The Fire Seer Read Free Page B

apart and hoarded our Gifts, even the precious fragments of the mother tongue, which is the language of magic. In those days, we fought amongst ourselves, and our enemies picked us off until few of us remained. But like the quail, we have learned wisdom. We have joined together and combined our strength. As long as we remain united and loyal to one another, as long as we preserve the secret of the mother tongue, our kind shall endure forever.”
    Taya’s heart beat faster. All her life, she’d heard the Coalition spoken of with scorn and hatred for their secrecy and stringent laws. She’d never before heard the reasons behind those laws. Of course the magical had to stick together.
    “Now, to business,” said the ilittum . “All of you possess the Gift and have been granted the rank of initiate. Beginning tomorrow, you will commence your training. It will take nine years of instruction for you to learn the mother tongue and its proper use. When your training is complete, you will assume the rank of ilittum , and for the rest of your useful lifetime, you will serve the Coalition in whatever capacity suits your particular talents.”
    An artisan-caste boy raised his hand. “Do we get paid?”
    Some of the children tittered.
    The ilittum smiled. “As a member of the Coalition, you will have the best of everything. You will be treated like a prince or a princess everywhere you go. You will receive all Coalition services for free. And when you are qualified and actively serving, you will be paid. Currently, the illitu receive six gold sticks per season.”
    Some children gasped, and even the ruling-caste boys looked impressed. For Taya, the amount was incomprehensible. She could send much of it home to her family and still have more than she would ever need for herself.
    “Let me remind you of a few important things,” said the ilittum . “You were all born into either the ruling caste, the artisan caste, or the farmer caste. But in the Coalition, there are no castes. When you join us, you will give up your old caste and just be Coalition.”
    Taya sat up straighter. Since she was farmer caste, this was good news for her. She glanced slyly around the room and noted, with satisfaction, the alarmed looks on the faces of the ruling-caste children.
    “In the Coalition, we are all equals. This goes for girls as well as boys, women as well as men. Some of you may be accustomed to households in which men are the leaders and women are the followers. But the Mothers grant their Gift in equal strength to both sexes; therefore, in the Coalition, men and women have equal rank. Should you join us, you must accept this.”
    Taya supposed the boys might have some trouble with that. For her part, she liked the Coalition more and more.
    “Now we come to the difficult part.” The ilittum assumed a stern look. “It is not only your privilege, as a recipient of the Gift, to join the Coalition, it is your duty. You must spend at least one week with us, learning our ways. If, at the end of that time, you desire to return to your family instead of joining us, you may do so. But first you will drink this.” The ilittum reached into her pocket and drew out a cloth bundle. Unwrapping it, she revealed a tiny ceramic vial. “This is kimat . Drink a sip, and your magic will be disabled for a day. Drink the whole bottle, and your magic will be destroyed forever. If you choose not to join the Coalition, you must drink kimat to destroy your magic. Who among you knows what a jackal is?”
    Many hands went up.
    “I’m glad most of you know. For the benefit of those who don’t, a jackal is someone magical who operates outside the authority of the Coalition,” said the ilittum . “If you were to leave here without taking kimat , you would be a jackal. The penalty for being a jackal is death by fire. You will join us or you will take kimat . Is that clear?”
    “Yes, ilittum ,” the class intoned.
    Taya shrugged. Why did they even have to offer