“You had words. A name.”
Helen grimaced. “I did. But it was not trivial to speak the words in a fashion that could be heard. It has been attempted. People have come to me who understood the function of the name I was given; they knew the surface of the word itself. But the heart of command requires the ability to command, and that is something they lacked.”
“I don’t have that.”
“Ah, no. But it is different. I desire to have you as a tenant; you desire to have me as a home. Where you lack the ability to forcefully compel—with no regard for my existence except as a tool—you have my desire to be your home. I cannot disobey you, should you now command me, however.”
“Sedarias thinks that’s not true,” Mandoran said.
“Sedarias is wrong,” Helen replied in a pleasant, even maternal tone.
Kaylin suspected that Sedarias was right, but was inclined to trust Helen’s belief in herself. Either way, it wasn’t the problem. “The fiefs are what happened when the Towers were created. Killian was in the lands on which they were situated. How did he survive?”
“That would be the question,” Helen replied, in a much more neutral tone. Her black eyes were fixed on Kaylin’s face; she didn’t blink once.
“Helen?”
“Yes, dear.”
“Do you think Killian created the border zone?”
Chapter 8
Helen didn’t answer immediately. The cohort, who had seen little of the fiefs or the areas between them, had no immediate opinions to offer.
“Great,” Mandoran said, for no obvious reason.
The reason came floating through the dining room doors: Terrano.
“What?” he asked as all eyes fell on him. “This is way more interesting than politics.”
“You were talking politics?” Kaylin asked as he made his way to the table.
“I was in the same room as Sedarias.” Terrano shrugged. “The question you posed is more interesting. I spent a lot of time in places almost entirely unlike this one. Meaning,” he added, “not like the city. I spent a lot of my life inside a building, and I sort of understand buildings like the Hallionne. The Hallionne don’t have the same core imperative that the Towers have.
“But Alsanis shut himself off from the outside world when we were his prisoners. And the Hallionne, unlike Helen, are entirely independent. They can respond to those who know how to speak with them, but they are not compelled to obey their commands.”
“You’re sure?”
He snorted. “What do you think?”
“You’re sure.” Kaylin turned to Helen. “Is he right?”
“He is correct about his assumptions in regard to Alsanis,” Helen replied. “But Alsanis appears to have been particularly fond of Terrano, and of the cohort in general. I am not a Hallionne, but I believe my function was similar. Ah, no, I believe the intention was similar. A great deal of my power involves hospitality and security. Killian’s function was not quite the same.” A rare smile touched her lips, lingering in the corners. “There were some complaints about him in my youth.”
“Complaints?”
“He did not believe in cozening students. Given his situation, his students were often considered among the elite of their people—there were very few mortals, for instance—but he had odd views on education in the eyes of those elites.”
Terrano snorted. “Did all of his students survive?”
“That would be an excellent question. He oft said ‘I’ve hardly misplaced any of them’ in response to questions such as yours. He was said to have strict rules when applied to the students; the rules that governed his behavior were less clearly stated. I should add that he was the one who built the communication channels between us; he was, he said, quite bored.”
“And he’s been compromised.”
“From the sounds of it, yes. And no. Had he a master or a lord, it would be more readily apparent.”
“How?”
“Kaylin is my master—”
“Tenant.”
“Tenant, if it makes you more comfortable. Tenant, then. Kaylin is my tenant, but even when she is not present within my walls, her desires and her rules hold sway. I could not simply dispose of one of you behind her back, no matter how tempting that might be. I could not hide the crime for long, if at all.
“What she wants from a home, I provide. That is true no matter where she is or how often she returns or leaves. If Killian says he has no master, it is best to take him at his word.”
“And the wall full of people?” Kaylin asked.
“I am uncertain. You said he did not appear to be aware of the wall?”
“Or the room. Or he was lying.” She hesitated and then said, “Buildings of my acquaintance don’t seem to lie much.”
“It is not beyond us,” Helen replied. “But it takes both will and effort to utter words that have no meaning. I would imagine that if Killian was built to withstand the petty malice brought to bear by the young and the insecure, he might well have that function. He might also be able to choose not to offer information that he possessed, in the theory that that information had to be earned by more academic or observational endeavors.”
“Do you think he has—or had—a master in the past?”
“Almost certainly.”
“Do you think that master is gone?”
“Yes.”
“So, getting back to border zones. Could you turn our front lawn into a border zone equivalent?” Terrano’s eyes were practically sparkling as he leaned into his hands, his body angled entirely in Helen’s direction.
“No, dear,” she said to Terrano. “I highly doubt that that is a wise idea. I do not have an appreciable understanding of what, exactly, this border zone is. It is not like the outlands, but more than that I cannot ascertain. Kaylin, could you ask Severn to come over?”
“Why?”
“Because he has investigated the border, and I think it will cause less discomfort than attempting to have Lord Tiamaris as a guest.”
“He’ll come over after work tomorrow.”
* * *
In the morning, Kaylin discovered that she had not only a Dragon in tow, but also one of the cohort; Mandoran had decided to tag along. He offered to do so incognito, by which he meant invisibly. Mandoran was nothing new.
Terrano, however, decided that he would come exploring as well, and that was now a crowd. Kaylin, like any other human being, didn’t appreciate a crowd looking over her shoulder when she was trying to get work done. She wasn’t an entertainer, after all.
“I think Terrano considers you very entertaining, dear,” Helen said as Kaylin grumbled her way to the front doors.
“Not helpful, Helen.”
Terrano snickered. Hope, the traitor, also snickered. Kaylin left the house with both Mandoran and Terrano, on top of the Dragon. Bellusdeo chose to find their company amusing, rather than insulting.
* * *
Clint and Tanner, on door duty, gave Mandoran and Terrano the side-eye as they entered the building. They had become completely accustomed to Bellusdeo and didn’t blink when she entered the Halls of Law by Kaylin’s side.
The group made their way down the hall, but Terrano got caught up in the aerial exercises of the Aerian trainees. Kaylin didn’t blame him. She’d been part of the Halls for all of her adult life and a good chunk of her adolescence, and she still sometimes paused to watch them.
Today, however, she was a corporal, and she wanted that to have some meaning, so she struggled to remain responsible and reasonable. This involved dragging Terrano to the office by the shoulder so she wouldn’t be late.
Marcus was at his desk. He, too, had become accustomed to the Dragon as an unofficial Hawk—which was nothing short of a miracle, given how the sergeant generally reacted to Dragons in his office. Marcus had a long memory a
nd could hold a grudge forever. He was less sanguine about Mandoran and Terrano, but then again, so was Kaylin.
“This is not a tourist zone,” he snapped, orange-eyed.
“That’s a pretty impressive pile of paper,” Terrano replied.
This didn’t make the color of Marcus’s eyes any happier. But at least his facial fur didn’t rise.
“Lord Sanabalis has sent a missive,” Marcus said, which wasn’t what Kaylin expected.
She wilted. “About?”
“Magic lessons and your inability to make any of them. He is, what was the word he used? Concerned.”
“We’ve been a bit busy.”
“Indeed. I heard you had a bit of an adventure in the fiefs yesterday.” He glared pointedly at a layer of paper near the top of one of his stacks. He also used the word adventure as if it were a cursed and despised thing.
Kaylin cringed. “Yes, sir.”
“I see the Dragon returned unharmed.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Fine. Today, you are to take no shortcuts. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Why are these two with you?”
They were bored was not an acceptable answer, and Kaylin prayed that Terrano wouldn’t give it. Mandoran had done this drill before.
“The fieflord of Candallar is Barrani,” Terrano said in a tone that was just this side of normal, for the office. “He’s an old acquaintance of my family, although he’s outcaste. We’d like to speak with him to ascertain just how invested he is—and was—in the events that transfigured the High Halls. I believe he’ll speak with me. I’m new enough that I present no obvious threat. But I am a Lord of the High Court.”
Marcus glared at Kaylin, his eyes unblinking.
Kaylin had no idea if anything that had fallen out of Terrano’s mouth was actually true.
“And the other one?” Her Leontine sergeant finally said.
“I’m backup,” was Mandoran’s cheerful reply. “I’m also technically a Lord of the High Court, for what that’s worth, but I’m Terrano’s guard.”
“And Candallar is going to accept you as guard, and your friend as diplomat while you’re also accompanied by a Dragon?”
Mandoran winced. Terrano, notably, did not. Somewhere in the distance, Kaylin was almost certain she could hear Sedarias shrieking in frustration.
“This is the modern era,” Terrano replied. “We’re ruled by a Dragon; we have individually sworn personal oaths to serve his empire. Lord Bellusdeo is of the Dragon Court.”
“I am not present as a Lord of that Court,” Bellusdeo unhelpfully said.
“No. But if things go bad in Candallar, we’re going to be happy to have you present. Given Candallar’s possible involvement in the High Halls, and given the gray legality of some of those interactions—and his understanding of the Halls of Law and the rules of exemption—the Hawklord wants Kaylin and Severn to investigate.
“Having us there can only make that investigation safer for the mortals.”
Marcus snorted. And growled. “I trust you understand all the ways what you’ve just said is inaccurate.”
“It’s aspirational, sir,” Mandoran added.
Marcus snorted, but his eyes were a slightly paler orange. To Kaylin, he growled, “I expect a report of the day’s activities to be on my desk by this evening.” He had gouged a faint runnel in the surface of the desk. Hardwood was definitely better than soft. “But go to Candallar via the bridge, this time. No detours.”
* * *
Terrano disappeared when they exited the Halls, and after a moment, so did Mandoran. Kaylin assumed they were somewhere above the crowded streets; Terrano didn’t like crowds. If Kaylin had wings, she would have avoided them herself.
Bellusdeo didn’t seem to mind, but she wouldn’t. Crowds of mortals didn’t hold much fear for her. Which was fair; no one who recognized a Dragon would be suicidal enough to attack them or attempt to pick their pockets.
They made their way to Candallar’s bridge, skirting the warrens; the boardwalk was considered safe at this time of the day. Severn, however, was on alert; safe was always a relative term.
The bridge to Tiamaris was, by this point, well-traveled. People who had once avoided those bridges as if their lives depended on it now used them, as their livelihoods now did. Wagons, carts and the craftsmen who drove them could be seen lining up; there were no tolls to cross, but notice was taken by guards on either side of the bridge.
No other fief bridge saw similar use; during daylight hours, the bridges were entirely unoccupied. Candallar was no exception. There were no guards on either side of the Candallar bridge, but guards, in general, served little purpose. The warrens held no fear for the fief.
Kaylin wanted Bellusdeo to stay home.
Bellusdeo was not going to stay home. Kaylin had explained that rule of law, such as it was, didn’t exist in the fiefs; the laws that governed the fiefs were the fieflord’s. This meant, in theory, that there was no law preventing fieflings from attacking the Dragon, and if an attack on the Dragon were to occur, there was no safer place for the attackers.
“It won’t be safe for them,” the Dragon had countered. “I am not required to retain my human form, either. There is no prohibition against breathing on the foolish.” Her smile had too many teeth in it.
Mandoran and Terrano chose to land—and reappear—when the Hawks reached the bridge; they crossed it on foot.
“You don’t need to do that for my sake,” Bellusdeo said.
“It’s not for yours,” Terrano replied. “Can’t you see it?”
The Dragon’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ll take that as a no. Mandoran can’t see it either, if that’s helpful.”
“It’s not.”
Terrano turned to Kaylin. “She’s always like this, isn’t she?”
Kaylin offered a universal fief shrug. “Can you dim your visibility here?”
“That? Yes. But the flying part isn’t really safe for us when we’re near the border.”
“I have no issues flying over the borders.”
“No, but you’re a Dragon. You come by wings naturally. We have to fiddle a bit.”
The Dragon’s eyes were orange. “We are definitely saving this discussion for later. When we’re surrounded by Helen.”
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re visible or not. We’re in Candallar. The fieflord will know. The Tower will know.”
This fief looked far more like Nightshade than Tiamaris. The buildings were old and structurally questionable, but people occupied them, scurrying from window to window in the upper floors. Kaylin’s gaze was drawn there; she felt almost as if she had never really left the fiefs.
It was a feeling she hated. The tabards she and Severn wore weren’t exactly discouraging; the Barrani who accompanied them were more of a threat or a warning to anyone who might seek them out.
“You intend to go the direct route?” Terrano asked.
“Might as well. If he doesn’t want to speak with us, we’ll never find him.”
“And if he does?”
“I don’t suggest we do it on the inside of his Tower.”
“No. If he insists, I will wait outside.” Bellusdeo grinned. “I’ve half a mind to shift form and wait outside now. While the Tower does have control of elements of the fief, Towers wield absolute control only within their walls. Candallar will be aware of our presence and our location if the Tower alerts him or if he is looking. Or,” she added with a sweeter smile, “if he is, in fact, in the fief at all.”
* * *
Bellusdeo didn’t go full Dragon. She walked, her escort mortal Hawks and theoretical Barrani. Neither Terrano nor Mandoran could stiffen their faces and postures into those suitable for Barrani guards, and neither were of a mind to try.
“He’s here
,” Terrano said as Kaylin felt a twinge across her forearms.
“How close?”
“Not close. But he’s aware of us now.”
“I can’t see him.”
“No. Ask your familiar for help.”
Hope lifted a wing before Kaylin could comply. Candallar was standing in the center of the street, alone, some twenty yards from the formidable height of the Tower that bore his name. His eyes were firmly fixed on Bellusdeo.
The haze around his body shifted and lessened, dissipating as she watched. Hope once again withdrew his wing.
“Well met,” Candallar said. “Well met, Lord Bellusdeo. Lords Kaylin, Severn, Terrano and Mandoran.”
Kaylin stiffened.
“I had heard rumors that you might pay a visit to my humble abode. I am honored.”
Mandoran stepped forward and stood one step to the left of Bellusdeo—but in front. Bellusdeo said nothing. Her eyes remained orange, not red; her expression implied a chilly lack of amusement. She did offer Candallar a nod. “Fieflord.”
Mandoran, however, said, “Lord Candallar.” He bowed.
“That is no longer what I am called by my kin.”
“It is what you are called in the territory you rule. We have no quarrel with Candallar, although that was perhaps not always true.”
The fieflord had an easy, friendly smile. It was almost charming, which put Kaylin further on guard, something she would have bet wasn’t possible.
“You refer, perhaps, to your ascension in the High Court? I have heard only rumors; many of my sources of information have gone silent in the past few days.”
“Indeed. It has long been true that choosing the wrong side has consequences.”
“It has also been said that peaceful climes do not a warrior make.”
“We were not raised in peaceful climes,” Mandoran replied, Terrano stiff and almost lifeless at Kaylin’s side. “We were not bred for it; we were not trained for it. If the wars that were responsible for our journey to the green have ended, and we are now at peace with the Dragons, the experiences that formed us remain.”
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