Skolian Empire - Skyfall Part 9

When Garlin completed his eulogy, Eldri went to stand with him. He cast a handful of glittering dust over the chasm, in place of ashes from the body, which they had been unable to retrieve. The glitter drifted down, sparkling dimly in the overcast day. Only the keening wind broke the silence.

Then the Lyshrioli began to sing.

Fifty people joined in the hymn, singing in the incomparable Lyshrioli language, their voices rising in the clear mountain air, chiming like bells, caressing a bittersweet melody so beautiful, it brought tears into Roca's eyes.

And when they finished, Eldri sang alone.

Roca knew then that even Brad's extravagant praise hadn't come close to describing the vocal gifts of Dalvador's Bard. Eldri's voice soared into the air, filling it with such purity, such incredible clarity and power, that no ecstasy they shared in bed could match this moment.

It would be a crime for anyone-including her people-to contaminate the rare splendor of these people.

Eldri pulled his fur-lined jacket tighter around his body. "Garlin forbids us to leave." His breath condensed in the air of the stable, making puffs of blue.

Leaning on the half door of a stall, Roca rubbed the nose of the lyrine b.u.t.ting her hand. "How can Garlin forbid us to leave? Do you not rule here?"

He crossed his arms on top of the half door. "Rule?"

Roca wished she could go inside the stall, where the animal had made a nest out of the softened stalks of gla.s.swood piled there. It had pulled the stalks up around itself in a way a horse could never do, and now it stood surrounded by their warmth.

"Your t.i.tle of Bard," Roca said. "It means you lead, yes?"

Eldri's forehead furrowed. "I sing. I keep our history."

"These people treat you as their leader."

"Not leader. Judge." He rubbed the lyrine's nose. "They bring me disputes. I try to settle them. Garlin did it until a few years ago. He still advises me."

Dryly Roca said, "I'm sure he does."

"Why do you say it like that?"

"He troubles me. Why does he dislike me so?"

Eldri hesitated. "I am not sure. He wanted me to take you back to the port right away." His face reddened. "He says I let my loins think for me."

"Your loins?" When her node provided the translation, she blushed. "Never mind."

His laugh tickled her ears. "Perhaps we should go back to my room and investigate what he means."

Much as she would have liked to, she couldn't banter with him now. "Eldri, we must return to the port.

The snow has stopped. We should leave as soon as possible."

"Garlin says to stay. And he is wise."

She scowled at him. "Garlin wants you to think he is wiser than you. That way, he retains power."

"You say I should not trust Garlin." He leaned closer, his lips near her ear. "He says I should not trust you."

Roca sighed and moved into his arms, though their heavy jackets kept them from coming too close. "I have to go back."

"I do not understand why it is so important."

She searched for the right words. "If I do not vote, my people may have a war. A terrible war. Many would die. Millions. Perhaps billions."

He pulled back and regarded her uncertainly. "I do not understand 'millions' or 'billions.' "

"Think of how many people live in Dalvador and the Rillian Values."

"Very, very many."

"Yes. Very. Now imagine five times as many as that." She wasn't sure if he could; she had no idea what mathematics he knew.

He only paused for a moment. "All right."

"That is a million people." Her breath made plumes in the air. "Double, triple, quadruple that number and you still won't have all the people who might die. Do you begin to see?"

He blanched. "It is too many."

"Yes. Too many."

"And you can stop this?"

"I think so. But I must be there. Otherwise my son will vote to go to war."

"Your son?" His embrace turned rigid. "Where is his father?"

Softly Roca said, "He died."

"Ai, Roca, I am sorry." Relief also came from his mind.

"It happened many years ago."

"Is the boy all right? I didn't mean to keep you from him. I had no idea."

"He is no boy." Roca thought of her indomitable firstborn. "He is a man, grown and strong."

Eldri's forehead furrowed. "You are not old enough to have a son that age."

So. Here it came. She had to tell him sooner or later. "I am older than I look, older than Garlin, even."

He gave her an uncertain smile. "You play with me."

Roca shook her head. Then, remembering he might not recognize the gesture, she added, "My people age differently than yours."

He looked doubtful. "This son, he is a warrior?"

"A warlord. A great one." She shivered, though her jacket kept out the cold. "I love my son, Eldri, but he also terrifies me. I must return home before it is too late."

"It sounds so strange."

"Please help me."

He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "Garlin says it may snow again."

"It isn't snowing now."

"I do not comprehend all you say." He held her shoulders. "I understand only what I see and touch. But I know you speak truly when you talk about this desperation you feel."

Her voice caught. "I wish it could be otherwise."

"If you leave now, you must come back." Longing filled his voice. "We have so much to discover about each other."

She took his hands, afraid she was giving him hope where none existed. "I will try."

He took a deep breath. "Very well. We shall go."

The first flakes fell when Eldri and Roca had ridden a third of the way down the mountains. The storm rapidly grew worse. Snow drifted down and the world became a wash of blue, all the sky, air, and ground. Soon it was impossible to see either the cliff rising to their right or the drop-off on the left. Cold seeped into their clothes, through their leggings, socks, trousers, fur-lined shirts, jackets, and gloves. It seemed to penetrate Roca's bones. The lyrine slowed until it was barely moving through the swirls of blue. Finally it stopped and would walk no more.

Sitting behind Roca, Eldri rested his forehead against her head. "We can go no farther. It is not safe. If we try, we will join Jacquilar."

She couldn't accept defeat. "The snow may stop again."

"It may." Eldri lifted his head. "But it is too thick on the ground now. It would be dangerous to go even if it stopped."

Roca knew he was right. With reluctance, she said, "I have more than a day yet until the ship comes. If we cannot go today, then perhaps tomorrow morning."

"It may clear enough by then."

She could tell, from his mind, that he had doubts. She twisted around to look at him. "What do we do now? Return to Windward?"

"I am not certain. I have never been caught out in snow like this before." Reaching back, he checked the ropes and spikes fastened to the saddlebag across the back of the lyrine. "I have survival equipment, but in this weather it won't be enough."

Roca tried to imagine what else they might do. "The path becomes narrower back up the mountain, yes?"

"Yes. It does."

"Is it safe to go that way now?"

"Probably not." He brushed at the snow that had gathered on the fur of his hood. "The Eira Lysia Meadows are to our north."

"Can we get there from here?" Meadows sounded far more secure than this path.

"The lyrine knows the way, I think." He paused. "I remember an old cottage. It is a ruin, but it might protect us from the storm."

"We can try." Roca turned back around and scratched the lyrine's neck. "Can you take us to safety?"

she murmured.

Eldri put his hand over hers, offering comfort, then took the reins and urged the lyrine forward. At first it refused to move. Then Roca felt Eldri's thoughts, a gentle pressure directed toward the animal. She doubted he realized what he was doing, but the lyrine responded, stepping forward.

So they went, continuing in the blinding wash of blue.

They were moving in a trance, lost in a universe without definition, two people and a lyrine amid swirling blue snow. The wind had risen, Roca wasn't certain how long ago. Eldri kept his arms around her waist, his hands clenched on the reins. He offered no hint that he recognized the way. The lyrine seemed to know, though how it could tell, Roca had no idea. She understood so little about the animals.

A dark patch in the whirling snow formed in front of them. They came up against the mounded ruin before Roca even realized they had reached a building. She stared numbly through the storm as Eldri jumped off the lyrine. Rousing herself, she slid down next to him, stiffly, her body aching. Gripping the reins and Roca's hand, Eldri led the way forward, past a crumbling wall.

The wind suddenly died. For the first time in hours, since the blizzard had started, Roca could see farther than a few hand-spans. The daylight was dim, but enough to show they had entered the remains of an empty cottage. It had three walls, a roof, and most of its fourth wall. Snow had piled up against the walls, but they gave welcome relief from the storm.

Eldri pulled his jacket tight, shivering. Blue ice encrusted the hair that had escaped his hood. "I was beginning to wonder if it was here anymore." He tried to grin. "Do you like my new castle?"

Roca managed a bow. "It is lovely, Your Highness."

"Highness?" He laughed unevenly. "What does that make us in the plains? Lownesses?"

She smiled. "I never thought of it that way."

"You have heard this t.i.tle before?"

"People use it for me."

"Do you live in a high place?"

Roca shook her head, scattering snow off her hood. "It is only a t.i.tle. Is it so unfamiliar? Last night, when you called me an ice queen, I thought-" She didn't finish, uncomfortable with his words even if he had only been teasing. They came too close to the truth.

Eldri flipped his hand, which Roca gathered was the Lyshrioli equivalent of a shrug. "Brad's people, they talk about kings and queens. They tell me this is like Bards and Memories, except a king marries a queen. They even say I am king of Lyshriol." He looked alarmed. "I hope they don't tell Lord Rillia that.

He might not appreciate them saying I am Bard over him."

That intrigued her. "Who is Lord Rillia?"

"Bard of the Rillian Vales. They have more people there than we do in the Dalvador Plains." His teeth were chattering. "I am Bard of Dalvador, but he is lord of all the lands, including mine."

Roca wanted to shake the resort planners. The least they could have done was get their facts straight before they started playing with local cultures. She wondered if they even cared that they might endanger Eldri if they treated him as if he ranked above the true leader here. "Do you know Lord Rillia?"

"Of course. He and my father were friends." He rubbed his palms together, making his gloves squeak.

"Unlike Lord Avaril."

"Who is Lord Avaril?"

"He lives in the Blue Dale Mountains." His face paled even more than from the cold. "He swore he would kill my father. Now he says he will kill me."