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“Excellent! You’re a natural,” Cody enthused as he helped her down. For a moment, her feet couldn’t lie flat against the smooth surface of the floor. She flexed her toes and stretched her spine.
“That’s hard,” she said. “But fun.”
“I thought you’d like it. When’s your next day off? You can come back and practice.”
“Maybe two weeks from now? I’ll let you know.”
He was smiling. She realized that she had just committed to another outing with him before she’d even had time to decide how she felt about this one. It wasn’t just the heavy cable that was making her reassess her sense of balance.
“Unless something comes up,” she added. “For either one of us.”
“Right,” he said. “I won’t count on it.”
But he was still smiling. And even though it annoyed her, she could feel herself smiling back.
Aussen loved the stuffed golden fish. Her face broke into a smile of delight when Jayla offered it to her, and she instantly cradled it against her cheek.
“Keshalosha?” Jayla said hesitantly, and Aussen replied with a spate of happy words, none of which Jayla understood. She crouched down so she was at eye level with the little girl, and said in a slow voice, “Do you still have your necklace that Pietro gave you?”
Aussen instantly pulled out the amulet from under her shirt. Jayla examined it briefly, but it was exactly as she remembered—a white stone figure that she now knew to be a representation of Zessaya. For the first time, she wondered if Aussen had been so willing to wear it because it was familiar to her—because most people she knew already owned something very like it. She might even have a pendant of her own back home.
That still didn’t explain why Pietro had given it to her or why he wanted her to have it or how, in fact, it could protect her. But at least it made Jayla feel a little better. It had to be a good thing to be watched over by a goddess, didn’t it? Maybe she should buy a chazissa of her own the next time she was in the islander district. She wouldn’t mind a little protection herself.
Chapter Thirteen:
Jayla
Two days later, Jayla was accompanying Madeleine to a grand affair at the residence of the high divine.
“Everyone will be there,” Madeleine said as they swept down the grand staircase. She was wearing a flame-colored dress and a shawl woven of so many vivid colors it was impossible to pick out a pattern, but the bright hues suited her better than the grays she had favored ever since Jayla arrived. “It will be quite the gala.”
“It seems odd to me that a priest would put on lavish entertainments,” Jayla remarked. “I think of religious folk as being more austere.”
“Not in Corcannon!” Madeleine replied. “The high divine of the temple always presides over the Council, so he’s very active in city politics. Which means he’s deeply involved with all the Council families.”
“I haven’t spent much time learning about city government,” Jayla admitted.
Madeleine laughed and led the way outside. The sunset was so gaudy it looked like a mosaic in the Alayne house, but night crouched overhead, ready to swallow every bright streak. The air was still warm with the day’s accumulated heat, but Jayla thought it would cool down appreciably once the sun disappeared.
“Naturally, Tivol is late,” Madeleine murmured, then turned back to Jayla. “It’s pretty simple, really. There are a couple of dozen wealthy families who have historically held positions on Corcannon City Council. Every five years, twelve people are elected to serve for the next term. The high divine has a permanent seat on the board.”
“Who decides who’s eligible to be a Council family?”
Madeleine laughed again. “Well, I don’t know, but it’s been the same set of families ever since I can remember! Some of them only own property in the city, but most of them have estates out in Chibain or Marata. But they come to Corcannon all the time for business.”
Jayla was still trying to work it out. “So—you must have aunts and uncles and cousins somewhere?”
“Dozens! Most of them are in northern Marata, but a few of them live in Corcannon year-round.”
Tivol’s sprinter rattled up as she finished speaking. Traffic was unusually light, and he took the turn from the main road so fast that the overhead rod threw off sparks. Both Madeleine and Jayla instinctively jumped back, but the vehicle didn’t overturn as Jayla half expected.
“Tivol!” Madeleine exclaimed. “If you don’t promise me right now that you will drive in a more reasonable fashion, I am not getting in this car with you—not tonight, and notever!You’re going to kill yourself one day, and I don’t want to be with you when you do.”
He was laughing but contrite. “Sorry, sorry. There was no one in front of me and I couldn’t resist kicking it up to full speed. I shall be utterly sedate while I have a passenger beside me.”
Jayla noticed, although Madeleine probably didn’t, that Tivol didn’t seem to recognize that there would betwopeople riding with him tonight. She said nothing as she climbed into the back seat—which was really a cramped space designed to hold small personal possessions, and not a live person.
“You better be,” Madeleine said, settling in front. “I am not joking. I’ll get out on the street and wait for a chugger if you don’t behave.”
