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Under the diffuse illumination of the Moon-Stars, Sehaye stuffed a message-tube down the gullet of yet another gede. He had sent many such messages to the Uloas since the day the Fidi ship had appeared out of the mist. He had written about the ease with which the newcomers had been accepted among the mainlanders, and about the influence their leader, the Seer Kyroun, appeared to wield with the Leba, if not the Emperor.
He had no way of knowing what effect his information was having at the court of Jass Imbiah. Sehaye had never received any communications from the islands, nor did he expect to – not until Retribution Time.
The Moon Star’s light glinted on the sea as Sehaye leaned over the side of his boat and placed the gede beneath the surface of the water. As well, the light shone unmercifully on the smooth, unscarred skin of his forearm. He grimaced in disgust at that sight. In his mind, he could see the spider-scars that should have been there to denote his devotion to Legaba.
Legaba, him can see under you skin, Jass Imbiah had assured him years ago, when he had first been told that he was destined to be a spy among the blankskins, at the time when other children were receiving their first marks of Legaba. Jass Imbiah had also told Sehaye that when Retribution Time came, Legaba would raise his hidden spider-scars from the inside to the outside of his skin.
I and I hope that day soon come, Sehaye thought. Although he was always prudent in maintaining the Matile style of speech when he talked, his thoughts often came to him in his native dialect. The division between the speech patterns reflected the incipient division of his identity, even his soul itself – blankskin on the outside, Uloan within.
He looked away from his forearm and back down to where he had dropped the gede. He expected to see only the widening wake the construct left behind as it sped off on its long journey to the Uloas. But he saw no wake. The gede had not departed. It remained where he had placed it.
Puzzled and more than a little apprehensive, Sehaye reached out to nudge the gede into motion. He drew back his hand when the construct turned at stared up at him with its blank, stone-like eyes.
Then the gede opened its mouth and spoke two words that filled Sehaye with a combination of terror and joy. The voice that came from the gede’s mouth belonged to Jass Imbiah.
Retribution Time, it said.
Then the gede sank out of sight, leaving Sehaye staring at the empty space where it had been. He didn’t gaze for long. His spirit soared, even as he also felt a stab of fear at what was to come. He knew what he must do now that the words he had long awaited were spoken. Grasping his oars, he began to row back to shore, back to the mainland that was about to meet its doom at the hands of the Uloans and Legaba.