Heroes' Reward Read Free Page B

doing the job well were inborn.
    Taro closed his
eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “How can whales remain unseen by so
many?”
    There were still
people who refused to admit Fiona was an excellent titleholder and they
wouldn’t see anything that contradicted them. They enjoyed their increased
prosperity while claiming everything had been better in the good old days, when
a proper Karish held the title. The illogic was baffling.
    “I believe they
want Shield Kebit to learn about casting,” I told Fiona. “I think they may have
chosen him in particular for this reason.”
    Fiona’s eyebrows
flew up. “Why?”
    “They didn’t say
and I can’t guess. They’ve asked me a lot of questions about casting in the
past, but I’ve always received the impression they disapproved of it.” Though
maybe what they truly disapproved of was the fact that I was learning about it
without their permission or supervision.
    “I don’t like
this,” said Fiona. “I’m not prepared to expose my people to accusations of
violating casting laws.”
    “I understand
completely. And it’s not as though you’re legally required to arrange for their
instruction. I certainly don’t have the authority to force you. Nor does the
Triple S.”
    Fiona spent a
moment in contemplation. “I’ll put it to Browne. She would be the one to
provide any instruction, and introducing newcomers to the local healer wouldn’t
be seen as unusual.”
    Fiona had so
much common sense.
    “I’ve been
ordered to arrange for their settlement in Flown Raven,” I added.
    “They can live
here. All the better to keep an eye on them until I know what they’re about.”
    I sighed. “I’m
sorry you were dragged into this.”
    She smiled.
“You’re assuming this is all about you.”
    “Well … aye.”
And I was embarrassed. Sometimes I was so inward thinking.
    “Ah, the
arrogance of youth.”
    She was only a
few years older than me.
    Taro and I went
to our suite. We started pulling out some of the stuff we had to pack, then
looked at the enormous piles with dismay.
    “I can’t believe
how much we’ve accumulated,” said Taro. “It would be impossible for us to take
it all.”
    “We could give
it away,” I suggested.
    “We’d have to
rip our braids out of all the clothes first.”
    “Ugh.”
    Sources were
identified by a black braid sewn into their clothing on their left shoulder,
Shields by a white braid. It was illegal for regulars to wear them. It would be
a nitpicky task, pulling out the braids, and we had a lot of clothing. Still,
we couldn’t just bin it all. That would be a vile waste and would be
interpreted by the regulars as a lack of gratitude.
    We didn’t see
the other Pair for the rest of the day, nor the day after. In addition to
dealing with the clothing we were leaving behind, I went through my records
about all of our experiences with channelling in Flown Raven and rewrote those
portions I didn’t want strangers reading. During this process, I received a
note from Browne asking me to visit her the next day an hour before dawn.
    This meant the
casting Circle was meeting. At a ridiculous time of the day, at a secret
location. Maintaining the fiction that no one knew the casting Circle existed.
    So, in the
darkness before dawn, I pulled out the ridiculous yellow robe such occasions
demanded I wear, silently climbed down the many stairs of the manor, and made
my way through the cool and slightly foggy air to Browne’s cottage.
    Browne greeted
me with, “I understand you and Source Karish are leaving.”
    I accepted her
cup of tea. “Aye.”
    “We’ll miss
you.”
    That was sweet.
“Thank you. I’ll miss being here.”
    “Do you know
this Pair at all?”
    “No.”
    “Not even the
Shield? I always understood that the student populations of the Academies
weren’t all that big.”
    “They aren’t,
but Kebit could be eight years younger than I. I wouldn’t have interacted with
him.”
    “That’s
unfortunate. I would