Sea of Ghosts - Alan Campbell [156]
‘Really,’ Briana said suddenly. ‘This is beyond tiring. Why not let the girl hear what you have to say? I’m not going to go over this twice for her benefit. If the point of psychic warfare is to inflict pain, suffering and death, then she’s done exceptionally well.’
Sister Ulla snorted. ‘We can’t have lawlessness and anarchy within our own ranks.’
Briana looked at the old woman with an expression of incredulity. ‘Anarchy? Don’t be so dramatic, Ulla. The loss of one brat is not going to make any difference to the world. She was hardly an asset.’
‘The parents!’ Sister Ulla protested.
‘Why on earth would you want to inform them?’
‘They’ll find out eventually—’
Briana batted a hand at the other woman. ‘We have finances set aside to deal with these sorts of problems. Don’t bore us all with your peacock morality. Her parents ought to be glad she was given an opportunity here in the first place.’
Sister Ulla fluffed out her chest, as if she was going to protest, but then she sank back into her chair.
Briana looked at Ianthe. ‘Mara said you turned that girl’s brain to paste.’
Ianthe felt her face turn red. She shuffled from one foot to the other. She wanted to say that she hadn’t meant it, that it wasn’t her fault and if they would let her go home she’d never bother the Haurstaf again. But that wasn’t going to happen now. She lowered her head.
Briana laughed suddenly. ‘You think so, Ulla?’ she said. ‘I’d like to see you do it.’
‘Don’t tempt me,’ Sister Ulla growled.
Nobody spoke for several minutes, and it seemed to Ianthe that the witches had fallen back into psychic communication. But then Briana turned to her and said, ‘Sister Ulla is of the opinion that you had help. Did you have help, Ianthe?’
Ianthe said nothing.
‘If you don’t mind,’ Briana went on, ‘we’d like to examine those eyeglasses of yours.’
‘They’re just eyeglasses.’
‘Then you won’t mind—’
‘No!’ Ianthe cried. ‘They don’t belong to you.’ Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision through the lenses. These old women had no right to ask her to give up her sight, no right at all. All of them except Briana were glaring furiously at her now.
Sister Ulla looked as if she was ready to explode with indignation. ‘You’ll hand them over now,’ she said, ‘or I’ll come down there and take them from you myself.’
Ianthe spoke through her teeth. ‘Try it.’
Briana raised her hands. ‘That’s enough,’ she said. She glanced from one sister to another, before returning her attention to Ianthe. Her expression softened. ‘There’s a place for you here, Ianthe, but only if you work with us. I won’t tolerate threats. I expect you to be as civil and honest with us as we’ve been with you.’ She gave her a half-smile. ‘We can’t put you back into the classroom now.’
‘But I didn’t mean to harm—’ Ianthe’s voice broke and she began to cry.
Briana left her seat and walked down the central aisle of the theatre. She wrapped her arms around Ianthe and held her. Ianthe couldn’t stop herself. Her whole body began to convulse with sobs. Tears flowed freely until she could no longer see through her lenses. She clung fiercely to Briana. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry.’
The Haurstaf leader smoothed Ianthe’s hair. ‘Shush,’ she said. ‘You’ve done nothing to be sorry about. All you need is a little guidance.’ She held Ianthe for a long time. Finally she squeezed Ianthe’s shoulders and gently pushed her away. ‘If you can do that to a human,’ she said, smiling, ‘think what you could do to the Unmer.’
Ianthe sniffed and shook her head.
‘This is what we do, Ianthe,’ Briana said. ‘It’s what your classmates have been training towards, what poor Caroline sacrificed her life for.’
‘Constance,’ Ianthe said.
Briana nodded. ‘And when you see what the Unmer are capable of, you’ll understand why the Guild