“I’m not asking you to speak to him—I’m asking if it’s possible.”
“I believe it is possible. But I am contained here, and I do not believe your enemy is aware of my presence. If Terrano can hear what I hear in some fashion, I do not think he should accompany your friends.”
That started a round of conversation among the cohort, which meant they were silent. Kaylin found it interesting only because it meant some of them agreed with Spike. She guessed that one of that some was not Sedarias, or there’d be much less discussion—but maybe that was unfair. Sedarias didn’t attempt to exert will or power over the cohort; that was just her base personality. They accepted it, whined about it—or at least Mandoran did—and responded as if she were a friend, and not a natural disaster.
“Terrano,” Sedarias finally said, “is going. We understand Spike’s concern, and some of us share it—but we feel that forewarned is forearmed. It is possible that we will be more, and not less, susceptible to the Adversary’s demands or influence, although we cannot hear what Terrano hears; his perception may help us sidestep that difficulty before it becomes nonnegotiable.
“If Kaylin could accompany us, we might agree that Terrano is too much at risk—but she can’t. If we understand correctly, Kaylin will be led to the Adversary by another route entirely.”
“So will Teela,” Teela said. She failed to glare at Tain, because she failed to look at him at all.
It was funny, in a completely unhumorous way. All of the cohort knew her True Name, although Terrano couldn’t use it anymore, but it was Tain who was her biggest concern. In some ways, that made sense—he was her partner, after all. But being a Hawk didn’t define Teela the way it defined Kaylin, and the cohort had done more to shape the course of Teela’s life than the Hawks had, or could.
“An’Teela will accompany us,” the Consort said.
Us.
Everyone present turned toward her then, except Ynpharion.
“I do not believe that is wise.” It was Sedarias who spoke. Of course it was.
“And I value your opinion and your assessment,” the Consort replied in a tone that even suggested she wasn’t lying. “But it is not the first time I have ventured into those depths. To reach the Adversary is not a simple task, and permission is granted to very few by the Tower itself. Perhaps there are some who have managed to elude that permission and reach the place Kaylin calls a cavern; I believe that must be the case, and it troubles me. That trouble, however, is—unless it kills us—my brother’s problem. The Adversary is not.”
“It’s personal, for you.”
“Yes, Sedarias. It is personal. You are here—all of you are here—to take the Test of Name. But you are here at my invitation. If I have handled the situation poorly—and I have—I ask your tolerance and your forgiveness. You,” she added when Sedarias failed to reply, “did not handle your attempt to free yourselves from captivity with complete wisdom or grace, and I have chosen to accept your earlier actions.”
“If we fail—”
“If you fail, the lives of the Barrani who occupy the High Halls will continue as they have always continued. You will all be lost, of course, but that is the fate of all of our kind who fail.”
Kaylin wondered if she believed that.
Of course not, Ynpharion snapped.She is aware of the risk. We are all aware of the risk. It is you who fail to understand. If what you suspect is true, if the Adversary has Barrani agents, it is likely those agents have found a way to circumvent the protections the Tower of Test has always maintained.
He mastered his annoyance. Barely.They desire the cohort’s failure. If there is any chance that the cohort can pass the test, they are likely to attempt to interfere where the High Lord—and indeed the Court itself—cannot intervene.
You think we’re going to run into trouble on the way down.
Down is not the correct description, according to the Consort. My opinion is all but irrelevant. What do you think?
Kaylin glanced, once, at Severn. She wanted to leave him behind, not for his own safety, but as an emergency relay. He was technically a Lord of the High Court, just as Kaylin was, and for the same reasons. He could, if necessary, approach the High Lord. And if the Consort was involved, if thelifeof the Consort was under threat—
Take Lord Severn with you, Ynpharion finally, and grudgingly, said.The Consort has other ways of communicating with the High Lord should things go dangerously awry.
Chapter 19
To Kaylin’s surprise, they did not see the cohort to the Tower. After the cohort and the Consort had finished what was a very, very sparse meal, the Consort led them out of the garden. It was necessary; entry and exit relied on the Consort, a fact Kaylin had not realized until that moment.
It is not always so, Ynpharion informed her.And it is taxing. It would be best if we were all quit of this place; while she is in it, it draws power.
Given Coravante’s unexpected attack, Kaylin understood both the desire to preserve the Consort’s power, and the necessity of spending it. But she had not hurried the cohort to their destination. She had provided them a moment of shelter, and she had allowed them the time to formulate entirely new contingencies based on their discussion.
But she couldn’t keep them forever. Kaylin thought it likely that this small intervention was going to be costly for the Consort, a woman whose responsibilities all but demanded no obvious choosing of sides in political scuffles. In this case, the scuffle was internal to Mellarionne, and therefore entirely avoidable. To invite the cohort to the equivalent of Helen’s tea was in no way necessary in the eyes of the Court, and by doing so, she had staked out a position in that conflict.
They did not know—and might never know—that the Consort’s discussion had nothing to do with politics.
That would be because you are incorrect.
