Listening, the young men all heard it; someone was calling them. They jumped up and headed topside, vibrating with excitement.
Chapter Eight
Standing next to Captain Iscra was a familiar-looking man, with the same bluish-white hair and pale blue eyes of every Deyarian except the fire walkers, but this one wore his hair very short. Most Deyarians wore their hair at least shoulder length. Tilting his head to the side, Kane realized he knew this man—he had not seen him in years, but he was almost certain that it was his Uncle Bryol standing next to the Captain. He remembered the scar on his face, just under his left eye.
Before the Captain could introduce them to the man, Uncle Bryol was striding over, exclaiming how Kane had grown so much since last time.
The Captain raised his eyebrows. "I did not know you knew them already, you did not mention that."
"Did not think it would matter one way or another. Gotten too used to keeping information to myself living over here. Secrets are a form of currency in this job. Kane there is my sister’s boy." Looking at all the boys, he told them, "Pack your bags—the Captain and I have already made all the arrangements for your tour of this country, and his return to pick you up. We will head back to my house for a few days while I make arrangements to vacation, and you can tell me on the way what you screwed up this time."
Kane looked surprised, while Darian and Patro looked at bit shocked. "What makes you think we screwed something up?" Kane finally asked while glaring at the Iscra.
"Don't look at your fine captain, boy, your mother writes me weekly letters. I may not get them but every couple of months, but she still writes ‘em. Got a whole handful of letters brought over on your ship, matter of fact. You can tell me, or I can read about it, I imagine. Thought you might want to give me your side before I read your mother's letters. Now go get your bags, it is a far piece to my house."
After the three young men had gone below, the Captain looked at Bryol, "I don't think their parents know what they did, the boys did not know ’til we were almost here."
Bryol gave a little smirk. "I knew there was something you were hiding, doesn't matter, my sister doesn't write but about once a month either; ’course she pours out every misdeed the boys have gotten into in that one letter. The easiest way to get someone to talk is to let them think you do not need the information from them, because you have other sources ready to talk—or who have already talked. Everyone wants you to have their side over another's.”
"Ah, I see, and I let it out they had done something. Well, I trust they will tell you the truth, and since you are related to Kane, I guess I do not have to warn you again how much of a handful they are." Captain Iscra sighed deeply.
Seeing that Bryol laughed, "A handful, you are really going to use such a weak word to describe those three shadow-possessed demons? I would call them a lot of things, but handful is not one of them. It is, however, much nicer than what I usually think of when I read my sister's letters. The tales I hear would make you cringe. I actually was waiting a few more years to go home to visit, to give them a little time to mature, you know. I always expect a letter telling me Darian has killed Kane. Have for years. Fire walkers only need one Ice Walker, you know. Figure one day Darian will realize that and kill Kane. Wish we could separate them ’til they mature a bit more. Oh well, maybe I can keep the two from killing each other on this trip. Hate to have to tell my sister I let her only son die at the hands of the man who is bond-brother to him."
Chapter Nine
Bryol looked at the three boys, luggage in hand, and said, "Well come on, get your gear stowed in the carriage and let’s go." Leading the way down the gangplank, he motioned to the carriage.
Darian looked at the other two, and shrugging, he loaded his luggage in the carriage and found a seat. After everyone had their things stowed, Bryol stuck his head out the door and told the driver, "Home, please."
Looking at Darian, then Kane, he told them, "You do not want to start a fight around me—you do not." Eyes narrowed, he smirked, "But if you do start one, I will finish it for you. Do you understand me?"
All three young men nodded. They had heard stories of Bryol.
"Now, it will be a while before we get to the house, so why don't you take turns and tell me exactly what kind of trouble you have started this time."
All three young men just sat staring at Bryol, eyes wide. "Well, don't everyone start at once."
The three then all tried to talk over each other, but Bryol quickly hushed them. "Ok, let’s do it this way—Patro, you start and tell me your side, then Darian, and then Kane."
Patro started with a stutter, "Well, uh, well, you see, it is all Darian's fault."
Before he could continue, Darian interrupted to exclaim, "My fault? Everyone agreed to it!"
Bryol glared at Darian and sarcastically asked, "So both of you are now named Patro?"
Darian muttered, "Well… but it is not my fault."
"Well, when it is your turn you can tell me all about how it is not your fault at all, deal? Now Patro, you were saying?"
"Well see, sir, it is like this, we were close to turning twenty-five, and at twenty-five, we can bond our shadow walker to us, and well, we came over to get him or her, and now we can’t figure out how to find them."
"So, you should have had a meeting with Lyra Brycentia on your twenty-fifth birthing day. Instead, you decided to leave without all your instructions, and now you are stuck, and too ashamed to go home and admit you messed up. Is that about how it went?"
The three looked surprised at his mention of the meeting. No one was supposed to know about that meeting. The looks of surprise quickly turned to resignation. The three young men had just reached the same conclusion, Captain Iscra must have told Bryol. The three were very mistaken in this belief, as they were about to find out.
"So, Darian, do you have anything to add to that, other than how it is not your fault, because ‘everyone agreed to it’? This tells me it was your idea."
Darian gulped. "Uh, no sir, I have nothing to add. That is kind of how it was."
Bryol looked at him. "Oh, ‘kind of how it was’? Not a very firm grasp on reality there, kid."
Darian bristled at being called ‘kid,’ but he was not about to say anything, Bryol was at least 3000 years old, and had been an Elite Guard to the Lyra Brycentia before taking the position as ambassador to the Lyriant race. It was said that in over 2000 years of standing by the side of Lyra Brycentia as one of their personal guards, no one had ever bested him in a fight. Rumor even had it that Bryol could best his Lyra in a fight, but Darian was pretty sure that was just rumor. Just in case there was any truth to how good the man was, though, Darian was going to be very careful around him. It was generally agreed that Bryol was a very dangerous man to cross.
Bryol had not missed the looks of surprise on the faces of the three when he mentioned the meeting. This was going to be fun. "So, did you tell Captain Iscra about the meeting, or did you keep your mouths shut like you should have?"
The looks of surprise on those faces, Bryol thought, I wish I could send them back to Lyra Brycentia. Their looks of surprise soon turned to what Bryol would have to label as astonishment, then morphed into fear. Oh yes, babysitting these three is definitely going to be fun. He was so glad Lyra Brycentia had popped over when the boys did not make their meeting. He wondered briefly if that possibility had occurred to the boys yet, or if they now thought he had some hidden magical gift. Bryol had heard some of the stories about himself, too. Some of them were far-fetched, but some were pretty accurate. Mentally smiling, he thought, I’ll just let them wonder how I knew they’d had a meeting set up, and did not bother to stick around for it. Having made that decision, Bryol decided to take a different tact with the three; instead of telling them he was under orders from his personal Lyra, he would just let them think he was leading them around because he was available, and maybe because he was Kane's uncle. These next few months should provide him with years of st
ories and entertainment. By the end, he was sure even more stories about him would be told, by these three themselves.
"Ah, I see by the looks on your faces you did tell your captain about the meeting." Giving a look of reproof he, continued, "You do realize Lyra business should be kept between Lyras, and not blabbed about to anyone with an ear?"
Before he could say any more, Patro interrupted to ask, "How do you know about the meeting? You are not Lyra."
Rather than answering, Bryol just raised his eyebrows and gave a half-smile, half-smirk. "It is my job to know things."
Sagging back in his seat, Patro had a bit of a defeated look on his face. Oh yes, thought Bryol, if I can manage not to beat them silly, I will definitely have fun. For the rest of the trip, though, silence reigned within the carriage.
Chapter Ten
The young men looked back at the carriage they had just exited, then turned to look at the house in front of them. The house was not what Darian had thought it would be. He looked at Patro, and then at Kane, to see what their reactions to the house were, and he found they too were gazing at the house. It looked like it could withstand a siege. Turning to look back at the bridge they had crossed over, they saw that it even had a moat. It was larger than the house he and his benyans and all of their families lived in. And since, by necessity, they all lived in one house, their house was pretty big. But this house, well, it looked more like a castle than a house. Turning, he found Bryol watching him and his benyans. When Bryol saw Darian looking at him, he quirked one eyebrow up, and with a smirk, he said, "I entertain a lot."
Darian stared at him, then said, "But a moat?"
Bryol gave a shout of laughter, "Moat? That is not a moat. I like to fish. I can walk out any door in my house and go fishing."
Kane and Patro were both staring at Bryol by the time he finished. Kane narrowed his eyes and said, "We may be young, and we may not have much experience, but I am pretty sure fishing holes do not usually circle castles. And, even if they did, they would not have spikes around the outside edge. What kind of fish do you have that you need spikes to keep them in?"
Bryol winked at Kane and just said, "I don't like to share my fishing spot with anyone." Turning back toward the castle he called home, Bryol motioned for the young men to follow him as he led the way inside.
Once inside the front door, Bryol reached for a rope hanging near the door and gave it a few tugs. After a few moments, a cheery-faced older lady came into the room. When she saw the three young men standing with Bryol, she clapped her hands together, and her smile got even bigger, if that was possible. "Guests from your home, sir? Oh, how wonderful! These are the young ones you told me to expect last week?" At Bryol's nod, she exclaimed, "I have all the rooms ready for them. Did you want me to show them to their rooms now?"
"No, Maggie, that won't be necessary. Have Larcen take their bags up to their common room, and please bring us a bite to eat, into the library. We will be there for the remainder of the evening. I will show the boys to their rooms when we are done. After you bring our meal to us, please take the rest of the evening off."
After Maggie left, Bryol told the boys, “Leave your bags here, and follow me.” He led them down the hall and up a set of stairs, and then down another hall. The young men noticed a common theme in all the halls—weapons of every description hung from the walls. They looked well-cared-for, and extremely dangerous. Entering the library, the young men were pleasantly surprised to find it held no weapons—but it did hold plenty of books. Books lined every wall, and in the middle of the room was a table already set up to feed four people, minus the food. Chairs were grouped around the room, along with a couple of couches. All in all, it looked like a comfortable room to spend some pleasant hours, if you enjoyed reading. Darian did not enjoy reading, and although Kane enjoyed reading some, he was not the fan of reading that Patro was. Patro looked as though he had just been given the greatest treasure on Kardan. None of the three had ever seen such a collection of books outside the Grand Library back home in Decca.
Before Bryol could direct the young men where he wanted them, Darian and Kane had seated themselves at the table, while Patro was curiously and feverishly searching the bookshelves. Knowing that if Patro was not recalled quickly from the books, it would be too late and no one would be able to pull him away, Darian quickly jumped back up from the table. With Kane right behind him, Darian approached Patro at a run just as he was reaching for a book. Batting his hand away from the book, Darian grabbed him and shoved him toward Kane. Kane swung Patro around toward the table, and despite his protest, Darian and Kane pushed him toward the table and forced him to sit.
Bryol had watched them in silence, and could only applaud their method. He remembered his sister complaining about Patro's unhealthy interest in books. Bryol was smiling when he told Patro, "I understand, believe me, I understand your desire to bury yourself in a book, but," Bryol became more serious, "we have a situation that must be addressed before you touch a book."
Patro barely heard Bryol speak, so intent was he on looking around the library. A certain book caught his eye, and he was up and out of his chair before anyone realized it. Unfortunately for him, Darian and Kane were well aware of his quickness, so he did not make it two steps before they had all but flung him back into his chair. Only then did Bryol’s words penetrate his thoughts. He turned to look at Bryol, and then turned back to look longingly at the book that had caught his eye. Finally, with a dejected look upon his face, Patro said, "Situation, sir?"
Bryol shook his head and muttered, "Perhaps the library was not the best room to start this discussion." Looking at the three boys—he could not yet see them as young men—he told them, "Yes, situation. You may not be aware of this, but until you find your shadow walker, you will remain here, in this country, with me. If it takes a year, you will be here a year, if it takes two, you will be here two. I suggest you listen to me and study hard, and maybe it will not take a year to teach you what you should have known before coming here."
Darian was the first to speak when he yelled, "A year? We can't stay here a year. We have things to do back home. We have to–"
Bryol interrupted him, "The only thing you have to do is bond to your shadow walker. That means finding him or her. When we are done eating, we will talk about what you need to know, what I know about your powers, and I will find out just what you are capable of in regards to those powers. My sister can only tell me so much in her letters, and they do not include your thoughts. I need information from you, demonstrations from you, and most of all, I need your attention." He glared at Patro when he said the last bit, "Your full attention. There will be plenty of time for books when we are done."
Patro gave a last wistful look at the books before saying, with such dejection in his voice that Bryol almost felt sorry for him, "Yes, sir."
Bryol noticed that Kane had not said a word, and in fact appeared to have become oblivious to what was going on around him, and he wondered what Kane was thinking. Darian and Patro also looked at Kane, then back at Bryol and back to Kane again. Bryol glanced at Darian, whose eyes widened as he stared at Kane. Bryol had a moment to wonder whether the boys had learned how to mind-talk already, or if there was some other reason for the look Darian was giving Kane. Bryol looked back at Kane, and noticed the boy had lost some color and seemed to look more than a little afraid. He was also, Bryol noticed, now staring back at him in what almost looked like terror. Uh oh, Bryol thought, now what?
Before he could ask Kane, he saw from the corner of his eye that Darian and Patro were still staring at Kane and were now gently, slowly easing away from him, as if they thought he would attack. Raising his eyebrows at the action, he then narrowed his eyes. He knew there were stories about him, but the boys had seemed to be comfortable with him until now. Finally, just as he had decided he might have a problem, Kane spoke.
"Maggie, the housekeeper, I guess–" a slight question in that statement had Bryol nodding, "She said you told he
r to expect us last week." Again, Bryol nodded, but before he could speak, Kane continued, "But last week we were still on the ship with no idea we had a problem, or maybe just a slight feeling something was wrong. We did not even know last week, so how is it that you knew we would be coming to visit? I think there is something you are not telling us. I also think we deserve to know."
Bryol laughed—a deep belly laugh. He tried to speak, but laughter kept him from speaking. After a moment, he was able to catch his breath, and he had also had a moment to think. He could not help it; he had to promote his reputation to the boys. With a smirk on his face, he looked at each of the boys in turn and finally said, "Surely you have heard things about me? You are not so secluded in your home at the foot of the mountains that stories have not reached you. Did you think the stories about me were just children's tales? I know things; I gave up protecting my Lyra because I can better help them as an ambassador to Lyriant. Did you think you could leave our country and come to my adopted country without my knowledge? Did you truly believe I would not know a problem had arisen before you arrived? Do you truly think I am so weak that problems can catch me unaware?"
By the time he was done talking, the boys were staring at him wide-eyed, and now even Kane seemed to be trying to put a little distance between them. Good, thought Bryol, scared boys are boys who will listen better. This is going to work out well—I may even be willing to let my Lyra access my memories of this when I see them again. I am definitely going to let the dragons have a glimpse of these memories. Shadows knows, he had been bored before he found out the boys had left without knowing all they needed to know. He was glad he had the absolute trust of his Lyra to be able to do what he was about to do.
Silence reigned for a few moments, but Bryol was loathe to break it. He did not want to give any reassurance to the boys. Finally, he heard his housekeeper coming down the hallway, and went to open the door. Before he reached it, he turned back to the room and, glaring at the boys, he said, "You will pull your chairs back up to the table and act happy to be here. Maggie is sensitive to moods, so you will be happy," glaring at each of the boys he repeated, "Happy, NOW!"
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