Part 19 (1/2)
”How long is it going to take you two to understand that the days of your being served are over?” he demanded, looking back and forth between them. ”No one cares whether or not you feel insulted, and no one is going to fetch and carry for you. This food is meant for everyone, but we'll all be helping ourselves. If you feel it's beneath you to do the same you can go hungry.”
They stared at Fearin with identical pouts and expressions of hatred, then tossed their heads and turned back to the coach. They seemed to have decided to punish us by starving themselves, which wasn't exactly a crus.h.i.+ng surprise.
”I don't believe that,” Ijarin muttered as I took a plate and began to fill it, showing that not everyone was unsurprised. ”They didn't even ask why things were supposed to be different now, they simply rejected the entire concept. That isn't a normal reaction no matter how you look at it.”
”In their frame of reference it's perfectly normal,” I reminded him, uninterested in going into details again. ”Keep demanding and you'll get what you want, just the way you always have.”
Ijarin made no answer to that, which let me appreciate the peace and quiet - for all of another handful of ticks.
”... miserable spoiled brats,” Fearin muttered angrily as he came up behind us, and then his voice suddenly strengthened. ”And as for you, I refuse to take any more of your nonsense. As soon as the army is out of the Valley of Twilight you and I are going to have that talk. If you don't like the idea, too bad.”
And then he stomped away, probably to find some poisonous reptile to bite the head from.
Personally I just kept filling my plate, wondering how he had the nerve to call someone else a brat.
”You still refuse to hear him,” Ijarin noted after a moment, a sigh behind the words. ”Are you really going to force him to hurt you before you'll listen?”
The question wasn't one that deserved an answer, so I didn't bother supplying one. My plate was already as full as I wanted it to be, which meant I was able to turn away and go looking for a private place to eat. I found one not far away and folded to the ground, then applied myself to the meal. Fearin wasn't a topic I meant to discuss until I figured out why Diin-tha apparently wanted me to hate him even more than I did. After what the G.o.d had already done to me I felt nothing of an urge to cooperate with his desires.
For once Ijarin seemed to understand that I wanted no one's company, so I finished my meal without being bothered. The others sat with Fearin as the man of Power spoke to them, probably about last minute instructions. When I was through eating I carried my almost-empty plate back to the table, then poured myself a cup of water. By the time I drained the cup we were ready to get moving again.
Talasin and Lokkel joined the closest guardsmen in watching us ride off, Talasin looking calm, Lokkel looking relieved. A clamor had started inside the coach as soon as it began to move, but no one paid any attention. The girls were undoubtedly outraged that no one seemed to be suffering because the two had refused to eat, and that made me curious. They weren't being taken with us for no reason, so why hadn't Fearin made them eat? Especially after what he'd said to the rest of us...
That was another question I couldn't answer, but in just a little while I found myself distracted from the annoyance of mysteries by the handful. The road we followed suddenly began to angle downward, and as soon as my mount crested the drop and began to move downward as well everything ... changed. The mid-afternoon light immediately dimmed to the point you find justbefore night settles in, but nothing around us could have accounted for the change. The trees weren't high or thick enough, and neither was the now-rising landscape. We should have had bright sunlight - but we didn't.
”So this is why they call it the Valley of Twilight,” Ijarin remarked from where he rode beside me again. ”I wonder if it stays like this even in the dark of night. It's the worst possible light to see things clearly in.”
”Worst possible for us, not for the ones who live here,” I pointed out. ”And they're already watching us. Can you tell?”
His head came up and he began to look around, but his senses weren't quite keen enough. He clearly couldn't detect the odd scent I'd picked up as soon as my horse had carried me into the twilight, which meant he couldn't use the scent to lead his gaze to the slim, flitting shadows moving almost silently to both sides of us. It looked like our arrival wasn't in the least unexpected, and a welcoming committee - of sorts - had been provided.
”I'm sure Fearin already knows, but I'll pa.s.s the word up to him anyway,” Ijarin said, finally giving up on trying to see what I had. ”Stay here and I'll be right back.”
He urged his horse a short distance ahead, to the place where one of Garam's special squad rode behind the coach, and then he spoke briefly to the man. His words were received with a curt nod, which meant Ijarin could slow his horse until I reached his position. The guardsman had moved to another of the squad in front of the coach, pa.s.sed on the message, and then waited to resume his position. The guardsman up front caught up with Garam, and Garam in turn spoke to Fearin.
”The High Master doesn't look particularly upset, so he must have known after all,” Ijarin remarked, then he turned his head toward me. ”And I really need to ask if you're feeling all right. You haven't insulted me since yesterday.”
”You make it too easy for it to be fun for very long,” I remarked back, keeping most of my attention on the beings hidden in the shadows all around us. ”Besides, this isn't the time for distractions of any kind, not even the verbal sort.”
”I appreciate the way you eased my worry so quickly, but you're right,” he said, the words very dry. ”We do need to be alert right now, so conversation can wait. But not forever. We have one war waiting for us on the other side of this valley. We really don't need two.”
He lapsed into silence after that, but there was no reason he shouldn't have. He'd already said a good part of what he'd wanted to, and now could wait until lecturing didn't put our safety at risk. Vast annoyance flashed through me, bringing me the urge to tell him again to mind his own business, but I swallowed the urge and let it slide away. Once we were out of this valley I'd find a way to rid myself of Ijarin and Fearin both, flamed if I wouldn't...
We rode on for a while with absolutely nothing happening, and I couldn't help but notice that our pace was more leisurely than hurried. Fearin seemed to be announcing that we had nothing to worry about, but I wasn't quite as certain. That odor I'd noticed at once had been slowly growing stronger, until now the air seemed drenched with it. The not-quite-dark but shadowy air was unconcerned and unchanging.
We finally seemed to get where we were going, which meant the coach began to slow because of Garam's upraised arm. The road we'd been traveling had leveled out some time back, and now there was a crossroads just ahead. On the near side of the crossroads to the left was what looked like a small house, and a being of some sort sat leaning partially out of the window. The being said something I couldn't hear, and Fearin held up a hand that seemed to be telling the being to wait. At that moment Garam rode up to me, looking the least bit anxious.
”Fearin needs you, girl,” the fighter said as softly as he ever spoke. ”He told me that sometimes these ... things speak in our own language but a lot of the time they pretend they don't understand a word of it. If that happened I was to come and get you, because now you're the only chance we have.”
Because of all the different languages I'd learned from the Inadni. There was no guarantee thelanguage being spoken here was one of them, but Fearin hadn't thought it necessary to ask me about it beforehand. I felt like snarling out my opinion of the man's intelligence, but instead just nodded curtly before letting my horse move forward. Words could be exchanged with Fearin later - a.s.suming we all lived through whatever came next.
Garam and Ijarin followed along behind me, but the closer I got to the small house the less aware of others I became. The being in the window was man-shaped in a general way, but most of the details about him were grotesque. His face was lumpy, his mouth showed fang-like teeth, his ears were filled with hair, and his body was uneven and bent. Too-light eyes watched my approach with interest, and then I saw a bit more of those sharp and jagged teeth.
”Well, now, this is more like it,” the being said as he looked me over carefully, the language he spoke one of the lost Khotian dialects. ”What a shame you won't understand me either, sweetheart. I know you'll be delicious, but I would have preferred to appreciate you in another way entirely.”
”Be glad you aren't in a position to try either way,” I told him coldly in the same language, getting a good deal of satisfaction from his immediate startlement. ”We're not here to be appreciated but to offer your king something he wants. Are you able to arrange a meeting with him, or do we have to play another game first?”
”Where did you learn that language?” the being demanded, this time speaking Rhovari. ”I have it on good authority that no one speaks it beyond our borders!”
”No one does,” I agreed, also switching to Rhovari. ”And the same goes for this tongue. It must be your imagination that you're hearing me speak them. Are you going to arrange that meeting, or does our High Master get to see just how good his talent is?”
”All right, all right, don't be so impatient,” the being grumbled after glancing at Fearin. ”The man fairly reeks of the Power, not to mention the fact that you were able to start the d.i.c.ker. I'll get word to the king and he won't keep you waiting long.”
”What did he say?” Fearin asked when the being leaned back from the window and began to speak to someone out of sight. ”Tell me what's happening.”
”He's sending for his king because I was able to start the 'd.i.c.ker,'” I responded without turning to look at the man. ”How lucky for everyone here that I was able to understand him.”
”Luck had nothing to do with it, so don't you dare try to scold me,” Fearin came back, sounding almost as annoyed as I usually felt. ”I mentioned the point when it came up, and was a.s.sured that these people spoke no language you didn't know - even if you usually turned deaf to this language. Since the last of the comment was so true, I had no trouble believing the first of it.”
He seemed about to add something else, but then swallowed down the words. He must have realized that this wasn't the time or place, but I'd realized something as well. What he'd said about me turning deaf to the language he and I used... He'd been told that by Diin-tha, and the comment was too inflammatory to be innocent. What in the name of all creation could the G.o.d be up to?
”All right, now that word has been sent, our king will be here in just a short while,” the being in the window said with another toothy smile as he turned back to us. ”The wait won't be long, but you'll find it easier to endure with refreshments in hand. I've already sent for those as well, so - ”.
”Is that your idea of behaving in an honorable way?” I demanded, taking a small part of my ...
displeasure with Diin-tha out on the being. ”Telling people they've followed your rules and then offering them something you know they can't accept and remain safe? Do you also wait until they're sound asleep before sneaking up in attack?”
It was very difficult to tell in that light, but the being's too-pale complexion seemed to darken a bit while its gaze no longer met mine. There was also the sound of shuffling behind it, as though others moved about in discomfort.
”You don't understand,” the being said after a tick, something of the same discomfort in its tone. ”If someone is foolish enough to do something stupid, there's no reason we can't takeadvantage of it. This is our valley, after all, and you weren't invited to come here. Since you came anyway, you deserve whatever happens to you.”
”What a poor excuse of a code to live by,” I said coldly, ignoring the self-justification the being had tried to put forward. ”If people come to do you harm you have every right to do the same to them. But to do it first, before finding out their motives for certain? You aren't being protective of your valley, you're hiding from the world. And doing yourselves out of whatever pleasure honest trade would bring you. I'd be disgusted if I didn't feel so sorry for you.”
For the second time the being wasn't looking directly at me, but this time it didn't seem to have anything to say. That, however, didn't mean there was silence.
”Would you mind translating what's being said to you?” Fearin put in, his tone now faintly impatient. ”Just to keep me from feeling entirely useless, you understand. And when they get around to offering us food or drink, let me know at once. I know the way to refuse diplomatically.”
”They've already offered and I've already refused,” I told the man, still not looking at him.
”Since they aren't insisting, I'd say my response was diplomatic enough to do the job.”
”I just realized I know something,” Ranander offered before Fearin could add to what he'd said. Ranander had been riding with the forward coach guardsmen, but now had moved up to join the rest of us. ”I know why these people keep changing languages.”
”And why is that?” Garam finally asked when Fearin didn't. ”I could tell they s.h.i.+fted from one to another at the beginning there, but I couldn't understand a word of any of it.”
”The s.h.i.+fting isn't their choice,” Ranander replied, sounding sad. ”I asked myself why they would choose to speak in a way that no one else understood, and that's when I knew the choice wasn't theirs. They're forced to go through a ... cycle of languages, I guess you would call it, and what they speak depends on what part of the cycle they're up to.”