Very well, he said, as if he was vaguely disappointed. You have some ability to display patience. Your posture is not deplorable. Your ability to comport yourself does not directly affect the respect in which the Halls of Law are now held. He spoke in crisp, perfectly enunciated High Barrani. He now opened a drawer, and a thick sheaf of papers appeared on the desk.
These, Kaylin thought, would be the various educational reports he had barely, in his own words, perused.
He handed them to her; she slid the letter to the Hawklord into her tunic, and took the offending pile, glancing briefly at what lay on top of it. Transcripts, yes. To her surprise, the first one was not a classroom diatribe from a frustrated or angry teacher.
This is a case report, she said before she could stop herself.
It is. He walked around to her side. Do you recognize it?
She nodded.
You were working in concert with two Barrani Hawks.
Teela and Tain, she said. She didnt flip through the report; she knew which case this was. All boredom or irritation fled, then.
It was, I believe, the breaking of a child-prostitution ring.
It was.
Do you recall the chain of events that led to the deaths of some of the men involved?
She nodded again, although it was almost untrue: she didnt remember the end clearly at all. She remembered her utter, unstoppable rage. And she remembered the deaths that rageand her unbridled magichad caused.
His silence could have meant many things, but since his face was as expressive as cold stone, she didnt bother to look at him.
I would like you to peruse the rest of the documents, he finally said.
She did. It wasnt a small pilealthough it wasnt Leontine in proportionbut there really werent that many cases in which shed lost control of her inexplicable magic to such devastating effect; she had literally skinned a man alive. She didnt regret it. Not in any real way. He would have died anyway, after his trial. Butthe trial had been moot, and Marcus had not been happy.
The next report made her right hand tighten into a white-knuckled fist before she got halfway down the first page. It wasnt a case report. It wasnt a report that the Halls of Law would ever generate.
It was, instead, a report on the Guild of Midwives. She almost dropped the report on the desk. Instead, she forced her hand to relaxas much as it couldwhile she read. It detailed all the emergency call-ins shed doneand it detailed, in some cases, the results. She lifted the top page. Her memory wasnt the best, but she thought, looking briefly at dates and commentary, none in a hand she recognized, that it was more complete than anything she could have written for him, had he asked.
Grim, she flipped through the pile, and was unsurprised to see that he also had a similar report for each visit shed made to Evantons shop on Elani street. This angered her less; she knew the Dragon Court spied on Evanton.
There was a brief report of her visits to the High Halls, again not much to fuss about; there was a report on every visit she had made in recent months to the fiefsany fief crossing. There was a report that followed her movements to, and from, both the Leontine Quarter and the Thaalani Quarter. Diarmat was silent as she read, as if waiting for a reaction she didnt want to give him the pleasure of seeing.
But the final report was of the Foundling Hall.
CHAPTER 2
It took all the self-control Kaylin had ever mastered not to crumple the document into a ball and throw it. She couldnt even read it, although her eyes grazed the words, recognizing dates and familiar names.
So, Diarmat said in his cool, clipped voice. She forced herself to meet his gazeor she tried. He wasnt looking at her face; he was staring, inner membranes fully extended, at her wrist. She glanced at it. The gems on the bracer she wore were flashing brightly enough that they could be clearly seen through layers of clothing.
The lights cut through her anger as if they were a cold, cold dagger.
Get a grip, she told herself. Its a piece of paper. Its just another damn piece of paper. Its not like all the rest of the reports didnt make clear that the Court had followed every damn move shed made for years; why would she expect theyd somehow miss her visits to the Foundling Hall? She took a slow, deep breaththe type of breath shed learned to take when shed been injured and she was in pain.
The lights on the bracer began to dim, but they dimmed slowly.
Only when they were no longer visible did she turn to face Diarmat, the reports shaking in her tightened hands. Without a single word, she handed them back to him. He waited for a minute before nodding and retrieving them. That will be all.
She turned and made her way toward the doors, but stopped before she touched them and turned back. Theyre my hoard, she told him quietly. She didnt have to shout; Dragons, like Leontines, had a very acute sense of hearing.
His eyes were a pale shade of copper. You are mortal, he replied with no hesitation whatsoever. Mortals neither have, nor understand, the concept. The word hoarding, he added with genuine distaste, is possibly as close as your inferior race can come.
She turned instantly on her heel and pushed the doors open; words were burning the insides of her mouth, and she couldnt let them out in his earshot. But when the doors were halfway open, he said, Private. Human hearing was inferior, and he hadnt raised his voice; he wasnt speaking his native tongue. She pretended not to hear him, and escaped into the hall.
She was halfway down that hallher guide having failed to materializewhen she ran into Sanabalis. Sadly, head down, body tilted in that particular forward angle that was a fast walk threatening to break into an all-out run, it was literal. She bounced; he didnt budge. A half-formed apology slid out of her mouth as she righted herself and looked up.
I see your first class ended early.
She nodded.
Join me. It wasnt worded as a request, and he didnt actually wait to see if she was going to treat it as one; he turned and began to walk down the hall. Since this implied that he knew where he was goingand since she didntshe fell in behind him. He led her from the unfamiliar halls to ones shed walked through often enough that she could find her bearings.
He walked, not surprisingly, to his rooms, opening the door and holding it while she enteredas if he half suspected shed turn and bolt for the exit if he wasnt watching. Since it happened to be true, she didnt begrudge him the suspicion. There was no food in the room, but the comforting set of impressive windows still looked out at the three towers of the Halls of Law, and even though it was now evening, they could be seen clearly in the moons light, reminding her, at a remove, of why she was here at all.
She drew a deep breath, and the line of her shoulders sagged when she exhaled. But she faced the towers, not the Dragon Lord, as they did.
The lesson? Sanabalis asked quietly.
She shrugged. It was stiff, and she felt her shoulders bunching up around her neck again. I survived.
Did you walk out?
No. I was dismissed.
She heard Sanabalis exhale. Lord Diarmat does not generally teachwhen he is given to do soin his personal quarters.
No? Does he do it in an abattoir instead?
She felt the brief heat of his snort, and turned. The Palace Guard has several open yards, and a handful of enclosed rooms, for the purpose of training.
Hes not training me to be an Imperial Guard.
No.
What, exactly, is my relationship to Lord Diarmat in the Hierarchy, anyway?
What is your relationship to the Human Castelord?
Pardon?
I believe you heard the question.
She thought about it for a bit, and then said, I dont have one. He presides over the Caste Court. He meets with the Emperor on matters of governance. I owe him nothing; he owes me nothing.
Unless you choose to take refuge in the Caste Court.
It was never going to happen. I dont understand the question.
No. You dont. Lord Diarmat is part of the Dragon Court. In theory, you owe the Dragon Court itself no fealty; your oath of office is to the Emperors Law, and not directly to the Emperor himself. The Emperor is, however, your Commander, in a strictly technical sense. The titles the Dragons are given are a sign of public respect, no more.
You would not, however, sneer publicly at your caste lord.
No. She would never, if Marcus or the Hawklord had anything to say about it, meet the human caste lord.
In a like fashion, you tender Diarmat the respect that is his due as a councilor of the Emperor. He is not, however, your Commander; the line of command for the Halls of Law passes from the Emperor directly to the Lords of Law. You are not therefore required to offer him any of the narrow range of salutes or obeisances taught in the Halls. He is not, technically, your superior, where in this case, technically means legally.
Which means?
He smiled. His eyes were gold, and his lower membranes, unlike Diarmats, were entirely lowered. It means that legally you owe him no deference. Legally, you owe the Lord of the High Halls and his Consort no deference, either.
Im technically a Lord of the High Court.
Believe that I am conversant with your history in the High Court. You are, however, not required by Imperial law to comport yourself according to the dictates of the High Court, outcaste exception laws notwithstanding.
Im not breaking any laws if I cease to breathe, either.
Indeed. You see my point.
She could barely see his point, and begrudged the comprehension.
The very deliberate and complicated social structure of the High Court evolved, in part, for what reason?
Sanabalis
I have done you the courtesy of holding our classes in abeyance. If, however, it is necessary, I will rescind that courtesy.
Those are magic lessons!
Indeed. But what one learns in one discipline can be applied to others in unpredictable ways; education is a process. He folded his arms across his chest, and waited.
Sanabaliss meeting room was littered with chairs; the walls contained shelves with glass doors, and a mirror lurked in one of them. Kaylin availed herself of a chair, sitting heavily as she did. Lowering her face into her hands, she forced herself to think about what she knew of the High Court; it didnt take all that long.
The Barrani tend to kill each other as an idle pastime.
So its been rumored.
Barrani crimes are all confined to the Barrani Caste Court. They dont reach the Imperial Court, ever.
So the Barrani commit no interracial crimes?
She snorted. Of course they do. But if theres any chance well catch them and theyll be forced to trial in the Imperial Courts, the criminals wind up conveniently and messily dead. And often on our doorstep, because gods know the Barrani have more important things to do than clean up their own mess.
Sanabalis actually chuckled at that. An interesting digression. The rest of your answer?
There is no court of last resort among the Barrani. There are no Hawks or Swords that any sane Barrani will use. The Barrani are part of the City, but the only way they seem to really interact involves commerce. If I were Barrani, I would therefore have to live and act as if anyoneanyone at allcould be planning to assassinate me. Or if anyone could decide it was necessary if I somehow offended them.
I could, if I felt powerful enough and secure enough, afford to offend the less powerful with impunity. Im not sure Id consider it wise. Buton the other hand, I suppose if I did behave that way, it would give people second thoughts about attempting to take me down.
Does this sound familiar?
Yeah. She shrugged. It sounds like any other sort of thug law. But its got more money behind it.
Good. The way in which it is clothed is crucial to its execution, but it is, in essence, something you do understand. It does not require your approval; survival has often been its own imperative.
Youre trying to tell me that the same is true of the Dragon Court.
No. The Emperor is your Commander.
Then what was your point?
Lord Diarmat is not. He is, however, dangerous in precisely the same way the Barrani are dangerous. He is not above the lawbut if he chooses to break the law, the Emperor may grant him dispensation if he feels such extremes were merited.
And total lack of respect
For a Dragon of his stature? I leave you to draw your own conclusions.
Im sworn to uphold his laws. Saying that you killed someone because they annoyed you isnt codified as acceptable, by those laws, anywhere that Im aware of.
You are clearly not looking carefully enough. He let his arms drop to his sides. How did the lesson go?
He didnt attempt to teach anything. I thought Id get a list of things that were no-go around the Emperor. You know: dont burp, dont swear, dont scratch your armpit, dont wear green.
Green?
Or whatever color he doesnt like. I thought hed give me a list of acceptable ways to address the Emperor. With, you know, titles, and gestureshow to salute, how far down to kneel, whether or not you ever get to stand on your feet in his presence.
And?
He made me stand in front of his desk for half an hour without saying a word while he wrote a letter to the Hawklord.
Isee. And you did?
I work for Marcus. When Marcus is ticked, you stand in front of his desk at attention for as long as it damn well takes. I can do it for hours. Im not great at it, and I dont enjoy it, but thats never mattered much.
Sanabalis said crisply, Good. He smiled, but it was slender, and there was a trace of edge in the expression. After the half hour?
He handed me a bunch of papers. I assumed theyd be the class transcripts from the Halls, which every prospective teacher seems to pore over. Even you.
They were not.
No. They were She sucked in air and almost pushed herself out of her chair. Or his chair. Reports.
Ah. He nodded. They displeased you.
No ones pleased to find out that every single thing theyve ever done has been spied on, Sanabalis. She did push herself out of the chair then. But the last reportor the last one I looked atwas the Foundling Hall report.
Sanabaliss inner membranes rose. Your reaction?