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priest of Xenia, the death goddess, speaks to our fallen enemies on our behalf, asking forgiveness.
Alanka started and gasped.  Like a second-phase Crow.
 Yes. He clucked his tongue to soothe the pony, who had pinned her ears back at Alanka s sudden
movement.  By reconciling with the dead, we find peace.
 Do the dead always forgive you?
 In my experience, yes. They have nothing to gain in the afterlife by holding a grudge.
She snorted.  My father gains nothing by holding on to part of me, but he still does.
 Perhaps that s a different problem with a different solution.
 So Rhia says. Does your people s ritual work? Her voice quieted to a whisper as if she were afraid to
utter the hope.  Afterward, you feel clean?
 Yes. He stroked her palm with his thumb.  Pure.
 I can t imagine. She released a wistful sigh.  What about the nightmares and flashbacks? Will I stop
seeing the faces of those men?
 There s only one way to find out.
 I ll ask Rhia when we stop.
 You don t want to ask her now?
She nuzzled his neck and looped her other arm tight around his waist.  No. I don t want to ask her now.
He smiled and lifted her hand to his lips. Alanka seemed the last woman in the world who would find him
appealing. His people had destroyed her family and her home. Their deaths plagued her mind, awake and
asleep. He should have been a painful reminder of all she d lost, of all the deeds that brought her shame,
however misplaced. Yet she seemed drawn to him almost against her will.
A dull chill slipped over Filip s neck. Perhaps Alanka was with him not despite his being a wounded
Descendant, but because of it. Maybe she was using him to assuage her guilt over the men she d killed in
battle. He dropped her hand.
 Why do you like me?
She stirred, almost sleepily.  What kind of question is that? I just do.
 What is there to like? I m not kind.
 You re kind to me. And you re handsome and and strong.
 I m not strong. I fall down weeping over wounded animals.
 I find that sweet, she said.  Besides, you could learn to block animals thoughts if you d undergo the
Bestowing.
 I can t.
 You can.
 I won t, and if you assume I ll change my mind, then you ve misguided yourself.
She was silent for a moment.  I like the way you kiss me.
His arms jerked, causing the horse to stop. He imagined lying naked with Alanka in the grass that
surrounded them, his wound bare to the bright sunlight.
No. He d keep his legs covered somehow so she could see nothing but his face and neck and chest,
which were whole and healthy.
But she d want to see his leg. She d be curious. She d want to touch it.
 You want me because I m your fallen enemy, he said.  Not because of the man I am.
 You think I m with you out of sympathy?
 It makes sense.
 It makes nonsense.
 I ve seen battle shock in my troops. They go crazy 
 I m not crazy!
  and crazy people don t know what they want or why they want it.
She gasped, then her voice turned icy.  How dare you?
 Admit it. I ll never be the kind of man you need.
Her silence deafened him, and he realized he d gone too far.
 If that s how you really feel, she said,  there s nothing more to say.
He turned to her, to take back his foolish words, but she was already sliding off the pony s haunches.
Alanka stumbled when she hit the ground.
 I should speak to Rhia, she said,  about my soul retrieval, and about the ritual you suggested. She
turned her face from him as she brushed off her trousers.  Thank you for the ride.
He watched her walk back to meet Rhia, who sent him a wary look as Alanka approached. Then he
urged the mare forward, keeping the sea in the corner of his eye.
It was easier this way. Somewhere across those waters lay his home, his family, his reckoning. He should
face it alone.
Rhia crossed the fog into the Gray Valley.
Koli s drumbeat kept her anchored to the world outside, which already felt less real than this wretched
place. The light from the invisible sun bleached the rocks a pale yellow, while the dead tree looked
darker than ever.
No one met her this time. She called the names of Razvin and Skaris, but only her own voice echoed
back.
She noticed that the tree seemed to have grown not taller, but wider. Its branches hadn t extended past
the second pile of rocks the last time she was here. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]