The Singers of Nevya Read Online Free PDF Page A

lifted his dark, narrow head occasionally to scan the room, but he and Rhia were left in privacy.
    Sira turned back to hear Magret say, “Would you like to bathe now? After all that traveling . . .”
    Sira accepted gratefully. It had been a busy afternoon, and a long, warm bath would be a great pleasure.
    She and her senior both fetched clean clothes, and Magret led the way to the ubanyix . Here, as elsewhere at Bariken, there was an abundance of decoration. The great ironwood tub was scrolled and sculpted all around its edge, and Sira marveled at the number of obis knives that must have been worn to slivers in its making. Scented flower petals floated on the water, and piles of woven towels from Perl, familiar to Sira, were set out on the benches.
    The two women stepped out of their tunics and trousers and hung them on pegs above their furred boots. As they slipped down into the tub, Sira stretched joyously, relieved to be free of the clothes she had worn for so long. Her body under the water was as lean and taut as a child’s, while Magret’s was curving and plump, with generous breasts and hips softened by the passing of years and comfortable living.
    There were bars of soap from the abattoir in carved niches around the tub, and the soap, too, was scented. The Housekeeper must be very good at his job, Sira thought.
    “Cantrix Magret, shall I warm the water a bit?”
    Magret nodded. “That would be nice.
    Sira got out of the tub to fetch her filla , then stood naked, unselfconscious, as she played a little melody in Doryu , the third mode. The temperature of the water rose sharply, until Magret held up her hand.
    Very good, Sira , she sent.
    Sira smiled, relieved. Now they could really talk to one another. She stepped back into the tub and began to unbind her hair for washing. Maestra Lu sends her greetings to you .
    Is she well ? Magret asked.
    I think she is tired. And worried about me , Sira sent.
    Magret lifted her head, her forehead creasing with a sudden frown. Softly, but aloud, she said, “We have a need to keep our thoughts private here.”
    Sira looked up through the wet, dark strands of her hair. Confusion made her abrupt. “But why?”
    Her senior’s frown softened and she reached out to push a lock of Sira’s hair away from her eyes. “Everything is different here,” she said. “It is difficult to explain. But there are Gifted people in the House who can hear us.”
    Sira leaned back in the water to rinse the soap from her hair. She could only follow her senior’s lead, of course. If Magret wished to explain to her, she would. If not, Sira’s duty was to accommodate her.
    I know it is strange, Magret sent. Try to be patient.
    Sira nodded, unsure what was expected of her. As they stepped from the tub to dry themselves and dress, she told herself she must simply wait and watch. Surely her questions would have answers soon enough. Surely Magister Shen would attend her first quirunha tomorrow, and perhaps she would understand more then. In any case, she had only to fulfill her duties. She was confident of her ability to do that. The politics of the House could not possibly matter, she thought.
    She was mistaken.
    Chapter Four

    Alone in a practice room, Isbel labored over inversions in the fourth mode, trying to fill the emptiness created by Sira’s absence. The fingering was complex, and she did it again and again until her fingers grew tired. She stopped to rest, laying down her filhata and stretching her arms. Strands of hair fell over her shoulders, and she combed them back with her fingers. As she started to redo the binding, the sensation of her fingers in her long hair brought up a memory, one she had avoided thinking of for a very long time. She pulled her hair loose and let it fall about her shoulders as she dwelt for a moment in the past. Her loneliness had begun in her babyhood.
    Isbel had been born between summers, and she was two and a half years old when she first stepped outside into