The Seeker Read Online Free PDF Page B

nodded numbly. “I was only meant to serve tea. But she knows now.”
    “How can you be sure?” he pressed. “Tell me what they said. Did they speak of me?”
    “They said nothing. But at the end, when I was leaving, she asked who I was.”
    He gaped. “That’s all?”
    I shook my head. “She knows, Jes.”
    The light died in his eyes. He might despise my powers, but he did not doubt them.
    “Jes!” It was Rosamunde. She frowned at him from the veranda. “Don’t stare her down like some idiot guardian. Help her outside. Some fresh air will revive her.”
    “She’s all right,” Jes snapped, but he carried me onto the veranda and set me on a couch. Ignoring him, Rosamunde handed me a powder. I swallowed it without demur, hardly noticing its bitter aftertaste.
    “I am sorry,” I told Jes, suddenly remorseful.
    He made no reply. His face was grim. I could not blame his hatred of my abilities. At that moment, I hated them myself.
    Rosamunde had noticed the look on Jes’s face and sat on the couch beside him. “What is the matter? Tell me. You know you can trust me. I’ll help if I can.”
    He looked at her, and to my astonishment, I could see that he did trust her. Lying to this girl would not come easily to him. I studied her properly. She was a plain, sensitive-looking girl, pale as most orphans were, with a mop of brown curls neatly tied back. I wondered how I had been so blind as to miss the thawing of my self-sufficient brother.
    Jes turned to face me. “Are you all right, Elf?” he asked. That had been his pet name for me in happier days, but he had not used it for a long time. How odd that it had taken a disaster to show me that there was still some bond of affection between us. His face was thoughtful, and as I had often done before, I wished I could read his mind. He was not like me, yet his was one of the rare minds that seemed to have a natural shield.
    Rosamunde gazed at us both in consternation. “Tell me, please,” she urged.
    “Elspeth will be declared a Misfit,” Jes said tiredly.
    “You poor thing,” Rosamunde whispered.
    “Elf … has begun to have unnatural dreams,” Jes said slowly.
    I stared at him. Occasionally I had true-dreamed, but that was the least of it. Why was Jes lying?
    “It was the tainted water,” Jes continued, his eyes evasive.
    I gaped openly now.
    “But … everyone knows that sometimes happens when someone comes into contact with tainted water,” Rosamunde said incredulously. “She was normal before the accident, and I am sure that will temper their judgment. She might only go to the Councilfarms, and you could petition for her once you have your own Normalcy Certificate.”
    Then a look of concern passed over her features, and I knew what had occurred to her. If I was declared a birth Misfit, Jes would be stripped of his armband and privileges, and even his Certificate would be in doubt. On the other hand, if the Council judged that I had been affected by tainted water and declared me Misfit through misadventure, Jes’s status would be unaffected.
    I looked at my brother. I had never known what motivated him. But perhaps he thought of more than just himself as he weaved this tissue of lies. After all, it would go easier for me, too, if the Council thought I was a Misfit only by accident.
    “Talk to them,” Rosamunde urged Jes, but he shook his head. “You are no Misfit!” she cried.
    “No,” Jes agreed. His eyes were sad. “Leave us,” he said to Rosamunde gently.
    She burst into noisy tears. “No. I will come, too, if they take you. I could pretend—”
    “Be wise,” Jes said. “We don’t know what the keeper willdo, or what happens at Obernewtyn.” He paused, and I sensed the struggle taking place within him. “If things had been different …,” he began, and then stopped. He fell silent, his face troubled.
    Rosamunde seemed to understand and dried her tears. Her face was wretched with unhappiness. “They might not take you,” she