Tarashana by Rachel Neumeier (little red riding hood ebook TXT) π

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- Author: Rachel Neumeier
Read book online Β«Tarashana by Rachel Neumeier (little red riding hood ebook TXT) πΒ». Author - Rachel Neumeier
βI donβt quite know. I canβt yet tell what dire problem drove her here. I would like to find out, which I canβt if your father puts her to death, so I would like to prevent that if possible.β
βAsk for a pause,β I suggested. Everyone was coming back, my father and mother and our people and the inKarano singer and the inVotaro warriors; also Garoyo and Hokino and the young men picking their way down the slopes above us. Geras and the others moved forward too, everyone coming close.
I imagined how that might seem to the Tarashana woman. Unless she were very powerful indeed, she had every reason to be afraid. She was trembling, slight tremors, but perceptible. I wanted to protect her. When I realized that, I raised my eyebrows at Aras.
βYes,β he said in darau. βBut under the circumstances, itβs hard to blame her, and she truly canβt influence you very much, Ryo.β Getting to his feet, he faced my father and said in taksu, βSinowa inGara, I still have many questions, but I know some things now. I ask that you wait for forty breaths after I speak before you make any decision.β He looked around. βI ask everyone to wait that long.β
My father raised his eyebrows.
βEveryone will pause for forty breaths before anyone acts,β my mother said, her tone tranquil. βUnless my husband decides he must act more quickly.β
Aras sighed, but he nodded. βYes,β he said. βThank you.β
βExplain,β ordered my father.
He had given no assurance; my mother had made certain he would not and need not, but Aras bowed his head. He said, βLord, this woman is a sorcerer, but I am almost certain she is not dangerous to your people. I ask you to respect my judgment and to pause for thought before making any important decision.β
The Tarashana sorcerer gripped her hands together hard, staying very still. Her eyes had become almost pure white with terror. She covered her face with her hands, bowing low. She did not move.
My father studied her, his expression thoughtful. Eventually, he observed, βFor a sorcerer, she seems very afraid. One might be surprised to discover that someone this afraid is dangerous.β He paused. Then he said to Aras, βIf I drew my knife and stepped forward at this moment, she could not prevent me.β
The Tarashana woman looked up at him in urgent appeal, then bowed again, lower still.
βShe could not,β Aras agreed. βIf you choose to kill her, then she will die here. Sinowa ... lord, you are not as angry as you think you should be. You wonder if this is sorcery. It is. The anger you feel is muted by this womanβs sorcery. This is similar to the kind of sorcery that my people call pull, or, more formally, allure.β
βAttraction,β I said in taksu.
βYes, thank you. That is close to the meaning. With your permission, lord, I will shield your mind from this kind of sorcery. This is the anger you truly feel.β
My father frowned. He said after a moment, βShow me again. One and then the other.β
βHere her sorcery affects you,β Aras said, perfectly patient. And ten heartbeats later, βHere I am shielding your mind. Again, now, her sorcery touches you. Again, now, it does not.β
βThe way I feel changes when you do that,β said my father, still frowning. βBut not as much as I expected. I should be much angrier than this.β
My mother said, βShe is so small. You feel as though this is a child. A girl-child. That is not her sorcery. Her helplessness makes you wish to restrain your temper.β
βIs that how it is?β my father said drily. But he was not offended, because it was my mother who had said this. She smiled. She did not have to say Yes, that is how it is. Everyone knew she was right. My mother was always right about things of that kind.
Aras said, βAllure can be dangerous if it is strong. This womanβs sorcery is not that powerful ... or her sorcery is powerful in a different way. I think she is not very dangerous. I think if she were dangerous in the manner of a Lau sorcerer, then she could have enslaved all your people long since.β
βYes,β my mother said. βWe all understand what you say.β
My father, still looking steadily at the Tarashana sorcerer, said, βIf you attempt to influence me or any of us, I will put you to death. If you use any kind of forbidden arts, I will put you to death.β
βI have warned her that she must not,β Aras said softly. βShe is trying not to do it, lord. She is so afraid, she cannot prevent some allure. But she cannot influence your actions to any great extent by means of her sorcery.β
My father frowned.
βIf I may ask,β Hokino inKera said. βI beg your pardon for putting myself forward, lord. I would like to ask the Lau lord whether this kind of sorcery, this allure that creates so little influence and cannot change how a man may choose to act, is this something that might affect another sorcerer?β
I had been thinking of how best to ask exactly that question, but Hokino had posed it more elegantly than I could have.
βA very good question,β my father acknowledged. βYou need not be so circumspect. No one of sound judgment is offended by good advice. I am certain my guest will consider his answer carefully.β
βIt is a good question,β Aras agreed. βThe answer is: I believe I am not affected, but I am not perfectly certain. I have never met any sorcerer who had the strength to touch my mind when I did not permit it; certainly no one with the subtlety to do it without my awareness of that touch. If she were Lau rather than Tarashana, I would
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