Chapter 5
*
There were tears on Tran's face when he woke, and he remembered the voice that had given him comfort when he needed it. Stupid fantasy.
He quickly wiped his face with one dirty ragged sleeve. If Jammsan saw him crying, he could not even imagine what sadistic torture would be inflicted on him.
Tran scurried out of the corner to find a scowling Jammsan bearing down on him.
"Lazy little bugger," Jammsan growled, fist knocking Tran to the floor. "You'll learn th'meaning of work, after I'm done wi' you."
Fear became a rising sheet of rage; he was beaten up whether he was in the wrong or the right, every damn day! There was no one to help him, no one with him.
:I am here,: the voice sounded in his head again. It did nothing to calm him, nothing to stop the beserk, helpless anger that pounded in his blood. :I am here!:
He didn't hear the frightened voice, and all his anger burst from him in a wild, icy wave.
*
"No!" It was Kella. Her head was throbbing from the whirlwind of burning, icy rage she had been caught in. Her verbal cry was echoed by a mental one.
:My Chosen!: It rang sharply in her mind, but Kella could tell that this was not Sterran talking, but another Companion.
:Chosen?: This was Sterran, peering at her anxiously.
"Got to go to the city," she gasped. "We have to!"
Sterran didn't argue; he knelt on the ground, so Kella could scramble onto his bare back. She gripped his mane.
"Hurry," she instructed him. "Go to the lower city!"
The two galloped out of the palace grounds, catching up with another bare backed Companion, also heading to the beacon of pain and fear. Kella noted that this was a young Companion, and she was riderless.
:My Chosen is hurt!: The words echoed in Kella's head, and she winced away. It was the same Companion who had shouted earlier.
:He's your Chosen?: Kella replied in kind.
She was desperately afraid of the uncontrolled power surge she had felt; there were no Heralds in Haven apart from the Queen and the Consort, and they would be too involved in the politics of Valdemar to concern themselves over an orphaned drudge in the lower city. Maybe if the boy was Chosen, he would be protected from the ramifications of his actions.
Now the Companions were galloping through narrow, dirty streets. The terrifified inhabitants ducked away from them as they continued their reckless ride.
Finally Kella found the beacon of distress. The air was cold in spite of the unseasonally warm autumn, and Kella's breath steamed.
A crowd of angry and frightened people filled the street around a ramshackle building, but they made way for the two Companions. For the first time, Kella could see the building: half of it was destroyed, and the other half was covered in fantastic icy constructions.
:I can't get in,: said the Companion mare, distressed. :My Chosen is hurting, and I can't get to him!:
Kella did not stop to think; she slipped from Sterran's back and entered through one of the cracks. Small though she was, she still had to bend almost double to get in.
Inside, the building was contorted strangely by the ice that pushed on it from the inside, and the cold cut into Kella's bones. She would have turned back, if not for the beacon of distress that called her onwards.
As she neared the emotion, she also neared the center of the 'explosion'. Ice had pushed away from this central point in waves and spikes of frozen power. Kella ducked through a splintered doorway, and entered a perfect circle of icy splinters.
Two figures were in the center; one, an adult, was indisputably dead, with icy shards jammed deep into his body. The other was a boy of perhaps eight years, who looked at Kella with haunted eyes.
"I killed him," His voice was a shellshocked whisper. "I was angry, and I threw ice at him, and I killed him."
Kella crouched next to him on the frozen floor. "It's all right," She said comfortingly. "I am here with you."
*
Sterran was anxious, as was the unnamed Companion mare beside him. Both were anxious for their Chosen; the mare because she could sense pain and distress, and Sterran because he couldn't. Kella normally could not last without contact with him; would she manage to find the boy and still retain her wits?
"Move aside for the Guard!" ordered a voice, and an aisle was cleared to the ruined inn. The column of men approached, not noticing the Companions. "Right, now I want a doorway opened. We will bring the perpetrator to justice."
The captain was surprised to suddenly find two angry Companions between him and his desired entrance.
"Companions?" He said incredulously. "You mean the ones in their are Heralds?" Sterran nodded his head, and the mare whickered agreement. The guard captain scratched his head. "All right." He conceded. "Fall back, but keep aperimeter watch."
It was only a short while before Kella emerged from the hole, leading a crawling Tran. The mare trotted over to them, with Sterran only a step behind.
:I Choose you,: She said to Tran. The words were a distant echo in Kella's mind. :Now, quick, on my back. Kella and Sterran can sort this out.: She knelt on the ground, alowwing the bemused boy to mount, before galloping towards the palace.
Kella had mounted Sterran, and was hoping to be able to leave unhindered, but she was unsurprised when the guard captain stepped in front of her.
"Now, young missy," he said sternly "Where are you hurrying off to?"
Kella decided to disconcert him like she had Talia, and she summoned an imperious tone. "I was returning to the Palace, to make sure that Trainee Tran was not seriously injured."
The captain was obviously taken aback by her adult manner, but recovered swiftly. "Is that so? Well, I think you are going to tell me what exactly you children were up to."
It seemed as though the man thought that she was a servant rather than, technically, a Heraldic Trainee. Kella decided to disillusion him. "I am Kella, a Heraldic Trainee. I was alerted to the fact that an untrained Gift had been triggered, and came here to find this. Tran was not aware of his gift, and unwittingly released it in self defence against his master, who unfortunately died. On his emergence from the building, he was Chosen, so any more inquiries must be sent through the appropriate authorities. Now I will return to the palace. Good day."
With that, Sterran pushed past the man and galloped to the palace.
*
There were tears on Tran's face when he woke, and he remembered the voice that had given him comfort when he needed it. Stupid fantasy.
He quickly wiped his face with one dirty ragged sleeve. If Jammsan saw him crying, he could not even imagine what sadistic torture would be inflicted on him.
Tran scurried out of the corner to find a scowling Jammsan bearing down on him.
"Lazy little bugger," Jammsan growled, fist knocking Tran to the floor. "You'll learn th'meaning of work, after I'm done wi' you."
Fear became a rising sheet of rage; he was beaten up whether he was in the wrong or the right, every damn day! There was no one to help him, no one with him.
:I am here,: the voice sounded in his head again. It did nothing to calm him, nothing to stop the beserk, helpless anger that pounded in his blood. :I am here!:
He didn't hear the frightened voice, and all his anger burst from him in a wild, icy wave.
*
"No!" It was Kella. Her head was throbbing from the whirlwind of burning, icy rage she had been caught in. Her verbal cry was echoed by a mental one.
:My Chosen!: It rang sharply in her mind, but Kella could tell that this was not Sterran talking, but another Companion.
:Chosen?: This was Sterran, peering at her anxiously.
"Got to go to the city," she gasped. "We have to!"
Sterran didn't argue; he knelt on the ground, so Kella could scramble onto his bare back. She gripped his mane.
"Hurry," she instructed him. "Go to the lower city!"
The two galloped out of the palace grounds, catching up with another bare backed Companion, also heading to the beacon of pain and fear. Kella noted that this was a young Companion, and she was riderless.
:My Chosen is hurt!: The words echoed in Kella's head, and she winced away. It was the same Companion who had shouted earlier.
:He's your Chosen?: Kella replied in kind.
She was desperately afraid of the uncontrolled power surge she had felt; there were no Heralds in Haven apart from the Queen and the Consort, and they would be too involved in the politics of Valdemar to concern themselves over an orphaned drudge in the lower city. Maybe if the boy was Chosen, he would be protected from the ramifications of his actions.
Now the Companions were galloping through narrow, dirty streets. The terrifified inhabitants ducked away from them as they continued their reckless ride.
Finally Kella found the beacon of distress. The air was cold in spite of the unseasonally warm autumn, and Kella's breath steamed.
A crowd of angry and frightened people filled the street around a ramshackle building, but they made way for the two Companions. For the first time, Kella could see the building: half of it was destroyed, and the other half was covered in fantastic icy constructions.
:I can't get in,: said the Companion mare, distressed. :My Chosen is hurting, and I can't get to him!:
Kella did not stop to think; she slipped from Sterran's back and entered through one of the cracks. Small though she was, she still had to bend almost double to get in.
Inside, the building was contorted strangely by the ice that pushed on it from the inside, and the cold cut into Kella's bones. She would have turned back, if not for the beacon of distress that called her onwards.
As she neared the emotion, she also neared the center of the 'explosion'. Ice had pushed away from this central point in waves and spikes of frozen power. Kella ducked through a splintered doorway, and entered a perfect circle of icy splinters.
Two figures were in the center; one, an adult, was indisputably dead, with icy shards jammed deep into his body. The other was a boy of perhaps eight years, who looked at Kella with haunted eyes.
"I killed him," His voice was a shellshocked whisper. "I was angry, and I threw ice at him, and I killed him."
Kella crouched next to him on the frozen floor. "It's all right," She said comfortingly. "I am here with you."
*
Sterran was anxious, as was the unnamed Companion mare beside him. Both were anxious for their Chosen; the mare because she could sense pain and distress, and Sterran because he couldn't. Kella normally could not last without contact with him; would she manage to find the boy and still retain her wits?
"Move aside for the Guard!" ordered a voice, and an aisle was cleared to the ruined inn. The column of men approached, not noticing the Companions. "Right, now I want a doorway opened. We will bring the perpetrator to justice."
The captain was surprised to suddenly find two angry Companions between him and his desired entrance.
"Companions?" He said incredulously. "You mean the ones in their are Heralds?" Sterran nodded his head, and the mare whickered agreement. The guard captain scratched his head. "All right." He conceded. "Fall back, but keep aperimeter watch."
It was only a short while before Kella emerged from the hole, leading a crawling Tran. The mare trotted over to them, with Sterran only a step behind.
:I Choose you,: She said to Tran. The words were a distant echo in Kella's mind. :Now, quick, on my back. Kella and Sterran can sort this out.: She knelt on the ground, alowwing the bemused boy to mount, before galloping towards the palace.
Kella had mounted Sterran, and was hoping to be able to leave unhindered, but she was unsurprised when the guard captain stepped in front of her.
"Now, young missy," he said sternly "Where are you hurrying off to?"
Kella decided to disconcert him like she had Talia, and she summoned an imperious tone. "I was returning to the Palace, to make sure that Trainee Tran was not seriously injured."
The captain was obviously taken aback by her adult manner, but recovered swiftly. "Is that so? Well, I think you are going to tell me what exactly you children were up to."
It seemed as though the man thought that she was a servant rather than, technically, a Heraldic Trainee. Kella decided to disillusion him. "I am Kella, a Heraldic Trainee. I was alerted to the fact that an untrained Gift had been triggered, and came here to find this. Tran was not aware of his gift, and unwittingly released it in self defence against his master, who unfortunately died. On his emergence from the building, he was Chosen, so any more inquiries must be sent through the appropriate authorities. Now I will return to the palace. Good day."
With that, Sterran pushed past the man and galloped to the palace.