Burying the Shadow by Storm Constantine

my soul. I had divested its
weight onto the child Rayojini, and I knew she would not feel it
there. It could not harm her. Not yet. Not for a long time. The
child was my little seed. As had been promised in the ritual, I
would haunt her to womanhood. I would nurture and strengthen her
powers from afar. She would flourish within the caul of my
benevolence.
    Leaving the
island, I was quite happy to let Beth lead us further east. We
ended up in Atruriey; a marvellous land. The people there reminded
me strongly of our patrons, and we were welcomed as artists most
warmly. I even think one or two of them suspected there was
something different about us - beyond what might be excused as an
artistic temperament and aristocratic feyness - but nothing was
said.
    Bloated with our
actions in Lansaal, we had little need to feed for several months,
and took only wine and water. I got involved with a travelling
eloim theatre company, for whom Beth was happy to paint scenery
and, accompanied by Tamaris and Ramiz, we stayed with this group
for several years.
    During this
time, I maintained a subtle contact with Rayojini, watched her grow
from afar. Sometimes, when she had girlish problems, which she
found difficult to solve, I prodded her a little with an idea or a
feeling, although I shrank from making my presence too obvious. I
thought it unlikely that guardian-pursuers were, under normal
circumstances, real beings. After having spoken to so many
soulscapers in Lansaal, I thought these creatures were probably
metaphorical images for the child’s own conscience. Therefore, it
was vital that Rayojini didn’t seem to be more in tune with the
idea of her guardian-pursuers than other children. If her mother or
her tutors got suspicious, they might undertake a deep soulscaping
on the child, and destroy my link with her. Still, it was
pleasurable when I could help her. I liked to feel her earnest
little mind praying to Beth and myself, thanking us, as her
guardian-pursuers, for our guidance. The fact that she addressed
both of us did needle me a little though, because Beth had scant
interest in the child, leaving it to me to keep an eye on her
progress. He never communicated with her at all and yet, in her
prayers, I could see him through her eyes; beautiful, shining,
powerful. When she grew up, would she start desiring this handsome
image in her head? What then?
    Then, one
evening as we were sitting round a campfire in deepest Atruriey, a
twitching started up in my fibres. Beth caught my eye and a feeling
passed between us. We knew it was time to return home. Absurdly, I
felt I would be leaving Rayojini behind, but I did not speak of
this to Beth. I kept it secret, how fond I’d become of the
child.
    The city was in a
hectic mood when we returned. Invitations to the Di Corborans, the
Vielkorekhs, the Mougadis, littered the welcome-table in the hall
of our house, some of them quite eaten away by mice. Our especial
patron, Leone Di Corboran, dispatched two of his daughters, Leda
and Vicretia, to our domain once the servants had gossiped in the zuko , and news of our homecoming had spread about.
    Beth, feigning
tiredness, although we had been back for two days, shut himself in
his rooms, so I had to entertain the creatures alone. I had
intended to visit the Metatronim family stronghold that afternoon,
for news had come to us from a friend of dreadful occurrences
during our absence; the sickness had not abated. In all honesty, I
needed to see my family, just to make a head count and reassure
myself that they were all in good health. Therefore, I felt
extremely indignant when Tamaris informed me Leone’s daughters had
arrived. Still, without our patrons, our lives would be very
difficult indeed, so I pasted a welcoming smile across my face, and
bid Tamaris show them up to my solar.
    Vicretia was
the sweeter of the two Di Corboran girls, although Leda possessed
the greater wit. The last time I had seen them, Leda had just been
married to her second