The Gate of Gods (Fall of the Ile-Rien) by Martha Wells

Author:Martha Wells [Wells, Martha]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Published: 2009-10-13T06:00:00+00:00

Tremaine sat on her heels, poking the fire up with a handy branch as the Aelin took somewhat uneasy seats around it. The drifting balls of spell light arrayed themselves in a circle around the room as Gerard maneuvered himself down to sit next to her, grunting as if his back hurt. Giliead and Ilias stayed beside the door, though Ilias had sheathed his sword.

The old man stirred, saying, “My name is Obelin.” He indicated the girl and the boy, “This is Davret and Elon. We’re of the Lehirin line, of the clans of Etara.”

Gerard shifted the sphere’s bag so it was behind him. “This is Tremaine, Ilias and Giliead, and I’m Gerard. First, I’d like to ask why one of your people ran from us earlier today, and why did you hide when we tried to find you?”

Obelin snorted, as if it was self-evident. Tremaine had to admit neither Ilias nor Giliead looked terribly friendly at the moment. They stood just at the edge of the firelight, which struck reflections off their armbands, the earrings buried in their hair and the cold glint of the curse mark on Ilias’s cheek. Ilias had his arms folded over his scabbarded sword, the curved-horn hilt resting against his forearm. It didn’t look like a position he could quickly draw it from. Then she realized he was holding it in such a way that Giliead, standing next to him, the bow propped on his shoulder, could draw it in a heartbeat. Obelin added, “It was one of the boys who came here today, to collect fruit from the patch just outside the staircase. He was afraid. It had been so long. And they didn’t look… We had seen other people, something like them, from a distance. There is a place you can look down into the river valley, though the cliff is too steep to climb. We had seen them fighting with primitive weapons, like savages—” He hesitated, then gestured apologetically. “We were afraid.”

Tremaine translated this for the Syprians, and Ilias didn’t seem particularly perturbed by it. “If we’re as far south as I think we are, they might have seen Hisians,” he told her.

“They were right to be afraid,” Giliead put in with a sardonic glint in his eye.

Gerard nodded, accepting Obelin’s answer. “But why have you been here so long? How did you get here?”

Obelin shook his head, pushing a hank of graying hair out of his face. His hands were badly callused, reminding Tremaine of the hands of someone who had done hard labor in prison. “I don’t know how much you have seen of this place, but there is no way to leave it on foot. There are various outside doorways, but all lead to small areas, once gardens perhaps, that are surrounded by sheer cliffs. We have ropes, and many of the younger ones have managed to climb down to the valley and back up, but the older people couldn’t make it, and we were reluctant to separate. Then we saw the savages….

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