Read The Rebellion Online

Authors: Isobelle Carmody

The Rebellion (2 page)

Alad:
Beastspeaking guildmaster

Angina:
Empath guilden and enhancer; twin brother of Miky
Aras:
young Farseeker guilder

Ariel:
sadistic enemy of Obernewtyn, previously allied with the Herder Faction

Atthis:
Elder of the Agyllians, or Guanette birds; blind futureteller

Avra:
leader of the Beastguild; mountain mare; bondmate to Gahltha

Bodera:
ailing rebel leader in Sutrium; father of Dardelan

Brocade:
rebel leader in Sawlney

Bruna:
Sadorian; daughter of Jakoby

Brydda Llewellyn (aka the Black Dog):
rebel leader allied with Bodera and Dardelan

Cameo:
true-dreaming Misfit, killed by Ariel and his allies

Cassell:
rebel leader in Halfmoon Bay

Ceirwan:
Farseeker guilden

Daffyd:
former Druid armsman; farseeker; unguilded ally of Obernewtyn

Dameon:
blind Empath guildmaster

Dardelan:
rebel leader; son of Bodera

Dell:
Futuretell ward

Domick:
former Coercer ward and bondmate of Kella; living in Sutrium

Dragon:
powerful Empath guilder with coercive Talent; projects illusions; in a coma

Druid (Henry Druid):
renegade Herder Faction priest and enemy of the Council; leader of a secret community that was destroyed in a firestorm

Elspeth Gordie (aka Innle, the Seeker):
Farseeker guildmistress; powerful farseeker, beastspeaker, and coercer, with limited futuretelling and psychokinetic Talent

Enoch:
a coachman; ally of Obernewtyn

Faraf:
pony ridden by Elspeth in the Sadorian Battlegames

Fian:
Teknoguild ward

Freya:
beast empath; enhancer with a powerful effect on others’ Talents

Gahltha:
Beast guilden; bondmate to Avra; a formidable black horse sworn to protect Elspeth

Garth:
Teknoguildmaster

Gevan:
Coercer guildmaster

Gilaine:
daughter of the Druid; beloved of Daffyd

Grufyyd:
bondmate to Katlyn; father of Brydda

Gwynedd:
rebel Norselander; second to Tardis

Hannay:
Coercer guilder

Idris:
young rebel formerly of Aborium; trusted companion to Brydda

Iriny:
halfbreed gypsy; half sister of Swallow

Jacob Obernewtyn:
Beforetimer; wealthy patron of Hannah Seraphim

Jakoby:
Sadorian tribal leader; mother of Bruna

Javo:
Obernewtyn’s head cook

Jes:
Elspeth’s older brother; Talented Misfit killed by soldierguards

Jik:
former Herder novice and Empath guilder with farseeking Talent; died in a firestorm

Kasanda:
deceased spiritual leader of the Sadorians; left signs for the Seeker to help in her quest

Katlyn:
herb lorist living at Obernewtyn; bondmate to Grufyyd; mother of Brydda

Kella:
Healer guilden with slight empath Talent; former bondmate to Domick

Lina:
young, troublemaking beastspeaker

Louis Larkin:
unTalented highlander; inhabitant of Obernewtyn; honorary Beastspeaking guilder

Lukas Seraphim:
first Master of Obernewtyn, which he built on Beforetime ruins; Rushton’s grandfather; deceased

Madellin:
ailing rebel leader in Port Oran

Maire:
gypsy healer; grandmother of Swallow and Iriny

Malik:
rebel leader in Guanette

Marisa Seraphim:
second wife of Lukas Seraphim; researcher who knew location of Beforetime weaponmachines; deceased

Maruman (aka Yelloweyes):
one-eyed cat prone to fits of futuretelling; Elspeth’s oldest friend

Maryon:
Futuretell guildmistress

Matthew:
Farseeker ward

Merret:
Coercer guilder with beastspeaking Talent

Miky:
Empath guilden; twin sister of Angina; gifted musician

Miryum:
Coercer guilden

Pavo:
former Teknoguild ward; died of rotting sickness

Powyrs:
rebel sea captain

Radek:
rebel leader in Morganna

Reuvan:
rebel seaman from Aborium; Brydda’s right-hand man

Roland:
Healer guildmaster

Rosamunde:
one-time lover of Jes; unTalented inhabitant of Obernewtyn

Rushton:
Master of Obernewtyn; latent Talent

Salamander:
secretive, ruthless leader of the slave trade

Sallah:
rebel mare; companion to Brydda

Selmar:
Talented Misfit and one-time ally of Rushton; killed by Ariel

Swallow:
Twentyfamilies gypsy and heir to D’rektaship

Tardis:
rebel leader in Murmroth

Yavok:
rebel leader in Aborium

Zarak:
Farseeker guilder; previously a Beastspeaking guilder

Zidon:
horse ridden by Malik in the Sadorian Battlegames

for Helen Stannard-Williams
,
for the most enduring love of all:
friendship

and

for Scott
Do you now fly the spirit trails
you sought in life?

1

A
T FIRST SIGHT
, the gypsy woman appeared to be embracing the stake. Her languid pose and mocking smile made it seem impossible that she was about to be burned. Blood dripped steadily out of slits that ran from elbow to wrist, yet she showed neither pain nor fear.

The gray-gowned Herder before her lifted his palms to the sky as he chanted the purification prayer. He was old, bald, and toothless, but his eyes glowed like live coals as he made the warding-off signs.

“Beware, demon,” he hissed. “You have found an easy vessel in this foul gypsy’s body. Yet I will drive you out.”

Shockingly, the woman laughed aloud.

“You know I am not possessed, Herder. Say the truth and be done with it. Tell them that you burn me because I tried to heal a baby when your own worthless treatments had done more ill than good.”

The villagers, standing in a cluster about the stake, rustled like leaves in a windblown tree, but no one spoke in the woman’s defense, and none met her eyes.

“You used herb lore,” the Herder said. “It was such dabbling in forbidden arts that brought Lud’s wrath upon the Beforetimers for their conceit. The Herder Faction heals with humility, trusting to Lud’s guidance instead of sinful pride. The plagues were Lud’s warning that the Landfolk tread the
same dangerous and prideful path when they close their ears to the Faction, for Herders are the voices of Lud.” He blinked and seemed to rein in his religious fervor. “The woman who allowed you to defile her child will also be burned for heresy.”

A woman screamed and fainted, but no one moved to her aid.

“You are a fool,” the gypsy’s voice rang out. “You will not be allowed to burn her when the Council can have her sweating her life out in one of their stinking farms.”

“I am a Herder. Lud and the Faction rule me, not the Council,” the priest snapped. There was a sullen mutter from the crowd, but the Herder glared them to silence. “She invoked the black arts. Council lore grants me the right to burn her and any who treat with her.”

“What black arts?” the gypsy demanded contemptuously.

The Herder turned back to her. “You told the woman her child would die, and one day later it did. You cursed it and thereby revealed the demon within.”

“I treated the babe but saw quickly by its symptoms that it was too late to save it,” the woman said. “It could not tolerate the potions you fed it. I told the parents it would die so that they might say their farewells and not waste the child’s final hours.”

“Do not waste your
own
final moments with lies,” the Herder jeered, pushing a gloating smile into the woman’s face.

Her hand snaked out suddenly as if to grab him, and the priest wrenched back with a strangled cry. She gave a throaty laugh of triumph. “What are you afraid of, old goat? Do you think my gypsy skin might be catching?”

“Beg, demon! Proclaim your guilt, and the cleansing will
be swift,” he screamed, almost hysterical with fury.

She laughed again, a humorless bark. “Cease your ranting, old man. Kill me so that I don’t have to see your ugly face anymore.”

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