green stone forward as had all the others.

A long, low murmur ran through the crowd. The unanimous line of green was an unusual verdict. It was tradition for there to be one dissent when all other votes had gone one way. That dissent, token as it was, was the responsibility of the elder who had served the longest and whose duty it was to make sure all sides, even those that weren't known, were represented. The single black stone, the traditional dissent, represented the fallibility of man, and the possibility that the issue at hand could be revisited. By voting with the others, the elder was stating that there would be no revisiting of the issue, no matter what happened and what truths came to light in the future.

Mian stared at the line of green and began to breathe too quickly. Her father started to shove through the crowd. He barely subsided at a sharp look from the old Ell.

Brean stepped back and the center elder stood. The old woman waited a moment, but none of the other elders stood for discussion. The woman relaxed slightly. Especially with a unanimous vote, it was a sign of trust, that her wisdom was enough for them all. She had never confessed to anyone but her mate how nervous she was each time she stood alone. She could make a mistake. She might have missed something in someone's voice, an expression that would make a difference in her perception of truth, something someone else would have seen. And she knew Mian. She knew the girl could not have done something so deliberately careless as they had first thought. But as she looked at the girl and felt compa.s.sion uncurl in her chest, she squelched it sternly. It was not her job to soften the blow, but to make sure the blow was fair.

Her voice had grown frail in the last few years, and she gathered it carefully. ”Here is the judgment of the council,” she stated. ”Mian maBrekiat, you are not responsible for loosing the tano. The damages and injuries will not be held to your account. You are released from that burden. Be at peace. However-”

The elder paused, and her voice grew more serious. ”-you are responsible for bringing the tano among us. When evil arrived, in the form of this deliberate act, it had a weapon in its hands through you.” Mian's face was white as linen. The elder said quietly, ”This is the first responsibility in the chain, and that burden is yours alone. Are you prepared to render your punishment?”

The girl sucked in her breath three times before she choked out, ”Yes, Elder.”

”Then we will hear your amends.”

Mian looked at her father. Cy's hands clenched, but his daughter had reached the age of Choice last year, and it had been her choice to raise the exotics.

The girl tore her gaze from her father's taut face and forced herself to look back at the elder. ”I sh-should have the tano put down. I should not be allowed to take care of the other exotics until I am older. I should tend Repa and Bere and my mama, and the Tamrani and the others,” she added belatedly again, ”until they are healed. And I should take care of the wounded dnu. Then I should b-be b-banished after that until I'm old enough to be more responsible, so that my animals c-can't harm anyone again.”

The girl's voice broke at the end.

The elder waited for her to regain her control. ”We have heard you, Mian maBrekiat. We believe your punishment is too harsh.” An almost visible wave of relief washed through the cozar. The other elders nodded their agreement. ”The council renders these amends instead. You will purchase a new cage for the tano and give the old one to the Hafell for study. You will restructure your wagon to comply with the vestibule rule used by city vets, so that, if one of your animals is released from its cage, it will still be inside a holding area. You will spend an hour a day, at least three days a ninan, for the rest of this caravan season, with Healer Sastry. From him, you will learn to treat wounds made by venomous animals. After the season, you will continue this study with other healers in your family's town for a period not less than two years. You will also spend half a day with Black Wolf-” She glanced at Nori and got a nod. ”-learning to call a tano. And might I suggest,” she added more gently, ”if you intend to continue raising such creatures, you spend additional time with Black Wolf, Vindra Twitch-Whickers, and other callers learning to calm your other beasts.”

The elder waited several seconds, but none of the others stood up to add to her judgment. She nodded curtly. ”This is the judgment, Mian maBrekiat. Be at peace when it is done.”

Mian nodded numbly.

Ell Tai rose and patted the girl's hand. He raised his voice. ”The block is cleared, this Trial is done. Lay your comments in the fire.”

The crowd milled forward to the firepit, some speaking quietly into the flames as if to apologize to Mian for thinking the worst of her, some spitting the physical expression of their anger into the low blaze, and some saying nothing at all.

Cy Windy Track had barely held himself in check when Ell Tai closed the Trial. Now he shoved through the crowd and caught his daughter up closely. The girl was crying openly now. She wiped her face with her sleeve as her father took her away, and it made Nori's lips curl back. She didn't realize she was snarling as the Ell gestured, and two men started casting water on the fire. Sparks and smoke blasted up into the night sky, and the crowd murmured loudly. It was cathartic to the cozar, and they watched in satisfaction as the fire hissed and spat.

”Black Wolf?”

She whirled.

Brean stiffened.

”My apologies,” she managed. ”Hafell. Ell Tai.” She acknowledged the older man who leaned on his crutch beside Brean.

Brean said flatly, ”You will speak to Mian?”

It was not really a question. ”Aye, immediately.”

”And then you will speak with me.”

Nori gave him a sharp look. His light brown eyes were as angry as hers. She raised her chin. ”No, Hafell,” she said steadily. She watched his eyes widen. ”This is not cozar business.”