“Our daughter owes us a percentage of her winnings!” Raia’s mother chimed in.
“Fifty pieces for your silence now,” Lady Evara said without even glancing at them, “and five percent of her winnings, after my cut.”
Tamra quickly added, “And if she wins grand champion, you set her free.”
“Fine,” Raia’s father said. “But if she fails to pay, we spread word of the murder and cover-up that happened here. You don’t want that kind of gossip when you’re in the Heart of Becar.”
Augur Yorbel looked somewhat panicked, Tamra thought. She wondered if he’d ever had to negotiate, seeing how all his needs were seen to by the temple. She almost felt sorry for him.
“Agreed,” he said. “We will leave for the Heart of Becar in the morning. Until then, we will honor the life of . . .” He trailed off, clearly unsure of the man’s name.
“Celin of Seronne,” Raia supplied. “He was known for killing his prior wife and escaping justice by blaming his servants.”
“Ugly gossip,” Raia’s father said, but his face paled just a bit.
“I saw his aura, and it was corrupted,” Raia said. Then she ducked her head and added, “Or what I could read of it.”
“Which shows once again how dishonorable—”
Augur Yorbel stopped them before they argued again. “We will honor the passage of a life, for all life is holy, and we will pray for his redemption—and our own.”
“Splendid!” Lady Evara clapped her hands. “Deeply sorry for your loss. I must pack!” She hurried out of the shabby waiting room. Watching through the window, Tamra saw Lady Evara climb into her chariot. Pulled by four strong men, she thundered away toward her palace.
Raia’s parents accompanied Augur Yorbel to summon the carriers to handle the body, and Tamra and Raia were left alone. “That didn’t go as I’d expected,” Raia said tentatively.
“Strangely, I think it went better.”
Raia smiled.
“And I meant what I said,” Tamra told her. “You can be my second daughter, if you wish, as soon as we can arrange it.” Before anything else, though, she had to explain to Shalla why she had to leave again for even longer.
Tamra hurried across the sands as the mourning bells began to ring.
In response to Augur Yorbel’s summons, the carriers had arrived quickly, and she’d left after they’d wrapped the body in linens. Escorted by bells, they would carry Celin to the Silent Cliffs, where his body would be stacked with others within the dark and lifeless caves. Under the blessing of the stars, his name would be carved on the stone entrance to the caves, and the official mourners would sing the rites to guide his spirit to its new vessel. Probably to his new life as a river snail, she thought. Or a leech. Or perhaps, somewhere out in the desert, a brand-new kehok had popped into existence, fully grown and hungry to kill.
She knew she should be thinking kinder thoughts, for the sake of her own soul, but screw that. He’d frightened Raia in life and turned their lives upside down in death. She wasn’t inclined to think charitably about him.
Maybe he’ll be a slug, the kind that’s caught on a rock in the heat of the day, then withers and is reborn as a trout. That was a pleasant thing to imagine as she hurried toward the temple.
She buried those thoughts deep as she approached the temple. Giving her name to the guard at the visitor’s entrance, she asked to speak with Augur Clari. She hoped it wasn’t too late for visitors to be admitted and was relieved when she was led to the augur’s office.
Inside, Tamra dropped a bag of gold pieces, a portion of her winnings from betting on Raia’s race, on Augur Clari’s desk. “Tuition.”
Augur Clari glanced up. “I am surprised. But you could have left your payment with the bursar. Instead you asked to see me in person? There’s more you wish to say?”
“I . . . I need to go to the Heart of Becar for the rest of the race season.”
The augur’s lips pinched together, and Tamra couldn’t tell if she was pleased or annoyed. She felt as if she were being judged and was failing.
“I know.” The law was clear. Shalla’s training could not be interrupted. “Will you . . . Can you . . .” The words burned in Tamra’s throat as she tried to speak.