The walls around Slates considerable temper melted. He stood as well, face contorting in anger. “You know, father … “
“Slate …” Jade began menacingly. “Listen, don’t start!”
“I wonder if he was right. I know about your boyfriends. I heard father yell at you, call you a slut. Sometimes, sister, I wonder if you care what people think.”
Jade’s voice was a hiss, here eyes twin pits of green fire. “Never, ever, ever …”
“Let’s stop it now.”
Garnet’s voice rang out like a bell. Brother and sister turned to look at the petite, red-furred vulpine. She was composed, and strangely commanding, yet still the same harmless, inoffensive bit of crimson fluff they were used to.
“Let’s all go our separate ways for now, all right?”
Jade looked at Slate, then back at Garnet, then turned silently and walked out the door. She didn’t even make the effort to slam it.
When she was outside, she let herself cry a little bit, but only a little.
“Godsdamn it!” Jade slammed the door of the apartment shut. She fumed at the empty living room.
Something in her wanted to seize the Lakkom off of her back and blow something away, externalize her anger so it left her. However that was irresponsible, immature, and only likely to break some really nice furniture Huan had managed to acquire over the years.
“Jade?” HuanJen’s voice came out of the south hallway, probably from the study.
“Nothing,” Jade lied, immediately knowing it had been useless. HuanJen could read her disturbingly well. If he’d been anyone else, she’d have despised that ability.
HuanJen emerged from the hallway, a ream of papers in his hands. She’d interrupted his research. Wonderful. Huan tended to get very focused on such things, and interruptions were unwelcome.
“What happened with Slate?” He knew, or at least knew enough to know.
“Oh, like . . ,” Jade began, then stopped. “We argued. I didn’t expect it. I got a headache and I’m going to take a nap.”
“I see.” The Fang-Shih looked at her, the kind of look that Jade knew all to well. Information just had a way of flowing to him. He was just going to ‘know’ some more.
Jade waved her friend off. “Don’t pull the scanning routine. Look, we argued, my dear brother reminded me of my romantic past, and pissed me the hell off. You know all you need now, Huan.”
“Can I …” HuanJen cut himself off, knowing Jade certainly would.
“No you can’t help. I’m gonna sleep.”
HuanJen nodded. “Take some …”
“I know where the sleeping powder is. Don’t make any efforts, I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself.”
The mystic sat on the couch, calmly, letting Jade complete her business. He watched her medicate herself, watched her storm about, watched her head off to her bedroom. She didn’t seem pay attention to him at all.
Jade never saw him look through her bedroom door to check on her, or heard him step onto the patio. She trembled for a second as he vanished off the porch and into Metris.
She didn’t understand. It wasn’t any effort at all.
The sun was beginning to set on Balmtuh Street.
Slate jogged down the sidewalk, each step driving some of his anger into the ground. No matter how much he ran, there was still too much. The anger burned within him like molten metal.
He was angry with Jade, but angry with himself most of all. She … she wasn’t proper, but he’d insulted her. He’d hurt her. He’d protected her when he could, just like he protected Garnet now. He’d tried. He’d failed.
It always happened, he always screwed up in the end. Everything fell apart no matter how hard he tried to hold it together. He’d hurt his sister and now it was probably only a manner of time until he hurt Garnet.
“Slate.”
The massive Vulpine stopped. HuanJen was standing next to him, a serene, dark-clothed figure, eerie in the evening light. He was always calm; it made you want to punch him.
“What?” Slate wiped the sweat from his brow-fur. “What do you want, sorcerer?”
“To talk.” The words held no guile or contrivance.
Slate looked down at the cleric. Somehow he knew “no” was an answer he wasn’t going to give.
“Walk with me.”
“Of course.” The magician-priest matched his pace easily.
“It’s about Jade?” Slate asked, knowing the answer. Still, he had to be polite and ask.
“Yes. She did not send me, if you are curious, I came to patch things up. She is hurt Slate. I know she’s temperamental, but what you said hurt her. And you.”
“I know.”
A thick silence settled on the two. Slate felt an itching between his eyes, like something was trying to crawl out of his head.
“I … I should not have done that. That was too far,” Slate spat, feeling relief just from speaking. “I worry about her, she’s so headstrong, and she could be more proper, and she may be doing well, but …”
“She is a bit headstrong. And defensive. And … well, bitchy.”
He was agreeing with him. Slate hated it when HuanJen was rational like that. “Yes.”
Silence again. Thunderous silence. HuanJen seemed to suck up all the excess sound. You had to make more words to fill the void.
Slate stopped walking. “I love my sister, HuanJen. I just want her to be well, like any good brother.”
“I think she is, Slate. I want her to be well and happy also, like any friend.”
The hulking Vulpine looked away, then back at HuanJen. He wanted to say something, but the proper things eluded him.
The Fang-Shih continued. “You may not approve of what she does. You may not approve of me. You may not approve of my past actions. But she is happy. She is an asset to Metris. She is a vital part of what I do. I care about her very deeply.”
Slate scowled at life in general. HuanJen was right of course. Irritatingly so - he could at least gloat and make himself dislikeable. He could at least be like other people.
“I’m an idiot,” Slate’s words were simple and sincere. It was obvious to HuanJen had had made such a statement before.
“Not always, from what I can tell it’s a situation that strikes only occasionally. So now that your attack of is over, fix it. Talk to her, Slate.”
“Why don’t you, since you’re so concerned?”
“Because you want to. Because you two must solve it, I … I cannot fix what is wrong.”
Slate grimaced. “You seem … quite involved. Again.”
HuanJen paused for a moment, thinking. “Yes, I am. Are you afraid. Again?”
Slate glared down at the mystic, a cold statue radiating a restrained, frustrated anger. He searched for words, but his eyes communicated all he needed to say.
“Garnet is with you, Slate. You neither had nor have nothing to fear except that which you decide to.”
“Pretty words.” The hulking Vulpine’s response was short, icy, restrained.
“True words.” HuanJen was as calm as the passage of centuries.
Slate took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. “I will talk to Jade. I will apologize. I will put it right. For her.”
“Good.”
HuanJen went silent again, the void of speech descending once more.
Slate sighed. “I am not doing it for you.”
HuanJen nodded. “I know, Slate. You know, if I had to do it again, I would still want Garnet to be with you, where she’s happy. Remember that.
Slate nodded, eyes downcast.
“Good evening.” The magician-priest walked off, flowing into the night.
Slate leaned against a lightpost and looked at the stars above. He very carefully made a fist, inhaled, then unclenched his massive hand, finally relaxing. Sometimes it felt good to pretend to prepare to hit something.
The mystic wasn’t a bad person, he felt. However, HuanJen set him on edge; he showed up and left unexpect
edly, he knew things he shouldn’t, he … meddled. Slate had come from a family of meddlers, and despite what his sister thought, he had disliked it as much as she, if not more. He had just maintained some integrity and focus.
HuanJen meddled, and he always seemed so well-meaning you couldn’t trust him.
But …
… Garnet …
… he had a sister to apologize too. He was wrong, about her.
Mostly.
Jade reached for the phone, and managed to grab it on the second try. She pushed the pillow off of her face and brought the phone to roughly the same area as her mouth.
“You’re reached HuanJen, Zone cleric number one-fifty-two. I’m Jade his partner, please …”
“Jade, it’s Slate. Don’t hang up.”
Hanging up sounded like a good idea to the frustrated and groggy clerical assistant. Her headache was not gone, and having its source call her was unwelcome. However, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Slate sounded absolutely miserable.
“What?”
“I’m sorry.”
Jade sighed, untensed a bit and relaxed into the soft mattress. There was a defeated sincerity in her brother’s voice that surprised her.
“Go on,” the sleepy Vulpine managed.
“I was worried. I always feel you run on the ragged edge and I don’t want you to fall. But what I said … I’m sorry. I got angry and I said the wrong thing.”
Green eyes glimmered with a strange sadness. “I’m not a slut. And if I’m screwing the boss, which I’m not, that’s my own business.”
“Father was wrong, Jade. I know that. Father was stupid about more things than me.”
“You’re like him, sometimes.”
There was an uncomfortable pause. “I wish I wasn’t. I’m afraid I will be him someday, and I’ll … find everyone left me as well. I came close today.”
“No, Slate, you aren’t him, you care too much. You just do the same dumb things for different reasons. I just keep provoking you, just like I did him.”
“What?” Slate’s ability to become suddenly dense asserted itself. Jade knew her brother was a smart man, but he had moments of stupidity that bordered on the inexplicable.
“Ah hell, slate, come on, you …” Jade stirred uncomfortably under her bedcovers. “We both know that as soon as you even seem get protective I have to keep egging you on, because I hope you’ll realize how dumb it is.”
“I … wasn’t going to bring that up.”
“Yeah, look, I’m tired, I had a headache.”
“I figured.” Her brothers guilt oozed over the phone line.
“Promise me you’ll have some faith, brother, and I promise you I’ll trust you to have some faith in me. Maybe we can stop this, we never argued like that at home.”
“We hated home more than each other.”
“Yes.” Jade bit her lip. “Yes. Look, I forgive you.”
“I love you, sister.”
A few tears welled up in Jade’s eyes. Memories of a more innocent time decades ago came back, before she had known what Colony was.
“I love you too, brother. Look, let’s give this some time and maybe you and Garnet can visit in a day or two. Or come to the Nax with us.”
“I will. Get some sleep, sister. I also … I am sorry for how I treat HuanJen, it is hard to explain. He is a good person. He does care.”
“Damn right. Say otherwise and I’ll be on your case. We’ll talk later, after I sleep.” Jade felt herself tumbling into the embrace of unconsciousness.
“Yes, sister.”
She hung up the phone. Her brother was out of idiot mode, more than she’d seen in ages. He’d apologized. The Crossworld, it changed things, it …
Jade woke up ten minutes later realizing that her brother rarely did such things without intervention. She knew Garnet well enough that she’d have given him a day to cool down, and that meant one person had intervened …
HuanJen sat in the study, reading. It was a refuge for him in a way, the high book shelves he had built by hand (then rebuilt with help from Rake), his workbench, his cabinet of herbs and alchemical substances, the smells of paper and ink. About the only thing missing was the computer Jade had moved to the armoire in the living room because of a bad run of potion-brewing that had made her despair for its future if it remained in the study.
The Fang-Shih leaned back in his chair, feet propped on his desk, an old tome from the Lyceum’s last sale in his lap. After today, it was a well-appreciated pleasure to have an interesting book and a peaceful time to read it in.
“What the hell did you do?”
And now, one of the two pleasures vanished like ice exposed to a flamethrower.
Jade stood in the doorway of the study, her expression an unreadable quilt of feelings. HuanJen closed his book and carefully set it aside. This was not going to be a thirty-second explanation.
“I talked to Slate, Jade. I had an idea of what had happened. I wanted things better.”
The Vulpine was obviously furious, if a bit confused. HuanJen looked at her, waiting for a response.
“Well?” Jade finally asked. She was hoping for more of an explanation. For something. HuanJen could be quite wordy when necessary, and often when unnecessary, which made his simple answer more frustrating.
“That’s it.”
Jade slumped against the doorframe. “OK, I’m in bitch mode, I’m sorry. Look, thanks, really.”
HuanJen slid out of his chair, walked over to his partner, and gave her an affectionate hug. He was comfortable with physical affection, but the embrace was stronger than usual. Jade leaned against him, feeling the tension and anger drain out of her body. She felt surprisingly empty in a few moments.
“It’s understandable.” HuanJen stroked her back. “I know you’ve had problems, I know you don’t like people to pry, and that is difficult for me to deal with. But in this case, I wanted to. I didn’t want you hurt or sad.”
“Thanks. I know you don’t.” Jade fought back a few tears. It was tempting to cry; he was so safe to be with that she just wanted to let it all out. “Some day, huh?”
“For you, yes. I recommend you sit on the couch and watch television or listen to music and do nothing for the rest of the evening. That is a professional asessment.”
Jade sighed. His presence was like having sunlight shining on her. “I agree. Your diagnoses are, as always, excellent”
“Go have a seat. I’ll come out in a few, we can even watch that bizarre show Lorne got you into.”
“Thanks. No tuxedo jokes?”
“I’ll try, but I do have my limits.”
Jade reluctantly left her friend’s embrace, stumbled into the living room, and fell onto the couch. You know, she could have worse bosses than a guy who ordered you to take a day off. Well, if you could call HuanJen a boss - he never really acted like one. Ironically, she mused, it probbly made him better at it than most others, since you listened to him because, well, he was right.
“Here.” A black-sleeved arm thrust a box at Jade, causing her to start. She looked up at HuanJen’s sincere expression and took the box.
“What is it?” She asked, sitting up and trying to open the container at the same time. In her tired state, it wasn’t an impressive display of coordination.
“It … it was your birthday present. I saw it when I visited Sanctum a few weeks ago and figured you would like it now. To have something nice.”
Jade finally opened the box. Inside, resting on a wad of cotton was a medallion on a silver chain. Removing it from its resting place, she found it was a small yin-yang symbol, carefully crafted. It was simple, but considering its presenter, that was to be expected.
“I hope you like it. I wanted … to give you something about us. The team.”
White and black emerged from each other and swirled into each other in teardrop shapes. The Vulpine ran her fingers over the pendant. Words caught in her throat the first few times she tried to speak.
&nbs
p; “Huan, thank you.” It was just a piece of jewelry, yet it was more. She didn’t know what to say, but it was more.
“Do you feel better?”
Jade nodded. She put the pendant’s chain around her neck. She tried to speak again, but failed as the words were colliding in her head too fast to cohere into a sentence.
“Good.” The magician-priest responded happily. “I’m glad.”
“Huan?” Jade felt her mind clear, her ideas turning into sharp crystal.
“Yes.”
“I want you to teach me. Please.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Jade turned around, “Teach me. Everything.” She raised her head, green eyes enwrapping HuanJen’s soul. “I don’t want to be me. I don’t want this. I want to be more … and I want to be less. Do you understand?”
“I believe I do, yes.”
Jade sagged, and leaned her head on the back of the sofa. “You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?”
“I have heard that said before in many situations.”
“I won’t ask for details.”
HuanJen let Jade slide down and lie across the couch He gently rubbed her temples. Jade sighed and let herself melt into his touch. He, of all things in Xai or any Earth, was the one thing she could count on. She wondered if the converse was true - and felt rather strangely that it was.
“You are sure?” The mystic asked cautiously.
“Completely.” Jade smiled a bit. The single word had come straight from the heart. The world seemed clearer now.
“You know what this entails?”
“I do. I know what being in Guild Esoteric means. It means one foot here and one foot in Elsewhere. It means knowing. It means involvement. Yes.”
HuanJen came around the side of the couch, sat down, and placed Jade’s head on his knee. His long, sensitive fingers continued their massage.
“I have my first apprentice.” Jade could tell his was grinning from ear to ear.
“I’m still only doing the cleaning.”
“So I figured …”
INTERLUDE: RECRIMINATIONS
Slate hung up the bedroom phone and stared out the window and into the evening sky.
Crossworld of Xai Page 16