On Fire's Wings - Christie Golden [69]
“I have,” the man replied. “It will be difficult but I think we can manage it.”
“It would be best if you were nowhere near,” Yeshi said.
“It would be best if neither of us was near,” he replied. “That narrows our options.”
“Time is growing short, too,” Yeshi added. She looked younger, softer in the firelight, but there was nothing soft about her next words.
“We must kill Tahmu soon.”
Kevla barely slept. The dreams came as they always did, but frightening as they were, her memories of what she had overheard terrified Kevla even more.
What to do? She could not accuse Yeshi, not without proof. Nor, she admitted, even with proof, not as low-caste as she was. She supposed she could tell Sahlik. But how would she explain how she came by the knowledge? She could not tell anyone about her abilities, even though she had learned something urgent and important through them.
There was only one person in whom she could confide, and she desperately hoped they would have time together soon.
She spent every waking moment in a state of heightened awareness, wondering if today would be the day when Yeshi and her unknown lover would strike. It did not matter to her if Tahmu were in the House or not, because until she knew who Yeshi’s lover was, she had no idea how close he was to Tahmu.
The Great Dragon seemed to have no interest in Kevla’s waking torments. Each night, it demanded, “DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?” And she continued to have no answer for it.
She stood again in the ring of fire, quaking in terror before the Dragon’s overwhelming presence, when suddenly she bolted awake to find Jashemi sitting beside her on the floor.
“I am sorry to come in the night like this,” he said, “but it has been so long since I saw you, and there seemed no other way.”
They both took up a great deal more space on the floor of the tiny room than they had when they were children, and were forced to sit close together. Kevla sat up and clasped her hands about her knees.
“I’m glad you came,” she said. “I have learned something awful, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“What?”
“I have told you that I can see in the flame. See into other fires, and into the faces of those who sit around those fires.” Her tongue would not cooperate and her mouth clamped shut of its own accord. How to tell this to Yeshi’s son?
Gently, Jashemi urged, “Go on.”
“I think I should have told you this earlier, but I thought no good would come of it if I did.” She took a deep breath. “When I was still a handmaiden, I suspected Yeshi was taking lovers. Now, I am certain. I have seen them. Together.”
Jashemi went very still. The moon was still close to new and there was little light. She was glad of that. She did not want to see the pain on his face.
Finally, he said, “I have suspected the same myself. I had hoped I was wrong. It could mean her life if Father learns of it. Do you know who it is?”
Kevla shook her head. “Scrying by the fire is difficult. It’s unclear at best, and the man never looks directly into the flames so I can see his face. But the voice seems familiar, though I can’t identify it. Jashemi, there’s more,” she blurted. “The other night, I saw them sitting together and they were talking—talking about killing Tahmu.”
“What?”
She shushed him frantically, fearing that his outburst would draw attention. For the first time she was grateful that her small room was so far away from the other living areas. Quickly, in a hushed voice, she recounted the conversation.
“You’re sure of this?”
She nodded miserably. “The words are branded in my head,” she said. “I’ve been sick with worry. You’re the only one I could tell.”
He was silent. Gently, tentatively, she touched his arm. “I’m so sorry, Jashemi. I wish this weren’t so.”
“Kevla…” he said slowly, “you don’t think…you are certain…You are certain your power is true? Perhaps you are seeing something that doesn’t really exist.”
“Do you think I’m a demon, then?” She hadn’t meant the