Firewalk (18 page)

“Well, nobody really knew what to expect from the daughter of the Bregondish High Lord,” Randon told her. “Half the rumors had you a barbarian with bones in your ears and rings in your nose, and the other half had you figured for a pretty but useless—pardon me for saying it quite that way—lady like Ynea. I’m sure that after Terralt’s stories, a lot of folk thought I wouldn’t be any use in the seat, either. After a few audiences, I imagine we corrected that impression. From what Kereg’s told me, your decision on the case of Lord Ethen and Lord Reive was the talk of the city for days. As you’ve never shown yourself in public with bones in your ears and rings in your nose, I’m sure your image has improved.”

Kayli smiled. Perhaps someday soon Randon would be able to take her into the city, even if in a heavily guarded carriage.

Randon must have had similar thoughts, for when he spoke again, he said, “You know, I think it’s time to let Tarkesh get a look at its new High Lady. When we’re crowned, I’ll throw a grand festival. In the meantime I’ll arrange for us to visit some of the lords in town. That’ll give you a glimpse of the city, at least, and give the city a glimpse of you, too.”

Randon’s words warmed Kayli’s heart, but she sighed quietly to herself. The idea of visiting nobles who likely resented her and Randon, too, was not what she’d wanted. Randon probably enjoyed the prospect no more than she did.

“You have mentioned a number of guildmasters of your acquaintance,” she said after a moment’s thought. “Surely it would be slighting them and the importance of their guilds if we neglected to visit them as well, especially since they have supported you so loyally.”

“There’s a thought,” Randon said, raising his eyebrows as if the idea pleased him. “Yes, you could safely visit most of the guild halls, and that’ll give you a chance to learn a little about Agrond’s industries. It’s a capital idea. Oh, good, there’s the gates.” He glanced at Kayli, and his eyes twinkled mischievously. “How rebellious are you feeling?” He tilted his head at the guards ahead of them.

Kayli chuckled.

“Very rebellious indeed,” she murmured back.

“Very well, then. Shall we show them just how much trouble we can be?” Randon dared her.

“Indeed I shall show them,” Kayli returned, tossing her head. “And you as well.” She nudged Maja with her knees, and the mare immediately bolted forward, dodging the guards and their mounts adroitly and galloping down the road at a speed that startled even Kayli. She dropped the rein loop over its peg and threw her arms out to the sides, laughing as the wind tugged at her clothes and hair; then she pulled the pins from her hair and let her long braids uncoil behind her. Dimly she heard Randon calling behind her, but this time there was no stopping her or Maja, either; peasants on the road drew back, staring incredulously as their High Lady thundered by. It wasn’t until Kayli had crossed the stone bridge that she slowed Maja to let Randon catch up.

Before Maja had completely stopped, however, she startled a middle-sized pig like creature out of a low thicket; almost by reflex, Kayli reached behind her and drew her bow and an arrow, instinctively signaling Maja to pursue. By the time she had knocked her arrow, the creature was plainly in sight, and her arrow was true to its mark.

Randon, to his credit, was not too far behind her, but the amusement in his expression was tinged with irritation as he reined Carada in beside her.

“Well, so much for convincing the people that their High Lady isn’t a barbarian.” He chuckled wryly.
“That
spectacle will be the talk of the city longer than your first audience. They probably thought you were fleeing back to Bregond.”

“Then they have not sense enough to realize that Bregond lies in the opposite direction,” Kayli returned serenely. “Come, Randon, do not be angry. Now if the guards chide you, you can tell them you were forced to leave them behind to pursue your wayward lady. Only see what a fine kill I have made, and what a perfect spot I have found for our luncheon.” They were on the knoll of a small hill covered with wildflowers, with a lovely view of the river and the city in the distance.

“Well, it
is
a beautiful spot,” Randon admitted, sliding down rather awkwardly from the Bregondish saddle. “And congratulations on your kill. That was a neat shot from horseback.”

To Kayli’s chagrin, she discovered that she’d brought no knife other than her
thari
and the belt dagger she used for eating, neither of which she wanted to use for butchery. Fortunately, Randon carried a hunting knife in his boot, with which he cut Kayli’s arrow free.

“That was a clever guess, hitting it right under the ear,” he told her. “It’s hard to drop a speckled boar with one shot, they’re so muscled. Was it just luck?”

Kayli shook her head.

“I have often hunted tusk boars on the plains,” she said. “They are fierce, especially when wounded; an eye shot or below the ear are the only targets for a quick kill.”

It was pleasant to dine out in the fresh clean air, the breeze fragrant with the smell of wildflowers, but Kayli’s enjoyment was tainted by the nine guards nearby, each of them glancing at her or Randon every few moments. It was impossible to relax under such scrutiny. To distract herself, Kayli turned to gaze at the green edge of the forest so close by.

“Randon, would it not be possible to go for a walk in the forest?” she asked presently. “Just you and I.”

Randon glanced at the guards dubiously.

“They won’t want to let us out of sight again, especially after your wild ride,” he said. “But if you really want to go for a walk in the forest, I can have them hang well back, and I know a place where they’ll leave us alone for a while.”

Kayli had never seen a forest except in passing on her journey to Tarkesh. She had never suspected the trees could actually be so large; what tremendous amounts of water they must need! And if she’d been impressed by the verdure and variety of plant life on the open hillside, she was now utterly awed by the diversity of growth that sprang up from the earth. Surely one would immediately become lost in a place where it was impossible to see more than a few paces ahead. But Randon showed her a path leading back into the forest, and Kayli followed him with less eagerness than she had felt when she’d suggested the stroll.

“I come here to hunt often,” Randon said. “And to visit the place I’m going to show you.”

“Why such a mystery?” Kayli asked him. “What is this place?”

“There’s no mystery,” Randon said, glancing at her. “I only wanted to surprise you. Look, here we are.”

Kayli’s eyes had grown used to the lesser light in the forest, and she was a little dazzled when the path opened abruptly into sunlight. The path ended in a large clearing, and in that clearing was a pond the size of the largest water hole Kayli had ever seen, dozens of man-heights across, at the foot of a tall cliff cut out of the side of the hill behind it. But unlike the muddy water holes that spotted Bregond’s plains, the water of this pond was clear and clean, falling sparkling into the pond from a waterfall tumbling off the cliff.

“What a marvelous place,” Kayli said, nearly breathless with delight. “I have never seen the like of it.”

Randon turned to the guards.

“Go back down the path and stay there,” he said. “We’ll call if we need you.”

The guard captain frowned.

“But, lord—”

Randon gestured expansively.

“Captain Beran, we’re in
a forest.
Alone. You’ll hear us if there’s any trouble. Please go.”

Captain Beran shook his head, but he turned and motioned to the other guards to walk back down the path with him. When the guards were gone, Randon turned to Kayli and smiled triumphantly.

“There,” he said. “Better?”

“Much.” Kayli chuckled. “But why would they leave us alone here and nowhere else?”

“Well, they can hardly stay and watch while we swim, can they?” Randon was already pulling his tunic over his head.

“Swim?” Involuntarily Kayli glanced at the pond, and her stomach flipped over in realization. “In there?”

“Of course, in there,” Randon said. He attacked the lacing on his boot, then sat down on the ground to finish the job, glancing up at Kayli. “Don’t you want to? I thought you might enjoy it after all that soot this morning.”

Kayli stared at the pond. The water might be terribly deep.

“But—you mean to take off your clothes and—and go all the way into that—that water?” Kayli asked in a small voice.

Randon pulled off his other boot, then gazed up at her.

“What’s the matter?” he said. “You
do
know how to swim, don’t you?”

Kayli swallowed hard and shook her head. Know how to swim? She could hardly
conceive
of it. She knew that Kairi and other Initiates at the Order of the Deep Waters frequently immersed themselves completely in ceremonial pools, and it was rumored that they taught themselves to breathe underwater, but that was a secret of their Order. Certainly Kayli had no such protection.

“Oh.” Randon appeared perplexed by her answer. “Well, no matter. I’ll teach you. Come on, it’s warm out and the cool water will feel good.”

Reluctantly Kayli removed her clothing. It felt unseemly to be naked outdoors, even—no,
especially
with all these huge trees around her. Why, someone could easily hide behind that great tree over there and spy upon them. She shivered and clasped her arms over her breasts, imagining the gaze of unseen watchers crawling over her skin.

“Come on.” Randon held out his hand. “It’s simple, truly. You’ll soon get used to it.”

Kayli allowed him to lead her into the shallowest part of the pool, where it emptied out into a small stream. When the water decently covered her breasts, however, and Randon appeared quite intent on leading her even deeper, she balked.

“No further,” she begged. “I feel as if my feet would leave the bottom.”

“Well, that’s the idea,” Randon said, chuckling. “Just watch me. It’s simple.” He released her hand and propelled himself right out into the deep water using strange motions of his arms and legs. The sight so unnerved Kayli that she retreated back into the shallows, shivering now. At last Randon swam back to her.

“Now you try it,” he said.

Kayli tried, and tried again, telling herself that it was no different from a bathing tub—a very
large
bathing tub—but after several sputtering failures she admitted defeat and returned to the bank to let the sun dry her.

“I am no fish,” she told a disappointed Randon. “Perhaps you were born with gills, but I was not.”

When they dressed and walked back, Captain Benin said that he could smell rain in the air, and besides, Kayli’s boar should be brought in from the heat, so he insisted they return to the castle immediately. The road was full of horses and wagons; as it was late afternoon and rain was threatening, the market was emptying rapidly. Kayli and Randon had hardly passed the city gates, however, when a small, ragged figure broke from the crowd of peasants watching them pass and flung itself practically under Maja’s feet. Well-trained Maja halted immediately, and several of the guards leaped from their mounts, swords drawn; but Kayli had caught a glimpse of brown skin and black hair among the rags, and she was already on the ground, shielding the child with her own body.

“Stay back!” Kayli commanded, her icy tone brooking no disobedience. “It is only a child.”

She stroked matted black hair back from a very dirty face indeed. A young girl, she thought, Bregondish as she’d suspected, of about twelve or thirteen years of age. The child twisted free of her hands and pressed her face to Kayli’s boots.

“Priestess, lady, I beg the sanctuary and protection of the Flame,” a whispered voice said in Bregondish.

A shock ran through Kayli—how had the child known her Order?—but the plea could not be denied.

“I have no temple to shelter you,” she murmured, stroking the thin shoulders, “but such sanctuary and protection as are mine to give, you are granted.” She turned to find Randon and four of the guards standing beside her, shock on all their faces.

“By the Bright Ones, it’s a Bregondish child!” Randon exclaimed. “A slave, too. See?” He pointed to an iron band around the child’s neck.

A hot, hard anger surged in Kayli’s heart.

“How can such a thing be, that one of my people is here, a slave?” she demanded.

Randon hesitated, glancing at the peasants watching them.

“This isn’t the place to discuss it,” he said at last. “We’ll talk about it when we’re back at the castle. What are you going to do with the child?”

“Take her with me, of course,” she said hotly, her eyes daring Randon to refuse her.

Randon raised his eyebrows, but only sighed resignedly.

“High Lady, you can’t mean it,” Captain Beran protested. “The creature’s a slave, and filthy as well.”

‘“The ‘creature’ is a child of my people, and under my protection,” Kayli said, so furious that her own hands shook as she gathered the small body to her. “What is your name, little one?” she murmured to the child in Bregondish.

“Seba, Priestess,” came the reply, still in a whisper.

“Very well, Seba, you will ride with me.” Ignoring the stares of everyone around her, Kayli helped the child into her saddle, then mounted herself. Seba clung as fiercely to the saddle as she had to Kayli herself, and Kayli could feel the child shaking still; her own anger was so great that she could hardly bear to look at Randon, much less the staring peasants muttering as she passed.

Randon said nothing as they rode back, but when they reached the castle stables, he slid down from Carada’s back and stepped to Maja’s side. He held up his hands, but when Kayli would have handed Seba down to him, the child whimpered and clung even more determinedly to the saddle. Kayli shook her head at Randon and dismounted; only then would Seba let Kayli lift her down.

“Well, now you’ve got her, what are you going to do with her?” Randon said patiently. “She stinks like an open cesspit, Beran’s right about that much.”

“She will be bathed,” Kayli said. “Anida and Endra can find some clothing for her. May I leave Maja in your care?”