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?
1A
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.”