Tarashana by Rachel Neumeier (best novels to read for students .TXT) 📗

too much occupied all day—or she had been, at the times I looked for her. Now, as she came up to me, I asked her, “Did Esau tell you anything?”

She gave me a raisin pastry and an exasperated look. “Hardly anything. Not enough.” Grabbing my arm, she pulled me out of the courtyard, to the open side where the barracks opened out to the pastures and hills and cliffs beyond the town. Flowers and small trees and shrubs had been planted all along that side of the courtyard. Everyone pretended they could not see through or past or over the plants. Lalani had had to explain this courtesy to me, since it made no sense at all.

Trees had been left in the open country there, for shade, and benches stood under the trees. Ordinarily women and men would sit there in the shade, or more likely on the grass in the sun, but never at the same time. At this hour the women were busy and the men were eating, so no one was there except the horses beyond the fence. Lalani pulled me into the shade and demanded, “All right, what is Esau doing this time? Is it dangerous? Is that why he left without telling me anything about his mission?”

“No,” I promised her. I had known she would ask me—she was very protective of her file, and she liked Esau very much. I had thought about what I could tell her. I said, “I know what he is supposed to do and I think it is not dangerous at all.” I had looked at a map, so I could add, “I think it may take him fifteen or twenty days, maybe more, to go to the place he is supposed to go. I do not know how long his task may take or whether he will return immediately. He may not return for some time.”

Lalani listened to this and nodded because she knew I would tell her only the truth, but she asked, “If it’s not dangerous, then why wouldn’t he tell me anything?”

“I think he may be supposed to do things that could be considered to go against the law. I am certain of it.”

“Oh!” She was quiet for a moment, thinking about this.

I ate the pastry and brushed the crumbs off my hands. I knew Aras had meant me not to speak of the young woman in Pitasosa, so I should not. Even so, I thought Lalani should know that Esau meant to marry that woman. I said, “Perhaps you should ask Aras about the task he gave Esau. I think you should ask him.”

She looked at me sharply. A soldier would never have asked Aras anything of the kind, even if he were Esau’s friend. But a woman followed different rules. I was not certain the Lau would think it right for Lalani to ask Aras such a question, but I thought she might ask him if I suggested it. Though I would say nothing of the matter, I thought Aras should tell her the truth.

“Fine, I’ll ask him,” she said. “Certainly I’d like to know what kind of incredibly secret task Aras sent Esau to do for him.” She sat down on the nearest bench and patted it, inviting me to sit with her. She would not have done that if anyone were watching. Probably some of the other women could see us, but they would pretend they did not see anything improper. If a man happened to see us, he would not say anything either. No one wanted to irritate Esau Karuma or the men of his file ... and no one wanted to offend me, either. I would not kill any soldier sworn to Aras, but now and then, if I had reason, I fought someone in earnest and not for training.

I sat down. Lalani looked at me, a searching look. “People are saying you had an argument with Aras.”

His talon commanders sometimes—often—called him by name. So did I. His soldiers and the people in the town did not, even when no one important was listening. But when they were alone, the women often called him by name, except those who were afraid of him. Lalani was not afraid of anyone. She was like my younger sister in that way, if not in many other ways.

I said, “They overspeak. We disagree about what he should do with the assassin’s family. That is not an argument.”

She nodded, understanding. “That’s why you’ve been staying away from him. Because you don’t want it to turn into the kind of disagreement you’d have to call an argument.” She tucked her bare feet onto the bench, underneath her skirt. She was wearing the kind of very simple dress Lau women wear, sleeveless, falling from shoulder to ankle, gathered with a cord that crossed between her breasts and wrapped around her waist. Though the dress was simple and plain, it was a pretty color, a light milky blue. The cord was a darker blue, with copper beads to weight the ends, and today she wore three copper bangles on her left arm and two on her right. Her ears were pierced and the long twisted copper wires of her earrings gave her features added delicacy and accented the slender length of her throat. I thought Lau would consider her beautiful. I thought her so, though her beauty was very different from the rounded beauty of Ugaro women.

She said, “If all those people have to be executed, he’ll do it.” Then, because she was observant and intelligent and had known me for more than a year, she said, “That’s what you don’t like.” She gave me a look. “I thought you barbarian Ugaro were so fierce until I knew you, Ryo.”

“My people can be cruel,” I told her. “You should think about how I came here.” I waited for her to remember I had