Laurie Marks Elemental Logic 02 Earth Logic

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His mouth opened; he sucked her finger hungrily.
She said, more to herself than to him, �So the child creates the parent, eh?
Backwards though it seems?� She added, �Listen, little guy. I have to tell
you
some surprising news: you aren�t going to be a soldier.�
As they entered the run-down, back-alley house with a roof that seemed
certain
to leak and a garden that was piled with frozen ordure, Garland could hear a
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muted commotion of cleaning, of furniture being brought in and the rapid,
confident banging of several carpenters� hammers. They entered a big, crowded
kitchen, and Garland was immediately irritated to see how far advanced the
cooking had gotten without his help. A survey of the first-floor rooms
revealed
that all the bedrooms were in the midst of a frenzy of cleaning, so he told
Norina to bring Karis into the parlor. As Garland put together a plate of
bread
and cold meat and got a pot of tea steeping, J�han arrived with Leeba,
followed
by a woman carrying two exhausted ravens. In the parlor, Karis held Leeba on
her
lap, and listened, as though she had no other concerns, to her daughter�s
excited account of alphabet lessons, ice skating, and playing with a pet
ferret.
J�han had gotten Karis�s boots off and was affectionately admonishing her for
getting her feet wet.
Garland sat on the stool beside Karis and piled a little mound of cold ham
onto
a small, slim square of black bread, dabbed it with mustard, and decorated it
with transparent sweet pickles. This he rather summarily slipped into Karis�s
mouth. Leeba found the operation hilarious and demanded that she be allowed
to
help. Karis ate passively and obediently from her daughter�s hand. For the
first
time, Garland could see the lingering ghost of Karis the smoke addict, who
had
gotten in the habit of cooperating with the people who worked to make her
survive a drug that eventually killed everyone who used it. It was a terrible
insight.
Garland felt Norina�s discomforting gaze on him, as he piled up more ham for
Leeba to feed to Karis. �Careful�don�t let it fall apart,� he said, as the
little girl snatched it from him.
�Karis doesn�t like pickles,� Leeba announced when a pickle slice fell to the
floor.
�She does so. You�re the one who doesn�t like pickles.�
�The ravens don�t even like pickles,� Leeba persisted, as Emil came in with
another raven. �Open up!� she said severely to her mother, and jammed the
food
into her mouth.
Garland glanced at Norina finally. The Truthken had done something to
Karis�had
grabbed hold of her somehow and pulled her back from a cliff she was about to
fall over. Now the danger was past, and Norina looked cool and distant as
ever,
and the hand she rested on Karis�s shoulder was merely reminding her that she
was there.
�Emil, that pot on the table should be ready to pour,� Garland said.
Emil had put his raven on the back of a chair. �Bless you,� he said sincerely
and began pouring tea. �Do you want some, Karis?�
�No tea,� J�han said. �By Shaftal, she�s going to sleep.�
Karis wiped mustard from her lip. �I am? How?�
�Feet first.� J�han had one of Karis�s big, callused feet in his hands. He
reached for the oil that he had set on the hearth to melt and proceeded with
a
demonstration.
Karis sank visibly into her chair. �The Sainnites�� she began.
Mabin, who had just come in, said, �Karis, give some credit to your people.
If
Sainnites start tearing things apart, we�ll take care of it. You don�t
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actually
have to solve every single problem with your own hands.�
As Emil gave Mabin a confused look, Norina uttered a sharp laugh. �Are you
supplanting me as Karis�s scold? I doubt she can endure two of us, but I�d be
glad to find a new occupation.�
�No, thank you. It seems a pointless job.�
Emil went to lean wearily by the fireplace. �Karis, I�m told the Sainnites
managed to get two parties of soldiers over the wall, but that the soldiers
seem
very skittish and are only going through the motions of hunting for us. Every
person in Watfield is keeping an eye on them. Believe me, it is safe for you
to
sleep.�
Karis had shut her eyes. Whatever J�han was doing to her foot seemed
irresistible. �I suppose,� she said. �Since they�re got no weapons.�
Emil straightened sharply, and had to steady his teacup in its saucer. �None
at
all?�
Karis murmured, �J�han, I concede. Your power is greater than mine.�
J�han said, �Leeba, let Karis lie down on the floor. You can help her take a
nap, if you want to.�
�Even the edged weapons?� said Emil, as Leeba crawled off Karis�s lap.
�Dull beyond repair,� said Karis. �Even the kitchen knives.�
Garland stood up. �I�ll get some blankets and a pillow.�
But he paused at the door, distressed suddenly by the memory of that tired
and
hungry soldier, the lieutenant-general, reeling back from the general�s
vicious
blow. �Emil?�
Emil was sipping spilled tea out of his saucer. He gave Garland a glance of a
sort that had never been directed at him before: not merely inquiring, but
respectful. It was unnerving.
�Do you want to make the Sainnites completely desperate?� Garland asked.
�No, no, not at all. I want them reasonable.�
�Without kitchen knives, they�ll have nothing to eat but porridge. That�s
going
to make them desperate.�
Emil gazed at him thoughtfully, obviously waiting for a suggestion.
�Let�s feed them a decent meal,� Garland said.
Mabin uttered a snort of disbelief. �Five hundred soldiers?�
Emil, leaning on the wall again, crossed one booted foot over the other. �Oh,
Garland can do it,� he said.
A tap at the door awoke Clement, and she was surprised to find that the room
had
grown dark, the fire had burned to coals, and her infant son slept in her
arms,
in the tangled mess the girl-nurse had made of the blankets on the bed. The
medic had come by to set her broken nose. The pain had been awful, but
somehow
she had fallen into a doze despite it.
The door opened. �Clem? Can I come in?� It was Gilly.
�Has the garrison fallen apart yet?� Clement asked indifferently. She got up,
and helped her old friend to a chair, and put the baby in his arms. The baby
squinted at Gilly, yawned, and uttered a mild complaint.
Gilly blinked down at the infant, and smiled reluctantly. �This G�deon
exercises
a cruel generosity, eh? She gives you your heart�s desire so you can destroy
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yourself with it. But you�re so glad you don�t even care that you�re dead.�
�She apologized,� Clement said wryly. She lit a lamp, looked around rather [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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