She knew the shop; she had had her knives enchanted there so that they left their sheaths without a sound. Teela had been the Hawk who had both introduced her to Evanton and also made clear to Evanton that anything he offered for money had better damn well work. Given that Teela was one of a dozen or so Barranialso all Hawkswho had made their pledge of allegiance to the Imperial Halls of Law, her word tended to carry weight. After all, she was, like the dragon Emperor and the rest of her kind, immortaland the Barrani loved nothing better than a grudge, at least judging by the way they held on to the damn things so tightly. Startlingly beautiful to the eye, they were cold as crackling ice to the ear, and their tall, slender bodies radiated that I-can-kill-you-before-you-can-blink confidence that was, in fact, no act.
Evanton, to his credit, had been neither offended nor frightened. In fact, his first words had been, Yes, yes, I know the drill, Officer. And his second: Youre on the young side for a Hawk. So take my advice, for what its worth. You should pay more attention to the company you keep. People will judge you by it, mark my words.
He generally had a lot of words he wanted marked.
Which had caused Teela to grimace. And Tain, her beat partner, to laugh.
As for the enchantment, hed approved of it. Most people who come here want something to make them look prettier, hed said, with obvious contempt. Or younger. Or smarter. This, this is practical.
She had never asked Evanton if he had ever belonged to the Imperial Order of Mages; there wasnt much point. If he had, hed managed to get out the unusual wayhe wasnt in a coffin. Although to Kaylins youthful eye, he looked as if he should have been. His hair was the color of blinding light off still water, and his skin was like wrinkled leather; he was almost skeletal, and his workor so he saiddemanded so much attention he was continuously bent over in a stoop. She had been certain, the first time she saw him, that he would break if she forced him to straighten up.
But still she liked him. So she frowned. What kind of a disturbance?
That, I think, is what youre there to ascertain. He paused. Are you waiting for something?
No, sir.
Good. Get lost.
Yes, sir.
Corporal?
Severn nodded.
Make sure that she understands that get lost in this case isnt literal.
Yes, sir.
What I want to know, Private Kaylin Neya said, not quite stomping her feet as she marched down the streets, is why no one calls you Lord Severn.
The corporalwhich rank still annoyed Kaylin, and yes, she knew it was pettyshrugged. Because it doesnt bother me, he replied.
It didnt bother me when the Barrani called me Lord Kaylin, she said sourly.
He laughed. He kept an easy pace with her march, given the difference in the length of their strides, and her moodwhich could charitably be described as not very goodseemed to cheer him immensely.
Whats so funny?
It bothered you enough to cause you to point out that no one called Teela Lord.
She waved a hand dismissively. It wasnt the Barrani, she insisted. But when Marcus started
The entire office, you mean?
The entire office follows Marcuss lead, except when hes chewing through his desk. Which was only partly a figurative description of an angry Leontine officer. Leontine fur, when it stood on end, was impressive; Leontine jaws, massive, boasted teeth that were easily capable of rendering most throats not quite useful for things like breathingbut most of the danger they could offer came from their massive, and usually sheathed, claws.
Marcuss desk was a testament to how often he lost his temper.
If you give it a few days, Severn told her, itll pass.
She snorted. Sanabalis started it.
Lord Sanabalis.
Thats not what I call him.
It is, however, what everyone else calls him, and what youd like to call him at the moment would be ill advised. Youre his student, he has graciously agreed to continue to tutor you, and you both know that your career depends on whether or not he decides to actually pass you. He didnt add that in this case career and life were the same thing. He didnt need to. Kaylin had a magic that not even the most august of the Imperial scholars understood, and if it had been a weak magic, it wouldnt have matteredmuch. But it was strong enough to withstand the full breath of a dragon in his true form. Strong enough to make a hole in a thick stone wall that was wider across than Severn. Strong enough to heal the dying.
And the Emperor was in possession of all these facts, and more. Kaylins glance strayed a moment to her arms; the length of her sleeves all but hid the dark marks that were tattooed there, in whirls and strokes, as if she were parchment, and they were the scattered telling of a story that was ancient before history began.
Her powers and these marks had arrived almost at the same time, in the winter world of the fiefs, where only the desperate and the criminals lived. Funny, that the fiefs should lie so precisely at the heart of the city.
Kaylin.
She looked up, and realized that Severn had been speaking. Dragged her eyes from sleeves that werent all that interesting, anyway, and nodded.
Lord Sanabalis might be unusual for a Dragon, but he is a Dragon. He paused a moment, and as Kaylin realized she was losing him and pulled up short, he added, He meant it as a gesture of respect, Kaylin.
I dont need that kind of respect. And anyway, no one else means it that way.
Well, no. But theyre Hawks. You expected different?
She started walking again. What are the odds?
Which betting pool?
Mine.
Four days, he said cheerfully, before you lose your temper and try to break something over someones head.
Any bets as to whose?
Some.
Name names.
He laughed. Ive got money riding on it.
Figures. She almost paused at the stall of a baker who was known to be friendly to the Hawks or the Swords. Almost. The coin in her pocket would probably last her another three days if she didnt bother with food. And less than the afternoon if she did; if the baker was friendly, she wasnt stupid.
If youre betting on the Sharks, Severn said, stopping by her side, its no big surprise youre always so broke. Good morning, Mrs. Whitmore. Wed like a half-dozen of the buns.
Hunger versus pride wasnt much of a struggle; she let Severn buy breakfast, because that was what it was. Shed been keeping company with the midwives the past two nights and it showed. The circles under her eyes accentuated her mood. But it was a good sort of badno one had died, no mothers, and no babies. And she had spent time helping to lick the fur of a sole Leontine cub clean.
She still had hair in her mouth. But she was aware of the singular honor offered her by the mother: the willingness to let a stranger near the helpless, mewling cub. It was a gesture not only of trust, but of respect, and it was also a request that Leontine women seldom made.
The mother had watched as Kaylins entirely inadequate human tongue had, in a ritual way, licked some of the birthing fluid from the cublings closed, delicately veined lids. Kaylins stomach was not up to the task of more, but more wasnt required; she handled the infant with care, marveling at the fine, fine hair that covered him. It was a pale gray, with a spattering of white streaksthese would fade into the Leontine gold she best knew with time. But the birth colors were considered important to the Leontine. And these were not bad colors.
It wasnt all that often that she was called into a Leontine birthingbecause there were no Leontine midwives in the guild, and the Leontines defined the word suspicious when it came to outsiders. She had expected the birth to be difficult, and by Leontine standards, it wasbut it was also unusual. There was one cub, and only one. The pregnancy, she had been very quietly told, had been labored and difficult, and it was thoughtmany timesthat Arlan would lose the cubs.
Losing the cubs and not losing her life were not things that Kaylin would normally be consulted about. This time was different, but she wasnt certain why, or how.
Its important, an exhausted Arlan had deigned to inform her, that I be able to bear cubs. She did not say why, and Kaylin, seeing the almost subconscious flick of claws at the end of the pale golden fur of Arlans hands, had known better than to ask.
I will name him Roshan, his mother had said, and then added, Roshan Kaylarr. Shed nodded, then, to Kaylin, and Kaylin had understood that, in as much as a Leontine could be named after her, this child was.
If she had been human, this indomitable and ferocious Leontine woman, Kaylin would have asked what the father thought of the name; in the case of the Leontine males, this was pointless. They loved their kitlingsbut they knew when to stay out of the way.
They had wives, plural, and the wives could fight like, well, cats when the need arosebut the pridlea was also a unit unto itself, and where husbands were concerned, they formed a wall of solidarity when it came to protecting their own.
Kaylin? Severn said, and she hastily swallowed a mouthful of pastry that thankfully tasted nothing like the salty skin of newborn cub. Shook her head. He backed off, but with a slight smile.
Where are we?
Almost there. Pay attention?
I was.
He nodded with the ease of long practice. Pay attention to where we actually are, hmm?
Trouble?
No.
Then whats the problem?
Youre going to trip over your own feet, and stone isnt the best cushion. He paused, and then said quietly, And I have something for you.
She grimaced. The bracer?
It was on my breakfast table in the morning. I thought youd been with the midwives, and I kept it for you. He took it out of the satchel he carried by his side. It gleamed gold and sparkled with the caught light of sapphire, ruby and diamond. It was her cage.
And it was, in its fashion, her haven. This, this cold, gleaming artifact, could contain the magic that Sanabalis, the heartless bastard, was trying to teach her to control. It was the only thing that could, and without itwithout its existenceshe would probably be dead by Imperial order.
It had come from the personal hoard of the Emperor, and it was ancient, although it looked as if it had been newly made. It took no dents or scratches, and no blood remained across its golden surface for long. Its gems didnt break or scratch, either.
Put it on, he said.
She nodded, her fingers keying the sequence that would open it. Sliding it over her wrist, she thought of making some feeble protestbut she was with Severn, not Marcus, and Severn understood.
You think Ill need it? she asked softly, as it clicked shut.
I dont know, he said at last, but after a pause that was evasive. You know youre not supposed to take it off. As she opened her mouth, he added, By the Hawklords orders.
She bit back the words for a moment, and when they came, they came more smoothly. You know I cant help the midwives if I wear it.
I know.
I cant heal
I know. I told you, I thought you might have been with the midwives when I saw it this morning.
The other property of the bracer that would have been the envy of the stupid because it looked so very expensive was that it was impossible to lose. She could take it off if need be, drop it in the nearest trash heap, and it would find its way back to its keeperthat keeper not being Kaylin. For seven years, the keeper had been the Hawklord.
And for a month now, it had been Severn. He never asked why it came to his handwhich was good, because no one, as far as Kaylin could tell, had an explanationand he never asked, except obliquely, why it wasnt on hers. He simply gathered it and brought it back to her. And waited.
As a Keeper, he was a lot less onerous than the Hawklord.
Severn
Its Elani Street, he replied with a shrug, and if you hunt long enough, youll find magic here.
I know where to find But she stopped, catching her words before she tripped over them with her tongue. I hate magic.
He stopped walking, turned suddenly, and looked down at her from an uncomfortable height. His hands caught both of her shoulders, and slid up them, trailing the sides of her neck to cup her face, and she met his eyes, brown and simple, dark with a past that she was part of, and a past that she didnt know at all.
Dont, he told her quietly. Dont hate it. Its part of what you are, now, and nothing will change that. Its a gift.
She thought of the ways in which she had killed in a blind fury; thought of the stone walls that had parted like curtains of dust when the magic overwhelmed her. A gift, she said bitterly.
And he said, You have fur on your tongue. In almost perfect Leontine.
And a babys namedid race really matter?like an echo in the same language, waiting to be said in affection and wonder, even if she were never again there to hear it.
He let his hands fall slowly away from her face as if they had belonged there, as if they were drawn there by gravity.
Severn
He touched her open mouth with a single finger. But he didnt smile, and he didnt say anything else.
Elani Street opened up before them like any other merchant street in the district. If you didnt know the city, you might have mistaken it for any other merchant street. It was not in the high-rent districtKaylins patrols were somehow always designed to keep her away from the rich and prosperousbut it was not in the low-rent district, either. It hovered somewhere in the center. Clearly the buildings were old, and as much wood as stone had gone into their making, but they were well kept, and if paint flaked from signboards and windows had thinned with time, they were solid and functional.
The waterfront was well away, and the merchant authority didnt technically govern the men and women who worked here for some complicated legalistic reason that had a lot to do with history and nothing to do with the law, so the Hawks and the Swords were the sole force that policed the area. And everyone was happy that way. Except for the Merchants Guild, which sent on its annual weasel report in an attempt to bring Elani under its jurisdiction.