Cast in Wisdom

by Michelle Sagara

  “Candallar first.”

  Tara looked to Tiamaris for permission. It wasn’t particularly subtle. Tiamaris didn’t appear to notice.

  “I have encountered Candallar twice since I made the fief my home.”

  Kaylin nodded. The water of the mirror remained water, the surface so still it reflected the light perfectly.

  “I have encountered Nightshade more often, but he was one of the few who was willing—on occasion—to speak with the Halls of Law.”

  “Candallar hasn’t.”

  “Actually, he has,” Tiamaris replied.

  “I checked Records.”

  “You checked Records relevant to your duties as a Hawk.”

  “No, I—Oh.”

  “Indeed. The Imperial Records—to which you had no access—are more complete. I believe you will find that some loose permissions have been granted for the duration of your current investigation. Those permissions would be irrelevant in the Halls of Law, but you have access to the palace. I suggest you avail yourself of it.

  “In the meanwhile, is this the man you encountered in the warrens?” As he spoke, the surface of the water in the large basin began to move. Waves broke its stillness. This time, however, the water didn’t remain flat. The center of the pool began to rise. The water moved as if it were elemental. As if it were the water.

  Tara shook her head. “It is not. In the Tower—and in similar buildings and environs—the elements require some rudimentary permissions to form fully, unless the elemental gateway is large. But the Towers can take control, if such control is required. Do you require it?” The last was said a little doubtfully. “If so, this is not the room you wish to be in.”

  “I don’t need to talk to the water,” Kaylin said with some haste. “If I need to do that, I’ll go bother Evanton.” As she finished the sentence, the water finished its slow climb; it then dribbled down as if it were wax.

  What was left in the wake of this accretion of liquid was the height, the shape, of a man. As the water’s movement slowed to a crawl, a face emerged, followed by arms, legs, clothing.

  “Yes,” Kaylin said, replying to Tara’s first question. “This is the man I’d identify as Candallar. His clothing was different, but that’s his face.”

  The water sculpture of Candallar remained standing.

  “You’ve been to Candallar,” Kaylin said.

  Tiamaris nodded.

  “Did you see its Tower?”

  “Not as closely as Nightshade’s, or perhaps not as extensively. I have entered the periphery of the Tower in Candallar.”

  “When Candallar was present?”

  “No. The fieflord of Candallar leaves his home more frequently than other fieflords. I was aware of the purpose of the Towers, but desired to understand them better. I merely waited until he stepped out.”

  “Is Candallar’s Tower like Castle Nightshade?”

  “Not exactly, no. It is less obviously martial.”

  “Given what happened to Barren—”

  “I am pleased with the outcome,” he said, his voice lower. Kaylin discarded that line of questioning.

  “We think Candallar wants to be repatriated.”

  “And he attempted to support a faction within the High Court that offered him what he wanted?”

  “That’s our best guess. It’s only a guess,” she added. “You’d know if his borders became dangerously insecure, wouldn’t you?”

  “Candallar stands guard against the largest of the fief borders to face Ravellon. I believe we would know.”

  Tara, eyes obsidian, said, “We would not know unless that breach threatened our fief. If Shadow came in through any of our borders, we would be aware of it.”

  “Could you allow someone to enter Ravellon?”

  Tara exhaled. “Yes. But Kaylin, the Norannir could enter Ravellon if they chose to do so. We could stop them, but it would require physical intervention.”

  “Meaning Tiamaris would have to fly there?”

  “Yes.”

  “From what you’ve said, this wasn’t accidental. Spike was told to meet someone at the border. The Lord was there. Either Candallar’s Tower didn’t notice Spike, or Candallar could give permission.”

  “It seems that way. The Barrani who emerged from Ravellon carrying Spike did not carry other Shadows. He was allowed to leave. Towers cannot prevent people from entering Ravellon without the aid of their lords. What we prevent is the escape of Shadow. Had the Barrani Lord not entered Ravellon, it is highly doubtful that Spike could have left.”

  Kaylin nodded.

  “Something directed Spike toward the Barrani Lord. Something knew that the Barrani Lord was coming.”

  Kaylin nodded again.

  “I doubt that Candallar himself is on speaking terms—for want of a better word—with Ravellon. Were he, he would no longer be fieflord. There is a creature that calls Ravellon home, but he is capable of leaving it at his discretion.”

  “The outcaste Dragon.”

  “The outcaste Dragon,” Tara agreed. “It would be trivial for the outcaste himself to approach members of the High Court. Or even Candallar. The outcaste is not of Shadow.”

  Chapter 3

  “I don’t understand what the outcaste wants,” Kaylin said, breaking an awkward silence. “I don’t think it’s revenge—from all I’ve heard of his history as a Dragon, the revenge motive would fit better in the other direction. He’s done damage to the Dragons. They might want to hunt him down. Bellusdeo certainly does.

  “But from here it looks like he wanted the Shadow beneath the High Halls freed. Giving Spike to a member of the previous Mellarionne faction would be part of that. Spike was not happy with whatever it was Sedarias’s brother was doing before he died.” At Severn’s expression, she added, “By not happy, I mean afraid. He was afraid of both the ritual and the trapped creature.”

  “But he remained with that creature when it was freed,” Tiamaris said with a slight rise at the end of the sentence.

  “Yes. I think Towers get lonely—it just takes them longer. But no. You’re right. We could unlock the chains binding that Shadow to Ravellon—because it had those chains. So did Spike. Some essential part of their beings was also part of Ravellon—like a continuous mirror connection, without the need for actual mirrors, but with the compulsion to obey every order, every whim.” Kaylin turned thoughtful. “I don’t think the Shadows are evil. But whatever lies at the heart of Ravellon might be.”

  “Might?” The single word was heated.

  Kaylin shrugged. “It’s going to try to escape its prison. If it manages, we’ll all die in the process—but I’m not sure that it cares about our deaths, one way or the other. We’re collateral damage. And I care more about us and our lives than I care about its freedom. I don’t think that makes me a monster, either.”

  “Why do you think this?”

  “Which part?”

  “That our destruction is not its intent?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied, after puzzling it through. “I’ve talked with Shadows we would have once destroyed on sight. Gilbert. Spike. The being beneath the High Halls, although admittedly that wasn’t a lot of talk. They’re afraid of Ravellon. They don’t want to go back. They don’t like being slaves. I think they’d be happy if Ravellon’s Lord was dead and gone.

  “But they’ve never implied that they were sent to destroy everything. Or us. We didn’t figure at all. The Barrani might. The Dragons might. They’re immortal, and they wield a power that the Shadows understand on some level.”

  “The breach of Barren’s defenses killed a significant number of people,” Tiamaris said.

  “Yes—but I’m not certain that that wasn’t the intent of whatever it was that controls them. Attract attention. Divert attention. Killing the people achieves both of those. I don’t get the s
ense that the heart of Ravellon derives power from those deaths.”

  Silence.

  “If whatever dwells at the heart of Ravellon could derive power from deaths—and I know there are schools of totally forbidden magic that can—don’t you think it would be free by now? It’s eaten worlds—at least one that we know of for certain. The life of a world? It’s got to be worth more than my life or your life or the lives of a single fief.

  “So...that’s why I don’t think sacrifice gives Ravellon power.”

  Tiamaris nodded. Tara’s nod was reluctant and stiff, but any discussion about Shadow had that effect on a building that would rather be an outdoor gardener. A vegetable gardener.

  “The Dragon outcaste was certainly driving the Aerians.” Kaylin hesitated, and then added, “He was driving the Aerians from within the Aerie as an Aerian. The Aerians couldn’t tell the difference. Neither could the rest of us.”

  Tiamaris exhaled smoke, and not a small amount.

  “If we understood what the outcaste wants, we’d have a better chance of blocking him. Right now, we don’t know. We only know that he’s interested in Bellusdeo; that he wants her to join him.”

  More Draconic silence, but this time, it was accompanied by an orange that was shading to red as Kaylin watched.

  “And that doesn’t change the concerns about Candallar.”

  “Are you certain that Lord Nightshade has not been approached by similar agents of Ravellon?”

  “No.”

  “Then I suggest you ask him.” He exhaled less smoke; this time, when he gestured, the image of Candallar melted, the water that formed it flowing back into the basin. “This is what I know of what Candallar is. Records, fiefs.” The fiefs appeared instantly.

  The fief of Tiamaris was gold, as was the fief of Nightshade. The rest of the fiefs existed in outline. “We know enough about the fief of Nightshade to be certain that these are its boundaries.

  “The thick white lines between the fiefs represent the border zones. The lines vary in width by the subjective difficulty in penetrating them. My subjective difficulty,” Tiamaris added. “The borders are not entirely fixed. Lord Nightshade has crossed the borders between Tiamaris and Nightshade, as have you. I do not believe his crossing was as difficult. It is in the borders that some of the rules of magic as we currently understand them seem to break down.

  “The Tower locations marked on the map are accurate. Tara does not believe that the Towers themselves can move or be moved. The street names in the border zone, however, are meaningless for the current investigation.”

  “Why are they there, then?”

  “They are taken from archival records. The Arkon’s,” he added before Kaylin could ask why those archives had not found their way into the Halls of Law. “We have rough maps and some odd biographical information from before the fall. Where those streets align with the shape of streets in the fiefs as they are now, I have chosen to identify them by the ancient names.

  “Those names will mean nothing to the occupants of the fiefs themselves. Even the streets in my fief have been renamed in places. You will see streets in relation to the Tower and in relation to the fief boundaries. Unfortunately for you, the two fiefs that are bordered by wall and the Ablayne cannot be as easily crossed if you cannot fly. There are gates, but the gates do not, as you can imagine, see much use.”

  “Not none.”

  “No, not none. The fiefs are not entirely self-sustaining. But in my experience, the gates into Farlonne and Liatt require some permission to use. As the fiefs are not part of the Empire, that permission cannot be demanded.”

  “You flew.”

  “I did.”

  “Farlonne and Liatt aren’t our problem.”

  After a longer than necessary pause, Tiamaris said, “Not at present.”

  * * *

  Tiamaris’s map did have a marked route from the external border of each fief to their Towers. Those routes did not cross borders. “You spoke of the difficulty of the border zone. If you didn’t cross the border—”

  “I did not say I did not cross the borders, but the border crossings—here and here, as an example—were attempted after the initial foray into each of the six fiefs. I wished to see where the borders were in relation to each other; it was an attempt to map the fiefs correctly. I do not suggest this as an investigative approach—but the Towers do not control the borders.” He glanced at Tara.

  She took over. “We are aware of the borders of our own domains, or rather, we are aware of where they begin. My Lord is correct, however. Beyond the borders that were transcribed for us at our creation, we have no control. Nor can we see what occurs within them.”

  “Are you more aware or less aware of which border is crossed?”

  Tara considered this. “The border that would cause immediate alarm is the Ravellon border. Am I aware of other crossings? Yes, but not immediately, and not in the same way.”

  “So if I came here via Nightshade, instead of the much safer bridge, you wouldn’t be alarmed?”

  “Those borders are not the borders we consider dangerous. The crossing might be noted, but the borders are not entirely fixed, and there are occupied buildings that are at the limit. People at the edge flicker in and out from time to time, entirely due to the location of their living quarters.”

  Kaylin nodded.

  “If your supposition about Candallar is correct, two borders were crossed. The border that is formed by the Ablayne river, and the border adjacent to Ravellon. Candallar’s Tower may be aware of areas on the Ravellon-facing border that are weaker or more easily breached. I highly doubt that the Tower would allow anyone to both cross that border and return in secret, with the single exception of the fieflord.

  “If, however, the fieflord commanded the Tower to accept passage into and out of Ravellon, the Tower would be on high alert; the chance of carrying Shadow and its contaminant into the fief itself would be considered a high probability. Or it would, if I were the Tower. We may therefore assume that either Spike is unusual or the Tower itself has been compromised.”

  “Spike is pretty unusual,” Kaylin offered.

  “I would advise you to investigate the man who entered and left Ravellon.”

  “I think he’s dead. Things were a little messy in the High Halls at the end. Also, Teela is investigating that angle, and she’s made pretty clear that she doesn’t want my help.” Teela’s exact words had been much more unkindly emphatic.

  Tara frowned. “I feel that bumbling is harsh.”

  “I thought so, too, but she had that look on her face, so I didn’t argue. If our investigation leads into Teela’s, she’ll have to accept us, but she won’t be happy.”

  “I often feel that Teela is never happy.”

  “She’s Barrani.”

  * * *

  “I think we should cross at the internal border,” Kaylin said as the Hawks left the Tower. “If Candallar knows that he’s under suspicion, he’ll know that we’re coming if we cross the bridge.”

  “He’ll know that we’re coming regardless,” Severn said. He had fallen in beside her in a patrol-speed walk.

  “He’ll have to be looking. Tara said that the people who live in the buildings directly adjacent to the borders sometimes flicker in her awareness. If that’s the case, the border is our best bet of not being detected.”

  “That’s clearly the case for Tara. It might not be the case for Candallar’s Tower.”

  “She seemed pretty certain that the Towers share the same imperatives.”

  “So were we until we met Tara.”

  This was a fair point. Hope apparently agreed; he pushed himself into the sitting position on her shoulder and gave Severn a brief but regal nod.

  “There are few people who try to sneak into the fiefs, and most of those are fleeing to a place where Imperial Law doesn’t ap
ply.” Severn glanced at her. “My forays into the fiefs were done at the command of the Wolflord.”

  “Candallar probably didn’t notice. The inhabitants of the fiefs are mostly mortals.”

  Severn’s nod wasn’t quite agreement.

  “You think he knows too much about mortals and Imperial Laws.”

  “I think he knows enough not to make the assumption we’re harmless, but Barrani arrogance is fairly pervasive.” He looked up as a large shadow crossed their path.

  Bellusdeo, Maggaron on her back, descended into an empty patch of road. Maggaron immediately dismounted and returned the Dragon’s clothing to her; she took a bloody long time putting it on.

  “Where are we going next?”

  Kaylin wanted to tell Bellusdeo that she was going home. Her compromise was to ask Bellusdeo to return Maggaron to Helen. If she and Severn intended to cross the border without immediately alerting the Tower of Candallar, having an eight-foot-tall companion was going to make it impossible.

  Maggaron didn’t seem happy with this compromise. Bellusdeo couldn’t fly him to Helen and fly back without breaking the law. It was, in the gold Dragon’s opinion, a very stupid law, and it wouldn’t be the first time she had chosen to break it—but at this point in her tenure in Elantra, flight was not the hill to die on.

  Maggaron, understanding this, offered to walk home alone. Bellusdeo growled—literally—but accepted his offer. Even Kaylin felt slightly guilty. It wasn’t his fault that he was so damn tall, and if this had been a city of Norannir, his presence wouldn’t have mattered. But Tiamaris was the only home of the Norannir who had survived the destruction of their world, and they seldom crossed the Ablayne into Elantra proper.

  It was unlikely that anyone would be stupid enough to attempt to mug or steal from him. Not impossible, but at this time of day, most people wouldn’t be drunk enough that stupid became the new normal.

  * * *