by Forthright
But Joe and Kip actually needed a go-between. In the traditional sense. Hardly Argent’s forte, yet a very personal prize hung in the balance. Answers.
“I have intimate knowledge of the bond you hope to nurture, and I am willing to teach you what you need to know. I have the necessary strength and scope to handle a beacon, and I have sufficient influence to protect your privacy. However ….” Argent sat a little straighter. “I have a condition and a request.”
“What’s the condition?” Kip asked warily.
“Beneath your own wards, there is a very different seal upon his soul.” Argent didn’t bother to hide his distaste. “I want it gone.”
“I’ll have to remove all the other sigils first.” The squirrel cautiously added, “He’ll be exposed.”
“Fortunately for you, I have considerable experience shuttering beacons.” Argent casually added, “With your sigilcraft and mine, this room is now sacrosanct. You will retreat here for tending, as well. Especially early on, when inexperience is bound to leave you awash.”
Kip acquiesced with a nod. “And your request?”
“May I bring in Hisoka Twineshaft?”
Joe seemed a little dazed. “Umm … if you think it’s best.”
With a hint of a smile, Kip said, “Even an under-the-table meeting has to have equal sides.”
Joe opened his eyes in a strange place. Starlight cut through beveled glass, sigils wheeled slowly in midair, and he could hear the trickle of water nearby. A fountain? Crystals like the ones Kip had lofted sparkled like fireflies, and more details slowly came into focus—trees and trellises, ferns and forget-me-nots. “Where am I?” he murmured.
“This is a fox dream.” Argent joined him on what seemed to be a stone bench. “You fell asleep. I am taking advantage.”
“Is this real?”
“No. But fox dreams are more true than false.” His gesture encompassed the glassed-in garden. “At home, this is my haven. Like your room, my garden is sacrosanct.”
“Why am I here?”
“Kip will require another hour or more to undo the rest of his sigilcraft. Then I will help him remove your original seal.”
“Do I have to be awake for that part?”
“No. I will keep you company here. You need the sleep.”
Little creatures rustled in the foliage. He recognized one or two, like the gem snake that Kip had told him was a midivar. But he had no words for the blue bird about the size of a chicken that wobbled past or the curious mouse-like critter with eensy antlers. He smiled when he recognized a gossameer.
“Do you know what these are called? Kip’s been teaching me their names, but I don’t know most of these.”
“You like Ephemera?”
“Yeah.” He reached for the creature that puffed along like a tiny, translucent jellyfish. “Doon-wen invited some specialists to study ours. I guess some are pretty rare. The orchard has already been declared a preserve.”
Argent blandly remarked, “So you can talk.”
Joe shrugged. “I like Ephemera. They’re one of my favorite parts of home.”
“And doubtless, you are theirs.” He raised a hand and clucked his tongue. “Have you ever tamed them?”
“Yes.” To his amazement, a tiny winged monkey zipped from a nearby shrub and darted to Argent’s palm. Joe put two and two together. “You like them, too.”
“My collection is extensive.” Argent set the tiny creature in Joe’s hands. “This is a quisp, culled from the sizeable flock at Kikusawa Shrine in Keishi.”
Joe had never seen the like. “So cute.”
Argent hummed.
Joe felt safe here. Everything was in perfect balance. Of course, if Argent had brought him into a dream, didn’t that mean they were inside Joe’s own head? Cuddling the little monkey to his cheek, he shyly asked, “Is this like tending?”
“No. We are two friends on a bench, discussing a shared fondness for small creatures.” Argent lifted his face toward the starry sky. “Tending is more than a meeting of minds, it is the touching of souls.”
“Are you going to teach me how?”
“If you are so inclined. But first.” Argent turned to face him. “Please forgive my caution, but I must ask if you are under any duress.”
Joe drew a blank. “Sorry?”
Argent simplified. “Have you been led to believe that this is your only course? Are you being pressured by anyone into forming a pact with Kip?”
“Oh … umm … it’s okay. I’m doing this for my own reasons.”
“May I know them?”
Joe opened his hands, releasing the quisp. Some of his reasons were mixed up with Kip’s feelings toward Ash, which were none of Argent’s business. So he stuck to basics. “Kip’s nice.”
Argent chuckled. “Would that more nice people were so amply rewarded. You are a beacon, Joe. You could easily secure a pact with one of the Five. Twineshaft is difficult to pin down, but Lapis is an affectionate soul.”
“No, thank you. I’ve already secured a pact with one of the Five.” Joe tried for a grateful smile. “We’re counting on you.”
“Very well.” Argent arched a brow. “The good news is … if you can tame Ephemera, you can tend Woodacre.”
Joe ventured, “Is there bad news?”
“Are you aware that tending is even more intimate than touch? Many describe the connection in terms of elation, exhilaration, and pleasure.”
“Kip and I are helping each other.” Joe wanted Argent, at least, to understand. “He isn’t in love with me or anything.”
“The exchange is not inherently romantic or erotic, but it is intensely personal. Absolute trust is at its very foundation, and mutual consent is essential.” Argent touched Joe’s burning cheek. “Before my bonding, I was tended by a male friend. If you wished it, I would find a way to bring Michael to you. He tends beautifully, and he is a patient teacher.”
“You promised not to tell.”
“True, but I will not pretend there is only one way to proceed. You have options. You have a choice.”
Joe whispered his thanks.
Argent resumed. “Kip needs your strength in more ways than one. Tend to him, and he will gain in both power and stature. But be wise and firm. Impose limits. Because he may lose himself in your vastness.”
“Stop him from taking a third beer.”
“Figuratively speaking.” With an amused twitch of lips, Argent said, “Something tells me he would be an affectionate drunk.”
Joe was inclined to agree.
“Since I know firsthand, I must also speak on Kip’s behalf. Your sway over him increases exponentially because of your magnitude. He will want you and no other, for nothing can compare to a beacon’s brilliance.” Argent gravely said, “It would be the worst kind of cruelty to abandon him.”
“Tend and keep. Got it.”
Argent reached for Joe’s hands and cradled them all the while he talked. Giving information and examples. Outlining customs and courtesies. Reinforcing trust and secrecy.
Joe eventually had to ask, “Aren’t you going to show me?”
“Yes. If you wish it.”
He said, “Help me find my feet, and everything will be fine.”
“So be it.” Blue flames bloomed over Argent’s heart, quickly spreading over his skin as more tails flickered into existence and fanned out on all sides. “Time for your practicum.”
Kip hardly heard Argent, even though he was probably saying something important. He was too busy watching blue flames lick across the tracery of sigils decorating Jiro’s skin. All signs of “manly bloodshed” were vanishing, yet Kip could feel their hold tightening, their bond strengthening.
“He is unharmed.” The fox’s gaze slanted toward the bed. “He has never been safer.”
“I get it. I’m grateful. But I can’t help wanting to … make sure.”
Argent spoke with exaggerated patience. “You can go to him once I am certain you understand Lapis’ gift.”
“Is that what we were talking about?” Kip felt something lock into place around his wrist, and just like that, Jiro vanished. “Wait, what? What did you do?”
“Calm down. Pay attention.” Argent’s hold on his wrist was gentle, his gaze attentive. “They appear to be working properly.”
Around Kip’s wrist was a strand of small, irregular black stones. Their unfamiliar weight was putting his hairs on end. While his other senses didn’t seem to be affected, it was definitely messing with his perception. His connection to Jiro had narrowed to a pinprick, and he didn’t like it.
Twirling the bracelet, Kip’s heart sank. There was no catch. There would be no release. “Why?” he asked.
Argent sighed. “From the beginning, then?”
Kip nodded sheepishly and took a receptive stance.
“Those closest to Lapis Mossberne know that he has long struggled with addiction. Until quite recently, he was numbered among the Broken. So he was naturally concerned for your wellbeing.” Argent touched the wardstones at Kip’s wrist. “These are tuned to Joe, which will allow for tending. They also provide a formidable damper. You have ready access, but your take will be little more than a trickle.”
“Rationing.”
“Yes. During future visits, as your reserves grow, I can widen the gap. In due course, you will have no need of such safeguards.”
Kip murmured, “Gotta admit, I’ve been worried about that part.”
Argent touched his arm and mildly reiterated, “You have never been safer.”
“Thank Lapis for me?”
“Certainly.” The fox’s hand settled, and he asked, “May I speak plainly?”
Kip dredged up a weary smile. “Go for it.”
“You will hamper your progress if you waste time waiting to be given what Joe doesn’t know how to offer. Assert yourself, appeal to him directly, and then abide by his decision.”
“Communication, huh?”
“He responds well enough.”
Kip knew coy when he heard it and would have called Argent’s remark into question, but he breezed on.
“The more time you are together, the better. Spend your nights here. Hold him while he sleeps. It is the safest, simplest way to achieve saturation.”
That was a big change. He wondered how Ash would react. “And … I need to reciprocate?”
“Eventually. Tend to yourself first. You need greater gains before you can hope to contain him.” Argent stepped around him in the cramped room, moving to the door. “I will assess your progress in December.”
“You’re leaving?”
Argent smirked. “You are welcome.”
Kip had every intention of thanking him properly, but in a blink, the fox was disconcertingly absent. He rubbed at the back of his neck, which was prickling. Had he been drawn into a fox dream? Kip checked the door, its wards, his wrist, and then the bed.
Jiro’s eyes were open.
Hurrying to his side, Kip eased the blanket over him and whispered, “Hey.”
“He left?”
“Yeah. Just now.”
“The dream suddenly ended.” Jiro propped himself up on elbows. “He showed me a garden, talked to me there, told me things.”
Kip sat on the edge of the bed. “He never let on. You okay?”
“Sure.” His gaze was so calm, his scent both settled and serene. “What about you?”
Now that he was paying attention, Kip could feel the drag on his senses. Hardly surprising, given his long night of complicated sigilcraft. Edges fraying, focus fading, he was dangerously close to collapse. “Tired,” he admitted. “You okay with me crashing here for a while?”
Jiro scooted over, making room.
Kip was only too glad to climb in next to him. Maybe it was the weariness. Maybe it was the sudden release of tension. Whatever the reason, Kip was embarrassed by how much he was shaking. He tried to hide it by grabbing hold of the only steady thing within reach—Jiro.
“Umm … you okay?”
“I take back everything I ever said about being scary strong. Argent is scary strong.”
“I know what you mean.” Jiro’s voice was mild and mellow. “But he came a long way to help us.”
“Well, my squirrel quarter needs a moment.” Kip gave in to the need to shudder.
“Argent likes you. I think he secretly enjoyed the challenge of finding us.”
Kip lifted his face. “He said that?”
“Not with words.” Jiro gave a little shrug. “I could feel it when he was showing me how to tend.”
Three kinds of envy cropped up, but Kip swatted them aside in favor of an honestly impressed, “Whoa. You tended Argent Mettlebright?”
“No. He kind of … showed me the door, but left it shut.”
Kip pulled the blanket over their heads, grumbling when it left their feet out in the cold. Curling his tail around foot and paw alike, he burrowed his nose against Jiro’s neck. “Guess it worked out.”
“Guess so,” Jiro agreed.
There was a little fidgeting as Kip coaxed Jiro into a more compatible position. And a lot of silence, which was surprisingly comfortable, given Kip’s fondness for chatter. The tremors eased and his mood lazed contentedly. It felt good to hold Jiro, whose happiness was a subtle thing, but no less real. Kip found himself orienting toward it, pulling into it. How had Argent described his bondmate—both beacon and ballast. That sounded about right.
“Is it working?” murmured Jiro.
“M’wha–?” Kip was so limp, he left it at that.
“Argent said I should try taming you. I think it’s actually working.” There was an edge of amusement to his tone. “This is how I attract Ephemera in the orchard.”
Kip turned his head enough for eye contact. Normally, it would have been too unrelentingly dark for Jiro, buried under covers in the middle of the night. But Kip’s sigilcraft was still fresh, so his bare skin gleamed with a hundred patterns that spoke of possessiveness and protection. “Ephemera, huh?”
“Yep.”
“And what do you do once you get the little critters into your clutches?”
Jiro’s expression turned thoughtful. “It’s hard to explain. I guess … umm ….”
Kip was suddenly aware that a door had opened somewhere inside Jiro. Even narrowed by wards, it touched off a yearning need that was much more complicated than greed, yet infinitely simpler. And utterly safe.
Jiro awkwardly petted his hair and finally answered, “I guess I give them a reason to stay.”
FORTY-SEVEN
Tell All
More than an hour before Ash was due for his evening’s visit, Tami was already in the loft, nestled down with Biddie. The little girl would cuddle up to anyone, which was apparently the nature of trees, but Tami could tell—somehow—when her tree-twin needed her. And only her.
So she was stealing this hour to spend with her sister.
Biddie rested her head on Tami’s shoulder. Burnished gold leaves tickled her chin as she rubbed gentle circles into the girl’s back. Quiet and peaceful.
Their relationship was this odd mix of old and new, much like Biddie herself. Although Tami didn’t feel the need to mother her, she certainly felt responsible for the girl. They were on equal footing, each sure they belonged to the other, despite their differences.
Tami relaxed into the contentment that holding Biddie always brought. Despite the bite of winter in the air outside, Ash’s nest was snug. He’d added to it nearly as often as he brought his gifts, so that the formerly simple ring of straw bales now boasted a high canopy and cushions.
Branches of all sorts rose around the courting circle, bent and braced, providing support for a fortune in draped velvet. She’d have been more mystified by the extravagance of cloth, which he used by the bolt, if she hadn’t already met his fashionista brothers.
Fleeces and flannels were comfortable, but Tami had already noticed that Ash’s tastes also ran to sequins and faceted beads, which sparkled in the
light of tiny crystal lanterns that twinkled up among the supports.
Blue on blue. Everything was Ash’s favorite color, and every part was an expression of his earnest affection and of half-understood avian compulsions. Here, he was completely honest. And completely hers.
Tami’s peaceful mood drifted perilously close to sleep, but the soft rustle of feathers stirred the air and with it, her heart. A hand touched her hair, and she opened her eyes to Ash’s smile. His lips brushed hers, light with a promise of more to come, and he rested a hand on Biddie’s leafy crown.
“Have you been waiting long?” he asked.
Biddie held out her hand, welcoming him into their cozy huddle. Ash’s wings were visible this evening, a sure sign that Kip was somewhere nearby. Probably visiting with Joe. They’d been spending more time together in the last few weeks. Usually, they took charge of Biddie, but Ash eased an arm around both of them, covering her and Biddie under the curve of one wing.
“I have news,” he offered. “Well, it’s really just gossip, but it’s almost impossible to come up with anything definitive about Amaranthine trees. Dad’s extra sulky tonight because Faisal was the first one to dig up some dirt.”
Tami could sympathize. Every question she’d asked about the Scattering had been briskly rebuffed or evaded. The topic was obviously taboo, so any tidbit was bound to be juicy. “What did Faisal find out?”
“There’s a grove in Wardenclave, where your family came from.”
Interesting, for sure. And probably part of the reason her great-grandfather had needed to leave town. They—whoever they might be—would have assumed he’d been in among their trees. A thief in the garden, after forbidden fruit.
“It’s seldom discussed, out of respect for Glint Starmark, who is fiercely protective of Waaseyaa.”
Tami knew that name. “The boy Glint befriended. The co-founder of the In-between.”
“That’s the guy.”