The Nomad - By Simon Hawke Page 0,28
sides by a rope around her chest. Her feet were tied, as well, at the ankles and the knees. She could barely move at all, and the position she was in had to be excruciatingly uncomfortable. Sorak could not tell if she was hurt or not. She was not moving.
“We are going to have to get in closer,” he said, softly.
“Not yet,” Valsavis said, putting a restraining hand on his chest. “Your priestess is safe, for the moment. The marauders will not harm her.
She will fetch a high price at a slave auction, and the bidders do not like damaged goods. Let these carrion eat and drink their fill. A man does not move as quickly when his belly is full.”
Sorak nodded in agreement. “Your advice is sound,” he said. “They will be more vulnerable after they have bedded down for the night.”
“Especially if they continue to drink like that,” Valsavis said. “This may be a great deal easier than we had thought. Pity.”
“Pity?” Sorak said with surprise. Valsavis shrugged. “There is no challenge in slitting the throats of sleeping drunks.”
“I am not interested in challenge, but in Ryana’s safety,” Sorak replied.
“Yes, I can see that,” said Valsavis. “But I have been curious about something. Villichi priestesses possess psionic powers that their training hones to a fine edge. I wonder, why has she not used them to free herself?”
Sorak shook his head. “I do not know. Perhaps she bides her time, as we do, and waits for the best opportunity.”
“She does not look like a villichi,” said Valsavis. “I would not have taken her for one. Doubtless, the marauders have not either, else they would have been more careful with her.” He paused a moment, then, as if it were no more than a casual question that had just occurred to him, he asked, “What is the nature of her gifts?”
“Mind over matter,” Sorak replied. “It is called telekinesis. It is the most common ability with which villichi are born.”
Valsavis noted that for future reference. “Then she can use her power to free herself from her bonds,” he said. “That will help us when the time comes to make our move. Let us hope that she does not make her move first, and prematurely.”
“She is clever,” Sorak said. “She will choose her time.”
“Why does she travel with you?” asked Valsavis. “In my experience, villichi priestesses do not much care for the company of males, regardless of their race. Nor are they generally in need of their protection.”
“Ryana is my friend,” said Sorak, as if that explained everything. He suddenly became aware that Valsavis was asking a great many questions, and volunteering little information about himself. “It was fortunate for us you came along when you did. How did it happen that you were traveling in such an isolated area?”
“I was on my way to the village of Salt View,” Valsavis said, “as I assume you must have been.”
“Why do you assume that?” Valsavis shrugged. “Where else would you be going? Save for the marauder camp, it is the only settlement for many miles around.”
“Most travelers would have taken the canyon pass,” said Sorak.
“Where a man traveling alone may easily be ambushed,” said Valsavis. “You and I are not so different. We are both able trackers, and we are both wise in the ways of the desert. We evidently had the same idea. Crossing the mountains at the eastern tip of the range would have brought us to the other side directly above Salt View, and taken us farthest from the marauder camp, where we would have been certain to encounter large and well-armed raiding parties. Logic and prudence chose our way for us.”
“Then you came across the Ivory Plain?” said Sorak.
“Of course,” Valsavis said. “How else can one reach the Mekillots? The Ivory Plain bounds them on all sides.”
“So it does,” said Sorak. “You came from Nibenay, then?”
“From Gulg, where the caravan route ends.”
“What brings you to Salt View?” Valsavis shrugged again. “Amusement and diversion,” he replied. “Gulg does not offer much in the way of night life. The oba is too austere a ruler for such things. I had heard the gaming clubs of Salt View have much to offer in the way of entertainment, and their theater is said to be among the best.”
“Somehow, you do not seem to be the sort to be attracted by the theater,” Sorak said.
“Well, in truth, I care little for the theater itself,” Valsavis admitted, “but wherever one finds theatrical troupes, one