Other times, though, they talked about Jynna and Vettala and the other children who had come to Lowna from Tivston. Or they spoke of the plague that had claimed Jynna's family, or of the coming war. These conversations fascinated Jynna. Often after U'Selle left, she would ask S'Doryn so many questions about what they had said that he would finally tell her to leave him alone, something he never did under any other circumstance.
After standing there for several moments, looking at the net, and the bucket, and the poles with their untangled lines, she sidled closer to the house. She knew it was wrong; she knew that S'Doryn would be angry with her if he found her trying to listen. But she couldn't help herself.
At first she couldn't hear much of anything. A small flock of finches chose that moment to alight on the branches of the spruce tree just beside the house, and for several moments their chattering drowned out everything else.
Then they moved on, and Jynna stepped closer to the house, even going so far as to press her ear against the wood. She heard S'Doryn's voice first."... peculiar that a man from the Forelands would be doing all this?"
"Yes, I do," U'Selle answered. She began to cough and for several moments said nothing more. "It seems he's living on the plain now," she went on at last, her voice sounding strained. "So its not surprising that he should be concerned about the plague. But I gather that he and E'Menua are at odds. I'm not sure what that means."
"And these Mettai he mentioned; do you know where they came from?"
"I don't know the name of their village, if that's what you mean. But he said they came from the same village as the witch."
Jynna could scarcely believe what she was hearing. They had to be talking about that woman! Licaldi! The one who killed her family; the one who had haunted her sleep this past night. What other Mettai witch could they have been referring to?
"This could all have been a lie," S'Doryn said. "He might have intended to kill you rather than help you."
"Why would a Weaver from the Forelands-" She broke off, taken by another coughing fit. "Why would he want to kill me?" she continued eventually. "I'm practically dead already. And as Fal'Borna septs and villages go, Lowna isn't important to anyone other than us."
"So you believe him," S'Doryn said.
"Yes," U'Selle told him, "I suppose I do. I came to you to gauge your reaction. If you don't want me to pass this spell on to you, then I won't, nor will I take it to any of the others. But if you believe we should trust this man, then I want to spread the spell as quickly as possible. The plague is still out there. Just because it's spread westward doesn't mean it can't come back this way."
For several moments neither of them spoke, until finally S'Doryn broke the silence.
"You've put me in a difficult position, A'Laq."
"Yes, I have. Would you have preferred that I go to one of the others?" "You know I wouldn't. Since Jynna first came here," he went on, dropping his voice lower, so that Jynna had to press her ear more tightly to the wood, "I've tried to tell her that she shouldn't hate all Mettai for what befell her family. But the truth is, I've never trusted the Mettai. I've tried to avoid having dealings with them in the marketplace. And now you want me to accept this spell of theirs. I don't know if I can do it."
"I understand. But this can save lives, S'Doryn. This can protect all of us from the plague."
"If it's true."
"Yes. For whatever it's worth," the a'laq said, after another brief silence, "I feel well today. Or at least as well as I ever do. The spell hasn't affected me at all."
"Maybe it doesn't work, then. Maybe the Mettai and this Forelander are hoping to make us overconfident. If we no longer fear the plague, we might grow complacent, careless. They could kill us that way."
U'Selle offered no reply, and finally S'Doryn said, "You don't believe that, either."
"No," the a'laq said. "I don't."
"Very well, then. What is it you'd have to do?"
"I just need to touch your magic with my own."
"Jynna!"
Jynna jumped so violently that she scraped her ear on the side of the house. N'Tevva was striding toward her, with Vettala following at a run.
"What are you doing?" N'Tevva demanded, though she already seemed to know, judging from the angry expression on her face.
Jynna stared back at her, wide-eyed with fright. Back in Tivston, before the plague came, her own mother and father had grown angry with her at times, just as they did with her older brothers. She knew that all parents yelled at their children.
But this was the first time either N'Tevva or S'Doryn had been so angry with her. And yet, her thoughts were focused elsewhere.
I just need to touch your magic with my own.
"Jynna, answer me!" N'Tevva said, stopping a short distance from where the girl stood. "What were you doing?"
Vettala had stopped just behind N'Tevva and was gaping at Jynna, looking even more frightened than Jynna felt.
Jynna bolted past N'Tevva, ran up the small steps at the front of the house, and pushed open the door.
"Jynna!" S'Doryn said, obviously startled by her entrance. "Did I just hear N'Tevva?"
"You can't do it!" Jynna said. "You can't let her touch you with that spell!" S'Doryn's expression hardened. "You were listening?"
"Yes. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been. But you can't let that magic touch you!" She felt tears on her cheeks and she swiped at them angrily.
"Jynna, you know better than that!" S'Doryn said. "I told you to wait for me outside! That didn't mean go outside and then put your ear to the wall!"
She felt her cheeks color. A shadow darkened the common room, and glancing back, Jynna saw N'Tevva standing in the doorway.
"Come with me, Jynna," N'Tevva said severely. "We need to have a little talk."
"No!" Jynna said. "Not until-"
"Why shouldn't he let me pass the spell to him?" U'Selle asked in a voice that silenced them all. The a'laq didn't appear angry, but she looked deadly serious. "If you were listening, you understand that this spell could save lives. It could keep the plague from spreading to our people. Surely, you of all people would want that. You know what this spell does, Jynna. Don't you want N'Tevva and S'Doryn to be protected from it?"
"It's Mettai magic!" she said.
Suddenly she was bawling as she hadn't in years. She cried so hard she could hardly draw breath and couldn't see for her tears. She felt hands on her-S'Doryn's hands-and she jerked away, not wanting to be held or even touched.
"Jynna-" S'Doryn began in a soothing voice.
"No! You can't do this! You know what the Mettai did to us! You know that they hate us, that they want us dead!"
"We know what one Mettai did, Jynna," the a'laq said. "That's all."
"What about the Mettai who are with the army?" Jynna knew she wasn't being clear, but she assumed U'Selle would know what she meant.
"These Mettai aren't with the army. And they didn't make the plague. In fact, they killed the woman who did."
"That's what the Forelander says. How do you know it's true?" Through her tears, she saw the a'laq smile sadly.
"I don't," U'Selle said. "I wish I could tell you that I know beyond doubt these men can be trusted, but I'd be lying. At some point, Jynna, a leader must trust her instincts. Mine tell me that this Forelander is telling the truth, and that these two Mettai have done what they can to help us, regardless of what others of their kind might be doing."
Jynna didn't know what to say to the a'laq. U'Selle had always been honest with her, and had always spoken to her as if Jynna were an adult. Even S'Doryn didn't do that. She understood what the a'laq was telling her. She could even see the sense in it. If this spell could protect the people of Lowna from Licaldi's plague, U'Selle would have been mad not to pass it on. And yet, Jynna couldn't get past her hatred of the Mettai and her rage at what their magic had done to her family.