Chapter 9
*
"Been somewhere?" Elspeth asked dryly as Vho opened her eyes. Vho didn't realise what she had said for a moment; the combination of a killer headache and having spent the last while talking in her native tongue did not really help her understanding of Valdemaran.
Silverfox laid a cool hand on Vho's forehead, and the pain receded slightly. With hands stiff from disuse, Vho detached the water from her saddle and took a swig. Elspeth made an impatient noise.
"I, uh, was spying on Kalathan." Vho said evasively. She would have said more, but what she had learned was special to Kalathan, a secret, and Vho felt as though they were her secrets, too.
"Did you learn anything that could help us when we fight him?" Elspeth asked eagerly.
Vho suddenly felt very sick. She was going with a group to kill Kalathan, and she was perhaps the only person who could do it. And a day or so ago, she would have said that he deserved it, but now . . . He was misguided, yes, and a fanatic, but the evil he was doing was in the name of good. Surely no one deserved to die because they were ignorant and misguided?
Kill him, part of her advised callously. He's killed people, so in return, kill him. Only fair.
But he might not be evil! Part of her wailed in reply. Stupid, yes, but not evil!
And the part of her mind that watched the other parts quietly pointed out that even a day or so ago, she would not have thought as harshly and judgementally as that first comment. Kalathan was changing her. Anyway, what would happen to Vho if he was killed? Would she die too? Would she be left utterly insane, with half her mind stolen? Would Kalathan still live within her, making every day a battle for control of her own body?
"Vho? Are you alright?" Elspeth asked her anxiously.
"What happens to a lifebonded pair when one of them dies?" Vho asked them. In the Empire it would never have come up as an option, but here . . .
Elspeth looked startled at the unexpected question. "Uh, well, there are different standards," She started. "My ancestor, Vanyel, managed to survive the death of his bonded because he was Chosen. Herald Keren bonded to someone else and survived . . ."
Reading between the lines gave Vho her answer. "So when one of them dies, the other does too, except in very rare occasions."
"Look on the bright side," Firesong said soberly. "You might be driven mad instead." Elspeth and Darkwind shot him exasperated looks.
"I don't think you actually need to kill him," Vho said.
As she predicted, Elspeth exploded. "Why not?" she demanded. "He's destroyed entire villages just for power! He is evil!"
The old Vho would have responded calmly. But Kalathan seemed to have passed on quite a temper, as well as his harshness. "He is not evil!" Vho said hotly. "By the technicalities of his religion, and incidentally, mine, he isn't evil, you are."
Elspeth looked shocked, both at this revelation and at Vho's sharp reply. Vho felt a malicious surge of victory. She loved the expression of absolute blankness on Elspeth's face.
Silverfox sighed. "Mind magic, hmm?" he hazarded. "Are they still so fanatic about that?"
"Excuse me," Darkwind said politely. "But - what?"
"Our religion says that mind magic is taboo." Vho explained. "My country is the nearest to White Gryphon, and we've gotten used to mind magic, so we aren't fanatic about it. But Kalathan is from much further away, and his country looks upon mind magic as absolute evil."
"But that doesn't explain destroying the villages." Elspeth objected.
"He knows that you and the other Heralds are blasphemers and criminals, sees you riding creatures basically created from evil mind magic - demons - and sees the villagers worshipping you, ergo, they are blasphemers and must be cleansed, and their life power returned to the Gods."
Elspeth shuddered. "It's the Karsites all over again."
Firesong spoke up. "I could scry into this cavern of his, and look for something that would, well, confirm this."
A furious reply was on Vho's lips. :I wouldn't,: Edern told her quietly. Vho realised with a start that they had barely talked in recent times. :If you act so different to how you normally are, they'll start asking questions. And you don't want to tell them that Kalathan's attitudes are becoming yours, do you?:
They were riding at a canter now, rather than the easy trot they had used during their conversation. "How did you know?" Vho whispered furiously to Edern.
:I can feel it,: Edern told her. :You are changing; for the better, I think. You were too soft and quiet before. Servantlike. Now you have enough courage and strength to defy your superiors to do what you think it right. And that is Kalathan's strength and courage, it's his harshness that is making you strong. But it is your sweetness, morality and knowledge of what is right and wrong that is controlling that, and gentling it, and making it reasonable. There is enough goodness in you to share with him, and enough strength in him to spare. Together you will be stronger than you are apart.: There was a pause, and Vho blinked back tears. :And we will not let him die.:
*
That night, as they entered an inn, Firesong pulled a small glass mirror out of his saddlebag. "Not that I have much use for it anymore," He said with unusual bitterness, "But it is good for scrying."
:He was badly scarred when he tried to stop the mage storms,: Edern explained. :Before that he was inhumanly beautiful. Now he's - not. That's why he wears a mask all the time:Vho nodded. She had wondered, but accepted it as a personal idiosyncrasy.
Firesong sat down gracefully in the room Elspeth had rented with her bottomless crown purse, and bent over the glass. Vho felt a steady building of power, which was suddenly released. A funny pull started, and Vho recognized it as a slight drain on her mage power. Vho looked inside herself, confused, and realised with a shock that her and Kalathan's mage-power, like their attitudes, were completely bonded, making a well of power common to both. Kalathan was taking steps to keep the scrying spell out.
Firesong had evidently realised the same thing, because he sighed and straightened. "There are shields up, very formidable. I could try again, but I'd just exhaust myself. Vho took a sip from her water cup, and suddenly a thought came to her. She pulled out her eating knife and carefully cut her thumb, allowing a couple of drops of blood to fall in the water. She swirled it around and handed it to Firesong.
"Try in this," she suggested to him. "The blood binds to me, and I can easily link you to him."
Firesong looked surprised. "Interesting." was all he said, but his nod was thoughtful.
This time, as Vho felt his magic building, she closed her eyes and sought that place which was more Kalathan than the rest of her. She could feel Edern's worry, and was herself slightly dismayed by the fact that Kalathan no longer felt separate from her.
Then she could see through Kalathan's eyes, and only dimly heard Firesong's "Got it!" behind her.
*
Elspeth, Darkwind and Silverfox stared into the cup of water Firesong held. They, too, could see the image - such as it was. It seemed that they were looking out of someone else's eyes, and that someone was sitting on the ground, with his head balanced on his hands, elbows propped up on his knees.
"Is that him?" Darkwind asked.
Then Vho, still seated in her corner, murmured something. "Kalathan,"
Firesong remained intent on the image, but the others all stared at her. At Firesong's exclamation, they quickly returned. Kalathan had leapt to his feet, and was gazing around a sqaure cave.
"Where are you? Show yourself!" The voice was harsh and deep, and it seemed to issue from the cup. Silverfox quickly translated the Haighleigh language.
"I'm not there, Kalathan." Vho replied. Elspeth, Darkwind and Silverfox seemed torn between watching the cup or watching Vho.
"What do you want from me?" Kalathan demanded. "You tear up my faith, and now you molest me still!"
"I tore up a misconception you made," Vho told him. "Nothing more."
"They deserve to be punished!" Kalathan shouted.
"Who?" Elspeth mouthed once Silverfox had translated. Darkwind shrugged.
"Yes," admitted Vho. "But should you punish everyone? How many bandits were there?"
"There were a hundred of them! Blasphemers, users of mind magic! My family didn't stand a chance."
"And you have killed hundreds," Vho said sadly. "Most of them not even connected with your family." She used the lifebonding like a weapon, pushing her sense of injustice and distaste into him until it was his own.
"Why are you doing this to me!" Kalathan almost wailed.
"Because I must," Vho said.
"I'm sorry," The image in the cup blurred with Kalathan's tears. "I'm sorry. . ."
Vho didn't answer. She opened her eyes, and for one sickening moment saw two rooms at the same time. Then she broke free, and she was back in the inn.
"Damn," said Firesong, as the image faded.
Elspeth stared at Vho. "Care to explain?" She said dangerously.
"No," she replied firmly. "The only reason I let you see that was to prove my point that he wasn't all bad."
"Have you talked to him before?" Silverfox was asking now.
"Yes," Vho said.
"What did you tell him?" Elspeth said immediately.
Vho rolled her eyes. She wished Elspeth wouldn't freak out like this. It was annoying. "Nothing," she said patiently. "I didn't tell him a n y t h i n g."
"So," Firesong didn't even seem very tired by his exertions. "What are we going to do?"
* * * * * *
Next chapter you will find out exactly what they decide to do. Until then, I would like to say "Ner ner ner, I know and you don't! Ha!"
Sorry. Sometimes that's just fun to do.
*
"Been somewhere?" Elspeth asked dryly as Vho opened her eyes. Vho didn't realise what she had said for a moment; the combination of a killer headache and having spent the last while talking in her native tongue did not really help her understanding of Valdemaran.
Silverfox laid a cool hand on Vho's forehead, and the pain receded slightly. With hands stiff from disuse, Vho detached the water from her saddle and took a swig. Elspeth made an impatient noise.
"I, uh, was spying on Kalathan." Vho said evasively. She would have said more, but what she had learned was special to Kalathan, a secret, and Vho felt as though they were her secrets, too.
"Did you learn anything that could help us when we fight him?" Elspeth asked eagerly.
Vho suddenly felt very sick. She was going with a group to kill Kalathan, and she was perhaps the only person who could do it. And a day or so ago, she would have said that he deserved it, but now . . . He was misguided, yes, and a fanatic, but the evil he was doing was in the name of good. Surely no one deserved to die because they were ignorant and misguided?
Kill him, part of her advised callously. He's killed people, so in return, kill him. Only fair.
But he might not be evil! Part of her wailed in reply. Stupid, yes, but not evil!
And the part of her mind that watched the other parts quietly pointed out that even a day or so ago, she would not have thought as harshly and judgementally as that first comment. Kalathan was changing her. Anyway, what would happen to Vho if he was killed? Would she die too? Would she be left utterly insane, with half her mind stolen? Would Kalathan still live within her, making every day a battle for control of her own body?
"Vho? Are you alright?" Elspeth asked her anxiously.
"What happens to a lifebonded pair when one of them dies?" Vho asked them. In the Empire it would never have come up as an option, but here . . .
Elspeth looked startled at the unexpected question. "Uh, well, there are different standards," She started. "My ancestor, Vanyel, managed to survive the death of his bonded because he was Chosen. Herald Keren bonded to someone else and survived . . ."
Reading between the lines gave Vho her answer. "So when one of them dies, the other does too, except in very rare occasions."
"Look on the bright side," Firesong said soberly. "You might be driven mad instead." Elspeth and Darkwind shot him exasperated looks.
"I don't think you actually need to kill him," Vho said.
As she predicted, Elspeth exploded. "Why not?" she demanded. "He's destroyed entire villages just for power! He is evil!"
The old Vho would have responded calmly. But Kalathan seemed to have passed on quite a temper, as well as his harshness. "He is not evil!" Vho said hotly. "By the technicalities of his religion, and incidentally, mine, he isn't evil, you are."
Elspeth looked shocked, both at this revelation and at Vho's sharp reply. Vho felt a malicious surge of victory. She loved the expression of absolute blankness on Elspeth's face.
Silverfox sighed. "Mind magic, hmm?" he hazarded. "Are they still so fanatic about that?"
"Excuse me," Darkwind said politely. "But - what?"
"Our religion says that mind magic is taboo." Vho explained. "My country is the nearest to White Gryphon, and we've gotten used to mind magic, so we aren't fanatic about it. But Kalathan is from much further away, and his country looks upon mind magic as absolute evil."
"But that doesn't explain destroying the villages." Elspeth objected.
"He knows that you and the other Heralds are blasphemers and criminals, sees you riding creatures basically created from evil mind magic - demons - and sees the villagers worshipping you, ergo, they are blasphemers and must be cleansed, and their life power returned to the Gods."
Elspeth shuddered. "It's the Karsites all over again."
Firesong spoke up. "I could scry into this cavern of his, and look for something that would, well, confirm this."
A furious reply was on Vho's lips. :I wouldn't,: Edern told her quietly. Vho realised with a start that they had barely talked in recent times. :If you act so different to how you normally are, they'll start asking questions. And you don't want to tell them that Kalathan's attitudes are becoming yours, do you?:
They were riding at a canter now, rather than the easy trot they had used during their conversation. "How did you know?" Vho whispered furiously to Edern.
:I can feel it,: Edern told her. :You are changing; for the better, I think. You were too soft and quiet before. Servantlike. Now you have enough courage and strength to defy your superiors to do what you think it right. And that is Kalathan's strength and courage, it's his harshness that is making you strong. But it is your sweetness, morality and knowledge of what is right and wrong that is controlling that, and gentling it, and making it reasonable. There is enough goodness in you to share with him, and enough strength in him to spare. Together you will be stronger than you are apart.: There was a pause, and Vho blinked back tears. :And we will not let him die.:
*
That night, as they entered an inn, Firesong pulled a small glass mirror out of his saddlebag. "Not that I have much use for it anymore," He said with unusual bitterness, "But it is good for scrying."
:He was badly scarred when he tried to stop the mage storms,: Edern explained. :Before that he was inhumanly beautiful. Now he's - not. That's why he wears a mask all the time:Vho nodded. She had wondered, but accepted it as a personal idiosyncrasy.
Firesong sat down gracefully in the room Elspeth had rented with her bottomless crown purse, and bent over the glass. Vho felt a steady building of power, which was suddenly released. A funny pull started, and Vho recognized it as a slight drain on her mage power. Vho looked inside herself, confused, and realised with a shock that her and Kalathan's mage-power, like their attitudes, were completely bonded, making a well of power common to both. Kalathan was taking steps to keep the scrying spell out.
Firesong had evidently realised the same thing, because he sighed and straightened. "There are shields up, very formidable. I could try again, but I'd just exhaust myself. Vho took a sip from her water cup, and suddenly a thought came to her. She pulled out her eating knife and carefully cut her thumb, allowing a couple of drops of blood to fall in the water. She swirled it around and handed it to Firesong.
"Try in this," she suggested to him. "The blood binds to me, and I can easily link you to him."
Firesong looked surprised. "Interesting." was all he said, but his nod was thoughtful.
This time, as Vho felt his magic building, she closed her eyes and sought that place which was more Kalathan than the rest of her. She could feel Edern's worry, and was herself slightly dismayed by the fact that Kalathan no longer felt separate from her.
Then she could see through Kalathan's eyes, and only dimly heard Firesong's "Got it!" behind her.
*
Elspeth, Darkwind and Silverfox stared into the cup of water Firesong held. They, too, could see the image - such as it was. It seemed that they were looking out of someone else's eyes, and that someone was sitting on the ground, with his head balanced on his hands, elbows propped up on his knees.
"Is that him?" Darkwind asked.
Then Vho, still seated in her corner, murmured something. "Kalathan,"
Firesong remained intent on the image, but the others all stared at her. At Firesong's exclamation, they quickly returned. Kalathan had leapt to his feet, and was gazing around a sqaure cave.
"Where are you? Show yourself!" The voice was harsh and deep, and it seemed to issue from the cup. Silverfox quickly translated the Haighleigh language.
"I'm not there, Kalathan." Vho replied. Elspeth, Darkwind and Silverfox seemed torn between watching the cup or watching Vho.
"What do you want from me?" Kalathan demanded. "You tear up my faith, and now you molest me still!"
"I tore up a misconception you made," Vho told him. "Nothing more."
"They deserve to be punished!" Kalathan shouted.
"Who?" Elspeth mouthed once Silverfox had translated. Darkwind shrugged.
"Yes," admitted Vho. "But should you punish everyone? How many bandits were there?"
"There were a hundred of them! Blasphemers, users of mind magic! My family didn't stand a chance."
"And you have killed hundreds," Vho said sadly. "Most of them not even connected with your family." She used the lifebonding like a weapon, pushing her sense of injustice and distaste into him until it was his own.
"Why are you doing this to me!" Kalathan almost wailed.
"Because I must," Vho said.
"I'm sorry," The image in the cup blurred with Kalathan's tears. "I'm sorry. . ."
Vho didn't answer. She opened her eyes, and for one sickening moment saw two rooms at the same time. Then she broke free, and she was back in the inn.
"Damn," said Firesong, as the image faded.
Elspeth stared at Vho. "Care to explain?" She said dangerously.
"No," she replied firmly. "The only reason I let you see that was to prove my point that he wasn't all bad."
"Have you talked to him before?" Silverfox was asking now.
"Yes," Vho said.
"What did you tell him?" Elspeth said immediately.
Vho rolled her eyes. She wished Elspeth wouldn't freak out like this. It was annoying. "Nothing," she said patiently. "I didn't tell him a n y t h i n g."
"So," Firesong didn't even seem very tired by his exertions. "What are we going to do?"
* * * * * *
Next chapter you will find out exactly what they decide to do. Until then, I would like to say "Ner ner ner, I know and you don't! Ha!"
Sorry. Sometimes that's just fun to do.