of the excess somehow. It seems to make very good fertilizer. I’ve never seen cabbages that big before.’
Talen looked speculatively at his brother. ‘Pearls come from oysters, don’t they?’ he asked.
‘That’s what I’ve been told.’
‘I wonder if the Tegans do anything with them when they run across them?’
‘They’re not really very valuable, Talen,’ Flute told him. ‘There’s something in the water around the island that makes the pearls black. Who would pay anything for black pearls?’ She looked around at them. ‘Now then,’ she said to them, ‘we’ll have to sail about fifteen hundred leagues to reach the place where Bhelliom is.’
‘ That far?’ Vanion said. ‘We won’t get back to Matherion until the dead of winter, then. At thirty leagues a day, it’s going to take us fifty days to get there and fifty days back.’
‘No,’ she disagreed, ‘actually it’s going to take us five days to get there and five days to get back.’
‘Impossible!’ Ulath said flatly. ‘No ship can move that fast.’
‘How much would you be willing to wager on that, Sir Ulath?’
He thought about that for a moment. ‘Not very much,’ he decided. ‘I wouldn’t insult you by suggesting that you’d cheat, but…’ He spread his hands suggestively.
‘You’re going to tamper with time again, I take it?’ Sparhawk said to her.
She shook her head. ‘There are some limitations to that, Sparhawk. We need something more dependable. The ship that’s waiting for us is just a bit unusual. I don’t think any of you should get too curious about what she’s made of and what makes her move. You won’t be able to talk with the crew, because they don’t speak your language. You probably wouldn’t want to talk with them anyway, because they aren’t really human.’
‘Witchcraft?’ Bevier asked suspiciously.
She patted his cheek. ‘I’ll answer that question just as soon as you come up with a definition of witchcraft that’s not personally insulting, dear Bevier.’
‘What are you going to do, Aphrael?’ Sephrenia asked suspiciously. ‘There are rules, you know.’
‘The other side’s been breaking rules right and left, dear sister,’ Aphrael replied airily. ‘Reaching into the past has been forbidden almost from the very start.’
‘Are you going to reach into the future?’ Khalad asked her. ‘People are coming up with new ideas in ship design all the time. Are you going to reach ahead and bring us back a ship that hasn’t been invented yet?’
‘That’s an interesting idea, Khalad, but I wouldn’t know where to look. The future hasn’t happened yet, so how would I know where – or when – to find that kind of a ship? I’ve gone someplace else, that’s all.’
‘What do you mean “someplace else”?’
‘There’s more than one world, Khalad,’ she said mysteriously. Then she made a little face. ‘You wouldn’t believe how complicated the negotiations were,’ she added.
Chapter 3
Ehlana and Sarabian had gone to the top of the central tower of the glowing castle, ostensibly to admire the sunset. Despite the fact that the castle was firmly in Elene hands, there were still enough Tamuls inside the walls to require a certain amount of care when the two wanted to speak privately.
‘It all comes down to the question of power, Sarabian,’ Ehlana told the Emperor in a pensive voice. ‘The fact that it’s there has to be the central fact of our lives. We can either take it into our own hands, or leave it lying around unused, but if we choose not to use it, we can be sure that someone else will.’ Her tone was subdued and her pale young face almost somber.
‘You’re in a melancholy humor today, Ehlana,’ Sarabian noted.
‘I don’t like being separated from Sparhawk. There were too many years of that after Aldreas exiled him. The point I was getting at is that you’re going to have to be very firm so that the people in your government will understand that
Talen looked speculatively at his brother. ‘Pearls come from oysters, don’t they?’ he asked.
‘That’s what I’ve been told.’
‘I wonder if the Tegans do anything with them when they run across them?’
‘They’re not really very valuable, Talen,’ Flute told him. ‘There’s something in the water around the island that makes the pearls black. Who would pay anything for black pearls?’ She looked around at them. ‘Now then,’ she said to them, ‘we’ll have to sail about fifteen hundred leagues to reach the place where Bhelliom is.’
‘ That far?’ Vanion said. ‘We won’t get back to Matherion until the dead of winter, then. At thirty leagues a day, it’s going to take us fifty days to get there and fifty days back.’
‘No,’ she disagreed, ‘actually it’s going to take us five days to get there and five days to get back.’
‘Impossible!’ Ulath said flatly. ‘No ship can move that fast.’
‘How much would you be willing to wager on that, Sir Ulath?’
He thought about that for a moment. ‘Not very much,’ he decided. ‘I wouldn’t insult you by suggesting that you’d cheat, but…’ He spread his hands suggestively.
‘You’re going to tamper with time again, I take it?’ Sparhawk said to her.
She shook her head. ‘There are some limitations to that, Sparhawk. We need something more dependable. The ship that’s waiting for us is just a bit unusual. I don’t think any of you should get too curious about what she’s made of and what makes her move. You won’t be able to talk with the crew, because they don’t speak your language. You probably wouldn’t want to talk with them anyway, because they aren’t really human.’
‘Witchcraft?’ Bevier asked suspiciously.
She patted his cheek. ‘I’ll answer that question just as soon as you come up with a definition of witchcraft that’s not personally insulting, dear Bevier.’
‘What are you going to do, Aphrael?’ Sephrenia asked suspiciously. ‘There are rules, you know.’
‘The other side’s been breaking rules right and left, dear sister,’ Aphrael replied airily. ‘Reaching into the past has been forbidden almost from the very start.’
‘Are you going to reach into the future?’ Khalad asked her. ‘People are coming up with new ideas in ship design all the time. Are you going to reach ahead and bring us back a ship that hasn’t been invented yet?’
‘That’s an interesting idea, Khalad, but I wouldn’t know where to look. The future hasn’t happened yet, so how would I know where – or when – to find that kind of a ship? I’ve gone someplace else, that’s all.’
‘What do you mean “someplace else”?’
‘There’s more than one world, Khalad,’ she said mysteriously. Then she made a little face. ‘You wouldn’t believe how complicated the negotiations were,’ she added.
Chapter 3
Ehlana and Sarabian had gone to the top of the central tower of the glowing castle, ostensibly to admire the sunset. Despite the fact that the castle was firmly in Elene hands, there were still enough Tamuls inside the walls to require a certain amount of care when the two wanted to speak privately.
‘It all comes down to the question of power, Sarabian,’ Ehlana told the Emperor in a pensive voice. ‘The fact that it’s there has to be the central fact of our lives. We can either take it into our own hands, or leave it lying around unused, but if we choose not to use it, we can be sure that someone else will.’ Her tone was subdued and her pale young face almost somber.
‘You’re in a melancholy humor today, Ehlana,’ Sarabian noted.
‘I don’t like being separated from Sparhawk. There were too many years of that after Aldreas exiled him. The point I was getting at is that you’re going to have to be very firm so that the people in your government will understand that
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