On Fire's Wings - Christie Golden [97]
An image of Kevla rose in front of him that was so real he almost believed she was present. He saw her bound, sobbing, beaten. He cried her name, reached out for her. Then she was gone, and he saw only the desert sand.
He was chilled despite the heat, covered with cold sweat. The sa’abah had come to a complete halt, and craned its neck to look back at its rider inquiringly.
Something dreadful had happened to Kevla. He knew it in his bones. He loved her. He had to go to her.
His new family would worry when he did not return, and he had no food and little water for a very long ride. None of that mattered. Time enough to send a hawk back once he had arrived at the House of Four Waters. Once he had saved Kevla from whatever was happening to her.
“Come on,” he said gently to his mount, turned its head, and set off as fast as the beast could go.
Chapter Nineteen
Kevla had not resisted when Halid and the others had hauled her away from Tahmu; she had been too stunned by his words to resist. They literally threw her into her room and slammed the door. She looked around her tiny room, and for the first time was glad that she struggled for space on a floor that was crowded with tools. Most of them were dulled with use, but she sat down next to an old scythe, maneuvered it into position, and began to cut her bonds.
It took time, and the sun moved across the sky. Kevla continued; time was nothing to her now. At last the ropes fell free. She rubbed her hands to bring life back into them and assessed her situation.
Kevla knew she was no kuli. What she had always known was that others would fear her abilities if they knew of them. If only she’d been thinking! She could have dropped a pot to create a distraction and then “accidentally” knocked over the poisoned food. But she had not thought, she had reacted on instinct, and tomorrow, she would pay the price.
She studied the door. It was made of wood. If she could send a bolt of flame leaping from her fingers that could ignite a table, the wooden door to her room should be no challenge. Then again, she would probably simply trap herself in the room and burn to death, or choke on the smoke. She knew she could start a fire, and could see through it; she feared fire was not friend enough to leave her flesh unscathed.
Besides, where could she run to? Tales would spread of the kuli in woman-shape. How would she live? She could not go to Jashemi; he had a family now, and if he took her in, they would call him kuli-cursed.
As she thought about him, tears welled in her eyes. She had never gotten to say goodbye to him. She wiped the tears away angrily. Crying served nothing. Kevla got unsteadily to her feet and looked out the window. In the dying light of the day, she could see the pyre being built, and watched with detached interest as piles of wood began to appear. There was a platform and a long pole in the center.
It didn’t seem real. She simply seemed unable to fully comprehend that tomorrow she would be tied to that pole, smoke filling her lungs, heat assaulting her, flames licking her body—
Unbidden, her mind went back to the time when she had just arrived at the House, when she, Yeshi and Tiah had gone to the market and the kuli-cursed man had approached them. She remembered the rush to gather wood for the fire, how Yeshi had been willing to pay for it in order that the man burn quickly. Then, Yeshi had been acting to protect her; now, the great lady of the House of Four Waters was doing all she could to condemn Kevla. They were taking their time, in order that a huge crowd would have time to assemble. Kevla thought of the man, rushing at her. Had that beggar truly been cursed by demons, or was he as innocent of taint as she? She smelled again the stench of burning flesh and suddenly her stomach heaved.
Kevla turned away from the window and covered her mouth, willing herself not to be sick. She crawled to a corner of the room and sat there, drifting into an uneasy slumber as night came. For the first time since she began to bleed from her sulim, she did not dream.
She