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however, was no more or less hard and embittered than it had ever been.
The councilor was escorted by a half-dozen black-dressed, gold-earringed
Paladinsùa rare sight these days, for most of the surviving true Paladins had
put on plain clothing and were commanding companies of Paladin irregulars, as
Emil had done for fifteen years.
Some of these who served Mabin were EmilÆs age, and they seemed to know of
NorinaÆs connection to him, for their inquiring glances asked questions about
him: What has become of our brother Paladin? Why will he not explain his
sudden
retirement? These sharp looks were puzzled, impatient, but not condemnatory.
Just as a TruthkenÆs duty was to judge, a PaladinÆs was to suspend judgment.
With Mabin avoiding putting herself in a position where she would have to
answer
questions, and with Emil maintaining a bland silence, the Paladins apparently
had simply suspended judgment of him, and of Mabin, for five years now.
It was a remarkable exercise of philosophy, Norina thought, and wondered
briefly
how this paralysis of silence might finally come to an end. Mabin was both an
air blood and a Paladin, a rare combination that condemned her to a life-long
duel between flexible ethics and rigid principles. The principles won, of
course, for oneÆs natural elemental logic would always prevail, and as a
result
Mabin was often in the exceptionally awkward position of having to ethically
justify acts that were grounded in unexamined prejudice. The Paladins in her
command certainly would not overlook such intellectual sloppiness. The pain of
a
steel spike in her heartùthat Mabin could bear with equanimity. But the
inability to explain how and why it had happened, that must have been almost
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beyond endurance.
Norina had stood silently without greeting Mabin for some time, and Mabin had
neither spoken nor dismounted. The exercise of politeness was an expression
of
status, after all, and Norina wanted to establish that she was not under
MabinÆs
command as badly as Mabin wished to establish that she was. Norina was about
to
turn her back and walk away, which certainly would force Mabin to accede,
when
Mabin said nastily, ôWell, Norina, everyone in the region could tell me where
to
find you. Though I suppose if I had asked the Sainnites in their garrison,
they
would have been surprised to learn that their region is ruled by a Truthken.ö
ôOh, no,ö Norina said. ôThe Sainnites have put a price upon my head, which
goes
up every year, much to everyoneÆs amusement.ö
Mabin dismounted stiffly. The farmers, who had gathered around with their
tools
in their hands, curtsied unnoticed. Their work-dirty children stared; only
the
chickens took no interest in the living legend that had trampled through
their
muddy farmyard. The family elders invited Mabin into the tea room.
Mabin greeted them, though Norina could see behind the gracious mask to the
councilorÆs resentment at having to waste her time and energy on people she
had
no use for. Mabin was too canny a campaigner to forget that when the
Sainnites
left the Paladins devastated, it had been the farmers who had taken up arms
and
given her an army to command. But when she was finished with courtesy, she
muttered, ôLittle do the farmers suspect that you should be as much an outlaw
to
them as you are to the Sainnites!ö
Norina found this comment no less entertaining for the fact that Mabin
apparently believed it true. However, MabinÆs truths were extraordinarily
difficult to read, for the disguises she cast over her secret motivations
were
several layers deep. So now, to keep testing her own judgment, Norina said,
ôShall we tell these farmers what happened four-and-a-half years ago, and let
them judge between us? I will admit that I violated a councilorÆs edictùnever
mind that a Truthken isnÆt much use if she canÆt challenge and refuse an
unlawful command. But you must admit in turn that you tried to murder the
vested
GÆdeon.ö
ôI acted for ShaftalÆs sake,ö said Mabin.
ôYou nearly killed Shaftal.ö
They were about to step through the commonhouse door. Mabin paused and looked
at
Norinaùa deliberate look, deliberately revealing, and no less surprising for
all
that. ôI tried to murder the vested GÆdeon,ö she said. She spoke as a
repentant
criminal, as sincerely as possible, considering that she was not actually
convinced of the wrongfulness of her actions.
Norina said, ôCouncilor, you cannot be hoping to deceive me. But you
certainly
are surprising me.ö
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An anxious child helped Mabin remove her boots and coat, and Norina showed
the
way to the tea room, which the family had spent two days cleaning. Now, the
new-painted walls glared with reflected sunlight, the rare old AshawalaÆi
rugÆs
bright colors and ornate pattern had been released from a prison of dust, and
the heat of a brisk fire in the scoured fireplace competed with a cool breeze
coming in the open window. The sideboard was spread with an extravagant array
of
morsels: savory dumplings, dried fruit compote, sausage rolls, a steaming
loaf
of bread and golden pat of butter, a half dozen bowls of jam. But Mabin,
noticing none of this, stopped short in the doorway and said sharply, ôWhere
is
Karis?ö
ôShut the door,ö said Norina. When Mabm had complied, Norina leaned out the
open
window. ôRaven!ö
The raven, who had been lingering at the top of a nearby tree, flew down and
landed on the windowsill. ôThe councilor wants to know where Karis is,ö
Norina
said to him.
The raven said, ôShe is with Zanja and JÆhan, in the Juras grasslands.ö
Pretending she had not noticed MabinÆs rigid surprise at being confronted with
a
talking raven, Norina said, ôTell the councilor why she is there.ö
ôKaris has been eradicating a plague, town by town. And now she is fighting
the
illness among the Juras people.ö
Norina turned to Mabin. ôMy husband believes that some half of the people in
Shaftal would have been dead by summerÆs end if Karis hadnÆt acted so
quickly.
No one knows to thank her, either, not even the healers, who are winning the
battle because JÆhan has written to all of them to tell them how. So,ö Norina
added, ôthereÆs your lesson, Councilor, should you choose to learn it. Do you
care to take some tea?ö
The silence lingered as Norina poured, offered a cup to Mabin, who appeared
not
to notice, and sat down at the table with a filled plate. She gave the raven,
a
big, unlovely bird, a meat dumpling to eat.
Mabin finally said, rather unsteadily, ôWhat is that bird?ö
ôThe raven is Karis,ö said Norina. ôHe is her eyes, her ears, her thoughts.ö [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]

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