FORBIDDEN TALENTS Read Online Free

anything of importance before they’re satisfied balance and harmony have been established. ”
    “ You may be right, ” Celia said, “ but I think the Kikmongsowuhti will talk to Lady Gudrun tonight. ”
    Gris almost seemed to pop out of the wall as he dropped the use of his Talent. The Lord Chamberlain had the unnerving Talent called Odin’s Veil. When he chose to, the tall, thin man could fade into the background so effectively that he almost disappeared. The perfect Talent for a spy , Celia thought.
    “ Nuvinland has traded with the Tewakwe for two hundred years, Lady Celia, and Kon Neven has had personal experience of two Kikmongwi. ” Gris made no effort to hide his condescension. “ The Tewakwe have always insisted that the patterns of courtesy be observed before they parley. To do otherwise will invite disaster—or so they believe. ”
    Gudrun waved her hand, dismissing Gris’s comment. “ Lady Celia is correct. Harmony and balance can be established in more than one way. Perhaps it takes men longer than women to achieve it. ”
    Neven lifted an eyebrow in query.
    “ The Kikmongsowuhti has already given me a hint of the Tewakwe’s concern, ” Gudrun continued. “ I don’t believe she’ll wait any longer than she must to address it. Need can be a great persuader, and clearly the Tewakwe are worried or they wouldn’t have chanced the passes closing behind them. ”
    “ You think they’ve come all this way because of those missing people, Mother? ” Dahleven asked.
    “ You heard that, did you? ” Gudrun looked at her eldest son. “ Yes, I do. And if you heard that much, you know the Tewakwe believe their people were stolen, not missing. Stolen by the Earth Katsinas. ”
    “ So the Tewakwe are troubled by the Dark Elves, as well, ” Ragni put in, leaning one arm on the high back of Neven’s chair.
    Gudrun nodded.
    “ Why should we lay the fault for the Tewakwe’s worries at the Elves’ door, Lady Gudrun? ” Gris straightened his cadaverous body to its full height. “ Their ways are strange. They could have called any sort of trouble down upon themselves. ”
    Gudrun met the Chamberlain’s gaze straight on. “ Because a young bride returned to her home Fey-marked, Gris. ”
    “ I’ve just heard of another, a blacksmith, gone missing from Lord Heiveg’s holding, ” Dahleven said. “ That’s five people from this Jarldom alone. ”
    They were all silent for a moment, wondering at the purposes of the Elves.
    Celia shivered. She knew the Dark Elves were somehow different from the Light Elves she and Dahleven had encountered five months ago. No one had given her any specifics, though, just stories of missing people who returned mindless to their homes, when they returned at all, or who saw what others didn’t. Well, she knew a little about that first hand. The Light Elves had been compellingly beautiful and unnervingly other . She didn’t want to imagine what the Dark Elves might be like.
    “ Very well, then, ” Neven said leaning back in his chair. “ Let us hope their distress will further loosen the women’s tongues tonight at the feast. With luck, we won’t have to wait for Loloma to deem us worthy of his confidence. If we gain access to our guests’ concerns by the side gate I shall be better prepared when the front gate opens tomorrow. ”
    Celia shook her head. He really doesn’t get it . “ The Kikmongsowuhti is the front gate, Kon Neven. I hope you assigned her a room at least as nice as Loloma’s, because she’s his boss in whatever way they figure those things. ”
    “ And how do you come to that conclusion? ” Neven asked.
    “ She may be right, ” Ragni interjected. “ It would explain the flares of anger I felt from the Kikmongwi when you spoke to Nai’awika. He suppressed them quickly, and I thought he was merely possessive or protective, but it could have been a kind of indignation at what he thought was a lack of proper respect. ” Ragni looked