Beyond the Boundary Stones (The Chronicles of Tevenar Book 3) Read online

  Gevan swept her a bow. “Yes, your majesty.”

  “Take them to my steward. He’ll arrange for acquisition of the promised goods and hiring of the necessary ships. I want you to oversee the process and make sure everything is done according to our agreement.”

  Gevan bowed again, gave Elkan a nod and an encouraging look, and hurried off. Kevessa shot Josiah a smile and followed her father. Elkan headed toward the door the Matriarch had indicated, Tobi padding beside him, and beckoned for Josiah and Sar to follow.

  “Stop,” the Matriarch ordered. “I desire only your presence, Master Elkan.” Her voice went deceptively sweet. “Unless you require help?”

  Elkan eyed her levelly. “I require the help of my familiar, of course. And with your permission, I’d like to include my apprentice in your treatment. He has some experience in dealing with the problem I suspect you suffer from, and this will be a good opportunity to instruct him further. In addition, I anticipate that if we’re able to help you conceive, you’ll require the Mother’s power throughout your pregnancy to keep you and the child healthy. If anything should happen to me before the child is born there wouldn’t be time to send to Tevenar for another wizard, but Josiah could continue your treatments if he knows what’s needed.”

  The Matriarch turned her disconcerting gaze on Josiah. He held his breath. He almost hoped she’d refuse Elkan’s request so he wouldn’t have to stay in her presence.

  But she gave a curt nod. “A wise precaution. Come along, boy.” She rose from her ornate chair, swept down the steps from the dais, and proceeded toward the door. Josiah grabbed Sar’s mane for courage and followed.

  The room beyond the door was smaller than the audience chamber, but even more ornate. Rich velvet drapes swathed the walls, and lush embroidery decorated the upholstered furniture. The Matriarch dismissed all but two guards, who took up stations by the door. She turned to a waiting servant. “Send for Lady Yerenna to join us.” As the woman bustled away, the Matriarch sank onto a long couch. “My wise woman,” she told Elkan. “She’ll be able to answer any questions you have about my condition.”

  “Excellent.” Elkan seated himself in a chair facing the Matriarch. Tobi sprawled at his feet. Josiah pulled another close beside him and plopped into it. He was worn out from the hours of healing in the Beggars’ Quarter. Hopefully this initial examination wouldn’t take much energy. Sar stationed himself beside Josiah’s chair, quiet and watchful.

  Elkan assumed his usual warm, relaxed attitude. He leaned toward the Matriarch and fixed her with a gaze that managed to convey both focused attention and earnest concern. Josiah did his best to copy it, but he knew he had a long way to go before he mastered the full effect. “Gevan told me a little of your history, but I’d like to hear it directly from you. He said your first child was a son?”

  Josiah thought he saw a shadow darken the Matriarch’s face, but she answered readily. “That’s right. I married Shorren when I was nineteen, soon after my mother died and I became Matriarch. Tenorran was born the next year. The pregnancy was easy, the birth long but uncomplicated. He thrived from the beginning.” Her hands curled into fists, and she looked to the side. “I was a naive child. I thought everything would come to me with equal ease.”

  “But it didn’t.” Elkan’s voice was soft and accepting.

  “No. I was pregnant again by the time he was six months old. I miscarried at two months. Everyone assured me it meant nothing. They quit saying that after the next two. The third was old enough to tell she was a girl. I’d already felt her moving.” She closed her eyes, her painted face frozen into a blank mask, then opened them and resumed in the same emotionless voice. “I lost twelve in all. One lived a day, but she was too early and struggled for every breath. Another made it to term, but was pale and sickly and died when she was six days old.”

  Elkan didn’t say anything, but reached for the Matriarch’s hands. She ignored him. After a moment he pulled his hands back.

  She shrugged and went on. “I consulted many wise women and physicians. Some of them told me losses like this could be caused by the father, and another man might be able to give me a living child. So I divorced Shorren and chose a new husband. Another stillbirth, so I divorced him as well. Four more times the same, until I could bear it no longer. I swore I would never wed again.”

  She shook her head. “Then I learned of my cousin Malka’s conversion to Purifier ways. The only way to prevent her from inheriting the Matriarchy after me and delivering Ramunna to the Purifiers was to bear a daughter of my own. I fought the idea for more than a year. Then I met Renarre.”

  Was that a slight softening of her expression? Josiah wasn’t sure whether he’d imagined it, and it was gone in an instant if it had been there at all. “We married, and I waited to become pregnant, but it never happened. I should have divorced him, too, but I kept hoping and seeking other remedies. Eventually, though, I knew I had no choice. If the Verinna hadn’t found Tevenar and brought you here, I would have cast him off and tried again with another.” She looked directly at Elkan. “I still will, if necessary.”

  “Hopefully it won’t be. I’ll need to examine him as well,” Elkan told her. “Since you conceived easily with others, it’s likely he suffers from a condition that impairs his ability to father a child. Certain types the Mother’s power can reverse, though others are permanent. It is true that women with the disorder suggested by your history can sometimes have healthy pregnancies with a different father. But that disorder can also be helped by the Mother’s power. If you and your husband are able to conceive, and the child is affected the way your others were, we can give you regular treatments that will reverse the effects and keep the baby healthy.”

  The Matriarch gazed at him. Either Josiah was getting better at reading her reactions, or her emotions were overcoming her tremendous skill at hiding them. Hunger blazed from her eyes and radiated from every line of her body. “If you can accomplish that, I will reward you beyond your wildest dreams.”

  “No reward will be necessary save the help you’ve promised Tevenar.” Elkan quirked her a wry smile, which Josiah recognized as an effort to lighten the mood. “Although I might be able to think of something both the Mother and I would like.”

  She regarded him with haughty coldness, but Josiah detected a hint of teasing in the way her eyebrows arched. “You must earn it first.”

  “Of course.” He shifted in his chair and laid his hand on Tobi’s head. “May we examine you now?”

  “Do so.” Her lips tightened. “Do you wish me to lie down or remove my clothing? You healers always seem to require the most distasteful intimacies.”

  “Not now. Possibly later, depending on what we find. Just sit back and relax.”

  She gave a little snort, but complied.

  Gold light flowed from Elkan’s hand to envelop her abdomen. “Josiah, you and Sar follow what I’m doing.”

  Josiah obediently put his hand on Sar’s back, and his familiar sent gold light pouring through him. He’d examined plenty of other women under Elkan’s guidance. The surreal sensations provided by the Mother’s power, so different from the way things really looked or felt, made it pretty easy to keep the proper professional attitude. As long as he didn’t think too much about the fact he was observing the reproductive organs of a woman his mother’s age.

  The impressions pouring into his senses agreed with what Elkan was saying aloud for the Matriarch’s benefit. “Everything seems healthy and functioning. You’re clearly still fertile. There are some changes typical of your age, but nothing that will cause serious problems. Even without intervention, I’d judge you have at least five more years before you reach menopause. And if necessary we can slow things down with the Mother’s power and delay it a few years.”

  The Matriarch let out her breath. “Do I suffer from the disorder you mentioned?”

  “We won’t be able to tell until you become pregnant and we observe how your body reacts. I see no reason why you s
houldn’t attempt to conceive as soon as possible. We’ll deal with things from there.”

  He sat back and took his hand from Tobi’s head, causing the gold light to vanish. Josiah copied him. Elkan gave the Matriarch an encouraging smile. “If you send for your husband, we’ll examine him as well. You’ll be at the most fertile part of your cycle in a few days, so with luck we can deal with whatever problem affects him in time for a good attempt this month. Of course, even if everything is working properly, it might take several months to see results.”

  The Matriarch rose and hurried to the door before he finished speaking. “Summon Lord Renarre immediately,” she ordered a servant who hovered outside. He bowed and rushed away.

  The Matriarch was beginning to turn when she stopped and beckoned. “Yerenna! Come in and meet the wizards.”

  Josiah judged the woman who entered to be close in age to her mistress, although without the Matriarch’s heavy paint the beginnings of wrinkles showed more clearly around her eyes and mouth, and her hair had a few threads of silver in contrast to the Matriarch’s bold black. She was nondescript in appearance save for her intelligent eyes, which roamed over Elkan, Josiah, and the familiars in a way that convinced Josiah she missed very little. “Greetings,” she said. “I must admit, when Verinna determined to find one of the lost ancient wizards, I was skeptical. But her will has always been indomitable, so I’m hardly surprised she managed it. If you can help her more than I’ve been able to, it will be a great blessing for Ramunna.”

  “That’s our hope.” Elkan gestured for her to take a seat near his. “I’d be very interested to hear what treatments you’ve found effective.”

  Yerenna spread her hands in a self-deprecating way as she sat down. “I’m happy to tell you, although I’m sure it will seem painfully inadequate to those who wield the Mother’s power. The palace is abuzz with tales of what you did in the Beggars’ Quarter today.”

  “On the contrary,” Elkan assured her. “There’s far more need in Ramunna than we’re able to meet. The more remedies available that don’t require the Mother’s power, the better. We’ve had little need in Tevenar to develop them, so I’m eager to learn of any the healers of Ravanetha have devised.”

  Josiah could tell Yerenna was pleased by Elkan’s respect for her skill, though she showed it only by a slight straightening of her posture. “In that case, there are a number of things I use that you might be interested in. Tincture of vitex is my most widely useful preparation. It’s very effective in regulating a woman’s cycles. Many times it’s all that’s needed to help a barren woman conceive. Then there’s a cream I prepare from wild yam that prevents early miscarriage. After Verinna brought me to the palace I began treating her with it, and she never lost another before the third month.” A shadow crossed her face. “Unfortunately it seems to have no effect on later losses.”

  Elkan looked thoughtful. “Hmm. The next time you use it, would you allow me to observe what it does?”

  “Certainly. Perhaps if Verinna—” She broke off, glancing at the Matriarch.

  The Matriarch smiled blandly at them. “Don’t mind me.” She angled her body away, looking toward a window where a soft breeze stirred the drapes. Outside, a few stars had become visible in the deep blue twilight.

  Josiah shifted impatiently as Elkan continued his discussion with Yerenna. It was all very interesting, Josiah supposed, but he wasn’t familiar with the less common complications of pregnancy, so most of it went over his head. He wished they’d finish so they could proceed to the feast the Matriarch had mentioned. He studied the intricate gold curlicues decorating the ceiling, wondering if they were actually made of the precious metal, or just painted to give that illusion.

  A softly cleared throat called him back to the present. He turned to find the Matriarch regarding him with an avidity far too intense for comfort. He blinked at her. “Ma’am?”

  She smiled tolerantly. “Everything here must seem very strange to you. You have nothing like my palace in your homeland, do you?”

  “No, ma’am.” Belatedly Josiah remembered the correct form of address. “Your majesty.”

  She waved his error away with a negligent hand. “I’m sure you have things there that would fascinate me, though they seem commonplace to you. Your animals, for instance.” She turned her gaze on Sar, who blinked his long lashes at her. “They’re clearly more than ordinary beasts.”

  “Well, yeah.” Josiah glanced anxiously at Elkan, but his master was deeply absorbed in conversation with Yerenna. Josiah was acutely aware of the need to keep the Matriarch from learning too much about Tevenar, for fear she’d use the information against them. But she was going to find out about the familiars eventually—they couldn’t use the Mother’s power on her regularly without her observing the most important parts. It couldn’t hurt to make sure she knew the truth from the beginning, or at least as much as anyone who wasn’t a wizard was allowed to know. That way she wouldn’t jump to any false conclusions that might put Sar and Tobi in danger. “They’re Mother-touched.”

  Her brow creased. “What does that mean?”

  Josiah warmed to the subject. It was fun to play the master for a change. “See this mark? Sar, show her.”

  Sar angled his body so the Matriarch could see the right side of his chest, where a small white oval the size and shape of a fingerprint marked his fur. “That’s where the Mother touched him, either before he was born or right after. All familiars have one, although sometimes they’re dark and sometimes light, whatever contrasts with their natural coloring. That’s how we know they can become familiars. Tobi’s is in her ear. N—”

  Josiah!

  At Sar’s sharp warning, Josiah transformed the word into a cough. Dear Mother, he’d been about to mention Nina! He really had to be more careful.

  The Matriarch raised her eyebrows in polite concern. He waved his hand and shook his head. “I’m fine. Sorry. Anyway, what I was saying is that, um, n… nobody knows why the Mother chooses a particular animal to touch. The parents of familiars, and their offspring, too, are usually ordinary animals.” He scratched around Sar’s ears the way the donkey liked.

  Her voice stayed pleasantly interested, but relaxed, as if she was making idle conversation to while away the time. “What changes when the Mother touches them, besides their markings?”

  Josiah couldn’t see any danger in telling her. “They become much smarter, as smart as people. And they become able to bond with a wizard.”

  “How does that happen?”

  Again Josiah thought hard about his answer, but couldn’t see any harm in letting her know. “There’s a ceremony every Springtide. All the fourth year apprentices are paired with a familiar. Your master cuts your hand and your familiar’s paw or whatever, and you touch each other so your blood mixes.” It didn’t always happen exactly that way—it hadn’t for Josiah—but he thought it wiser to keep his explanation simple. “Then somehow you’re standing before the Mother, and she asks if you’re willing to serve her as a wizard. If you say yes, you’re bonded, and after that you can use the Mother’s power. As long as you’re actually touching your familiar, of course.” That was the public explanation. Only wizards were allowed to know the full truth—that the familiar, not the wizard, controlled the Mother’s power.

  “Amazing.” The Matriarch studied Sar intently. “That’s not how it worked for the wizards of ancient Miarban, was it?”

  “Not until Gurion Thricebound. Before him, people were wizards by themselves, if they were born that way because their parents were. But they did evil things with the Mother’s power, so she took it away from them.”

  “So the Keepers tell us. My ancestors were wizards.” The Matriarch looked off into the distance, her expression nearly as hungry as when she’d spoken of a child.

  Josiah shifted uncomfortably. “Um, yeah. Anyway, Gurion asked the Mother to give the wizards their powers back, but she didn’t want to risk people misusing them again. So she made it so we had to bond
with a familiar. That way, if somebody tries to do something bad with her power, or tries to use being a wizard to manipulate people, their familiar can break their bond.” He swallowed and studied his hands.

  She studied him, her perceptive eyes seeing far more than Josiah had meant to reveal. “You’ve seen it happen?”

  “Yeah.” He shrugged. “A couple times. It’s pretty bad. It hurts a lot, and you’re knocked unconscious for three days.” He glanced at Elkan. “You can ask Elkan if you want to know more. Sar used to be his, but he broke their bond. Not because Elkan had done anything wrong,” he hastened to add. “He was out of energy, and I wasn’t, and it was an emergency…” Josiah shrugged again. “Otherwise a bond lasts until either the wizard or the familiar dies.”

  “I see.” The Matriarch looked Sar over with far more interest than Josiah liked. He put a possessive hand on the donkey’s back. Sar’s skin shuddered under his palm, but he made no comment except a mild impression of reassurance in Josiah’s mind.

  The Matriarch reached to stroke Sar’s velvet nose. Sar didn’t object, so Josiah couldn’t, even though he wanted to. “The Mother only touches animals in Tevenar?”

  This was a safe subject, and one he was sure would interest her. “Up until now, yes. But Elkan thinks that’s going to change. There used to be a Law that wizards and familiars weren’t allowed to go any farther from Tevenar than the boundary stones in the north and south. But right before we left, the Mother changed that.” Josiah hoped the Matriarch wouldn’t question him too closely about how that had happened. He couldn’t tell the whole story without revealing Kevessa’s secret.

  He hurried on. “She said that her power is for the whole world now. So Elkan thinks she’ll start touching animals here in Ramunna pretty soon, and maybe all over Ravanetha. But not many, at least not at first, because we’re going to have to teach the new wizards how to use her powers—it’s not as easy as you’d think. And if she touches the world too often it causes problems, earthquakes and floods and hurricanes, that sort of thing.”