Lord of the White Hell book Two lotwh-2

by Ginn Hale

  "I'll live." Kiram looked down at his chest. A ropy scar stood where Elezar's blade had sliced him open. "What about you?"

  "For today at least." Javier slowly pushed himself up onto his elbows.

  "Thank God!" Elezar sounded like he might burst into tears again. He cautiously led Lunaluz closer to Javier.

  "God had nothing to do with it." Javier scowled at Elezar, who bowed his head like a beaten dog. With Kiram's help Javier rose to his feet.

  "I can't believe you stabbed me," Javier told Elezar.

  "I didn't mean to hurt you!" Elezar protested. "I would never. It was Kiram-"

  "No, Elezar," Javier growled. "You drove your sword right through my chest. That wasn't Kiram's doing. And it is no more forgivable that you intended that blow to kill him."

  Elezar shot Kiram an angry glare that made Kiram want to lunge for Elezar's fallen sword and make the man swallow it. But he controlled his anger. There had been more than enough swordplay already.

  "He's done something to you, Javier." Elezar wiped the back of his sleeve across his bloodied, filthy face. He sounded like a petulant child. "He's bewitched you, seduced-"

  "Open your eyes, Elezar," Javier snapped. "If there was a seduction or a bewitching you know it would be my doing. Kiram is a decent man from a good family whereas I'm the hell-branded duke. Honestly, which of the two of us do you think would resort to seduction? Kiram has been nothing but good and honest in all the time we've been together. He was loyal to me even when it cost him the comfort of his home. It might be even more telling to ask yourself what it is that you have done to me, Elezar. Counting the autumn tournament this is the second time you've stabbed me. Is this really how you keep your oath of loyalty? How you treat our friendship?"

  "I didn't mean to do it." Elezar sounded so miserable that Kiram nearly felt compassion for him. But the fact that Elezar had fully intended to murder him and had nearly killed Javier squelched his sympathy.

  Elezar stroked Lunaluz's cheek gently and laid his face against the stallion's neck. "I would die for you, Javier. I swear it. I would die."

  Javier's hard expression softened a little and he stepped forward. "I don't want you to die. But I do want your word that you will never raise a hand against Kiram."

  "But he…you and he." Elezar protested.

  "I will not have him harmed," Javier stated firmly. "He is dear to me, Elezar. More dear than my own life. He is my heart and soul. And if you raise a hand against him again, then you make me your enemy."

  Hearing this Kiram felt both horrified that Javier would confess so much to a man who had nearly murdered him and who could still witness against him before a court of law, and at the same time he flushed with pride at Javier's open, ardent words.

  Elezar looked sick and miserable. He clung to Lunaluz and the stallion nuzzled him with familiar affection.

  "I swear that I won't harm you, Javier. I won't betray you," Elezar said.

  "And Kiram?" Javier demanded.

  Elezar scowled at Kiram. His jaw flexed and his lips twitched as if forming a single word was an immense effort.

  "Forget it," Kiram said. "His word doesn't mean anything."

  "You know nothing of it!" Elezar shouted at Kiram.

  "Bullshit," Kiram snapped back. "I've seen enough to know that you'll forget any oath you swear when you lose your temper. You're a bad loser, Elezar."

  Despite himself Kiram stepped closer to Elezar. His heart raced as he met Elezar's angry gaze. Suddenly Kiram felt aware of the weight of the sheathed knife hanging from his belt. Very deliberately, he placed himself between Elezar and his fallen sword. If it came to a fight he would need every advantage he could claim.

  "You've made promises to Javier and broken them already." Kiram shook his head as Javier started to speak. This needed to be settled between him and Elezar and it had to be done before the bishop's men came. They couldn't afford to be fighting the shadow curse and Elezar at the same time. Sweat beaded under Kiram's arms but he stepped right up beside Elezar.

  "It's only your actions that matter. So let's get this out in the open. You want to fight me. Let's do it now."

  Elezar's fist came up and Kiram gripped his knife. But then Elezar's dark gaze softened. He squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his hand to his side.

  "I'm not going to kill you, Kiram. You're my little brother's best friend." He sighed heavily and wiped again at the blood caked beneath his nose, seeming nearly as exhausted as Javier. "If you want to bend for Javier, that's your business. Just don't do it in front of me."

  Kiram nodded. He doubted that he could get better than that from Elezar. He certainly wasn't going to argue over who bent for whom more often. He stepped back, feeling sore and relieved.

  "We're all good?" Javier asked.

  Elezar and Kiram both nodded though neither could bring themselves to look at each other.

  "Good." Javier looked relieved. Lunaluz sauntered to him and butted his head gently against Javier's shoulder. Both Kiram and Elezar stood silently by as Javier scratched Lunaluz and the stallion sniffed and inspected Javier. Kiram wondered where his mount, Verano, had gone. Probably back to the Grunito stables.

  Then Kiram heard Nestor's voice, booming from a distance. He called Kiram's name and before Kiram could call back he appeared on the road, riding his roan gelding and leading Verano out to the glade.

  As he approached, Nestor expression grew more horrified and worried. "What in God's name happened to all of you?"

  Kiram opened his mouth and then closed it, unable to think of anything to say that wouldn't horrify Nestor further. He certainly couldn't tell the truth.

  "It's my fault," Javier said. "I wanted to test how easily I could recover from being run through." He flashed that dashing smile that so often made his more rash or ill-conceived actions seem daring and bold.

  Nestor seemed only half convinced.

  "Turns out," Javier went on casually, "it's not so easily done. At least not without making quite a mess."

  "It looks like there's been a murder." Nestor squinted through his spectacles at Javier's torn, bloody shirtfront, then at the huge burned circle at the base of the old oak tree.

  "There nearly was." Elezar gave a game smile but his tone was oddly flat. "It's a good thing there weren't any ladies about, that's for certain."

  "That's madness," Nestor told Javier. "You were run all the way through?"

  Kiram caught the flinch in Elezar's expression though he doubted that Nestor did.

  "Straight through." Javier turned slowly for Nestor, who gaped all the more at the blood-soaked shirt.

  "Madness," Nestor repeated. "I mean, what if you hadn't been able to recover? You could have been killed, you know" He gave the three of them a look that clearly conveyed that he was reassessing his high opinion of their intellects.

  "Yes," Javier replied. "Well, it's not something I'm likely to attempt again."

  "I hope not." Nestor continued to peer in silence at the ugly scabbed wound in Javier's chest and a queasy sallow color crept into his complexion.

  "Why were you calling me?" Kiram asked Nestor.

  "Oh." Nestor brought himself up sharply. "Sorry, I nearly forgot. It's your brother, Majdi. He's come to see you and I think it's important."

  "Where is he?" Kiram asked.

  "He was waiting at the house gates when I left him," Nestor replied. "I don't think you should talk to him looking like you do though. I mean, he's likely to think that you're being treated abominably."

  "Why don't you invite the man into the house while the three of us clean up," Elezar suggested.

  Nestor nodded and handed Verano's reigns over to Kiram.

  "You tried to stop them, didn't you?" Nestor asked in a whisper.

  "Some things can't be avoided no matter how hard you try." Kiram smiled to reassure Nestor. "At least we're all right now. That's all that matters, really."

  Twenty minutes later Kiram sprinted down the grand staircase of the Grunito house
wearing a loose pair of Javier's fencing trousers, one of Morisio's spare shirts and a servant's coat. They were the only clothes to be found in short order and Kiram was happy enough to have them even if members of the house staff did pause and eye him suspiciously as he hurried past them.

  Majdi awaited him out in the spring garden, leaning against a huge bronze planter from which an explosion of rose vines burst up in a tangle of green leaves and gold flowers. He wore his brilliant red Mirogoth coat and rested his foot on a traveler's trunk. He furrowed his brow as Kiram drew closer. "Why are you wearing a servant's clothes?"

  "My own are filthy. These are what fit on short notice." Kiram crossed his arms over his chest. "Didyou really come all this way to criticize my wardrobe?"

  "I came to see how you were."

  "I'm fine."

  "Yes, you look it," Majdi replied with a smirk.

  "I've had a rough day." Considering everything that had happened he felt that the faded bruises, random scratches, small burns and singed hair he sported weren't all that bad. "In fact, I've had several rough days but I feel as though things might be looking up now."

  Majdi gave a slow, knowing nod and it worried Kiram a little. "Mum's been worried sick about you."

  Kiram laughed out loud at that. Last he remembered she'd slapped him and thrown him out of the house. "Worried sick about my marriage to Hashiem, you mean?"

  "No, I mean she's worried about you." Majdi gave him the same look of aggravation that he often cast upon their more spoiled cousins.

  "Majdi, you don't know what she said."

  "Not something mean?" Majdi taunted. "Are you telling me that you infuriated Mum and she didn't just hug and kiss you to bits?"

  "I'm serious!" Kiram almost cringed at the tone of petulance in his own voice. She called Javiei-"

  "Some things are best not repeated." Majdi held up his hand and glanced up to the balcony above. Kiram thought he glimpsed Cadeleonian faces looking down at them. "I know what she said. Half the Haldiim district knows thanks to some fruit vendor. But you know Mum, Kiram. You have to know that she didn't mean it."

  "Then why did she say it?"

  Majdi rolled his eyes. "Are you really such a child that you can't understand that people say things they don't mean when they're angry? Do you really not know that you behave exactly the same way?"

  Instantly the memory of hurling a scrub brush at Javier's face returned to Kiram as did his demand that Javier never speak to him again. Kiram felt his cheeks flushing with guilt.

  Majdi nodded as if cementing his conversational victory. Kiram straightened the cuff of his coat to avoid meeting Majdi's gaze. At least he hadn't called Javier an animal or run him through.

  "Look." Majdi's tone relaxed and when Kiram looked at him his expression had softened. "I know from personal experience that you don't want to be a little snot about this. You'll just end up feeling like an ungrateful brat later."

  "She threw me out and I'm the one who is ungrateful?"

  "She assumed you'd go to Uncle Rafie and be perfectly safe," Majdi replied. "But no. Instead we find out that you wandered off into the smoke district and got attacked by Musni and his drunk friends."

  Kiram blinked at Majdi for one uncomprehending moment. He'd almost forgotten about his scuffle with Musni. It seemed like such a petty fight compared to what had just occurred with Elezar. "How did you find out about that?"

  "Chebli-you remember the Civic Guard Dauhd is courting?"

  "Of course I know Chebli. I'm not the one who goes to sea for years at a time."

  "Temper," Majdi commented.

  "Sorry." The apology came like a reflex after so many years.

  "Well,"Majdi went on easily, "Chebli was at the prison and he heard Musni's confession. He ran immediately to our house to make sure that you had made it home safe, which of course you hadn't. When Chebli told Mum that Musni admitted to stabbing you she nearly fainted. A minute later she had half the city out searching the streets and the river for you."

  Kiram felt a petty gratification but it died in the face of Majdi's pained expression.

  "I've never seen her like that, Kiram. She was out on the street screaming your name and weeping. Her voice gave out from calling for you but she wouldn't stop. If you had seen her…" Majdi's voice caught with emotion and for a moment he simply gazed up at the blue sky above them. "The thought that she'd sent you out to be hurt ripped her up inside."

  An aching guilt gripped Kiram. He wanted to shrug it off but just the idea of his mother suffering for his sake tore at him. Despite their argument and her words he still loved her too deeply to remain unmoved by her pain.

  "Tell her I'm fine."

  "Oh, she knows." Majdi gave a short laugh. "If she hadn't found you, we'd still be hearing her scream your name. She came here a little past midnight last night and Lady Grunito assured her that you were safe and well."

  Kiram wondered how that exchange had gone: his frantic, weeping mother and the golden monument that was Lady Grunito. He supposed it explained the curious way Lady Grunito had watched him this morning at breakfast.

  "Is Mum all right now?" Kiram asked.

  "You gave her a damn good scare but Mum's tough. Once she knew you were alive I think everything she'd been angry about didn't matter so much."

  "So why are you here now?" Kiram asked. He couldn't help but glance at the chest and wonder what was in it and whether or not it was intended for him.

  "Mum asked me to tell you that you can come home anytime you want and bring whom you want."

  All at once the empty ache that had settled into Kiram's chest a day ago left him.

  "But that's not what I wanted to tell you," Majdi said.

  "What?"

  "I've packed up some of your things, some of my old things, and a parcel that came for you from the Sagrada Academy." Majdi nudged the traveling chest towards Kiram with the toe of his boot.

  "Why?" Kiram asked. There was something suspicious in Majdi's lazy smile.

  "You're finally rebelling," Majdi replied. "You've found something that moves you enough to give you the courage to stand up to Mum. That's not something you should leave for the comfort of home. Because home will always be there for you. That's the promise of family. But what you have with your Cadeleonian is a chance to make the future that you want for yourself and that may never come again."

  "Soyou've packed, for me?" Kiram could hardly suppress his wide smile. He never would have thought such a gesture could feel so much like a blessing or touch him so deeply.

  "I figured I'd do a better job of it than you would, having lived on my own longer."

  "At sea," Kiram teased his brother. "Not at the Sagada Academy."

  Majdi waved his objection aside. "Mum and Dad will send you anything you might need for some academy. What I'm talking about are troubles you'll face.like last night's encounter with Musni or if things go bad for you and the duke."

  Kiram couldn't imagine facing more hardship than he already had this past week. Meeting Majdi's pale, serious gaze he suddenly knew that out in the world even greater challenges might await him.

  "Now, there's one last thing." Majdi shoved the chest the rest of the way across the cobbles till it bumped against Kiram's shin. "I want you to think about this seriously because the offer won't last beyond tomorrow evening. My ship sails tomorrow. If you and Javier come aboard, I won't ask any questions and neither will my crew."

  Kiram grinned and knew he looked ridiculous. But Majdi was sailing to Yuan and Kiram had always wanted to go. He imagined himself and Javier leaving everything behind them.

  But they couldn't-not just because Javier wouldn't do it but also because the man controlling the shadow curse would pursue them. They wouldn't be escaping trouble, only bringing it onto his brother's ship. Still, the offer moved Kiram and he embraced his brother like he had so many times when he had been just a boy.

  Majdi patted him on the back. "The Cadeleonians watching us from the balcony are going to
think you're a brother fucker."

  Kiram released him. "Don't drown out at sea, all right?"

  "No, I plan to die at home in the bathtub." Majdi started across the grounds towards the drive and the iron gates at the front of the house.

  "Take care," Kiram called after him.

  "You as well." Majdi turned back briefly. "Give him my best. Be good to each other."

  Kiram glanced up just as Javier stepped back from the edge of the balcony. Nestor waved down at him.

  Up in Javier's room Kiram unpacked the trunk. He found that Majdi had included Kiram's bow as well as a quiver of fine black arrows. Nestor admired them while Javier reclined in a chair near the fire.

  Deep in the chest, wrapped in a soft cloth, Kiram discovered Rafie's sealed vial of poison as well as six sheathed knives. Amidst traveling clothes, an adhil pan and a pouch filled with a wild assortment of coins, Kiram found the package that Scholar Blasio had sent to him. Inside it were two thin journals and letter. A jay's bright blue feather fell from one of the journal pages.

  Chapter Twenty three

  That's a rather fetching feather," Nestor commented.

  Kiram could hardly acknowledge Nestor's words. He stared in silence. Strange how it gripped him, this single feather from a common bird. A year ago he would have hardly registered more than a brief admiration for its color. Now the sight of it made his heart kick hard at his ribs.

  Javier looked up from his contemplation of the hearth and scowled at the bright wing feather in Kiram's hand.

  "It came with a package from Scholar Blasio." Kiram felt suddenly afraid to read the letter. Today had already been so hard.

  "Odd." Javier studied the feather with a suspicion that mirrored Kiram's own. The firelight cast deep shadows across the angles of his face and made black hollows of his dark eyes.

  He didn't need more to worry about. Neither of them did.

  "It's not that odd," Nestor said. "There had to be thousands of those birds in the orchards surrounding the academy. Remember? Kiram shot something like sixty of them for our meals in the winter."

  "Sixty-eight," Kiram provided. He snapped the feather in half and let it fall, broken, to the floor.