"You call that a proper blooding streak?" Reynardus sneered, swiping his own fingers knuckle-deep in gore.
Luthan straightened and looked down the aquiline nose he had inherited from his father. He raised one brow. "Yes. It's a proper blooding, especially since we don't know how render-ichor will affect Alyeka's skin. I know you would not wish to harm our newest Marshall."
Alexa hadn't thought whether the green monster blood could hurt her, but her cheek didn't tingle or burn. Just smelled nasty. She wondered how long she'd have to wear the mark.
Reynardus stood, emanating waves of frustration. He said a string of words and not only was his hand clean again but the various heaps of dead monster flesh disappeared. His voice rose. "I trust none of you wanted to claim the bounty for these kills."
"None of us are independents that need zhiv," Luthan said.
Alexa guessed that meant this little foray had been open only to top-ranking people or their trusted Chevaliers. In any event,they'd made quick work of the horrors. "And none of us would claim the new Marshall's kills."
"I will ensure Alyeka receives her bounty," Thealia said.
Huh. She'd made money in defending her life. Alexa shifted and felt the pull of sore muscles and bruises that would stiffen later. Not the best way to make money, and not the easiest, but it would be good to have, all the same. She wasn't sure how much she had.
A butterfly again, Sinafin fluttered into sight and lit on Alexa's head. It is time to go, she said, booming to all minds. Alyeka will ride with Luthan. There is another stop we must make.
Alexa couldn't catch the faceted eyes of the shapeshifter to protest, so she just sighed and accepted Luthan's offered arm.
Ever since he'd gone zombielike in the tavern, he'd changed toward her, and she didn't think she liked it. The whole thing screamed of some sort of magic at work.
Though she was learning quickly, and controlling her own magic didn't spook her as much as it did originally, the thought of someone else having a magical vision about her creeped her out.
"Look!" Marrec called, and pointed.
Everyone followed his finger to Alexa. Again. As usual.
A loud gasp came from the crowd as people pointed at her, and behind her. She turned to look back. The boundary line that had been dull, glowed, and jade flames about a yard high flickered.
She was a hero! She grinned. She could like being a hero.
Luthan lifted her up onto his volaran. She liked the stallion and sensed it approved of her too. That it was even proud to carry her. She wondered if its attitude had worn off on Luthan.
Sinafin flew up and perched on the volaran's head. The flying horse rolled his eyes and flicked his ears.
I think it's time you see something, Sinafin broadcast. Her eyes twinkled.
"What?" asked Alexa.
A surprise. The feycoocu proceeded to flap her wings, pointing with one, then the other. After Luthan and Thealia nodded, Sinafin took off in a spiraling rise.
Luthan mounted and gathered her to him. The pulsations of his aura made Alexa think he now thought of her as the way he would a close relative, a cousin or even a sister. She cleared her throat. The last and only other person who'd considered her that was Sophie. And Alexa would have died for Sophie, had done all she could to help her lost friend, in law school and after.
Then the volaran ran to the edge of the cliff and took off. Alexa was too petrified to scream. Instead she clutched at Luthan's steely arms. He hummed at her as they fell.
The flying horse spread his wings, and they caught an offshore breeze and circled upward into the blue sky.
Alexa trembled and mentally checked her underwear. Still dry. She hadn't actually wet her pants, it only felt like she might. As they flew near the cliffs, over the rocky beach below, she huddled next to Luthan. He continued to croon, but there was a note of amusement in the lilt of his voice. Alexa didn't care. She preferred flying in airplanes.
About fifteen minutes later they angled inland and beneath them lush green fields turned into a rising plain and then rolling hills. The landscape was so appealing that Alexa was able to breathe normally and watched the clumps of sheep and cows and villages below. Finally, they started an easy descent. They landed on a big green lawn attached to a mellowed red brick manor house of four stories.
Luthan dismounted, set gauntleted hands on hips and surveyed the countryside. He muttered, sounding a little irritated, "Who chose this estate?"
"What?" asked Alexa, yawning to pop her ears.
"Who chose this estate?" he repeated, slowly and distinctly.
"Ah heard yoush the firs' time," Alexa replied.
Sinafin drifted down to land on Luthan's shoulder. He flinched and she nearly fell. Rolling her antennae, she flew over to perch on Alexa's shoulder.
Alexa smirked at Luthan's narrowed eyes. He took his gauntlets off and slapped them against his leg, looked at the lawn, the house, across the land into the distance. "Why did you choose this particular land as your Exotique estate?"
"What?" Now Alexa looked around, trying to absorb everything. This place was beautiful. Absolutely, positively beautiful, obviously well-kept and equally obviously wealthy.
Your home, said Sinafin.
"Mine?" Alexa had never dreamed of having something as beautiful as this.
Do you like the house?
"It's a dream house," Alexa breathed.
Sinafin preened. I told you to trust in me.
"You did good," Alexa said. Since Luthan was still staring into the distance, it didn't seem like he was going to help her down. She slipped onto her stomach, then slid off the volaran, her tabard rucking up. It was a couple of feet before her soles hit the ground. The volaran whuffled.
Luthan came forward as her knees sagged, and braced her with a muscular arm. "The feycoocu advised you to choose this land as your Exotique estate?" He was looking at Sinafin, who pulsed silver and pink. The Lladranans sure liked color.
"Yes, she told me to pick this land." Alexa reminded herself to speak as slowly and precisely as Luthan. "But it was on the map. I didn't know it would look like this." Now steady on her feet, she detached herself from Luthan to walk around. The lawn rose gently to frame the house. There weren't any bushes in front of the place, but she could plant some.
Frinks got the bushes.
Alexa's mouth turned down. The only frinks she'd seen were a couple of nasty little dead shells Sinafin had dragged in as a cat.
Luthan stared at her with solemn brown eyes. "There haven't been frinks in the rain at the Castle or Castleton since you were Summoned."
"Oh." She couldn't think of anything else to say.
Joining her, Luthan offered his arm. "Do you know the history of this place?"
"Not all of it."
He started walking up to the manor house. "Many generations ago, it was a Marshall's house. An Exotique Marshall's home. Then it passed to his son, who didn't care to Test to become a Marshall and accepted a lesser noble title. After a while, a daughter married a wealthier man, moved to his estate and sold this one."
"Who owned it last?" They'd come to the covered portico in front of the house.
Luthan shrugged. "Again, minor nobles of the Janin family. The last one was a young Chevalier who died two years ago, leaving no family. A soul-sucker got him."
"Oh."
This was the physical evidence of her place in this world—land and a home of her own that she would have had to work decades to achieve in Denver.
She took a step to it, and her muscles ached. Oh yeah. The price for this place would be steep. Alexa glanced around at the fields, the woods, the landing place for volarans, the stables housing volarans of her own. Partial payment for this place of hers had already been taken from her in the form of the Testing of the Marshalls. She had killed for it.
She could be killed for it. She could pay more in blood and flesh and stress and other ways she didn't even know.
But she could belong. All the Mars
halls were considered powerful and odd—being an alien Exotique would just be a little harder for regular folks to accept, wouldn't it? And among the Marshalls, as they came to know her and she to know them, would come respect and friendship. With most of them, she sensed that.
Alexa took the wide steps to the door, and there, slightly above her head, was a knocker in the form of the Exotic flower. A knocker, not a doorharp.
"What is it about this estate that interests you?" she asked Luthan.
"Pardon?" He raised his eyebrows.
Alexa shook her head. "Don't act innocent now. You were fascinated that this estate was mine. Why?"
His lips curved upward in the merest hint of a smile. "I don't want to frighten you off."
She straightened to her full height and waggled a thumb at her chest, an action he watched with fascination. "I am the big, bad Exotique Marshall. Able to wield the Jade Baton. Able to slice renders to bits—"
"Able to dance along the magical border and revive the boundary lines. The Singer's Friends will be interested in that," he murmured.
Her mood deflated. "Probably won't last."
"Perhaps not, but that you could resurrect them at all is incredible."
Alexa shrugged, feeling a bit uncomfortable under his scrutiny. "We've wandered from the subject. This manor in relation to myself interests you."
Luthan inclined his head. "True."
"Why?"
He turned her and pointed. "My brother Bastien's holding adjoins yours. It is small, but fruitful."
Bastien, the guy she'd rescued from the jerir. The black-and-white that taunted his father, Reynardus. If Luthan was the honorable firstborn, good son, Bastien was the rebel and rogue of a bad son. Too bad they weren't twins—they could have been the basis for a good-twin, bad-twin story—
"Not impressed with Bastien," Luthan said. Now he was actually smiling.
"Will he be a good neighbor?" she asked. She glanced again in the direction Luthan had pointed, but wasn't too interested. She wanted to get inside the house. Her house.
"He will probably not be much of a neighbor at all. Bastien is usually in the Field."
That meant he was a Chevalier who fought a lot. Well, he'd had the scars and muscles to prove it. Sounded very macho. Huh.
"So he has an estate and a couple of volarans?" She traced the door knocker with her fingers, trying to get a sense of the place before she entered. It exuded cheer. Her heart started to thump hard.
"Twelve volarans."
That got her attention. "Twelve? I only have five." She pouted. It didn't matter that she had no intention of riding any of them.
"He likes volarans." Luthan lifted and let the knocker fall. It echoed inside.
A moment later the door swung open and Alexa faced a man as tall as she was, and much rounder. His eyes widened at the sight of her, his face puckered into a grin, and he squealed with delight.
"The mistress is here. The Marshall Exotique!” he called over his shoulder, as if addressing the entire household.
How many people were in her entire household?
Luthan took her hand and led her in. The entryway was tiled in brown-and-white marble squares. A sweeping staircase to the right curved upward to the second floor, and beyond.
The proportions of the place appeared to be slightly less than Lladranan standard, more Earth-like.
"The Exotique built this house," she said.
Luthan raised an eyebrow. "Right."
Alexa swallowed again as she saw the staff arrayed before her. Then she smiled. In typical Lladranan flamboyance, they formed a rainbow. The butler and housekeeper wore purple. Down at the end, a boy in his young teens wore deep reddish brown. Servants she didn't know the names for, let alone the names of, were clad brightly in blue and red and green and yellow.
The butler bustled forward. "Welcome, welcome." He bowed, and bowed again.
She did the greeting thing, knowing it would take months to learn the names of all the staff. She only hoped she had months in the future to do so. Then she took the butler up on his offer to show her the house.
At the door of her suite, Alexa dismissed him. Luthan had gone to inspect the stables for her. She had a feeling he was also calculating how far her place was from his brother's and trying to recall who else were her neighbors so he could tell her more stories. Be informative and helpful. She didn't know what had happened between them in the tavern, but he could be a staunch ally. Especially with his father, Reynardus. She got the impression that neither of his sons was afraid to stand up to the man. They must be a pain in his ass.
She smiled and stepped into the first room. It was the sitting room, with a desk near the window, a lovely fireplace, and some chairs, settees, tables and other furnishings that looked old and well-cared for. Somebody had taste and money. She sighed, glad she didn't have to furnish a house herself. She hadn't spent any time in houses like this to know what would fit or what would look tacky.
Her smile broadened as she noticed there was no purple anywhere. She walked to the bedroom and looked at the bed. Little stairs again. Too bad. Yet, the windows were large and curved at the top and had nice dull-gold-colored curtains. Everything in here pleased her too.
Alexa climbed the small stairs and sank down into the rich feather topper of the bed and knew she'd made a mistake. It felt too good against her sore body. Before she could settle, she scrambled off the thing, but looked at it with longing. She'd like to spend the night here, but her rounds of lessons and meetings at the Castle tomorrow would prevent that. The Marshalls would probably have a meeting to discuss what took place today, ad nauseam.
Meetings in Lladrana were only slightly better than the meetings at the big law firm where she'd interned. The best meetings she'd ever had were partnership meetings with Sophie over pizza and beer. Those days were gone and never to return.
And the Lladranans didn't have pizza.
Alexa stood and closed her eyes and tried to feel the house around her. It was a good place, no terrible tragedies, no hideous monster invasions. Day-to-day life. And she wanted the home with every iota of her being.
The tiny chimes at the threshold of her sitting room-bedroom door tinkled and Luthan looked in. He smiled if he sensed her magical probing, and approved.
"We should leave now if we wish to reach the Castle by dark."
Alexa realized she was holding on to a bed-curtain rope of velvet she'd used to steady herself. Reluctantly, she dropped it and nodded. "Yes, let's go."
"We can fly over Bastien's land so you can get an idea of your neighbor," Luthan said, a little too casually for Alexa to believe that he didn't care about her decision.
"Sure," she said.
He offered his arm, and she took it, feeling a little silly. Odd. She hadn't felt silly in the house or with the folks that worked here, but now was awkward. It was Luthan. He no longer acted as if she were totally repulsive, but she wouldn't ever forget that his instincts had been against her.
With great courtesy and easy strength, he helped her into the saddle and settled behind her. The volaran nickered, and Alexa sensed again that he was pleased she rode with them. It lifted her spirits a little at leaving a place where she'd prefer to stay. To explore every room while knowing that everything in it was hers. To learn the quirks of the people who kept it comfortable and safe for her. To claim her home.
She sighed.
The volaran ran and lifted off with a whoosh of great feathered wings, rising in a large circle into the sky. Luthan moved with the beast and Alexa tried to follow his lead in how to sit, where to place her hands, how to balance her weight. It was easier this time.
Luthan gestured below. "That's Bastien's estate, Freehold."
Alexa glanced down to see well-tended fields and a lot of corrals that indicated volarans. Friendly neighs and greetings came from a cluster of animals, and there was some lifting of wings. She sensed Luthan expected some comment.
"Everything looks cared for." Even fro
m this height she could see the flying horses were healthy and just plain beautiful.
Luthan relaxed incrementally behind her and she realized another thing that bothered her was that he was so stiff all the time. His bearing would do a rigid Marine proud.
"Bastien is a good landholder and an excellent Chevalier," Luthan replied. It was the last he spoke during the entire trip.
The guy was odd.
14
Alexa hated being a hero. Word of her reviving the border—even for the short time of a day before it died again—had spread through Lladrana and the Marshalls had sent her on a goodwill tour. Alexa deduced they wanted to prove that their decision to Summon an Exotique was a good idea. To show the rest of Lladrana that the Marshalls were still viable, strong leaders.
She felt like everyone was now looking to her to save them. A load of responsibility burdened her, like invisible weights on her shoulders.
Though she was learning a lot about Lladrana and the status and popularity of the Marshalls, Alexa didn't like the travel. It rained continually, so the countryside looked more mud brown than spring green from Alexa's carriage window.
She supposed the inns she stayed at were the best each town had to offer, and some rivaled the Castle's luxury, but she was tiredof sleeping in alien beds. She traveled with a retinue, only two of them of her choosing—Sinafin, who was having a great time, and Alexa's new maid, Umilla.
The Marshalls hadn't been pleased with Alexa's choice of servants, but Alexa had ignored all their protests. She liked the black-and-white; the woman treated her with respect, didn't laugh at her accent, and Umilla pronounced her name correctly. Umilla now wore Alexa's purple livery. Alexa had had qualms about that, until she noticed Umilla took pride in the clothing and no longer walked with a stoop. There was no denying that Alexa needed help in dressing herself in the chain mail.
Three others traveled with Alexa—her language teacher, the Castle Medica, and an older woman who taught Alexa magic and was the strictest prof she had ever experienced. Alexa was doing well in her magic lessons, but not as well in her language lessons. Just when she thought she understood some concept of grammar, the rules seemed to change.
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