Journey To Light: Part I of the High Duties of Pacia by Bob Craton
***
“Well, now we know he’s married,” Graice said when she opened her eyes. Sybille studied the young Sistére’s face closely. Was Graice showing a trace of disappointment?
“It’s too soon to wake him, Graice,” Sybille said after they had moved to their own tent. “You can tell me what happened now.”
Graice described exactly what she’d seen and then said, “At least this contact lasted longer than the first. I didn’t make a link but I’ve got a better idea of where to look next time. And when I said her eyes were blue I didn’t mean the exact shade as his. Hers are lighter but still it’s significant that . . .”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. People with blue eyes live all over the northland, Graice, from Nordenio across Amicitia and even into Sarkonia. And you know about Kêltikæ and the other Isles too.”
“If you say so, Madrére. But it’s interesting that you failed to mention the one place I was thinking about.”
“I just said don’t jump, Graice. It could be someplace else.”
“The white paving stones were hard and polished. Chalkstone is porous, isn’t it?” Graice said instead.
“Yes.”
“Then it wasn’t chalkstone that I saw.”
“Albivite, perhaps?”
“I don’t know. Unfortunately, I’m not an expert on masonry. I’m certain it wasn’t chalkstone but I can’t say exactly what it was,” replied Graice. “Also there was a building behind the dais on the courtyard but he paid no attention to it. I did recognize Patroness Gildea and Patron Edric, Ermine Ragnér from Riviarre, and relatives of Regis Augustin from Niazport as well. They looked younger than they do now and Ermine wasn’t Premier yet so this happened before his father died. Holder didn’t look closely enough at the Madrére and Sistéres who were there for me to identify them. The Madrére wasn’t you, was she?”
“No. I would recognize Holder’s face if I’d been there.”
“We could find out which Madrére did attend. It was a very big occasion involving extremely important people.”
“Unfortunately we don’t have time to send a message back to Avont House to get an answer,” Sybille said. “Graice, it’s customary for people to say their names while taking marriage vows.”
“What? Oh! How could I have missed that?” Graice said in alarm. “I didn’t break contact again, did I?”
“You didn’t let go of his hand this time.”
“I’m glad but I still didn’t hear any names. These connections are tricky and can be lost for any number of reasons. It’s also possible that Holder could shut down a memory if it became too painful.”
“That’s obviously not what happened on this occasion,” commented Sybille.
“No, he was very happy. Madrére, if we ever meet his wife I’ll recognize her instantly. She’s young and beautiful and every curve of her face shows clearly in his mind. Are you certain you’ve never seen Holder before?”
“First, you’re guessing again about where this scene occurred.”
“It’s the same guess I made before, Madrére, not a new one.”
“Well, try to control your imagination anyway. Admittedly I didn’t help matters by putting the thought of albivite in your head – and yes, I admit such walls could only mean one possible place. Second, contrary to what you might think, I didn’t meet everyone of importance when I was in Abbelôn. Certainly not everyone in all of Pàçia,” Sybille said. “And third, my last visit was seven years before the fall. He would have been – what? – seventeen at the time.”
“Your reaction is interesting again, Madrére. I just asked if you’ve seen him before.” Graice said nothing else but a great many other things went through her mind. Sybille could not hide the fact – not from Graice – that she did indeed have a strong guess about Holder’s identity, and the Madrére was mentally berating herself for not having seen it before leaving Matik.
During the morning, they passed through two small and un-prosperous villages. Afterwards when Holder called back to the women to say they had left behind the last populated spots before the Fallal Valley, Graice asked him, “May I switch places with Ignacio and sit up front for a while?”
“If it’s all right with him,” Holder replied. Ignacio nodded his consent and Holder pulled the waybeasts to a stop. As Ignacio climbed down from the bench and Graice emerged from the rear of the wagon, Holder called out, “Mother Sægesse may take a turn later if she likes. Ignacio assures me she won’t transform me into a reptile so I should be safe.”
“I think Ignacio’s sense of humor is starting to rub off on you, Holder,” Graice said as she approached the bench.
“Is that good?”
“It’s excellent,” Ignacio called out. “You’re becoming droll and subtly witty.”
“Is that how you describe it?” Holder replied. “I would use different words except Graice wouldn’t approve.”
Graice smiled at him when she took her seat and he returned the smile for a moment. But then his face saddened and she knew why.
“Try not to be too disappointed because you can’t recall the events I saw in your memory, Holder,” Graice said.
“Can you imagine how it feels to know you’re married and not remember your wife?”
“No, I can’t. I’ll be quiet if you prefer, but would it bother you too much if I asked about some of the details that I saw?”
“Go ahead. I said no secrets.”
“Well for one thing, it seemed to me that your bride’s father officiated at the ceremony.”
“Of course he did. My father-in-law was . . .was . . .,” he tried to say but then his face contorted in frustration. “I almost remembered something! Why can’t I get it straight in my head?”
“Don’t get upset, Holder. Something good just happened. Let me explain. I thought I hadn’t found the link I mentioned but I must have touched a small tendril of it, at least. Otherwise you wouldn’t have come so close to remembering as you just did. If you get too upset now, it will hamper your progress.”
“Okay. I think I understand.”
“I need to explain something now about why Madrére Sybille would not promise to tell you everything we know,” said Graice. “She and I have done some speculating about your identity but there’s no certainty to our guesswork. If we tell you our guess and it turns out to be wrong, it will confuse you and make it harder to get to the truth.”
He thought for a moment and said, “I think I understand that, too. Do what you believe is best.”
As Holder spoke, Graice’s fingers touched a small lump under the collar of her dress and for the second time he noticed that she wore something hidden around her neck. He remembered her story about what she had worn as a newborn on the beach of Kêltikæ but didn’t ask about it. After all, he had a little charm of his own tucked under his shirt.
When they stopped for the sixth night, Holder told Graice, “We’re making about as much progress as I expected. This road – if you can call it a road now – deteriorates even more ahead so we’ll move slowly for the next few days, but then we’ll speed up on the other side of the hills. It’ll take another eight days or so to reach it, but the Fallal Valley is flat and level, and before long we’ll intersect a road to Lucidus. It won’t be a highway but most roads leading to Lucidus are decent.”
“Don’t worry, Holder,” she replied. “Who knows what would have happened if you hadn’t brought us this way. You haven’t seen that Sarkonian rider again, have you?”
“No, nothing suspicious at all since that first day. Graice, will we be able to try again tonight? Another dream, I mean.”
“Neither of us should push too fast. It really is stressful for both of us.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to do something that’s hard for you,” Holder said. “It’s just that I shouldn’t take the elixir tomorrow night or the next few after that. We’ll reach the edge of the hills tomorrow and be in the middle of them the following days. I’ll need to stay a
“Well, if we’ll take several nights off afterwards, then another session tonight should be possible.”