Beyond the Boundary Stones (The Chronicles of Tevenar Book 3) (48 page)

Josiah dragged his gaze down from the snake’s hypnotic eyes. Dark on the cream-colored scales of the snake’s neck was the unmistakable mark of the Mother’s finger.

Elkan continued softly. “You’ve seen that same mark in Tobi’s ear, on Sar’s chest, on Nina’s back. It means it’s Mother-touched. It’s a familiar. It’s come to us to bond with a new wizard.”

Borlen’s sword trembled. “You can’t be sure of that.”

“Yes, I can. Put the sword down, Borlen.”

He licked his lips and the tip of his sword dropped a few inches. “You don’t understand. There’s probably not anything like this in Tevenar. It’s poisonous. One bite will kill a man.” He gulped. The snake lunged a little closer; his sword jerked back up.

“I understand, Borlen. Think of Tobi. She could kill a man easily if she wished, but she doesn’t, because the Mother has chosen her, changed her. You feel safe with her. You can feel just as safe with this snake.” Elkan stepped down from the table to the bench, then to the floor. The snake’s head swiveled to trace his movements. Borlen stiffened. Josiah was certain his sword would slash down at any moment.

“I’m going to approach it,” Elkan told Borlen. “Be still. All of you,” he commanded, looking around at the workers who watched with horrified fascination. “Stay where you are. I’ll be perfectly safe.”

He put his hand on Borlen’s sword arm. Borlen gulped and lowered it, the snake following every motion. Elkan stepped forward and knelt before the snake, putting his hand out fearlessly. Josiah held his breath. The dark oval certainly
looked
like a familiar’s mark, but what if Elkan was wrong?

The snake lowered its head to meet Elkan’s hand. Its hood shrank to become part of its neck. Its tongue flickered over Elkan’s fingers, then in a smooth movement it flowed up Elkan’s arm and draped itself around his shoulders.

He climbed to his feet, grunting under the snake’s considerable weight. “See, everyone? There’s nothing to fear.”

Josiah let his breath out, the frantic hammering of his heart easing. Elkan was right, as usual. The snake was Mother-touched, no more a threat than Nina or Sar.

Elkan continued to speak, his relaxed manner and warm voice working on the tense onlookers as effectively as on a terrified patient. “This isn’t the first poisonous snake familiar I’ve met. My friend Nachra is bonded to a coral snake. Sethi is much smaller than this beauty, she hardly wraps around Nachra’s wrist twice, but I’ve seen her take out a wolf with a single bite. That’s quite a story, actually. We’d traveled to a village in the forest north of Elathir where they’d reported a monster attacking livestock.”

He approached Borlen, gently stroking the snake’s sinuous curves. Borlen took a deep trembling breath, sheathed his sword, and put out a shaking hand. Elkan smiled encouragingly. “Of course a window showed it was no monster, but an old grey—”

The snake’s head shot out. Its fangs sank into the back of Borlen’s hand. Kevessa screamed; workers shouted. Borlen stared at his hand, frozen, as the snake drew back and two scarlet drops of blood welled out.

After an instant of motionless shock, Elkan snatched his slender surgery knife from his belt. The snake didn’t move as he put it to the skin at the base of the snake’s throat. His first tentative cut failed to pierce the tough scales, but a second, firmer stroke opened a small slice. Blood ran down the snake’s body as it dropped its head to rest on Borlen’s hand directly atop the place its teeth had punctured.

Josiah forced himself to breathe. It would be all right; this was just like dozens of other bondings he’d seen. Even if none of them had featured poison spreading through the potential wizard’s veins.

Several of the workers surged forward. Elkan raised a hand. “Stop!” he ordered, his voice echoing through the hall with the tone no one ever disobeyed.

The lead worker halted and glared at him. “The boy’s dying! Kill the beast and tend to him!”

“He’s not.” Elkan radiated authority as he stared the man down. “The Mother has chosen him as a wizard.”

The worker eyed Borlen and the cobra, his manner still threatening. The young soldier stood motionless, eyes closed, outstretched hand supporting the equally still snake’s head. Elkan couldn’t move to protect them because he still held the rest of the snake, thick loops of its body festooning his shoulders and arms.

Josiah jumped down and went to stand beside his master, glowering at the worker. Sar came to join him. Tobi bounded to Elkan’s far side and pressed her shoulder against his hip. After a moment of hesitation, Kevessa climbed down from the table in a swirl of skirts and took her place in the protective ring of wizards. Nina sat up on her shoulder, one paw on her ear, and scolded the man.

He spread his hands and stepped back, scowling. “Have it your way. I was only trying to help the poor fellow. It’s nothing to me if he dies. Just keep that thing away from me and my men!”

“We will,” Elkan told him. “In fact, I suggest you take your crew out to the main room and find something to do there. I personally guarantee this snake will harm no one. If it does, I’ll answer to the Matriarch for it.”

The man gave the snake a last loathing look and stomped off to gather the rest of the workers and shepherd them out. Borlen and the snake still didn’t move. Bondings didn’t usually take this long, did they?

Vigorre came up beside him, staring at the frozen pair. “What’s going to happen?”

“You’ll see.” Josiah spared him a quick sideways glance. Now that he thought about it, he was surprised the snake hadn’t gone for the young Keeper. Not that Borlen wouldn’t make a great wizard, because he would, but there was something about Vigorre that reminded him of Elkan, or even Master Dabiel…

A wondering sigh escaped Kevessa’s lips. Josiah jerked his attention back to Borlen. A sphere of gold light bloomed where the snake rested against his hand.

“It’s all right,” Borlen said in a dazed tone. “He says he didn’t eject any venom.” He blinked hard a few times and looked around at the circle of wizards watching him. “That—that was the Mother.”

“Yes.” Elkan smiled warmly as the snake slithered across to drape itself around Borlen’s shoulders. “Welcome to the Wizards’ Guild.”

“She asked if I was willing…” Borlen shook his head and looked down at the snake. A wondering smile spread across his face. “I’m really—We can—”

“No more line duty,” Josiah said with a grin. He rolled his eyes at Elkan. “Three apprentices, Master? You’re going to have to hold classes like the professors at the University.” He elbowed Borlen, careful not to jostle the snake. “Just remember I was first!”

Elkan laughed and beamed around the circle, his eager gaze including Vigorre and Thanna, who’d jumped down from the table to join them. “Maybe I will. Our company is only going to get bigger. Tharanirre will choose a bondmate soon, and it won’t be long before other familiars join us. The Mother is well on her way to supplying Ramunna with all the wizards it needs.”

“What are you going to name him?” Josiah asked, watching in fascination as the snake glided through Borlen’s hands to rub his head against the soldier’s cheek. “Or does he have one already?”

Borlen’s eyes went unfocused. “Not exactly. But he thinks of himself as something like… Death-who-strikes-from-the-shadows?” Borlen shrugged sheepishly as the snake gave an approving bob of his head.

“We can’t call him
that
,” Kevessa said, putting out a cautious finger to stroke the snake’s gleaming scales. “What about Shadow?”

Borlen conferred with his familiar. “Shadowstrike,” he finally reported. “But he’ll accept Shadow for short.”

The snake raked them with a haughty glance. Its attitude reminded Josiah of the Matriarch, as if he expected them all to bow and curtsy.

Vigorre wrinkled his nose, though he seemed as awestruck as everyone else. “Patients are going to be terrified of him. Cobras are usually killed on sight. You saw how the workers reacted.”

Thanna nodded, flinching when Shadow’s head swung to orient on the motion. “Why would the Mother choose such a frightening creature for a familiar?”

Elkan shook his head. “Nobody knows why the Mother touches the animals she does.”

Borlen frowned. “She said something about having a reason, although it didn’t really make sense to me. She said ‘Josiah should watch when he strikes.’ She said you’d understand.”

Josiah blinked, startled that the Mother had transmitted a message just for him. His heart pounded as he tried to make sense of her words. “When he strikes? Like, when he hunts prey, and bites them? How am I going to do that?”

“He’s hungry right now,” Borlen said. “It’s been a long time since he ate.” His brow creased. “Seven sunrises? That can’t be right.”

“It could be.” Elkan said. “Sethi only—”

A flash of motion made Josiah jump. He skipped backward, flailing his arms, as a large rat dashed past his feet. Yelps and shrieks sounded from the others.

Shadow dropped to the floor and pursued the rat, catching up to it directly in front of Josiah. His head drew back and lashed out. Bared fangs sank deep into the rat’s flesh. Shadow’s dark eyes met Josiah’s.

What did the Mother want him to see? Shadow’s fangs were long and slender, like needles. Unlike when he bit Borlen, he kept hold of the rat, moving his jaw in a chewing motion. He must be pumping venom into the rat’s body—

In a flash of insight, Josiah understood.
Sar!
The donkey was under his hand in an instant, sending the Mother’s power to envelop snake and rat. Knowledge of what was happening poured into Josiah’s senses.

Shadow’s fangs were hollow. Sacs in his skull contracted, forcing venom through them and out the tiny holes in their tips. It pooled in the layer of fat under the rat’s skin. Josiah couldn’t sense the venom directly, because it wasn’t alive, but its effects leaped out at him, a greenish-brown bitter hissing numbness. It spread rapidly from the point of the bite throughout the rat’s body, paralyzing its muscles, shutting down its ability to breathe.

The rat jerked, stiffened and fell motionless. Even before its last bright traces of life vanished, Shadow withdrew his fangs and maneuvered the rat into position to swallow. His mouth engulfed its head, his jaws spreading impossibly wide as he worked it bit by bit down his throat.

Josiah pulled his hand away from Sar and left Shadow to his meal, thinking furiously about what he’d observed. The venom had traveled around the rat’s body swiftly, even though Shadow’s fangs hadn’t been anywhere near a major blood vessel. The thread-fine ones that permeated all flesh had absorbed it and circulated it everywhere…

Josiah let out a whoop and whirled to grab Thanna. “I know what we have to do!” he crowed. “Come on, I’ve got to tell Gevan and Nalini.” He dragged her toward the door.

She shook off his grip, half laughing, half annoyed. “What?”

“The insulin. Once we figure out which one it is, we don’t have to put it into a blood vessel, just under your skin. Like the venom.” Her eyes remained baffled. “Oh, never mind, I’ll explain better when we get to Gevan’s workshop.”

“Go on, Thanna,” Elkan said. “I don’t understand either, but Josiah obviously does.”

“All right. Just let me finish my meal first.” She retrieved her bowl, which luckily hadn’t been knocked off the table, and scooped up a big bite of curry.

Josiah was dancing with impatience, but she had a point. He served himself a new portion to replace what had been spilled and shoveled it in.

The others gathered around the table, cleaning up the mess and congratulating Borlen. Elkan’s hand fell on Josiah’s shoulder. For a moment he worried his master would scold him, but Elkan’s voice was warm and approving. “What you saw will allow you to treat diabetes without the Mother’s power?”

“I’m positive. We just have to get a smith to make us a hollow needle—”

Elkan chuckled. “I believe you. You can give me all the details later.” His fingers tightened. “This means the Mother approves of what we’re trying to do. She’s helping us. We’re on the right track.”

“Of course we are.” Josiah gulped down one last bite, then pulled away as Thanna put her bowl down. “We’ll be back in an hour or two,” he said as they headed toward the door. “Although now you’ve got Borlen and Shadow you’ll hardly need us!”

“I still expect you to do your share of the work!” Elkan called after him with mock sternness.

Josiah laughed and quickened his steps.

* * *

Josiah’s hands waved in the air as he spoke, outlining what he described. “So I thought we could find a smith or metalworker or something, maybe one who makes sewing needles, or wire, or something like that. We need a really skinny pointed tube, like a snake’s fang, but made of metal. Strong enough to poke through Thanna’s skin. If it’s very thin it will only hurt a little, and the hole it leaves will heal right up. It might not even bleed. Then something to force the insulin—it will have to be liquid, I guess, not powder”—Nalini nodded—“through the needle and into the flesh. I wouldn’t have thought there would be space for it, but the venom went right in. The fat under the skin absorbed it like a sponge.” He made a face. “I don’t know how we’ll do that.”

“Something like this, perhaps?” Gevan said. He picked up the enlarging glass and thoughtfully twisted the knob that slid the metal tubes together and apart. “If the inner tube was closed off, and the needle affixed to the other end of the larger…”

Nalini nodded. “That should work.” She gestured to her row of vials. “But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. A fang won’t help unless we’ve got insulin to put through it.”

Josiah deflated a little, but nodded. “All right. We try these today using the Mother’s power, then Gevan can commission someone to make the fang needle once we know which one works.”

“If any do,” Gevan cautioned.

Josiah shrugged off his pessimism. Nalini had at least a dozen different vials to try. Surely one of them was what they were looking for. “I want to try pooling it under the skin that way. No need to cut all the way down to a big vessel if we don’t have to. We can try a small, shallow cut first. Somewhere there’s a nice thick layer of fat right under the skin. Maybe your belly or thigh—” He broke off, his face hot. He was so used to thinking about the inside of people’s bodies he sometimes forgot how they related to the outsides. “Um, your upper arm should work.”