Crucible (19 page)

Keth' looked down at Semar. “I had expected you back sooner than this,” he said softly.

The boy swallowed nervously and glanced at his cousins. “We were prevented. An Elder talked to Father, and Father forbade me to return here to learn what he called ‘tricks.'”

:Eliden,:
Yssanda said, overlaid by Jeris saying the same.

:Agreed,:
Keth' replied.
:What are we to do?:

:Teach them,:
said Yssanda.
:Just as you wanted to. We'll help.:

Keth' waved them into the embassy, taking them to one of the smaller side rooms. Nerea watched them carefully while chattering in Shin'a'in with a potential merchant.

“No, there was just a misunderstanding yesterday. It was resolved peacefully,” he heard her say.

“Your bonded used magic to end it,” the trader said with a touch of accusation.

“Less than a shaman could have used,” she shrugged, “and with far less damage than the unprovoked attack on a Herald of Valdemar, an envoy of the Queen, could cause.”

The trader flinched, with a sidelong glance toward where Keth' was closing the door. It seemed the trader
found other topics to discuss, as Yssanda did not relay any concerns from Nerea while Keth' spoke with the children.

“Thank you for trusting me,” he said in opening. “Neither true magic nor Mind-magic are something to be afraid of, but like fire or a knife, you have to learn how to use them safely.”

The older boy, Stileth, asked, “So we can use it once we learn how?”

“You already can use it, but you cannot
control
it,” Keth' said. “Until you learn to control it, it can be dangerous.”

Tialek, the girl, asked, “What happens if you do use it without control?”

“You become a risk to yourself and all others around you. You may permanently mind-lame someone when distressed, as I did.”

All three children stiffened, glancing at each other. He continued. “Once you learn control, you then must learn
when
to use it. That is why I returned, against tradition for a Chosen. So others would not need to leave to learn these skills.”

The older two glanced at Semar. Obviously he'd relayed that part of the previous conversation. “Now.” Keth' straightened slightly, drawing their attention back, “In order to gain control of your magic, you must learn focus. Clearing your mind and focusing on the task at hand will allow you to stay calm in uncertain situations, and maintain control of your Gifts.” Even as he relayed the concepts drilled into him by his own instructors, he felt a twinge of guilt. Hadn't he lost that focus just the day before?

:We all stumble, from time to time, even with four feet under us,:
Yssanda said.

Keth' relaxed a bit at that, and proceeded to work with the children until they were comfortable with the necessary starting exercises. Yssanda assisted, particularly with
Tialek, whenever Keth' faltered. Once both of them felt assured the children were performing the exercises properly, Keth' sent them home, to return in a few days.

• • •

Late that afternoon, Theran arrived, with Jelenel and D'minth in tow. “There was a street brawl?”

“Jeris and I were surrounded by a group of men, only a short distance from here. They attempted to restrain us. Jeris broke mostly free, and was hit in the head. He went down. Had our Companions not come to our aid, I am not sure what the result would have been,” Keth' said, calmly as he could.

“Eliden reported that you were the antagonist, and that you used magic to end it,” Jelenel's voice was colder than it had been.

“I did use magic to keep the attackers at bay, and Mind-magic on one I believed to be Semar's father. I put him into a deep sleep with magic. I did not wish to cause any injuries. That is all.”

:Indeed,:
Keth' heard Yssanda say,
:he was not the antagonist, nor did he defend himself and Jeris unreasonably.:

Theran started. “Who was that?” Jelenel and D'minth looked at him askance.

:Yssanda, Keth's Companion.:

“May we meet her directly?” Theran asked. “Returning with the story of your Companion will go a long way toward soothing the concerns that have been expressed.”

“Of course,” Keth' answered.

Yssanda also replied,
:I would be honored.:

:As would I,:
Halath added.

The shamans followed Keth' to the paddock where the Companions currently held court. There was a perceptible relaxation in their stances to see the two pairs of blue eyes in stark white faces watching them approach. Halath whickered, stretching his nose out to Jelenel, who rubbed it absently.

“All I have given the children was mental clearing exercises, earlier today,” Keth' said. “They need to learn control.”

“Yes,” Theran agreed. “That's the issue at stake, of course. Yet Eliden is demanding you forgo teaching the youngsters any magic, even the most basic of control, in order to gain his support for the Embassy.”

Jelenel frowned. “He may be one of our Elders, but he is
not
a shaman. He attempted to demand I seal the children or train them before, but Semar's Gifts are ill-suited for the shamanic way
or
the Hawkbrothers. Tialek and Stileth are little better.
I
am shaman of our clan, and they need another choice. His support would be beneficial, but this can be done without it as well.”

“How well will that be taken?” Keth' asked.

:She's calling for help,:
Yssanda abruptly said to Theran and Keth'.

“Tialek?”

:She says they're being restrained. She says flames are burning around Stileth.:

“Flames?”

Jelenel looked troubled. “He has an unusual affinity for fire, and he's fiercely protective of Tialek.”

:The flames are spreading. He's lost control. They need us
now
.:

:Halath, call Jeris and Nerea!:

“Theran, with me,” Keth' said, and scaled the paddock fence. “Jelenel, Jeris is on his way down; ride with him. D'minth, our horses are there; Nerea will be there in a moment as well. Gather help!” He swung onto Yssanda's back. She gathered herself for a jump, barely clearing the top bar. Keth' reached down a hand for the shaman as the man swung up behind him.

:No time for niceties,:
she said, breaking into a canter. Keth' could feel her frustration that the street, such as it was, bore enough pedestrian traffic that she dare not gallop.

The glow was definitely fire, rising in the scrub and grass. It would head this way quickly. Smoke wisped up and the glow brightened as they approached. Finally, they cleared the densest portion of the town, and Yssanda shifted to a gallop.

“We need to build a barrier between the encampment and the rest of Katashin'a'in,” Theran said in Keth's ear. “The winds are blowing it toward the city. We need to backburn an area to keep the fire from spreading that direction.”

“Can you push the winds away?” Keth' asked.

“Not until we know where Tialek and Stileth are,” Theran said.

:Where are they?:
Keth' asked Yssanda.

:Near side. You'd burn half of their clan if you send the winds that way.:

:Star-Eyed!:
he swore.
:They have not moved away?:

:I don't know,:
Yssanda replied.
:I only know what it was half an hour ago. They're cut off from the main group now.:

Other riders and some on foot streamed toward the fire as well.
:Halath believes he's catching up. Nerea and D'minth are farther behind.:

:At least it looks as though we have hands to help.:

Yssanda halted where those who had run
toward
the fire gathered, talking wildly. Theran slid off. “Go!” he shouted. “Find the children!”

Keth' nodded as Theran began working. Another shaman was among that group, and he felt the tingle of gathering magic at his back while Yssanda homed in on the two children.

The fire had split when it went wild. From what small glimpse Keth' caught, it seemed that most of the children's clan got out of the worst of it, but the inferno still raged.
:We will deal with that later,:
Yssanda said.
:The near-side fire may burn enough to block the larger side from spreading that way.:

They spent a short eternity finding a relatively thin place to break into the fire encircling the children's group.
:Here,:
Keth' finally said.
:We will find no better.:
They could hear the frantic efforts of the trapped clan members to keep the fire from getting closer.

:Looks that way,:
she agreed.
:Stay on me.:

He tightened his grip on her back, and closed his eyes to gather his concentration. He
pushed
at the fire in front of them, imagining a large plow like those he remembered on the farms near Haven. Yssanda, picking up on the imagery he was using to focus his magic, stepped forward slowly.
:That's it,:
she said.
:Just hold that ‘plow' in front of us. I'll do the pushing.:

The ‘blade' he imagined was three or four times the width of Yssanda, enough to pass through. Even though flames were mostly air, the image, the thought of pushing through several inches of root-thick topsoil strained him immensely. Keth' shook from the exertion as they broke across hot cinders into the center.

Eliden was there, as were the children and their families. Several had suffered burns, including the Elder. Stileth stood nearest the fire, still raging at Eliden for trying to take them away. The fire around this part of the clan was obviously attuned to the boy; the tops of the ring danced with every gesture he made. Eliden's attempts to calm him just agitated him more. Tialek clung to him, trying to convince him to let go of the fire.

Keth' slid off Yssanda, and she pushed the Elder away from the children with her head.
:No,:
he heard her say as she reached out, pressing her nose against the boy's face, much like a housecat might.
:This is not what you want. You risk Tialek, you risk your family. Let the fire go.:

Keth' tried to get the people out of the immediate area and did not hear the response. Most turned toward the break in the fire, and it took little effort to usher them out. He felt Yssanda's relief when the boy began to
respond to her efforts. The ring of fire began to calm down and shorten.

:He cannot put the fire out,:
she reported to Keth'.
:We will have to do that. But at least he will stop
feeding
it.:
Hooves sounded close, now. With her usual recklessness, Nerea rode her mare into the firebreak, keeping low against her back.

:Let's take them back to Theran. He has a firebreak like yours now, but we still need to put this out.:

Keth' helped Tialek onto Nerea's mare, where Nerea held the girl tightly in front of her. Stileth, face drawn from a reaction headache already, barely protested he should stay and help as he was pushed up onto Yssanda's back.

“You kept the fire from consuming everyone in it,” Keth' told him. “That's enough.” It may not have been intentional, but he had done that much.

For all Eliden had instigated the problem, he proved his worth as Elder now. He kept his clan moving toward the safe zone. By the time Keth' and Nerea arrived with the children, he'd organized them into groups for assisting each other and the fire fighters.

D'minth and Jelenel were conferring with Theran as Keth' and Yssanda came to them. “Katashin'a'in should be safe now, but the fire is still spreading.” Theran eyed Keth'. “Do you have strength left to help?”

Keth' nodded. He would suffer the backlash later, though, he was certain.

The shamans worked together to call in a dampening storm on the far edge of the fire. It was risky, for the winds could make matters worse. Keth's task was to bottle the winds away and force the flames down. To do that, he needed to go back to the fire itself.

A thundercrack split the air, and the rain began, soaking the immediate area before shifting over the main body of flames. Keth' and Yssanda followed.

They came up close to the fire's edge, and Keth' closed his eyes to gather his focus. He trusted Yssanda to keep them far enough away. Keth' had learned something while fighting a fire in a wood-framed building and from watching blacksmiths working. The rain cloud started drenching the center of the fire but only hissed into steam before reaching the base of the inferno. Keth' imagined a wall encircling the flames and tied to them. He pulled the deluge to the edges of the fire, which began to hiss and die from the rain and lack of air. It slowly shrank under the suffocation and drenching, but the spell required Keth' to maintain concentration. He felt Yssanda supporting him.

:That's enough,:
Yssanda finally said.
:You've done enough.:

Keth' opened his eyes. The burned zone surrounded them, although the fire was still going. There would, hopefully, be enough of a barrier zone to keep it from growing out of control again. Others could monitor and contain it from this point. They returned to where the shaman gathered. Keth' slid off Yssanda's back, and sank to the ground in exhaustion, pain beating in his skull.

Soot smeared Nerea's face as she slumped down near Keth'. Post-crisis fear flickered in her expression as she stared at the seared grass, and he held an arm open toward her. She shifted over to burrow her face into his shoulder, and he pulled her tight. “We were lucky,” she said softly.

He made a noncommittal, soothing noise. Yssanda had bolstered his true magic and helped calm the raging Stileth down to the point where the fire could be beaten back. The only luck involved had been whatever drove Yssanda to Choose him.