typical male response to the situation. You should have shared
the information with the Council. We could have solved all of this
without resorting to an arms race among the candidates."
Ah'bi looked up at the Councilor with an
expression of pure disdain. "The Council wouldn't have done a
Powers-cursed thing except maybe to have made them reverse the
augmentation, and even that would have taken months. None of you
have been able to put a leash on him in all the time he's been
here. You're so worried about creating a precedent that might
impinge on your ability to sponsor whoever you want regardless of
the consequences, that you refuse to do anything to save the few
decent candidates we have left."
On'li opened her mouth to defend herself, but
the younger woman didn't give her a chance. "You weren't here. You
didn't see him coughing up blood and holding onto life by his
fingernails. That piece of filth broke most of the ribs on his left
side and it's only luck that none of them punctured his heart like
they punctured his lungs. I can't bring myself to sponsor the poor
thing, but if he is going to bleed to do all the things that we
can't, I'll at least do whatever else I can to give him a fighting
chance of not dying on Be'ter's blade."
##
A cycle later, On'li stumbled back home and
found Mar'li waiting for her. "I'm so sorry, dearest. You deserved
better than that."
The younger woman had obviously been crying,
but she smiled bravely at her sister-wife. "As long as you really
mean it, I suppose I can forgive you."
The two women hugged, and then On'li guided
Mar'li over to a chair. "I need a cup of tea, but this time, you're
sitting while I make it."
Once the water had been put on to heat, On'li
turned back to the woman who'd become her and Javin's best friend
in the years since she'd come into their lives. "It was Ah'bi and
Fi'lin. I went over there mad enough to strangle someone with my
bare hands, and she proceeded to rebuke me for the fact that they
had to turn to Va'del as a way of countering the bad influence
Be'ter is having on all of the other youngsters."
Mar'li opened her mouth in surprise, but
didn't say anything.
"I could rationalize that away. There's a
real danger if we start impinging on the ability of individual
families to sponsor people who fit with their bloodline, but who
the rest of us wouldn't come in out of the blizzard to share a way
cave with. That's the real problem we face with Va'del. He's
perfect for us, but scares the hell out of everyone else."
The water was hot now, so On'li pulled it off
of the heating sphere and poured two glasses. "What I couldn't
rationalize away was the fact that Be'ter nearly killed Va'del, and
I never even visited the boy to see how he was doing."
Mar'li shook her head violently. "It isn't
your fault; you were both in emergency meetings still. I should
have gone and visited him."
On'li handed her sister-wife one of the cups
and a small teabag. "That isn't an excuse. I wouldn't have let that
stop me if you or Javin had been hurt. It wasn't your place to go
and I wouldn't have expected it from you. No, it was my
responsibility and my failure."
The younger woman dipped her teabag into the
hot water and then looked up. "What will you do?"
"I don't know. I want to somehow make it up
to him, but I'm afraid he won't give me the chance. He really was
right, you know, he's done all of our dirty work, and all anyone
does is slap him around for it."
##
Jain closed her eyes and wished she was
somewhere else, but when she opened them she was still sitting in
the common room and Mali and her friend were still huddled five
feet away trading gossip.
"I know, he's so gorgeous, and the way he
refused to fight Va'del was so brave. That freak is obviously a
danger to everyone around him, but Be'ter knew he didn't need to
prove anything to me, so he didn't fight him."
More like after he saw Va'del take apart
those two jerks, he was worried he might lose, and then where would
he
the information with the Council. We could have solved all of this
without resorting to an arms race among the candidates."
Ah'bi looked up at the Councilor with an
expression of pure disdain. "The Council wouldn't have done a
Powers-cursed thing except maybe to have made them reverse the
augmentation, and even that would have taken months. None of you
have been able to put a leash on him in all the time he's been
here. You're so worried about creating a precedent that might
impinge on your ability to sponsor whoever you want regardless of
the consequences, that you refuse to do anything to save the few
decent candidates we have left."
On'li opened her mouth to defend herself, but
the younger woman didn't give her a chance. "You weren't here. You
didn't see him coughing up blood and holding onto life by his
fingernails. That piece of filth broke most of the ribs on his left
side and it's only luck that none of them punctured his heart like
they punctured his lungs. I can't bring myself to sponsor the poor
thing, but if he is going to bleed to do all the things that we
can't, I'll at least do whatever else I can to give him a fighting
chance of not dying on Be'ter's blade."
##
A cycle later, On'li stumbled back home and
found Mar'li waiting for her. "I'm so sorry, dearest. You deserved
better than that."
The younger woman had obviously been crying,
but she smiled bravely at her sister-wife. "As long as you really
mean it, I suppose I can forgive you."
The two women hugged, and then On'li guided
Mar'li over to a chair. "I need a cup of tea, but this time, you're
sitting while I make it."
Once the water had been put on to heat, On'li
turned back to the woman who'd become her and Javin's best friend
in the years since she'd come into their lives. "It was Ah'bi and
Fi'lin. I went over there mad enough to strangle someone with my
bare hands, and she proceeded to rebuke me for the fact that they
had to turn to Va'del as a way of countering the bad influence
Be'ter is having on all of the other youngsters."
Mar'li opened her mouth in surprise, but
didn't say anything.
"I could rationalize that away. There's a
real danger if we start impinging on the ability of individual
families to sponsor people who fit with their bloodline, but who
the rest of us wouldn't come in out of the blizzard to share a way
cave with. That's the real problem we face with Va'del. He's
perfect for us, but scares the hell out of everyone else."
The water was hot now, so On'li pulled it off
of the heating sphere and poured two glasses. "What I couldn't
rationalize away was the fact that Be'ter nearly killed Va'del, and
I never even visited the boy to see how he was doing."
Mar'li shook her head violently. "It isn't
your fault; you were both in emergency meetings still. I should
have gone and visited him."
On'li handed her sister-wife one of the cups
and a small teabag. "That isn't an excuse. I wouldn't have let that
stop me if you or Javin had been hurt. It wasn't your place to go
and I wouldn't have expected it from you. No, it was my
responsibility and my failure."
The younger woman dipped her teabag into the
hot water and then looked up. "What will you do?"
"I don't know. I want to somehow make it up
to him, but I'm afraid he won't give me the chance. He really was
right, you know, he's done all of our dirty work, and all anyone
does is slap him around for it."
##
Jain closed her eyes and wished she was
somewhere else, but when she opened them she was still sitting in
the common room and Mali and her friend were still huddled five
feet away trading gossip.
"I know, he's so gorgeous, and the way he
refused to fight Va'del was so brave. That freak is obviously a
danger to everyone around him, but Be'ter knew he didn't need to
prove anything to me, so he didn't fight him."
More like after he saw Va'del take apart
those two jerks, he was worried he might lose, and then where would
he
Similar Books
