"The waterhall reeves said he lifted a whole cistern of water when you asked him to!" Kaneth's protest was comically indignant.
"They shouldn't have been talking about it, but yes, he can. However, that was pure water. Father thinks Jasper's flaw is a result of coming too late to training."
"Sunlord save us. What does that mean for our future?"
"I've thought of trying to work out a way we can use my rainlord strength to give him the added boost he needs, just in case Father dies. After all, any of us can extract fresh water from salt."
Kaneth gave a wry laugh. "Yeah. A cupful at a time. With a little luck, you should be able to water a pot plant or two."
"Maybe Taquar could do better," Nealrith said, acknowledging a bitter truth. "He's stronger than any of us, that's obvious. And he always was good at making vapour when we were students. Perhaps if he could be persuaded to work with Father to stormbring…" His voice trailed away unhappily.
"His price would be more than you want to pay," Ryka said.
"No. It is one we should pay," Kaneth contradicted. "What is more important than cloudmaking? You're right, Rith. He was good at pulling vapour out of water. But useless at keeping it together, I remember. Do you recall that time he lost control and his cloud condensed all over the ceiling at the academy? Water dripping everywhere, and old Master Rockdale was furious."
"Granthon did ask him last year if he would help," Nealrith said. "Before we knew what he was up to, of course. He refused."
"He refused?" Ryka was astonished.
"Said his skills weren't up to it," Nealrith said wearily.
"More likely he just didn't want to spend his time so tediously," Ryka said.
There was a long silence, broken finally by Kaneth. "So we have found ourselves a talented mover of water, and he is flawed. Waterless skies!"
"Poor Shale," Ryka said softly. "What a burden for him. Ah, Jasper, I should say."
There was a sudden silence, then a whisper he didn't hear.
They've finally sensed my water, he thought. He knocked at the door and entered. Nealrith waved him into an empty chair.
"I'm sorry if you heard what I said, Jasper," Kaneth said. "I was preoccupied and wasn't aware anyone was out there. I wasn't blaming you."
He shrugged, trying not to care. "It was no more than the truth." No one said anything to that, so he asked, "Have any of you heard anything from Scarcleft about Terelle?"
"I haven't," Nealrith said.
"Neither have we," Ryka said, and from the compassion in her glance, he guessed that she thought there was little chance anyone ever would.
"There is something about her that I haven't told you," he said. "She-she could be of value to you. To us." Three pairs of eyes fixed him with looks of polite disbelief.
"She is a Watergiver," he said. "Not an intermediary from the Sunlord, of course, but one of a people from the mountains on the far side of the White Quarter. That's what they call themselves apparently, Watergivers. Russet Kermes is one."
The three rainlords continued to stare at him, faces blank.
He struggled on. "She is also a waterpainter. Waterpainters have certain, um, powers. They can influence the future with their art. They can paint something to ensure it happens. Russet did that to make Nealrith go to Scarcleft. Perhaps Terelle could paint rain clouds or something. I think she would be willing to try."
Nealrith interrupted. "What are you talking about? Russet told you I came as a result of sorcery?"
"Well, magic. Waterpainting."
"What the pickled pede do you mean? I went to Scarcleft because of Amethyst's letter, to find another stormlord, not because of any sorcery."
"I saw that magic at work," he said stubbornly. "He painted you going to Amethyst's house. I should have told you earlier, but I was afraid you wouldn't believe me. Besides, I don't like it. The power, it's horrible. Russet trapped Terelle by his paintings, for a start. He drew her future and took away her choices. If she tried to leave him, she was ill." He drew another deep breath. "Although perhaps his plans have gone awry now. He's old; maybe his magic doesn't work well any more. In fact, I'm sure it doesn't; that's why he needs Terelle."
When he faltered, Nealrith said snappishly, "Make sense, Jasper. We used to have a waterpainting. Laisa ordered several of them, in fact. Might even have been Russet who did them. I ordered the last one removed not so long ago because it had to be kept topped up with water, and I thought it a waste. There was nothing special about it that I could see."
"What the painter can do with the power-if he wants-is horrible. Unthinkable. But to save Terelle or Mica, I'd do anything, even try to get you interested in using such power. Russet made waterpaintings to determine the future, and Terelle can, too. They can make things happen. Imagine: perhaps she could paint a future that ensured the defeat of Davim, or maybe the birth of more stormlords or something. If you brought her here, and told her what was needed-"
Nealrith's face flushed dark. "I have never heard of anything more ridiculous. You have been deceived by some kind of trickery, Jasper. There are shams and fraudsters everywhere, and all you've told me about this Russet indicates he is one of them."
"Terelle is no fraudster," he said, not trying to hide his rage. "I saw her make a man climb onto a rooftop. Why won't you believe in that, when you will believe in the magic that enables a stormlord to move water from the sea into clouds, that enables him to bring those clouds to the hills, to force them upwards so that they break and the rain falls?"
Ryka quickly smothered an involuntary laugh. Kaneth's face went studiously blank. Nealrith, however, was so shocked he was almost speechless. He had to swallow hard before he could say, "Cloudmaking and stormshifting are not sorcery! Jasper, how could you ever think such a thing! Stormshifting is the goodness of the Sunlord's powers manifested in a stormlord, the Holy One's blessing to us, the people of the Quartern. He sent an intermediary to us from his realm a thousand years ago, in the form of a man called Ash Gridelin, now known to us as the Watergiver, to tell us how to use that God-given power. How can you equate such a holy gift, and the knowledge to use it, with magic? That is blasphemy. And the Watergiver was the Sunlord's true emissary, not some-some fake from a market stall!"
Jasper stared at him helplessly. He wanted to ask, If the Sunlord is so powerful, why did he need a human as an intermediary? But he suspected he would not receive an answer that satisfied him. He couldn't see much difference between magic and the Sunlord's gift, but he had a suspicion that arguing the point with Nealrith would get him nowhere.
Ryka laid a hand on Nealrith's arm. "Rith, you can hardly blame Jasper for the gaps in his religious knowledge. You remember what the remoter areas of the Gibber were like, including his. They were so ignorant of Scarpen faith that some thought we were gods."
The highlord drew in a calming breath. "I remember. I can certainly see that his religious education has been inadequate."
"I can teach him," she offered.
"You? Would I use a cistern of water to bring life to embers? I will arrange with Lord Gold for him to have private lessons at the temple with a waterpriest teacher." He glanced at Jasper. "Lord Gold is the highest-ranking priest. The Quartern's Sunpriest."
"And Terelle?" Jasper asked. "Won't you send someone to look for her?"
"Our informants can't find her, and if they can't, I'm sure we couldn't. I don't think we should try. I'm sorry."
Buffeted by guilt and worry, he subsided into a miserable silence as Nealrith continued. "Let's deal with the reason-reasons-I asked Ryka and Kaneth in this morning. Firstly, the gaps in your education, Jasper. Besides the religious ones, I mean. I think you do not have sufficient time to attend the Water Sensitives Academy on Level Three, as we all did-not with the water exercises you have to practise. So I'd like you to work with Ryka."