faces turned toward her. They headed for a raised platform made of wood, so she altered her course for this.
Whistles and cries of welcome filled the air as she landed. To her relief, most of the tribe looked well. The Speaker emerged out of the large bower, which, she read from his mind, was a storeroom for the tribe’s produce.
“Welcome to the Blue Lake village, Auraya of the White. I am Speaker Dylli.” The leader took a cup of water from one of the village women, then the traditional cake of greeting from another, and gave them to Auraya.
She ate the cake and sipped the water. “I am relieved to see you are all looking healthy.”
The Speaker’s expression grew serious. “We grieve the loss of nine tribesmen, women and children, but would have lost many more if we had not followed the advice you sent on preventing the illness moving to others - and if the Dreamweaver had not come.”
Auraya smiled. “Wilar. I’d heard he’d travelled here, which is why I did not come sooner. You are in capable hands. I’d like to see him.”
“Then I will take you to him.”
He beckoned and led her away from the platform. Seeing her glance at it curiously, he chuckled.
“Most tribes live in trees, or on uneven ground like at the Open. Our land here is level. The oldest of us find it exhausting getting off the ground so we built this for them.”
Auraya nodded in understanding. While the Siyee could become airborne by running and leaping into the air, it took a lot of energy. Dropping from a tree branch or cliff was much easier, especially for the elderly. The platform would serve the same purpose.
The crowd followed them, the children chattering among themselves. At the edge of the fields three new bowers had been built. The adults in the crowd stopped several paces away and told the children to stay with them. Auraya and the Speaker continued on.
“I haven’t been ill, so I must stay away,” he told her. “Please give Dreamweaver Wilar my regards.”
She smiled and nodded. “I will. If there’s anything I can do to help, I will do it.”
He bowed his head in thanks. Turning away, she walked the rest of the way to the bowers slowly, searching for minds. The discomfort, pain and fear of the sick Siyee was a shock after the cheerful health of the rest of the tribe. After a moment she found what she was looking for: a mind aware of the presence of a man she could not sense. She stopped outside the bower.
“May I come in?”
There was a pause, then a familiar voice replied, “Of course, Auraya.”
At the sound of his voice she felt her heart lighten. She pushed aside the door-hanging and stepped into a dimly lit space. Four beds hung between a thick central pole and the outside supports of the bower, two on either side. Leiard stood beside one, spooning liquid from a bowl into a woman’s mouth. He glanced at her once and kept working.
“Look around,” he invited.
She moved from bed to bed, checking the health of each patient. They were in the worst stage of the disease but their bodies were fighting it, even if sluggishly.
“Those who are recovering are in the bower to our left, and those whose bodies cannot resist the disease are in the other,” Leiard murmured.
Hearing his footsteps, she looked up. He dropped spoon and bowl into a large stone dish of water, then paused to stare at it. The water began to steam, then bubble. He left it gently boiling, moved to the door and glanced over his shoulder at her.
“Do you want to see?” he asked.
She nodded. Following him out, she noted Siyee children watching at a distance as they moved to another bower.
It took Auraya a moment to take in the scene inside. Unlike the previous bower, this one was filled with furniture. A healthy-looking Siyee sat cross-legged in the center of the room, working on a dart harness. Another sat before a loom, his hands moving quickly as he worked. Two women were preparing jars of preserved fruit, and a boy and girl child were playing a game at the back of the room. All looked up as Auraya and Leiard entered.
As Leiard introduced her, Auraya slowly understood why these people were here. She had been expecting sick Siyee, but these people were obviously fully recovered.
Leiard had killed the disease within their bodies, but they couldn’t mingle with other Siyee for fear of catching it again. They could, however, continue doing domestic tasks - even cooking.
“How long must they stay in there?” she asked him as they left the bower.
“I have told them they can go once no other member of the village is ill. They know there can be no certainty that they will be safe then, but they can’t keep themselves separate forever.”
Auraya nodded. “Do they know how lucky they are? All those in their situation in the Open, and in other villages, die.”
Leiard winced and met her eyes. “How many so far?”
“About one in five.”
He grimaced and shook his head. Walking away from the bower, he sat down on a log at the edge of the forest, frowning. Auraya sat beside him. She considered his profile. His face did not look as weathered as it once had, she noted, though there were still smile wrinkles around his eyes. The dye in his hair had partly washed out, leaving it a dark blond color.
“I have come here to see if your offer still holds,” she told him. “Hearteater is everywhere. The toll is too great. I have come from Temple Mountain. The Siyee there haven’t been the most cooperative of the tribes and their cave system is too small for so many people. All that close contact... not good for preventing the spread of a disease.”
He smiled crookedly. “No.” His eyes moved away, then returned to her and narrowed. “So the gods no longer forbid it?”
“No. I may only use your healing Gift with the gods’ permission. Only in times of great need, such as now.”
He nodded. “A compromise.”
She turned to look at him, but found herself lost for words. In the last few months, in desperation, she had experimented on dying Siyee without success. She found she could not kill a disease that she could not easily sense as a separate entity to the body it attacked.
“Can you return tonight?” Leiard asked. “Tyve is out gathering cures and I need him to tend to the sick while we work.”
“Of course. How long will it take?”
He shrugged. “That depends on whether you have the ability to absorb the concepts and how quickly you learn to apply them. Perhaps an hour. Perhaps several nights.”
Auraya nodded. “There is another tribe I need to check on, but I can return by tonight.”
“Then we will begin then. Keep in mind that few can grasp the concepts involved. It is not a question of magical strength, but of mental ability. You may not have the ability.”
“I can only try,” she told him, smiling wryly. “There’s never been a Gift I could not learn.”
His eyebrows rose. “Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“What will you do if you fail, I wonder.”
“Try to take disappointment gracefully.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “That will be interesting to observe.”
She met his eyes. “It may depend on whether you taunt me about it or not.”
“Do you believe I would?”
“I don’t know.”
He chuckled. “I will endeavor to be sympathetic.” He rose and looked toward the bowers. “If you have time, I will introduce you to the third group. They’re still in the early stages of the disease. There’s a woman among them who knows more about the medicinal plants around here than anyone I’ve encountered. I think you’ll like her.”
“Will I?”
“Perhaps.”
“Let’s go and find out.” Smiling, Auraya stood up and followed him back to the bowers.
