The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [12]
“I know a great deal about Misfits,” she said.
I wanted to look away but couldn’t, and an urge grew within me to find out what she was thinking. I let the edge of my shield fade.
In an instant, a dozen impressions pierced me like blades, but beneath the blue compulsion of her eyes, they faded.
“Well, well,” she said, and stepped away from me.
I stood for a moment, half dazed.
“Well, go along, then,” said the Kinraide head impatiently.
I turned on shaking legs, willing myself not to run. As I closed the door behind me, I heard Madam Vega’s sweet voice utter the words that spelled my doom. “What did you say that girl was called?”
5
“JES!” I STUMBLED into the kitchen, sending out a cloud of panic and urgency. “Jes. Jes. Jes!”
I almost fell over the astonished Rosamunde, who was working there. “Elspeth?” she said disbelievingly.
Jes charged through another door, his face contorted with fury. “What are you doing?” he shouted. Noticing Rosamunde, he stopped to stare at us in confusion.
“For Lud’s sake, Jes, don’t yell at her. It’s one of her fainting fits again.” Rosamunde looked uncertainly at me. “That water must have been tainted, despite what the Herder said.”
“Water?” Jes whispered incredulously.
“Of course,” she said sternly. “And stop glaring at her. She’s just been in with the Obernewtyn keeper. I’ll get a powder,” she added, and departed.
“Is it true?” he asked, fear in his eyes.
I nodded numbly. “I was only meant to serve tea. But she knows now.”
“How can you be sure?” he pressed. “Tell me what they said. Did they speak of me?”
“They said nothing. But at the end, when I was leaving, she asked who I was.”
He gaped. “That’s all?”
I shook my head. “She knows, Jes.”
The light died in his eyes. He might despise my powers, but he did not doubt them.
“Jes!” It was Rosamunde. She frowned at him from the veranda. “Don’t stare her down like some idiot guardian. Help her outside. Some fresh air will revive her.”
“She’s all right,” Jes snapped, but he carried me onto the veranda and set me on a couch. Ignoring him, Rosamunde handed me a powder. I swallowed it without demur, hardly noticing its bitter aftertaste.
“I am sorry,” I told Jes, suddenly remorseful.
He made no reply. His face was grim. I could not blame his hatred of my abilities. At that moment, I hated them myself.
Rosamunde had noticed the look on Jes’s face and sat on the couch beside him. “What is the matter? Tell me. You know you can trust me. I’ll help if I can.”
He looked at her, and to my astonishment, I could see that he did trust her. Lying to this girl would not come easily to him. I studied her properly. She was a plain, sensitive-looking girl, pale as most orphans were, with a mop of brown curls neatly tied back. I wondered how I had been so blind as to miss the thawing of my self-sufficient brother.
Jes turned to face me. “Are you all right, Elf?” he asked. That had been his pet name for me in happier days, but he had not used it for a long time. How odd that it had taken a disaster to show me that there was still some bond of affection between us. His face was thoughtful, and as I had often done before, I wished I could read his mind. He was not like me, yet his was one of the rare minds that seemed to have a natural shield.
Rosamunde gazed at us both in consternation. “Tell me, please,” she urged.
“Elspeth will be declared a Misfit,” Jes said tiredly.
“You poor thing,” Rosamunde whispered.
“Elf … has begun to have unnatural dreams,” Jes said slowly.
I stared at him. Occasionally I had true-dreamed, but that was the least of it. Why was Jes lying?
“It was the tainted water,” Jes continued, his eyes evasive.
I gaped openly now.
“But … everyone knows that sometimes happens when someone comes into contact with tainted water,” Rosamunde said incredulously. “She was normal before the accident, and I am sure that will temper their judgment. She might only go to the Councilfarms, and you could petition for her once you have your own Normalcy Certificate.”
Then a look of concern passed over her features, and I knew