Priestess of the White

White?”

Rian nodded. “This will do.”

Up close, Rian appeared to be no older than twenty, and Danjin had to remind himself that this man’s true age was nearer to fifty. It was not so easy to forget who Rian was, however. He carried himself as if conscious and proud of his position, and, unlike Auraya, he was always serious and formal. His way of looking at others without blinking was uncanny.

“The observations of your family in regard to the sale of weapons to the Pentadrians have proved accurate,” Rian said. “Do you believe they may have other useful information?”

Danjin pursed his lips. “Perhaps.” But whether they would tell me is a question I can’t answer, he added.

Rian’s eyebrows rose. “Do you believe they would be willing to act as spies for the White?”

Spies? Danjin realized he was staring at Rian and lowered his eyes. Would they? He considered how his father and brothers might react to the idea and felt his heart sink. Of course they would. They’d be delighted at this confirmation of their worth. Merchants of information as well as goods.

“I believe they would.” But you’ll have to use those mind-reading skills to make sure they’re telling you all they know, he couldn’t help thinking. They might hide information they can reap an income from, or if it might damage their current business.

Rian nodded. “I will arrange to meet them, then. Do you wish to be involved?”

Danjin considered, then shook his head. “My involvement would complicate the arrangement unnecessarily.”

“Very well.” He turned toward the door, then paused. “What do you know of Sennon, Adviser?”

“Sennon?” Danjin shrugged. “I have visited the land several times. Mostly by sea, but I have crossed the desert twice. I speak Sennonian. I have a few contacts there.”

“The Sennon emperor signed a treaty of alliance with the Pentadrians yesterday.”

Once again, Danjin found himself staring at Rian, this time in dismay. He recalled Auraya’s first meeting with the Sennon ambassador. The man had invited her to visit. It had been ridiculous to expect a new White, untrained and not yet familiar with her position, to travel all the way to Sennon. Perhaps one of the other White should have gone. Reminding the emperor that a powerful alliance backed by the gods lay beyond the mountains to the west might have prevented him from signing an alliance with the Pentadrians.

“You think we should have made greater efforts to befriend the Sennon emperor and his people,” Rian said, frowning.

Danjin smiled wryly. “Yes, but what can you do? There are only five of you - only four until recently. You’ve only just allied with Somrey, and now Auraya is working on Si. You didn’t have the time or resources to woo Sennon as well.”

The corner of Rian’s mouth twitched. “No, we didn’t. Control of time is not one of the Gifts the gods have bestowed on us.”

“Perhaps the emperor will not like his new friends and change his mind. I imagine he will be as thrilled to meet those black vorns as the Torens were.”

Rian’s expression darkened. “Unless he desires his own hunt to train. He has advised all Circlian priests to leave, claiming it is for their own safety.”

Danjin grimaced. “Oh.” He shook his head. “The emperor has always maintained that he does not want to favor one religion over another.” Abruptly, Danjin thought of the Dreamweavers. He felt a pang of guilt. Auraya had asked him to visit Leiard, but he had been too busy hunting rumors of Pentadrians to do so. “Do you think I should warn Dreamweaver Adviser Leiard?”

Rian shrugged. “If you wish. All reports I have received suggest that Pentadrians are tolerant of the followers of small heathen cults. It is only Circlians they despise, no doubt because they know our gods are real.”

Jealous, eh? Danjin smiled grimly. If this all led to a conflict, at least the Circlians had this one advantage: their gods were real and would protect them. He only feared the damage these Pentadrians might do in the process. In war there were always casualties.

A light had entered Rian’s eyes. He regarded Danjin with approval.

“Thank you for your assistance, Adviser.”

Danjin inclined his head and made the gesture of the circle. “I am glad to be of help.”

He followed Rian to the door and opened it. The White stepped through, then paused and looked back.

“When I speak to your family, I will not mention I consulted you.”

Danjin nodded in gratitude. He watched Rian walk away, then closed the door. Mischief looked up at him, blinking sleepily.

“That,” he told the veez, “was very interesting.”

Auraya opened her eyes. The room was dark, and she could barely make out the walls around her. Had something woken her?

Well, it hasn’t done a good job. I still feel like I’m mostly asleep...

She opened her eyes a second time. This time the darkness was absolute. Except... a familiar figure wearing Dreamweaver robes appeared.

:Leiard?

:Hello, lover of dreamers; dreamer of love.

His lips moved as the words came to her.

:Is... is this a memory? It feels like it is you, speaking to me now, and yet it doesn’t.

:Yes and no. It is me speaking to you, dressed in your memory of me. My mind given a form by yours. You are learning fast. It seems you have a natural flair for this.

:Perhaps I should have been a Dreamweaver.

:But your heart is the gods’.

:My soul is the gods’; my heart is yours.

Leiard smiled - a sly, secretive smile. It was an expression she had never seen him wear before. Was this just her mind embellishing the mood she sensed from him?

:I’ve always suspected souls were a concept the gods invented to encourage people to serve them. In fact, I once had a conversation with a god in which he admitted that—

She jolted awake and found herself staring at the roof of the bower. Daylight filtered through the walls.

“Auraya?”

The voice came from the entranceway. She rose, wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and moved into the main room. Opening the flap that covered the doorway she found Speaker Sirri standing outside.

“Yes, Speaker?”

The woman smiled. “Sorry to wake you so early. We have just received a message that we feel we must urgently discuss with you.”

Auraya nodded. “Come in. I will be with you in a moment.”

She hurried to her room and closed the hanging divider. Undressing, she splashed water from a large wooden basin over herself and quickly dried off with magic. Once she had dressed again she ran a comb through her hair and began plaiting it as she returned to the main room.

Speaker Sirri stood beside the. entrance, tapping her forefinger against the frame of the bower. Auraya would never have guessed the woman’s mood from her face, but this small sign of impatience made her look closer. At once she sensed that the Speaker was resisting a growing alarm at the news of a landwalker woman seen in Si. The woman had apologized for the attack on a tribe by black birds that Sirri had told Auraya of.

“There will be food at the meeting,” Sirri said as Auraya stepped outside.

The Speaker took to the air and Auraya followed. Sirri caught an updraft and glided up to the top of the Open, where she landed neatly. The forest was cluttered with undergrowth here, keeping the bower hidden from view.

Auraya had visited the Speakers’ Bower several times already, but she was sure she had been led down a