Return To The Whorl Part 43

You said, "He told me he'd adopted a boy shortly after he and Sinew left, but the boy was killed on Green."

"Krait was one of us."

You stared at her, and I said, "She is an inhuma."

Jahlee was struggling for breath, and after a minute or two Maytera whispered, "I don't think she'll talk any more."

You were still holding Jahlee, but you were staring at me. "You brought an inhuma here? You couldn't have!"

"I thought she would do no harm." It was hard to meet your eyes, but I met them. "Krait and I . . ." I could not explain, although I have tried to in another book, saying in cold, black words how much we hated each other, and how much we meant to each other.

It was as if a corpse spoke from the coffin. "Krait was my son. And Sinew's. You guessed, didn't you, Rajan?"

I nodded. "You knew too much about it, my daughter. And you were too concerned to learn more."

"You think we don't care. . . ."

"About your children?" I started to deny it, then realized that I have always a.s.sumed they did not.

"You do, so we must."

There was a silence. I felt certain she would not speak again. Her face was the color of chalk beneath the tinted creams and powders and rouge.

You asked, "What did she mean?" and I answered, "To pa.s.s among us, they imitate us--even our emotions. Most of their sp.a.w.n are eaten by fish while they are still very young."

"Rani?" Jahlee gasped. And again, "Rani?"

Maytera told you, "She means, you I think."

You said, "She tried to kill me. I don't want to talk to her." Yet you held her still.

Something like a smile touched Jahlee's lips. "He had so many, Rani, in Gaon. I couldn't kill them all. Lean closer."

As if compelled, you did.

"Without blood, our children have no minds."

I shouted, "Don't!" "Don't!"

"Closer, Rani. It's a great secret."

"You're betraying your own kind," I told her.

"I hate my kind. Listen, please, Rani."

"Yes," you whispered. "I hear you."

Maytera touched my hand, and I knew her gesture meant, So do So do I I; but I did not send her away.

"We take their minds from your blood. Their minds are yours. Here, long ago, I drank the blood of your small son. Krait was my son, the only one who lived with the mind it took from yours."

She gasped, and when she spoke again I could scarcely hear her, although I bent as close as you did. "Without you, we are only animals. Animals that fly, and drink blood by night."

Then she died, and you, Nettle, will die too, if the inhumi learn what you have learned from her. Indeed, you may die anyway if they learn I am here; they will surely a.s.sume I have told you.

I should not have come back.

[This is the end of the record that he wrote for our mother in his own hand.]

16.

HARI M MAU.

T he Prolocutor's prothonotary entered, bowed obsequiously, and handed the Prolocutor a folded paper. When he had gone, that small and pudgy worthy said, "I he Prolocutor's prothonotary entered, bowed obsequiously, and handed the Prolocutor a folded paper. When he had gone, that small and pudgy worthy said, "I implore implore your your pardon. pardon. In In all all probability it is a probability it is a matter matter of no importance of no importance whatsoever. whatsoever."

The white-haired man he addressed smiled and nodded. "I am flattered Your Cognizance has so much confidence in me."

"Good Silk!" Oreb a.s.sured His Cognizance.

"It is not misplaced, misplaced, I feel I feel certain. certain." He opened the note, read it, glanced gravely at his visitor, and read it again.

"You needn't confide in me, of course. I realize--"

The Prolocutor had raised a plump hand to silence him. "It concerns yourself. yourself. I will not conceal I will not conceal that that from you. I ask you now, from you. I ask you now, openly openly and and forthrightly, forthrightly, whether you repose whether you repose trust trust in in my judgment my judgment and and discretion. discretion."

"Much more than in my own, Your Cognizance."

"Then I tell tell you you now now that this that this missive missive concerns concerns you, you, but I but I dare not dare not let you let you peruse peruse it. Its it. Its substance substance I shall I shall impart impart when I deem it when I deem it appropriate. appropriate. You will You will willingly willingly a.s.sist me?" a.s.sist me?"

"Very willingly, Your Cognizance."

"Exemplary." The Prolocutor looked toward a flower-decked porcelain clock. " The Prolocutor looked toward a flower-decked porcelain clock. "Less than an than an hour hour remains, and we shall remains, and we shall each each desire to spend desire to spend precious moments precious moments in in private prayer. private prayer. Let Let me me be be succinct. succinct."

"Please do, Your Cognizance."

"First, I shall make I shall make you you do all the do all the work, work, though though I myself I myself shall read the shall read the victims. victims. Prepare yourself to Prepare yourself to address address the the devoted supplicants devoted supplicants of the of the immortal G.o.ds. immortal G.o.ds."

The white-haired man nodded.

"Second, I must I must warn warn you that there are in you that there are in this city this city certain certain strangers strangers who are said to who are said to purpose purpose to carry you to carry you off off to to Blue. Blue. I sent my I sent my coadjutor coadjutor to you last night, to to you last night, to forewarn forewarn you concerning these you concerning these outsiders. outsiders. He He miscarried, miscarried, but--why are you looking like that?" but--why are you looking like that?"

"No cut!"

"It's nothing, Your Cognizance," the white-haired man said. "Please continue."

"I was about about to say that our to say that our solemn sacrifice solemn sacrifice may afford may afford them them an incomparable an incomparable opportunity. You, opportunity. You, more than more than plausibly, plausibly, are are unaccustomed unaccustomed to to inserting oneself inserting oneself into the into the devious schemes devious schemes of the of the ill intentioned. ill intentioned. I I invite invite you to you to believe believe it is quite it is quite otherwise otherwise with with me. me. If it were If it were my my intent to intent to thus abscond thus abscond with you, I should consider the above-designated with you, I should consider the above-designated solemn sacrifice solemn sacrifice a a golden golden opportunity." opportunity."

"I'll be careful, Your Cognizance."

"Do so." The Prolocutor looked dubious. "You are of an The Prolocutor looked dubious. "You are of an adventurous adventurous and and mettlesome mettlesome disposition. disposition. Inculcate Inculcate the innocence of the the innocence of the dove dove and the and the prudence prudence of the of the turtle. turtle. You may need You may need both. both."

"I'll strive to, Your Cognizance."

"I hope hope you you do. do." The Prolocutor glanced at his clock again. "Lastly, that that communication. communication. General General Mint Mint desires to speak with desires to speak with you. you. You need fear no You need fear no bootless bootless delay. She is delay. She is here here in in my my Palace." Palace."

He was taken to a small but richly appointed room on the same floor by the prothonotary; a somber-faced Mint waited by the window, small hands clutching the armrests of her chair.

He bowed, Oreb fluttering on his shoulder. "This is a great honor, General. Can I be of help to you?"

She nodded and managed to smile. "Shut the door, please. We haven't time for propriety."

He did.

"The butchers may be listening, so keep your voice low." She glanced about her. "They may even be watching, but there's not much we can do about it. Sit close beside me, so that you can hear me and I can hear you. This . . ."

He waited.

"This is something I've wanted to do for a long time. And I'm going to do it right now. My husband--well, never mind. You're not Silk. We settled that."

"I hope so," he said.

"So I want to tell you something about him. That little augur kept telling me you were going to sacrifice at three. A grand affair, he said, and he wanted me to come."

"So do I."

Her eyes widened. "Do you really? Then perhaps I will. But I must tell you first." Her voice, already low, fell until it was scarcely audible. "And give you something."

He waited.

"Echidna ordered me to command the rebellion against the Ayuntamiento, I suppose because I could ride. Anyway, I did. There was a man there who had a wonderful horse, a big white stallion, and he let me have it. I jumped onto its back. In those days I could do such things."

"I remember."

"Thank you. I'm glad of that. I jumped onto its back, and it reared. I suppose that without a saddle it hadn't been expecting to be ridden. As it reared, Silk threw me his azoth." She paused. "You may have heard. It was one of the most famous incidents of the war."

"I have," he told her. "I've even written about it."

"Good, I'd like to read it sometime. I didn't stop to ask myself where Silk had gotten such a thing. I simply used it."

She reached under the shawl on her lap. "Later I learned that his wife had given it to him. Hyacinth, I mean, that woman who became his wife not long afterward. I would like to think it may have been because of the azoth."

He nodded.

Her pinched face was paler and more serious than ever; and he sensed, belatedly, that she was in pain. "That woman made him promise to, in return for the azoth. It must have been like that. He would've kept the promise and the secret. It was how he was."

"I know."

"Do you also know that I still have it? The great, the famous weapon from the Short Sun Whorl? I do."

He watched her in silence, praying for her in his heart.

"Aren't you going to ask what good an azoth is to a crippled woman in a wheelchair? Go ahead. I'm inviting the question."

He shook his head. "Legs are for running away."

She considered, her head c.o.c.ked to one side. "Sometimes. Sometimes running away is the wisest thing one can do."

"You're right, I'm sure."

"I used to run away from you. From Silk, I mean. Not because I was afraid of Silk, but because I was afraid of humiliation. That was foolish."

He nodded. "Humiliation is a gift from the Outsider, I'm quite certain."

"Really? Now you sound like Silk."

Oreb croaked, "Good Silk," and stirred upon his shoulder.

He said, "I'm flattered. If that's the sort of thing Silk says, we need him badly."

"Man come!"

"I was going to say that all humiliation comes down to exclusion. The humiliated person feels himself or herself no longer a member of the group--or at least, no longer a member in good standing. As he leaves the group, he approaches the Outsider, the G.o.d the G.o.ds have cast aside."

There was a perfunctory tap at the door, which opened at once. The prothonotary said, "You must be in the Grand Manteion in fifteen minutes."

"I'll do my best."

Mint motioned for the prothonotary to close the door, and he did. "We haven't long," she said, "or I'd ask you about that. There isn't time. You're in danger. My husband told you."

"There are strangers--His Cognizance calls them outsiders, which maybe significant--here looking for Silk. Is that what you mean?"

She nodded, and the hand that had been concealed by her shawl emerged holding an azoth with a watery, somewhat purplish stone in its hilt and a bloodstone near the guard. For a moment she seemed reluctant to surrender it.

Oreb whistled, adding, "Bad thing!"

"It's a dangerous thing, certainly. It's also a valuable thing. You could sell it for a great deal of money, General."

"I could, if it were mine to sell." She sighed. "It isn't. You would have made this much easier for me, Horn, if you had asked the question. I was going to say that though such a woman could not use an azoth, she might still have the pleasure of giving it to someone who had need of it. That pleasure is mine, and I claim it. Take it, please."