Clearly, to Laurel this seemed about right. “Little old, aren’t you, to make your first Gathering?” She eyed Asach critically. “Well, you seem fit enough.”
Asach exhaled slowly. “I can go then?”
“Go? Of course you can go. Who am I to stop you?” She got up to leave. “More to the point, we’ll bring you with our island, so long as you’re clear in your mind.” Then she paused. “You can ride, can’t you?”
Relieved at an easy question, Asach smiled and nodded. Laurel turned to go, calling out over her shoulder, “Only, if you’re a two, I’m not your Seer. You need to talk to Collie.”
Asach’s fears were disappointed. The bed was deep, soft, and warm. The night was dark and quiet. In the morning, Laurel was already up and gone, but Collie lingered over breakfast.
“I won’t apologize, but I’ll explain. That girl’s got a lot on her mind.”
Asach listened, patiently.
“See, she’s of an age where she takes everything seriously. Like, being a Seer. Now, she really, really, way down deep believes that she was Seen in her mother’s womb by His Eye.” He shook his head. “Now, I believe that too, of course I do, but mostly it’s just a way of stayin’ organized.” He looked at Asach intently. “You ain’t from Purchase, are you?”
Asach indicated the negative.
“See, I figured that you was from New Cal. Maybe even farther.”
Asach nodded.
“Well, OK, so. See, that’s more burden on Laurel. First she has to see off everyone from her own island. All them little ones. Then she has to see off every Three or Four from The Barrens who don’t have a Seer of their own. You follow?”
Asach made a slight inclination of the head. ‘Go on?”
“But at least all them folks knows their way to the staging areas; knows their way around. I mean, even if they can’t see where theys’ goin’, they sure as hell know what to do once they get there. And the parents usually take the little ones. But then on top o’ that, comes all the town-dogs from Bonneville. At least there, we know our own, and a lot of them hook up with their kin in The Barrens islands. But the fun really starts when the city rats from Saint George start marchin’ in. ‘Cuz then, she’s gotta figure out which ones’re TCM spies, and keep ‘em isolated until she can lose ’em or chase ‘em home.” He shook his head. “And all that’s gotta get sorted before the tramline opens and sisters from MP and New Cal arrive. And most of them, well they usually come, because somebody in their island came, so they have some idea of what’s goin’ on. But the wild fishes like you, who swim in from the starry ocean?” He shook his head again “That’s a lot for a kid her age to take on, on top of everything else.”
“I’m sorry,” said Asach simply, and genuinely.
Collie smiled. “Don’t be. She says it’s all about ‘doin’ it right,’ but really it’s just to get one more thing off her mind. Like I said, it’s mostly just a way to stay organized. It’s not really all on her. It’s not like she’s the only one. She picks up the Threes and Fours from her island, plus whichever else other ones gets sent to her island. There’s other Seers, and other islands. They don’t all go to her. So she wants to hand you off to a Seer for Twos. Twos and Threes. In other words, to the Seer whose done it all once, and taught her.”
“I see,” said Asach. “And who is that?”
Orcutt frowned. “Well, really, that was my sister. Her mother who died.”
“I’m sorry,” said Asach again. “I can see why she’d take this very seriously. With a lot of piety.”
“Thank-you.” Collie pursed his lips. “But I think it’s worse than you realize. “ He pursed again. His lips moved in, then out, several times. He cocked his head and decided. “You know how a Seer is made?”
“No. Are they?”
“Good answer. They’re not. They’re born. At a Gathering. They are born at a Gathering, in the Sight of His Earthly Eye.” He sighed. “And you’ll find out just what that means soon enough. But just think on this. Laurel’s too much like her mother. Too serious. Takes it too serious, when it’s really just about being organized. Somebody born at the Second Gathering, they train to take Twos and Threes next time. Somebody born at the Third, they take Threes and Fours next time, And so on. You follow?”
Asach nodded.
“So, it’s not even meant to follow in any family line. It’s just a way to be sure the routes get passed on. But Laurel’s Mom was stubborn as they come. Came the Third Gathering, she was no spring bud any more, and she was carrying Laurel. But she just wouldn’t hear of reassigning her people to another island. And so she went up there, and He opened His Eye, and she bore Laurel, and on the way back she died.” He stared down at the table. “I know her mind. She thinks He took her Mom, to make her Seer. But it’s just a way to stay organized.” Tears welled in his eyes.
Asach left him a moment with this remembered grief. “Perhaps it would be better if I sought another island?”
Orcutt coughed. “Oh, hell, no.” He rubbed his eyes. Then he actually grinned. “See, this one’s gunna be special, and you’re already here, and she ain’t the only Seer in our island.” Now he had a twinkle in his eye. “How old you think I am?”
“Well, it’s hard to say. You say your sister, so—” Asach paused. “Were you the oldest?”
“Yep.”
“And your sister—Laurel’s Mom—the youngest?”
“Yep.”
“Big family?”
“Yep.”
“Surely, not—”
“Yep. Ones and twos, that’s me. So. I thought, when I saw you sittin’ in the dirt playin’ plink with the little ones: I thought, that one’s been around the block a few times. So, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll get you prepped, get you up to speed, see you to the staging area, then hand you off to Laurel when she’s got herself organized. For a price.”
He grinned again. “Because, I figure, if you came all this way, you can afford it. And if you can’t, well, it would do Laurel good to have somebody along more than a hand or two old. Somebody on her side.”
Asach met his gaze evenly, did not waver, reached into the cloak. Did not even look down, just handed over the TCM tithe credit.
Orcutt looked, though. He saw the color. His eyes went wide.
Now, Asach grinned. “You’re right. I can. And I will.”
From Asach’s perspective, it was preparations for a pack trip like any other. Asach picked a riding horse. Asach picked a pack mule. Asach packed light, but prepared for any weather. Asach picked a farrier, and had the animals shod with full plates and studs to cope with rocky ground. Asach overpaid for it all, and made clear that return favors for the custom were due Laurel.
Orcutt was impressed. There was nothing flashy about the animals or the gear. They were of a piece: sensible, serviceable, sound. “Don’t much need me at all,” he said. “We should keep you around.”
“Mis-spent youth,” Asach replied, but volunteered no more.
Even the staging area was predictable: stones marked numbered campsites; picket lines were set up between stakes driven into the packed ground. Most animals were hobbled. Feed and water wagons made a circuit, so that rations could be saved for the trek to come. Asach drilled the catechism until The Hymn intruded into dreams, set to varying strains, including all the tunes the lads had hummed driving out from Bonneville. Asach hoped they’d returned unharmed.
Actually, Asach was surprised. There were not that many people there. A lot of them were children. “Mostly Barrens islands, yet,” explained Orcutt. “We need to clear this lot out before we drown. Once that tramline opens, no tellin’ how many rounds she’ll have to make.”