Part 19 (2/2)
”So it isn't completely a game, but they decided to make it into one,” Ijarin said with a nod of understanding. ”It was probably done by whoever or whatever made this valley be the way it is, but I wonder why it was done. Did these people earn being treated like this, or are they victims?”
”Definitely victims,” Ranander said, his tone now positive. ”Someone probably didn't like the way they looked, so they were hidden away here. And forced to stay because of that cycle thing.”
”They should have looked for a way around the restriction,” Ijarin said with a headshake.
”Getting even with whoever came by probably made them feel better to begin with, but then they should have realized they were only hurting themselves more. Not to mention the fact that they were only getting even with innocents, not the one who did this to them. I wonder if it's too late to point that out?”
I had the feeling that Ijarin's question was meant for me, but since it wasn't put directly I made no attempt to answer. I'd noticed the way Fearin sat his horse apart from the rest of us, a hidden tension in the supposedly relaxed posture he'd adopted. The High Master was usually in the middle of everything, handing out orders - and bothering me. Rather than feeling relief at his absence I felt suspicious, even though I didn't know precisely why...
The conversation lagged after that, but the being hadn't lied when it had said we would not have long to wait. In an unexpectedly short amount of time we heard the sound of hoofbeats, and a group of riders appeared out of the gloom. Their king had undoubtedly been told about our presence since the moment we'd entered the valley, so I decided his speedy arrival really wasn't much of a surprise. He probably wanted to be on hand no matter whether we lived or died.
Well, it looked like the time had come for one or the other thing to happen...
Chapter 19
King Sallain of the Valley of Twilight came well attended to meet us. There were at least fifty riders with him, and as they got closer it was possible to see through the almost-night dimness that most of them were dressed as guardsmen. Rings of steel protected their boiled leather just as it did for our own guardsmen, and even the king wore the same. This was not your average, stay-at-home king, then...
”There's something wrong with the way he looks, but I can't put my finger on what,” Ijarin murmured from beside me, his stare caught by the approaching monarch. ”Maybe it's this less-than-light distorting his features... ”
I didn't say so out loud, but it wasn't the light that was distorting King Sallain's face. At first glance he looked like any other man, but a second, longer inspection showed that every part of his face was ... skewed just a little. At one time his dark hair and brown eyes might have been part of a very handsome, tall, and broad-shouldered man, but now it was more than a little disquieting to look at him. All but five of his followers stopped a short distance away while the king led those five closer to us.
”Welcome to the Valley of Twilight,” he said in a deep voice in our language as he stopped his horse just a few feet away. ”Not many of our visitors actually ask to see me, and I must say I'm terribly flattered. Are you pleased now that your request has been granted?”
Sallain hadn't missed the fact that our guardsmen - and Garam and well - weren't able to look directly at him, and the bitterness in his voice sounded more than tired. I could hear a hint of the emotion that often causes people to cry with the pain they feel, hopeless sobs wracking their bodies. I would have bet gold that Sallain was no stranger to that kind of crying, and the fury that sometimes came after it as well. Ijarin was clearly forcing himself to look at the man, and so was Fearin. But Fearin was doing a better job of it, so I moved my horse beside his to confirm an idea that had just come to me.
”Your Majesty, thank you for meeting with us,” Fearin said with something of a bow from his saddle. ”I have a very intrusive request, but I'm prepared to offer my thanks in advance. I have a gift that will hopefully please you.”
”The only gift that would really please me is beyond mortal man to offer,” Sallain replied, then his gaze moved to me. ”Haven't you looked your fill yet, girl? Or are you having trouble tearing your gaze away from the most horrible sight you've ever had the misfortune to come across?”
”Hardly the most horrible sight I've ever come across,” I answered with a faint sound of ridicule. ”And speaking about sights, haven't you ever been told that you're the one causing most of that distortion? If you adjust your thoughts in the proper way you'll probably look whatever way you used to.”
”That's absurd,” Sallain growled, gesturing a dismissal of what I'd said. ”Do you really think I would look like this if it were my choice? I was also told in so many words that no mortal man would ever be able to help me rid myself of - of what's doing this. Do you expect lying to help your cause?”
”I don't have a cause, and what I expected to find was some small amount of intelligence,” I countered, more than annoyed by his att.i.tude. ”I know what you're doing because I was taught to do the same thing myself, and since you've obviously missed the point let me underscore it: I'm not any kind of man, mortal or otherwise. Or didn't that interpretation of what you were told ever occur to you?”
He opened his mouth to argue what I'd said, paused as he stared at me, then shook his head.
”It can't be that simple, it just can't be,” he muttered, still staring at me. ”But it would be just like her to... ” Then he pulled himself together and sat straighter on his horse. ”I apologize forthe boorishness of my previous speech, dear lady,” he said, and rather than sounding smarmy he sounded wearily sincere. ”I've lived with this ... punishment for a very long time, and I like to think I've learned my lesson - under most circ.u.mstances. And when the rage isn't on me.
Any advice you can give will be most gratefully accepted.”
I moved my horse to the left of his, and as I faced him I murmured the words he had to memorize. One of the Inadni had called the words a mantra, but it was the words themselves that were important rather than what they were called. Even I didn't know what language the words came from, but they weren't that difficult to memorize. Once Sallain had them down with the right p.r.o.nunciation I added the final instructions.
”First picture yourself the way you want to look, then p.r.o.nounce the words in your mind,” I said. ”After you've practiced for a time, the effort will come without ... effort. But keep practicing, or the words could slip away from you.”
”If this works I'll never let it slip away,” Sallain vowed, painful and fearful hope in his eyes.
”I've got to try it, to find out for certain... ”
And as I backed my horse to return to the place beside Fearin, Sallain made the effort to do as he'd been taught. It took quite a few ticks, but suddenly the distortion disappeared and his features cleared. He wasn't able to tell by himself, of course, but the exclamations coming from all around forced his eyes open.
”Is it done?” he demanded, looking all around. ”Have I actually - Does anyone have a mirror?”
Most people don't travel with mirrors, of course, but one of our guardsmen dug into one of the bags on the back of the coach and came up with a jeweled and gilded hand mirror. The man must have been one of those who'd packed up after the twin girls, and that's why he knew what was where. He brought the mirror to Sallain, who seemed to be bracing himself before taking the thing and looking into it.
”It is done,” Sallain breathed, staring at himself in a way that became pure delight. ”I'm not a monster any longer! This is incredible!”
He seemed to be ready to add even more delighted comments, but then he sobered and lowered the mirror.
”There aren't any words of thanks adequate for this gift, but I'm afraid it won't do,” he said to Fearin, and his sadness looked real. ”I'm required to demand a material gift for any ...
intrusive favors I grant, and the gift has to be for someone other than myself. I didn't make that rule so, much as I'd like to, I can't break it.”
”For a moment I had hope, but I wasn't counting on it,” Fearin responded with a sigh. ”The gift I have is material, and it isn't for you but for your sons. Does that qualify?”
”It would if it were something my sons could share equally,” Sallain answered, his expression having turned wry. ”Dorin and Korin don't like to take turns using something, and they tend to covet each other's possessions. If your gift will set them at each other's throats, I'd really rather not have it offered.”
By then two of the men behind Sallain moved their horses up to bracket him, and the grins they showed were identical. There was no distortion in their faces and they looked very much like their handsome father, but they looked like each other even more. The two young men were twins, and that suddenly told me what gift Fearin was offering.
”Oh, you can't be serious,” I protested to Fearin, turning my head to look at the High Master.
”Even if these people were slavering monsters the offer would be cruel and unfair.”
”Kiri's comment refers to the ... nature of my gift,” Fearin admitted reluctantly to Sallain's questioning look, his glance at me more of a glare. ”You could say that a certain amount of ...
tolerance will be necessary if you accept what I offer, but aside from that... Suppose I show you what I mean.”
Fearin turned and gestured to the guardsmen around the coach, and one of them went to the coach door and opened it. When an offered hand produced no results, the guardsman reachedin and pulled out one of the girls, then half climbed into the coach to get the other. Their squawking outrage was more than just loud; I had the distinct impression that some of the silent shadows that had been sliding through the dimness between the trees of the forest actually flinched before disappearing.
”Silence!” Fearin shouted at the highly indignant pair, using lung power to get the quiet he wanted before he turned back to Sallain. ”King Sallain, allow me to present the princesses Liara and Piada, known familiarly to each other as Lia and Pia. They have no true place in the outer world as even their father would prefer that they weren't returned to his court. If, however, your sons the princes approve... ”
Fearin let his words trail off as Dorin and Korin rode over to the girls and dismounted, their grins even wider now. The girls put their noses in the air and pretended that the two men weren't there, which brought the male twins to chuckling.
”It looks like you've actually found the ideal gift,” Sallain said as he watched his sons, his own amus.e.m.e.nt clear. ”Perfectly matched princesses, something I would have sworn wasn't possible. Exactly what favor were you after for this gift?”
”I need to bring my army through your valley,” Fearin answered without hesitation. ”Marching them through should take less than a day, and then we'll be out of your hair. You also have my word that none of them will try to interfere with your people in any way. If one or two of them should happen to try, their disposition will be yours.”
”With that qualification, your request isn't unreasonable,” Sallain said, relief now mixed into his amus.e.m.e.nt. ”I'm delighted to be able to accept your gift and grant your favor, but you'd do well to warn the men of your army. If the disposition of any of them falls to me, they'll certainly wish they'd never been born.”
”I'm certain they already know that, but I'll stress the point before we begin the march,”
Fearin promised, his own pleasure a bit less than Sallain's. ”If you'll excuse me now I'll get them moving, and then I'll be back to visit while they move through your domain.”
Fearin gestured to Garam, who in turn gestured to his special squad, and in no time they were all moving back the way we'd come. That left Ranander, Ijarin, and me, and the two men moved their horses over to mine.
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