Read Online The Rival by Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Tags: Fantasy
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finally revealed the material used in the Roca's sword.
Varin.
Which made sense. The legends about the Roca — of which there were many not recorded in the Words Written and Unwritten — made his Cliffs of Blood origins extremely clear. Seze, the missing ingredient in the holy water, was native to the Kenniland Marshes now, but in the Roca's day, it was grown in the Cliffs of Blood as well.
Detail upon detail. The Cliffs of Blood held the center of the religion, only Rocaanism didn't acknowledge them any more.
Matthias did.
He stood. He was a bit weak in the knees from the heat and the steam and the bruises. He gulped hot air, felt it singe his lungs. The smoke was clearing inside, and he could hear Yeon mumbling.
"We're doing something wrong," he said as he headed to the smithy.
"Using the varin."
"No, something in the process," Matthias said. "Maybe we should go over it again."
Yeon emerged from the smoke and steam, his body shining. His pants, once a fawn color, were black with ash. "I think we've done it your way long enough," he said. "I think we should go to the fall back plan."
"There's no need," Matthias said.
"There's plenty need." Yeon wiped his hands on his pants. "Every year we wait, the Fey get more cunning."
"They haven't tried anything in decades."
"For all we know, they're growing little Fey so that they can come after us with an army." Yeon crossed his thick arms. He looked solid, indomitable, like the leader he had been until Matthias stumbled on his little group. "I say it's time you mix us up gallons of holy water and we saturate their hiding place."
"It's been tried. It didn't work."
"Twenty years ago," Yeon said. "Maybe it"d work now."
"No," Matthias said. "I won't risk lives."
"You already are. We're lucky this stuff doesn't kill us."
Matthias sighed. "I don't want to fight old battles."
"We won't be," Yeon said. "What if I can get my people to kill the Fey one on one?"
"Then you'll alert the full body of the Fey and they'll come after us."
"Right," Yeon said. "They can't do anything to us if we've got holy water. Wipe them out. What'll it hurt?"
Nothing. It would hurt nothing if they did it right.
"We'd have to plan it down to the last campaign," Matthias said. "I don't want them coming out, slaughtering innocents."
"Leave that to me."
"No," Matthias said. "I've done that too much in the past. We do it my way."
"We stop playing with strange metals and get on with what we know."
This fight had been building for months now. Matthias might win it this time, but he wouldn't win forever. And he didn't know how long it would take to get the sword right. "All right," Matthias said. "You devise your plan, I'll make the holy water, and by the end of the summer, we'll go after the Fey. But I want a sword to take along."
"We can't have it done by the end of the summer. I don't think it can be done at all."
"Nonetheless," Matthias said. "I won't make holy water until you make me a sword."
"That's the same agreement we had."
"No," Matthias said. "Before we had no deadline on it. If at the end of the summer, you can't make me a sword, I won't make you holy water. If you can find someone else who'll make the sword by my deadline, I'll have more holy water than you could ever use."
"You don't even know the water will work without being Blessed," Yeon said. "You're not Rocaan any more."
"The Words say the Rocaan is Rocaan until he dies." Matthias had never quoted that passage aloud before. No one had resigned before him. Part of him feared, the superstitious part, feared that God was angry with him.
Most of him believed that there was no such thing as God.
"So the current Rocaan is a pretender?"
"He's just a place-holder, not the real thing at all," Matthias said.
"What's that mean to the religion?"
Matthias shook his head. "I haven't been able to figure that out. I just hope that
Varin.
Which made sense. The legends about the Roca — of which there were many not recorded in the Words Written and Unwritten — made his Cliffs of Blood origins extremely clear. Seze, the missing ingredient in the holy water, was native to the Kenniland Marshes now, but in the Roca's day, it was grown in the Cliffs of Blood as well.
Detail upon detail. The Cliffs of Blood held the center of the religion, only Rocaanism didn't acknowledge them any more.
Matthias did.
He stood. He was a bit weak in the knees from the heat and the steam and the bruises. He gulped hot air, felt it singe his lungs. The smoke was clearing inside, and he could hear Yeon mumbling.
"We're doing something wrong," he said as he headed to the smithy.
"Using the varin."
"No, something in the process," Matthias said. "Maybe we should go over it again."
Yeon emerged from the smoke and steam, his body shining. His pants, once a fawn color, were black with ash. "I think we've done it your way long enough," he said. "I think we should go to the fall back plan."
"There's no need," Matthias said.
"There's plenty need." Yeon wiped his hands on his pants. "Every year we wait, the Fey get more cunning."
"They haven't tried anything in decades."
"For all we know, they're growing little Fey so that they can come after us with an army." Yeon crossed his thick arms. He looked solid, indomitable, like the leader he had been until Matthias stumbled on his little group. "I say it's time you mix us up gallons of holy water and we saturate their hiding place."
"It's been tried. It didn't work."
"Twenty years ago," Yeon said. "Maybe it"d work now."
"No," Matthias said. "I won't risk lives."
"You already are. We're lucky this stuff doesn't kill us."
Matthias sighed. "I don't want to fight old battles."
"We won't be," Yeon said. "What if I can get my people to kill the Fey one on one?"
"Then you'll alert the full body of the Fey and they'll come after us."
"Right," Yeon said. "They can't do anything to us if we've got holy water. Wipe them out. What'll it hurt?"
Nothing. It would hurt nothing if they did it right.
"We'd have to plan it down to the last campaign," Matthias said. "I don't want them coming out, slaughtering innocents."
"Leave that to me."
"No," Matthias said. "I've done that too much in the past. We do it my way."
"We stop playing with strange metals and get on with what we know."
This fight had been building for months now. Matthias might win it this time, but he wouldn't win forever. And he didn't know how long it would take to get the sword right. "All right," Matthias said. "You devise your plan, I'll make the holy water, and by the end of the summer, we'll go after the Fey. But I want a sword to take along."
"We can't have it done by the end of the summer. I don't think it can be done at all."
"Nonetheless," Matthias said. "I won't make holy water until you make me a sword."
"That's the same agreement we had."
"No," Matthias said. "Before we had no deadline on it. If at the end of the summer, you can't make me a sword, I won't make you holy water. If you can find someone else who'll make the sword by my deadline, I'll have more holy water than you could ever use."
"You don't even know the water will work without being Blessed," Yeon said. "You're not Rocaan any more."
"The Words say the Rocaan is Rocaan until he dies." Matthias had never quoted that passage aloud before. No one had resigned before him. Part of him feared, the superstitious part, feared that God was angry with him.
Most of him believed that there was no such thing as God.
"So the current Rocaan is a pretender?"
"He's just a place-holder, not the real thing at all," Matthias said.
"What's that mean to the religion?"
Matthias shook his head. "I haven't been able to figure that out. I just hope that
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