Cry of the Newborn (20 page)

'The two are inextricably linked. God shows us where to place our feet, he opens our eyes. We accept that our doctors develop their science through knowledge of the human body. But they would be nowhere without God's hand to guide them. So it is with us. We are shown the path; it is up to us to understand.'

Gorian was silent for a moment. He swallowed.

'How are Ossacer and Arducius?'

'Now that should really have been your first question, shouldn't it?'

No response. Gorian's lower lip was trembling and tears filled his eyes.

'They are both fine, fortunately for you,' said Kessian after a while. 'Ossacer has demonstrated remarkable new understanding.'

'What?' Light and desire blazed in Gorian's eyes.

'Ah well, had you waited and encouraged him, no doubt you would have found out. Gorian, why did you do it?'

The weight of Kessian's disappointment registered like blows on Gorian; every word striking a little harder than the last. The tears fell down his cheeks. Kessian made no move to comfort him though it was surely what he craved.

'Why didn't he tell me?'

'We are not talking about Ossacer, we are talking about you,' said Kessian sharply. 'He had every right to do what he did. You had none. And from the words you spoke to your mother last night, you do not understand that.'

'I do,' he wailed. 'I didn't mean to hurt him.'

'Gorian, look at me,' ordered Kessian. Gorian did so. No one defied Father Kessian. 'Do not shy away. You took Ossacer's wrist and you burned it with frost, using your Ascendant ability. He will carry the scars to his grave. I can see the regret in you now but it was not there after the event, was it? And it did not occur to you before you acted in the first place, did it?'

'I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't want Arducius to be hurt.' Gorian cut a pathetic figure sitting slouched in his desk chair, one hand over his eyes now, the tears still dripping down his cheeks. It was all Kessian could do to keep from hugging him close. He looked broken.

Kessian moderated his tone a little. 'But how can we believe that? You did what you did. And when your mother questioned you about it, you said that the strong took what they wanted and that in effect the other two were to blame for what happened and not you. Gorian? Help us to understand. To help you. You cannot let your control go like this. Not with the power you have.'

Gorian didn't know what to say, that much was plain. Kessian wasn't surprised. He waited a while. Gorian composed himself just a little but clearly wasn't going to say anything.

'Gorian, look at me.' Kessian waited until he was obeyed. 'Let's try one thing at a time. Why did you say what you said to your mother?'

A pause. 'Because I was angry, I suppose. I wanted to be right. I thought I was right.'

'Did you really? But presumably you think a little differently now.' Gorian nodded. 'But I still don't understand. Meera was quite specific about how lacking in remorse you were. Do you remember how you felt to be like that?' Gorian shook his head. 'All right then, why the sleepless night and all the tears of guilt this morning? Do you know what changed your mind? You've had enough time to think. Try for me.'

Gorian's face looked about to crumple again. 'Because I knew you would be coming in here to see me this morning,' he said. 'And I knew you would be angry and I hate it when I make you angry.'

Kessian met Gorian's gaze levelly. 'I'm not sure whether to be flattered or insulted,' he said, knowing the comment would pass the boy by. 'The trouble is, if what you say is true, that doesn't make you sorry for what you have done, only sorry for the reaction it would provoke in me. Are you truly sorry for what you have done?'

Gorian nodded. 'I know it was wrong.'

'You know now or you knew at the time?'

'I know now.'

'Well, that's honest at least,' said Kessian, though the response was not the one he wanted. 'Tell me this. Was it only the fact I would come here that made you think and realise you had done wrong?'

Gorian frowned and then nodded. 'I think so.'

'And what will happen when I am not here to make you think?'

'You'll always be here, Father Kessian,' said Gorian, his tone a little desperate. 'We need you. I need you.'

Kessian fought the urge to put his head in his hands and forced a half-smile on to his face instead. 'Oh Gorian, you and I both know how old I am. I cannot be here forever. One day, and perhaps soon,

God will open his arms to welcome me back to his embrace. Who will you turn to then, I wonder?'

Who will you respect enough to maintain your discipline . . . Kessian shook his head and stood up.

'You're leaving me?'

'For the time being.'

'What's going to happen?'

Kessian looked at Gorian, every inch the frightened boy awaiting inevitable punishment. So much at odds with the arrogance of the night before. He sighed.

‘I
still don't think you fully realise what you have done,' he said. 'Before you can come out of this room, much has to happen but it will happen quickly. I will talk with the other Ascendants and they will help me decide whether you should be taught with them or apart from them for the time being. And they alone will decide if they ever want to play with you again.

'And while we are talking, I need you to think about this: the works of the Ascendancy are only ever destined for help and peace. Never to inflict pain, for evil or to enforce authority. The Ascendancy is a tool of God whose mercy and benevolence know no end. What you have done is demonstrate how all that is good can be used for evil. The scalpel of a doctor can slit the throat and the hoe can be used to strike down an innocent man. And our works can be diverted to cause death and damage. They must never be allowed to do so again.

'Ask yourself, Gorian, if you want to be loved and revered as a bringer of miracles and a man who spreads life and health about him. Or whether you want to be hated and feared, and forever live in the knowledge that there are those who desire nothing more than your death, and that ever an arrow or a blade will be coming at you but you know not from where.' He nodded at Gorian's reaction.
‘I
hope that scares you. It is supposed to. You have within you a great potential for power, as do your brothers and sister. And if you believe in me as you say you do, you will do me one great service and swear to use that power only for the purposes your namesake gave his life for. The purposes I would give my life for too.

'We will speak again before you leave this room. But in the meantime, if you are hungry, I can ask Shela to bring you some breakfast.'

Gorian nodded and Kessian smiled in response.

'Good. Think hard, Gorian. We all love you and want you to be inside our embrace forever. But you must learn to curb your temper or you risk being a very lonely young man. Don't let me down.'

‘I
won't, Father. I am sorry.'

Kessian let himself out of the room and closed the door behind him. Genna, Meera and Shela were waiting for him.

'So many contradictions in that young man. I wonder about the state of his mind, I really do,' he whispered. 'We must watch him very closely indeed, even at play. There is a battle going on in that head of his and I have no idea which side will win. Shela, he can have his breakfast now.' He leant in and kissed Genna's cheek. 'This is an unexpected pleasure, my love.'

'And there's another for you in the main dining room. Arvan Vasselis is returned from Estorr. He's waiting for you.'

Kessian felt a release of anxiety he barely knew he'd been hoarding. 'Now that is good news. Vasselis alive rather than executed for heresy is surely a step in the right direction.'

Genna chuckled.
‘I
feel sure he agrees with you. Come on, I'll leave you there and go down to make sure Netta and Kovan are settled in at their villa.'

‘I
expect you'll find Kovan wherever Mirron is,' said Kessian. 'He'll be happy Gorian is out of the way just for a moment.' 'Hush yourself, Ardol Kessian.'

Kessian beamed at her.
‘I
still remember what it was like to be that age and smitten. Joy and pain the two sides of the coin and a whole sheaf of clumsy thoughts and emotions to battle. I don't envy him.'

'Yes, you do,' said Genna.

'Yes, I do.'

One of the two ornate marble fireplaces in the dining room contained a peat and wood blaze that sent powerful warmth into the room to augment the over-worked hypocaust. Marshal Vasselis had ridden in with a howling wind at his back that was creeping round the compass and would soon be sweeping up the bay from the sea.

He had taken off his gauntlets and was warming his hands over the fire. His fur-lined cloak was still close about his shoulders and his eyes were on the portrait of Gorian above the elegant, carved mantle. He turned when the door opened. Ardol Kessian walked in, his movement slow and heavily reliant on the sticks in his hands. His hips caused him constant pain by all accounts and the arthritis was present in every joint. Genna gave a small wave and closed the door behind her husband.

Kessian looked frail. Vasselis had been away a long time and the Father of the Echelon had moved rapidly towards death. At least he had seen the genesis of everything he had worked for all his life. Vasselis considered that he might be blessed by not living through much of what was to come.

'I've got old, haven't I?' said Kessian, easing himself into one of the chairs that had been set in front of the fireplace.

Vasselis nodded and came across to his old friend, kneeling to cover his cold hands. 'Reading my mind again, Ardol?'

'Just your face,' replied Kessian.

'I never was good at hiding my thoughts from you,' said Vasselis. He stood up and turned to the table nearby. 'They've delivered tea. Would you like some? I suppose it's a little early for wine.'

'Thank you, Arvan. And welcome back.'

Vasselis passed him his tea, a rich herb pressing, warming and sweet. 'There were a couple of days when I seriously doubted that I would ever hear you say that. These have been difficult times and I fear they are merely a prelude.'

'We had to expect that. But the fact of your presence here means that at least the Advocate is prepared to listen to us. Tell me what she said.'

Vasselis summarised his conversations with both the Advocate and Paul Jhered, concluding with his summoning to the palace to hear their conclusions.

‘I
went there not knowing whether I would be taking ship that evening or facing the last days of my life in a cell beneath my own offices in the basilica,' he said, remembering vividly the nerves he had experienced and the dark expressions of his friends as they faced him across a formal meeting table. Only time would tell whether he had lost them as friends even as he gained them as temporary allies.

'Why did you speak to Jhered?' Kessian interrupted for the first time.

'He represents the highest order of security in the Conquord,' said Vasselis. 'He is also a very old friend of mine whom I would trust with all of our lives. And that is what we have to do. The time for difficult choices and difficult times is with us now.

'The only reasons I was not denounced by the Advocate and handed over to the Chancellor - the only reasons the Order is not already riding here - are Caraduk's unblemished record of alliance to the Conquord; the history of the Vasselis line in ensuring that record has always been maintained; and the personal regard and trust in which I am held. I am not trying to sound arrogant, just give you the bare facts.'

'Arrogance is not a trait that taints you, Arvan.'

Vasselis nodded his thanks. 'I needed to speak them because all three have now been put at grievous risk. I care little about my personal standing but I care deeply about the reputation of my family and the close relationship between Caraduk and Estorea. I believe in what you do here, but you and your townspeople must play their part.

'Westfallen will soon become a focus of the Conquord as keen as the eastern front of Tsard or the treaty negotiations with Sirrane. We are going to be investigated very thoroughly by the highest echelons of the Conquord. We have to trust that those who come here share the mind of the Advocate and the Exchequer. We have to trust that the Order will be excluded as I have been assured. And the people of Westfallen must be one in their belief.

'The Ascendancy cannot afford to be marginalised. Not now. And I have to say that the reports of my border security are not encouraging. Word is being passed though it has not yet escaped. When the Advocate's investigators get here, that must still be the case because only their approval can give us security.'

'When will they get here?' asked Kessian, his hands wringing together.

'That I can't tell you. At least not yet. They will give us as little warning as possible because they want neither us, nor the Order, to have word what they are doing. Tell me I have not just made the biggest mistake of my life.'

Kessian sipped his tea. His hands were quivering and not just as a consequence of his age.

'We are increasingly experiencing trouble with sections of the citizens. Never mind that many of them have fathered or mothered Ascendancy strand children. Never mind that most of them have experienced fleeting or long-lasting passive ability. Our Ascendants are new, powerful and frightening. And at heart, no one really wants change and they are only too aware that we are bringing them change that will affect them all. No one speaks out against us but my welcome in the forum is not as warm as once it was.'

Vasselis nodded. He wasn't surprised. The courage of most normal people was at best transitory. But it was a problem he could do without.

'Then I will speak to them. Tomorrow midday at the oratory.' 'I'll make the arrangements.'

'It's time to let this sleepy town know what is going on beyond its fields and its fishing grounds. Time they know the Advocacy is focusing on their very lives. Now, is there anything else I need to know about?'

With great care, Ardol Kessian told him about Gorian and his heart beat chill in his breast.

'You can keep him under control?'

'For now,' said Kessian. 'He's just a child, after all. But I fear what he will feel, think and do when he is older and stronger and I am gone to God's embrace.'

'Then his behaviour must be altered now,' said Vasselis, letting his face harden and his tone become that of the Marshal issuing edicts. 'You must not let him become a maverick. It is too dangerous to us, our families and to the citizens of Caraduk. There are four Ascendants. Gorian is but one and for all the power he almost certainly will have, he is just a boy and will be just a man. Four, Ardol, can very easily become three.'