by Joe Jackson
“Suspicions? Like what?”
Kris put a bowl of cereal and crackers along with a covered cup of milk on the table for Little Gray when he woke up. “Well, you were resurrected by Trigonh. Contrary to what he might say, love had a lot to do with that, right? Consider how long he’s likely to live. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were…altered in some way, so maybe you’d live as long as he would.”
Kari’s brows went up to their limits at that. “I never would’ve thought of that,” she said, but she squared her jaw, having to agree with the logic, whether it was true or not. It would explain people’s reactions to her, but not the way her body felt. She sighed. “But that just means that Grakin…”
Kris came over when she trailed off, and took her face in his hands. “Had probably the best years of his life with you, not to mention two beautiful children. Look, Kari, there’s no easy way to say this, so I hope this comes out right. I’m not, and never will try to replace Grakin. If we end up getting married, I don’t mind sharing your heart with him. All I ask is that you don’t make me compete with him, or compare me to him, for better or for worse.”
She figured out what he meant after a few moments, and laid her head on his shoulder as he embraced her. They split apart at the sound of a door opening, and soon Typhonix wheeled into the kitchen.
The blonde took the two of them in for a moment, but didn’t make any wise-cracks for a change. “You two need help with anything?” he asked.
“No, though I have a question for you,” Kris returned. “What do you think of coming to Streka with me to see if the surgeons there can fix your spine and give you back your legs?”
Ty gave him a dark look. “If that’s supposed to be a joke, it’s not funny.”
Kris straightened up a bit. “No joke,” he said tentatively. “They have different ways of healing up there, Ty. I can’t guarantee they can help, but from things I remember when I lived in Streka all the time…I think they can.”
“Well, Kari needs someone to run the estate…”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Ty. Someone else can do it, or I can learn to do it myself,” Kari said. “If there’s even a chance they can help you, go. Don’t think you owe me anything.”
“When are you leaving?” he asked Kris.
“Probably today,” the Warlord said. “It won’t be fun riding on a ship for a couple of weeks, but I think it’ll be worth it.”
“I can believe that,” Ty muttered. “I’ll get my things together, but damn…how will I explain this to Mom without her wanting to come along?”
Kari both had to hide a smile and chuckle, and imagined the same was true for Kris. “I told her about it yesterday,” the Warlord said. “You might want to write a letter to the rest of your family and friends that won’t see you before you go, but otherwise, just get your things together. After breakfast, I’m going to see if any royal ships are in port that’ll take me home.”
“Damn royals, always throwing your authority around,” the blonde teased.
Kris leaned back against the butcher block. “Well, you could always try to get into the Strekan Province on your own merits. You know, after wheeling yourself all the way to the border.”
“Yeah…I’ll go write that letter,” Ty said, rolling back toward his room.
A squawk and a call of Mama from upstairs got Kari’s attention, and without a word, Kris moved to tend to the cooking while she went to get the children.
*****
Kris left later that afternoon with Typhonix, headed north around the eastern cape to the Strekan Province of the northwest. Kari prayed that their journey would be safe, and that the surgeons of Kris’ home city could indeed do something for Ty. The entire family was jubilant at seeing Ty go, and as much as they joked about it being to get rid of his smart mouth, they were all hopeful that he might be healed. Despite the new additions, the Silver Blades felt incomplete without Kari’s blonde brother-in-law amongst them.
Kari felt strange around her family after the encounter with Kris that morning. She felt guilty about what she’d done, despite the fact that it had served as exactly the ice-breaker she’d intended. Her feelings for Kris were hard to put into words, and he had always been a man of few words where love was concerned. She was satisfied that nothing had actually happened between them, but both had made their intentions known, whether they would share that with Kari’s family in the interim or not. For now, she was happy to keep that to herself. If Kris didn’t come back to DarkWind before she went to Mehr’Durillia, they would likely have several months apart to tell if their feelings truly would blossom, and it wouldn’t come so soon on the heels of Grakin’s death.
She could always share Grakin’s letter with the family, she knew. But it was personal to her, his deepest feelings given written form. She wanted to keep them to herself as much as if she had been by his side and told them in person. Kari didn’t know if he had penned any similar letters to his mother and family; if so, no one had shared them with Kari. She was sure he had, and the others felt the same way about their private notices as Kari did.
Kari finished showering in the bathhouse of the Order’s campus. Liria finished just after her, and the syrinthian woman looked at Kari over the divider between their stalls. Not even a year ago, Liria had been discovered posing as a cadet, a spy planted amongst the Order by King Sekassus the Calculating. Since then, however, the snake-woman had defected to the service of the syrinthian High Priestess, Se’sasha, and Kari subsequently reinstated the young woman as a cadet. Now, Liria was approaching graduation, and under Kari’s tutelage, she was becoming a terror with dual blades.
They exchanged smiles. Kari had no trust or love for the snake-like syrinthian people just months before, but she was beginning to call the ones that had defected her friends. They had redeemed themselves in her eyes, whether the Duke and the other leaders of the city – and even the Order – felt so or not. Se’sasha was like a sister to Kari, a “daughter” of their mutual “Father” Sakkrass – or Ashakku, as the syrinthians called him. Through that bond of trust, Kari had learned to extend it to the other syrinthians.
“I do hope your brother-in-law returns fully healed,” Liria said, drying her hair. “He was quite the imposing drill sergeant, that’s for certain.”
Kari had to laugh. Typhonix was a bull in so many ways, and she knew from the many tales she’d heard that his charges learned fast or else severely hard. His healing would be a boon to the Order as much as the Silver Blades. Kari nodded. “We’re all praying for the best.”
“We will include him in our prayers to Ashakku, I will see to that. Who was that other man I saw you with yesterday and this morning?”
Kari smiled. “You remember the tales of the Warlord from the Apocalypse? That was him: Kristofer Jir’tana. He is Kaelariel’s son, a brigadier general in the royal army, and one of the best men I know.”
A strange expression crossed Liria’s face, and she looked down slightly. “Forgive me if it’s inappropriate to ask, but do your people take other mates when your spouse passes on?”
Am I that transparent? Kari wondered. That made her question whether her family knew more than she thought, and was just being quiet about it. “We do,” she answered. “It’s just…it hasn’t been that long since…”
“I understand,” Liria said. “Sorry to ask.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
The syrinthian girl bobbed her head. “It’s just that a man like that…you’d be best served grabbing him quickly before someone else does.”
Kari laughed despite her somber mood. Kris may have been in his fifties, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have hundreds or even thousands of women ready to leap at the chance to be his mate. Kari seemed to be his first choice, but she kept in mind that she couldn’t use that to dangle him along forever. “Indeed. How about you?”
“Hmmm? Oh, well, there’s not exactly a lot of choices among my people here, are there? Most of our men here are a bit old
er than I; a few were even married before they were sent here. I feel as though they see me as an outsider because I’ve returned to the service of the Order, so I’m not sure they’ll ever take an interest in me. You do have some fine-looking humans among your Order, but I’m not certain how that would work out, or if they’d even be interested.”
“You might be surprised,” Kari said quietly.
Liria snorted, and the two got dressed. The syrinthian girl returned to the barracks where her people lived on campus even after being given limited freedom. Kari made her way toward home, the last rays of sunlight stretching gloriously over the western horizon, sweeping the skies with broad strokes of pink and purple. Summer was coming fast, which only meant the meeting with King Morduri loomed larger and larger in her mind. She wasn’t all that fearful of what he would ask of her; the prospect of leaving her children behind yet again was her biggest concern. How many times would she have to do that, and how much of their lives was she going to miss? Kari had a good network of friends and family that helped raise her kids, but she didn’t want to be a stranger to her children.
Kari got lost in thought as she walked. It was outside the city on the road that led to her estate that she heard her name called within her mind.
Lady Vanador.
“Emma,” she returned, recognizing the voice even in her head. She looked around until she spotted the glowing orange eyes of the mallasti female. Emma was a slave to the Overking, an odd double-agent that was somehow both a threat and an ally at the same time. While she was useful in scuttling the plans of other kings, she was still ever about the work of her master. She was a manipulator and a paragon of subtlety, and on top of that, she was one of the strongest sorceresses Kari had ever seen or heard of.
The mallasti was dressed in her typical traveling robe, a tattered grey garment that spoke little of her power or importance to the Overking. Dressed in the ragged clothing, she looked a pauper more than a sorceress, with her well-groomed reddish-brown fur highlighted by a black snout, hands, feet, and ears doing only so much to counter it. The finishing touch was the collar she wore, a black leather article with metal plates on it that told anyone who looked at her that she was a slave. It wasn’t quite a dog collar, but it was close enough, and had much the same effect that putting a dog collar on her would have. Emma looked humble and harmless, just one of the many layers of deception she cloaked herself within.
“What brings you here?” Kari asked, breaking the growing awkward silence.
“I am to deliver a message to you. King Morduri has requested that you move up your meeting with him; he does not wish to wait until the summer session of the Council as previously discussed. At your earliest convenience, he wishes you to meet him in the village of Moskarre. It is obvious he wishes you to go now so that only the Overking will be immediately aware of your arrival and presence. Coming during the Council session would draw too much attention.”
Kari remained silent for a minute. That the Overking didn’t already know of this when it was his slave delivering the message confirmed some things, to Kari’s thinking. She knew that Emma and King Morduri shared a bed during the king’s stays in Anthraxis, but that she would run errands of this importance for him told Kari it their relationship was stronger than that. They may not be mates in the traditional sense, but they had a deeper connection than Emma simply playing concubine when the king visited her master. On a hunch, Kari decided to test her own theory. “Can you take me there?”
The mallasti’s ears perked up as she cocked her head. “You would trust this one to transport you to Mehr’Durillia?”
“We’ve already established that your master needs me for something, so I have no reason to believe you’d let anything happen to me. If you’re willing to take me, then I don’t have to make arrangements with Eliza Chinchala and wait for it to be convenient for her.”
The mallasti bowed her head. “This one believes the Master would be well pleased with her attempts to increase her rapport with you. This one will do as you ask. When would be a suitable time, Lady Vanador?”
“I have preparations to make; my brother-in-law who handles my household left just this afternoon, so I have to make arrangements to have someone take care of things while I’m gone. I’ve got to get my things together, make sure my children will be cared for…there’s a lot to put together on short notice. But definitely within the next couple of days. Were you planning to stay in the area? Or does the Overking have you sniffing for trouble?”
Emma’s impassive gaze rarely gave any hint what she was thinking, but the last bit got her to smile somewhat. “This one does not discuss her orders with others, Lady Vanador; you know this well by now. Perhaps this one can stay with your friend Elias…the fool seems to believe this one is his friend.”
“Aren’t you?” Kari asked, though she knew the answer. Though she wouldn’t call Eli a fool, Kari did think it was foolish of him to trust one of the Overking’s slaves or consider her a friend. But Kari had long wanted to see the other side of that relationship.
“No, though it is not a matter of personal choice. This one does not have the luxury of calling anyone a friend. She is tasked with doing the Overking’s will, and if that meant she was to kill Elias – or even you – she would do so, or die trying. That is the life of a slave; that is the life this one was sold into. This one has no free will.”
“And yet you’re running an errand for King Morduri without the Overking knowing.” Emma didn’t respond, and her impassiveness remained steadfast under Kari’s scrutiny. After a brief silence, Kari snorted. “Are you a member of the Ashen Fangs?”
Emma scoffed. “Do you suspect this one could operate against the Overking without his knowing? She has certain liberties, but they are few and quite limited. If the Overking had even a suspicion that King Morduri worked against him, this one would be denied any contact with the Reluctant Prince, and she would not be here delivering this message.”
Kari nodded. “You could stay in my home,” she offered. Emma wasn’t expecting that, and it showed easily on her normally impassive face. “I have a spare room now that Danilynn and Eli moved out. You know what they say: keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Since I don’t know which you are, I figure I should keep you as close as possible.”
Emma bowed politely. “This one accepts your invitation, and promises she will cause no division or harm within your home.”
“Great, you can come help me pack.” Kari gestured for Emma to follow along, and the mallasti fell into step one pace behind and to the left of her. That wasn’t lost on Kari; it was the same way she followed the Overking when she was in his presence. If the entire slave thing was just some act or further deception, the girl played it to the hilt. She had never slipped up, not even once, in all the times Kari had met her.
They arrived at Kari’s house just before the sun had completely set. Kari kept walking as though nothing were amiss, curious to see what would happen. As she’d hoped, Emma stopped at the edge of the yard. There was a ward around the entire home and its immediate yard, one designed to stop any “demons” from approaching the house. Of course, the definition of demon was a loose one these days, but managed to include serilis-rir, any of the various peoples from Mehr’Durillia, and especially those of a half-demon nature, such as the half-succubi, Seanada and Eliza. Kari wasn’t sure it would have any effect on Emma with the mallasti girl’s immense power, but the ward held her at bay – or at least, she pretended it did.
Kari turned back to Emma, and the mallasti girl folded her hands before her and waited patiently. “You may enter my home, Emmalikas,” the demonhunter said.
The mallasti bowed her head and fell back into step behind Kari. The house was busy when they entered, people preparing dinner and chattering excitedly about Typhonix while the children played in the sitting area. Se’sasha and Eryn were both there, as were Danilynn, Eli, Damansha, and Jol along with their children. It was crowded, many conversations taking
place all at once, but every one of them came to a halt when Emma stepped into the house.
“Kari, is that…?” Erik prompted.
“Emma,” Eli blurted. He started to move forward, but then stopped and hesitated.
Kyrie had an almost wild look in her eyes, but Kari could understand it. She had, after all, just invited a slave of the Overking to cross Kyrie’s wards and enter their home. Kari didn’t miss the subtle slide of Corbanis’ hand toward his hip, where his blade was sheathed, and she was sure Emma wouldn’t have missed it, either. She gestured for calm, and then stepped to the side so the mallasti girl was in full view of everyone.
“Everyone, this is Emmalikas,” Kari introduced her, and the mallasti girl gave a humble bow. There was a gasp from upstairs, and Kari glanced up to see Sonja looking over the balcony to the lower floor. Her sorcerous sister-in-law came down the stairs in a rush and stood beside Kari, taking in the mallasti with great interest. “Emma will be staying with us for a few days while I get ready to go to Mehr’Durillia. King Morduri requested that I come as soon as possible instead of waiting for the summer Council session, so it must be something important.”
“Kari, why would you bring her here?” Kyrie finally asked, throwing a towel onto the butcher block in obvious annoyance.
The demonhunter gestured for calm again. “Emma came to deliver a message, and she’s agreed to take me to see Morduri instead of making me contact Eliza. We all know her master is up to no good, but for the time being, her orders are to try to keep me alive, so–”
“Fuzzy Lady!” Little Gray shouted as he ran and threw his arms around one of Emma’s legs. The mallasti made no effort to hide her surprise, and neither did the rest of those gathered.
“It’s good to see you again, Emma,” Danilynn said, approaching with her daughter held tightly to her chest.
Emma looked at Kari, then around at the house and all those gathered, and she bowed her hyena-like head graciously. “You honor this one with your words, and she is grateful. Know that she is pleased to see you again in less troubled times, Lady Stahlorr, and with child, no less.”
