Intrigues (45 page)

By the time the cutting-down was done, all of the volunteers were sobbing. Three of the six bodies were those of children, and the other two had been younger than the one handled by Kail and his group. Two of the three adults were women, and that was almost as bad for Kail - and many of the others, apparently - as the children. All six bodies were carefully and gently laid out near the tree that had died because of the poisoned ground, and then the volunteers stepped back.

"Thank you," the older Astindan man said to them quietly from his place in front of the dozen or so Astindans who had gathered to watch the efforts. "You grieve for our dead almost as deeply as we do, and for that tribute to their memory we thank you. You may stay where you are until graves are dug for the bodies, and then you will be permitted to place the bodies in those graves."

The spokesman and the others then turned away to go back to the wagons, and Kail exchanged a surprised glance with Renton and Drean. From their expressions they'd believed the way Kail had, that the volunteers would also dig the graves. Kail had been fully prepared to do that back-breaking job, but instead he and the others just stood there and watched those who hadn't volunteered being ordered to the chore.

It took quite a while for the six graves to be dug. No one was allowed to use talent in the effort, just the spades that were handed out. Two people dug each grave at a time, and after a few minutes, when the diggers' backs and hands gave out, two more people were put in to replace them. Almost everyone from every wagon was given a turn - including that haughty woman Lady Froma - and then the job was finally done.

When Kail and the others were gestured forward, they lifted the bodies carefully and carried them to the graves. Two lengths of rope had been placed across each of the openings in the ground, and various Astindans came to hold the ends of the ropes as the bodies were placed in the middle. The three children and the smaller of the two women were put in the inner graves, the man and larger woman in the outer ones. The Astindans lowered each body slowly into its final resting place, everyone around the graves stood in silence for a few moments, and then the diggers were called back. They replaced the dirt in the graves in the same order that they'd used when digging, and again the effort took quite some time.

When all of the graves had been closed, Kail and the other volunteers were surprised by not being sent back to their various wagons. They were kept together instead, and assigned a wagon of their own. As they sat down on the side of the road near their new wagon to wait for the bread and cheese of their lunch, Kail felt relieved that they were being kept separate from the others. All the others had been forced to dig, and most of them wept as they cradled aching hands. The rest glared at Kail's group, as though it had been
their
decision not to dig…

But being separated out from the others
was
odd. Kail spent some time wondering why it had been done, but then lunch was brought and his thoughts turned elsewhere…

Chapter 25

Honrita Grohl was certain that she glowed as she walked along the street. Two days ago she'd completed the first week of her training, and even then had felt as though she'd been at it for years. The experience was marvelous, delightful, electrifying, every positive description it was possible to lay tongue to, and tonight they would be starting the second week of training.

"Dama Grohl, please wait," Honrita heard, and she stopped and turned to see that girl from her class whose name she couldn't remember hurrying up. The girl looked at her with such awe that Honrita couldn't keep from smiling.

"What is it, child?" Honrita asked, only a hint of her impatience in tone and mind. "I'd like to get a cup of tea before we start the new training."

"I just wanted to say how wonderful I think you are," the girl burbled, following as Honrita resumed walking. "You're the best in our class, and the strength you've developed is an inspiration to us all."

"I suppose that's as it should be," Honrita allowed with a smile and a small inner laugh. She
was
the strongest in their class, and because of that was given the kind of respect she'd never before been accorded. She'd also taken to … practicing at work, and because of that effort was given praise and had gotten an increase in her wages. Her income was now no longer minimal, and once her training was done she would improve her lot even more.

"I can't wait to meet the new instructor," the girl burbled on as they walked. "Our original instructor was nice and he was really impressed with your progress, but he seemed kind of limited. Maybe the new instructor will have more to teach, and then you can impress him or her as well."

This time Honrita laughed aloud, too pleased to keep the feeling inside - even if it would have done any good. The girl had the same Spirit magic Honrita did, and although she wasn't as strong as the woman she admired, she'd still learned to handle her ability with more certainty. The girl knew her words were giving Honrita pleasure, and that was what the girl intended to do. Her own standing would rise when she walked into class with Honrita, an honor there was no reason to deny the poor little thing.

It had already grown dark out, of course, but Honrita and the girl were unafraid as they walked the streets to where the class was being held. There were a fair number of people out and walking around, and a certain number of them were undoubtedly patrol members. The various patrols helped the guard, the members of those patrols having learned to link to certain guardsmen and each other. Any trouble would quickly have guardsmen on the scene, and those who were prone to starting trouble were quickly learning that lesson.

Honrita and her supporter reached the training building and walked inside. Some of the rooms in the building were lined with resin, and the class had been told that they'd practice certain things within the resin when they were ready. Honrita felt that she
was
ready, and would have said so to their instructor if he'd returned. She was prepared to say the same to the new instructor, and would do so if the new person didn't quickly see the truth of her position.

It was nearly time for the class to begin, so Honrita and the girl walked into the open practice room to find that most of the rest of the class had already arrived. Everyone looked up quickly when the two women entered, but then those already seated looked away again with a definite air of disappointment. Honrita was prepared to feel injured and insulted over such a reception, but then she realized that the new instructor hadn't yet arrived. So
that
was the reason for the disappointment…

"Let's get our tea and sit down," the girl whispered to Honrita. "The new instructor should be here at any moment."

Being told what to do annoyed Honrita, but the girl was already on her way to the tea service so Honrita did nothing but follow. For years Honrita had been forced to obey everyone else as well as bow and scrape, but now that she knew just how strong a talent she had it was time that
she
gave the orders. And had others bow and scrape to
her
. It felt marvelous to make the decisions rather than have the decisions made
for
her, and Honrita had no intention of returning to the way things had been.

So the foolish little girl needed to be taught a lesson about the proper way to associate with someone like Honrita. The girl was already at the tea service, holding a cup beneath the spigot, and the hot tea poured briskly into the cup. It was an action repeated so often that the girl paid very little attention to what she did - until her hand wavered and the hot tea splashed onto her skin.

The girl cried out and dropped the cup as the hot tea burned her nicely, and Honrita joined some of the others in hurrying over to soothe the poor little thing. Of course, there was no mention made of the fact that Honrita had been the one to cause the girl to momentarily lose her sense of balance. That loss had caused the "accident," but happily no one in the room seemed to have noticed.

One of the other women wrapped the girl's hand in a cloth and began to lead the girl out to find a physician. Burns could be nasty things if not treated quickly and carefully, and Honrita smiled sweetly as she offered her hope that the girl would soon be able to return to the class. Then Honrita turned to watch the two women leave - and suddenly found herself meeting the gaze of a woman she'd never seen before.

"There's a class of Earth magic users three doors down," the strange woman told the whimpering girl and the woman who helped her. "Go in there and speak to the instructor. I'm sure he'll be able to treat the burn at once."

The girl - who was no longer whimpering - smiled her thanks at the unknown woman, and then she and the woman helping her disappeared up the hall. The newcomer entered the room and walked toward the desk, proving that she was the new instructor. Honrita felt decidedly uncomfortable, a state she detested with her entire being. She'd spent most of her life feeling uncomfortable and worse, but now she didn't have to suffer like that. She had
talent
, and there was no reason not to use it.

Until now Honrita had kept her mind away from the strange woman, in part because she'd gotten the impression that the woman knew what Honrita had done to cause the accident. Now Honrita smoothed down the skirt of her new dress as she watched the newcomer reach the desk and turn - and without warning she sent her talent toward the woman's mind. The woman would find that she suddenly liked Honrita better than any other person in the class, and for that reason would help Honrita as much as necessary.

Only things didn't work out like that. Honrita gasped as her mind met that of the new instructor, a mind that was so much stronger than Honrita's that it didn't seem possible.

"Yes, I can see that my predecessor was right and you
are
a really strong Middle talent," the new instructor said to a shaken Honrita. "He was also a Middle talent, but as you've just learned, I'm not. I'm a High, and you, Dama, are no longer part of this class. Please go next door to the empty room, have a seat, and wait for me. We need to talk, which we'll do as soon as this class is over."

Honrita was mortified as well as shaken, and if she'd had the choice she would have left the building and run home. But she hadn't been allowed the choice, and despite the humiliation of being stared at by the rest of the class Honrita did as she'd been told. She entered the empty room next door, sat down, and then waited. She also suddenly remembered the day she'd registered for the class, and the two people who had been so much stronger than she. Until now the memory had gone completely out of her head, and it made Honrita furious. No one should be that much stronger than she,
no one
. Then the fury died along with the rest of what she'd felt, and calm took its place.

The wait was long enough that Honrita should have been feeling something other than calm patience, and the lack of other emotions confused her. The fury and humiliation and mortification had completely disappeared as though they'd never been, but before she could understand what was happening, the door opened and the new instructor walked in.

"Dama Grohl," the woman said as she came to a chair near Honrita's and sat. "I'm Cadria Norl, and now we have time to talk. Tell me why you made that girl burn herself with the tea."

"Why, it was because she tried to tell me what to do," Honrita answered, distantly surprised at her lack of hesitation. "I spent my life being forced to listen to others, but now I no longer have to let
anyone
tell me what to do."

"I see," Cadria Norl said quietly, an odd frown creasing her brow. "You're making up for a lifetime of not asserting yourself, but you don't view the matter in that light. Give me the exact words the girl used when she 'told you what to do.'"

"She said, 'Let's get our tea and sit down,'" Honrita answered promptly, pleased that she could prove she wasn't simply imagining things. "The girl had no right to tell me what to do."

"The girl wasn't telling you what to do," Cadria replied calmly and soothingly, leaning a bit forward in her chair. "Her words were a suggestion, not an order, and if you think about it for a moment or two you might see that. Try thinking about it."

Honrita did as she was told, but after the moment or two she shook her head.

"The girl tried to tell me what to do," Honrita repeated. "She had no right to give me orders."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Cadria muttered as she leaned back again. "You're not the first to show this problem, and it wasn't one we were expecting as a result of the training. Do you have a family, Dama Grohl?"

"I've been living alone ever since my father died," Honrita answered. "Why do you ask?"

"I ask because there's a very special class you'll soon be a part of," Cadria replied with a smile that made Honrita feel really good. "You'll do much better if you live with that group while you're working with it, and it makes things easier that you have no family to cope with your being gone. Come with me."

Honrita rose as Cadria did, and then followed her out of the room. In the hallway there were three men standing together, and Cadria gestured one of the three over.

"Dama Grohl here will need to get some clothing and essentials, and then she's to be taken to the special group," Cadria told the man when he joined them. "Please tell whoever you turn her over to that her talent is Spirit magic."

"Yes, Dama Norl," the man agreed politely, and then he gestured to Honrita. Honrita joined the man gladly, and let him conduct her out of the building while she reveled in delight. A special class! She'd been assigned to a special class, and soon everyone would know just how good she was. It looked like she was leaving that boring job of hers even sooner than she'd expected, and good riddance to it. She was meant for much better things, and this was definitely the start of them…

Cadria Norl watched the guardsman conduct Honrita Grohl out of the building, depression touching her even after the two had disappeared. The scene she'd been a part of had gotten much too familiar in too short a time, and this was only the beginning of it…