On Fire's Wings - Christie Golden [123]
“I agree,” said Kevla. “Show me…show me the Lorekeepers in the Clan of Four Waters.”
The fire subsided, and two faces appeared. One was unknown to Kevla, but the second was familiar indeed. It was her old adversary, Tiah.
“If we had only known,” Kevla said softly, thinking of the time they had both wasted in their confrontations. Who cared about petty household politics when their entire world was at stake? Tiah was carrying a candle. She looked older than Kevla remembered her, and unhappy, and Kevla found it in her to pity the woman.
One by one, Kevla went through every one of the Arukani clans. The Dragon explained that not all of the Lorekeepers would be as close to her as Jashemi had been, but each carried a piece of the puzzle. She thought with a stab of anguish that no one could have been closer than Jashemi, but said nothing. Her grief was hers alone; it belonged to Kevla Bai-sha, not the Flame Dancer. She would not strain the Dragon’s sympathy by continuing to focus on her personal loss.
As she sat and gazed into the fire, memorizing faces and listening to conversations, Kevla was startled to realize that the young sa’abah-tender who had stolen food and water for her was among them. Then she recalled the girl’s words: I do not know you, or your errand. But somehow I feel as if I needed to do this for you. Perhaps one day, we will both understand why.
It made perfect sense. The Lorekeepers were born to help the Dancers. Even when neither she nor Kevla understood their link, both had sensed their connection.
She observed and listened. Most of the Lorekeepers were of the lower or middle castes, but there were two Seconds, one in the Sa’abah Clan and one in the Horserider Clan, and the khashim of the Star Clan was a Lorekeeper as well.
Some of them did not speak of their dreams; others did. No one understood them, and all were frightened by them. They felt alone, isolated. Kevla was moved. If only they knew that there were many others like them, that they were special and to be honored, not feared.
For the first time since she had made love with Jashemi, she felt hope rise in her. Jashemi’s dream had been to unite the clans so that they could stand against this Emperor from over the mountains. It had seemed like a fool’s errand when he spoke of it, but now Kevla thought it possible. Every clan had at least one Lorekeeper. Every Lorekeeper would have been having strange dreams. Once they were made to understand the truth about their dreams, to realize that they could no longer stand separately and continue their petty quarrels, perhaps they would see the wisdom in union.
She spoke of this to the Great Dragon. “I hope you are right,” he said. “It will be difficult for them to listen to a Bai-sha, though. You understand that.”
She grinned at him. “It will be easier for them if the Bai-sha is riding the Great Dragon of Mount Bari.”
“Hmph,” was all the Dragon had to say, but he looked pleased.
She looked down at the handful of dates she was munching. “Dragon,” she said, “I was wondering…how did you get this food?”
“I?” He seemed surprised. “I have not been bringing you food.”
“Then who has?”
“The kulis,” the Dragon replied.
Kevla almost choked. “What?” She stared in horror at the innocent-looking dates. She had been eating the food that demons had brought her for days!
Repulsed, she threw the handful of uneaten dates as far from her as she could, wiping her hands on her red rhia. Her stomach roiled.
“Now you’re just being stupid,” the Dragon said mildly.
“Stupid?” she spat. “Stupid, to not eat the food demons have been bringing me?”
He sighed and shook his head sadly, as if she were nothing more than a petulant child having a tantrum. “The kulis saved your life. It is they who have been bringing you food and water, when you would have died alone in the desert on your pilgrimage. Your contempt is poor thanks. They’re not demons, Kevla. They’re not evil. I thought you were intelligent enough to learn that on your own, but apparently twenty-one years of living in this country has addled your Fire-given