Beyond the Boundary Stones (The Chronicles of Tevenar Book 3) (29 page)

Mila made a muffled sound of assent. Nalini sat down beside her and placed a bowl discreetly on her lap. She glanced back at Elkan. “I’m familiar with that disease. We have it in Giroda, though it’s rare there as well.”

Elkan kept an eye on Mila as he continued. “It’s inborn, so the Mother’s power can’t cure it. We’ve always known the problem was in the blood, and we’re able to help it work somewhat better, but it’s seldom enough. Yesterday when I encountered a child with the disease, I had Gevan let me use his lens. I could clearly see that in the girl’s blood many of the disks were warped into a crescent shape. I could feel with the Mother’s power that they weren’t able to carry air the way the normal structures could.”

Nalini was trying to maintain an unimpressed attitude, but Josiah could tell Elkan had succeeded in capturing her attention. “Did being able to see the problem let you correct it?

Elkan’s shoulders drooped a fraction. “No. The malformed structures couldn’t be reshaped by the Mother’s power. I tried speeding as many as I could to the end of their natural lifespans, and that seemed to help the child some, but I expect her body will continue to produce new ones. But if Gevan is able to create a device that allows us to examine them more clearly, perhaps we’ll be able to discover a way the Mother’s power can affect them. Or some medicine that can help. Wizards have always known that the better you understand the body, how it works normally and how it can go wrong, the more likely you are to be able to find ways to fix any problems.”

“I agree with you there.” Nalini tensed as Mila blinked and swallowed, then relaxed as she settled. “So what does this have to do with me?”

“I’m going to have Josiah work with Gevan for a few hours each morning. I think I can spare him that long. He and Sar will use the Mother’s power to observe in conjunction with any device Gevan makes. They’ll push the limits of what wizardry can do. I’d like you to join them. Your expertise in healing will be the perfect complement to their skills.”

Josiah could practically see the gears turning in Nalini’s head. He jumped in to offer more persuasion. “One of the first things we’re going to do is try to figure out a way to treat diabetes.”

Nalini’s brow creased. “The sugar sickness? It’s hopeless. With the right diet you can keep them alive for a few weeks or months, but they always die in the end. When I diagnose a case I offer an overdose of vitriol, to spare them pointless suffering.”

Josiah felt sick, but Elkan nodded grimly. “The Mother’s power can stop the disease from progressing, but only if it’s caught early enough and only with daily treatments. We know there’s a certain substance, we know where in the body it’s produced, we know that the part of the body that makes it dies and can’t be renewed. I’m hoping you can find some medicine to either stop it from dying, or to take the place of the substance and have the same effect.”

“Hmm.” For all her studied nonchalance, Josiah could tell Nalini was nearly as excited at the prospect as he was.

“Just a few hours each morning. That’s all I’m asking.” Elkan took a deep breath. “I will personally make sure you’re paid a generous salary for your time. Whether or not your work produces any results.”

Nalini snorted. “Where will the money come from, wizard? I was under the impression you refuse to be paid for your work, and I don’t think you brought bags of gold with you from Tevenar.”

Elkan dropped his gaze to where Tobi remained sprawled on the floor. She blinked sleepily and met his eyes. He stared at her as he spoke. “I’m going to ask the Matriarch to make good on her offer of a reward, as soon as a pregnancy is confirmed. I’m going to prevail on her gratitude for everything she’ll give me.”

Tobi blinked sleepily, yawned, and turned away. Elkan let out his breath.

Nalini looked from wizard to familiar, baffled. Of course, Josiah knew what had just happened. Tobi had told Elkan his plan fell within the bounds of the Law. He didn’t know why Elkan had been worried. Accepting payment from the Matriarch might bear a superficial resemblance to taking bribes the way Mathir had done, but the Mother could obviously tell the difference.

Elkan grinned shakily at Nalini. “What do you say?”

With studied nonchalance Nalini helped Mila sit up, murmuring reassurances. Only after a few minutes had passed did she look back at Elkan and raise one shoulder. “I’m not doing anything terribly urgent with my mornings at the moment. I suppose I could give it a try for a few days. I’ll see if your friend comes up with anything interesting enough to keep my attention.”

“Thank you.” The only sign Elkan gave of his pleasure was a quick nod. “Perhaps you can meet us at the docks around an hour after sunrise tomorrow? The Matriarch plans to see the ships on their way, and we and Gevan will need to attend. After that he can take you and Josiah to his workshop and you can get started.”

“All right.” Nalini busied herself wiping away stray smears of blood from Mila’s cheeks and neck with a damp cloth. “Will someone fetch the girl’s father? As soon as you can walk you can leave, but you need to have someone with you.”

“I’ll go,” Nirel volunteered. Before Josiah could react, she ducked out of the room.

“Me, too,” he said, and followed her.

He caught up to her as she was asking one of the members of Ozor’s band where Davon had gone. She shot him an annoyed glare. “I don’t need your help.”

“Of course not,” Josiah said, as she headed toward the back exit of the tent where the man had directed her. “I just wanted to say thank you for bringing us here. Otherwise Nalini wouldn’t have agreed to work with us, and Elkan wouldn’t have let me take time off to work with Gevan.”

“You’re welcome, I guess.” She gave him a curious look. “Do you really think you’ll be able to come up with cures that don’t use the Mother’s power?”

“I don’t know, but it’s going to be fun trying.”

“I hope you do.” She looked away. “It will help a lot of people.”

“Yeah, the Dualists especially. Can you believe how stubborn they are? Where did they get the idea the Mother’s power is evil, anyway? I don’t understand why anybody would turn down our help and insist on being in pain like Mila will be until she finishes healing. I mean, obviously we’re not horrible monsters like the Purifiers believe.”

Nirel’s voice was stiff. “From what I’ve heard, they believe the Lady’s power will corrupt their soul.”

Josiah snorted. “Why would we want to do that? Believe me, I wouldn’t work until I was worn out every day like I have been doing just to hurt people.”

She scowled. “Of course you believe you’re doing good. That’s not the point.”

“So what is the point? And how did you get to be the expert on all things Dualist, anyway? You don’t know any better than I do. Maybe you can arrange for me to meet those Dualist friends of yours, and they can give me some straight answers.”

“Maybe I will.” Nirel gestured for him to shush as they emerged from the tent. Davon was standing just outside, arms folded over his chest, staring across the terraced hillside to where the stars spread in silent glory over the dark ocean.

Nirel kept her voice quiet and respectful. “Sir? Nalini is finished operating on your daughter. Mila is awake, and Nalini says she can go home.”

Davon closed his eyes, tension draining from his body. “She refused the wizard’s offer?”

“Yes, sir. I watched the whole time. The Lady’s power never entered her body.”

He gave her a warm smile, though sadness still shadowed his eyes. “Thank you, daughter.” He gestured for Nirel and Josiah to return to the tent, then fell in step beside them.

Before he could lose his nerve, Josiah looked over at Davon. “You said you’re a Dualist Elder, right?”

“An Elder of the Faithful, yes.” Davon regarded Josiah kindly.

“So that’s like a Keeper or a master wizard, I guess? You’re an expert on the—I mean, on what your people believe.”

“That’s right, son.”

Josiah took a deep breath. “So why do the Dualists—the Faithful—believe the Mother’s power is evil? I mean, isn’t it obvious it’s not? All we do is heal people, and help them, and show what’s true.”

If Davon was offended, he didn’t show it. In fact, his smile deepened. “The simple answer, son, is that the Lord of Justice told us so in his Ordinances. Even if he required us to accept it on blind faith, that would be sufficient. But we believe we know the reason behind his command.”

“So what is it?”

Nirel glared at him. “You’re so rude. What makes you think Elder Davon wants to waste time answering your nosy questions? Leave him alone.”

Davon raised a hand. “It’s all right, daughter. If the wizards want to understand our ways, I’m glad to do my best to enlighten them.” He turned back to Josiah. “Young as you are, I expect you’ve experienced enough to understand. Think back on your life, to the times you’ve learned the most, grown the most, emotionally and spiritually, matured the most. Moments that have changed you for the better. Would you say those instances have been the result of enjoying peace and happiness, or of experiencing stressful, even painful, events?”

Josiah would have like to confound the Dualist’s argument, but how could he expect to gain any real understanding if he wasn’t honest? He knew exactly what Davon meant. He remembered his misery at being sacked from the Fullers’ Guild, which had resulted in Elkan taking him on as his apprentice. The exhaustion and terror of the flood when he had become a wizard. The agony of pushing himself to the limits of his endurance to heal the wheat and his secret patients, the horror of discovering Mathir’s betrayal, the panic that Sar might break their bond. He shrugged. “The second, obviously.”

“Obviously.” Davon’s eyebrow quirked. “Are you sorry about any of the experiences that made you who you are? If you could live your life over, would you choose to forgo both the suffering and what came of it?”

This required more thought, but again there was only one truthful answer. “No.”

Davon inclined his head. “See? You and I agree. Suffering serves a purpose. Pain is how the Lord of Justice teaches us what is true. It causes the green fruit of our character to ripen. In the guise of mercy, the Lady seeks to take from us the opportunity to grow into the fullness of what the Lord intends us to be.”

Counterarguments crowded Josiah’s brain and jostled for space on his tongue. “What’s Mila supposed to learn that’s worth all the pain she’s gone through?”

“Only time will tell. But it will become clear eventually.”

“And people who die in agony, like the ones we couldn’t help after the fire? So what if they learned something? They’re dead; they never got the chance to use it.”

Davon spread his hands. “They return to the Lord of Justice transformed by their experience. I don’t know how that will serve them in the life that follows this one, but I believe it will.”

Josiah clenched his fists, fuming. “But you think it’s fine for Nalini to stop Mila’s pain with surgery. Why is that different than what we do?”

Davon met his eyes. “Nalini’s healing is natural. It comes from skillful manipulation of things of this world, things the Lord of Justice created. Your healing comes from an unnatural power, in which the Lord has no part.”

“But it’s not unnatural. Gevan’s experiments prove it. The Mother created it, just like she created everything else. There is no Lord of Justice; you just pretend there is because you like telling people what to do!”

Josiah realized he’d crossed the line a second too late to call back his hot words. Nirel whirled on him, her face white. “How dare you!”

Davon frowned, but shook his head. “Peace, daughter. I take no offense. The boy’s only parroting what he’s been taught.”

Josiah lost what little remained of his temper. “I am not! I’ve talked to the Mother myself! That’s more than you can say about your imaginary—”

Elkan burst from Nalini’s room. “Josiah! What’s going on?” Beside him Sar glared at Josiah, his ears laid back.

“He said I—”

“I don’t care what he said. There’s no excuse for shouting at someone like that. I apologize for my apprentice, Elder.”

Davon inclined his head. “It’s hardly the first time a discussion of religious matters has become heated. I’m sure he’ll learn to moderate his reactions in the future.” He gave Josiah a tolerant look, which nevertheless reminded Josiah what the Dualist leader believed brought about learning.

“I hope so.” Elkan glowered at Josiah and gestured for Davon to enter the room.

As soon as he was out of sight Josiah turned to Elkan, trying to keep his voice soft. “But Master, he said—”

“I told you I don’t care. We’re guests in his homeland. We owe him respect, not insults.”

“But he’s
wrong!
”

“Of course he is, but you’ll never change someone’s beliefs by yelling at them. If we ever hope to persuade the Dualists to accept our help, we have to show them that we accept them, that we’re not trying to change their beliefs.”

“But we are.”

Elkan’s stern look was spoiled by a twitch at the corner of his mouth. “Only if they choose to change them of their own free will.” The smile vanished. “I hope you haven’t just ruined any chance we had. From the reaction of the people out there, I suspect Davon is more than just another Elder.” He turned to Nirel. “Have you heard of him?”

Nirel swallowed, her eyes sliding away from Elkan’s. “I know the leader of the Faithful is named Davon.” Quickly she added, “But it might not be him. It’s a common name.”

Elkan shook his head. “I doubt we’re that lucky.” He sighed. “Let’s go. I want to get back to the palace early enough to speak to the Matriarch tonight. At least Nalini agreed to my proposal.”

“Yeah.” Josiah brightened. Tomorrow he’d finally get to see Gevan’s workshop. He couldn’t wait to get started experimenting. They’d come up with a cure for diabetes before a week was out, he was certain.

Elkan scowled at him. “Be sure you don’t offend her, too.”

That was totally unfair, because the only person who’d offended Nalini was Elkan himself. But Josiah had enough presence of mind not to blurt that out. “I’ll be careful.”

Sar flicked an ear at Elkan and snorted.