Meb left the house. Elemak rose to his feet and reached for his bow over the fireplace.
"Don't do it."
He turned and saw Eiadh standing in the doorway to the bedroom, holding the baby on her hip.
"Did I hear you correctly, Edhya?" asked Elemak. "Are you telling me what to do?"
"You tried to kill him once before," said Eiadh. "The Oversoul won't let you. Don't you realize that? And this time you might get hurt."
"I appreciate your concern for me, Edhya, but I know what I'm doing."
"I know what you're doing, too," said Eiadh. "I've watched you with Nafai for all these years, and I thought, at last, Elya has learned to give Nafai his proper respect. Elya's stopped being jealous of his little brother. But now I see that you were just biding your time."
Elemak would have slapped her face for that, except that the baby's head was in the way, and he would never harm his own child. "You've said enough," he warned.
"I'd beg you to stop because you love me," said Eiadh, "but I know that would never work. So I'm begging you to stop for your children's sake."
"For their sake? It's for their sake that I'm doing this. I don't want their lives disrupted for the sake of Rasa's conspiracies to get control of Dostatok and turn this into a village of women like Basilica."
"For their sake," said Eiadh again. "Don't make them see their father humiliated in front of everyone. Or worse."
"I can see how much you love me," said Elemak. "Apparently your bets are on the other side."
"Don't shame them by letting them see that you're a murderer in your heart."
"Do you think I don't understand this?" said Elemak. "You've had a yen for Nafai ever since Basilica. I thought you'd outgrown it, but I was wrong."
"Fool," said Eiadh. "I admired his strength. I admired yours, too. But his strength has never wavered, and he's never used it to bully other people. The way you treated your father was shameful. Your sons were in the other room, listening to how you talked to your father. Don't you know that someday, when you're old and frail, you may hear that same kind of disrespect from them? Go ahead, hit me. I'll set down the baby. Let your sons see how strong you are, that you can beat up a woman for no greater crime than telling you the truth."
Meb burst through the door. He had his bow and arrows. "Well?" he said. "Are you coming or not?"
"I'm coming," said Elemak. He turned to Eiadh. "I'll never forgive you for that."
She smirked at him. "In an hour you'll be asking for my forgiveness."
Nafai knew as he approached exactly what to expect. He had the memories of the Oversoul. He had heard the conversations between Elemak and his fellow plotters. He had listened as he ordered everyone to keep the children in their houses. He had felt the fear in everyone's hearts. He knew the damage Elemak was doing to his own family. He knew the fear and rage that filled his heart.
"Can't you make him forget this?" asked Nafai.
(No. That wasn't one of the powers I was given. Besides, he's very strong. My influence over him is oblique at best.)
"If he had chosen to follow you, he would have been better for your purposes than I am, wouldn't he?"
(Yes.) It might as well speak plainly, since it could keep no secrets from Nafai now.
"So I'm second choice," said Nafai.
(First choice. Because Elemak doesn't have it in him to recognize a purpose higher than his own ambition. He's far more crippled than Issib.)
Nafai sped south, the paritka skimming over the ground, automatically finding a smooth route at a pace Nafai found unimaginable. He cared nothing for the miracle of this machine. It was all he could do to keep from weeping. For now, as he focused on the people of Dostatok instead of the labors of restoring a starship, he "remembered" things that he had never guessed. The struggles and sacrifices Zdorab and Shedemei had made for each other. The cold hatred Vas felt for Obring and Sevet, and, ever since Shazer, for Elemak. Sevet's bitter self-loathing. Luet's and Hushidh's pain as their husbands treated them more and more like Elemak's idea of what wives should be, and less and less like the friends they were supposed to be.
Issib, who depends on Hushidh for everything in his life, how shameful