“Then how were the English able to catch her and put her to death? Did they do to her what you said you would do to Leonas: ‘trim his talons’?”
“I won’t tell you that.”
Annoyed, he tried another ploy. “My brother Otto says that the Church fears Speakers.”
“Of course it does! A miracle worker will be hailed as a saint, and saints are a threat to the pope’s authority. They might disagree with him and the bi Cim wilshops. They might start a new church of their own. So Speakers must be denounced as agents of the devil.”
“The Church confines them and trains them to obedience?”
Justina clicked her mouth shut stubbornly. “That’s enough for today.”
“Does Bishop Ugne know about the Church’s use of Speakers?”
Justina dismissed Bishop Ugne with a snort. “Cardinal Zdenek is one of the Wise. Abbot Bohdan of Koupel is. Archbishop Svaty may be. Offhand, I can’t think of anyone else in Jorgary except the Speakers themselves, their cadgers, and their close family, if anyone, who knows. It may be that even the king on his throne doesn’t.”
Being privy to a secret that one’s king might not know was a mind-bending thought. The Hound of the Hills knew, but the Vranovs were as talented as the Magnuses.
“Can a Speaker cure pestilence?”
Justina drew in her breath sharply, then studied him carefully to see if he was serious. Finally she nodded. “One case or two. But not an epidemic! If you broke the first commandment on that scale, you’d be hailed as the Second Coming of Our Lord. Why do you ask?”
He rose. “I must go back and help my brothers.”
She made no move. “Sit down. I don’t want to do this, but you are a babe in arms. I haven’t told you the other two commandments.”
Wulf sat down.
Justina stared around for a moment-at the broken wheels, the vines-but she did not seem to be seeing them. He wondered if she was Looking elsewhere, or even consulting someone.
Madlenka and her mother were in the great hall of the keep, shouting orders to a mass of servants, mostly female, but some male, all running to and fro with burdens of cloth or furniture. Obviously they were organizing the great hall as an infirmary for the wounded, with baskets of bandages, buckets of water, and pallets laid out in rows. Nursing was traditionally a women’s duty, and tradition would be strong in a border castle like Gallant.
Justina raised her dark eyes to stare right at him. “The first, I told you, is to keep your talent secret! All Speakers are shy as field mice and now you know why. Never forget it! The second commandment is: Thou shalt not tweak! ”
“Tweak?”
“Tweak. Tweaking is using talent to change a person’s mind-workadays’ minds, of course; it won’t work on Speakers. It’s a crime and it’s dangerous, because you can drive people insane. Havel would have brought a Speaker w Ct a. Iith him to the banquet to protect him from being tweaked. But why they made such a display when they left, I cannot imagine.” She scowled. “Certain, the pope himself will hear of that.”
“And the third law?”
“It’s not so much a law as a warning: Two’s company, three’s dangerous. I honestly did not know Sybilla was here. I was not laying a trap for you, I swear. But when she appeared with her nimbus, you should have left. Instantly! Your precious Cardinal Zdenek employs Speakers. He has one in attendance at all times.”
To detect other Speakers, of course. Wulf nodded impatiently to show that he understood that much.
“One Speaker is defense,” Justina continued. “Two are aggression. Always, unless you’ve agreed beforehand. Two Speakers can almost always overpower one. Remember that. Morally, you were right to go to your brother’s aid last night. By sending two Speakers after him the Church was being aggressive. It should have just sent one, or else waited until you were present also. It will never admit that, of course. If a monk has second thoughts about his vows, he should speak to his confessor, his abbot, the archbishop, even the pope. He can ask to be released. No Speaker will ever be released, but the abbot should have sent a brother monk to reason with him-one Speaker, not two! So Marek was being assaulted, and law everywhere recognizes a man’s right to defend members of his family, his brothers not least. You were in the right, morally and legally. But never will the Church admit that. It will claim that you assaulted and murdered a priest, and it is going to hunt you to the ends of the earth for it.”
“And Count Pelrelm, the Hound of the Hills? Two but never one?”
She laughed. “You are a hound, too, lad! I’ve known bloodhounds slower to pick up a scent than you. Yes, Havel brought a Speaker to Gallant, his Father Vilhelmas. He knew by then that Anton must have a Speaker, who had healed him of his mortal wound. So he was entitled by the rules to bring a Speaker of his own. But you tell me he also brought the moron Leonas, who has no nimbus. So that was cheating. Two’s company, three’s dangerous!”
Wulf thought of that disastrous banquet and smiled to himself. “But Anton had two also, because I was there and so was Marek, who did not have a nimbus either. There were four of us: two journeyman Speakers and two apprentices!”
“Not ‘journeyman’ and not ‘apprentice.’ We talk about ‘fledged’ Speakers and ‘branchers’ instead of ‘apprentices.’ ‘Handlers’ instead of ‘teachers’ or ‘masters.’”
“Why?”
She waved a hand dismissively. “Half of all Speakers are women. You ever heard of a female apprentice?”
“No,” Wulf admitted. A brancher wa CA b='0s a bird that had left the nest but not yet the tree. He suspected his current teacher-handler was trying to distract him. “So what did Havel want? Why did he come?”
“I know not. He was given no chance to say, as you told me.”
“To kill me?”
Marek had suggested that, but Justina shook her head vigorously. “Speakers do not go around killing Speakers! Likely he just wanted to speak with your brother, the new count, and he expected there to be a guardian Speaker present, so he brought his own to make sure the discussion was fair.”
Like having a lawyer present. Speakers could detect the use of talent. Wulf realized that he was nodding. At last things were starting to make sense. Above all, he no longer felt all alone. “How much do Speakers earn?”
Justina frowned as if he had asked a stupid question. “Their lives.”
“Oh.”
“Work it out. I think you had better get to work, warrior. I’ll stay here. War is not a woman’s place. It is not a place for Speakers at all. Come with me.” She heaved herself to her feet, leaning on the table, and walked stiffly to the corner. Wulf took up his cloak and sword and followed, listening as she continued her lecture.
“If you glimpse another nimbus, stay and keep them honest. Be prepared to talk. If you see two or more, come back here instantly, you hear? You’re not ready for a fight. And come back here and ask my advice before you use any major power. Don’t worry if I’m not alone, just come.”
She paused at the door to the cottage. “Take a look.”
He looked. It was obviously a kitchen, and a well-equipped one, with a big table in the center and shelves around the walls laden with crocks and pots.
“I’ll be here in Avlona, outdoors or indoors. Don’t come to me if I’m anywhere else. If there’s anyone with me here, come to the other side of the wall and enter like a workaday. And on no account murder any more priests or clerics! Come at dusk, in any case, and we’ll think what we can do about that bombard.”
“I thank you for your help,” he said, not meaning to be ironic. She had told him very little, but she had hinted at much. It had been his first proper discussion with another Speaker, and already he felt like less of a freak-there were other people out there like him! She had taught him more than Marek had learned in five years at Koupel. That wall of silence was itself informative. He slung his cloak over his shoulders. “I look forward to many more lessons, Justina.”
“We’ll see. You’re in very great danger. Not just the castle, you personally. I was sent to help you, but if m Cyousizey superiors… To be honest, I can’t see that I’ll be allowed to continue helping when this news gets out.”
So the helping hand was being withdrawn and the prison gates were closing. He did not feel surprised. The sense of doom that had come with Marek’s death returned stronger than ever. Father had always told him his
