The Keeping Place

by Isobelle Carmody

  I wondered if Matthew ever dreamed of us or of a dragon flying at him in the night. Then I reminded myself that for now I must focus on the rebellion and the need to find Rushton. Once the Land was secure in the hands of the rebels, and Rushton in his rightful place as Master of Obernewtyn, I could pursue the signs and dreamtrails with renewed purpose.

  PART III

  THE DREAMTRAILS

  23

  ALAD TOLD ME that there had been no news of Rushton, not by bird nor from the returned coercer-knights nor from the futuretellers.

  “We will find him,” I said, dismayed to hear that I sounded more desperate than determined. I turned away from the flash of pity in his eyes, saying he had better come up to the house as soon as he had a chance.

  By the time I was through the maze, I had composed myself; after all, it was hardly as if I had been expecting news from Rushton. I had hoped for it, but a dashed hope had not changed the situation for the worse or better. Walking along the stone passage leading to the Farseeker hall, I farsought Ceirwan before remembering that he was still in the lowlands.

  I sent a tuned probe to locate Zarak and found him in the Healer hall. I returned his greetings, then asked him to summon the guildleaders.

  “It will take some time for Garth to get here from the caves. Shall I tell Roland and the twins they are to come to your chamber once he arrives?”

  “There is no particular need for them to come at the same time,” I said.

  When the contact between us was severed, I farsent Miryum to ask her to attend a meeting with me in Gevan’s stead. She responded by saying she would come to represent the knights but that Rhianon should represent Gevan. She said they would come directly.

  As I climbed the stairs to my chamber, I realized Gevan had been right in seeing that Miryum would use the situation to separate the knights from the Coercer guild. I could not decide if it was a bad thing, for she and the knights were proving to be a very useful mobile force and would no doubt continue to do so in the coming conflict.

  I was disappointed to find my turret room empty, but it was hardly a surprise that Maruman would be elsewhere, for the air was dank and chilly despite the sun shining outside. It was strange how rooms deprived of their occupants developed a neglected air. I lit a fire, washed the travel dust from myself, and changed into a long dress and soft slippers, throwing a shawl over my shoulders to ward off the chill of the stone until the fire could warm the room. All the while, I mulled over how to explain to the others what had transpired at the rebel meeting.

  Strictly speaking, our agreement to take a limited role in the rebellion should not have been made without guildmerge approval, but we had agreed in principle that there would be times when it was impossible to meet and vote before making crucial decisions. Even so, I kept my fingers crossed that if Maryon disagreed with our decision, she would merely be personally opposed rather than offering a definite futuretelling against it, because I had virtually committed us to involvement in the rebellion and the reshaping of the Land that would follow.

  There was a timid knock at the door, and Aras appeared with a welcome tray of food. “I thought you might be hungry,” she said shyly.

  “You read my mind,” I quipped, half expecting her to laugh as Ceirwan would have done, but she merely looked shocked and said she would never do such a thing. Sighing a little as she set out the utensils, I found myself missing Ceirwan more than ever. How I wished he and Rushton and all the others were safe at Obernewtyn and the pass blocked with wintertime ice. It was a childish wish, given what was unfolding. Very soon, many more of our number would ride out into danger, and it was I who had initiated the exodus. We were approaching the end of an era. Once the rebellion ended, there was no knowing how our lives would be changed. The only certainty was that they would be changed. I made another fruitless wish: that I would not have to face this moment without Rushton.

  “Guildmistress?” Aras looked up from pouring some steaming herb tea.

  “It’s nothing,” I said, realizing I must have sighed. I accepted a mug from her and sipped at its contents, enjoying the underlying flavor of ginger. My mother had seen it as a purifying herb, but it always made me feel more comforted than purified, perhaps because of its association with her.

  As Aras smeared a wedge of vegetable slice onto a chunk of crusty bread and passed it to me, there was another knock at the door, and Alad entered without waiting for a response, puffing slightly. “I’m sorry, I thought you were in the library.” He helped himself to some food, declining Aras’s offer of tea. “I forgot to mention to you on the farms that I had seen the refuge that the Teknoguild has created. They have done a fine job, but there is still much to do.”

  “It may be that—” I began, but there was another knock at the door. Miky and Zarak entered.

  “Dell has gone to fetch Maryon, and Roland will be here soon,” Zarak said.

  “He’s finishing a foul preparation for Javo’s bunions,” Miky reported with a grimace. “I didn’t wake Angina because Zar said it wasn’t a proper merge.”

  I waved them to get stools and sit and, without preamble, outlined what had happened at the rebel meeting, including Malik’s use of the Herder-designed demon band. “I have not brought you here to vote on anything but merely to tell you what was decided and to ask you to compile a list of suitable candidates from your guilds—preferably those whose primary or secondary skills are empathic, coercive, or farseeking….”

  “So we are to join the rebellion after all,” Alad murmured. “The animals will be glad, for it will give them the opportunity to organize more escapes.”

  I told him of the rumors circulating the lowlands of a band of beast thieves, and he grinned but absently, for his mind was audibly running over the members of his guild and their secondary skills. I was a little surprised that he did not dispute our decision.

  “So this demon band does not work on empaths?” Miky asked.

  “That’s what Gevan said, but you can question your own people when they return with him. We’ll have a proper guildmerge tomorrow to decide on who will go where,” I said. “With less than a sevenday before the rebellion begins, we will have to move swiftly. The rebels are literally awaiting our arrival to be able to reveal their plans to their own people. Those sent to the west coast will need all that time to reach their destinations. Those going to towns or villages in the upper lowlands and highlands won’t need to ride out for a couple days, though.”

  “Gahltha will have told Avra by now, but we’ll still have to make a formal request to the Beastguild for support. How many people will be needed altogether?” Alad asked.

  “Gevan and I thought at least three of us should join each of the thirteen rebel groups,” I said. “Thirty-nine altogether. We felt that three could look after one another better than two if something went wrong.”

  “Sort of like the whiplash,” Zarak put in eagerly. “They’ll all be working for the same thing, but they have to be able to mesh as lone units as well.”

  “A good example,” I said appreciatively. “Speaking of which, how is the whiplash progressing?”

  “I think you’ll be surprised,” Zarak said with a sideways smile at Aras.

  “I can see why we are offering help to the rebels, but I do not like our people being decoys for Malik,” Alad said.

  “I don’t trust him either,” I admitted. “That’s why I will be one of the three going to his group in Guanette.”

  “No one is going to agree to that, and you know it. You can’t risk yourself, not with Rushton lost to us.”

  “Given Maryon’s prediction, I doubt Obernewtyn is going to be any safer than anywhere else for the next little while. And I can handle Malik. I am easily as strong at coercing as Miryum and Gevan, and I have other Talents.”

  “All of which will be useless, given that Malik wears one of these demon bands,” Miky said. “What is needed is an empath. I will go.”

  “I’m afraid it can’t be you, Mi
ky,” I responded. “Your first priority has to be helping Angina with Dragon.”

  There was another peremptory knock, and Miryum entered with a grave-faced Rhianon.

  Once they understood what was happening, Miryum suggested that as many knights as possible be included. They were well used to roaming the countryside and fending for themselves, and they could fight with their minds and their bodies.

  “How many of you are there?” I asked.

  “Ten, counting Straaka.”

  I made no comment on this surprising addition. “Very well. Then I suggest that one of your knights travels with each of the groups going to the west coast. That makes five….”

  “The other five ought to act as Malik’s decoys,” Miryum said, but I shook my head.

  “I think more than five of us will be required, and we will need empaths in case some of the soldierguards are wearing demon bands.”

  “The decoy team ought to have beastspeakers as well,” Alad interjected. “To quiet guard dogs and to slow the horses carrying the soldierguards after us.”

  “It might be wise to have the west coast group traveling together in magi wagons,” Rhianon suggested. “The rumor of the magi is bound to have reached that far by now, and it will ensure them a warmer welcome than halfbreeds usually get.”

  Maryon entered so silently that none of us heard the door. I was struck by her calm expression.

  “You knew we would end up helping the rebels,” I murmured, speaking aloud without intending it.

  Her dark eyes met mine. “There were indications. An’ this mornin’ I was certain.”

  “So the rebellion is definitely the trouble you foresaw?” Zarak asked.

  “That I cannot say. But I believe Elspeth’s decision to involve us in the rebellion has changed the future. I still see bloodshed, but far less, an’ much of it is far from here.”

  “So we did the right thing?” I said, feeling almost giddy with relief.

  “I dinna ken if ye acted wisely or no. I still see treachery close at hand.”

  We all stared at the futureteller, but she sat silent.

  “Can’t you tell us if we are victims of betrayal, or only witness to it?” I asked, trying to control my irritation.

  “I have said what I have said,” she offered so evasively that I had the sudden certainty that she was not saying all she saw. Instead of being angered, I felt chilled, and for this reason I could not bring myself to ask about Rushton.

  But Maryon said, “I have seen naught of Rushton other than that he lives.”

  “You’ve seen that he lives?” I demanded.

  She nodded.

  I told Maryon that I did not think her people should take an active part in the rebellion. To my surprise, she disagreed. “One of us will gan to th’ west coast. It shall be Dell.”

  “Why Dell?” Alad demanded. “Why the west coast?”

  Maryon gave him the blank stare that meant she had no intention of answering, and he swore under his breath and turned to add wood to the fire, though by now morning sunlight warmed the small room. A surge of claustrophobia drove me to stand by the open window. The others were talking together as Roland entered and crossed the room to join me.

  “I’m sorry for the stench,” he said perfunctorily as I gagged at the smell rising from his hands. “It is treatment for Javo, and effective if pungent. It will wear off in a few days. What is happening?”

  Trying not to breathe through my nose, I told him.

  “A healer should go with each group as well,” he said.

  “Only if they have a second ability. The rebels will have their own herb lorists, after all.”

  “You think that will be enough if there is a war?” Roland demanded. “I hope you do not believe that the desire for a bloodless rebellion will mean it is assured.”

  There was no answer to that. “Make a list of those you recommend and note any second or tertiary abilities the healers have,” I said.

  He nodded. “We must also find some way to ensure a swift flow of information between Obernewtyn and the rebel groups,” Roland said.

  “We can use the whiplash variation,” Zarak offered eagerly. “If some of our whiplash people go with the rebels, they can relay messages from one group to the other, and if you wish, Guildmistress, you could use us as a conduit and farseek the groups directly…at least up to the Suggredoon.”

  “Elspeth means to be among those who go to Malik’s rebel group,” Alad said loudly, ignoring the look of annoyance I sent him.

  “Well, that’s something guildmerge might vote differently upon,” Roland declared. “Rushton ensured that even the Master of Obernewtyn can be outvoted by a full guildmerge, and I for one won’t agree to your putting yourself into Malik’s hands.”

  I glared at the healer, but he shrugged and said if there was nothing further, he had work to do. As he left, Jak entered, red-faced and wild-eyed. “Garth sent me to see what was happening.”

  “Where is he?” I countered.

  The guilden gestured vaguely behind him. “We found a map of Obernewtyn that indicated there was a path between the maze and the outer walls. The guildmaster assigned some of the younger teknoguilders to clear it out as a punishment for some mischief they had got up to. He is with them now.”

  I glanced furtively at Maryon, and she smiled slightly.

  “I don’t see why that requires Garth’s attention,” Alad said. “And if he wants to punish his people with physical labor, then they ought to be sent to the farms to help with the planting. Clearing some obscure path is a waste of—”

  “But you don’t understand,” Jak interrupted. “They found a grave.”

  My heart thudded with excitement. “Hannah Seraphim’s grave?”

  Jak shook his head. “It took us ages to clear enough moss away to read it. It’s Jacob Obernewtyn’s grave. We are going to open it up, for there may be records or—”

  “What if there are?” Miryum asked sharply. “There is no time for this now.”

  “But…” Jak looked bewildered.

  “She is right, I’m afraid,” I said. “It is fascinating that you have found his grave, but right now we have some serious matters to discuss. I want you to go and inform Garth that I must speak with him immediately.”

  Jak nodded and backed out.

  “They can’t help the way they are, Guildmistress,” Aras said earnestly. “They want to know things more than they want to breathe or eat. It is a hunger in them.”

  “I dinna think Garth should open this grave,” Maryon said. “It is nowt a box but th’ restin’ place of a man.”

  “I agree with Maryon,” Miky said. “It’s disgusting to think of opening a grave just because he thinks there might be something inside it. If there is, it is not meant to be looked at by anyone.”

  Divided by my own need to know more about Hannah Seraphim for my quest and the feeling that Miky and Maryon were right in their belief that a grave ought not to be disturbed, I said, “It certainly shouldn’t be done without guildmerge agreement, and I’ll tell Garth so when he gets here. In the meantime, you have lists to compile.”

  Everyone but Zarak and Aras departed. I sank into my fireside chair and bade the hovering wards sit and tell me what had been happening in our guild during my absence.

  An hour later, Garth appeared, disheveled and dirty. “I would have bathed, but Jak said you needed me to come immediately,” the Teknoguildmaster said reproachfully.

  I sighed, fatigued as ever by Garth’s single-mindedness. “I am sure by now that you know why I wanted to see you?”

  “I did happen to go by the kitchens for a morsel of food before coming here,” he said blithely. “I must say I think it a bad thing that we are to be mixed up in this rebellion. I thought Rushton had refused Brydda.”

  Rushton’s name acted like a knife stab, but I repressed my reaction. “I am mistress in his absence, and there were reasons for the change that you would have heard if you were not so busy burrowing into t
he past,” I said severely.

  He lifted his brows. “Oh, I do not dispute your right, Elspeth. What’s done is done. I am assuming you will not want teknoguilders to be assigned to the rebel groups?”

  “There would be no point—”

  “I agree,” Garth interrupted. “However, I would propose that a group of teknoguilders travel to the ruins where you found Dragon and the Beforetime library.”

  I gaped. “You…you can’t be serious! You would propose an expedition when—”

  “Not just an expedition. I would have them set up a refuge for our people. You must admit it would be useful to have a haven on the west coast where our people can gather. A healer can be part of the team, and one of your guild can keep contact with the others spread out on the coast. They will be a long way from home, after all, with no easy way of contacting us this side of the Suggredoon.”

  I bit back a sharp comment about Teknoguild opportunism, because he was right. It would be useful and perhaps even necessary to establish such a refuge. Much as I hated to admit it, there was no reason why the teknoguilders shouldn’t continue to investigate the ruins at the same time.

  “Present the idea to guildmerge tomorrow,” I said at last.

  “A proposal is being put together even now,” Garth said tranquilly.

  My ire faded, and I gave him a weary smile. “You are incorrigible. Now tell me about this grave. I hope you realize you will have some opposition if Jak was serious about your opening it up.”

  Garth’s grin dissolved. “Jak shouldn’t have mentioned it….”

  “Until it had been done, you mean?” I finished his sentence for him.

  He flushed. “Sentiment has no place in the gathering of information….”

  “Unfortunately, it does,” I said. “You will not open that grave unless a vote allows it.”

  “This is intolerable!” Garth stalked back and forth in agitation. “It’s not as if anyone knows the man! He’s been dead for hundreds of years!”