The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [101]
“That settles it; the expedition will have to be put off until Maryon can clarify the prediction,” Rushton said.
Again the Futuretell guildmistress shook her head. “The boy was only part of the foreseeing. Th’ fate of Obernewtyn hangs in th’ balance of this journey, an’ it mun proceed as planned. The expedition mun return to th’ mountains wi’ their prizes before winter freezes th’ pass, else we will fall to our enemies.”
Rushton shook his head. “I don’t know what to make of this.”
“You need not fear Jik will betray us,” Dameon said.
Rushton looked taken aback. “I don’t doubt his loyalty if you vouch for him. But he’s a boy! It’s bad enough …” His eyes darted momentarily in my direction.
“I don’t think we have any choice,” Dameon said. “For some reason or other, Jik has to go on the expedition. There is no time to wait for clarification.”
“Which might never come,” Maryon added.
Rushton ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I felt it was time to end our isolation, but I little thought what that would cost.” He turned and nodded at the stack of Normalcy papers. “Jik will have to use the blank one I had made for the Talent you hope to find. It’s too late to make another.”
When they were gone, I went to the window and breathed in the cool night air, thinking how strangely things came about. A fortnight before, Jik had been a Herder novice. Now, suddenly, he was vital to Obernewtyn’s future. If Zarak had not disobeyed me …
I shook my head. One could go mad thinking of alternate possibilities. Kella was right. The present was enough to deal with.
6
THE DAY OF the departure dawned, grim and unseasonably cold.
Gray clouds scudded across a metallic autumn sky. Wind blustered and rain fell in short, violent flurries.
I shivered, staring out over the gardens from my window. In that moment, I could imagine vividly the mountain valley blanketed in ice and snow, the mournful sound of wolves echoing across the frozen wastes. The lowlands would be much warmer than the mountains, even in wintertime. Perhaps at last the scars on my feet would have the chance to heal completely. I had avoided speaking to Roland about my feet for fear Rushton would hear of it and use them as reason to ban me from the expedition. Fortunately, Kella understood and had been treating me without telling Roland.
Thinking of the healer made me remember Maruman. I had gone to see him before firstmeal, but, though conscious, he was still dazed and barely coherent. I had wanted desperately to talk to him about the vision I had seen in his unconscious mind, but it was impossible.
As with all expeditions, no amount of forethought could avoid the last-minute rush as remembered necessities were rounded up. Feeling harassed with preparations, I looked up with relief to see Ceirwan and Matthew approach.
“See, I’ve been practicin’,” Matthew sent on a tightly shielded probe. The momentary mischief in his eyes faded as he looked around.
“Until today, it hardly seemed such an important thing to be doin’,” he said pensively.
Those who were part of the expedition knew we carried the fate of Obernewtyn on our backs, though the general population of Obernewtyn knew nothing of Maryon’s prophecy. And Dameon had requested I tell no one, including Jik, of the part of the prophecy that concerned Jik. “It would not be fair to the boy,” he insisted.
Jik was even younger than Lina and Zarak but was more serious and quieter of nature. He seemed bemused by the news that he was to be part of the expedition, though it seemed he would prove useful, for he had been to Sutrium more recently than any of us and would give Domick some idea of the present shape and disposition of the town as we traveled.
Jik had insisted that his companion, Darga, accompany us as well. A nondescript short-haired dog with a ferociously ugly face, he was one of a breed used by the Herders to guard the cloisters. Darga had been a miscolored runt in his litter, expected to die when Jik had volunteered