Tracato

nauseous.

“There are some she could ride with who would make a good escort,” Aisha whispered. “They know the roads well, and have many helpers.”

Of course. Errollyn let out a long, slow breath, and felt the tension fade. It made sense. Suddenly, it all made sense. He knew her that well, and she was not insane. Sasha’s position in Tracato had become nearly impossible. She had acted against the serrin, and thus damaged the relationship between the Mal’rhen and Tol’rhen, between Rhillian and Kessligh. With the Civid Sein now largely defeated, Saalshen and Nasi-Keth in Tracato needed urgently to unite, to help restore the shaken foundation of Rhodaani society. It would be better, perhaps, were Sasha not here.

And Sasha had lost her sister. It meant things to a human, and a Lenay in particular, that even a du’jannah like Errollyn could not begin to comprehend. He feared for her, in her grief. A serrin in grief could at least feel the comfort of the serrinim. A human in grief would feel alone. Perhaps that was it, he realised. All serrin were one family. Perhaps this loss was a loss that, for Sasha, could only be borne with the help of family. It hurt that she did not consider him as such…but then, he had known Alythia only briefly, and could not know the depth of what it meant to lose her. It did not mean Sasha loved him any less. It merely meant that he could not understand.

He took another deep breath. “If I had not told Rhillian, then Alythia may still be…”

“No,” Aisha insisted. “It was not you. Rhillian would have found out Lady Renine’s plans, already she suspected, and then Alythia would have been detained anyhow. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Sasha may not feel that way.”

“She did not want to leave. She was sad to leave you.”

“Yet she did.” Aisha said nothing. “I’ll miss her,” Errollyn said weakly.

“I too. But Sasha is a force of nature. She cannot be contained, and it will take more than a great war to stop her. You and she will meet again, I am certain.” Aisha leaned and kissed him on the forehead. “Now eat. I’ll see you fed if I need to stuff it down your throat.”

Late that afternoon, Errollyn managed to limp as far as the pool in the courtyard. Helsen’s uma, a lad named Irin, helped to remove his bandages, then left him to soak naked in the cool water. For a while, his wounds stung so badly it brought tears to his eyes. Then the pain faded, and he even managed to walk back and forth, confident at least that in the water, he could not lose balance and fall.

The afternoon’s activity continued as high cloud turned to evening pink, and lamps began to illuminate the columns, paths and gardens. Some serrin looked at him in passing, and a few paused at the pool’s edge, hoping to talk. Errollyn ignored them, and they went away. His wounds tugged at his skin in dozens of different ways. Like sharp, foreign objects, digging into him whenever he moved.

More footsteps approached, with the tapping of a cane. Errollyn looked up, walking in shoulder-depth water, and saw Kessligh, heading toward him. Kessligh pulled off his boots, rolled up his pants, and sat on the pool’s edge beside Errollyn, feet dangling in the water.

“Kid,” said Kessligh, looking down at his wounds, “you’re a mess.”

“I’ll heal,” said Errollyn. “And I won’t require a cane.”

“Sasha didn’t want to leave you,” said Kessligh, gazing across the courtyard. “That hurt her more than anything. But she couldn’t wait either, and you’re in far worse shape than her. Where she’s going, you wouldn’t be safe.”

Errollyn nodded. “Larosa’s not the friendliest, to serrin.” He looked up at Kessligh. “You let her go?”

“Whenever someone asked me something like that, I used to just shrug, and say that with Sasha, it wasn’t a matter of ‘letting’ her do anything.” He cracked a knuckle, absently. “But yes. I let her go. Lenay honour declares that family must tell family of their losses in person. And she was an inconvenience for me here. Kiel’s bunch want her dead.”

“Kiel has a ‘bunch’ now?” Errollyn asked drily.

“His own ra’shi, no less,” Kessligh said. “Pray that it does not come to rival Rhillian’s.”

“I come to fear Rhillian is no improvement.”

“Never think so,” said Kessligh firmly. “She visited Sasha in her cell. Sasha told me. Rhillian was upset at the torture. She did not mention the visit, last I spoke with her, so she did not do it merely to curry favour with me. Whatever her bloody methods, Rhillian’s heart remains intact. Kiel is of the opinion that a heart is Saalshen’s vulnerability. He strives to make a philosophical case that proves it.”

Errollyn shook his head. “There was a time when I used to worry about the actions of my enemies,” he said. “Now I learn that it’s the actions of those we love that hurt us most.”

“Hurt, perhaps,” said Kessligh. “But we have both underestimated Rhillian. She knew she had to act against Lady Renine, and fully expected the Civid Sein to over reach once she did. She waited until they did, and disgusted any in the Steel who still sympathised, then used the Steel to crush them. Now the feudalists are chastened, and the Civid Sein decimated, their leadership killed or in hiding. Rhillian can depart for the front, with the Steel, and have less care for destabilising influences in Tracato.”

“Hell of a way to do it,” Errollyn muttered. “You’re sure she didn’t just get lucky?”

“You don’t think I was ever lucky?” Kessligh replied. “The Tol’rhen is strangely quiet. We lost a lot of fools.”

“Good,” said Errollyn. “Fools are no use to anyone.” Kessligh did not reply. He’d spent a long time since his arrival in Tracato, Errollyn realised, attempting to persuade the Nasi-Keth of his ideas. A strong Nasi-Keth, supporting Saalshen’s forces. A bedrock of stability, to make a strong foundation for Rhodaan. Instead, the Nasi- Keth had split, as in Petrodor, and made arguably more trouble than it had solved. “It is the way, isn’t it? With humans and free thought. They only learn through terrible mistakes. Free thought does not make wisdom. Instead it creates enough space for men to commit terrible folly, from which the survivors learn through disaster.”

“I tried to tell them,” Kessligh said tiredly. “I tried. Revolutionary ideals may be wonderful, but revolutions are nasty. You can’t cure a headache by cutting off the patient’s head. But they wouldn’t listen. Only now do the survivors understand…and even now, some aren’t convinced. They speak only of Rhillian’s betrayal, not their own stupidity.”

“Some people cannot be argued with,” Errollyn said quietly. “Many serrin have argued that religion be banned in the Saalshen Bacosh, because most of those preaching death to all serrin were Verenthanes and priests. But Maldereld argued that such teachings in religion were a symptom, not a cause. The thinking that gives birth to all the hatred is not born in religion, it merely finds a home there. Deprived of that home, it can find others.”

“For all her cunning, Rhillian may have overdone it,” said Kessligh. “She had no choice, the Civid Sein were getting out of hand, as is the nature of such things. But there was carnage at the Justiciary, the feudalists are regaining control of much of the city as surviving Civid Sein flee, and the Steel are marching for the west at last. After all that has happened, very little has changed, save a huge pile of corpses. Council will be reinstated soon, and probably the feudalists shall find friendly faces to replace those of their own who’ve been murdered. I will talk with the feudalists. Many are sensible, and seek only to focus now on defeating the Larosans. But many others recall Rhillian’s initial betrayal, and that of the Steel. With the Steel departing, I fear for the safety of the Mahl’rhen, and all serrin in Tracato.”

“They would be unwise to pick a fight with Saalshen in this city. The svaalverd is well suited to the streets and alleys.”

“I come to talk with Lesthen,” said Kessligh. “He promises more talmaad from Saalshen. I will see if he can bring some to Tracato.”

“How many come shortly?”

“Perhaps five hundred. Some of Rhillian’s force from Elisse are returning from those lands. Other serrin are arriving in southern Elisse, to help the peasants rebuild. It takes fewer numbers than they’d thought, since the lords continue to hold sway in the north, thanks to General Zulmaher.”

“Zulmaher,” said Errollyn, as it occurred to him. “What happened to him?”

“No one knows. Same with little Alfriedo. There is no sign of either.”

Errollyn gave him a long look, however it hurt his neck. “Those two together…”

“They’ll be deep in feudalist territory, and we have nothing like the force to do anything about it, with the Steel gone. But I wanted to ask you something. The talmaad will need commanders, any that