Priestess of the White

:What can we do? Mairae asked.

:Nothing.

:Perhaps the other Siyee will kill him.

:If they try, they will be captured too, Auraya told them. They can’t get close enough without being caught themselves. Her heart ached. This is my fault. I should have gone with them. I should have gone instead of them. I could have been there and back in less than—

:No, Auraya, Juran said firmly. If you had gone, we would have lost a White instead of Tireel.

:He’s right, Auraya, Mairae added.

:We did not know these birds would be there, or that they would see Tireel and be able to alert the sorceress to his presence, Dyara pointed out.

:I know it is hard to watch, but we must know what Tireel reveals, Rian said. Keep the connection, Auraya.

She focused on Tireel’s mind. His vision was blurry. He was losing a lot of blood. The sorceress was beside him. She took his hand and drew it closer to herself. The movement stretched his wing membrane and sent fresh rips of agony through him. He felt something sliding from his finger.

:The ring! Dyara exclaimed in dismay. She is taking the ring.

:It is a loss that cannot be helped, Juran murmured. But perhaps worth it if we glimpse her thoughts...

As the ring left Tireel’s finger, the sense of his mind disappeared. In its place came a feeling of regret tempered by a ruthless determination. The Siyee chose to ally with the heathens, the woman thought Best remember that. What is this, then? A trinket, or something more? Perhaps a magical device. What if I... ? No!

The sense of her thoughts disappeared as she threw the ring away. Auraya opened her eyes. For a moment she stared at the grassy hills around her, disoriented. Dyara stood beside her.

:Did we learn anything useful? Mairae asked hopefully.

:No, Juran replied wearily. At least not from her. Tireel has shown us much that we did not know. The size of their army. How close they are to the pass. We will have to hurry, if we are to meet them there. Then there is this new threat that these birds pose, especially to the Siyee. There is much to discuss tonight. I will send your Bearer back for you, Dyara. What about you, Auraya?

:I will fly.

:Then I will see you both soon.

As the other White broke their link with her, Auraya looked at the line of mountains to the east and sighed.

“I had not thought the first death would be a Siyee,” Dyara murmured.

“No.”

“Would you like me to tell Speaker Sirri?”

Auraya glanced at Dyara, then shook her head. “No, I will tell her.”

Dyara nodded. “Then go. I will be fine walking alone. In truth, I’ll enjoy - relatively speaking - a bit of solitude. I’m sure Juran won’t mind if you take your time, too.”

Their eyes met, and Auraya suddenly understood that Dyara’s toughness was not absolute. She was cold, but not uncaring. The death of Tireel had distressed her greatly.

Stepping away, Auraya drew a deep breath and sent herself into the sky.

37

Tryss woke to find his face pressed against the membrane of his portable bower. Muffled voices penetrated the thin walls. He rolled away and felt the pressure of a warm body behind him.

“Hmph, you woke up,” Drilli observed as he turned over. “I was expecting to have to shake you. You came back so late last night.”

He smiled, moved closer and rested a hand on her bare waist. “I’ll always wake up early when you’re next to me.”

She caught his hand as he began to slide it up toward her breast. He pouted, and she laughed. “It’s not that early,” she told him. “I’m surprised Sirri hasn’t come to see why we haven’t packed up yet.” She kissed him then pulled away. Sitting up, she grimaced and rubbed her belly.

“Still feeling sick?” he asked.

“A little,” she admitted. “It’s just the food. Too much meat and bread. Not enough fruit and vegetables.” She looked around the bower. It was barely big enough for them to sit up in. But her attention was on the sounds beyond the walls.

“Something has stirred everyone up.”

He listened to the muffled voices. From one side came an exclamation of dismay. Somewhere close to the front of the tent two Siyee were having a rapid discussion. He couldn’t quite make out the words.

“Let’s get dressed and find out.”

She was already reaching for her clothes. They quickly shrugged into their vests and wriggled into trousers, then strapped on harnesses and weapons. Drilli finished first, but she waited until Tryss was ready before crawling out of the bower.

Siyee had gathered into groups. From their expressions Tryss guessed that something serious had happened. Some looked frightened, others angry.

“Tryss, Drilli,” a familiar voice called.

He turned to see Sirri step out of a group and start toward him. Drilli hurried toward her, Tryss a step behind.

“What’s happened?” Drilli asked.

“The scouts found the Pentadrian army. Their leader, Tireel of the Green Lake tribe, has been captured.”

Tryss felt his heart sink. “How?”

“He flew too close to them. He didn’t see until it was too late that the sorceress with the black birds - the birds that attacked the men of the Sun Ridge tribe - was leading that part of the army. The birds saw him, and the sorceress brought him down.”

“Is he dead?” Drilli asked in a low voice.

Sirri grimaced. “We don’t know. He wasn’t killed by the fall, but was in a bad state when Auraya’s link with him was broken.”

“If there’s a chance he’s alive, we should find out.” Tryss felt a spark of hope. “We must rescue him.”

The Speaker sighed and shook her head. “If only we could, Tryss. He is in the middle of the Pentadrian army and imprisoned by sorcerers. We would only get ourselves captured as well.”

“Of course.” Tryss felt his face flush. The answer was obvious. “Auraya will rescue him.”

“No.” Sirri put a hand on Tryss’s shoulder. “She’d have to fight five powerful Pentadrian sorcerers and all their priests and priestesses. Alone, she would not survive either. We might be able to win this war with one less Siyee, but I doubt we’d have a chance with one less White.”

Tryss stared at her in disbelief. “So we just give up?” He felt a pang of frustration and anger. “It could have been me. I wanted to lead the scouts, but you said I’d be more useful here, working with Songmaker.”

“Tryss...” Drilli murmured.

“And you are,” Sirri told him firmly. “I’m as grieved as you are, Tryss, but all the same I’m glad you didn’t go. I need you here. Tireel may have saved many more of us. We know about the black birds now. We have time to invent ways to fight them.”

He looked at her sharply. Something about the way she had said “invent” suggested that she had used the