The Threshold Child (26 page)

“It will be all right, Ma’eve.”

Adesina spoke in a stiff voice that was tottering on the edge of
despair. “How will it be all right? I have spent my whole life preparing to
find my father, and then I turned him over to people who only see him as a
threat.”

“We can find him again.”

She shook her head. “No, we cannot. I am not even sure that I want
to find him.”

Ravi frowned. “Why would you not want to find your father?”

“He is a leader in a dangerous organization,” her voice broke
softly. “This is not the kind of family I had hoped to find.”

The hushed conversation between the men came to an end. L’iam
looked first at Adesina and then at E’nes. “See that she is made comfortable.”

E’nes gave a slight bow in acknowledgment as Ri’sel followed L’iam
out of the cell without looking back. Adesina could hardly believe all that had
transpired over the past several minutes.

E’nes, apparently, could not either. It took him a moment to
gather his thoughts. “Are you hungry?”

She did a quick evaluation of her physical well-being. It had been
quite a while since her last meal. She gave a wary nod, not certain whether or
not she would accept any offering of food from him.

He pulled a key out of his pocket and held it up. “If I am to let
you go, I need your word that you will not try to escape.”

She stared at him incredulously. “You would let me go?”

He gestured to the chains that bound her. “I was told to make you
comfortable. That is difficult with shackles.”

Adesina knew that under normal circumstances she could get the key
from him and knock him unconscious without any trouble. Unfortunately, the
length of her chains limited her movement, making it less likely that she would
succeed. She shifted her weight to test exactly how limited she would be.

E’nes was deliberately standing out of her range of motion, and
smiled as he guessed her intent. He raised an eyebrow and said, “Well?”

Ravi, who was standing in the doorway, spoke to her in the Shimat
language. “You are safe here, Ma’eve. There is no need to fear.”

“I am not afraid,” she retorted, but she wasn’t sure if that was
true.

Her guardian simply nodded, even though he didn’t believe her
either. “These people have the answers you have been looking for, dear one.
They are willing to give them to you, if you will only let them.”

Adesina turned her gaze to her brother, who looked as if he very
much wished to know what they were saying. His face was open and frank,
inviting her to trust his innate honesty. Her suspicious nature cried against
it, but she desperately wanted to know about her past. If receiving that
information meant a temporary promise to stay put, she was willing to make the
bargain.

“Very well,” she said in the common tongue. “I promise.”

E’nes approached her without any hesitation and unlocked the
chains. Adesina was amazed that he did so with no sign of doubt. If their
places had been reversed, she still would have been on her guard, even with his
promise. Her brother, on the other hand, was completely trusting.

He led the way out of the cell, and Ravi waited so he could walk
beside Adesina. They passed a window, showing the young Shimat that they were
still in a forest area. The building they were in appeared to be some sort of
fort.

Her cell seemed to be the only one of its kind. The other rooms,
four in total, served as makeshift living quarters. They reached the end of the
hall and entered into a large, open room. This main room was filled wooden
chairs and tables, and maps covered the walls. The smallish figure of a man was
bent over the fireplace, stirring what appeared to be stew.

E’nes greeted him and made introductions. “K’eb, this is my
sister, Adesina. Adesina, this is K’eb, a fine soldier and an excellent cook.”

K’eb, like all the others, had the two-toned hair and metallic
eyes. He had a round, pleasant face that instantly accepted Adesina as one of
his companions. He handed each of them a bowl filled to the brim.

“Here you are, m’lady. And you, Captain.” K’eb then looked at
Ravi. “Sa’jan shot a deer this morning. Would you care to partake?”

Ravi smiled and shook his head. “No, thank you.”

Adesina was having a hard time getting used to the fact that
others could see Ravi as well as herself. She and E’nes sat down at one of the
tables and began to eat. For a moment it looked as if he was going to start
questioning her, but he decided against it. He didn’t want to press her for
information too quickly. Instead, he continued to speak to K’eb in between
bites.

“How is A’asil?”

K’eb smiled ruefully. “He will be fine, physically. The compound
on the darts appears to only render unconsciousness. His pride, though, may be
wounded beyond repair.”

E’nes chuckled. “Certainly he has lost his right to brag about his
stealth, but he will not hold a grudge.”

Their friendly conversation continued through the meal, but
Adesina didn’t pay much attention. Instead she found herself covertly studying
her brother’s face.

His features were slightly sharper than her own, but he had the
same almond eyes and sprinkling of freckles. His face was youthful and
accustomed to laughter. He had a medium build, but Adesina guessed that he was
stronger than what was immediately apparent.

More striking than all of these things was what she saw in his
eyes. Beyond the strange colors, there was something deeper that held his
entire being upright. They were open, honest and unusually pure. Adesina could
not quite put into words what she saw there, but when she looked at him she wanted
to be a better person.

Her gaze turned to his slender, masculine hands. Adesina was
willing to bet that those hands had never shed the blood of another human
being. She looked down at her own hands. They were also strong and slender, but
had purposefully shed much blood throughout her life.

Although E’nes and Adesina shared the same parents, she and her
brother were completely different. He seemed to be a man of integrity, with
high ideals and noble purpose. K’eb had addressed him in a voice that spoke of
respect and friendship. Adesina was a Shimat: a warrior trained to reach an
objective, regardless of cost.

She fleetingly wondered what her life would have been like if she
had been raised by such people.

Such musings were interrupted by the entrance of L’iam, Ri’sel and
another man. Adesina’s eyes were drawn to this man, as his were to her.

He was in his mid-fifties, but still quite fit. His face was harsh
and craggy, bearing many scars. He, like L’iam, wore a black ribbon around his
neck, and was dressed in the crimson uniform worn by all except for L’iam.
Adesina felt an immediate respect for this man as a warrior. She could tell
that he was one who had seen many battles, and had played his part well.

After both had sized the other up, he walked over to Adesina and
stood before her. The room went silent as all stopped to watch the encounter. The
young Shimat stood slowly, meeting his gaze without fear. He was almost a head
taller than her, but they almost seemed to be equal in height.

He studied her eyes for several moments, gauging what he saw
there. Finally, he said in a low and gravely voice, “You are one I would enjoy
meeting in battle.”

Adesina felt pride in this comment, and knew it would be an honor
to cross swords with such a man. “As are you.”

He smiled, which softened his severe features. “I am Sa’jan, and I
believe we shall be good friends.”

She was startled to find that she felt the same, but said nothing.

E’nes stood and the two men grasped each other’s forearms.
“Sa’jan. This is my sister, Adesina.”

The older man looked surprised. “Sister? The daughter of Me’shan
and E’rian lives?”

He glanced back at L’iam, who apparently had not informed him of
what had been learned in Adesina’s cell. L’iam turned away to take a bowl of
stew from K’eb, not responding to Sa’jan’s inquiring look.

Sa’jan appraised Adesina approvingly. “I am happy to meet the
daughter of one of my oldest friends. And I am glad to see that she has
followed in the footsteps of our ancestors.”

The young woman frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

He pointed to the silver in his hair and then pointed to her own.
“The children of Ed’mon have always been warriors. Protectors.”

E’nes saw that her confusion remained. “In our race, one’s
ancestry can be seen by the color of the hair. The main portion is the father’s
patriarchal line. Ours is silver, meaning that we can trace our line all the way
back to Ed’mon, the first Protector.”

She flipped one of the black locks around her face. “And this?”

“The mother’s patriarchal line.”

Adesina surveyed the different hair colors in the room: black,
silver, gold, white, blonde, honey. “How many lines are there?”

Her brother smiled at her interest. “There were eleven founders of
our race. All of us descend from at least one of them.”

During this exchange, K’eb had been handing out bowls, and
everyone was now seated having their own quiet conversations. Adesina’s
attention was caught by one of Ri’sel’s questions to Sa’jan.

“Did you have any trouble in the village?”

The old warrior shook his head. “No, the villagers are too much in
awe of the L’avan to cause trouble. I purchased the supplies we needed.”

Adesina shot E’nes a questioning glance. “L’avan?” she whispered.

“That is the name of our race.”

She intended to find out more, but Sa’jan’s next comment was aimed
in her general direction.

“What have we found concerning Me’shan?”

E’nes looked at Adesina in uncertainty, at a loss for words. L’iam
was the one who answered. “He has been taken by the Shimat.”

Sa’jan did not seemed surprised. “What is our next course of
action?”

Everyone turned to L’iam for the answer. He was deep in thought,
staring out the window. After a few minutes he stirred. “We will wait for
Mar’sal to return from his assignment.” He got to his feet and handed his empty
bowl to K’eb. “In the meantime, we have some planning to do.”

L’iam indicated for Sa’jan and Ri’sel to follow him and walked out
of the room. K’eb began cleaning all of the dishes, and Adesina turned to speak
to E’nes in a low voice.

“What is going to happen to me?”

He sighed sadly. “I do not know. It is not my decision to make.”

“Regardless, I will remain a prisoner of the
L’avan
?” she
asked coldly.

E’nes shrugged. “Not necessarily. You have not learned anything
that would make you dangerous to us. L’iam may decide to let you go.”

She stared at her brother suspiciously. “Let me go? Just like
that?”

He smiled. “Why not?”

Adesina couldn’t believe her ears. “Because I am still a potential
threat. If you let me go I could follow you and act as a spy, or attack you in
the dead of night. Besides, if you kept me, you would have leverage against the
Shimat. You could trade me for one of their prisoners. For your father.”

E’nes’s expression became wry. “Trading my sister for my father
does not seem like a very good deal.”

She made an exasperated noise. “At least I am not a prisoner of
the Shimat, whereas your father is.”

“Our father,” he corrected softly.

An awkward silence followed for several moments. Finally, E’nes
leaned forward towards Adesina. “I would not allow you to be traded. And I do
not think you will do any of those things you said.”

“How do you know?”

Another smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Because if you
were seriously considering them, you would not tell me about it.”

She knew he was right. However, that did not mean that she was not
considering turning on this group of L’avan soldiers. She hadn’t decided what
she wanted to do, but she was sifting through her options.

When the time came to act, she hoped to be ready.

In spite of E’nes’s assurances, Adesina had been prepared to be
treated like a prisoner. To her surprise, she was treated more like a guest.
Granted, a carefully watched guest.

When the evening meal was finished, E’nes gave her an official
tour of the fort. He gestured ruefully to the room in which they were standing.
“This is the main room, obviously. This is where we have all of our meals, hold
our large meetings, gather in our free time, and so forth.”

She nodded, trying to look politely interested, but not
succeeding.

He moved towards the hall and indicated that she should follow.
“This first room is currently being used as a more private conference room.
This is where L’iam and the others are planning.”

He pointed to a couple of rooms across the hall. “That is where we
sleep.” E’nes gestured in the direction of the cell. “Our secure room, of
course.”