It was the amusement she hated. “You know so much about my life and about things that haven’t even been brought up in conversation here, there’s no way you didn’t already know that.”
“I fail to see your point.”
“You’re being unfair to her, and you know it. Why?”
Bellusdeo coughed. Mandoran nudged her foot under the table, as if Karriamis wouldn’t notice.
“Would you care to field that question?” Karriamis asked Bellusdeo.
“Not particularly. Not here. We’ll talk about it later.”
“Later being?”
“When we get home.”
“Ah, home.” Karriamis smiled. “Is that what you call Helen?”
“It’s what Kaylin calls Helen in a fundamental sense, and I live with her.”
Karriamis rose. “Is that how you see it, then?”
Bellusdeo’s face was utterly neutral. “Yes.”
“Very well. I will ask no further questions, but will say one thing: you have made excellent choices in your friends. Even this one,” he added, glancing at Mandoran, “who would be considered at best an acquaintance by most of our kin—or his own—given the scant time you have known him.
“And you, boy, are a friend worth keeping and preserving. You were willing to risk your own life to preserve hers.”
“It wasn’t her life I was worried about. She’s a big, scary Dragon.”
“It wasn’t her existence, but her life as I understand it.” He then turned to Kaylin. “How much has Helen discussed her previous tenants with you?”
Kaylin frowned. “She’s talked a bit about the very first tenant, but other than that, she’s said nothing.”
“And you have failed to ask.”
“No, I...I did ask.”
“And she refused to answer?”
“She cares about them, even if they’re dead. She’s protecting their privacy.”
“It is not practical. It is not pragmatic. In my experience, the dead care very little about their privacy; the dying frequently care about their legacy: they wish to be remembered.”
Kaylin thought about this. “I don’t care if I’m remembered. It won’t do me any good.”
“Ah, yes. Yes, that is true. But I will talk just as much as Helen does about my previous partner.” He then turned again. “And so we come at last to Lord Emmerian.”
Bellusdeo rose.
“You should take notes from this one,” he said, although he did not look away from Emmerian. “He is adept at layering his thoughts to protect his motivation. Were it not so obvious to these old eyes, I would not know most of what he is thinking.”
“He is not generally discussed in the third person when he is present,” Emmerian said.
“Not generally, no. Pardon my manners. You are angry.”
Emmerian inclined his head. He looked alert and cautious to Kaylin’s eye, not angry.
“I understand. But surely your ability to stand by while Bellusdeo is in danger makes you ineligible to be guardian of your race?”
Emmerian said nothing for five seconds. Kaylin counted, almost holding her breath. On the sixth second, Bellusdeo breathed fire directly at the Avatar.
The flame of her breath was red, not the white-gold that could melt stone. Among Dragons, it was very much like swearing. Kaylin could still feel the heat of the flames.
Karriamis’s clothing did not turn to flame and its resultant ash. “I see,” he said, “that the time for temperate conversation has passed. It might be difficult to believe this, but I am pleased to have made your acquaintance. I am uncertain that you are right for the Tower, but there is one major mitigating factor in any judgment I might render.”
Bellusdeo’s very red eyes indicated that she didn’t give a crap about either his judgment or his so-called mitigating factors.
Emmerian, however, remained orange-eyed.
“I will note you have not answered my question,” Karriamis said to Emmerian.
“No.”
“And will not.”
“No. It is, in the parlance of the young corporal—” and here he nodded in Kaylin’s direction “—none of your business.”
Silence. It was broken by Karriamis’s unexpected and booming laughter.
“I have no desire to captain a Tower, even this one. The question is therefore irrelevant.”
“And neither you nor Bellusdeo has any interest in my mitigating factors?”
“I have none; they are irrelevant to me. But I cannot and will not speak for Bellusdeo.”
Bellusdeo was silent.
Mandoran, however, said, “I’d like to know, if it’s all the same to you.”
“You are in the same position. You have no desire to captain this Tower, and even had you, I would not consider you a possibility. You are young and foolhardy. You are immortal, but not—as I often told the hatchlings—invulnerable.” At Mandoran’s expression, he added, “She could have killed you.”
“She wasn’t trying.”
“She was.”
He snorted. “I’ve seen her fight. Trust me, she wasn’t trying.”
“Your loyalties are entirely too personal.”
“You’ve clearly met Sedarias.” He winced. “But, regardless, I’m not here as a candidate, if this is what this lunch is for. I’m here as an emissary.”
“You have an interesting idea of diplomacy.”
Mandoran shrugged, as if he’d heard it all before. He had, of course. While Kaylin had sometimes wished she could join the cohort group mind, she was distinctly glad at this moment that she wasn’t part of it.
“Very well. I will not accuse you of failing to understand the import. I see that this is not strictly speaking the truth. The mitigating factor in any decision I might make does not reside directly with Bellusdeo or your Sedarias.
“It is with you. With Lord Emmerian. With Lord Kaylin. Bellusdeo has chosen her allies wisely.”
“She didn’t have much choice, and allies isn’t quite the right word.”
“It is exactly the wrong word,” Karriamis said, smiling. “You are her friends. She has chosen her friends wisely. Necessity makes some choices mandatory, of course—but the friendship she has offered you has clearly been returned. She values you. You value her. This is a striking point in her favor.
“But you are aware of this, surely? It is what Sedarias herself has done. If she formed bonds for reasons of necessity, she would die for any of you.”
Mandoran grimaced. “I really wish you hadn’t said that.”
“Oh?”
“Among our kin, it’s not considered a compliment.”
“I am not responsible for your reaction to my words; that lies with you. Or in this case, with your Sedarias. Regardless, for today, we are done. You may see yourselves out; I have much to think about.” He rose. “And you may tell Sedarias—or whoever feels they have the merit to captain a Tower, to captain me—that they may take the risk that Bellusdeo has taken. They may visit in person.”
* * *
The walk back from the Tower of Candallar was not as quiet as the walk there had been. Bellusdeo was silent until she passed through the portal that led to the fief; she offered Kaylin an arm and a shoulder as Kaylin also passed through the portal. The passage was rough.
There was no way, in Kaylin’s admittedly minor experience, that Karriamis would do what Tara had done: take the risk of opening up the Tower to unwanted guests in order to allow Kaylin a single entrance that didn’t rely on portal magic.
But when they had left Candallar and entered Tiamaris, the woman in gold plate armor turned to the man in blue plate armor, her eyes once again orange-red.
“Why didn’t you say anything? Why did you let him talk to you like that?”
“Because he is not wrong,” Emmerian replied.
“He is wrong in every particular!”
“I did stand back. When he tested you, when you were...in distress, I waited.”
“And that somehow makes you unfit?”
“I intruded on Helen’s sanctuary. I...lost my temper. It has been a long, long time since I’ve experienced such a loss. If I cannot remain in your presence and allow you to be who, and what, you are, I have no business being in your presence. You are not, Lannagaros’s opinion aside, a child. It has been some years since you have been one.”
“And?”
“Adults make their own decisions, weighing the possible consequences. Mandoran,” he added, glancing at the silent member of the cohort, “understood the nature of the consequences to you before I did or could. My concern was your health, your well-being; I did not think that the Tower was intent on causing you physical injury.
“Mandoran understood where the true danger lay. Had Kaylin been killed as collateral damage, it would have harmed you in ways that mere physical injury would not. You would, if you survived, heal from physical damage. The...other damage would have been profound.”
“What did he mean by guardian of your race?” Kaylin asked.
Both Dragons swiveled toward her, their eyes the distinctly unfriendly color.
“Forget I asked.”
“Karriamis was not wrong,” Emmerian said again. “What would you have said were you in my position?”
“I said it,” was the curt reply. Bellusdeo stared at Emmerian for one long moment, and then pulled ahead, picking up the pace in a way that would have been punishing for any mortals not used to spending an entire day on their feet.
* * *
Helen was waiting at the door when they arrived, her eyes obsidian, which was never a good sign. “Dear,” she said, to Mandoran, not Kaylin, “what exactly did you do?”
He shrugged. “I tagged along with a Dragon and a person who can’t stay out of trouble to save her own life?”
Helen frowned. “Things have been a bit...uncomfortable here. I believe your friends are arguing.”
He groaned. “Look, I’m just going to go for a walk.”
“I believe they’re expecting you.”
“That’s why I’m going to go for a walk. Somewhere safer and quieter. Like, say, Ravellon.”
Bellusdeo smacked the back of his head. “Not even as a joke,” she said. She didn’t look angry.
“Lord Emmerian, I am not certain this is the best time for a visit. I am sorry.”
Emmerian nodded.
Bellusdeo, however, said, “It’s not a good time, no. It is a necessary one. If Emmerian enters, can you keep him relatively safe?”
Helen closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were brown. “I’m sorry, dear,” she said, opening her arms to enfold Kaylin in the “welcome home” hug. “Yes, of course I can keep him relatively safe. I have not sent the cohort to the training room, but I am seriously considering it.”
“Definitely going for a walk.”
“Oh no you’re not,” a familiar voice boomed from the top of the foyer stairs. Since it was Sedarias, Mandoran sighed.
“Or not.”
“Come upstairs. We’ve got a lot to discuss.”
“I’ve already heard most of it.”
“You can listen again, but this time, you can pay attention.”
“I was kind of busy,” he said, as he dragged his feet toward the stairs.
“Yes, we know.” She glanced, once, at Bellusdeo and her guest, and turned heel without comment.
“Has she been like that all day?”
“Yes. I believe she is arguing with Terrano, as well.”
“Terrano came back?”
“No, dear. That’s why she’s arguing.” Helen frowned. “Would you like to tell me about your day?”
“Not the long, normal way, no. But you can see it, right?”
Helen nodded.
“Good. I’ve got questions about Towers and captains and tenants.”
“Let me see Lord Emmerian and Bellusdeo properly settled,” Helen said, her expression almost sorrowful. “And then I will meet you on the patio.”
* * *
The patio, such as it was, was not actually a normal version of a patio—not that Kaylin had a lot of experience with normal patios, given her life to date. This one was reached from a door at the end of the hall that otherwise contained the private rooms of Helen’s guests. And Kaylin.
Severn had chosen to remain for dinner, but dinner wasn’t going to be served in the dining room; there were too many discussions happening, and some of them required Helen’s focused attention.
Kaylin was therefore down the list. Nothing she could do constituted a possibly dangerous emergency.
“That is not true, dear,” Helen’s voice said. Her Avatar was serving tea—or drinks—to the two Dragons who were now ensconced in the parlor.
“Compared to the cohort?”
“You would, admittedly, have to put in some effort, especially these days. But I have confidence in you.”
The patio no longer contained a dining table suitable for several people; there was a single, round table suitable for four, but only two chairs; Helen didn’t need one. “I may take a bit longer to answer your questions than I otherwise would. What do you wish to ask?”
“Well, Karriamis told me to talk to you about tenants.”
“Yes, I see that. He was perhaps overly impressed with my abilities.”
“We want to know—”
“Bellusdeo wants to know.”
“Fine. Bellusdeo wants to know why Karriamis accepted Candallar as a captain.”
“Ah. What he told you is materially true: people change. Life changes them. Fearful people become more fearful—or less—as they gain experience. Candallar fled the High Halls when he was declared outcaste.”
“We don’t know why he was declared outcaste.”
“With your friends at Court? You should be able to find out.”
“Do you know?”
“No. I believe the cohort might, but their information sources are not as good as yours, given their long absence, and the information they’ve received has been conflicting.”
She wondered what Bellusdeo and Emmerian were doing.
“Talking.”
“About what?”
Helen tsked, and Kaylin fell silent. “I’m worried about Bellusdeo.”
“I know. So am I. Mandoran is more concerned about her welfare than he is about the cohort, which is why Sedarias is incensed.”
Kaylin could understand that, as well. She didn’t approve, but it wasn’t her job to approve or disapprove.
“I find it odd that here, Barrani and Dragon can become friends in a fashion familiar to you. Odd, but gratifying.”
“Fine. You can’t tell me about Candallar, and Karriamis won’t. Your previous tenant died before I arrived to apply for a room.”
“Yes.”
“How long had he been dead?”
Silence. Kaylin thought Helen wasn’t going to answer. “Years. I’m afraid a more accurate measure would take—Excuse me.”
“Helen?”
“I have either a fire—or worse. I’m sorry, dear. I’ll be back.”
15
“I have no idea why I ever thought this was a good idea,” Kaylin said as she left the patio table, Severn in her wake.
“Which part?”
“Any of it!”
“They had nowhere else to safely go.”
“You mean the cohort?”
“Any of them. The danger to Bellusdeo wasn’t physical—or not purely physical. But she had nowhere to go, either.”
“I just—”
“Wish everyone could get along?”
She nodded.
&nbs
p; He shrugged. “We’d both be out of jobs if that was a realistic possibility. And on most days you love your job.”
“I want to leave my job outside of my home.”
Severn shrugged. “Training room?”
“Parlor first.” She was reasonably certain the cohort wouldn’t actually kill each other, and she was absolutely certain Emmerian wouldn’t injure Bellusdeo, possibly even in self-defense. No.
She understood why Mandoran had risked his life to interfere with Bellusdeo in the Tower; she understood what the danger he’d faced then was. She wanted to make certain that it wasn’t happening again.
* * *
The door to the parlor was closed; no smoke trailed out from the space between door and jamb. If Bellusdeo and Emmerian were fighting, no evidence of that was clear.
Until Bellusdeo roared.
Kaylin reached for the door. Severn caught her arm and shook his head. “She’s angry, she’s not enraged. They’re having a discussion. It’s the cohort we need to see.”
Helen’s voice didn’t tell them to stay put, which confirmed Severn’s opinion. She did, however, caution them about the avenues of safe approach.
“What does that even mean?” Kaylin demanded, as she jogged towards the closet door that led to the expansive training rooms.
Helen didn’t answer. Then again, she didn’t need to. Kaylin opened the door into a field. A battlefield, apparently, given the broken standards that awkwardly adorned it. There were as yet no bodies, but grass had been stripped from the earth by the passage of many feet—some of them hoofed, by the look of the damage. “Wrong room.”
Severn was looking at the banners. He turned back toward the door and exhaled, shoulders slumping.
There was no door. Of course there was no door.
Kaylin let out a stream of Leontine invective.
“She did warn us.”
“I want more information in my warnings. Damn it.” Kaylin listened for the sound of clashing armies, clashing forces, that these banners implied. Severn, however, walked to the nearest. Kaylin had missed it; the pole had been sheared in half at an angle, and the cloth lay across the ground. He lifted it.
Cast in Conflict Page 24
