Recognition by Ann Herendeen Read Free Book Online Page B

pedestrians from the carts and carriages
pulled by animals, we had a smooth passage. People melted away
magically at the sound of the soldiers’ heavy footsteps, turning
down a cross street or into a doorway, or simply flattening
themselves against the buildings. The wagons managed to pull to one
side well before we had to pass them; two curtained litters,
carried by men wearing livery, also stood aside, the bearers
welcoming the opportunity to put down their burden.
    ‘Graven Fortress, close up, was much bigger
than I had supposed from my view of it across town. It loomed over
us like a mountain, its wide, dark entrance like the mouth of a
cave or a mineshaft. Guards at the avenue leading to it and outside
the doors saluted Dominic smartly as we passed. We followed
twisting corridors, tramped up and down stairs, crossed interior
courtyards. I was hopelessly lost after the first few turns; after
the second set of stairs I couldn’t even say if we were above or
below ground. Our footsteps set off loud, echoing reverberations in
some of the passageways. There were places with drafty damp breezes
whistling through, others that were hot and close.
    We emerged at last outside a capacious
high-ceilinged room with tiers of stone seats, an indoor
amphitheater, the Sanctum of ‘Graven Assembly. Dominic thanked his
guards gracefully and dismissed them at the door, all except the
gifted one, who was entitled to take his own seat inside. We let
him enter, then Dominic bowed and motioned to me to precede
him.
    I felt it before I heard or saw—an oppressive
telepathic presence like a heavy fog. After a few seconds my ears
and eyes began to function again, noting the hum of numerous
voices, the crowded seats. There were many more people present than
the small contingent of the ‘Graven I had met with yesterday. It
seemed that every Margrave, Landgrave and ‘Gravina, and every
member of their extended family who could walk, crawl or be carried
wanted to see the Terran woman with
crypta
. Narrow windows
set high on the walls let in a few weak rays of sunlight, adding to
my feeling of constraint, my fate about to be decided by people I
did not know and could barely see.
    The seats were arranged in wedge-shaped
groupings, like slices of pie, representing the twelve ‘Graven
Realms, including a section of unoccupied seats that Dominic said
belonged to an absent, renegade family. The head of each clan sat
in a place in the front row marked by a pennant with a heraldic
device, the direct family members fanning out above and behind in a
rough triangle. I recognized ‘Gravina Ndoko, head of her
matrilineal realm, in a seat midway along the front. Other women,
relations of the patrilineal families, occupied a tier of closed
boxes at the back. Although I could not see them, the presence of
the women’s minds, with their own thought patterns, was
unmistakable.
    Viceroy Zichmni presided from a dais in
front, sitting on a sort of throne facing the tiers of seats.
Dominic showed me where to stand, at a low railing to one side of
the dais, before taking his own seat at the head of the Aranyi
section. We were the last arrivals; as soon as Dominic was settled
Lord Zichmni, apologizing for the early hour, explained that since
these things had been known to take all day he wished to get
started.
    I had assumed Lady Ndoko would do the
testing, but an imposing middle-aged woman came forward instead.
“Edwige, ‘Gravina Ertegun,
Sibyl
of La Sapienza Seminary.”
The herald gave the introduction in an awed voice. Built on solid,
heavy lines, Lady Ertegun had a maternal look belied by her brusque
manner. Unlike Lady Ndoko, she was not veiled. Her bright
strawberry-blonde hair, streaked with gray, was woven into an
elegant French braid, held in place with a diamond-studded clasp.
Smaller diamonds winked at me from matching combs on either side.
Narrow blue-gray eyes assessed me shrewdly; thin lips set in a
neutral line, neither smiling nor frowning,