From Across the Clouded Range by H. Nathan Wilcox Read Free Book Online

insisted on at least changing my clothes and combing my
hair.”
    “ Your appearance is of no
concern to me, Dasen,” Di Valati Alsance said. He rose from his
chair and held Dasen’s hand in a firm grip. “May you find peace in
the Order.”
    “ And you,” Dasen responded
automatically.
    “ What is of concern to me
is your choice of accommodations. I thought we spoke about sleeping
in the library. The university provides you with a perfectly
acceptable room and I expect you to use it. The Order holds no
secret so urgent that you need avoid sleep to find it. As an old
man, I can assure you of this.”
    “ Yes, sir, I will try to
remember that,” Dasen replied. If I ever
see the library again. “I suppose I lost
track of the time. I will be more careful in the
future.”
    Di Valati Alsance slapped Dasen on the
arm and smiled. He returned to his seat and looked to
Ipid.
    As if impelled by the old man’s
example, Ipid finally rose and embraced his son. “I am happy to see
you, Dasen. I am sorry to arrive on such short notice.”
    “ Of course, father. I . .
. I am glad that you are here and certainly would not have kept you
waiting if I had known of your arrival.”
    “ It is done,” Ipid brushed
the indiscretion away and returned to his seat. “You are probably
wondering why I have come. I wish that I saw you often enough that
my arrival was not a point of great intrigue, but I suppose that is
the path the Order has set us upon.” Dasen was surprised to see his
father looking nervous. He shifted in his chair and studied his
hands before bringing his eyes back to Dasen’s. “Well I might as
well get it out, so we can all start breathing again. Dasen, I have
decided that is time for you to be joined.”
    “ Father, I believe my
place . . .” Dasen cut himself off. What
did he say? Joined? Dasen shook his head
and reordered his thoughts, but he could not get past the idea.
“Joined?” he finally asked.
    “ Yes,” Ipid sighed. He
folded his hand in his lap and looked at them for a long moment.
Dasen was shocked by his father’s demeanor almost as much as the
purpose of his visit. He could not ever remember seeing his father
unsure or troubled. “I have decided that it is time for you and
Tethina to be joined. We will travel to Randor’s Pass and hold the
ceremony as soon as it can be arranged.”
    “ To . . . to Tethina?”
Dasen’s mind swam. He had enough political and commercial savvy to
know the value that any number of powerful families would place on
a blood connection to Ipid Ronigan – hadn’t Lily Harbisher just
proven it. Yet his father was proposing that he travel to some
remote logging outpost to marry the orphaned daughter of a
blacksmith?
    “ Of course to Tethina, who
else could it be? Surely you know that has always been the Order’s
plan for you.” Ipid looked aghast. “When you and Tethina were born
just weeks apart, a boy and a girl, after Marin and your mother had
both had such troubles, we knew it was the Order seeking to
solidify the bond between our families. Until the . . . the
accident,” Ipid stuttered then paused to cough. He pulled a
handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his mouth. “Excuse me. Until
the accident, you and Tethina were inseparable. I don’t think you
ever spent a day apart. I think that when we left Randor’s Pass you
were more upset about leaving Tethina than . . . than anything
else.” Ipid tried to smile but could only manage a sick
imitation.
    “ I’m sorry, father, I
barely remember Tethina,” Dasen managed around his still
considerable shock. He had expected his father to try to end his
time at the University, but he did not think he would do it with a
joining ceremony. And even if there had been a promised bride, he’d
have expected it to be the daughter of a trading partner,
politician, or Liandrian noble. “It has been a lifetime for both of
us. How is it that she is not already joined? Don’t girls in
villages like Randor’s Pass get