Bellusdeo therefore looked like a Dragon as she strode down Elani street by Kaylin’s side. It made the day’s work a lot easier, and as long as Kaylin ignored the probable consequences of the need for Dragon armor, she could be grateful.
CHAPTER FOUR
Mandoran was silent upon leaving Evanton’s shop. He was silent throughout the rest of their patrol. Anything that had caught his attention when they’d first reached Elani street failed to grab it now; he was almost grim. No, Kaylin thought, Teela was grim. Mandoran looked as if he was walking to—or from—the funeral of a very close friend.
Kaylin wanted to speak with him, but given Teela’s expression and the casual way in which she now hovered, it wasn’t safe. But if it had been, what then? Words—especially words of comfort—weren’t exactly Kaylin’s strong suit. Sadly, inactivity wasn’t, either. She wanted to do something to help, while being privately certain that any attempt would only make things worse.
“Kaylin?” Bellusdeo said.
“Sorry, just thinking.”
“About?”
“If I had a suit of armor like yours, Elani street would be a lot easier to manage.”
“Fear has that effect.” The Dragon grinned. “The only thing your citizens seem to fear is the Emperor.”
“Not true.”
“No?”
“They fear starvation, disease, and homelessness. Among other things.”
A golden brow rose in a distinct arch at Kaylin’s snappish reply. “I touched a nerve.”
She had. Kaylin’s response was a fief shrug. “It’s not easy being a mortal.” Before Bellusdeo could speak, she added, “It’s not easy being immortal, either. I’m coming to understand that. But our fears aren’t your fears. I think there’s overlap. Anyone, of any race, gets lonely. Anyone, of any race, can feel both grief and loss.
“But most of our lives aren’t taken up with war and larger-than-life magical conspiracies. We die anyway, no matter what we do. And you won’t. But the lives we live aren’t insignificant to us; if we only have a handful of years, we want them more.”
“I will not even argue that. Perhaps life is like friendship.”
Kaylin glanced at her.
“If you have many, many friends, friendship is a given, a matter of fact. If you have—at most—one or two, it is rare, it is precious. The loss of a friend in that case is shattering because one cannot assume that there will necessarily be others. I did not mean to diminish either your fears or your experience.”
“...No.” Kaylin exhaled. “I used to think that people like you had it easy.”
Bellusdeo didn’t seem surprised by this.
“You’re beautiful. You’re charismatic. You never get old, or fat, you’ve never been plain—or ugly. You don’t get diseases. The cold won’t kill you. You don’t need to sleep. You’re never going to starve. If worse comes to worst, you can hunt. I used to think—when I was a child—that if I were Barrani, I would never, ever have to be afraid.”
“The Barrani are not without fear.”
“No, I know that now. Neither are the Dragons—they just fear different things. All the things that terrified me as a child in the fiefs would never have been able to hurt me had I been you or Teela. It didn’t really occur to me that other things could. My life was a desperate, mortal life. Until the marks appeared on half my body.”
“And yet you do not seem to be comfortable with them.”
Kaylin grimaced. Honestly, if she didn’t stop doing that, her face would get stuck that way. “A dozen children were killed because these marks existed. Two of them were my family. I’d trade the marks, even now, if I could have them back.
“But I love my life. I mean, I hate parts of it—don’t get me started on Sergeant Mallory or the idiots who demand nothing but paperwork—but I was helpless when I was that child. I couldn’t have imagined living the life I have now; even escaping the fiefs was a daydream, something that other people did.”
“What you love about your life now is that you can make a difference?”
Kaylin’s nod was so instant and emphatic, she should have gotten whiplash.
“Even if that difference involves total strangers?”
“It’s why I’m a Hawk.”
“I will say that the only thing that makes me reconsider my opinion of the Emperor is the Halls of Law. It’s the Hawks, in particular. There are many, many ways he could have approached ruling a city of this size. Or the Empire outside of it. To most of my kin, these laws of yours would be incomprehensible. They were made for mortals, designed for them, and are enforced by them.”
Teela coughed. Loudly.
Bellusdeo chuckled. “Mostly enforced by them. In the Aeries of my youth, the suggestion would have been a joke—at best. Only the sentimental, the naive, or the foolish would have dared to suggest it.”
“So...you think better of the Emperor because he’s sentimental, naive or foolish?”
Teela coughed again. It was louder. “Do remember, kitling, that you’re likely to be observed, hmm?”
“It’s a joke.”
“Yes. And Immortals are famous for their well-developed sense of humor.”
Mandoran said, in all the wrong tone of voice, “I’m amazed that my kin have consented to be ruled by a Dragon.”
“And I’m amazed,” Bellusdeo replied, as Kaylin cringed, “that a Dragon has consented to rule Barrani, given the damage they’ve done to our people.”
Kaylin turned to look over her shoulder; Teela had fixed her with a glare so pointed she should have spontaneously started to bleed. “Good job,” she mouthed, in Elantran.
Arrogant, annoyed Mandoran was probably better than grieving, morose Mandoran. Probably. On the other hand, arrogant, resentful Bellusdeo?
* * *
By the time they returned to the office, Mandoran and Bellusdeo were figuratively bristling; had they been Leontine, it would have been literal. Color had returned to Mandoran’s face, but it wasn’t what Kaylin would consider particularly healthy. Color had mostly left Bellusdeo’s lips, they were compressed so tightly. They had descended—ascended?—to raised voices half a dozen times; Bellusdeo apparently considered the loss of Kaylin’s home and the possible loss of Kaylin’s life almost unforgiveable. Kaylin’s attempt to point out that Mandoran had not in any way been responsible for the Arcane bomb, given he wasn’t even resident in the Empire, fell on selectively deaf ears.
It would have worked had Mandoran not called the bomb’s lack of success regrettable. The fact that he apologized for the sentiment—to Kaylin—didn’t appear to help much.
“I take it back.” Teela’s teeth were clenched so tightly it was a miracle she could wedge words between them. “You were definitely less of a concern than Mandoran, even when you were thirteen.”
This wasn’t much of a surprise to Kaylin. Mandoran was Barrani, after all. “Let’s just never, ever take him drinking, okay?”
* * *
The guards—Clint and Tanner—that manned the outer doors of the Hall were on alert. Anyone would be, given that Bellusdeo’s eyes were a shade of orange that could almost be mistaken for red, and Mandoran’s eyes, a blue that could almost be mistaken for black. They didn’t shift much in color as the small party made its way to the office, either.
Given that three of the four were still damp—which was a charitable description—silence descended on the office, rippling outward as people stared. It was broken by the usual whispers that implied gossip, but even that took longer than usual to start; no one wanted to piss off a Dragon or a Barrani. Well, except other Dragons or Barrani, apparently.
Marcus’s facial fur—and ears—rose a good two inches as the Hawks made their way toward his desk. “Report,” he demanded, growling on both r’s.
Kaylin glanced
at Teela. Teela was staring at a spot about six inches above the Sergeant’s eyes.
“We had a bit of a mishap at Evanton’s,” Kaylin said. She tried to keep her voice as quiet as possible.
“Wonderful. You’re aware that Lord Emmerian is waiting for you in the West Room?”
She didn’t cringe. It took effort.
“If this requires more paperwork on my part, I will take it out of your hide. Don’t just stand their gaping—go.”
* * *
Lord Emmerian was not wearing Dragon armor. The fact that Bellusdeo was couldn’t be hidden, and his eyes—which appeared, from first glance, to be a cautious brass, shifted instantly into an orange that was in the same dark range as Bellusdeo’s. Teela had all but grabbed Mandoran by the ears and dragged him as far away from Bellusdeo as office space permitted.
Since eye color was the first thing Kaylin noticed about Immortals, and his was bad, it took her a moment to look at the rest of him. She had briefly met Emmerian what felt like years ago; he had been silent, then. It was a better silence than the current one. She had seen him in the air above Elani street, with most of the rest of the Dragon Court—as a dragon. She thought his draconic form blue, although color did shift with mood.
At the moment, he was not in dragon form. He wore the usual expensive cloth of Court dress, but it was far less ostentatious than anything Bellusdeo wore. He had no beard, unlike Sanabalis or the Arkon. It made him look younger, not that the appearance of age meant much where Dragons were concerned. Aside from relative age, he looked nothing like the other Dragons Kaylin had met.
Oh, he had the eyes. But he was missing some of the arrogant bearing that she associated with Immortals. If it weren’t for the telltale inner eye membranes, which were raised at the moment, she could have mistaken him for a regular person. A regular, rich person.
“Lord Emmerian,” Bellusdeo said. To Kaylin’s surprise, she bowed.
“Bellusdeo.”
Bellusdeo smiled. Her eyes lost some of their murderous rage as she did. “I was informed by Lord Sanabalis that an escort would be provided for our apartment hunt—if that’s the correct usage of the word hunt.”
“It is,” he replied. “I was pleased to be offered the opportunity—but I confess that I did not expect such a search to be...martial in nature. I am not perhaps suitably attired?”
She laughed. It was a lovely, low shock of sound—unexpected given the day. “It is, of course, I who am unsuitably attired; I’m tempted to retain the armor for the search. Any landlord who can overlook it is less likely to be troubled by having us as tenants.”
Lord Emmerian said nothing, although he smiled.
The small dragon lifted his head; Kaylin could swear he opened only one eye as he surveyed the latest Dragon Lord. He then sighed in a whiffling sort of way and lowered both head and eyelid.
“If you will accompany us to the Palace, I will change there. With luck, the explanations likely to be demanded won’t detain us until midnight.”
Kaylin was willing to make bets on that. Sadly, most of them involved another sleepless night and a lot of Dragon shouting. “Let me talk to Caitlin before we leave? She had a few suggestions for places we might look.”
Lord Emmerian froze.
“We have to find someplace I can afford,” the private informed him, her voice a mix of defiance and apology.
* * *
Caitlin had a list, of course. She handed it to Kaylin, and Kaylin glanced briefly at the addresses while the office denmother dispensed advice. Since no one came to Caitlin’s desk expecting to avoid advice, Kaylin didn’t bristle. “Don’t mention the reason you’re looking for a new place, dear. I realize that might seem a tad unfair to the poor landlord—but I can’t think of many people who’d want to take that risk.”
Kaylin could—but only one: the Emperor. “I don’t think the Barrani are likely to make another attempt; the only people who’ll be more vigilant about possible attempts than the Emperor are in the High Halls. They were embarrassed,” she added.
“I don’t think that’s true of all the Barrani.”
“No,” Kaylin replied, thinking of Mandoran. “But the Barrani Lords know the High Lord is angry; they’ll walk carefully for the next little while. Which, in Barrani terms, is a few decades—possibly enough of them that I’ll be dead of old age and it won’t be my problem. Or my landlord’s. Thanks for this.”
Caitlin opened her mouth, shook her head, and closed it again. As a send-off, it was ominous.
* * *
Bellusdeo did make it to the Palace, and to suitable clothing. She didn’t make it out again without the need to tender a report, but given the reportee was Sanabalis, it was quiet and relatively brief. The small dragon was slumbering across Kaylin’s shoulders the entire time; clearly Sanabalis was not worth the effort of waking up. On the other hand, Sanabalis ignored the small dragon, as well.
Before they were cleared to leave, Sanabalis had insisted they either take a carriage or a small platoon of Imperial Palace Guards. Kaylin had had enough of the Palace Guard. In fact, she’d had enough of them the first time she’d met them years ago. She made this as clear as only Kaylin Neya on a tear could. Bellusdeo, however, didn’t care for the officious, silent guard, either, and didn’t demur.
During this discussion, Emmerian was present.
He remained silent. It wasn’t a rigid silence; he wasn’t—or didn’t appear to be, given eye color—afraid of either Sanabalis or Bellusdeo. He simply had nothing to add to the argument on either side.
Given Kaylin’s prior experience with Dragons and Dragon opinions—which were, of course, always smarter and wiser than hers, in the estimation of said Dragons—this was unusual. It wasn’t that Emmerian looked friendly. He didn’t. But he seemed content to be largely invisible, at least in comparison to the rest of the Dragons present.
This continued in the carriage as Kaylin sorted through addresses. Bellusdeo had, in the weeks Kaylin had been absent, studied Records-provided maps of Elantra; she probably knew the overall layout of the city as well as Kaylin did. The particulars were something she was willing to experience in person; she didn’t expect crime statistics to tell her much about living in the various jurisdictions.
She did, however, seem to find the laws and their minutiae fascinating. Kaylin could understand this if she didn’t think about it too hard; Kaylin sometimes found them fascinating. But Kaylin was pretty much paid to find them fascinating. Or to find reasonable ways to get around them in situations where the laws looked good on paper but were life-threatening in practice.
Bellusdeo now asked questions about the minutiae of said laws and their practical—or impractical—application. Kaylin, feeling self-conscious in the presence of a new Dragon Lord, answered as diplomatically as she could. Given that it was her job and the Halls of Law, this probably didn’t say much.
Emmerian, however, listened politely; Kaylin noted that he spent most of his time gazing out the windows at the passing street. There was just enough focus in the gaze that it implied attention rather than boredom, although his eyes did narrow as the Imperial carriage left the wider, grander avenues that surrounded the Palace, rolling past the streets that lead to the High Halls.
Bellusdeo was watching said streets at least as closely as Emmerian, but Kaylin wasn’t worried; the small dragon who served as a primary alarm system was practically snoring in her ear.
When the streets narrowed, Emmerian said nothing. More loudly. Kaylin was glad that they weren’t attempting to navigate by carriage during market day; carriage was probably the slowest way to get anywhere, although Imperial Crests reduced the waiting time by a fair margin. The streets were by no means dangerous by the time the carriage turned onto them, but Emmerian’s silence had developed a hint of distaste.
Kaylin, who should have expected thi
s, forced herself to remain quiet. Emmerian was used to a palace. He didn’t have to live like a normal, working person. She exhaled. Bellusdeo didn’t have to live like a normal, working person either—but she wanted to. Hells, given Bellusdeo, Kaylin didn’t have to live like a normal working person. She was fairly certain most of the Hawks in the office would be appalled by her decision to move out.
But it was different, for Kaylin. Kaylin didn’t fit in there. She didn’t belong in rooms that made her feel dirty and clumsy and grungy just by existing. She didn’t have the right clothing to walk the halls without attracting the disdainful glances of the pages, people who probably made less a week than even she did.
It was free accommodation, yes. But in every way except money, it was costly. She would have jumped for joy at the chance to stand in the Palace’s shadow, as a child. She was a working, responsible adult, now.
Squawk.
Okay, a working, more-or-less responsible adult. Her job was the enforcement of the Emperor’s Law; she didn’t want home to essentially belong to that job. At the moment, it did.
“We’re almost at the first place,” Kaylin told the occupants of the carriage.
Bellusdeo had lived in Kaylin’s old place, and didn’t so much as raise a golden eyebrow. Emmerian hadn’t, and raised a blue-black one as the carriage clopped to a smooth stop.
“You don’t think the Emperor is going to like the place,” Kaylin said, as a footman opened the carriage door and deposited a fancy stool before it.
Bellusdeo snorted as Kaylin stepped down. Emmerian followed Kaylin, and scanned the street before he nodded to a visibly impatient Bellusdeo. She disembarked last, by unspoken mutual consent.
“I am certain,” the Dragon Lord finally said, “that he won’t.” He approached the doors to the four story building and frowned. “Is it possible that there’s no door ward here?”
Cast in Flame Page 6