The Tattered Lands

by Barbara Ann Wright

Vandra shook her head. “I don’t think she knew who it was.”

  “She should have come to us in the first place!” someone shouted, and the bickering was back on.

  The cube came down again. “Clearly, Assemblyperson Bahn wanted movement on this issue before the sun dies, and the world turns to dust,” Rahvi said. That got more than a few chuckles, but there were also scowls in her and Vandra’s directions. They couldn’t see outside their own sphere. Vandra imagined she’d been as bad at other times, but this was life and death.

  After a deep breath, Vandra answered a few more questions, and then it seemed they had enough to argue about without her. After taking the tattered piece of metal from her, they sent her from the chamber without further orders.

  “Bed,” Pietyr said when they stood outside. “Now.”

  Fieta nodded, and it made Vandra yawn just thinking about it.

  “Where?” Vandra asked.

  “Home,” Fieta said. “Not yours, Van, and not your office. We’re going to sink into the welcoming bosom of our family.”

  She didn’t say it, but she knew the twins wanted to be present if their family needed protecting. Vandra suspected that her presence would put her family in danger, but if she shared that thought with the twins or her parents, they would insist she stay as close as possible. And running off would only put everyone in more danger. By the flat looks the twins gave her, maybe they could read her mind.

  “All right.” She pitied any assemblyperson or murderer who tried to get through them unscathed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Even shrouded, the seelie gave the first human settlement they came across a wide berth. Lilani craned her neck, watching humans come and go from wooden walls. The town sat in the middle of a field with no way to blend in with the surroundings. Instead of building with nature, the humans seemed to take it as an affront. They’d cut down all the trees and didn’t live close enough to a water source. Maybe they only wanted to be surrounded by their own kind rather than nature. A group of temporary looking structures squatted on the southern side of the town, all slanting metal and tin. Sleeping in the trees would be more comfortable than those shanties…if the humans had left any.

  She wanted to get closer until the wind changed, and she caught a whiff of all the different smells, not many of them good and nearly all unidentifiable. She changed her mind, deciding they were close enough. She was going to have to get used to human smells eventually.

  But not yet.

  They stayed off the road, following it at a distance and shrouding whenever anyone came into view. They camped that night without a fire, lying together in a shallow, limestone hollow nestled in rolling hills. The Guard took turns on watch, but they passed an uneventful night.

  The next day, the great human city of Parbeh came within view. Lilani had to stop and gawk, and she wasn’t the only one. Lucian had a calculating look as if figuring out the best way to approach. Faelyn sighed as if reliving a memory before he dug in the packs and unrolled clothing for himself and Lilani. For their initial meeting with the humans, he’d brought long frock coats to wear over soft, doeskin trousers. Her dark amethyst coat was silk; his was blue brocade. Each had eight carved wooden buttons at the front. Her lapels and the edges of her pockets were sewn with silver thread, and tiny beads in the silk sparkled when they caught the light. His blue coat had a mild shimmer, and with their polished black boots and their hair stirring gently over their shoulders, they made quite a striking pair.

  “Hmm,” Faelyn said as he looked her over. “I think we should all wear our hair up. From what I remember about humans, the magic surrounding us disturbs them the first time.”

  “But they’ll be able to feel it if they get close,” Lilani said.

  He shrugged. “They can explain away a vague feeling, but we might tap into their primal fears of the unknown if we walk around with hair that has a mind of its own.”

  “Very well.” She twisted her hair behind her head and secured it with a few pins before helping the Guard do the same. The two who would masquerade as her attendants donned shorter, plainer coats. The other four remained in leather armor, Lucian included, though they polished the dark, intricately carved suits to a high gloss. No one wore jewelry, not yet, not wanting to flaunt such things in front of ordinary humans. They hoped their clothing and weapons were enough to imply they were capable of helping others and defending themselves.

  After a few deep breaths, Lilani stood in the middle of the Guard with Faelyn, her two false attendants behind her. They carefully walked toward Parbeh, not wanting to mar their fine clothing with dirt. Lilani began to wonder if one of the Guard should have gone first to announce them, but when the walls of the city came into view, it seemed too late.

  Just like the other human place, a temporary looking settlement had collected along these walls as if it had been washed up and abandoned by the sea. As the seelie came closer, a crowd of humans gathered to gawk.

  The smell was almost a living thing.

  With waste, cooking food, dirt, unwashed bodies, and other smells she was happy not to identify, Lilani barely managed not to hold her nose. Maybe it was the sheer bulk of humanity; Vandra and her siblings hadn’t smelled like this. Maybe only people of a certain class had the ability to bathe? There were so many humans, after all.

  Children crowded around the Guard with no one to attend them. Lilani stared, grinning. She’d never seen another child. All the other seelie had been grown when she was born. She touched one gently on the head before the Guard shooed them back, though they continued to flock around the seelie without fear. What could be better than an escort of happy children? Maybe the adults would learn from them.

  Lucian bent close to her ear. “If something goes wrong and we must separate inside the city, we will meet here.” He gestured toward a nearby tin dwelling that seemed a little more permanent than the others. Lilani nodded but tried to put that option out of her mind, hoping they wouldn’t need secret meeting places.

  By the time they reached the walls, the shanty-dwelling humans had made a parade in their wake. Besides armed guards, several others had gathered at the gates to Parbeh, probably brought in haste after the seelie’s slow march through the shanties. Lilani spotted finery and flashy metal armor. As she approached, one of those in green brocade stepped forward and bowed. His light brown hair curled around his forehead and ears. He had deep lines around his mouth and small ones at his eyes, a sign of human age. Lilani wondered how old that made him, how old the lack of lines made Vandra.

  She returned the bow, feeling Faelyn do the same.

  “Welcome to Parbeh, honored guests,” the brocade wearer said in badly accented, nearly unrecognizable seelie.

  Lilani couldn’t help a little jump. She glanced at Faelyn, who shrugged. So, some knowledge of the seelie had survived. The words were mangled, though. This man had clearly never heard the language spoken aloud.

  As he stumbled over another greeting, Lilani interrupted. “We speak the human tongue.” Unlike his teachers, hers had actually heard the language they taught, even if they hadn’t spoken it for many years.

  He smiled smoothly and switched languages. “We are pleased to have such esteemed visitors gracing us with their presence. I am Wurabi, seneschal to the five monarchs of Citran.” He bowed again.

  “I am Lilani, envoy of Empress Dyrana, and this is my retinue. We have come to see your monarchs and to speak of grave matters.” She cast a glance at the people behind them. If they weren’t allowed to bathe, she imagined they weren’t privy to most information, either. She’d have to ask Vandra whom she could speak to about what.

  Wurabi nodded slowly. “Of course.” He stood aside. The guards around him moved aside, leaving room for Lilani’s group while glaring at the humans behind them.

  So, the shanty dwellers weren’t allowed in the city, either. Lilani started forward, and when her group passed, the human guards fell in place behind her.

  Wurabi nodded at the se
elie Guard. “Are these your only companions?”

  “Are we not enough?” she asked with a smile.

  When he still looked around, she realized he was looking for shrouded seelie, but he didn’t mention them. “We are honored to have you.” He returned her smile, and it even reached his eyes. Either he was simply a pleasant person or he knew enough to fake it.

  As they wound through the streets, more crowds gathered, curious, mumbling. Lilani tried to smile and not be intimidated. The buildings crowded together, cutting off views of the city, though she spotted tall structures in the distance. She could smell the people again as well as a million other tiny aromas: fish and cooking meat, refuse and offal, sawdust and metal polish. The roads were a mixture of dirt and brick, and some of the buildings sported tiny plots of grass or trees. The entire place was alive with noise: voices, the call of birds, the ring of metal on metal, and more sounds she couldn’t separate from the din.

  Wurabi led them to an area of the city where the buildings were larger, the clothing more ostentatious, and the plots of nature larger, though the smells were as strong. Thankfully, the noise was less. Wurabi stopped in front of a house that sat behind an iron fence and had a stone path leading to the dwelling. The wooden walls were painted blue with hints of white. It stood on two levels, the same rectangular shape as those on either side.

  Wurabi gestured them through the gate then opened the door and beckoned them inside. “This will be your home while you’re in Parbeh, if it meets with your approval.”

  Lilani glanced at the interior curiously. “I thought we would meet with the monarchs.”

  He gave her another charming smile. “Such a meeting is being arranged, but like everything in government, it takes time.” He smiled wider as if that was a joke.

  Before she could ask questions, he bid her farewell, asking her to remain inside for the time being. Lilani frowned after he’d gone. She’d expected him to take her to the monarchs right away. Surely Vandra had returned and told them what she knew. But human guards waited at the gate, keeping away those who’d gathered in the street. When Lilani looked out the rear windows, she saw another small plot of greenery surrounded by a high stone wall with a metal gate in the center. She spied movement beyond and knew human guards were watching that side of the house, too.

  “Charming as a prison,” Faelyn said.

  Lilani gave him a dark look. “It’s a courtesy while we wait for the monarchs to prepare for our visit.”

  He rolled his eyes. “They know we can shroud. Traversing that flood of humanity would be difficult but not impossible. We could leave or sneak up on their monarchs whenever we like.”

  She winked. “So, not a prison, then?”

  He shrugged and sat while the Guard went through the house, looking for spy holes or secret doors. Lilani and Faelyn readied their other finery should they need it. The rugs in the bedrooms were soft and plush, and the bedclothes were fluffy. Everything seemed comfortable and thick. Lilani often slept outside with no covering, but these beds were heaped with blankets. Maybe humans were always cold? The thought that Vandra might want to snuggle for warmth was intriguing.

  The kitchen was stocked with bags of fruit and vegetables, pots of flour, and several dead animals hanging in a larder. Had someone been bundled from this house to make room for her, or had the humans rushed to make it ready? She supposed it didn’t matter, though it bothered her that someone might be burning with resentment at her presence.

  In the sitting room, Faelyn lounged on a heavily cushioned divan, sipping a glass of wine. “If it’s not a prison, we might as well relax and enjoy it.”

  “I don’t want to relax,” she said. “I want to see—”

  “Vandra?” Faelyn asked.

  “And why not? At least she was…” She trailed off as she spotted movement through the windows. Someone was at the gate. “Something’s happening.”

  Faelyn was at her side in an instant. “Lucian!”

  “I saw them,” Lucian said as he clomped down the stairs.

  He didn’t order Lilani back so she stood on her tiptoes. The guards at the gate were speaking to someone, and as they stepped apart, Lilani caught a glimpse of a familiar face.

  She was out the door before anyone could stop her, and their warnings didn’t keep her from jogging up the stone path. She didn’t try to stop her grin. A similar smile bloomed on Vandra’s face when their eyes met.

  The human guards turned, hands on their weapons. Lilani pulled up short and continued at a more sedate pace. “Vandra! I’m so glad you’ve come.”

  Vandra’s smile widened. “I…” She looked at the guards as if unsure what to say. Her siblings remained in the street, both of them staring at the guards with irritated expressions.

  “My apologies for not sending word,” Lilani said. “Please, come in!”

  The guards glanced at one another. They had a quick, muffled conversation before one of them hurried away. Lilani sighed. Word of Vandra’s visit no doubt had to wing its way up the chain of command. How seelie of them.

  “We’re not supposed to admit anyone without the seneschal’s approval,” one guard said. When Lilani raised an eyebrow, he added, “For your protection, madam.”

  “By all the gods!” Vandra cried. “I’m not an idle tourist. I was the one who first met them. I’ve spoken to the assembly. Has no one told you?”

  The guards stared, stone-like. Lilani’s jaw dropped. That did not sound like the calm woman she’d met, but Vandra had dark circles under her eyes and a stoop in her shoulders. She hadn’t rested easy since she’d been home. Lilani wanted to reach out to her.

  “We know each other,” Vandra said. “And I’m not afraid of going in there, so…” She gestured to the gate, but the guards didn’t move.

  Lilani took another step, hands out for everyone to see. “It’s all right, Vandra. Protocol, no doubt.” As she reached the gate, she gave the guards a look, and they scooted to the sides, giving her and Vandra a little room. Vandra wrapped a hand around one of the iron bars. Lilani rested hers above. They were close enough to speak without being overheard, close enough to kiss if they wanted, but Lilani put the stray romantic thought out of her mind.

  For now.

  “Are you well?” Vandra asked.

  Lilani nodded. “It’s a very comfortable house. I hope the monarchs will see us soon.” Even if they didn’t know or believe about the failing pylon, they’d want a chance to gawk. “And you? Your siblings?”

  “All well.” Her smile seemed sad.

  Lilani’s grip tightened on the gate. “What’s happened?”

  “A friend of mine…passed not long after I returned.”

  “Passed?” Lilani asked softly. By Vandra’s sad expression, there was only one place the friend could have gone. “I’m sorry.” Lilani had to wonder how old a friend it was, how close they were. They must have known each other well for Vandra to be so sad. “Was it sudden?”

  Vandra nodded. “And connected to the trouble with the pylons.”

  Lilani’s stomach tied up in knots. So, people were dying already. But humans became infirm when they aged. Could they die from worry? She risked moving her hand onto Vandra’s and giving it a squeeze.

  Vandra took a sharp breath and seemed as if she might pull back. Embarrassment bloomed inside Lilani, and she tried to pull away, thinking Vandra didn’t want to be touched, but Vandra leaned forward, lips parting and gaze darting toward Lilani’s mouth.

  Was that desire? Lilani felt an answering heat rise within her, but she couldn’t indulge it here, not with the guards and the curious onlookers.

  “Vandra,” Lilani said softly.

  Vandra’s gaze jumped to Lilani’s eyes before she glanced away, stammering, the color in her cheeks deepening. “Sorry.”

  “I’m glad you’re all right,” Lilani said.

  Vandra smiled again, but before she could speak, Lilani tightened her grip. “When the seneschal comes back, I can tell him I want yo
u with us. He asked if we needed anything; I can lay claim to an alchemist.” Vandra brightened, but Lilani shook her head. “Before you say yes, consider that it might make your own people suspicious of you.”

  Vandra shook her head. “That doesn’t matter. We need to be able to speak whenever we want.”

  Lilani nodded, proud and pleased. If after this, Vandra’s people wanted nothing more to do with a friend of the seelie, Lilani would take Vandra and her family with her when she left. She could bring her mother around to the idea of having a few humans in her midst, and there had to be a way of getting past the magic of the Court.

  After another glance at the guards, Lilani let her hand drop. She had no doubt this incident would be reported to a superior, but if Vandra was going to become part of Lilani’s retinue, that didn’t matter. She had no doubt she could get what she wanted. She was used to arguing with immortals. She’d heard it all.

  * * *

  Vandra didn’t know what to do. The guards weren’t letting her pass, but she didn’t want to leave, not with Lilani so close. When their hands touched, heat seemed to radiate from the contact, and Vandra felt the flutter of Lilani’s magical field. Vandra’s first instinct had been to pull away, not wanting to give the guards a show, but Lilani’s presence drew her forward as if they had opposing charges. After the surge passed, Vandra was glad the guards hadn’t let her in. She might have draped herself all over Lilani then died of embarrassment.

  Now Lilani had come up with the perfect solution to their predicament, but she was right that claiming Vandra and the twins as part of her retinue might alienate their own people. Still, no matter what, Vandra had to work with the seelie. Even if certain assemblypersons wanted to oust her because of her ties to Ariadne, she was the syndrium expert. Perhaps being listed as an associate of Lilani’s would get her back to where she needed to be: fixing the pylon.

  Torn by indecision, Vandra stood there stupidly, staring as Lilani smiled. They couldn’t say anything real with an audience, but what would Vandra say if they were alone? Admit she’d been thinking about Lilani? That she looked forward to sleeping so Lilani could appear in her dreams? Not only was it not the time for such musings, what would she do if Lilani dismissed her feelings? Vandra shuddered. Lilani seemed kind, incapable of such boorish behavior, but Vandra wasn’t the best at reading people, and she hadn’t even confided how she felt to the twins.