Part 14 (2/2)
Fearin went on to talk about supplies, and marching formations, and sentry arrangements, and the distribution of more of the gold. A bonus would be paid the guardsmen after they were told about the Valley of Twilight, a large enough amount to be impressive, but not so much that men would be tempted to take the gold and disappear. Fearin wanted the men eager for the next bonus, which would come once they marched out of the Valley again.
Garam tried twice to find out what we had that could be traded for safe pa.s.sage, but when Fearin ignored the delicate questioning he gave it up. Going through the Valley instead of around it would save us more than a full moon of travel, and would bring us to our destination long before we could reasonably be expected to arrive. No one needed Garam to point out how strategically useful that would be, so even if it cost most of the gold and silver we'd acc.u.mulated the edge would be more than worth it.
We worked our way through a lot of food and planning, me doing no more than listening and eating, and finally the talk died down. There would need to be more discussion during the following days, but for right now they'd gone as far as they could.
”So I tell them during the midday stop tomorrow,” Talasin said with a final, distracted nod. ”If I make the speech short and the groups large, it shouldn't take forever to get to all of them.
The ones who have questions will be invited to see me in night camp, when I'll be able to go into more detail.”
”With all of them being told at the same time, the rumors will hopefully be at a minimum,”
Garam fretted, rubbing at his face. ”If we can keep them until the next dawn, we won't have to worry about desertions.”
”Don't forget to keep mentioning how Powerful I am,” Fearin said, sounding as though he were talking about someone else entirely. ”Stress the fact that I won't have any trouble arranging our safe pa.s.sage, hint at what might happen to those in the Valley if they even think about refusing me, and remind the men they won't be going in until the deal is done. What you won't put into words is what I might do to any guardsman who deserts his post to run.”
”After what you did with the city, they don't need it put into words,” Garam said with a sound of amus.e.m.e.nt, Talasin smiling and nodding in agreement. ”They also know what you did to those five who tried to take the plunder wagons and sneak off. I saw seasoned veterans shudder when they heard, which means the point was well made.”
”And if I'm going to be making my own points tomorrow, I'd better get some sleep,” Talasin concluded, beginning to rise to his feet. ”Men have trouble putting their faith in you when you stand there yawning in their faces.”
”Just to be on the safe side I'll get my own men ready for possible trouble,” Garam said, also climbing to his feet. ”They'll be useless if the entire army panics, but if it's just individuals hereand there they can stop the panic before it spreads.”
”We'll all do best with a good night's sleep behind us,” Fearin agreed, leaning down to a cus.h.i.+on with his cup of wine rather than rising. ”We'll meet again tomorrow in night camp, when we'll know better how things are going.”
Lokkel and Ranander also stood, but the Healing Master stopped near Fearin to ask a question. I was able to see that much before my range of vision was blocked - by a pleasantly smiling Ranander.
”I'll walk you back to your tent, Aelana,” he said, extending a hand to help me up. ”I've been doing some thinking, and I have a couple of suggestions for you to consider. If you don't like them, we can talk about how they need to be changed so you do. I'm willing to be reasonable.”
His smile widened to a grin, and he didn't seem to mind that I hadn't taken the hand he'd offered. I'd thought I'd done a fairly good job discouraging him, but suddenly he was acting more self-a.s.sured than discouraged. That added itself to the rest of the confusion I'd been feeling lately, and I couldn't think of anything to say in answer. Before the situation became awkward, though, Fearin handled it for me.
”Ranander, Aelana won't be going back to her tent just yet,” he said, surprising me, at least, by having heard our conversation rather than being in the midst of his own. ”She and I still have a Silence Challenge to talk about, not to mention a few other subjects, like a tendency to disappear without a word to anyone. I'm afraid you'll just have to wait your turn.”
”You won't be too hard on her, will you, Fearin?” Ranander turned to ask, suddenly concerned.
”Prince Ijarin was bothering her, and he isn't even her friend. And I'm sure she'll be willing to promise not to disappear again. She just didn't understand how worried everyone would be.”
”I'll be as hard on her as I would be on any of the rest of you,” Fearin answered, standing to face the other man more directly. ”You're not suggesting I treat her as anything other than a full member of our group, are you? That would be very unfair, since a full member is exactly what she is.”
”Oh, I know that,” Ranander agreed immediately. ”But she's also special, Fearin, really special, and you should all be telling her how much you admire her. None of you has ever before met someone like her.”
”We know,” Fearin answered with a quiet smile, coming over to put a hand to the other man's shoulder. ”We all do admire her, but we're not very used to saying the words. I suppose that means you'll have to say them for us. You don't mind, do you?”
”Of course not,” Ranander said with a wide grin. ”I have lots of words, and I'll give them to her later. I'll see you later, Aelana.”
I was standing by then, so all I did was nod as he marched happily past me and out of the tent.
Once he was gone I sighed, and then was surprised to find I wasn't the only one doing it.
”Poor Ranander,” Talasin said low. ”He really has it bad. I'm afraid you're in for some bother, Aelana.”
”She can handle it,” Garam said just as low, but with complete a.s.surance. ”After a while he'll get the message, and if he doesn't she can always ask us to talk to him. Fearin would be better still, but Fearin needs his full cooperation. The rest of us will just have to take care of it.”
As they pa.s.sed, Garam gave my backside a gentle, encouraging smack, and then the two of them were gone. Lokkel paused to pat my shoulder and say, ”Patience, child. It will all work out,” and then he, too, was gone. I turned around to find Fearin looking at me with faint amus.e.m.e.nt, and that was almost too much.
”How does it feel to have that ardent an admirer?” he asked, showing the talent most men have that makes a bad situation worse. ”If I'd said I was going to punish you, I think Ranander would have volunteered to take the punishment for you.”
”I hadn't realized you considered him your type,” I answered with a shrug, goaded into the comment by all that amus.e.m.e.nt. ”Now that I know, I'm sure we'll be able to work something out. There's no sense in having my own tent if I'll never get to sleep in it.”At first he didn't understand what I was talking about, but then the confusion left him along with the amus.e.m.e.nt.
”You're trying to suggest that my lovemaking is punishment,” he stated, a dark look in his blue eyes, and then the look lightened a little. ”Isn't it strange that I never noticed you suffering. If someone had asked me, I would have sworn you'd enjoyed yourself.”
”Don't all men think that?” I asked with another shrug, turning toward the food table to get rid of my empty plate. ”Ranander has been telling me I'll enjoy myself with him since the first day we met. Maybe I ought to try him, just to see if he's telling the truth. And, incidentally, to finally get rid of him.”
”You'll have to learn there's a difference between opinion and actuality,” Fearin returned dryly from behind me. ”Ranander was expressing opinion, his own, actually, and your indulging him is no guarantee he would lose his infatuation. Speaking from my own personal experience, he would probably come back for more.”
”Because he's bored with the camp women,” I said with a nod, beginning to feel depressed.
”As long as I'm the only other available female, I'll be better than them even if I'm not. Has anyone ever mentioned before how strange you men are?”
”The only ones who mention that are people looking for a fight,” he answered. ”Or women looking to avoid a different fight. Are the others right? Is Prince Ijarin trying to get you into his bed?”
”The others have to be suffering from the same disease Ranander is,” I said with a sigh. ”Or that all of you are. Ijarin thinks they're interested in me, they think he is, and you're all out of your minds. I'm not of interest to anyone but our Guardian, and his interest doesn't include a bed.”
”Don't be so sure,” was the murmured response from right behind me, and then two hands were turning me to face him. ”G.o.ds are notorious for their appet.i.tes, almost as notorious as mortal men. I know you don't yet understand how that works, so let me put it as plainly as possible. If Prince Ijarin announces his interest, I want you to refuse him. If he continues to press you, refer him to me. Do you understand?”
I smiled very faintly as I nodded, understanding perfectly. Fearin didn't want anyone interrupting his pleasure, but he also didn't want to lose Ijarin. If it became necessary he would use diplomacy, and everything would be smoothed over.
”Good,” Fearin said with a nod of his own, a smile accompanying the hand touching my face.
”That means there's no more need for Silence Challenges or anything like it. Be polite to him, but not overly friendly. I'm the one I want you to be friendly to.”
He grinned at that and tapped my nose with one finger, then turned and strode over to retrieve his wine cup. Once he had it he went toward the table holding the wine, the energy fairly crackling out of him.
”Where do you get the strength to keep going like that?” I couldn't help asking, remembering how much slower the others had been moving. ”After all the Power you used today, you should be completely drained.”
”Why?” he countered, glancing at me briefly over his shoulder. ”The Power doesn't come from me, all I do is use it. Didn't you know that?”
As a matter of fact I hadn't known that, and he must have seen the answer in my expression when he turned back with his wine cup refilled.
”Look, it's very simple,” he said, pausing only for a small sip. ”The Power is there for anyone with the knowledge to use it, but gaining the knowledge isn't easy. It takes seasons and seasons before you learn enough even to begin, and then you face the most difficult part of all: the handling of the Power. Anyone with enough knowledge can handle the Power, but surviving it isn't that simple.”
”Power can hurt the one using it as well as the one on the receiving end?” I said, my brows raised high. ”I've never heard that before, at least not put exactly that way.””I know,” he agreed with something of a grin. ”What's usually told outsiders is that we're the dangerous ones, that the Power does everything we tell it to. That may be true of those who develop the skill of handling, but until they do get that far they're much more dangerous to themselves.”
”Why?” I asked, trying to understand what he was telling me. ”Once you have the knowledge to control Power, you should be able to do anything you like - including keeping yourself safe.”
”Only if you really understand what it means to handle Power,” he corrected. ”Power doesn't come from the user, but it does have to be channeled through him. He gathers the Power and then casts it in the direction he wants it to go, but it has to be the right amount. If he gathers more than his body can stand having channeled through it, he'll do more damage to himself than to whatever his target is.”
”But - that doesn't make any sense,” I protested, suddenly remembering all the things he'd done. ”You can't be risking yourself every time you do more than you did the last time, it would be like running blind. No one would take the risk to be really Powerful.”
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