Bright of the Sky by Kenyon Kay

Author:Kenyon, Kay
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Published: 2007-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Bei knelt in the soil beneath the subterranean grow lights, hands muddy and work tunic soaked in sweat from pruning gleve plants. He picked a rock from the soil and slung it with practiced accuracy into the pile of stones nearby. The physical labor eased his worries and calmed the storm of memories triggered by Titus’s return.

Earlier in the day he had sent Zhou and the others out of the vegetable field so that he could work in silence, meditatively pulling tubers, checking leaves for mites, and harvesting grayals. But his serenity had been disrupted when Anzi came asking for a meeting with Titus, now apparently recovered enough to get out of bed.

And so Titus had come, looking hale except for swelling that must have felt like a Gond gnawing on his cheeks.

“I’m in your debt, Su Bei,” he began.

Bei stood, brushing the soil from his knees. “Well, you haven’t seen the result yet.” And the result might well be a garroting from Lord Hadenth. But Bei pushed this worry aside. He was glad to see Titus. Oddly, after all they’d been through together, Titus considered him a stranger. No memories. It made for awkward interactions, with Bei keeping his distance and Titus still summing him up, weighing things like blame, resentment, and gratitude.

“The eyes shouldn’t hurt you much,” Bei said. “It’s the facial bones that ache.”

“Getting better.”

The man had a high pain threshold; that was clear. He also seemed mentally improved. And had something on his mind.

Bei knelt to his task again, ripping out weeds and pruning. “Care to help? It’s a big field.” A little exercise wouldn’t hurt the lad, or Anzi either.

Titus made no move, but said, “I’ll leave soon.”

Bei knew it. A few more days and Titus could leave by sky bulb, since Dolwa-Pan had instructed her pilot to wait for Dai Shen’s departure. Bei tossed another stone into the pile. Good. Two stones, better than average.

“What’s the rock pile for?” Titus asked.

“Without rocks the soil is easier to work. We’ve tilled this soil so long, there’s hardly a stone left.” Bei sat back on his heels, wiping the sweat from his eyes. “You’ve come to ask something. Then ask.” He glanced away. “If you’re sure you want to know.”

Titus crouched down nearby, facing him. His yellow eyes had already vastly improved his face, although Bei had grown used to the blue, eyes that seemed to see farther than Chalin eyes. Not content to absorb things gradually, Titus always wanted to understand things right away. As now.

“The way to and from isn’t random, is it?”

Bei sighed. “If I knew how it was organized, would I be a minor scholar?”

“I think you may know someone who does.”

Bei glared up at Anzi. “Have you been putting these thoughts in his head?”

Anzi was watching with wide eyes. “No, Su Bei, your pardon. I didn’t know.”

How, by the vows, had the man found this out? Suzong, came the thought. Bei crept down the row of gleve, concentrating. He’d expected Titus to ask how he would get home once he had snatched the daughter from her jailers.

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