On Fire's Wings - Christie Golden [74]
Each step had a symbol of the element. There were five in all, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. The last step would put the Clansman directly at the feet of his future lord.
Tahmu took the first step. He leaned down and lifted the sizable rock that represented the element of Earth. He said nothing, but closed his eyes as if turning his attention inward, then replaced the rock. Others, Jashemi knew, would not be strong enough to lift the rock and would merely touch its rough surface with reverence.
The wing of a falcon lay on the next step. Tahmu picked it up, and swung it through the air, creating a brief, gentle breeze. Air was thus honored.
The third step had a brazier of coals next to a large pile of quick-burning twigs. Tahmu gathered a handful and dropped them into the brazier. The flames leaped up, and he gazed steadily into their light, not shrinking from the sudden heat, until the flames had burned themselves down to coals once again. Jashemi’s heart sped up a little as he watched his father stare into the flames. It would be at this moment, when he gazed into the fire, that Yeshi’s lover would reveal himself to Kevla.
Or so Jashemi desperately hoped.
His honoring of Fire complete, Tahmu took the next step. He dipped his fingers into a large ceramic bowl and sprinkled the precious Water on his face.
Spirit had no representation, because it was nothing solid. There was only a white circle painted on the next to last step, indicating where the supplicant would stand. Tahmu stepped into the white circle, and closed his eyes in concentration as he had done with the previous four Elements.
Now, he took the last step, and knelt before his son on a red and blue embroidered cushion. He spoke in soft tones, so that no one would overhear.
“You are a man today, my son. No father could be prouder of his child than I of you.” He smiled gently, and Jashemi felt a lump well in his throat. Then, Tahmu’s smile widened mischievously.
“Endure the heat as best you may—both from the sun and from those who approach you.”
Jashemi felt his lips twitch as he suppressed a grin.
“I will step in if you need me. If you feel uncomfortable, look at me and nod imperiously.” He winked, then bowed again and descended the second set of steps on Jashemi’s left. He resumed his position at the foot of the steps and looked at the next supplicant who came forward.
Yeshi gazed steadily back at him, then she centered herself and greeted the representations of the Elements. She moved fluidly, observing all the proper etiquette, and yet Jashemi sensed that she was observing the form but not the substance.
When she knelt before him and he took her soft hands in his, she looked up at him. For a moment, their old connection was there.
Anxious to hold on to that instant, he squeezed her hands and opened his mouth to speak. But before words could escape his lips, Yeshi said in a flat voice, “Today my son is a man, with a man’s responsibilities. Today his mother is but another woman in his life.”
She rose and went down the stairs, back straight. He watched her go, feeling hollowness in his heart, the deep ache of regret. Then he faced forward again. Yeshi had made it plain how she wished things to be between them. He would not shame himself by begging.
The next person to ascend was Halid, Tahmu’s Second. Halid honored all the elements as Tahmu had, then knelt before Jashemi and clasped the khashimu’s hands.
“I hope to someday serve you as well as I have served your father. You are worthy to succeed him.”
He knew he shouldn’t extend the moment by speaking—it was going to be an achingly long day—but Jashemi said, “The Clan has been honored by your service. I will sleep better knowing you will be at my side, as you have been by my father’s.”
Nodding, Halid descended the stairs.
Jashemi felt the sun begin to beat down as the morning