'Here comes the complaint,' said Erienne, wiping rain and a tear from her face and smoothing down her soaking hair.
Above her, the clouds dispersed as quickly as they had come and the sun got to work drying out the ground.
'Was that really necessary?' called Denser. 'I had been reading. A little warning would have been nice.'
'The pages will dry out quickly enough,' said Cleress. 'And we are done for the day. I need a rest before dinner.'
'Wait a moment and I'll help you in,' said Denser. He walked to Erienne and gave her a kiss. 'Feel better for doing that?'
'Actually, yes,' said Erienne. 'Today was a breakthrough day.'
T can see where that would be useful. Deserts and such.'
'As ever you miss the point,' said Cleress, swapping a conspiratorial glance with Erienne. 'You see, the secret of the One lies not in learning individual castings for individual effect but understanding the nature of the elements and the nature of your problem. Then, all you have to do is bring the two together. Erienne has all but grasped it, but for a few control exercises that need more work.'
'Then what?' asked Denser.
'Then I can at last die and join my sisters,' said Cleress. Her smile was brief and Erienne didn't like what was behind it. T worry about them, you know. It is so long since I heard them. All there is now is a wailing. I do worry so.'
'I'm not with you,' said Erienne.
'No, dear, of course not.' Cleress turned to begin the slow walk to the house. 'Denser, if you would be so kind.'
Erienne stood and watched them go, frowning. She wondered if Denser had been listening to the Al-Drechar. She knew he didn't always. He felt her to be edging into senility and it was true she rambled from time to time. What it was she dreamed she heard from her sisters probably fell into that category.
'But you don't really believe that, do you Erienne?' she said to herself.
Shaking her head, she knelt to tidy Lyanna's gave.
The Unknown pushed Diera's sodden hair from her face and kissed her lips. Caught in Erienne's downpour, they could do nothing else but laugh under the warm rain and try to hide the bread and cheese. Unsuccessfully. Some of it washed over the rock on which they were sitting and into the ocean. The Unknown had pushed the rest after it.
'I hope Jonas wasn't caught in that,' said Diera.
T doubt it,' said The Unknown. 'Anyway, he'll be as wet as us but by choice. He's still over at Sand Island swimming with Ark.'
Ever the doubt was in Diera's eyes when she knew her little boy was with any of the ex-Protectors. Nothing The Unknown could do would completely convince her they were safe. She had seen them under the control of Xetesk and knew what they could do. Even now, two years on and with their masked, thralled lives and painful memories, she was unsure.
'Will he be safe?' she said.
'Ark's the best swimmer amongst them,' said The Unknown.
'You know what I mean, Sol,' she replied.
'Yes, which was why I answered a different question. You already know the answer to the other one. You ask it every time.'
'He's my son,' she said.
'Hey, I'm not criticising,' said The Unknown.
'Come on, let's go down to the landing. Wait for them.'
'You go.' The Unknown helped Diera to her feet and crushed her to him. 'Think I'll walk the estate. Have a think to myself.'
Diera looked into his eyes. He held her gaze and tried to smile but it didn't convince her.
'You still miss it all, don't you?' she said.
'It's in my blood,' he replied. 'Balaia is my home. I'd so love to take you back one day, you and Jonas. Do what we set out to do.'
He looked past her at the house and the lands surrounding it on the small southern island of Herendeneth. They had worked miracles in their time here the last two years. He and the five remaining ex-Protectors had rebuilt the house, turned some of the land into
fertile crop land and brought more animals to farm from Calaius. But it wasn't his and he wanted that so badly. Something he could build and pass onto his family.
And of course, he wasn't the only one itching for change. The Protectors needed their own lives. Gods, Hirad and Darrick had only lasted a season here before getting bored to the point of madness. Only Denser and Erienne seemed content. But then, they had everything they wanted.
'And yes, I miss the loudmouth and I wonder what's happened to Tomas, Maris and Rhob in Korina. We didn't get the chance to say goodbye to them. But I know how much you love it here. It is so peaceful. And Jonas ... he is the most beautiful child and I wouldn't sully his innocence for anything. But one day he'll be curious. He'll know this isn't it.'
'So we'll go back. But only when it's safe,' said Diera.
'And when will we know that, I wonder?'
'One day, Jevin and the Calaian Sun will sail into the channel and what you hear will tell you all you need to know. Perhaps we'll all go back then. What do you say?'
'I say I love the images you paint.' He planted another kiss on her mouth and shoved her gently towards the path to the landing. 'So you'll always know where to find me, won't you? Right here, looking for sails on the horizon.'
Diera turned. 'Never leave me again. Promise.'
'Never. I promise.'
By Darrick put his head in his hands and sighed long. 'Gods, this is like pulling teeth,' he muttered.
It was another ridiculously humid day though he'd been assured of fresher air on die coast. And last time he looked, Ysundeneth was still on the coast. It had been like this ten days straight now. He couldn't sleep, he had no appetite and it was grating on his nerves. And in the paddock in front of him, his apprentice was deliberately misunderstanding everything he was saying.
The young elf stood up and brushed himself down, turned to see the stallion standing irritably on the opposite side of the ring, its tail swishing. It snorted.
'What did I tell you just now?'
'Don't approach from the back?' he ventured.
'Right. So could you confirm by pointing which end is the front?'
The boy pointed. That was something else. No sense of irony. Clearly Ilkar had learned his over long years of exposure to Hirad.
'Correct, the end with the teeth and the rolling eyes. Now, I'll tell you once more, and go carefully this time. Approach steadily and calmly from the front and let him see you all the way. If you surprise him you'll end up flat on your back again if you try and mount him.
'Let him get used to you before you get a hold of the bridle and then move down his flank slowly. Make sure you keep in physical contact. Only then put your foot in the stirrup. Do it slowly and calmly and should be skitter, back off and try again. I'll tell you when to be more forceful, all right?'
'Yes, General,' said the boy.
'Go on then, he won't bite.' Actually, he might, thought Darrick.
Dear Gods drowning, would he ever be able to let the boy loose on a horse not already broken in? Stupid thing was, when he was up in the saddle, the boy was a natural, which wasn't something you could say for many elves.
And it had seemed like such a good idea at the time. He had brought half a dozen horses with him from Balaia when The Raven had left the continent, all courtesy of a very generous Baron Blackthorne. His idea had always been to breed them and introduce them to the elves after a short stop on Herendeneth. The elves knew precious
