The Law of Isolation

by Angela Holder

  The image froze for an instant while Master Dabiel glanced around the arc of participants in the trial and at the witnesses seated in the chairs facing them. As many members of the Council of Guildmasters as could be assembled on such short notice were present observing. Her gaze came to rest on Sar, who stood next to Josiah’s chair. The donkey gave a little bob of his head. Master Dabiel’s hand on Buttons’ broad forehead twitched, and the window sprang into life again.

  It swept in to a close view of Mathir’s face. Josiah saw Mathir’s teeth flash white in the moonlight as they caught at his lower lip. He studied his friend’s expression. Troubled, certainly, perhaps a hint of secrets veiled behind his dark eyes. But no spark of inspiration, no flash of excitement. Mathir’s voice was neutral, almost flat. Was there a note of studied casualness there? “Any others?”

  Josiah sat back as the rest of the conversation played out. He was willing to swear, from what he’d seen, that Mathir had already planned to ask for bribes before he’d spoken. His words had only given Mathir confirmation that his plan would work. But even if he was wrong, surely no one could claim that what he had said was in any way out of line. He’d only reported the truth of what he’d observed.

  He watched Sar as the window showed him and the other apprentices arguing about whether their familiars would cooperate with their plans. As he recalled, nothing else was said about bribes, only about what was or was not within the Mother’s will. Wizards were free to differ on that. Even an apprentice could go against the Guildmaster’s orders if their familiar allowed them to. The familiars were considered to be the final arbiters of what the Mother’s Law did and did not allow. That’s why he’d thought he was on safe ground once Sar came around. Elkan might be furious at him, but with this evidence that he’d neither asked for nor accepted bribes, his master couldn’t consider him guilty of breaking the Law.

  Buttons let the window collapse, and Master Dabiel took her hand off his head. She turned to Mathir. “Is there any other time and place we could observe to substantiate your claim that Josiah conspired with you to extort bribes?”

  Mathir shrugged and slid lower in his chair.

  Master Dabiel regarded him with shadowed eyes for a moment, then turned to Elkan. “Is there anything else you’d like to say in Josiah’s defense?”

  “Tobi and I have scanned through the entire time from the meeting in your office, when Josiah first learned of the wheat blight, to our departure from Elathir. We found no other instances where he spoke with Mathir, or with any of the patients in question. Nor did we see him receive any money.” At his feet, Tobi flicked her ears in assent.

  “Very well. Does anyone else have anything to add?”

  No one spoke. “Josiah, would you like to say anything?”

  He gulped and looked at all the eyes staring at him. “I… You saw what happened.” He ducked his head.

  She nodded. “All the evidence has been presented. Sar, as Josiah’s familiar, you have sole discretion in this matter. What is your judgment? Should Josiah remain a member of the Wizards’ Guild?

  Sar’s hooves clopped on the wooden floor as he swung around to face Josiah. One dark eye studied Josiah, just as it had in the moment before Sar first acted to form their bond. Josiah stared back. I only wanted to serve the Mother, Sar. And help people.

  I know. Sar sighed and laid his head in Josiah’s lap. Foolish as you can be, your heart remains true. You did not attempt to abuse your position. I have no reason to withhold the Mother’s power from you any longer.

  Josiah fondled Sar’s ears with a trembling hand. It felt good to have the donkey’s voice back in his mind after the long days of silence. Thank you.

  Don’t give me any reason to in the future.

  I’ll do my best. He would. He didn’t know if that would be good enough, considering how things always seemed to work out, but he would try.

  A small burst of golden light flashed around the place where Josiah’s fingers rested against Sar’s head. A quiet exhalation breathed from those watching, and the tension in the room eased a notch.

  Master Dabiel smiled, though only about half of the lines on her forehead vanished. “Let the record reflect that Josiah Potterkin Wizard has been cleared of all charges of misconduct, and is hereby restored to good standing as an apprentice in the Wizards’ Guild.

  Josiah sank back in his chair, shaking. He’d tried to keep faith that this would be the outcome, but it was a great relief to have it settled for good.

  Elkan laid a hand briefly on his arm. Josiah flashed him a broad grin. Elkan answered with a smile, small and grave, but still pleased.

  Josiah’s stomach lurched as Master Dabiel went on. “Now we will turn our attention to the charges against Mathir Herderkin Wizard. Allegations have been raised that Mathir accepted private payments in exchange for providing access to the Mother’s power, above and beyond the customary remuneration paid by the various guilds to the Wizards’ Guild to cover our services to their members. This is strictly forbidden by the Mother’s Law. In addition, he has been accused of attempting to compel a patient to perform favors of a personal nature in order to receive healing, which is also profoundly against the Law. We will proceed to observe the incidents in question.”

  Mathir stared at the floor. Several of the patients sat in the arc of chairs. Master Jomin was there, his face hard and closed. Rolie, also. She had covered the pale patch on her cheek with some sort of cosmetic that blended imperfectly with the shade of her skin.

  Josiah didn’t want to look, but his eyes were irresistibly drawn to the gold sphere that bloomed over Master Dabiel’s palm. Her voice was calm. “We will observe the first reported incident.”

  The interior of Azien’s home appeared, lit by warm lamplight. Master Ilcha opened the door in response to an urgent knock. Mathir stood there. “May I come in? I’m from the Wizards’ Guild.”

  “Did Master Elkan or Master Todira send you? Will Azien be able to continue receiving treatments after all?” Ilcha swung the door wide and beckoned eagerly for him to enter. “Azien’s in bed, but I can get him if you need to see him now. He just got a treatment this afternoon, and they told us to bring him by in the morning—”

  “No, let him sleep. I don’t have my familiar with me right now, anyway.” Mathir followed Master Ilcha to a chair by the hearth.

  Master Jomin set down the bowl of peas he’d been shelling, his body tense. “Welcome. What news do you have for us?”

  Mathir took a deep breath. “Josiah told me your son needs daily treatments with the Mother’s power in order to remain healthy.”

  “That’s right. Has a way been found for that to happen?” Jomin eyed Mathir cautiously.

  “Maybe.” Mathir kept his hands loose and relaxed in his lap. “Josiah and I are trying to arrange something. It will have to remain a secret from the other wizards, because of the Guildmaster’s orders. But he said you’d probably be willing to go along with that.”

  “Yes. Anything.” Jomin leaned forward, fixing Mathir with his eyes.

  Master Ilcha sat down next to him and picked up the bowl of peas. “Are you sure?” she said to her husband in a low voice. “We don’t know what sort of trouble this may cause.”

  “We know what will happen if we don’t,” Jomin said fiercely.

  She seemed hesitant, but she bent over the peas and didn’t protest further.

  Mathir leaned closer. “I know which way the party Josiah and I will be with is headed. We’re going to have a few of those with the most serious needs follow us. We’ll come out from our camp and heal you each day. But we’re taking a big risk. We’ll get in a lot of trouble if we’re discovered. We need… something to help make the chance worth it.”

  Jomin nodded, unsurprised. “Whatever you ask. If I have it, it’s yours.”

  Mathir licked his lips. “I don’t want to ask for much. But we can only help a few, and some need it more than others. We’ll have to take that into consideration.”

&n
bsp; Jomin raised a hand. “You don’t have to say any more. Wait just a moment.”

  He rose and vanished through a door into the back room. Mathir shifted in his seat and glanced at Ilcha. She remained silent, her fingers busy stripping peas from their shells. In less than a minute, Jomin was back. He came to stand by Mathir, who rose to meet him. Jomin pressed a small but heavy leather bag into Mathir’s hands. “This is everything we’ve saved. I can get more, with a little time to sell things and take out loans.”

  “There will be plenty of time for that when we get back,” Mathir said. He clutched the bag and edged toward the door. “I’m going to speak with a few others. I’ll tell them to meet you at the outskirts of the city. We’ll be following the south bank of the river toward Korisan. We’ll be on horseback, but we’ll be stopping along the way to work, so you should be able to keep up on foot. I’m sorry I can’t tell you exactly where to look for our camp, but they haven’t told us yet.”

  “We’ll find you,” Jomin said.

  “All right. Good.” Mathir pushed the door open and stepped through. “We’ll see you then.” He fled into the night. Jomin pulled the door shut behind him.

  The window clouded over with gold shimmers as Master Dabiel and Buttons shifted it to a different view. Another small, lamplit room. Josiah recognized one of their patients, an older woman. She opened the door to reveal Mathir.

  This scene played out in nearly identical fashion. Mathir added a new bag of coins to his belt. Josiah quit watching after that. Instead he studied the faces of the observers. The Guildmasters had mostly gotten over their initial shocked horror and settled into an attitude of officious disapproval. The patients, as one by one they appeared in the window, mostly shared Jomin’s stubbornly defiant expression. The three master wizards kept coldly impassive faces as the damning images rolled on and on.

  One look at Nina was enough. The squirrel huddled in Master Hanion’s lap, next to Mathir. She hunched in a tight ball, her bright black eyes focused on the scenes unfolding in the window. The misery in her posture was so acute Josiah jerked his eyes away. She couldn’t have radiated more pain if someone had been slowly sawing her tail off.

  Master Dabiel shifted in her seat. She removed her hand from Buttons’ head and the window blinked out. She rubbed her hands together, chafing them as if they were cold or stiff. Then she took a deep breath and extended her hands again. “One more, and we’ll be through.”

  Mathir chewed on his lip, looking back and forth from Master Dabiel to Rolie. Rolie refused to meet his eyes. As the gold sphere began to grow, he jumped to his feet. “Please, Guildmaster, you don’t have to show it. I confess. It all happened just like Rolie said. Do whatever you want to me. Just don’t put it up there for everyone to see.”

  Master Dabiel paused. Her expression as she looked at Mathir was compassionate, but beneath that was a steely ruthlessness that made Josiah shiver. “The transgression wasn’t yours alone, Mathir. You acted as a member of the Wizards’ Guild. Whenever the guild betrays its sacred trust, the full truth must be shown for all to see. We’re not allowed to keep our faults secret, or cover up our failings. The representatives of the people of Tevenar are here to witness how the Mother cleanses the ranks of her servants of those who prove unable to bear her power responsibly. Only thus can their trust in the Mother and the Guild be preserved. They must see the full depths to which we can fall, and how the Mother responds.”

  A number of the observing Guildmasters looked uncomfortable. Josiah thought they would have gladly waived the right to see anything else, but Master Dabiel didn’t even glance at them. Instead, she stared at Mathir until he sank back into his chair and buried his head in his hands. Rolie watched the Guildmaster with a hard scowl and narrowed eyes, a defiant lift to her chin.

  The window resumed its progress. It swelled to full size, and the gold haze drew outward from the center. A door opened, though the scene was so dark Josiah could barely make out what it showed. The sounds were clear, though. Rolie’s voice swooped high in pleasure before she quieted it. “Mathir! What are you doing here?”

  “I couldn’t leave without seeing you one last time. Can you come out for a while?”

  “All right.” She turned to speak with her mother for a moment and then slipped out the door, easing it shut behind her. The dark shapes within the window shifted and blurred as it followed the two indistinct forms through streets illuminated only by the low moon and an occasional pool of lamplight from a window. Mathir murmured something too soft to hear, and Rolie giggled, but other than that they were quiet until they came to one of the little parks that dotted the residential areas of Elathir. Rolie led Mathir to a bench shrouded by bushes and an overhanging tree. By daylight it must have been a cool, shady retreat, but in the window’s night it was choked with nearly featureless gloom.

  The two forms sank onto the bench and merged into a single shadow. All that could be heard were soft kissing sounds and occasional wordless sighs. Josiah’s face grew hot and his pulse pounded in his ears. He thought of the times he’d kissed girls, the soft feel of their lips on his. He was relieved, but also a little shamefully disappointed, when the image of Rolie drew back and a sliver of soft grey space appeared between the two silhouettes.

  “Tell me the Guildmaster changed her mind and a wizard is going to stay in Elathir.”

  “No, I’m sorry. She still insists everyone has to go.”

  “Smash it, how can she do this? Doesn’t she know what’s going to happen?”

  “It doesn’t make sense to me either. But none of us have any choice.”

  Rolie’s voice took on a flattering, wheedling tone. “I bet you’ve got an idea how to get around her. I know you’re clever enough to come up with something.”

  “Actually… Promise you won’t tell anyone about this.”

  “Of course I promise.”

  The shadows shifted as Mathir placed something in her hand. Rolie gasped. “Where did you get this?”

  “Hush! I told a few people they could go with us and I’d make sure they got healed. They were very grateful. Just think what we can do with this, Rolie. I can buy you that fancy tunic you wanted, and a shawl and jewelry to go with it. I’ll treat you to the finest food in Elathir. No more scrimping along on an apprentice allowance that gets smaller every week.” He took back the bag of money and bent to fasten it on his belt.

  “You’re taking people with you? What about your master?”

  “He’s not going to find out. It will be easy. They’re going to follow along behind, out of sight, and I’ll go out every day and take care of them. I couldn’t let them stay behind and go without, not when I could help them.”

  “If you think it will work.” She was silent for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was hesitant, almost casual, only a slight tremble betraying the intensity of her feelings. “You… there’s a place for me, isn’t there? With the others?”

  “Of course. Why do you think I came to tell you? First thing in the morning, go to where the Korisan road veers down toward the river. The group’s going to assemble there.”

  “Oh, Mathir! You don’t know what this means to me!” Her arms went around him, and for a time there was nothing but further sounds of intimacy. Josiah tried hard not to react, but his body had other ideas. Exactly how much was the window going to show? Would Master Dabiel insist on publicly exposing even the most private activities? But Rolie had claimed she refused…

  Within the window, the sounds broke off. “Mathir, stop. I told you I don’t want to—”

  His voice was muffled and urgent. “What’s the matter? No one will disturb us, and who knows when we’ll get another chance? I had Nina fix me so nothing will happen. Come on, Rolie, you know you want to.”

  The sounds resumed briefly, but halted abruptly. “I said stop it! We talked about this. You agreed to wait.”

  “But that was before all this happened. I went out of my way for you, Rolie. I made it so you can get the healing you
need. There are dozens of people in Elathir who’d give anything to be in your place. I thought you’d be grateful. I thought you’d want to show me how much you appreciate what I’ve done for you.”

  “I do appreciate it. But it’s only been a few months since I met you. And I always intended to wait until I was a journeyman.”

  “What, am I not good enough for you? Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you don’t care about me after all.”

  “You know I do. It’s not that. I’m just not interested right now.”

  Mathir’s breath was heavy and ragged. “So that’s how it is. Well, maybe I’m not interested in having you come along tomorrow, then. Why should I spend my energy fixing your face if it’s not that important to you?”

  “Mathir, no, you have to let me come! The spot is growing; by the time you get back it will be huge—”

  “Then give me a reason to.”

  For a moment Rolie didn’t speak. When she did, her voice was different. All traces of warmth were gone. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You’re trying to coerce me.”

  “That’s an ugly thing to say—”

  “But it’s true! I thought wizards were supposed to be better than that, but you’re no different from any trader or sailor. Get away from me! I’d rather have every inch of my skin turn white as sea foam than let you touch me again.”

  She jumped up from the bench. Mathir rose heavily. “If that’s the way you want it. Stay in Elathir, then. Let that spot grow to cover half your face.”

  “I will,” Rolie choked out between sobs. “Go away. I hate you.” She ran into the night, the sound of her footfalls fading. Mathir stood for a minute, then turned and plodded off in the other direction as the window dissolved.

  Master Dabiel’s hand fell. For a moment the whole courtroom was silent. Josiah snuck a look at Rolie. Tears streaked her cheeks, but she glared at the room as if daring anyone to criticize her. Josiah averted his gaze before she could catch him looking at her.

  The Guildmaster took a deep breath and tightened her fingers on Buttons’ head. “I’m sorry that was necessary, child,” she said to Rolie. “And I apologize on behalf of the Wizards’ Guild that one of our own treated you in this fashion.”