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public one.
She had also been given an assistant, Servant Kikarn. He was an ugly man, so
skinny he looked perpetually stern, but she was discovering that he had a sharp
wit and intelligence. As she sat down he placed a particularly long list on her
table and she suppressed a groan. The corridor must be crowded today, she
thought wryly.
What did the wind blow in this morning?
Kikarn chuckled. Everything from gold dust to litter, he replied. The
merchant Ario wishes to bribe er, give the Second Voice a large donation.
How much?
Enough to build a new Temple.
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Impressive. What does he want in return?
Nothing, of course.
She smiled. We ll see. What else?
A woman who was a palace domestic in Kave claims the High Chieftain s wife
has taken to worshipping a dead god. She says she has proof.
She must be sure of it, or she wouldn t approach Second Voice Imenja.
Unless she is ignorant of the Voices mind-reading skills.
We shall see. She looked down the list and stopped at a familiar name.
Thinker Kuerres?
He is here to see you.
Not Imenja?
No.
What does he want?
He won t say, but he insists that it s an urgent matter. Someone s life may
depend on it.
Someone s life would have to be at stake before the Thinkers deigned to speak to
me again, she mused.
And the others.
Not as important as the first two.
The first two will take some time. Send Kuerres in. I ve never known him to
exaggerate or lie. Most likely they want to know what I did with my books and
instruments.
Kikarn bowed his head. As he moved to the door she considered what she knew
of Kuerres. He was one of the quieter Thinkers. He d never been unkind to her,
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though he hadn t paid much attention to her either. She frowned as she searched
her memory for facts that might prove useful. He had a family. He kept a
menagerie of exotic animals.
That was all she could remember. She recognized the middle-aged man who
entered the room, but his manner was nothing like she remembered. He glanced
around the room nervously, his face pale and his hands clasped together.
Thinker Kuerres, she said. It is good to see you again. Sit down.
Servant Reivan, he said, tracing a star over his chest. He eyed Kikam, then
stepped forward and dropped into the chair.
What brings you to the Sanctuary? she asked.
I& I have a crime to report.
She paused. She d assumed he was nervous about being in the Sanctuary and
talking to people of importance. Now she began to wonder if he d got himself
into some kind of trouble.
Go on, she said.
He took a deep breath. We the Thinkers were approached by a trader
yesterday. A rich trader who wanted information and was willing to pay
generously for it. Kuerres paused and met her eyes. He wanted to know about
the Elai.
The sea people? Some of the Thinkers don t even believe they exist.
Yes. We told him all we knew, but he wasn t satisfied. He asked if any of us
knew much about keeping wild animals and I offered my services.
Reivan smiled. Let me guess: he d bought some kind of large, strange sea
creature and thought it might be the origin of the legend?
Kuerres shook his head. Rather the opposite. I offered to help him. I was
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curious. He took me to his home. What I found there was& he shuddered &
horrible. A sick, frightened child but a child like none I ve ever seen before.
Thick black skin. Entirely hairless. Large hands and feet with webbing between
fingers and toes.
Feet? No fish tail?
No fish tail. No gills either. But definitely a& a being of the water. I have no
doubt this child is one of the Elai.
Reivan felt a thrill of excitement, but suppressed it out of habit. Thinkers did not
allow their reason to be overtaken by emotion. It was too easy to convince
oneself of something if one wanted to badly enough.
Did this merchant say where he found her?
No. He complained that she d cost a fortune and talked about her like she was
an animal. He shook his head in disgust. She is no animal. She is a human. He
is breaking our laws by buying and keeping her.
Enslaving an innocent. She nodded. Who is this trader?
His nose wrinkled. Devlein Wheelmaker. He is a Genrian. He changed his
name before the war.
Reivan nodded. I know of him. I will bring this to the Second Voice s attention
later today and I m sure she will have someone
You have to do something now! he interrupted. I m sure he suspects that I
will report him. He might get rid of her kill her before you get there!
He stared at her earnestly, obviously deeply concerned for the safely of this sea
girl. Reivan pressed her palms together and considered.
If the merchant believed the child was an animal he would reason that he hadn t
committed any crime. Nevertheless, he wouldn t take the risk that others would
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come to the same conclusion as Kuerres. The punishment for enslaving an
innocent was to be enslaved. He ll either kill her or move her somewhere else,
depending on how much she cost him. Either way, the faster we act, the more
likely it is we will find the girl before he does anything to her.
But leaving the Sanctuary to rescue a child wasn t part of her duties, and she
didn t have the authority to search the man s property. She needed Imenja s
help. Was this important enough to interrupt the Second Voice?
Am I simply curious to know if this child is an Elai?
Whether she is an Elai or not, she is being kept like an animal. Imenja will want
to do something about that.
Taking a deep breath, she placed a hand on the pendant and closed her eyes.
:Imenja?
She waited, then called again. Not having much Skill in the use of magic, it often
took several attempts before she managed to get the pendant to work. Finally an
answer came.
:Is that you, Reivan?
:It is.
:Good morning. What has you calling me so early?
:A report of a crime.
:Tell me.
She related Kuerres s story of the sea girl.
:That is appalling. You must free her. If the girl is not there, bring the merchant
to me. I will read her location from his mind.
:I will. I think I may need assistance.
:Yes. Take Kilcarn. Contact me as soon as you find her.
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:I will.
Opening her eyes, Reivan found Kuerres staring at her. She smothered a smile at
his curiosity.
We will deal with this right away, she told him. Servant Kikarn made a small
noise of protest. She guessed he was thinking of the visitors still waiting to be
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