Under A Velvet Cloak Read Free Page B

ground. “But say you have talent in finding springs,” he said. “Find it, do not openly make it.”
    “Maybe that’s what the spell actually does.”
    He tapped the top of a projecting stone. “Perhaps.” Water spouted from a hitherto unseen crack.
    With air, it was a swirl that could stir up fallen leaves and dust, making a little funnel shape. With earth, it was a vibration that could shake foundations. “Do not overdo any of these,” he said. “Keep them limited, for they are dangerous when overdone, apart from branding you as a sorceress.”
    “I can see how fire can spread and become dangerous,” she said. “And too much water could make a flood. But where’s the harm in a little swirl or vibration?”
    “A big swirl can fling cows around and destroy huts. A big vibration can shake down all the houses in a town.”
    She was amazed. “All that?”
    “If you have enough power. Not many do, but you have such aptitude you may. Never test your limit except when the need is dire.”
    She was happy to agree.
    There was immediate application for the things she was learning. At one village, there was a problem with fire; several houses had burned, yet the people were not at all careless with their hearths. Morely was busy with others, as the villagers flocked in to demand his services, so Kerena tackled it alone.
    Her Seeing gave her the hint, and her new technique confirmed it. “You have a salamander,” she told them. “This is an elemental fire spirit that plays joyously in natural fires, and shows sometimes as the Will o the-Wisp. This one is a rogue, spreading unnatural fires. You can see it if you focus properly.” She showed them how to
do
that, taking deep breaths, observing the tongues of flame closely, listening for the salamander’s crackling smoky voice in the singing embers. Once observed, it could be dealt with, either tamed or banished. Soon the villagers were seeing it, and knew their problem would be solved.
    At another village there came a messenger from the estate of a wealthy trader: “Master wants to know do you interpret dreams?”
    “Of course; we are expert,” Morely said with his public air of confidence. “My girl will handle it.”
    Thus rapidly, and not quite confidently, Kerena found herself following the boy to his master’s house. She had memorized the dream symbols and standard interpretations, because Morely had impressed on her the importance of dreams in the popular mind. “I think they mean nothing, other than fragments glimpsed as the mind sorts out feelings,” he said. “But there is extensive literature, and belief is strong.” So she was prepared, but not at all sanguine about tackling it alone.
    “I dreamed I was in a garden surrounded by marvelous blooms,” the merchant said. “But when I went to take one, lo, it was an arrow. Then it was a thread, which wrapped around and bound my hands, and I felt horribly helpless and afraid. I woke sweating and uneasy, but I have no idea why.”
    Kerena’s apprehension faded. There were symbols here, and she could work with them. “I will not presume to question your business,” she said. “I know nothing about it. But I can tell you that blooms indicate productivity.”
    “Of course,” he agreed. “I am quite successful.”
    “But an arrow means sending a letter which you may rue.”
    He winced. “I did write a letter to a prospective client, but it was very positive. I have new exotic cloth from afar that is not only better than local cloth, but cheaper. He can do very well with it.”
    “And thread means tangled situations. Tied hands is difficulty in getting out of trouble.”
    He looked stricken. “I just remembered: his wife weaves similar cloth. He will not be pleased by this competition. He may cut me off entirely. Why didn’t I think of that before?”
    “Your dream knew,” Kerena said, seeing the rational explanation. “It was unable to warn you until you slept.”
    “I must get that letter