out.'
'The window would hold. Besides, no Tayledras has fallen from his ekele in years beyond counting, Wingsister,' Starwind said, turning his back to the window and leaning on the ledge.
'So the time is long past for it to happen, and I don't want it to be you, all right?' Another gust made the whole tree groan, and she clutched at the arms of the chair, her knuckles going white.
'Very well,' Starwind was actually smiling as he stepped away from the window and folded himself bone- lessly into one of the chairs bolted to the floor of his ekele. He got a certain amount of pleasure out of teasing Savil about her acrophobia.
Each ekele was something like an elaborate treehouse; there was one for each major branch of the King Tree, some twenty in all. Not all were tenanted, and they were mostly used for meditation, sleeping, teaching, and recreation. For everything else, the 'place below' served far better. But when a Tayledras needed to think, he frequently retreated to his ekele, sometimes for weeks, touching foot to ground only when he needed to.
An ekele consisted of a single windowed room, varying in size, made of polished wood so light in color that it was almost white, and furnished at most with a few chairs bolted to the floor, a table likewise bolted, and rolled pads stored in one corner for sleeping. Starwind's was one of the highest, hence, one of the smallest. The view was majestic. It was wasted on Savil.
Moondance took a third chair, and sat in it sideways, legs draped over the arms. 'Well?' Savil demanded. 'Are you going to explain yourself?'
'Your pupil. First, we strive to bring him to not depend upon others. So - then he pulls in upon himself, confiding not even in his Companion, hiding his pain within. Then I try to bring him to confess the pain, to share it, to reach out - '
'So?'
Moondance shrugged, and Savil sensed he hadn't told everything.
'What did you tell him?'
Moondance's moods could be read from his eyes; they were a murky gray-blue. 'I - told him of myself. I thought if he could see that he is not the only soul in the world that feels pain, he might be brought to share it.'
Savil's eyes narrowed; Moondance was unhappy. 'Shayana, did he hurt you? If he did - '
'Na, the only one who hurt me was myself.' His eyes cleared, and he gave her a wry smile. 'He only pushed me away, is all. So, he hides all day, and this morning he is hiding again. His bed is empty, the hertasi say he went to the end of the vale, and his Companion says he has blocked her out entirely. To put it rudely, Wingsister, he is sulking.'
Savil sighed, forgetting to clutch the arms of the chair. 'Gods, what are we to do with him?'
Starwind's expression sobered again, and he began to answer - but was interrupted. Both Tayledras snapped to attention; their heads swung to face the window as if a single string had pulled them in that direction.
Two birds shot up from below and hovered there, just outside that window; the white gyrefalcon, and a second, of normal plumage. Starwind leaped out of his chair and flung the window open; the birds swirled in on the blast of wind that entered, and he slammed the window shut again.
Moondance had jumped to his feet, holding both arms out, ready for the birds, the moment Starwind went for the window. The falcons homed for him unerringly and were settling on the leather guards on his forearms before Starwind had finished latching the window closed.
The elder Tayledras held out his arm, and the burl falcon lofted to his forearm with a flutter of pinions, settling immediately.
Both Tayledras stared into their birds' eyes in silent communion. Savil kept as still as she could; while the bond between Hawkbrother and his birds was a strong one, and the magic-bred birds were considerably more than their wild brethren, their minds were something less than that of a very young child, perhaps a trifle superior to a cat, and it didn't take much to distract them.
The white falcon mantled; the buff cried. The Tayledras' eyes refocused, and Savil read 'trouble' in the grim lines of their mouths.
'What?' she asked.
'First - tampering, as you had reported it to us, but this time on our grounu and not on k'Vala,' Starwind said, soothing his bird by stroking its breast-feathers. 'A clutch of colddrakes, from the look of it. Something has made them move, so when we deal with the drakes, we shall have to look farther afield; there are folk settled in that direction under k'Treva protection. This is the first time we have caught the culprit in the act, and I do not intend to take this lightly.''
'I hope you're counting me in that 'we'; a clutch of drakes needs every mage you can muster,' she said, getting carefully to her feet and bracing herself against the sway of the ekele.
'If you would - you would be welcome.' Starwind looked relieved. 'But Vanyel - '
'If he's hiding, he'll only come out when he's ready.
He's not going to come to any harm while he's in the vale. How far are these monsters, anyway?'
'Haifa day's footpace; perhaps less,' Moondance replied, 'The which I do not like. It speaks for them being harried, or even Gated. In which case, why and who?'
'Good questions, both of them,' Savil agreed. 'Who can we count on?''
'Nothing under an Adept, not with drakes; not even Journeymen should handle drake-swarms, at least not to my mind. Shethka. '
'Don't tell me, we're the only three in any shape to take them on, right?'
'Sunsong is still recovering from moving the firebirds to sanctuary, Brightwind is too old to travel, Stormwing is pregnant.'
