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.The demon does notcomprehend man's craving to control his future.In this manner your true talentwill pass unnoticed."Taen traced her hand over the carved crystal, mollified by the tirade."I'm sorry.Inever guessed."Bells clashed softly as Tamlin seated himself in the grass opposite her.He restedhis chin on steepled fingers and spoke in gentler tones."Understand me, child.More of mankind's heritage than is safe for you to know lies similarly concealed.Landfast itself has no other defense.To save its records from the demons, youmust trust my judgment.Now engage your craft once again and show me howJaric fares."Taen leveled the basin between her knees, then waited for the water to settle.Sheneeded the interval to steady her own nerves more than any other reason.Asoften as she looked in on Jaric since Anskiere's geas resumed effect, she had beenunable to make peace with herself for his unhappiness; neither Tamlin'sinsistence nor Keithland's peril could negate her sense of responsibility.Taen closed her eyes and carefully cleared her mind.Despite her trepidations,Jaric's presence flowed easily through the channel of her talents; through theprocess of restoring his memory, she had come to know his mind better than anyperson living.Her call arose like a bird, sped on the silent wings of thought to thenorth coast and the village of Mearren Ard.With barely a pause for transition,Taen felt the salty tang of the breeze blow against her cheek, sea-scoured andoverlaid by the pungent smell of spruce.Within the crystal basin an imagebloomed on the water.In a yard beside a weathered shed, new grass lay sprinkled like snow with thedelicate curls of shavings; there Jaric bent over a trestle, busily planing a lengthof wood which would shortly replace a cracked thwart on Callinde's starboardside.Linen cloth clung to his sweating shoulders as he worked, and wood chipsspeckled his wrists, pale against sunburned skin.Impressed by the play of musclein his arms, Taen reflected that the wenches of Morbrith Keep would probablytreat him to a different sort of teasing were they to observe him now.But the unremitting pull of the geas and days of constant toil left Jaric too wornto reflect upon himself; plank by plank he labored to restore Callinde's rottedtimbers.The discomfort of Anskiere's summons permitted him no surcease, evenat sundown when other men sought rest.Jaric worked through the nights bylanternlight, feverish and driven, until his fingers cramped on the tools and hisbody collapsed from weariness.Watching the strong rhythmic strokes of the plane across the board, Taen achedaaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBB r rto reach out, lend him the peace her dream-weaver's powers could provide.ButJaric would tolerate no trace of her contact since the day he had fallen on thedecks of Tavish's boat.Convinced she had used him for her own selfish ends, theboy stayed isolated, though loneliness ate him hollow and his arm trembled withfatigue as he lifted the plane to clear the blade.Shavings fluttered to the ground,pale and delicate as moths.For all his inexperience, the boy handled the tool well;even old Mathieson found little cause for complaint.But the dream-weaver sawbeyond competence to the measure of pain which inspired it; Jaric acted out ofnecessity.He derived no joy from his achievements.Taen shifted the image, caused the basin's crystal rim to frame Callinde's hull.Whole sections of her starboard side stood stripped of planking, leaving the baredcurve of several ribs exposed against the sky.To port, yellow boards contrastedharshly with the weathered timbers of her keel; Jaric had made remarkableprogress.Still his craft was days away from launch; Kisburn's army would notwait.Swift as the clouds which hazed the horizon beyond Mearren Ard's docks,the King's ships would cross the sea; even the Kielmark's fortress could not staydemons.Suddenly a blur of motion flicked across the edge of the image.Startled by itspresence, Taen stiffened.She bent closer to the basin, a disturbed frown on herface.Tamlin rose to his feet with a clash of bells."Something's wrong," he said quickly."What do you see?""I don't know." Taen focused her attention on Jaric, seeking the source of theshadow which had passed briefly across her contact.Yet the sunlight shonebrightly in Mathieson's yard and Jaric worked on undisturbed.Concerned, Taenrefined her scrutiny.The fine hands which once had penned copy for a Duke'slibrary were now blistered and raw from handling adze and hammer.Stress hadleft the boy gaunt and exhausted.Beneath the sun-bleached hair which spilledover his brow, his eyes were deeply circled; but other than fatigue Taen found nomark upon him.She looked up, defeated.At a loss to explain the intuitive prickle of warningwhich stirred the hair at the nape of her neck, she said, "I did see something.""I know." The Vaere toyed with his pipe."There's a reason."But he would not say what it was.When Taen pressed for an answer, he simplyvanished, and none of the usual cues would call him back.Left to herself, Taen lifted the crystal bowl from her lap and laid it aside on thegrass.Disregarding Tamlin's directive pertaining to the water, she gathered herpowers as dream-weaver and with no more effort than daydreaming bent herthoughts back to Mathieson's yard and Jaric.She would watch, she decided, tosee whether the shadow which had grazed the edge of her vision returned.Westerly sunlight cast steepening shadows through the opened sections ofCallinde's hull.Sheltered from the sea breeze by the angled roof of the shack,Jaric set his plane aside and with a forester's precision laid a fire beneath thesteam box.While the planks heated he took up the adze and began to dress anuncut length of timber.Taen watched the chips fly, pale and silver as flying fish inthe failing light.The intensity of Jane's determination awed her.Unlike Emien,this boy had survived the scarring left by the inadequacy which had poisoned hisaaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBB r rearly years.Hurt and pressured and driven, so far he had managed to continuewithout striking out in hatred.Taen caught her breath.The comparisonwounded.Beside Jaric, her brother's shortcomings stood exposed withdevastating and bitter clarity.Taen twisted her fingers in the fine silk of her robe.She must not abandon hope.One day perhaps Jaric might guide Emien to regainhis faith in human compassion.Sunset faded over Mearren Ard.Jaric paused to wipe the sweat from his browand light the lantern looped to a line on Callinde's yard arm.Keldric's unmarriedniece arrived with a basket of bread, smoked fish and cheese.Oblivious to theinvitation in her smile, Jaric thanked her, his manner restrained with the polishof Morbrith's high court.Beneath his courtesy Taen read the raw pain left byKencie's thoughtlessness.For all his accomplishments, Jaric placed no faith inthe change wrought within himself since his accident in Seitforest; although theprettiest girl in Mearren Ard lingered to watch him eat, he misread heradmiration for pity.Misery kept him silent.And too shy to breach his solitudewithout encouragement, the girl twisted her chestnut hair back under her cloakhood and quietly left as she had for seven nights previously.Jaric dusted breadcrumbs from his tunic and resumed work.Jostled by wind, thelantern turned the yard to a circle of wheeling shadows
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