Eddings, David – Tamuli – 02 – The Shining Ones

the autumn sunlight touching the turning leaves of the grove of

aspens across the gorge from their cave filled the day with a

vibrant, golden light. Everything seemed etched with a kind of

preternatural clarity. The boulders in the stream-bed below were

starkly white, and the swift-moving river was a dark, sunilluminated

green. The gorge was alive with bird song and the

chatter of scolding squirrels.

The knights continued the labor of fortification, erecting a

substantial, chest-high wall of loosely piled stones around the

edge of the semi-circular shelf that extended out from the mouth

of the cave, and planting a forest of sharpened stakes on the

steep slope that led down to the river.

They pastured their horses in the adjoining meadow by day

and brought them inside the makeshift fort as the sun went

down. They bathed and washed their clothing in the river, and

hunted deer and goats in the forest. They took turns standing

watch at night, but there was no sign of the Delphae.

They stayed there for four nights, crowing more restless with

each passing hour. ‘if this is how the Delphae respond to something

urgent, I’d hate to sit around waiting for them when they

were relaxed,’ Talen said dryly to Itagne on the morning of the

fourth day. ‘They don’t even have anybody out there watching

US.’

‘They’re out there, Master Talen,’ Itagne replied confidently.

‘Why haven’t we seen them, then? ‘they’d be fairly hard to

miss at night.’

‘Not necessarily,’ Kalten disagreed. “I don’t think they glow

all the time. We saw them shining out there in that fog the first

time they came to call, but the second time they crept up to

within twenty yards of us before they lit up. They seem to be

able to control the light, depending on the circumstances.’

‘They’re out there,’ Itagne repeated, ‘and the longer they wait,

the better.’

“I didn’t follow that,’ Talen confessed.

‘They know by now that we’re not going to move from this

spot, so they’re out there right now arguing among themselves

about what they’re going to offer us. Some of them want to offer

more than the others, and the longer we sit right here, the more

we strengthen the position of that faction.’

‘Have you suddenly become clairvoyant, Itagne?’ Sephrenia

asked him.

‘No, Lady Sephrenia, just experienced. This delay is fairlY

standard in any negotiation. I’m on familiar ground now. We’ve

chosen the right strategy.’

‘What else should we be doing?’ Kalten asked.

‘Nothing, Sir Knight. It’s their move.’

She came from the river in broad daylight, climbing easily up

the rocky path that ascended the steep slope. She wore a gray,

hooded robe and simple sandals. Her features were Tamul, but

she did not have the characteristic golden skin-tone of her race.

She was not so much pale as she was colorless. Her eyes were

gray and seemed very wise, and her hair was long and completely

white, though she appeared to be scarcely more than a

girl. Sparhawk and the others watched her as she came up the hill

in the golden sunlight. She crossed the steep meadow where

the horses grazed. Ch’iel, Sephrenia’s gentle white palfrey,

approached the colorless woman curiously, and the stranger

gently touched the mare’s face with one slim hand.

‘That’s probably far enough,’ Vanion called to her. ‘What is it

that you want?’

“I am Xanetia,’ the young woman replied. Her voice was soft,

but there was a kind of echoing timbre to it that immediately

identified her as one of the Delphae. “I am to be thy surety, Lord

Vanion.’

‘You know me?’

‘We know thee, Lord Vanion – and each of thy companions.

Ye are reluctant to come to Delphaeus, fearing that we mean ye

harm. My life will serve as pledge of our good faith.’

‘Don’t listen, Vanion,’ Sephrenia said, her eyes hard.

‘Art thou afeared, Priestess?’ Xanetia asked calmly. ‘Thy Goddess

doth not share thy fear. Now do I perceive that it is thy

hatred which doth obstruct that which must come to pass, and

thus it shall be into thy hands that I shall place my life – to do

with as thou wilt. If thou must needs kill me to quench this

hatred of thine, then so be it.’

Sephrenia’s face went deathly pale. ‘You know I wouldn’t do

that, Xanetia.’

‘Then put the implement of death into the hands of another.

Thus thou mayest command my dying and put no stain of blood

upon thine own hands. Is this not the custom of thy race, Styric?

Thou shalt remain undefiled – even as this thirst of thine is

slaked. All unsmirched mayest thou face thy Goddess and

protest thine innocence, for thou shalt be blameless. My blood

shall be upon the hands of thine Elenes, and Elene souls are

cheap, are they not?’ She reached inside her robe and drew out a

jewel-like stone dagger. ‘Here is the implement of my

death, Sephrenia,’ she said. ‘The blade is obsidian, so thou

shalt not contaminate thy hands – or thy soul – with the loathsome

touch of steel when thou spillest out my life.’ Xanetia’s

voice was soft, but her words cut into Sephrenia like hard,

sharp steel.

“I won’t listen to this.’ the small Styric woman declared hotly.

Xanetia smiled. ‘Ah, but thou wilt, Sephrenia,’ she said, still

very calm. “I know thee well, Styric, and I know that my words

have burned themselves into thy soul. Thou wilt hear them

again and again. In the silence of the night shall they come to

thee, burning deeper each time. Truly shalt thou listen, for my

words are the words of truth, and they shall echo in thy soul

all the days of thy life.’

Sephrenia’s face twisted in anguish, and with a sudden wail

she fled back into the cave.

Itagne’s face was troubled as he came back along the narrow

path from the meadow to the open area in front of the cave.

‘She’s very convincing,’ he told them. “I get no sense of deceit

from her at all.’

‘She probably doesn’t know enough about the real motives of

the leaders of her people to have anything to hide,’ Bevier said

doubtfully. ‘She could very well be nothing more than a pawn.’

‘She is one of the leaders of her people, Sir Bevier,’ Itagne

disagreed. ‘She’s the equivalent of the crown princess of the

Delphae. She’s the one who’ll be Anarae when the Anari dies.’

‘is that a name or a title?’ Ulath asked.

“It’s a title. The Anari – or in Xanetia’s case, the Anarae – is

both the temporal and spiritual leader of the Delphae. The current

Anari is named Codon.’

‘She’s not just making it up?’ Talen asked. ‘She could be just

pretending to be their crown princess, you know. That way,

we’d think she was important, when she’s actually nothing more

than a shepherdess or somebody’s housemaid.’

“I don’t think so,’ Itagne said. “It may sound immodest, but I

don’t really believe anyone can lie to me for very long and get

away with it. She says that she’s the one who’ll be Anarae, and I

believe her. The move’s consistent with standard diplomatic practice.

Hostages have to be important. It’s another indication of just

how desperate the Delphae are in this business. I think Xanetia’s

telling the truth, and if she is, she’s the most precious thing they

possess.’ He made a wry face. “It definitely goes against everything

I’ve been trained to believe about the Shining Ones since

childhood, but I think we almost have to trust them this time.”

Sparhawk and Vanion looked at each other. ‘What do you

think?’ Vanion asked.

“I don’t see that we’ve got much choice, do you?’

‘Not really. Ulath was right. We can’t sit here all winter, and

no matter which way we turn, we keep going toward Delphaeus.

The fact that Xanetia’s here is some assurance of good faith.’

‘is it enough, though?’

“It’s probably going to have to be, Sparhawk. I don’t think

we’re going to get anything better.’

‘Kalten!’ Sephrenia exclaimed. ‘No!’

‘Somebody has to do it,’ the blond knight replied stubbornly.

‘Good faith has to go both ways.’ He looked Xanetia full in the

face. ‘is there something you’d like to tell me before I help you

up onto that horse?’ he asked her. ‘Some warning, maybe?’

‘Thou art brave, Sir Kalten,’ she replied.

“It’s what they pay me for.’ he shrugged. ‘Will I dissolve if I

touch you?’

‘No.’

‘All right. You’ve never ridden a horse before, have you?’

‘We do not keep horses. We seldom leave our valley, so we

have little need of them.’

‘They’re fairly nice animals. Be a little careful of the one Sparhawk

rides, though. He bites. Now, this horse is a pack animal.

He’s fairly old and sensible, so he won’t waste energy Jumping

around and being silly. Don’t worry too much about the reins.

He’s used to following along after the others, so you don’t have

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