by JANRAE FRANK
"You cannot be Jysy and Arruth's sponsor," the Patriarch explained in a patient manner, warming to the young male. "You are not Guild."
Dynarien sighed. "I must have a reason for being here. I absolutely must," his voice filled with a desperate earnestness, which the Patriarch found charming. "Otherwise people will ask too many questions."
"So I'll give you one," Patriarch Eshraf told him. "Hadjys has granted you many special dispensations, so my liege-god wants you here for Talons' sake. She has become a favorite of his. Therefore, you are now a mage employed by this temple."
A smile spread over Dynarien's face. He had never had a job before in four thousand years. "Will I have duties?" he asked eagerly. A job! He was going to have a job!
"Yes," the Patriarch laughed, it was a deep, hearty laugh. "I think you'll learn many things living among humans like us, living by our rules. From all I could glean in the lore books, you've done nothing but wander through our lives from time to time."
Dynarien nodded. "Mostly I've stayed in Imralon, or wandered, or followed my sister around, trying to keep her out of trouble. This feels good." As the God of Cussedness and Perversity, his twin sister, Dynanna, was always getting into trouble. She drove him to distraction. She always had a dozen plots going at once or she was stealing from gods and demons, or raiding the hoards of dragons and other monsters. Sooner or later something terrible would happen to the little godling and that would break Dynarien's heart. She took too many chances.
"And you'll help me protect Talons from that monster that's stalking her and these unholy intrigues."
"Of course!" Dynarien sobered, "I love her."
"You would have been a far better mate for her than Bryndel. This whole situation is unfortunate, but the state must be served. Furthermore, under no circumstances are you to touch her as a woman. She belongs to Bryndel and the repercussions for her would be severe."
"I am learning to understand that." What would Eshraf say if he knew that last warning had come too late and Talons was already pregnant by him? He would not touch her again, unless she asked him to; but should she ask, no one and nothing would stop him from answering.
"Good. Promise me another thing: you must not go to her until I give you permission."
"Why?" Dynarien bristled, his face flushing brighter than his hair.
"Because when I was a young mon we had another rash of vampire attacks, much like the ones involving Talons. There was a yuwenghau. A Taladrim ally of the Guild, a daughter of Tala by Kalirion. She made no secret of what she was and who she was. The vampire butchered her. As powerful and resourceful as you are, my young friend, you are in no way her equal. I will not see you die as she did. We will handle this with caution. I am certain that we are dealing with a royal, possibly even a Lemyari."
Dynarien went silent. The thought of a Lemyari, especially an ancient Lemyari, sent a cold shiver up his back. "I thought they were all destroyed at the end of the Age of Burning, more than twelve thousand years ago. Closer to twenty by some accounts."
"There is a rumor that Lord Hoon of Waejontor possesses claws that secrete a venom. That sounds like a Lemyari. There is also a mon here, First Lieutenant to the Grand Master, a Nordrei woman, who happens to have the same name as that which an obscure lore book lists for your grandsire's lover who betrayed him and vanished at the time of your betrothed, Melorien's murder. Would you recognize her?"
"It might be a Lemyari." Dynarien frowned deeply as he thought. "I cannot imagine a Nordrei taking Galee's name. It cannot be her. My grandsire killed her. I will be careful."
"Good. I will spend a few days establishing your identity, introduce you to some people, and then you are on your way to Talons as a mage of the temple."
As desperately as Dynarien wanted to go to Talons, he could see Eshraf's point. He felt that his decision to take Laurelyanne and Josiah's advice to go to Eshraf first had been the correct one. Talatiel had indeed been far more powerful than he. They had met briefly a few centuries ago. This was not a situation that he could simply plunge into in his usual reckless manner. Normally, he was only this cautious when Dynanna was about and issuing orders. His sister was the trickster in the family, wandering around in various guises. Talatiel had been more like himself, always out in the open with her moonwolf by her side. Dynarien shivered at the knowledge that it was here, fighting this monster, that she had met her end.
* * * *
Arruth carried her books as she walked down the corridors of the West Wing. She had promised Jysy she would begin going to classes again, and work hard at getting over what had happened to her in that alley in Havensword; after all, she wore their ears and that was supposed to be the end of it for a Sharani. But that wasn't the end of it, and she was desperately afraid to tell anyone. She found her feet slowing down as she neared the doors to Lord Wrathscar's apartments, which he shared with his daughters when he allowed them at court. Then she simply got up her courage and ran past them.
The Great Central Hall was already filling with people when Arruth reached the chamber. She remembered how she had once thought this place beautiful, with its forest of green-veined marble columns, vaulted arches, and broad skylights in a tremendous central dome. Now her experiences colored it with shadows. Arruth hesitated on the wide second floor gallery, looking down at everyone. Soldiers in the umber and pine of House Wrathscar were sprinkled throughout. Her skin crawled. She started to turn back and flee, feeling as if all of them could see her and were lying in wait to catch her, to take her to him. A laughing cluster of females swept down from the third floor, fanning around her. Several males followed them with the casual attentiveness of guards who did not wish to be easily noted. One of the females must have seen the distress on her face, because she stopped. "Are you all right?"
Arruth started to nod and then shook her head instead at the auburn-tressed mon.
"Someone has frightened you?"
"Yes," Arruth said in a very soft voice.
"Where are you going?"
"Classes."
"Why don't I walk you there? How old are you?" the mon asked gently.
"Twelve. My people are large."
"Sharani?"
Arruth nodded.
The lovely mon with the auburn hair wore a pale blue gossamer and silk gown with strange birds embroidered upon it and a crystal, rune-banded in silver, on a silver chain. "I'm Leeza."
"Arruth." Then she noticed a tall – no, very tall – golden haired and skinned male waiting behind Leeza with a dark-skinned, silver-haired female. They dressed in silken short tunics and breeches, heavily embroidered, and carried two golden fans in their sashes.
Leeza followed her gaze and smiled. She gestured at them. "Come here." They approached and now Arruth could see their narrow, deeply slanted eyes and the points of their ears. "This is Tiderider, his name in Faewin means The Golden Fae who has Seen the Sea. And this is Blue Lily."
They smiled briefly at Arruth.
"My love," said Leeza, sliding her arm around Tiderider's waist. "This is Arruth. Something downstairs frightens her. She's just twelve. I promised to let her 'hide beneath our arms' and we will walk her to class." She used the traditional Fae phrase for something that was hidden in full view, often a mon.
"Then we shall," Tiderider said, favoring Arruth with another of his enigmatic hints of a smile.
As they walked, Arruth became aware of the way in which her necklace of ears had become twisted and the upper edge of one desiccated ear rubbed against her neck. She shoved it down hurriedly, hoping they had not noticed.
She reached her classes without incident, getting through the day better than she expected and had just started to cross the green from the library when three myn stepped out of the thick bushes and seized her. She started to cry out when she felt the cold edge of a blade at her throat and she froze.
"You surely didn't believe I'd forgotten you, Arruth? Or had more interesting things to do?"
Arruth began to cry. "Let me
go, Lord Wrathscar. Please let me go."
"When I'm finished."
* * * *
"I wish I knew what had frightened that child," Leeza said, walking back to the Great Central Hall with her head leaning against Tiderider's chest. "I've never seen a Sharani that frightened."
"She's been raped." Tiderider's steel in velvet voice masked something that Leeza, for all of her three years among them, could not catch. So she wondered what she had heard there.
Leeza stopped. "How do you know?"
"She wears their ears on a cord around her neck," Blue Lily supplied. "I saw it also, Tiderider, before she shoved them into her shirt better."
"Who would do such a thing here ... to a child?" Leeza was appalled.
Blue Lily exchanged a knowing glance with Tiderider, and Leeza felt them closing her out again. After three years, she still wanted to cry when they did that. She felt certain that it was on Channadar's orders. No matter what Leeza said or did, she could not convince them that she was as strong and able as they were.
"Do not think about such things," Tiderider said after a long pause. "You will be happier."
* * * *
Edouina strode across the quad, stretching her legs to the maximum trying to force some burn into the pace just to work her anger out. She knew where she would find Yukiah this time of day and the armsmaster usually knew everything that went on that concerned the Guild since he never left on assignments and all his old students had a habit of coming back to talk to him. It had been that way since he took the post ten years ago, as it had been with his predecessor.
"Yukiah!"
He glanced, saw her, and gestured for his assistants to take over as he strode swiftly across the field. "The cleaning lady returns!" They jokingly called her that, when what they meant was that she cleared out the worst rats nests of corruption and monsters imaginable. He embraced her briefly. "Thank the gods you're back."
"Talons refuses to tell me what's going on. She kept finger spelling scrying."
"It's possible." Yukiah led her to a spot away from everyone else where there were a few scattered benches among a stand of maples. He sat down and she settled beside him. Bending forward, Yukiah pulled idly at a tall stalk of grass, twiddling it thoughtfully. A silver chain slid forth from the neck of his tunic.
"You still carry her picture close to your heart, don't you, honey?" Edouina drawled.
Yukiah straightened. He pulled the chain out and palmed the locket for a moment, before pushing it back inside his tunic. "Always will. I don't know if my swan-may is alive or dead. I haven't heard from her in years. But I'll never love anyone else." He dropped the blade of grass and began rubbing the burn scar on his neck. "Let's talk about Talons."
Edouina's expression darkened as Yukiah told her everything he knew, which was far from all of it, and added in a few guesses. Then Edouina told him what she had seen on Talons' body.
"Vampire. He's back." Yukiah's hand went to the long burn scar on his neck, pressing and then rubbing it in uneasy alternations, his eyes going distant.
"I would think so. I cannot imagine the odds that we could get a new one out of nowhere."
"I suppose it could be one of his get that has suddenly risen to power, Edouina. One we missed."
"One strong enough to slay Talatiel? What odds, that? Same one, I say, honey. He's come back."
Yukiah continued to finger the scar. "I don't want to believe he's been here all this time, Edouina. Just sitting here watching us after he killed her."
"Yukiah! And Edouina!" Eshraf's baritone broke across their awareness. "What fine fortune. I have brought someone to meet you."
Yukiah nodded, sizing Dynarien up. "Didn't I used to see you out here last winter? Watching the little rogues with Talons?" Yukiah stood, extending his hand to Dynarien.
The yuwenghau grinned and shook, being careful not to grip too hard, lest he crush Yukiah's hand unintentionally. "I met Talons in Shaurone and the girls too. Gave them a bit of help there."
Edouina stalked around him with a silly grin on her face. "Ummmnn ummnnn ummnn looking at you, honey, has just made my day." He was broad through the shoulders, strong-chested – without being excessively so – and almost impossibly narrow through the waist and hips with a tight little butt that made her hands ache to squeeze it. Fair, fair skin like fresh churned cream, guileless blue eyes like a summer morn, and a wealth of red-gold hair hanging loose down his back and over his shoulders, like no one she had ever seen before, so very different from her own dark skinned race.
Dynarien flushed, completely flustered, and at a loss for words.
"Dynarien, allow me to introduce Yukiah, our Guild armsmaster, and Edouina Hornbow, Guildsmon."
"Talons' Edouina?"
"Oh, she's talked about me, has she?"
"She's in love with you," Dynarien blurted before he caught himself and blushed two shades deeper.
Everyone laughed.
"I like this one, can I keep him?" Edouina grinned.
"Dynarien recently became a mage for the temple," Eshraf explained, motioning them closer. "Seven nights hence at the stroke of midnight meet me in my study. Dynarien is to be trusted implicitly if Talons is to be saved. I fear that Creeya and perhaps even the Guild itself is in peril."
Yukiah and Edouina exchanged glances, and then Yukiah spoke for both of them. "You have our word."
"Now let's introduce Dynarien to Lord Channadar. That will be a test." Eshraf grinned mysteriously.
"That's a Fae name," Dynarien said, trying to read Eshraf's face.
"And so it is. Channadar is half Fae. He is the Lord of Hellsguard."
Yukiah and Edouina looked at each other curiously wondering what Eshraf meant by 'a test.'
Dynarien leaned very close to Eshraf's ear and whispered, "If I have to summon my armor in his presence, he'll know who I am."
Edouina caught part of that, which made her even more curious and she shared it with Yukiah after signing him to fall back a bit from Eshraf and Dynarien as they followed them.
"Armor? Battlemage, he's got to be, and a famous one," Yukiah whispered back to her. "I wonder if his name even is Dynarien. That's a sylvan name, and he doesn't have the ears."
"No. But he's awful pretty."
Yukiah gave her a good-natured shove. He genuinely enjoyed working with Sharani, which many didn't.
* * * *
Leeza drifted along the little shops in the Cloverleaf, not noticing that she had become separated from her companions. She passed by two tailors and a general clothing shop coming finally to the small glass blower's place she favored. Her collection of unicorns and peacocks was steadily growing and already filled two shelves in the suite she shared with Tiderider and Chucomei. Most of the shops were carved out of the natural niches formed by the cavern system beneath the palace compound. Some were the result of stone and mortar divisioning of the larger chambers.
"Of all the women I have tasted, none have ever satisfied me the way I think you would, Leeza."
Leeza jolted from her thoughts at his voice. "Lord Wrathscar. Let me be. I don't want you."
Agasthenez Wrathscar tried to capture her arm, but she slid away from him into a cautious stance. Although her training had been crude and brief, Leeza had been a member of Channadar's yeomynry before that fateful day that she knocked him in the mud. Wrathscar frowned deeply. "I want you, Leeza. And I will have you."
"Touch me and die," Leeza hissed. "Tiderider would kill you." Before becoming involved with Channadar, she would have threatened him herself, but she had learned the game from the Fae, although she had yet to master the dance.
"Not if you came willingly," Wrathscar pointed out. "How can you bear to be with those dancing fops, when you could have a real man."
"That is an old line and it has an older answer. 'No.' You are not a 'real man.' You are a bully, a tyrant. I want nothing to do with you."
Leeza glanced around from the corners of her eyes, knowing that Wrathscar rarely tr
aveled alone. He always had at least one soldier at his back. She spotted the soldier. "To hell with your rapacious appetites, Wrathscar!" Leeza kicked the nearest cabinet of glass items in Wrathscar's direction and darted out onto the central concourse as the shop owner ran from the backroom to see what was happening to his merchandise. Leeza hated damaging the beautiful items, but it had seemed her only option. She snatched her skirts higher, thinking how much she hated dresses and ran.
She found Tiderider looking for her at the far edge and threw herself into his arms, panting. "Wrathscar."
Seeing the soldiers – still a few yards off – headed in their direction, Tiderider's golden eyes narrowed to slits. He shifted her to one arm and drew a single golden fan, snapping it open in a menacing manner. The soldiers slowed, watching him. Wrathscar came up behind them. "Chasing my firefly again?" Tiderider asked in a soft voice as dispassionate as steel.
"I am not chasing her," Wrathscar said. "If I were, I would have caught her."
"Stay away from Leeza."
"I don't want her. Why should I want used goods? Your whore has a twisted imagination if she thinks I want her." Wrathscar turned on his heels and stalked off with his soldiers following.
Tiderider nodded, his eyes unreadable. "Have you finished your shopping?"
"Yes. I've lost my taste for it." Leeza nestled tighter against him. Despite her earlier defiance, Lord Wrathscar frightened her.
"Then there is one who waits for you."
* * * *
Tiderider arrived late to the Great Central Hall where Channadar held his little court of stories. Leeza still clung to him, although her shaking had subsided. Eshraf was there with Yukiah and Edouina, and another whom Tiderider failed to recognize: A young mon who was sylvan trueblood pale and red-golden haired. Channadar rose from his couch as Tiderider arrived, smiling and unfolding his fan with a languid flick of his wrist. He waved it at Tiderider.
"Allow me to present to you, my First of Thirteen, Tiderider. Tiderider, this is Mage Dynarien Briarrose. Patriarch Eshraf's new mage-assistant."