The Spirit Stone - Katharine Kerr [213]
‘I’ll ride down to the Ancients first,’ Pir said. ‘If Vek’s well enough, I’ll take him with me. His omen-sense might come in handy.’
The men—his men, now—nodded their agreement.
‘We’ll arrange the surrender,’ Pir went on. ‘If it looks like they’re going to be treacherous, then we’ll leave. If Vek and I run into trouble, Sidro will know.’
‘And we’ll come after you,’ one of the men said.
‘No, don’t! It won’t be worth it. There’s a wretched lot more of them than there are of us. Get Sidro somewhere safe. That’s all I’d ask of you.’
They pledged him, hands on knife-hilts, with the ancient chant, ‘hai! hai! hai!’
The men smothered the fire, then drifted away, talking among themselves. Pir took Sidro back to the safety of the cabin. Seeing the wizard-light still glowing where Laz had left it pierced her with grief like a spear. She stood staring at it while Pir watched, unspeaking, with shadowed eyes that revealed nothing of what he might feel. Finally she forced herself to turn away. She walked to the forest-side window and leaned out, breathing in the cleaner night air.
‘Sidro?’ Pir said at length. ‘Should I go get my gear, or do you want to be alone tonight?’
‘I don’t know.’ She turned to face him and leaned back, half-sitting on the windowsill for support. ‘I’m so weary, but I’m afraid of being alone.’
‘I’ll tell you what. I’ll go get my blankets, but I’ll sleep outside, across the door. You need rest.’
‘Yes, I do. I’m sorry.’
Yet once she was lying down, she could not sleep, even though she knew that she’d be safe with Pir right outside. Her thoughts swung back and forth between a certainty that Laz was dead and an equal certainty that he’d come back to her in the morning. Surely he’d be able to understand the magic of those two pyramids, surely he could think his way out of any danger. Couldn’t he? Not if he’s dead, her mocking mind would answer, and round she would go again. When she finally did manage to sleep, she dreamt of him floating in a lake, his unseeing eyes staring up at the stars, and woke screaming right at dawn.
She sat up in bed and clasped her hands over her mouth just as Pir, dressed only in his trousers, came rushing into the cabin.
‘What is it?’ he said. ‘Nightmares?’
She nodded and forced her trembling hands away from her face. Pir stood yawning and rubbing his eyes with the backs of his hands.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘You probably wanted to sleep longer.’
‘No.’ He paused for another yawn. ‘I’m going to dress and then fetch Vek. It’s time to ride down to the grasslands and see about that surrender.’
The sun was just rising when Salamander went down to the stream to scry. He knelt and stared into the sun-gilded water while he sent his mind out to the stone. Nothing. He felt nothing, saw nothing. Not the slightest trace of any sort of hint about the stone’s whereabouts came to him. He scrambled to his feet and spun around, staring at the dark swell of the forest, like a wave on the northern horizon. Once again he reached out for the stone. Once again, nothing.
‘How could I have been so witless, doltish, and in general, stupid? Ye gods, what am I going to tell Dalla?’
The stream ventured no opinion on the subject. Tieryn Cadryc, however, quite unconsciously saved Salamander from the grim task of admitting the truth by sending Clae to fetch him.
‘The tieryn says we’ve got to ride out as soon as soon,’ Clae said. ‘He wants you to write a letter to go ahead with the messengers.’
‘Splendid! I need to send a note to Branna myself about her father. Do you want to tell her anything?’
‘Just that I’m dreadful sorry her Da’s dead.’ Clae’s voice trembled. ‘I know what that feels like.’
By the time Salamander had written the messages and seen them on their way, the wounded and their guards were ready to move out. They crossed the ford again without incident