Walls of Wind and the Occasional Diamond Thief Boxed Set by Jane Ann McLachlan

Author:Jane Ann McLachlan [McLachlan, Jane Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781999383695
Publisher: Kay Crisp Books
Published: 2020-06-10T22:00:00+00:00

Beyond The Wall

(Igt’ur)

Brock’an and I escorted Briarris and Pandarris to every house in the city, to tell Bria the news. We could not risk a public meeting, with awkward questions and accusations from Anarris and his followers. Pandarris brought his findings for the Bria to read, and a ledger to record the names of the second-year mating Bria, declaring they would be the first who would not birth a Broghen. He spoke with such confidence that most agreed not to exchange breast fluid.

We brought with us a soothing paste from the mountain plants Tyannis had brought back with him. Our healers had found them useful and had cultivated them for the past three years, but we had nowhere near enough to cover this great a demand. They would have to endure constant, intense discomfort. We also brought cloth pads to tie over the rashes, warning the pregnant Bria against soothing themselves in their sleep.

For the sake of their future younglings, they wanted to believe. Their desperate hope almost undid Briarris. But they would not promise to come to Festival Hall. Those who should have their first mating and those who were not yet joined also listened, but it was clear they did not intend to mate.

Yur’i began visiting the unjoined Bria with us. “We were never meant to create monsters and unleash them on Wind,” he told them. “Perhaps this is what the Creator meant, telling us to civilize Wind. Perhaps He really meant, civilize ourselves.”

They listened to him but still promised nothing. We did not have time to stay till we convinced them; there were too many houses to visit and stillseason was nearly upon us.

Ghen who were living with Bria returned to the Ghen compound on my orders. I was determined to allow no forced matings except in the case of third-year mating Bria, to prevent them from being killed by the Broghen already inside them. The third-year forcings bothered me but I had too much else to worry about, such as the resistance I saw growing among the Ghen, not only to letting their unborn infants die for lack of second-year mating, but even to the idea of taking preventative measures against creating Broghen. Mick’al was at the root of the problem. If he had spoken in favor of eradicating the Broghen, no Ghen would have dared to oppose us both, Chair Ghen and their spiritual advisor.

He didn’t quite go as far as to speak in favor of Broghen; they were our fiercest adversary on Wind and we killed any who returned to us. I believed that was the issue, though he never said so. They tested our mettle, and in so doing, kept us strong.

Mick’al wasn’t about to advocate violence against the Bria, either. He was as unhappy about what had happened to Kirassis as any of us. But his silence regarding the concerns of those who had done it spoke loudly. He should have joined me in condemning their position. The fact that he didn’t worried me more than anything else that was happening in our city.

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