Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey [220]
Master Piero regarded him, then turned abruptly. "Come, and I will tell you."
For a mercy, he led us this time to a small park. There was a stele bearing an inscription informing us that it was a gift of his majesty Caius Maximius, the fifth princeps of the city-state of Tiberium. It was simple and unadorned, which made me think well of Caius Maximius. At Master Piero's invitation, we sprawled on the grass beneath a willow that bent its limbs over a small pond.
At least there was shade. I rubbed my aching ankle, suppressing a groan of relief.
"Dagda Mor!" Eamonn whispered. "I'm perishing of hunger."
"Shhh!" Brigitta favored us with a scowl.
Master Piero waited while we settled. "There is something I wanted you to see today," he said at last. "Do you know what it was?"
"Whatever it was, it stank," muttered Akil.
"Yes." Master Piero turned his gaze on him, luminous and tranquil. "It stank. It stank of humanity, of blood and sweat and labor." He stood before us, folding his arms in his sleeves. "I have been fasting," he mused. "Since the rioting. So many students, so angry! Why?"
"Master!" Vernus protested. "The University—"
"The University is a place of brick and stone," he said to Vernus. "Nothing more."
Lucius frowned. "Yes, but… it is, Master. Not the edifice, no, but that which it houses. Knowledge. Wisdom. The freedom to pursue them."
"And will wisdom die without a roof over its head?" Master Piero asked gently.
I thought about Canis; and I thought, too, of Jebe-Barkal and Saba. Of the Covenant of Wisdom that had been broken. "No, my lord," I said aloud. "But it will die if it is not passed on, mouth to ear, generation to generation. That is what the University stands for. It is the institution and not the edifice that matters. I think that is what Lucius was saying," I added, with an apologetic glance in his direction.
Lucius merely nodded.
"Indeed." Master Piero's gaze softened. "And yet, at what cost?" Seeing a belligerent look dawning on Brigitta's face, he raised one hand. "I cast no blame here. I trust you all conducted yourselves in accordance with the principles and virtues which we have agreed to hold dear. And yet there were many, many students angry with the citizen assembly for supporting the proposed decree."
"Shouldn't we be?" Vernus asked in genuine perplexity. "Are you not?"
"No." Master Piero shook his head. "I am disappointed in those in the Senate who call for Restoration at the cost of knowledge, for they should know better. But the citizen assembly is another matter." He gestured at us. "Vernus, your father is an aedile, is he not? And Lucius, all of Tiberium knows your sister is wed to a senator, and your family once ruled Lucca. Eamonn's mother rules his people, and Brigitta, your father is the lord of his steading. Akil, your father is a Sayyed, and holds a position of honor among the Umaiyyati. And Imriel…" He paused. "You were adopted into a noble D'Angeline household."
"What has that to do with anything?" Akil asked.
"And what were we supposed to see?" Brigitta muttered.
"Life." I remembered somewhat Canis had said. "Mankind, dog-rank and stinking. Why the fate of the University doesn't matter to the citizen assembly. And why we have no right to despise them for it; they, who perform the tasks we shun. Am I right, Master?"
Master Piero watched me with a steady gaze. "Do you take pleasure in being right, Imriel nó Montrève? Do you suppose this is merely an exercise?"
"No, Master!" It seemed unfair, this attack. After all, I was aiding him in making his point. I drew myself up, cross-legged, and inclined my head, wrestling my temper into submission. "Forgive me, and give me your counsel."
He sighed, tucking his hands into his sleeves. "I did not bring you here for counsel, merely to think about what you have seen this day. The lives of the hardworking citizens your fellow students treated with such disdain; and the lives, even harder, of those who labor for them, slaves and freedmen alike. It is true, they care little for the