Half-Breed (Taming the Elements Book 1)

by Hickory Mack

  “Wait there,” she said quietly, removing a flute from the sleeve of her yukata. She played a light song in high notes and Chiori shivered, it was a haunting tune. She didn’t have to play long. A door slid open somewhere nearby and soft steps creaked along the hall. He came through the doorway, his black hair left long, his tails set low and his black eyes set on her.

  “My Lord!” Chiori ran forward, throwing herself into his arms. He hesitated for only a second before embracing her back, petting her hair, but he did not let her stay there long. He set her away from him, looking into her face. His mouth drew downward.

  “You look tired, my Lady,” he said, taking her hand and settling her onto a cushion on one side of the table. He sat on the other, his eyes firmly on hers. Chiori tried not to squirm. “I hear you have been busy already this morning.”

  “Not very,” Chiori said quickly. “All I’ve done is find out which teachers I’ll be with today.”

  “You’ve also made changes to your house, on the very first morning. That is as it should be. Remember, you are the one to lead them, not the other way around. Ani may have been a poor choice while you are still learning. She is a remarkable person, but very strong willed,” Lord Makkai said.

  “How do you know about that already?” Chiori asked, surprised.

  “I told you, I will always be here for you,” he answered.

  “You have someone spying on me,” she said, making a face at him.

  “I wouldn’t call it anything as devious as spying. Everyone has something to say, and when you sent Ani away, she blew off steam to anyone who would listen. Word was passed to me by one of my household,” he explained. “Who among your teachers will have the pleasure of your company first today?”

  “Sen,” Chiori answered. “She’s my language instructor?”

  “Yes. I’m a bit surprised, I’d have thought Moscow would be your morning teacher. You are with Kai today, I assume?” Lord Makkai asked.

  “I am,” Chiori told him her schedule for the day, looking at him with big eyes when she told him she’d have all evening after dinner free.

  “Ah, but Haruka neglected to tell you, Kai will determine when your dinner is served. His sessions will be as long as he feels necessary, so long as you are eating and sleeping, he will have the most influence on your time.” He looked over at Nakia and requested a song. She paused and switched immediately to something a bit sweeter, less moody.

  “Haruka didn’t really tell me anything at all,” Chiori said, rolling her eyes. Lord Makkai opened his mouth to say something, but breakfast arrived. Milly herself accompanied three of her staff members. One was pushing a tea cart and poured out an invigorating breakfast tea, the other two set down a covered tray in front of each of them. Milly lifted the lids with flourish. Chiori sat forward, surprised by the number of dishes before her.

  There was a bowl of Miso Shiro Soup with green kelp leaves floating in it. Alongside the soup was a bowl of white rice topped with Natto, fermented soybeans. A whole peach as big as both of her fists together was on another plate, along with yet another bowl of cooked asparagus. There was also a soft toast with a dark purple jam. Chiori looked at Lord Makkai, then at Milly, she’d never seen a breakfast like this before.

  “A nutritious breakfast for your first day of education, my Lady,” Milly said with a smile, bowing. The three with her bowed at the same time.

  “Thank you, it looks and smells amazing!” Chiori said, meeting the Chef’s smile with an even bigger one.

  “Thank you, Milly,” Lord Makkai said as well. He gave Chiori a conspiratorial wink and gently clapped his hands together, keeping them together for a moment. “Itadakimasu,” he pronounced it slowly, ih-tah-dah-kee-moss, for Chiori.

  “Itadakimasu,” she parroted, clapping her hands as he had done. Milly smiled even bigger.

  “Duozo meshiagare!” she replied, retreating, her eyes crinkled and her staff followed, taking the service set with them. Chiori looked at Lord Makkai in bewilderment and he chuckled.

  “It means, thank you for the meal. Milly said, ‘please help yourself.’ You’ll learn it soon enough, Sen will see to that,” he assured her, beginning to eat. Chiori began with what was most familiar to her, the toast and jam, which was amazing. “Aronia berries,” he said, seeing her face when she took a bite.

  “So good,” she said, finishing a piece and moving on to the soup. Chiori knew from previous experience with Nori that she liked the salty flavor of seaweed. While she ate she kept sneaking looks at Lord Makkai, feeling uneasy. She felt like he was deliberately keeping his distance, and she didn’t like it, but she couldn’t exactly do anything about it either.

  He talked of his work with the trees, only three were left from the debacle with the hunters, but another group had been injured by a wind storm forty-eight miles west that he would need to see to next.

  “Forty-eight miles?” Chiori was shocked. “Is it okay to be so close to the edge of your territories alone? Does every tree have the potential to hurt you like this?” she asked.

  “It is perfectly safe, I assure you. And, yes. Each and every tree. It’s a result of being bound here. Those further out from here do trouble me less though,” he answered, drinking his tea. “I won’t be alone all the time, Fen will be with me for a while, which may be a relief to a few around here, I hear he can be quite the tyrant.” Lord Makkai chuckled.

  Chiori couldn’t help but think of how the boar had treated her earlier, that he still thought of her as a nuisance, but she kept the thought to herself. It was obvious Lord Makkai had forgiven him and she didn’t want to cause another rift.

  “Do all Lords have a territory that large? Doctor Pax, he told me that there were no demons like you left. Before. Well, before,” she finished, still unwilling to talk about everything that had happened in that cell. Lord Makkai set his soup bowl down with exaggerated care.

  “That hunter was lying to you. Almost every borderline surrounding my territory is abutted by another Lord’s lands. Some have smaller pieces, as little as a few acres, some have twice or even ten times what I have. It depends on what they can hold and defend. Haruka was one of those lords. I was dropped here in the middle of his territory, and since I cannot leave, and he refused to leave, it came to war between us. It was very ugly for a time, I was not at my best, still reeling from the binding. I had to fight to make this place mine own,” he said, his eyes unfocused, remembering the past.

  “You never told me what happened to make you bound here? If others are able to come and go, why can’t you?” Chiori asked. Lord Makkai looked at her and smiled kindly.

  “That, is a story for another day, my Dear One,” he answered. Chiori accepted without protest, but she wasn’t satisfied with it. She decided to change tactics, though she was a bit worried that bothering him too much would be a bad idea.

  “What are we going to do together, on my second day off?” she asked, foolishly reminding herself of their impending separation. He swallowed his rice.

  “I have an idea in mind, but, what would you like to do?” he asked, finishing his bowl of rice.

  “Maybe, go back to the lake?”

  “Swimming lessons,” he said, giving her another smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Chiori didn’t let it deter her.

  “Yes! It’ll be so much fun!” she said excitedly.

  “Well, I’ll talk with Airi, and make sure she checks you over first, on your first day off. You’re going to be kept busy, and it will depend on if you are going to be able to physically and mentally handle a jump. Especially since we don’t yet know what training Kai has in store for you,” he answered, looking at his food instead of her.

  “Can’t you trust me to tell you if I feel up to it?” she asked.

  “No,” he replied with no explanation and a frown.

  “Why not?” she demanded indignantly.

  “Because you have proven yourself to be a bit impetuous about your own health. And I care too much about you to let
you endanger yourself without knowing for sure,” he said. Chiori ate the rest of her meal without speaking, listening to Nakia play her flute.

  Lord Makkai was treating her like a child and it irritated her. When she reflected on it more she knew she was acting like the child she didn’t want to be seen as, and she was just as irritated with herself. She looked up to see him watching her, that frown on his face again, his ears flat against his head.

  “I’ve made you unhappy,” he said solemnly. She shook her head in denial but stopped when he raised an eyebrow. “Come here, Chiori,” he said, saying her name plainly for the first time that morning. She stood without hesitation and moved to his side of the table. Without warning he grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, her stomach against his, their faces inches apart. Her eyes were wide with surprise and she felt like she could barely breathe.

  Lord Makkai pressed the small of her back, holding her close with one hand while brushing a loose strand of hair from her eyes with the other. She looked in his black eyes, surprised to see a tiny bit more red in them than before. He kept staring into her eyes for a long moment, stroking her cheek.

  “Do you see it?” he asked, barely a whisper.

  “I see it,” she whispered back.

  “I told you I was a red fox as a child. Before I did something that changed the world. Some would say what I did was terrible, some think me a God for it. It made me change, I became known to the universe as an evil entity, and my fur turned black. That’s when they bound me here.”

  “Those little flecks of red are the only part of me that are not black when I am in my fox form. There are more of them now. The first physical change I’ve seen in over two hundred years. Your magic, that tiny thread that tastes so completely of you attached to me, it dilutes my ‘evil’. You’re already changing me for the better, Chiori. My banishment here, they’ll never let me go so long as this hatred pollutes me. You, my dear, precious child, are my future freedom,” he said, and Chiori bit her lip.

  “I hope,” he said. “that you will be able to forgive me for worrying over much over your well-being.”

  Chiori’s hands wrapped around his shoulders and she pressed her face into his neck, forgetting about Nakia and her flute entirely.

  “I’m sorry for being cross with you,” she whispered, finding it easier to do so away from the intensity of his gaze. “I don’t want you to see me as such a child.”

  “It’s a childhood trait in every race, you know. Witch, human, demon, fae, the children are all similar in their desire to grow up too soon. I am perfectly happy with you the way you are. Enjoy the simpler days of what we have now,” he said, and she could feel the timbre of his voice against her cheek. He squeezed her a bit tighter and allowed her to stay snuggled up a little longer before gently pulling her back.

  Their conversation had given them more trouble, the bond growing a tiny bit thicker. Chiori sat back on her heels and made a face, refusing to look up at him.

  “Now?” she asked quietly.

  “Unfortunately,” he said, letting her know that he didn’t like it anymore than she did.

  “One more question, first. What will we do if we cannot go to the lake?” she asked. Lord Makkai leaned forward and kissed her nose.

  “There’s something here on the grounds I want to show you, it’s important to me, but not immediately so. If Airi says no to spatial travel, that’s what we’ll do,” he answered. “I won’t tell you what it is beforehand, leave it as a surprise,” he added when she opened her mouth to ask. She snapped it closed and got up so he could as well.

  “I’ll take you to class,” Lord Makkai said, taking her hand. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “You will go among them covered in my scent. It’s a good reminder of who you are to them. I like the lilac, by the way.” She blushed heavily, silently thanking Yuuki. Nakia put her flute away and followed them down the hallway and to the row of classrooms.

  They stopped outside of an open door. Inside was a desk, with writing utensils and a notebook waiting for her. A white board was in what would be considered the front of the class with neat handwriting on it. To one side was a western coffee table with a tea set on it, a comfortable looking chair to each side. The opposite side had a row of bookshelves with loads of books on it. Sen had not yet arrived, perhaps she, too, was unsure of the exact timing for the day.

  Lord Makkai faced her, holding both of her hands in his. He kissed both of them and stared into her eyes, speaking to Nakia.

  “Take care of her for me, Nakia. Please,” he said softly. The snake demon bowed to him.

  “Yes, My Lord. We will,” she answered.

  Stroking Chiori’s cheek one last time he gave her a look that whispered a thousand unspoken words. She nodded her agreement. She would be good, she would listen to her teachers and survive a week without him. She would wait for him. He kissed her hands again, then turned and walked away, his many tails lashing in agitation.

  Chiori closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Nakia puffed out a big breath at the same time.

  “Forgive me if this is out of line my Lady. I’ve never seen a mating bond before. You guys are, ah,” she searched for the words a moment, “it’s a little intense.”

  Chiori gave her a lopsided smile, fighting tears, she shook it off, literally shaking her arms and hands. “Sorry you had to endure that,” she said.

  “I’ve been here for seventy-three years, my Lady. In all that time, I’ve never once seen his Lordship smile. I’ve never seen him care about anybody, not even himself. He’s rarely even here, usually spending his days wandering out in the woods somewhere, coming back to remind us he exists now and then. He wasn’t making it up, you have changed him.” Nakia seemed to be in awe of her.

  “It isn’t anything I’ve done,” Chiori said bitterly. “Our bond is beyond my control.”

  “That might be true, but you can use it to do great things, my Lady. If you turn him back, he’s free of his bond, and that means huge and positive changes for everyone in House Makkai, including yourself,” Nakia said.

  “What if I’m too selfish for that? What if all I want is to keep my Lord to myself? All I want is to be with him. Always,” Chiori said, stepping inside the classroom and sitting at the desk. Nakia entered behind her. She put her hand to her chest, realizing what must have happened to make the pain in her heart strike deeper.

  “Isn’t that what all this is for?” she asked, motioning to the room they were in. “Would you be doing this if he hadn’t asked you to?”

  “I’d do almost anything he asked me to,” Chiori said, knowing it was the truth. “And isn’t that a terrible thing to know about myself,” she muttered.

  “Knowing yourself is a worthy pursuit, Lady Chiori. Too many do not practice the self-reflection needed to work on personal flaws,” came a voice from behind them. Both Chiori and Nakia turned around quickly, Nakia uttering a soft hiss of surprise, her hand up, ready to attack. It was Sen. Chiori shared a glance with Nakia, a private smile between them. Her education had officially begun.

  Chapter 24

  Sen was a fair and thorough teacher. Her class had gone far different than Chiori had expected it to, teaching the girl a sound lesson in the fault of negative presumptions. Sen had spent the first few minutes fetching a cushion for Nakia to sit on, since it was clear the older girl was intent on spending the entire lesson with them. Once they started Chiori was instructed to call Sen Sensei, the Japanese honorific for teachers.

  The lesson consisted of different honorifics, though Chiori could not remember hearing anyone within the house using them. When she mentioned this to her cat demon Sensei, Sen listened patiently and nodded.

  “That’s because we are not in Japan, and the demons here are a mix of creatures from all over the world. Some things from his Lordship’s country stuck, and other things were influenced by any number of others that come through. Your friend Nakia here is from a southern country, if I am remembering correc
tly, and she has probably had to adapt to be among everyone else here companionably,” Sen said.

  “That’s true, I was born in what used to be Brazil, in the rainforest.” Nakia said in agreement, causing Chiori to wonder how the girl could stand the winters when she was from somewhere so hot year-round.

  They took a break when Yuuki came with biscuits and a kettle of hot water for the tea. Her eyes fell on Chiori, widening slightly and she gave a small, knowing smile. Chiori shrugged, smiling back. The sprite mouthed the word ‘later’ at her and Chiori nodded. Nakia watched the interaction curiously but said nothing. Sen invited Chiori to the chairs at the coffee table and poured the water. An Earthy, pine-like scent filled the air.

  “Rosemary and mint with lemon,” Sen said, lifting her cup and breathing it in. “It’s supposed to be good for memory and retention of information. I just like the way it tastes.”

  Chiori sniffed hers, too, appreciating it before taking a sip.

  “It’s nice, thank you, Sensei,” she said, holding the cup to steady her hands.

  By the time class with Sen was over, Chiori felt she had a pretty good grasp on the basics of honorifics, with a handle on the who and why, though she was unsure when it would be useful and applicable knowledge.

  “Trust me,” Sen assured her, “if we ever have guests from Japan, and Lord Makkai does have them sometimes, the knowledge will be appreciated. I have not yet been told when we will have class again, so, until then, practice on those around you. The pronunciation is important.”

  They separated, and when Chiori came back from her bathroom break, Nakia was replaced with Mai, who looked excited to take her turn.

  “Hello, Mai Chan,” Chiori said, confident in her choice. Mai’s face lit up and Nakia laughed before bowing.

  “Usually you’d use San until you know her better, but it’s Mai, so Chan works perfectly on the first try. I’ll see you at dinner, Lady Chiori Sama,” Nakia said before disappearing around a corner.