Sunder squinted. “It is aliantha. Such bushes may be found in any place, but they are most common near the River. In some way, they defy the Sunbane.” He dismissed the subject. “They are a most deadly poison.”
“Poison?” Pain sliced Covenant's lips; the vehemence of his outcry split them. Blood began to run through the dust like a trail of fury cleaving his chin. Not aliantha!
The Graveller reached toward Covenant's face as if those dirty red drops were precious. Empowered by memories, Covenant struck Sunder's hand aside. “Poison?” he croaked. In times past, the rare aliment of aliantha had sustained him more often than he could recollect. If they had become poison-! He was abruptly giddy with violence. If they had become poison, then the Land had not simply lost its Earthpower. The Earthpower had been corrupted! He wanted to batter Sunder with his fists. “How do you know?”
Linden caught at his shoulder. “Covenant!”
“It is contained in the Rede of the na-Mhoram,” rasped Sunder. “I am a Graveller-it is my work to make use of that knowledge. I know it to be true.”
No! Covenant grated. “Have you tried it?”
Sunder gaped at him. “No.”
“Do you know anybody who ever tried it?”
“It is poison! No man or woman willingly consumes poison.”
“Hell and blood.” Bracing himself on the stone, Covenant heaved to his feet. “I don't believe it. He can't destroy the entire Law. If he did, the Land wouldn't exist anymore.”
The Graveller sprang erect, gripped Covenant's arms, shook him fiercely. “It is poison.”
Mustering all his passion, Covenant responded, “No!”
Sunder's visage knurled as if only the clench of his muscles kept him from exploding. With one wrench of his hands, he thrust Covenant to the ground. “You are mad.” His voice was iron and bitterness. “You seduced me from my home, asking my aid-but at every turn you defy me. You must seek for Marid. Madness! You must refuse all safety against the Sunbane. Madness! You must decline to raise water, nor permit me to raise it. Madness! Now nothing will content you but poison.” When Covenant tried to rise, Sunder shoved him back. “It is enough. Make any further attempt toward the aliantha, and I will strike you senseless.”
Covenant's gaze raged up at the Graveller; but Sunder did not flinch. Desperation inured him to contradiction; he was trying to reclaim some control over his doom.
Holding Sunder's rigid stare, Covenant climbed to his feet, stood swaying before the Graveller. Linden was erect behind Sunder; but Covenant did not look at her. Softly, he said, “I do not believe that aliantha is poisonous.” Then he turned, and began to shamble toward the bush.
A howl burst from Sunder. Covenant tried to dodge; but Sunder crashed into him headlong, carried him sprawling to the dirt. A blow on the back of his head sent lights across his vision like fragments of vertigo.
Then Sunder fell away. Covenant levered his legs under him, to see Linden standing over the Graveller. She held him in a thumb-lock which pressed him to the ground.
Covenant stumbled to the bush.
His head reeled. He fell to his knees. The bush was pale with dust and bore little resemblance to the dark green-and-viridian plant he remembered. But the leaves were holly-like and firm, though few. Three small fruit the size of blueberries clung to the branches in defiance of the Sunbane.
Trembling, he plucked one, wiped the dust away to see the berry's true colour.
At the edge of his sight, he saw Sunder knock Linden's feet away, break free of her.
Gritting his courage, Covenant put the berry in his mouth.
“Covenant!” Sunder cried.
The world spun wildly, then sprang straight. Cool juice filled Covenant's mouth with a sapor of peach made tangy by salt and lime. At once, new energy burst through him. Deliciousness cleansed his throat of dirt and thirst and blood. All his nerves thrilled to a sapor he had not tasted for ten long years: the quintessential nectar of the Land.
Sunder and Linden were on their feet, staring at him.
A sound like dry sobbing came from him. His sight was a blur of relief and gratitude. The seed dropped from his lips. “Oh, dear God,” he murmured brokenly. “There's Earthpower yet.”
A moment later, Linden reached him. She helped him to his feet, peered into his face. “Are you-?” she began, then stopped herself. “No, you're all right. Better. I can already see the difference. How-?”
He could not stop shaking. He wanted to hug her; but he only allowed himself to touch her cheek, lift a strand of hair away from her mouth. Then, to answer her, thank her, he plucked another berry, and gave it to her.
“Eat-”
She held it gently, looked at it. Sudden tears overflowed her eyes. Her lower lip trembled as she whispered, “It's the first healthy-” Her voice caught.
“Eat it,” he urged thickly.
She raised it to her mouth. Her teeth closed on it.
Slowly, a look of wonder spread over her countenance. Her posture straightened; she began to smile like a cool dawn.
Covenant nodded to tell her that he understood. “Spit out the seed. Maybe another one will grow.”
She took the seed in her hand, gazed at it for a moment as if it had been sanctified before she tossed it to the ground.
Sunder had not moved. He stood with his arms clamped across his chest. His eyes were dull with the horror of watching his life become false.
Carefully, Covenant picked the last berry. His stride was almost steady as he went to Sunder, His heart sang: Earthpower!
“Sunder,” he said, half insisting, half pleading, “this is aliantha. They used to be called treasure-berries- the gift of the Earth to anybody who suffered from hunger or need. This is what the Land was like.”
Sunder did not respond. The glazing of his gaze was complete.
“It's not poison,” Linden said clearly, “It's immune to the Sunbane.”
“Eat it,” Covenant urged. “This is why we're here. What we want to accomplish. Health. Earthpower. Eat it.”
With a painful effort, Sunder dredged up his answer. “I do not wish to trust you.” His voice was a wilderland. “You violate all my life. When I have learned that aliantha are not poison, you will seek to teach me that the Sunbane does not exist-that all the life of the Land through all the generations has had no meaning. That the shedding I have done is no less than murder.” He swallowed harshly. “But I must. I must find some truth to take the place of the truth you destroy.”
Abruptly, he took the berry, put it in his mouth.
For a moment, his soul was naked in his face. His initial anticipation of harm became involuntary delight; his inner world struggled to alter itself. His hands quavered when he took the seed from his mouth. “Heaven and Earth!” he breathed. His awe was as exquisite as anguish. “Covenant-” His jaw worked to form words. “Is this truly the Land-the Land of which my father dreamed?”
“Yes.”
“Then he was mad.” One deep spasm of grief shook Sunder before he tugged back about him the tattered garment of his self-command. “I must learn to be likewise mad.”
Turning away, he went back to the shelf of rock, seated himself in the shade, and covered his face with his hands.
To give Sunder's disorientation at least a degree of privacy, Covenant shifted his attention to Linden. The new lightness of her expression ameliorated her habitual severity, lifted some of her beauty out from under the streaked dust on her face. “Thank you.” He began to say, For trying to save my life. Back there in the woods. But he did not want to remember that blow. Instead, he said, “For getting Sunder off me.” I didn't know you trusted me that much. “Where did you learn that thumb-hold?”