invaders. There were some seven intruders, two of whom may have been mages, the rest of whom may simply have been in their employ.' Sun poured through the leaves, beyond the open windows, engulfing them in a dappled silence.
'Yes, Elder,' Darkwind replied, just as impersonally. Perhaps if I give him a little taste of his own a~e...Starblade inclined his head a little, in mocking acknowledgment of the imitation, and the tiny multicolored crystals braided into his waist-length, snow-white hair sang softly as he moved, echoing the wind chimes strung in each window. 'But you are not sure.'
'No, Elder.' Darkwind knew very well what Starblade was up to and did not rise to the bait. He wants me to get angry, and I won't. That would be an acknowledgment of weakness and lack of control.
'Why not?' Starblade persisted, narrowing his ice-blue eyes to slits. 'What was it that you did to try and determine what they were?' As if he didn't know what would be the proper procedure. 'I followed them for some distance, before I judged they had ventured too far into k'sheyna territory. Nothing in their conversation gave me any clues as to their identity, Elder,' Darkwind replied, holding his temper in check.
There was no real reason for this interview. They had already been over this several times; once before the entire Council, once with the other three Elders, in detail, and now, for the second time, with his father alone. The Council had heard his story without allowing him to confront them over the situation of being so shorthanded on the border. that they had assigned to Starblade, as the most senior Adept, and presumably the one who could make a decision about the situation. Perhaps he is supposed to conjure up something, Darkwind thought bitterly.
Which meant he had to go over this as many times as Starblade wanted in order to get his point made. 'I listened carefully to the conversation. what there was of it. The armed men treated the unarmed men with a certain amount of deference, but there was no outward sign that they were not-say-adventurous traders. I thought they might be mages because they were unarmed, so I moved to neutralize them first.'
'You did not spellcast to determine if any of them were using magic of any kind?' Starblade settled back in his green-cushioned chair. In contrast to his son's camouflage outfit, his own elaborate clothing made him look like an exotic. silver-crested, blue-plumaged bird perched in the shrubbery.
'No. sir,' Darkwind replied, allowing a hint of effrontery to carry into his voice. 'I did not.'
'And why not?' Starblade asked softly. 'You have the power, after all.
'Because I do not choose to use that power, Father,' Darkwind said, holding in his temper with an effort. 'You know that. As you know my 'As I know your excuses,' Starblade snapped. 'They are not reasons.
You put k'sheyna in jeopardy because you refuse to use your abilities.'
'I did no such thing. I kept k'sheyna from jeopardy because I destroyed the interlopers when they would not turn back,' Darkwind interrupted.' I did so without the foolish use of magic, which might have attracted more trouble, that close to the border. Despite being shorthanded, I did so with the limited resources at my disposal.'
'Without magic.'
'Without magic,' Darkwind repeated. 'Because it was not needed, and because other things might have been attracted that it would not have been possible to combat, with only three guards and their birds within range to stand against the threat.' He glared at his father. , 'If you are so insistent on having mages on the border, Father, perhaps you would care to join us for some of our patrols.' And we can lead you about by the hand.
They could not have been more of a contrast, he and Starblade. The mage wore his waist-length, silver hair braided with crystals, feathers, and rainbow beads. His costume, of peacock-blue spider-silk, cut and decorated elaborately, was impressive and impractical in the extreme.
Darkwind, when he was not in his scout clothing, tended to wear brown or gray, cut closely to his body, high-collared and mostly without ornament; his hair was barely shoulder-length.
Most of the mages dressed the way Starblade did, though some made concessions to camouflage by wearing white in the winter and leaf-colors in the rest of the year, garments that could blend in with the woods after a fashion. Not that long ago, he had looked like the rest of them. this is growing tedious.
'Father, we have been over this any number of times. I did my duty; I rid k'sheyna of the interlopers. The point is not that I did or did not get rid of them using magic. The point is that we are chronically shorthanded.
We shouldn't be here at all, Father. More than half of k'sheyna is-elsewhere. What's wrong with us? Why haven't we done something about this situation?'
'That is none of your concern,' Starblade began coldly, drawing himself up and staring at his son in astonishment.
'It is my concern,' Darkwind interrupted. 'I'm on the Council, too.
I am the representative of the scouts. I'm one of the Clan Elders now, which you seem to have forgotten. And as the scouts' representative, I would like to know exactly what we are doing to drain the Heartstone, or stabilize it, and rejoin the rest of our Clan.' He drew himself up to match his father's pose, and looked challengingly
