[Lanen Kaelar 01] - Song in the Silence (37 page)

It felt wonderful.

At first.

I do not recall much about the rest of what
happened. The sun was setting. It grew darker and darker and I had to rely more
on feel. Mirazhe spoke with me when she could in true-speech, and I got her to
nod or shake her head to let me know what helped or hurt. It kept her from
having to speak, which seemed incredibly hard for her.

The worst moment was when I first tried to put my
hand in the birth canal. I thought I would faint from the pain. I drew it out
instantly and let the water of the pool wash it. It still burned, though not as
badly, but what could I do?

I got Akor to tear my cloak, my beautiful green
cloak, in half; and so concerned was I by then for Mirazhe and her child that I
hardly cringed at its passing. I wrapped each arm, shoulder to fingertips, in
one half of the wool. That was much better; its thick double weave was like so
much soft annour. I could manage for a long while. When I had finally got the
kitling turned, though, I had to use my unprotected hands to pull. I think I
screamed as loud as

Mirazhe when the littling came out.

But I will never forget the moment when I lifted
the small, soft head above the level of the water for its first breath. All
pain left me as there in the pool I held, for a second, a newborn Dragon in my
arms. It was not much larger than a colt fresh from its mother. Its eyes were
open and it looked at me, almost as if to speak its thanks. I laughed aloud in
delight, then turned it towards its mother. It started to make sounds not
unlike a human child just born.

Mirazhe nuzzled it.

My hands were terribly burned, and once free of
the spell of that greeting I climbed out of the freshwater pool and hurried to
the open sea to quench the fire, shaking off the rags of wool that had been my
protection. The shock of very cold water on the rest of my body was a great
relief, though I could feel nothing on my arms at first. That coldness was all
I had sought.

Then I looked down and saw great lumps of skin in
the water. Then I realised they had come off my arms.

I screamed once and fainted.

Akhor

We all gasped when the youngling came out, whole
and hearty. I saw it look at Lanen and smiled to myself. This was likely to be
quite an interesting addition to the Kindred.

Mirazhe would not be able to speak for some time,
but the way she bent to the youngling and greeted it I had no fears for her.
Her soulgem, brilliant now, shone a glorious sapphire even in that light.

Shikrar and Kédra were wholly taken with mother
and child. I followed Lanen as she went to the sea. “Littling, the Winds
bless you, you have saved them.”

She did not answer and I could not see her face,
but I did not have to. She screamed then, once from her gut, and fell over.

”Lanen!”

When I lifted her from the water she was limp,
she could not hear me, and her arms—her arms were horrible. I could not hear
her thoughts. I was terrified. My little knowledge of the Gedri disappeared
like the wind, I could not help her and I knew she needed help desperately.

I could think of no other course. I must take her
back to her people. They would surely know what to do for her pain. My heart
turned cold, but there was no other way.

I gathered her in my arms and leapt into the sky,
crying out in truespeech even as I flew.
“Shikrar, Kédra, someone,
quickly! Fly before me to the place of the Gedri. Call out to them however you
must, bring the Merchant, or better a Healer. Have them meet us at the place of
Summoning. Fly on the Wind’s wings!”

Shikrar was beside me before I had finished.

“Shikrar, I fear for her, she barely lives.
I take her to her own people to find healing, I will go from thence to the
Great Hall when she is in their hands. The Council must wait upon me so much
longer.”

His greater wingspan took him ahead of me, but I
sped after as fast as ever I had flown. I bespoke my dear one constantly, on
the chance that she might wake and be fearful. I would not have her feel alone.
I held her gently, keeping her close to me for warmth, but she did not stop
shaking. I had to hold more tightly than before, since she could not grip with
her poor burned hands.

In my passion I overtook even Shikrar, cried
aloud to him to follow and flew fast as fear to the Gedri camp. I did not take
the time to seek out the pass; instead I clasped my dear-ling to me and flew
up, up into the thin cold air, crossing the mountains in a straight line to my
destination.

Lanen never moved.

It was deep night when we reached the place of
Summoning. If I had the time, I might have noticed that I still held the mood
that Lanen had brought to me the night before, where hours were as years and
all of life seemed to take place in a day.

I cared not who heard me. I shouted as loudly as
I could.

Lanen

I had the whole story from Rella later.

“Those of us who were here and still awake
were just settling to a bite of food when a voice the size of all outdoors rang
through the night. We could tell from the first word something

was terribly wrong.

” ‘Marik! Merchant Marik! Bring a Healer,
come here to the Boundary. It is the Guardian who calls!’ No one twitched a
muscle, we were that shocked. We couldn’t believe it, but in seconds it came
again. ‘Come swiftly, Gedri, or I shall come to you!’ it cried. For something
that big it sounded amazingly desperate. And angry.

” ‘About then we saw a long streak of light,
Marik it was, running hotfoot through the clearing towards the Boundary. His
men ran beside and behind—mostly behind—with torches. And we all got up and
followed.

“When I got there I saw Marik at the
Boundary, standing .in front of this huge silver head leaning over the fence,
speak-ing as quickly as it could. ‘Merchant Marik, I require your consent. I
have need of assistance only your people can provide. May I cross the
Boundary?’

“Marik stood there speechless with wonder.
The Dragon leaned closer and spoke again, fangs glinting in the torchlight
‘Quickly, Merchant, your consent!’

“Give the man credit, he’s the cockiest
beggar I’ve ever heard tell of. Not only did he find his tongue, he found
something to do with it. ‘And what do you offer in return, O great one?’ he
says, bold as brass. Ah, but he got his comeuppance, There was another voice
from the shadows behind that hissed. ‘He offers you life, small-souled one. I
suggest you take it. lest I take it for you.’

” ‘I consent,’ squeaks Marik, stepping back.
He needn’t have bothered. As soon as he spoke there was a sudden wind, loud in
the ears, and behind us all settled the Dragon. He was huge and terrifying,
silver all over, and he was carrying something limp in his claws.

” ‘This is Lanen, called Maransdatter. She
is in great pain, and there is some thing else that ails her as well. She
shakes like a tree in a high wind and cannot stop.’ He set you down and leaned
towards you for a minute, I don’t know why. Maybe to see if you were still
alive.”

I stopped her. “You know, I think I remember
that.” Perhaps I roused a little when we landed, for I remember seeing him in
a kind of haze when he leaned down and bespoke me.

“Lanen, dearling, I must leave you in the
care of your Kindred. Forgive me, dear heart, I cannot help you in this. I will
watch with you as I may, I will hear your lightest thought. Call if you have
need of me and I will be with you.”

“Mirazhe and the child?”
I
managed to ask.

“Both alive and very well. You have the
gratitude of all the Greater Kindred.”
His thought
became almost a whisper.
”And the love of their King.”

Rella went on. “When the Dragon looked up,
there was Marik standing to one side. He drops his head down to Marik’s level
and says in a kind of low rumble, ‘Know, Merchant, that I value this life more
than any other. Restore her to health, tend to her well and I shall be grateful.
Treat her ill and I shall know of it and seek you out, treaty or no, wherever
in the world you fare.’ Then he flew away. That silver hide of his shone like
white fire in the torchlight.

Then we heard the voice of the second Dragon
again. It was deeper, and seemed to come from even farther up than the other
one. ‘We give you thanks for your permission, and for your assistance with the
lady; but as of this moment, the Boundary is restored. I am Guardian now. We
shall stay on this side, and who of your people crosses the Boundary must die,
as our treaty declares.’

“We hurried away from there. Marik’s men
were carrying you, and he was shouting for his Healer. I think you fainted
again.”

I remembered nothing for a long time.

Marik

“Berys, we have her! The Lords of the Hells
have blessed my petitions with a swift answer, and more. The treaty has been
broken by the Dragons, the Boundary crossed, and all to bring to me the dying
body of the one I sought!

“I know not what has brought her to such a
state, nor why the Dragons care about her, but they do. She was very near to
death, her hands and arms horribly burned and her whole body shaking with an
ague. Maikel has saved her life, though it took all his strength to do it. When
he was done, he shook his head and said it was not enough, and he forced me to
cut open a Ian fruit, one of my precious Ian fruits, and feed a quarter to her
tonight and another quarter in the

morning. (The second half I shall still have—it
seemed to work wonders for her, I will try it myself in the morning if she
survives.) Maikel will need to rest for days to regain his strength.”

“And the girl?”

“He says she should be fully recovered
before we leave the island, assuming the Ian fruit is as effective as legend
makes

“Hmph. All very interesting, Marik, but why
do you wake me again so early in the morning to tell me this?” “There
is better news yet, Magister. It happened that there was plenty of chance to
draw blood from her, though Caderan and I were near certain before.

”Caderan has performed the rite, Berys. This
Lanen is my daughter, my blood and bone, that I promised for the Farseer ere
she was born. She is the price of my pain, as you said. And very soon now, once
she is fully healed, that price will be paid.”

The demon messenger seemed almost to purr.
“Excellent, Marik, excellent. Since she is not tractable, let her be
dedicated to the Lords of the Hells as soon as may be. That should ease your
pain and make her bend to your will; once she is mine I will take stronger
precautions. When you return, my share of the profit from this voyage will be
rich indeed. Well done, Master Merchant.”

I released the creature, hardly noticing now the
stench of its leaving, when of a sudden there was a knock at the door.

“Master Marik?”

It was the old woman called Rella, who had taken
up with Lanen. “What do you want, mother?” I asked. It never hurts to
be polite.

“In fact, master, I was wondering if you’d
like some help. I know Lanen’s terrible sick, and I’ve done some nursing in my
time. There’s some things easier for women to do.”

She had a point, but I am a Merchant. I know
perfectly well that nothing is free. “And what do you desire in
recompense?”

“Well, that depends, don’t it? How long am I
like to be needed?”

“No more than half a day.”

“Well, I’ve been bringing in ten bags a day,
you ask your purser. Half a day, that’s five bags lost.” When I laughed,
she snorted with disgust. “Very well, make it three. The girl has been
kind to me.”

“Done. Let you begin your service now for
your three bags’ credit, I haven’t slept in as many days. Keep watch over
her,” I said. “If she wakes in pain, or needs anything, the guards
outside will serve you.” I stumbled out the door, going to my own cabin.
Until that moment I had not realised how weary I was.

The pain was not so bad that night—lansip tea
helped— and I limped the few yards across the dark ground serene in the
knowledge that on the morrow I would be free of it forever.

XIII

COUNCILS

Akhor

When Lanen’s people took her up, I left Shikrar
as Guardian and her in his care. I had called a Council and even for heart’s
anguish could delay it no longer. But before I went, I had to know where he
stood.

I faced Shikrar squarely. “Well, my friend?
I go now before our people. I have broken the treaty with the Gedri, though my
reasons for doing so were good. I have broken the ban, most certainly. And yet
good has come of it” He stood silent. “Hadreshikrar, my old friend,
how do you judge what I have done?”

He looked me steadily in the eye and replied,
“Akhorishaan, your Lhanen has gifted me with life where I saw only the
death of all I loved. I know not why, yet, but I know well she is more dear to
you than life itself, or you would not have done what you have done. How may I
serve you and your dear one?”