Beyond the Boundary Stones (The Chronicles of Tevenar Book 3) (6 page)

The woman looked at him blankly, the girl with scornful anger. “Authority?” the girl said. “No one cares if some Beggars’ Quarter brute takes out his rage on his woman.” She scowled, and glanced around again. “But that’s not what happened. She fell.”

“Yes, wizard,” the woman said in a low voice. “Please don’t say anything different. We need him. My children have to eat.”

Josiah bit his lip and glanced at Kevessa. She met his gaze with troubled eyes. Then her eyes moved behind him, and she plastered an empty smile across her features.

Josiah turned to see a large man with a jagged scar across his cheek push out of the crowd. Kevessa addressed the woman in a bright, cheerful voice. “The wizard’s healing should help with the clumsiness you’ve been experiencing. But remember, it’s worth lighting a lamp when you have to get up at night. A few pennies worth of oil can save you a lot of pain.”

“If we’ve got the pennies to spare.” The woman turned to the man. “Look, Rone. The wizard fixed the bump on my head from where I fell.”

Rone grabbed her arm. “That was far too small a hurt to bother the wizards with,” he growled. “Next time leave them to care for those who really need it.” He nodded curtly to Josiah. “Our thanks, wizard.” He dragged the woman away. The girl hunched her shoulders and followed.

Josiah rounded on Kevessa in a whisper. “What was that about? You made it sound like we believed them!”

Kevessa glared at him, though her mouth remained fixed in a smile. “It was the best I could do. If he thought we knew the truth, he’d beat her more.”

Josiah clenched his fists. “There’s got to be someone who can help her.”

Kevessa sighed. “This isn’t Tevenar.” She turned to the next waiting patient.

No, it wasn’t. As Josiah worked with Kevessa on the rest of the desperate cases, he couldn’t escape that truth. He’d wanted so badly to see what lay outside the small, safe world he’d been born to. But now he was here, he wanted nothing more than to go home.

He’d steeled himself to face people dealing with the ravages of things only the Mother’s power could heal. But he’d never dreamed he’d see so much suffering that could have been relieved without the Mother’s power.

Two, or even three, wizards could have only a small impact on the first sort of problem. But if the people and government of Ramunna weren’t already trying to deal with the second sort, Josiah feared the wizards could do nothing about them at all.

Four

T
he Matriarch glared at Elkan. “I expect to be obeyed. You were ordered to attend me immediately, not linger on the road. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Elkan met her gaze with equal anger. “I answer only to the Mother. She doesn’t permit me to ignore those in urgent need of her power. If you can’t accept that, my apprentice and I will be glad to excuse ourselves and take up residence elsewhere while we devote our energies to healing those whose lives are in danger.” The disdainful sweep of his eyes up and down the Matriarch’s obviously well-fed and vigorous body made it clear she didn’t fall into that category.

Josiah wished Elkan would take a more conciliatory tone. Or at least leave Josiah out of it. They were surrounded by dozens of the Matriarch’s soldiers, and more guarded the doors of the grand audience chamber. If she had a mind to, she could order the wizards seized and imprisoned. Though Sar pressed close to his side, he didn’t think the Mother’s power could hold off the many guards with their deadly weapons for long. And if they managed to separate him from the donkey, they’d both be helpless.

The Matriarch’s eyes narrowed. “You’d forfeit the agreement Ambassador Gevan made with you.”

Elkan didn’t back down, but his attitude became less belligerent. “I’ll only do so if I have no other choice. I’m ready to see your majesty now. No matter how severe your difficulties, treating you won’t take all our time and energy. As long as you don’t seek to prevent us from serving the people of Ramunna as the Mother commands us to serve all in need, there’s no reason we can’t both get what we want.”

The Matriarch studied him for a long moment. Abruptly she gestured toward a door behind her. “Very well. I don’t care what you do when you’re not attending me. If you choose to gift the people of Ramunna with the Mother’s power, why should I object? As long as you spare no effort towards achieving our primary goal, you have my permission to heal whoever else you wish.”

“Thank you, your majesty.” Elkan inclined his head to her. “As agreed, I’ll examine you now. But also as agreed, I expect you to order the shipments of food for Tevenar to be sent immediately, regardless of what I find.”

She regarded him for a moment, then nodded briskly. “Ambassador Gevan, you have the documents detailing the payment for Master Elkan’s services?”

Gevan swept her a bow. “Yes, your majesty.”

“Take them to my steward. He’ll arrange for acquisition of the promised goods and hiring of the necessary ships. I want you to oversee the process and make sure everything is done according to our agreement.”

Gevan bowed again, gave Elkan a nod and an encouraging look, and hurried off. Kevessa shot Josiah a smile and followed her father. Elkan headed toward the door the Matriarch had indicated, Tobi padding beside him, and beckoned for Josiah and Sar to follow.

“Stop,” the Matriarch ordered. “I desire only your presence, Master Elkan.” Her voice went deceptively sweet. “Unless you require help?”

Elkan eyed her levelly. “I require the help of my familiar, of course. And with your permission, I’d like to include my apprentice in your treatment. He has some experience in dealing with the problem I suspect you suffer from, and this will be a good opportunity to instruct him further. In addition, I anticipate that if we’re able to help you conceive, you’ll require the Mother’s power throughout your pregnancy to keep you and the child healthy. If anything should happen to me before the child is born there wouldn’t be time to send to Tevenar for another wizard, but Josiah could continue your treatments if he knows what’s needed.”

The Matriarch turned her disconcerting gaze on Josiah. He held his breath. He almost hoped she’d refuse Elkan’s request so he wouldn’t have to stay in her presence.

But she gave a curt nod. “A wise precaution. Come along, boy.” She rose from her ornate chair, swept down the steps from the dais, and proceeded toward the door. Josiah grabbed Sar’s mane for courage and followed.

The room beyond the door was smaller than the audience chamber, but even more ornate. Rich velvet drapes swathed the walls, and lush embroidery decorated the upholstered furniture. The Matriarch dismissed all but two guards, who took up stations by the door. She turned to a waiting servant. “Send for Lady Yerenna to join us.” As the woman bustled away, the Matriarch sank onto a long couch. “My wise woman,” she told Elkan. “She’ll be able to answer any questions you have about my condition.”

“Excellent.” Elkan seated himself in a chair facing the Matriarch. Tobi sprawled at his feet. Josiah pulled another close beside him and plopped into it. He was worn out from the hours of healing in the Beggars’ Quarter. Hopefully this initial examination wouldn’t take much energy. Sar stationed himself beside Josiah’s chair, quiet and watchful.

Elkan assumed his usual warm, relaxed attitude. He leaned toward the Matriarch and fixed her with a gaze that managed to convey both focused attention and earnest concern. Josiah did his best to copy it, but he knew he had a long way to go before he mastered the full effect. “Gevan told me a little of your history, but I’d like to hear it directly from you. He said your first child was a son?”

Josiah thought he saw a shadow darken the Matriarch’s face, but she answered readily. “That’s right. I married Shorren when I was nineteen, soon after my mother died and I became Matriarch. Tenorran was born the next year. The pregnancy was easy, the birth long but uncomplicated. He thrived from the beginning.” Her hands curled into fists, and she looked to the side. “I was a naive child. I thought everything would come to me with equal ease.”

“But it didn’t.” Elkan’s voice was soft and accepting.

“No. I was pregnant again by the time he was six months old. I miscarried at two months. Everyone assured me it meant nothing. They quit saying that after the next two. The third was old enough to tell she was a girl. I’d already felt her moving.” She closed her eyes, her painted face frozen into a blank mask, then opened them and resumed in the same emotionless voice. “I lost twelve in all. One lived a day, but she was too early and struggled for every breath. Another made it to term, but was pale and sickly and died when she was six days old.”

Elkan didn’t say anything, but reached for the Matriarch’s hands. She ignored him. After a moment he pulled his hands back.

She shrugged and went on. “I consulted many wise women and physicians. Some of them told me losses like this could be caused by the father, and another man might be able to give me a living child. So I divorced Shorren and chose a new husband. Another stillbirth, so I divorced him as well. Four more times the same, until I could bear it no longer. I swore I would never wed again.”

She shook her head. “Then I learned of my cousin Malka’s conversion to Purifier ways. The only way to prevent her from inheriting the Matriarchy after me and delivering Ramunna to the Purifiers was to bear a daughter of my own. I fought the idea for more than a year. Then I met Renarre.”

Was that a slight softening of her expression? Josiah wasn’t sure whether he’d imagined it, and it was gone in an instant if it had been there at all. “We married, and I waited to become pregnant, but it never happened. I should have divorced him, too, but I kept hoping and seeking other remedies. Eventually, though, I knew I had no choice. If the
Verinna
hadn’t found Tevenar and brought you here, I would have cast him off and tried again with another.” She looked directly at Elkan. “I still will, if necessary.”

“Hopefully it won’t be. I’ll need to examine him as well,” Elkan told her. “Since you conceived easily with others, it’s likely he suffers from a condition that impairs his ability to father a child. Certain types the Mother’s power can reverse, though others are permanent. It is true that women with the disorder suggested by your history can sometimes have healthy pregnancies with a different father. But that disorder can also be helped by the Mother’s power. If you and your husband are able to conceive, and the child is affected the way your others were, we can give you regular treatments that will reverse the effects and keep the baby healthy.”

The Matriarch gazed at him. Either Josiah was getting better at reading her reactions, or her emotions were overcoming her tremendous skill at hiding them. Hunger blazed from her eyes and radiated from every line of her body. “If you can accomplish that, I will reward you beyond your wildest dreams.”

“No reward will be necessary save the help you’ve promised Tevenar.” Elkan quirked her a wry smile, which Josiah recognized as an effort to lighten the mood. “Although I might be able to think of something both the Mother and I would like.”

She regarded him with haughty coldness, but Josiah detected a hint of teasing in the way her eyebrows arched. “You must earn it first.”

“Of course.” He shifted in his chair and laid his hand on Tobi’s head. “May we examine you now?”

“Do so.” Her lips tightened. “Do you wish me to lie down or remove my clothing? You healers always seem to require the most distasteful intimacies.”

“Not now. Possibly later, depending on what we find. Just sit back and relax.”

She gave a little snort, but complied.

Gold light flowed from Elkan’s hand to envelop her abdomen. “Josiah, you and Sar follow what I’m doing.”

Josiah obediently put his hand on Sar’s back, and his familiar sent gold light pouring through him. He’d examined plenty of other women under Elkan’s guidance. The surreal sensations provided by the Mother’s power, so different from the way things really looked or felt, made it pretty easy to keep the proper professional attitude. As long as he didn’t think too much about the fact he was observing the reproductive organs of a woman his mother’s age.

The impressions pouring into his senses agreed with what Elkan was saying aloud for the Matriarch’s benefit. “Everything seems healthy and functioning. You’re clearly still fertile. There are some changes typical of your age, but nothing that will cause serious problems. Even without intervention, I’d judge you have at least five more years before you reach menopause. And if necessary we can slow things down with the Mother’s power and delay it a few years.”

The Matriarch let out her breath. “Do I suffer from the disorder you mentioned?”

“We won’t be able to tell until you become pregnant and we observe how your body reacts. I see no reason why you shouldn’t attempt to conceive as soon as possible. We’ll deal with things from there.”

He sat back and took his hand from Tobi’s head, causing the gold light to vanish. Josiah copied him. Elkan gave the Matriarch an encouraging smile. “If you send for your husband, we’ll examine him as well. You’ll be at the most fertile part of your cycle in a few days, so with luck we can deal with whatever problem affects him in time for a good attempt this month. Of course, even if everything is working properly, it might take several months to see results.”

The Matriarch rose and hurried to the door before he finished speaking. “Summon Lord Renarre immediately,” she ordered a servant who hovered outside. He bowed and rushed away.

The Matriarch was beginning to turn when she stopped and beckoned. “Yerenna! Come in and meet the wizards.”

Josiah judged the woman who entered to be close in age to her mistress, although without the Matriarch’s heavy paint the beginnings of wrinkles showed more clearly around her eyes and mouth, and her hair had a few threads of silver in contrast to the Matriarch’s bold black. She was nondescript in appearance save for her intelligent eyes, which roamed over Elkan, Josiah, and the familiars in a way that convinced Josiah she missed very little. “Greetings,” she said. “I must admit, when Verinna determined to find one of the lost ancient wizards, I was skeptical. But her will has always been indomitable, so I’m hardly surprised she managed it. If you can help her more than I’ve been able to, it will be a great blessing for Ramunna.”