Quest (11 page)

Robler eyed the smal cube, which fitted easily into his hand. He grinned, a skull's grin. He was beginning to think that Davred had run mad and needed treatment. Commitment indeed, and to a primitive planet like this one! Even Central was making poor decisions nowadays. Robler decided that he would need to be on his guard from now on. He didn’t intend to be found lacking.

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Herra emerged from the barn an hour later and smiled tiredly at Katia, who was sitting on a pile of hay near the entrance. 'Thank you for watching over me, dear child. I'm sorry if you were bored.'

'I wasn't. I've been practising one of the Disciplines Cheral showed us.'

'That's excellent. Now, shall we move on? It's going to rain later and I have no mind to get wet.'

'Are you all right now, Elder Sister?' Katia stared at Herra, who looked utterly exhausted.

'I'm well enough to reach the crèche. I shall find better help there. At my age, one's powers of recovery become weaker.'

As they moved into open countryside, Katia's spirits rose. Of course the country was quite flat, not nearly as pretty as the High Alder, but still there were plenty of trees around, and beneath them were shrubs with blossoms fluttering in the breeze. Best of all, the air smelled fresh and untainted by the filth of the city.

They followed a little-used track for an hour, and the open countryside gave way to woodland. Eventually they left the track to follow a narrow path. At no time did they pass through a village or even see a habitation. They had met one or two country folk near the main highway, but from the turning onwards, they met no one. Katia, after six months shut up in the temple, even with daily dancing and exercise, was beginning to feel a little weary herself and Herra's face
QUEST Shannah Jay 38

was almost grey with fatigue. The ground underfoot was soft, and the Sisters’ sandals were not nearly as comfortable as the soft leather boots Katia had worn at home in the High Alder.

After a time, they came to the wildwoods, and Katia drew in her breath in sheer delight. The trees here were far taller and the leafy canopy much higher. The very light was different, a sun-speckled dimness that wrapped warm fingers around you. It always seemed to Katia that the plant life in the wildwoods was twice as lush as that growing in woodlands frequented by humans. Beneath the tall trees, shrubs and bushes fought for space. Huge dark leaves turned upwards to catch the rain, plant crept across plant to gain a small advantage. Behind the tangled screen of foliage, rustling sounds betrayed the small shy animals which lived there.

Town-dwellers insisted the wildwoods were near impassable until you'd hacked away the undergrowth and cleared things up, and that idea always made Katia smile. She knew which types of plants could be pushed gently aside to allow passage and which were to be avoided as likely to bear thorns or acid sap. This place was not so different to the wildwoods of the High Alder. Even if there had been no path, she could have found her way through this green world.

But there was a path, a narrow thread of beaten earth upon which nothing grew, and that in itself was highly unusual.

Here and there, in the transition area between forest and wildwoods, shy trellis vines with their drifts of pale yellow blossoms crept undisturbed across the ground. They were the first to vanish when a tract of woodland was claimed for human use, so Katia was very careful not to step on them now. Other vines and creepers looped down from the trees, and stray petals drifted down gently from them. Birds sang above them and insects hummed and twittered. Life was there in an exuberant abundance.

Katia was entranced. Ah, how she had missed all this! Without thinking, she ran to press her cheek against the rough bark of the first giant tree they came to. She closed her eyes for a moment and sagged against it, breathing in deeply that special smell, at once tangy and musty, that only existed among trees whose leaves have lain around them for years, rotting into the earth, to be reabsorbed into its dark richness. Somewhere above her a silverbird was calling, its voice the purest and sweetest of all the bird cal s. No one had ever caught a silverbird. Katia wouldn’t want to. A creature which sang with such joy belonged in the woods, not in a cage.

'Can you manage for another half hour?' a voice asked gently behind her.

'Oh! I'm sorry, Eld- Herra. I forgot myself.'

'It's always good to greet a friend.'

'How did you know - that I feel the trees are my friends, I mean?'

'A Sister's training teaches one to use one's eyes. Now, child, can you manage for another half hour?'

'Yes, of course, Sister. But what about you? You look exhausted. Would you like to lean on me?'

'Yes, I think I shall need to. Once, I could have quelled a riot then walked all day. Now . . . ' She shrugged.

Half an hour's walk, mostly uphill, brought them to a place where the wildwoods thinned out. Subtle signs told Katia that this terrain was being carefully managed by someone. There were no hedges or barriers to mark the edge of the occupied land, only a slight difference in the foliage and animal life that city-dwel ers wouldn’t have noticed.

'This land is different,' she said idly.

'What do you mean?'

Katia told her and Herra looked at her strangely. 'You seem to have a Gift there, that none in the Temple can duplicate.'

'A Gift? Me? It's not a Gift; it's just country lore.'

'I have it not. Nor anyone else in Temple Tenebrak. Nor have I seen such fine perception among the country folk I know.'

'Oh.' It seemed impossible to Katia that she should know more than Herra about anything, or that she could have any sort of Gift.

They walked on silently, then Katia asked who claimed this land.

QUEST Shannah Jay 39

'No one. This is unclaimed land. There's quite a bit of it around still, you know.'

'I thought everything so close to Tenebrak was under claim.'

'Technically we're stil within the Claim of Tenebron,' Herra allowed, 'but Benner can't check every inch of his land personally, can he? Somehow, no one's ever taken much interest in this bit.' She smiled. 'And by the time anyone does, we shall have gone further out, into the unexplored reaches.'

'Is there really nothing out there? Is it true that the world comes to a stop at a cliff so tal that you can't see the bottom?'

'No, Katia. The world is as round as a child's ball. If you travelled far enough, you'd come back to where you started.

But there are great oceans to cross and no roads through the unexplored territories, so you'd probably die long before you found your way back. It's a very large ball, you see.'

'I can always find my way back.'

'What do you mean by that?'

'I don't get lost. I always know which direction to take.'

'Always?'

'Yes, of course.'

'That sounds like another Gift to me.'

Katia laughed. 'It's not really a Gift. Town folk can't do it, but many of the country folk in the High Alder can.

Grandfather trained me how to feel direction when I was very small.'

Herra filed this information, too, in her memory. It would later be recorded in the Archives. The child was full of surprises. She was beginning to think that the Sisters had lived in the city temples for too long. Maybe Katia had been
chosen
to teach them about the countryside. Maybe they all had new horizons before them.

'Herra - how do you know the world's shaped like a ball?'

'I know because my Novice Mistress told me.'

'Is that - is it because of the Forebears?'

Herra raised her eyebrows. 'Where did you hear such tales?'

'From my grandfather. He used to tell me tales in the evenings. He said our Forebears crossed the sky and then their flying ship was broken and they couldn’t return home. He says that's how the land of Tenebron was first claimed.'

'Possibly. We have such tales on record. But it's so long ago that no one can tell the truth of it all. The old legends persist in and around the city of Tenebrak as well.'

'It sounds a strange thing to do. I can't imagine a ship that flies, can you?'

'I've never seen one myself. But how else can our Brother live in the sky?’

'Are there tales of the Forebears in the Archives, then, Herra?'

'Yes. And of many other wonders. The Sisterhood has always sought and guarded knowledge - though we lose parts of it at times when Discord sets in. You'll learn about that in your training. Ah.' She pointed ahead down a steep rocky slope. 'There it is, our crèche. That's where we look after the children until they can be placed in suitable homes.'

The crèche was a long sprawling set of buildings made of rough wood. Some of the wood had faded into silvery greyness; some was new and still dark with sap. The buildings lay among a stand of very tall trees and the foliage soared over them, making the area shady.

A plump Sister stood waiting for them, as if she had sensed their approach. 'Herra, my dear, how delightful to see you! We had no word of your coming.'

'It was a sudden decision of mine, a whim, if you like. May we stay for a week or so? This is Katia. She's not been
QUEST Shannah Jay 40

well. I've brought her out here to rest. Katia, this is Rianna. No one knows more about the ways of children than she does. That's one of her Gifts.'

Rianna nodded to Katia, then looked closely at Herra. 'What happened? You're even more tired than this child.'

'I had to stop a riot.'

'Which Disciplines?'

'Stilling, Compulsion, Breaking of Metal. Oh, and I was so angry that my wind blew strongly as well.'

'You did all that unprepared? With no help?'

Herra was meek as a child. 'I'm afraid so, Rianna. There wasn't time to send for help.'

'Oh, Elder Sister! What did I tell you last time?'

'There was dire need, my dear. People would have been killed, had I not intervened.'

'Well, now
you
have dire need of help, so you can just put yourself in my hands.' Rianna bustled them inside, ringing a bell on the wall as she passed. She found a chair for Herra and gestured to Katia to take another, then waited, tapping her foot impatiently, for someone to answer her summons. 'At your age!' she threw at the Elder Sister. 'You
must
learn to leave such tasks to others now.'

'It was necessary. Many lives were saved.'

'Oh, it's always necessary!' Rianna gave up trying to reason with such a stubborn woman and looked at Katia. 'And have you been ill, child? You look distinctly peaky.'

Herra answered for her. 'Katia's only been with us for six months. She isn't finding it easy to adjust. She's a child of the mountains and not used to being shut up indoors. She had her Second Choosing last night. She's a very special young woman to be
chosen
so young.'

Katia blushed hotly.

'Welcome to the Sisterhood, my dear.' But Rianna's main attention was on Herra. 'Ah, there you are, Sisters! Herra's been exhausting herself again.'

Two women joined them, greeted Herra and extended a warm welcome to Katia. At a sign from Rianna, they moved to form a small Circle around Herra and gestured to Katia to join them.

'You haven't joined in a Healing Circle before, child?' asked Rianna.

'No.'

'Just
gather
with us, then. Don't try to do anything else. Herra needs our help. Your presence will add to the strength of the group.'

Katia nodded. Already she looked forward to Gatherings and the wonderful peace of mind they brought.

Within seconds the air around them seemed to a bemused Katia to be flickering. She saw Rianna bow her head as they began, so she did likewise. For the first time she deeply regretted her lack of skills.

After a while the flickering stopped and Rianna became very brisk again. 'Well, that should start your recovery, my dear but foolish Elder Sister. Now, let's get both of you fed and you at least into bed.'

They went into a long low room with great open window spaces along each side. It was almost like being outside.

Katia sank down on one of the benches, more conscious of tiredness than of any desire to eat. However, once a bowl of savoury vegetable broth was set before her, she rediscovered her appetite. Even the bread and sharp cheese she had with it tasted better than food at the Temple. And the drink was fresh glowberry juice. Her favourite!

After the meal, Katia let out such a long happy sigh that Herra and Rianna both laughed at her.

'Better now?' asked Herra.

'Very much better, thank you.'

QUEST Shannah Jay 41

'Then I'll ask Berna to look after you. I must rest now. Help the Sisters where you can, child.'

As she showed Katia through the long low buildings of the crèche, Berna, who was a Healer-Elect, explained how things were run there. Most of the Sisters were engaged in looking after babies who were waiting for placement with families. The Sisters' well-known care for orphans gave them the chance to place their own babies in foster-homes, hard as that sometimes was for the mothers.

'Why are the houses built so - so huddle-muddle?' she asked Berna.

'To facilitate escape. Each house has its own tunnel.'

'Escape? From what?'

'It's not unknown in our history for rash lords, or lately for Those of the Serpent, to kill our babies in retaliation for some imagined offence, or even merely as a display of strength.'

'Kill babies!'

'And worse. It's against such Evil that we fight, my dear.'

Again there was the wrenching realisation that the lessons Katia had not bothered to learn in the temple had a very serious purpose. 'I didn't know. I really didn't know such things could happen. Not nowadays. Where I grew up, they didn't. People still followed the old laws absolutely.'

'You were fortunate. Most of us were raised in the midst of Discord.'

Katia loved helping with the babies. Living in the forest with her grandfather, she had had little to do with small children and nothing whatsoever to do with babies, and she found them fascinating. She was so ignorant of their needs and capabilities that several times the other Sisters burst out laughing, kindly laughter that brought her into their circle in a way she had never belonged to any group before.