Frozen Prospects (24 page)

The
Headman leaned back and rubbed his eyes before nodding resignedly.
"Very well. We'll have to meet with Ta'lor. They were
guardsmen, so he has the right of punishment. Knowing him he'll
push for something suitable. If not we'll lean on him to make sure
that they don't get off with just a slap on the wrist."

Turning
to Va'del, the Headman sighed. "I'm very sorry that this
happened here in my village. I'm glad that you weren't even more
seriously hurt, and that you were there to save the virtue of that
young lady. I won't be pursuing the matter with the Council as I
think you acted in a reasonable manner. Good luck on your journey."

If
Va'del had thought the end of the inquiry was anticlimactic, Cindi
seemed determined to make up for it once they were
back to the guest rooms. "That was one of the most
irresponsible things I've ever seen anyone do!"

His
mind reeling from the attack which he'd somehow stopped
anticipating, Va'del couldn't muster a response.

"There
are a hundred things you could have done to avoid that whole
situation. You could have gone by yourself so that Jain wasn't ever
in danger. You could have asked for directions so that you didn't
run into the guards in the first place. At the very least you
should have avoided killing one of the fools!"

Jain
looked like she wanted to come to Va'del's defense, but Cindi
quieted her with a look and continued the verbal beating. Most of
the complaints followed the same vein, accusations that Va'del
hadn't taken what Cindi thought were ordinary, reasonable
precautions.

About
the time that the teenager finally recovered enough to respond with
the indignation he was feeling, he realized that doing so would be
pointless, and managed to school himself to silence.
Just
don't say anything. Maybe if I don't fight her right now she'll
decide it wasn't bad enough to push for me to be barred from classes
once we get back.

Cindi's
diatribe finally started to wind down, but Va'del's hope that the
worst had passed was suddenly shattered as the older woman looked
back and forth from him to Jain. "And don't think I haven't
noticed the way the two of you look at each other. It's completely
improper, and for that reason if nothing else, I'll do everything in
my power to ensure that you are never accepted as a candidate.
You've all but ruined relations with one of the few villages left
where we still have a reasonable chance of finding children that can
be sponsored. That isn't the kind of thing that would be forgiven
in a full Guadel, much less some incompetent boy who couldn't even
keep his sponsors alive in a simple ambush. I will see you banned,
Va'del. If it is the last thing I do, I'll see you banned and
exiled from the Capital so that you can't make any more trouble.
Not for the Guadel and not for Jain either."

##

Even
Oh'scir had looked less than excited about the idea of leaving so
late in the day, but if the group really intended to try and reach
the safety of the caravan, every cycle would make a difference, and a
little thing like spending the night outside of the shelter of one
of the way caves wouldn't be allowed to influence Cindi's decisions.

Va'del
had heard plenty of stories from Jasmin about miserable nights spent
in what she'd called cold camps. As bad as the next leg of their
journey was shaping up to be, the teenager would have gladly made
it a dozen times if he thought it would somehow allow him to still
attend classes once they finally got back to the Capital.

Jain
looked back at Va'del frequently during their four-cycle trek, but
even the knowledge that she was worried about him couldn't take the
edge off of his despair.

Oh'scir
finally convinced his wife to make camp for the night, but even
after the light tent that would shelter the party was up,
there wasn't any chance for the teenagers to talk. Va'del could see
Jain growing steadily more frustrated with the situation, but
couldn't bring himself to care very much.

We
can't talk. I can't give Cindi any more excuse to hate me. Jain
will just have to understand that. Maybe once we get back to the
Capital things can be different again.

Once
Cindi had finished setting up the tiny metal platform that held the
worked stones, she'd activated them, and all four travelers had
hunkered down in their blankets trying to sleep as the heat stone
managed to heat the small tent up just enough that they wouldn't
freeze during the night.

Va'del
fell asleep fingering his tiny knife for the first time in weeks.

The
next day's travel was even worse. Cindi demanded that they rise
early in the day and push through at the best pace they could manage
in the heavy wind. The effort of fighting the sudden, extremely
dangerous gusts and the bitter cold left everyone physically
exhausted. Even the prospect of sleeping in one of the way caves
wasn't enough to generate a real lift in anyone's spirits.

The
unrelenting criticism Va'del was suffering through had worn away at
his spirit as much as the brutal journey had depleted his body. By
the time the party stumbled into the cave, the teenager wanted
nothing so much as to simply collapse into his blankets, but his
sense of duty made him see to Sleepy and Hungry while Cindi set up
the worked gemstones and Jain started on dinner.

Oh'scir
started on the last two gurra as Va'del got the packs off of his and
Jain's gurra and began rubbing them down.

The
tiny Guadel worked in silence for several minutes before clearing
his throat nervously. "I'm sorry about the way that she's been
going at you. I know it isn't fair and I'll do what I can to soften
her disposition once we get to the next village."

Oh'scir
took in Va'del's confused look and smiled, an expression that looked
strangely out of place on the slender man's normally dour face.
"I'd have said something to her already, but there hasn't been
any privacy, and if she feels like I'm undercutting her authority
with you, then things will get even worse."

Va'del
nodded numbly, understanding at last, but unconvinced that anything
could deflect the grim future that Cindi had spent the last two days
painting for him.

As
the teenager finally finished up with the animals, Oh'scir clapped
him on the back. "She isn't as bad as you think. Just old and
set in her ways. She's more scared than you can know that she's
wrong about all this, but she doesn't know any other way."

Dinner
was an emotionless affair. Jain spent the whole meal trying to
catch Va'del's eye. He spent the whole dinner avoiding looking at
the person who was arguably his best friend, in the hopes that he
could avoid giving her encouragement. That would only lead to her
trying to talk to him, thereby getting them both in more trouble.

Cindi
on the other hand spent the time complaining about the world in
general, and Va'del specifically. Jain was on the receiving end of
a couple of fairly scathing comments, which Va'del knew had to have
hurt more than she let on. He wanted to reach out and comfort her,
but the desire melted away when confronted with his resolve not to
give Cindi anything else to hang them with.

It
wasn't until Va'del went to his bed roll that the reason Jain had
spent so long digging through the pile of packs before dinner became
apparent.

It's
Javin's present.

Somehow
with everything that had happened, the wool-wrapped bundle had
slipped Va'del's mind.
I
suppose this is about as bad as things are going to get. She
couldn't come up with any other way to comfort me, but she never
stopped looking for something to help buoy me up.

Tears
filled Va'del's eyes, blurring his vision. Somehow the teen still
managed to pick loose the knots to the cords binding the long swath
of cloth around the present.

The
knife revealed once the wool had been unwrapped was a plain, if
well-crafted, weapon that Va'del had seen before. Tracing the
engraving of a pair of scrolls on the blade, Va'del felt tears break
free and streak down his cheeks.

I'rone's
dagger. The one he was using when they killed him. Usually weapons
go back to a Guadel's sponsor, or potentially a favorite friend in
their bloodline. Javin couldn't have picked any other gift that
would say so emphatically how much faith he thought I'rone and his
family had in me. And by extension how much faith Javin's family
has in me.

Va'del's
knife had been seized as part of the inquiry, and Cindi hadn't seen
fit to demand it back, apparently feeling it only just that her
wayward charge lose the symbol that everyone associated with the
Guadel and candidates.
Only
Guadel and candidates fight with paired blades. She was as much as
saying by such a small gesture that she didn't think I deserved to
be counted among their ranks.

The
teenager wiped away his tears and then slipped the sheathed blade
onto his belt, hoping he hadn't already betrayed the trust Javin had
placed in him.

Va'del
didn't really feel any better about his future when he awoke, but
he'd achieved some measure of catharsis the night before as he'd
realized he couldn't possibly appease Cindi. All he could hope to
do was avoid giving her additional reasons to push for his dismissal
and then pray that Javin and On'li could manage to convince the
Council to leave him in the candidate classes.

As
a result, the normal spattering of critical remarks didn't strike as
deeply, and Va'del was even able to catch Jain's eye at one point
during breakfast and mouth his thanks to her.

Cindi
was in a particularly foul mood, seemingly disappointed that they
hadn't covered more distance. "We'll press on hard today, and
should be able to rejoin the caravan a half cycle or so after dark."

Even
Oh'scir seemed to doubt the wisdom of traveling after dark, but his
wife quelled him with a look. "There should be a full moon
tonight. Assuming there aren't any clouds, we'll have plenty of
light to travel by. If not, we'll go ahead and make camp as normal,
but I'd rather not spend another night out in the cold."

Once
camp had been broken, the pace that Cindi demanded was even more
punishing than normal. Jain had led Hungry herself without
complaint the last two days, but it was evident to Va'del that she
was tiring too quickly to make it through the entire day, so at
their first water break he'd slipped up and tied Sleepy's lead rope
to Hungry's pack and then relieved Jain of her lead rope with a
wink.

Cindi
saw the change before they set back out, but didn't say anything,
apparently having come to the same conclusion. Jain simply hadn't
had enough time to develop the endurance needed to cover the kinds of
distances they were traveling each day.

Sometime
after their second break for food and water, Va'del noticed an odd
rock outcropping above the trail they were following.
It's
a wonder the wind keeps it bare of snow. Especially considering how
deeply drifted everything is on this side of it.

As
the party came even with the slender finger of stone, Oh'scir seemed
to sense something unusual. Va'del was craning his neck in an
effort to try and determine what had caused the Guadel to signal a
halt, when a sudden rumble brought him spinning around just in time
to see a wall of white crash into him.

The
teenager tried to remember what he'd been told by Jasmin about
surviving avalanches, but fear and panic were tearing at his sanity.
Va'del remembered something about a curious motion Jasmin had
showed him, one that was supposed to help him rise to the surface of
the churning snow, but he'd felt silly practicing it, and actually
trying it while being swept down the slope was nearly impossible.

After
what seemed to be forever, but which probably was little more than a
couple of seconds, the blinding rush of snow seemed to lose
momentum, and Va'del brought both hands to his face, pushing out to
create a breathing space.

Jasmin
had been right, there was only a heartbeat or two between when the
snow stopped moving, and when it hardened to a stone-like
consistency. Va'del's efforts to increase the size of his breathing
space proved futile, his arms were unable to make any impression in
the snow.

I'm
probably going to die. Jasmin and Betreec said that one in two
families caught in a snow slide don't survive.

Betreec
had shrugged when Va'del had asked why more families didn't survive.
"Any number of reasons. It's actually surprising that so many
survive. It hinges on one or more of the wives being strong enough
to use her power to dig herself out of the snow. There are
countless scenarios where that isn't possible. The wife may not be
strong enough to tunnel out with her abilities, or may end up buried
so deeply that even one with strong abilities may not be able to
reach the surface. Alternatively, they may suffer some injury while
being carried by the snow."

Jasmin
had nodded. "Some of them die because they leave their mouths
open to scream and instead find it filled with snow. Others are
broken against the rocks before the snow stops moving."

The
whole conversation had been little more than an abstract exercise at
the time. The trails used by the Guadel to move from village to
village had long since been mapped out to minimize exposing
travelers to avalanches, and it was now mostly just a concern for
those specialized Guadel used to scout for new village
possibilities.

Only
now it's an eventuality that has suddenly become real. Maybe Jain
or Cindi were sheltered by the rock. If not, I don't think Jain is
strong enough to free herself. Cindi might be, but she is the last
person I would trust to keep her head under a stressful
situation.