Lord-Protector’s troops to escape?”
“As
few as possible. Those he does not have cannot return to invade Madrien. The
same is true, to a lesser degree, of the Northern Guard.”
“You
have risked much, Sulythya… Regent.” Aluyn’s eyes flickered to the dark hair of
the Regent, hair that had once been far redder and lighter.
“Not
so much as I must risk, Aluyn. Marshal. The times are changing, and we must be
prepared for those changes.”
“Have
they changed that much, Regent? Or do we see the change we wish to see?”
“Times
will change, Marshal, more than we can imagine. More than we can possibly
imagine.”
The
slightest frown crossed Aluyn’s face, then vanished, but she did not respond.
Chapter 22
In
the gray light of the moments just before dawn, Alucius and Wendra walked down
from the house to the smaller of the two lambing sheds.
“He’s
doing much better. It won’t be long before he can go with the flock,” Wendra
said. “I’ll have to watch him more, though.”
“Don’t
take him when you have the flock by yourself,” Alucius suggested. “Not until he’s
even stronger. You’ll have enough to worry about.”
“I’ll
be careful.” Wendra slid the bolt that unlocked the shed.
“That
wasn’t exactly a promise,” Alucius observed.
“No.
It wasn’t.” Wendra grinned. “If you’re going to ride off to do what you think
is best, then you can’t exactly expect me to stay here and do anything but what
I think is best. Can you?”
Alucius
shook his head ruefully and closed the lambing shed door.
“Now,”
Wendra said. “What was it that you wanted to show me without your grandsire
around?”
“He
can’t do this.”
“And
I can?”
“You
should be able to. You can sense lifethreads. And lifeforce.”
“I
know. It’s still hard to believe that he can’t.”
“Most
herders can’t.” So far as Alucius knew, he and Wendra were the only ones who
could, but that might have been because the soarers had worked with him and he’d
worked with Wendra. It wasn’t something that he felt comfortable sharing, except
with his wife, and that, too, was a feeling. “This is something… I can tell
you, and I can show you in a way… but there’s no way to actually let you
practice it.”
“You
make it sound so mysterious.”
“I
want you to look at the ramlet there… with your Talent. Look at his lifethread,
really closely.” Alucius concentrated his own Talent so that he could feel the
reddish black lifethread of the ramlet who looked up at them from the inside
pen. Already, the ramlet had the nubs of horns that would grow into razor-sharp
and curled weapons, and his lifethread had thickened and strengthened over the
past few weeks so that it was as strong as that of a normal ramlet—except that
he’d been born out of season, and that meant a hard winter for him.
“What
about it?”
“Can
you see all the little threads?”
Wendra
frowned. “Little threads?”
“The
main lifethread is made up of smaller threads, and they’re all twisted
together. There’s a thicker spot, just out from the body, and it’s, well,
usually right out from where an umbilical cord would be.”
“I
can feel, sort of see, really, the thicker spot.”
“That’s
a lifethread node. If you form a kind of lifeforce probe, like the darkness,
except it has to be more green—”
“Like
this?”
A
wavery greenish black probe appeared, reaching out from Wendra.
Alucius
blocked it with a shield.
“Why—”
“Because,”
Alucius said quickly, “if you had touched that node with it, you could have
severed his lifethread and killed him.”
“You
can kill that way?”
“Oh…
yes.” Alucius paused. “It’s very exhausting, though. That was what I had to do
against the Recorder of Deeds in Tempre, the one that the ifrit took over, and
I was so tired that I could barely move. Doing too much that way could kill
you. It almost did me. Bullets are better for most things,
“As
few as possible. Those he does not have cannot return to invade Madrien. The
same is true, to a lesser degree, of the Northern Guard.”
“You
have risked much, Sulythya… Regent.” Aluyn’s eyes flickered to the dark hair of
the Regent, hair that had once been far redder and lighter.
“Not
so much as I must risk, Aluyn. Marshal. The times are changing, and we must be
prepared for those changes.”
“Have
they changed that much, Regent? Or do we see the change we wish to see?”
“Times
will change, Marshal, more than we can imagine. More than we can possibly
imagine.”
The
slightest frown crossed Aluyn’s face, then vanished, but she did not respond.
Chapter 22
In
the gray light of the moments just before dawn, Alucius and Wendra walked down
from the house to the smaller of the two lambing sheds.
“He’s
doing much better. It won’t be long before he can go with the flock,” Wendra
said. “I’ll have to watch him more, though.”
“Don’t
take him when you have the flock by yourself,” Alucius suggested. “Not until he’s
even stronger. You’ll have enough to worry about.”
“I’ll
be careful.” Wendra slid the bolt that unlocked the shed.
“That
wasn’t exactly a promise,” Alucius observed.
“No.
It wasn’t.” Wendra grinned. “If you’re going to ride off to do what you think
is best, then you can’t exactly expect me to stay here and do anything but what
I think is best. Can you?”
Alucius
shook his head ruefully and closed the lambing shed door.
“Now,”
Wendra said. “What was it that you wanted to show me without your grandsire
around?”
“He
can’t do this.”
“And
I can?”
“You
should be able to. You can sense lifethreads. And lifeforce.”
“I
know. It’s still hard to believe that he can’t.”
“Most
herders can’t.” So far as Alucius knew, he and Wendra were the only ones who
could, but that might have been because the soarers had worked with him and he’d
worked with Wendra. It wasn’t something that he felt comfortable sharing, except
with his wife, and that, too, was a feeling. “This is something… I can tell
you, and I can show you in a way… but there’s no way to actually let you
practice it.”
“You
make it sound so mysterious.”
“I
want you to look at the ramlet there… with your Talent. Look at his lifethread,
really closely.” Alucius concentrated his own Talent so that he could feel the
reddish black lifethread of the ramlet who looked up at them from the inside
pen. Already, the ramlet had the nubs of horns that would grow into razor-sharp
and curled weapons, and his lifethread had thickened and strengthened over the
past few weeks so that it was as strong as that of a normal ramlet—except that
he’d been born out of season, and that meant a hard winter for him.
“What
about it?”
“Can
you see all the little threads?”
Wendra
frowned. “Little threads?”
“The
main lifethread is made up of smaller threads, and they’re all twisted
together. There’s a thicker spot, just out from the body, and it’s, well,
usually right out from where an umbilical cord would be.”
“I
can feel, sort of see, really, the thicker spot.”
“That’s
a lifethread node. If you form a kind of lifeforce probe, like the darkness,
except it has to be more green—”
“Like
this?”
A
wavery greenish black probe appeared, reaching out from Wendra.
Alucius
blocked it with a shield.
“Why—”
“Because,”
Alucius said quickly, “if you had touched that node with it, you could have
severed his lifethread and killed him.”
“You
can kill that way?”
“Oh…
yes.” Alucius paused. “It’s very exhausting, though. That was what I had to do
against the Recorder of Deeds in Tempre, the one that the ifrit took over, and
I was so tired that I could barely move. Doing too much that way could kill
you. It almost did me. Bullets are better for most things,
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