There was a very large stables to the left of the very large house, so half their group dismounted and took the mounts of the other half in preparation for stabling them. The rest would enter the house and start to cover the windows, getting the job done before full nightfall made it that much harder. And some of
those
would see about preparing a meal, using the provisions they’d brought with them if the house proved to be empty of food.
“If anyone had told me a few months ago that I’d be spendin’ my time unsaddlin’ horses, I would have called them a liar,” Vallant said as he walked beside Lorand, leading his own mount as well as another. “If this isn’t close to the end of it, I just may take off and go lookin’ for the nearest large body of water.”
“I feel the same way about being one of those who are leading what amounts to an army,” Lorand agreed with a glum nod. “But unfortunately I don’t have the sort of temperament that would let me take off, for water
or
dry land. And I wonder why the people who own this house aren’t here.”
“Rion said there was a good chance that the occupants are at another of their houses right now,” Vallant replied with a shrug. “That part of it doesn’t bother me, but there’s somethin’ that does. From other things Rion said at other times, I was expectin’ to find at least a small staff mindin’ the house. What I’d like to know is where
they
are.”
“Maybe they’reamong all those groups of people meeting on the street corners,” Lorand suggested as they entered the stables. “There are a lot more of them than that man Mohr’s comments led us to believe, almost as if the people are deliberately flaunting their positions. And did you notice that there wasn’t a guardsman near any of them?”
“Maybe all the guardsmen are busy watchin’ for
us
,” Vallant suggested, obviously looking around for empty stalls. “Mohr and his friends said they would be, but they weren’t as disappointed as I expected them to be when we refused to tell them our plans. I have the feelin’ we did nothin’ to really shake their belief that we’rethe Chosen Blendin’.”
“But we did manage to keep any of them from going along with us, which is a victory in itself,” Lorand pointed out. “They were picturing us riding into the city with our full force behind us, banners flying over our heads proclaiming who we were. Or who they thought we were. Then we could have spent our time pushing away the groups of people who believed us and wanted to fawn, fighting those who didn’t believe and therefore wanted to put us down, and arguing with any others who decided that
they
were the Chosen. The only benefit in that would have been the trouble the Seated Five would have had getting through the mobs to reach us. By the time they did they would have been exhausted.”
“That could be why the Chosen are supposed to have a good chance at defeatin’ those five,” Vallant said with something of a grin. “I think I’ll take these two stalls over here.”
Lorand indicated his agreement with that decision by taking the stalls next to those two, and for the next few minutes he was busy stripping the saddles and bridles from the horses. They really could have used a good rubdown as well, but an extra measure of oats made up for the lack, at least temporarily. And the oat bin bulged with its contents, so there was no need to stint.
By the time Lorand had finished, Vallant hadn’t yet come out to get the oats for the mounts in his care. So Lorand scooped out what he would need, and went to see how far he’d gotten. The delay turned out to be a snarl up between the bridle of the second horse and the halter Vallant was trying to put on it, something only a novice at horse handling could have managed. Lorand took care of the problem and measured out the oats for both of the horses, and then the two of them were temporarily finished.
“I owe you for bailin’ me out there, brother,” Vallant said ruefully as they began to leave the stables. Everyone else seemed to have already left, so aside from the horses they were alone. “It would be nice if I had a real idea of what I was doin’, but that sort of thing takes practice. I wonder if the watches I set up are already posted.”
“That looks like men on watch to me,” Lorand said, pointing out the door into the gathering darkness. “Can’t you discern the three of them over there, separated by about thirty feet of wooded land?”
“Yes, of course, now I can,” Vallant replied, still sounding rueful. “If I’d just bothered lookin’ around… I guess what I need is a good night’s sleep. As soon as we all finish eatin’ I’ll assign link groups to stand watch in rotation from the house, and then I’ll go and get that sleep.”
“Vallant, before we go in there’s something I’d like to talk to you about,” Lorand forced himself to say. “I know I’m intruding and I hate to do it, but we
are
brothers so I have to. Jovvi told me she spoke to you, and I know that what she said was by way of a quote of what Tamrissa said to
her
. I also saw the way Tamrissa looked at you, which was completely different from any other time.”
“Yes, I noticed that myself,” Vallant replied as he stopped where he was to run a hand through his hair. “That look was … an arrogant, derogatory challenge, worse than anythin’ I’ve ever seen. It told me how little she thought of me and dared me to do somethin’ to change the opinion, even though she was certain I couldn’t. It was all I could do not to ball up my fists and walk over to tell her to raise her own hands.”
“The way we answered challenges like that when we were boys,” Lorand said with a nod and a sigh. “But we never did it with girls, and certainly not with girls who were Highs in Fire magic. Have you decided what you’ll do instead?”
“Walkin’ off to find that large body of water is an idea that looks better every day,” he replied, leaning back against the edge of the door and closing his eyes. “It’s what any man with an ounce of sense would do, to save his sanity if for no other reason. But there’s more than just the Blendin’ and the comin’ fight holdin’ me here, which proves how little sense
I
happen to have. Every time I close my eyes—”
His words broke off abruptly, as though he couldn’t bring himself to speak about such private thoughts, but then he shook his head almost savagely.
“Every time I close my eyes I can see myself walkin’ up to that woman,” he continued tonelessly. “First I give her a good shakin’ for the way she’s been behavin’, and then I take the kiss her dagger stare swears I’ll never have again. I
want
to do those things, I really do, but something deep inside won’t let me. So much of me has already died all the times she ended things between us, that one more time could finish me completely. I suppose once all the trouble is over it won’t matter, but for right now…”
Lorand tried to think of something helpful to say when Vallant’s words trailed off in another sigh, but the problem was one he could understand all too clearly. When he’d thought he’d lost Jovvi the world and its doings had turned dull and pointless, and so had his entire life. Going on alone had been something he simply hadn’t been able to picture, but he’d been lucky in that Jovvi had felt exactly the same. If she ever changed her mind about that… No, Lorand could understand just how Vallant felt.
They stood in the silence of a peaceful night for a few minutes, and then they began to walk toward the house. Not a single glimmer of light showed in any of the windows, which was exactly the way it was supposed to be. Their refuge ought to do them for the short time they would be using it, the time between now and when they faced the Seated Five. Which would not be all that long, as they’d decided unanimously on what their stance had to be:
If the Five didn’t come looking for
them
, they would have to go looking for the Five…
* * *
The meal our people managed to put together wasn’t at all bad, not after what we’d learned to eat while on the road. I swallowed down my portion of it with satisfaction, then took one of my link groups on a tour of the house’s bedchambers. We were on a hunt for clothes we might wear, while my second link group saw to making the water in the bath house usable.
“If you don’t mind the company, I’ll come on the ‘tour’ with you,” Jovvi said when I told her what we were off to do. “If I just sit around, I’ll start worrying about what’s ahead of us and won’t get any sleep tonight.”
“You know you’rewelcome,” I told her with a smile, then stopped her from reaching for a lamp. “No, don’t take that, not when we won’t need it. Not all of the bedchambers have had their windows covered yet, so we’ll be using very small, shielded glows to light our way. That’s why we Fire magic users are doing this, remember?”
“Since I lied and have already started to worry, I’m lucky I can remember my name,” she answered ruefully. “But I did ask Naran if she wanted to come with us, and she just smiled and shook her head. I have the feeling she already knows what we’ll find, and hasn’t said anything because she doesn’t want to spoil the surprise for us. As useful as it is, I don’t believe I’d enjoy having a talent like hers.”
“If I had it, I’d probably end up with everyone hating me,” I said in agreement as we began to walk toward the front hall and its grand staircase. “Naran never says anything about what she sees unless there’s danger for someone, but I’d probably sound off at every opportunity. Like, ‘Don’t sit there, someone’s going to spill something on your skirt,’ or ‘Don’t bother taking that rain shield, you’re still going to get wet in the rain.’”
“I know what you mean, and I’m sure I’d be the same,” she said with a chuckle. “The only reason Naran isn’t, I’m sure, is because of the circumstances of her childhood. You and I learned to use ordinary talents from childhood, and if someone ‘caught’ us using them they would probably have been no more than annoyed. With
her
talent, though… She learned not to let anyone know what was going on with her.”
“But in a way that does match us,” I said, glancing at Jovvi thoughtfully. “I had to hide most of what I was able to do, and from what you’ve said you had to do the same. All of us, in fact, pretended to be less than what we were, even the men. Lorand and Vallant had the best of it, I think, but even they played down their abilities.”
“Yes, that’s true,” she said, and I glanced at her to see that she regarded me with an odd expression. “Forgive me for changing the subject, but I couldn’t help noticing that you called Vallant Vallant instead of Vallant Ro. The only other time you did that was when you and he were … more friendly than not, shall we say? I wasn’t aware that things had changed between you two.”
“That’s because they haven’t,” I said comfortably as I raised my skirts in order to climb the staircase. “If anything has changed, it’s the way I’m now looking at things. I wondered why that was, and I finally figured out one cause at least: all that horseback riding we’ve been doing.”
“Ah,” she said as she climbed beside me, her smile clear in the light of the glow floating in the air ahead of us. “I think I understand what you mean. The strength of your talent and its unfettered use started the process, but didn’t do anything to free you from dependence on other people. Now that you’ve learned to ride a horse, you no longer need someone else to take you from place to place. Even if your back still aches, the freedom you’ve achieved is worth the ache.”
“It certainly would be, but I don’t even ache any longer,” I said with something of a grin. “I’ve even learned how to saddle my horse, and although I prefer having someone else do it for me, I
can
do it if necessary. Now if I can just learn to cook, the process ought to be complete.”
“And Vallant doesn’t enter into that anywhere?” she asked, no longer as hesitant as she’d been. “I’m relieved that I no longer have to shield myself from your agitation, but does that mean you’ve given up on him entirely?”
“Actually, it means I’ve stopped worrying about it,” I said, directing her to the right at the top of the staircase. “All that agitation you mentioned came from the fact that I didn’t know what to
do
about Vallant, and that I felt I had to do
something
. It finally came to me that he’s the one who has to do the something, and he’s the only one who can. If I’m the one who does it instead, I’ll never be absolutely sure of him. And I have to be sure, at least that much hasn’t changed. When you get down to it, I’d rather be alone than uncertain.”
“Not everyone would agree with that, but I certainly do,” she said, pausing in front of the first door on the left. “I used to think that sharing a man’s attention was nothing to get excited about, but that was before I met Lorand. Sharing him with you and Naran isn’t really sharing him, not when all of us are so close in that very special way. But if he ever went to another woman… Well, I could never hate him, but the hurt would be so great that our love would never be the same again.”
“That’s exactly the way he feels about you and other men,” I said with amusement as I led the way into the first bedchamber. “It was the point
you
weren’t able to understand, but maybe that was because he didn’t voice his thoughts as clearly.”
“And now he doesn’t have to, because I’m ruined as a courtesan,” she said with a small laugh. “Every client I had would have to measure up to our three brothers, and I
know
none of them would be able to. It seems to be a good thing that we have an alternate career choice—if we live.”
“If we don’t live, we won’t need any other careers,” I pointed out. “I’m not as frightened about that as most people are because I learned an important truth a long time ago. The idea of death
is
frightening, but there certainly are things which are a good deal worse. With some of those things as alternatives, death becomes a friendly, easy means of escape.”
She nodded in agreement, then turned to the wardrobe we’d found in the corner of the bedchamber. The glow I used let us see the men’s clothing hung inside, clothing that was a bit too large in the waist and narrow in the shoulders for most of our people. But someone would surely be able to make do with it, so we took two shirts and two pairs of trousers for trying on purposes, then left to look into the next bedchamber. We got as far as the next door, when Jovvi stopped short and seemed to be listening.