Priestess of the White

As the man splashed into the water the leader looked at Auraya. “It will take time. The palace doesn’t take much notice of harvesters. We have work to do now. You wait here, if you want.”

She nodded. He said no more, but raised his voice and hounded the workers back to their tasks. Auraya watched them for a while, but when she caught several resentful thoughts about her staring she moved farther away and took care to appear as if her attention was elsewhere.

The sun climbed to its zenith, then began to descend. The Elai did not pause for rest, though they stopped now and then to wet their skin. From their minds she learned more about Elai customs.

Their city was crowded, and most Elai lived in tiny rooms. Living in such close quarters made them respectful of each other’s space. Strong taboos about touching or meeting another’s eyes existed, and were based on a strict social hierarchy.

They couldn’t have been more different to the Siyee.

Despite these divisions of class and power, there was a strong sense of duty toward all other Elai. These men and women willingly emerged from the city to harvest the seaweed, be bullied by men like their leader, and risk being attacked by raiders, in order to help feed their people. She read concern from many of them for a worker who was ill and to whom they had brought food.

Even the wealthy and powerful contributed to the city’s safety. If the king knew his people were starving, he would distribute food to them. Four times a year he held a feast to which all Elai were invited. He even took his place in the roster for manning the lookout above the city, climbing the long staircase in order to help watch for raiders.

Staircase? Above the city? Auraya smiled. So there is another way into the city other than the underwater one.

It was an interesting piece of information, but not one she intended to use. To do so would be to ensure she never gained the Elai’s trust. Reading the workers’ minds had shown her the terrible impact the raiders had made on the sea people’s lives. It was no surprise to see how deeply they loathed landwalkers. Being a representative of the gods might get her an audience with the king, but it would not ensure anything more. She was going to have to prove herself trustworthy.

She sighed. And I don’t have time for that.

“Landwalker woman.”

She started at the gruff voice and turned to see that the leader was approaching. Standing up, she walked forward to meet him.

“The king sent a reply to your message,” he said hesitantly. She realized with dismay that he was gathering his courage. He expected her to be angry and feared how she would express it. “He said: The King of Elai does not want to talk to the landwalker claiming to speak for the gods. Landwalkers are not welcome here - not even to stay on the smallest island. Go home. ”

She nodded slowly. There was no sign of deceit in his mind. The message might have changed a little with repetition, but not the general meaning in it. The man regarded her warily, then hurried away.

:Juran?

:Auraya? Juran replied immediately.

:The King of the Elai refused my request to meet with him. I don’t think he believes that I am what I say I am. She repeated the message. That is not all. These people’s hatred for landwalkers is strong. I think we will have to prove ourselves trustworthy. I wish that we could do something about these raiders...

:That would remove a potent incentive to ally with us.

:I don’t think a promise of dealing with the raiders some time in the future will impress them at all. Unlike the Siyee, help will have to come before, not after an alliance.

:You can’t be sure of that until you meet the king. Be persistent. Come back tomorrow and every following day. You can, at least, impress him with your determination.

She smiled. I will.

Looking down at the workers, she saw that they were now tying huge bundles of seaweed on their backs. Some were wading into the water and swimming away. She caught snatches of thought that told her they were leaving early and that some suspected this was because her presence frightened their leader.

She sighed in frustration. How was she ever going to win over the Elai, when just her presence on the beach had an adverse effect on these people?

Huan did say this would be a challenge, she reminded herself.

Smiling wryly, she gathered magic and lifted herself into the sky.

29

As the dark folds of sleep slipped away, Emerahl became aware of voices.

“Jade. Wake up.”

“That’s probably not her real name.”

“I don’t know her real name. Do you?”

“No, she wouldn’t tell me.”

“You asked?”

“Didn’t you?”

“No. It’s not polite.”

“I used to know a girl named Jade.”

“It’s a nice name. Not like Brand. Who’d call their daughter Brand? I hate my name.”

Who are these women? Emerahl felt her mind rise toward full consciousness and memory return. They’re just my room companions. She frowned. They’re awake before me? That’s unusual...

“Who’d call their daughter Tide? Or Moonlight?” Tide asked.

Brand giggled. “My little brother used to have a pet moohook called Moonlight.”

Tide chuckled. “Moonlight. Diamond. Innocence. Names best suited to whores or pets. Only an idiot would curse their child with them. Jade isn’t too bad, I suppose. Look, she’s awake at last.”

Emerahl found herself looking at the two attractive young women. She yawned and sat up.

“What are you two doing up this early?”

Brand smiled ruefully. “Rozea’s called a meeting. You’d better get dressed. Quickly, too.”

Emerahl swung her legs out from under the blankets and stretched. The other two girls were wearing older tunics rather than their best. Emerahl chose the worn, plain tunic Leaf had given her to wear outside of working hours or during lessons and quickly changed into it.

As she dressed she saw and heard other girls passing in the corridor. Brand and Tide waited quietly but she could sense excitement and expectation from their minds.

“What’s this meeting all about, then?” she asked as she quickly combed her hair.

“Don’t know,” Brand replied.

“Probably something to do with the war.”

“Hurry up and we’ll find out sooner,” Brand urged.

Emerahl smiled and moved to join them at the doorway. They stepped out into the corridor, Brand in the lead. Emerahl took note of the turns they made, and after climbing the third staircase guessed that their meeting place was on the top floor of the brothel.

A few steps later she followed her companions through a pair of large open doors into an enormous room. Windows lined opposite walls. A wide screen painted with scenes of lovemaking stood on a raised floor at the end of the room. The main floorspace was filled with girls.

Emerahl looked around, surprised to see so many. Some she had only met briefly since arriving at the brothel, others had introduced themselves and welcomed her warmly. There were girls here she had never seen before. As she scanned the faces she saw a distinctly masculine one, and realized that there were young men in the room as well as women. She hadn’t seen male whores here before, either.