Taminy Read Online Free Page B

cocked his head, flicking his eyes upward. “She did come down today, though.
Roamed about the house a bit.... Spoke to the Little One about crystals.”
    “Did
she?” Bevol nodded. “That’s encouraging.”
    Skeet’s
eyes dropped to the bowl of vegetables in his hands. “Aye, I do suppose. What
must it be like, Maister Bevol? What must it be like to be dumped back upon the
earth after living in the Sea? What must it be like to have to walk where
before ye’ve darted like a silkie?”
    Bevol
shook his head. “That, Skeet, is something you and I will never know. Nor is it
something Taminy could describe to us even if she would.” His gaze went to the
ceiling of the dining room as if he could see through it into the chambers
above. “But, we will do all we can to help her adjust, for she must do more
than walk, Skeet. She must run. She must fly.” He sighed volubly. “I sometimes
wonder if Mam Lufu might not be better suited to this.”
    Skeet
cocked his head pertly. “Mam Lufu weren’t the one summoned.”
    Bevol
pointed at the tip of the boy’s nose. “Get on with the supper, Impertinence.”
    He
left Skeet’s grin unanswered and went up to see Taminy. She was in her
chambers—chambers that had so recently been Meredydd’s—gazing out over the
fields at the front of the house. She turned from the window as he entered the
open door and sat facing him on the window seat.
    “How
was the day?” he asked.
    “It
was a cool day for Eightmonth,” she said and toyed with the fabric of her
skirt. “Gwynet drew fire this afternoon. Through that blue crystal I gave her.
She has a natural Gift.”
    Bevol
nodded. “I suspected as much. And did you instruct her in its use?”
    “I?”
She laughed self-deprecatingly. “I’ve not been able to croak so much as a
Sleepweave. You know that. I simply explained to her how the crystal worked.
She found it hard to believe the talent that drove it was her own. I told her
you would show her the use of it and not to ‘picture’ in it until then.”
    “Picture
in it?”
    The
girl’s porcelain pale face lit in a tender smile. “She paints a picture in her
mind, focuses it in the crystal and makes it real. Just like that. She’s been
weaving with dewdrops ... to keep from being beaten and to make herself not
mind the abuse.” Taminy shook herself visibly. “She’ll be expecting you to
speak to her about the crystals. Perhaps after supper-”
    “After
supper would be a good time for you to speak to her about them, yes.”
    The
girl glanced up sharply. “But Osraed, I cannot.”
    “Have
you forgotten your history? Your culling standards? Your technical knowledge?”
    “No.
You know I haven’t. I remember everything about the Art, except how to use it.
I can’t Weave. My duans are just unfocused ditties. I’m an empty vessel,
Osraed. I poured myself out into the Sea and the Meri took all of me. I don’t
begrudge Her that,” she added. “I don’t.”
    “No,
child, of course not. But don’t discount yourself so harshly. You had a native
Gift. That will return, if slowly. Those who have gone before you are proof of
it.”
    Her
eyes held such a roil of frustration and hope, of doubt and faith, that Bevol
was moved to go to her and gather her into his arms, awfully aware of what he
held there. A unique being was Taminy-a-Cuinn. A singular meld of young woman
and aged saint, of earthly frailty and divine virtue. She was a dust mote with
the properties of a star, a drop of the finite that had been breathed upon by
the Infinite. What did a man, even an Osraed, say to that?
    “You
are Taminy-a-Cuinn,” he said. “You were chosen by the Meri to be Her Vessel.
Trust that She will not allow you to remain empty for long.”
    “I
will trust, Osraed Bevol,” she murmured against his shoulder. “And I will try
to instruct Gwynet, if you desire it.”
    “I
do. I do desire it. As I desire that you eat a good, healthy meal this evening.
At table with the rest of the