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slowly, walked three steps, and found the curtain.
The doorway out of the pavilion was comparatively easy to find, the variance
between dark and darker easy for her adjusted eye to see. Six steps and she
was to the pavilion door and outside. Not wanting to cross the Shield compound
again, she slipped behind Lady Melina s tent. Now she dropped the necklace
into her hand, holding it so tightly the metal dented the skin. Elise was
nearly back to her own tent when she realized someone had followed her.
Sapphire Shield, clad in a long sleeping gown that looked black in the faint
starlight but was almost certainly dark blue, stood in the open ground in
front of the Archer tent watching her. She motioned Elise into Elise s own
pavilion. Elise obeyed, not because Sapphire held her bare sword in her hands
but
because she wanted the relative privacy. Her father and his man were with
Baron Archer s command.
Only Ninette was within and she knew everything of importance.
When they were inside, Sapphire said in low tones:
 I saw you coming out of my mother s tent.
 Yes, Elise said calmly, revealing what she held in her hand.  I ve stolen
your mother s necklace.
Sapphire s eyes narrowed in suspicion. Even in light from the single candle on
the table, Elise could see her hand move restlessly along the hilt of her
sword. A pang of pure terror soured Elise s stomach. What other controls might
Melina Shield have put on her children? But Sapphire said only a single word.
 Why?
The truth rose unbidden to Elise s lips.  I want to set you free.
Sapphire s eyes widened.  How much do you know?
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 Enough. Enough to know about pain that never fades from wounds that seem to
be healing and about the biting of ants.
 We must do it tonight, Sapphire said.  Before my mother learns anything is
different.
 I left a substitute, Elise said with pardonable pride.
 I m certain it is beautifully crafted, Sapphire said,  but can we be certain
it is enough?
Elise shook her head.  No, we can t, but I know nothing about how to perform a
disenchantment.
A husky voice spoke from the doorway.  Hazel Healer may know. We must ask
her.
Firekeeper stood in the doorway, the oval river rock in her hand.
 I only just come, she explained,  from across the river. I see this, then I
hear. You not need me after all, Elise.
Elise nearly crumpled, her knees suddenly weak as she realized that all her
risk had been for nothing.
Then she straightened.
 I handled it, she said simply.  And my cousin is right. We need to do
something with this as soon as possible.
Firekeeper turned.  Then I am away to Hazel. Can you two come to her house or
do I bring her here?
Elise glanced at Sapphire. Sapphire frowned thoughtfully.
 The road to town is going to be watched and we ll be obvious. There s no rule
against our going to town, but I d prefer not to raise comment. These tents
with their canvas walls are as public as a street.
A wicked grin lit the wolf-woman s face.  Why not the forest? I think every
sort of thing goes on in that forest. I meet you there with Hazel.
 Do you think she ll come? Elise asked.
 Oh, yes, Firekeeper grinned again, and Elise found herself thinking what a
predatory thing a smile could
be.  I will ask her very nicely.
Elise took advantage of the walk to the edge of the forest to tell Sapphire
everything she knew, including what they had learned from Hazel about both
trance induction and enchantment. In return, Sapphire told her a little about
what it was like being a daughter of Melina Shield.
 I m not certain I have ever had a choice of my own in my entire life,
Sapphire said. Her tone was blunt, without a trace of whining.  And much of
the time I m not certain I even minded. While others worried about what color
to wear, I always knew. My jewels, my horses, my pets, even my playmates were
all neatly chosen within two parameters: whether they were blue and whether
they fit the traditions and mystique of my noble ancestors.
 And you never minded? Elise asked hesitantly.
Sapphire shrugged.  It didn t seem much different from how everyone else I
knew lived. My parents didn t encourage us to cultivate friends outside of the
Great Houses. There was even some debate about your suitability, you know.
 Oh?
 Yes. Archer is a lesser house, but in the end Mother decided that the close
relationship to the Crown could not be ignored. Moreover, your mother is a
Wellward and intimate with the queen.
 I see.
Sapphire s tone was so matter-of-fact that Elise found it easy not to take
offense. Her cousin was reporting history past history not getting in a subtle
dig.
 When did you start, Elise asked, changing the subject,  resenting your
mother s control?
 Not until recently, Sapphire admitted,  not until you and Jet pushed me down
in the running for the
Crown and diminished me in her eyes. Then I got angry at her as well as at
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you.
 Not at your father?
 Father, Sapphire said in those same level tones,  doesn t matter. He has
never mattered. He may be the king s nephew, the only son of Grand Duke
Gadman, but he doesn t matter except that he has good connections and came
with generous holdings.
They had reached the forest trail by then. Casting about with the narrow beam
from their lantern, they found a fallen tree trunk set alongside the path
several paces within the fringe of trees. The lack of bark and low polish
along its upper surface testified that they were not the first to employ it as
a bench.
Once they were seated, they turned the lantern low so as not to waste oil. A
chance play of light touched the faceted sapphire set in the band on
Sapphire s forehead.
 I never asked, Elise said,  but I ve always wondered, doesn t that headband
get uncomfortable?
Sapphire laughed softly.  You know, I don t even notice it, no more than you
notice your shoes if they fit well. I ve been wearing it or one like it since
I was a year old. I d feel strange without it naked.
 You wear it even to sleep or bathe?
 Always, Sapphire assured her.  The only time I haven t worn a headpiece like
this is when I removed one to replace it with another.
 Does your mother make any sort of fuss then?
 You re thinking of sorcery, aren t you?
 Well, yes.
 She does, actually, Sapphire admitted.  The stone from one headband has to
be set into the new one even our family can t afford to replace precious
stones of the first water as fast as children grow.
Snob! Elise thought defensively. Then she felt rather bad. Sapphire was taking
a stand against her mother, the person who had defined every waking moment of
her life. Certainly, she had the right to hold on to some scrap of pride. Then
an uncomfortable thought slipped its way in beneath Elise s sympathy.
What if she isn t taking a stand? What if she s just trying to learn what we
know and then plans to turn us over to Lady Melina?
Unbidden, Elise s hand touched her lips as if already the fiery bites of red
ants were lacerating the tender flesh. And Sapphire continued, her voice soft
but steady in the darkness:
 Mother had studied how to set the stones herself and while she did so I had
to sit by and wait. She always gave me something to drink, something rather
sweet, that made me feel dreamy. After a while, I d stop feeling anxious about
the funny feeling along my brow where the sapphire should rest.
Sapphire paused for a moment, then whispered, her words barely audible,  When
I was very small, I
thought I stopped existing when the stone wasn t there. I was Sapphire somehow [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]