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and looked out. For a moment, nothing I saw made sense. There was a wide green expanse that looked like cloth unrolled on a floor. Tiny houses were scattered here and there like bones from a dice game. There was a silver line where the green cloth had been cut with scissors. Then my eyes began to piece together what lay below: rolling green fields, houses and farms, a river. Something was moving, and with a lurch I realized it was a bird flying below us. I pulled my head back and rested it against the pillow for a moment, closing my eyes. I heard Hypatia chuckle dryly. Look forward instead of down, and you ll see where we re going, she said. I took a deep breath and looked out again. With the light behind me, I could see a long way. A white-topped mountain rose in the distance. Closer than that, I could see a city spreading across the plain, arrow-thin towers glinting in the morning sun. Casseia had one tower like that built impossibly high by the labor of the djinni. This city had thirty or more. I pulled my head back inside. That s Penelopeia, I said. You ve visited before? No. I wished she d told me where we were going when I asked her last night. I could have told Lauria I was on my way to her. But I was sort of a prisoner, and the last thing I wanted was for Lauria to try to rescue me. I m right, aren t I? Only the City of Weavers would build so many towers like that. Yes, Hypatia said. She handed me a cup of tea. Hypatia was unusually steady in her nature, for a sorceress. I had seen her neither frantic nor melancholic. I Page 82 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html sipped my tea and studied her over the rim of my cup. She sipped hers and studied me. I bristled under her level gaze. Sophos had looked at me that way. So had Boradai. I distrusted that look, even if the eldress of the Alashi had looked at me that way, too. How did you come to the Alashi, Tamar? Hypatia asked. I considered telling her I d been born Alashi, but I wanted her to trust me and telling a lie just because I resented her seemed like a bad idea. Runaway slaves could be returned to their masters, but if Hypatia wanted to turn on me, she had many easier options than taking me back to a dead man. Besides, she had called them Alashi, not bandits. She was trying to be courteous. I was a slave until I was fourteen, I said. Then I ran away. Crossed the desert, and joined the Alashi. I straightened a little and rested my teacup against my crossed ankles. How did you become a Weaver? Apprenticeship, she said. I was fourteen. A long time ago. file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Bureaublad/N...20-%20Freedom's%20S isters/Krit_0553902784_oeb_c11_r1.htm (8 of 13)5-1-2007 1:02:11 Freedom sSisters I felt the palanquin shift slightly we were slowing, then sinking. My ears ached, then felt clogged like I had a bad cold. I peeked out and quickly pulled my head back inside. It looked like we were going to skewer ourselves on one of the towers. I swallowed hard and let the curtain fall shut. I heard a popping noise, and my ears cleared. Almost there, Hypatia said. We came to rest with a gentle bump that woke both Alibek and Janiya. Hypatia stepped out and gestured for us to follow. We were on an interior balcony. The floor was white marble. Another sorceress stood nearby, and I hung back and watched as she and Hypatia clasped hands and kissed cheeks. A slave waited in the shadows of the doorway, and I edged away from the palanquin, trying to see her face. At a gesture from her mistress, she fetched a small trunk from the back of the palanquin. Hypatia hesitated and looked back at me. I m going to discuss matters with Rhea alone, first, she said. Her servants will make you comfortable. We ll send for you in a bit. Have some breakfast. I nodded. The sun was already hot. Where are we? Janiya asked. Penelopeia, I said. Janiya s jaw tightened, and I saw her glance around, but there wasn t anywhere to flee even if we wanted to. Alibek arched an eyebrow at me. No doubt he was thinking of Lauria. I shrugged and followed the slave. Is the sorceress s name Rhea? I asked the slave. I wished I had wine to slip to her. Yes, the slave said. What s your name? She shot me a what the hell is it to you look and said, Parvaneh. Does Rhea have any children? No. Is she married? No. So it was possible her servants had the upper hand, like Zivar s. Parvaneh passed the trunk to a young man, then straightened her back and lowered her eyes, putting on a proper demeanor like a cloak. Would you care to refresh yourselves before breakfast? file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Bureaublad/N...20-%20Freedom's%20S isters/Krit_0553902784_oeb_c11_r1.htm (9 of 13)5-1-2007 1:02:11 Page 83 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Freedom sSisters Yes, thank you, I said. She wasn t as skittish as most slaves of sorceresses& of course, we were on foreign ground here. Maybe she was a freeborn servant and not a slave at all. She showed us directly to a privy, then to a small bath house where we could wash our faces and hands with cool water and scented soap. Then we followed her through a garden to a room of polished wood and indigo linen. A large fan of woven rushes and huge feathers hung on the wall. Parvaneh took it down, held it up, and waited. The fan leapt [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |