Reclamation

Branch, chin still held high, walked a straight line through the crowd and the clan returned to its grim work. Aria turned away, suddenly weary beyond belief.

"Mother?" Storm Water laid his hand on her arm.

"Your mother is all right," Aria said, although she was not certain she spoke the truth. She squeezed his hand firmly and straightened her shoulders. "What's happened to the Skyman?"

"He is fallen here." Storm Water led her to the prostrate Skyman on the edge of the pond.

He was sprawled on his back. Aria laid her hands against his chest to feel for his breathing. It was ragged, but strong. He had a bruise from her sling, but was probably all right. Iron Shaper made his way through the crowd to them. He had a captured sword in his fist and he raised it over the Skyman's head.

Aria held up her hand. "This one we keep. He'll be able to tell us what's going on."

The smith grunted. "We need to sink the bodies."

"Go ahead. Storm Water, go help unload the sledge." Storm Water stayed where he was until she gave him a long, stern look. Then he ducked his head and trotted toward the gathering around the soldier's supply sledge.

Awkwardly, Aria hefted the Skyman across her shoulders. He was deadweight and she was tired. She staggered into Shaper's house and dropped him into a heap on the floor.

Eric stood by the fire circle with a burly man in Teacher's clothing.

"Stone in the Wall dena Aria Born of the Black Wall," Eric said, "this is my brother by marriage, Heart of the Seablade." He spoke evenly. "He's a Heretic, too, and he'd better understand something." Eric's stare could have set the walls on fire, the heat of the anger behind it was so intense. "If he tries to play any sneaking games this time, I'll kill him with my own hands."

16—The Lif Marshes, the Realm of the Nameless Powers, Afternoon

"May the universe be merciful and keep from me the truth about my ancestors."

—Tiac Hsi Chai, from "Genealogies"

Eric stared at his brother-in-law. "And then what?"

"And then I accepted Jay's advice that we try to find the family of this Stone in the Wall."

Eric and Aria sat beside Iron Shaper's fire, between Heart, the Skyman Jay, and the door. Shaper himself was outside with the rest of the clan, hopefully telling the rest of the clan to keep away while Eric and Aria "questioned" the Teacher and the Skyman.

It didn't take much looking to see that the Notouch clan was getting nervous. Sunken corpses were one thing. Live witnesses to treason and heresy were quite another. Aria had pointed out, in her usual blunt style, that if the clan had too much tune to think about what they had just done, it would not go well for the ones who had urged the attack. Eric believed her.

So he tried to remain quiet while Heart told him the story of the war between Narroways and First City, of his dealings with "Messenger of the Skymen," and, finally, of the delegation to Narroways and the attack that came with it and how he had elected to go with the Heretics rather than stay with the delegation.

Yes, with them you had at least a chance of survival, thought Eric disgustedly. "So where is Mind of the Seablade?" he asked.

Heart hung his head. "I don't know. I wish I did."

"Do you?" You did this, his thoughts howled. This is your fault. If you had not driven me over the World's Wall the Vitae would not be here now! He tried to shove the thoughts aside, but they would not move.

He knew Heart was aware of his anger, like someone might be aware of a knife near his throat. He didn't care. At the moment, that awareness, like the sufferance of the Notouch, was exactly what was needed. If nothing else, it would make him think twice before telling lies.

"Look, Born," said Jay, leaning forward. "Surely you can see we've got to save the family quarrels for later…"

"We, Skyman?" Aria folded her arms. "What family do you have here?"

"All right, all right," Jay held up his hands. "I am not going to pretend this has been anything but a total debacle and the body count can be laid across our table. But my throwing myself at your feet isn't going to do anything." His hands lowered slowly and Eric could see sparks from the fire gleaming in his pale eyes. "We do, however, have something that might."

He started describing the underground chamber with its control banks of stones. Eric watched Aria more than he did Jay as the Skyman talked. She raised herself slowly on her haunches, straining toward what he said, little by little, until Jay came to the part of the story where Broken Trail entered.

Aria froze. "What have you done with Broken Trail?"

Jay picked up a piece of charcoal and tossed it into the fire. "I wish I could tell you. We let her touch one of the spheres…the stones, and she went into a delirium. She was still in it when I left…"