For years, for centuries, probably for millennia, the Barrani had been feeding their childrenor themselvesto that Shadow. And Kaylin even understood why. What the Shadow could not take, what the Shadow could not mislead or distract, it could not alter. Those Barrani had a base immunity to the effects of Shadow.
That base immunity was necessary. She knew what would happen to the city, her city, if the creature was no longer imprisoned. The Dragons might be safe. No one else.
After a long pause, in which Kaylins drink practically congealed in her hands, she said, So...theyre all coming here.
Yes. Sedarias now feels that some exploratory testing is required. Teelas eyes were marginally less blue; Bellusdeos presence had shifted some of the tension out of the lines of her face.
More silence.
We are aware of the dangerto othersif one of the cohort is subverted or controlled. Annarion was calling out to the Shadows without ever being aware that he was doing so. If he could be made to do so deliberately, the Shadow beneath the High Halls wouldnt need to be unleashed.
If this happens, the rest of the cohort could exert influence and possibly counter the control with controls of our own.
But to do that some of the cohort would have to remain at a distance.
Teela nodded. She lifted a long-fingered, pale hand to her brow and massaged her right temple. At the moment, the argument has devolved into who those people will be, and how much distance is distant enough. For obvious reasons, my friends will stay here if you permit it.
Now, the disadvantage of having a Dragon join the conversation was made clear. Kaylin fidgeted but chose to speak. While Bellusdeo is living here, the Emperor keeps a close watch on Helen. Theres no way hes not going to know if a cohort of Western Barrani descend on my house.
That is the other concern.
She could just move out for the duration, Mandoran suggested. Im seriously considering it. He winced. I can safely live elsewhere. And if Tains going to be staying here, I could stay in his old place.
Dear, Helen began.
Dont dear me. My entire life in the past week and a half has been nothing but argument, screaming argument, icy silence, and general condescension.
I laughed at your bad joke yesterday, Kaylin pointed out.
Fair enough. Id shelve that under general condescension myself, but Im not mortal and dont always understand how you think. Im not that fond of the Dragon, he continued. But Id just as soon not fight an angry Emperor for no reason whatsoever. For Mandoran, this was progress. It implied that there were actual reasons not to fight Dragons. When hed first arrived that would have been unthinkable.
Bellusdeo exhaled a stream of smoke. Her eyes were now orange, but Kaylin suspected that was due to the mention of the Emperor, and not Mandorans commentary. I am not moving out.
Ive had some time to get used to you, Mandoran continued, dropping the third person Dragon. Youve had some time to get used to me. Annarionwell, hes Annarion. He practically considers you a friend. Not everyone is going to see you the same way.
Kaylin now understood why Teela was massaging her temple. You havent been defending Bellusdeo to your cohort, have you?
Dont make me lose whatever appetite I have. Of course not. Food appeared in front of Mandoran. He touched none of it. Kaylin, however, started eating, purely by instinct.
He doesnt consider it defending her, Teela added. She gave the food in front of her the side-eye. There were many things Teelas childhood had lacked, but food wasnt one of them. She could ignore it. The truth, however, is that we like Bellusdeo.
Speak for yourself.
Fine. I like Bellusdeo and Mandoran tolerates her. I understand what the wars cost her. She in turn understands what the wars cost me. Neither of us chose the wars. Neither of us were consulted by those who did. Teela shrugged. You saw what Mandoran was like when he first arrived.
You think the others will be like him?
No. Most of them have better manners. But the substance will be similar. They understand what we see in her. They also understand that the feeling is personal, emotional. They are likely to form their own opinions, but the forming might be, ah, fractious.
Helen did not appear to be concerned. Since it would be Helen who would keep the consequences of fractious to a minimum, Kaylin didnt share Teelas anxiety. Well, she did, but not about that.
None of your cohort went to the Tower in the High Halls.
No.
None, Mandoran added, except Teela. But she did it later. And before you think shes being selfless or anything, shes not. Not entirely. She had problems readjusting to life in the Court, and she spent a lot of what remained of her so-called childhood under observation. She was tested constantly; the High Court knew what had happened to the others, and they were waiting to see that power manifest in Teela.
She wasnt exactly a pariah, but she was only accepted because her father was a very powerful man. Only those who were certain to survive crossing him made demands of her. Youve always said the Barrani are arrogant.
When theyre breathing, yes.
Well, there were a lot of people who felt certain theyd survive. Time moves slowly for Immortals. But it does move. Teela hasnt been considered an abomination or a subhuman liability for centuries.
...And if the cohort arrives in force...
Shes too stubborn to abandon us, and were too stubborn to push her out.
Since they knew each others True Names, Kaylin doubted that was even possible, but said nothing.
You are not being fair, Helen told him. She often spoke to Mandoran as if he were not quite out of childhood. That is a natural part of her concern, of course, but you are not presenting it well. To Kaylin, in the face of Teelas silence, she said, Teela is considering the political costs because she intends to preserve her cohort.
I think were capable of preserving ourselves.
Yes. So, too, is Lord Nightshade. Teela, however, does not desire that you all be made outcaste. As outcastes, you would naturally be denied the Towerand the High Halls. As outcastes, no Barrani would be required to lift a finger should outsiders, such as the Dragon Court, be called upon to end your existence. If, over the next few centuries, you prove yourselves to be considerable powers, you will be, as Nightshade is, grudgingly accepted. But the cost of waging that war could be profound.
And of course, if you are made outcaste, theres a possibility that Teela will join you. It is not a guarantee. If she was willing to publicly disavow you, she would, given her history in the Court, be excluded from your fate.
Kaylin had a few thoughts then. Some of them could even be said in publicas long as public involved the Hawks, which was where she had learned most of the ruder words. Someone has already made the motion.
Mandorans smile, as he lifted his head, was bitter. How did you guess?
Relatives of Annarions?
And the already outcaste Nightshade, yes.
When?
Mandoran shrugged. Does it matter? He made a face at Teela. She was going to find out anyway. Teela clearly made her reply in the silence of their name bond; Mandoran couldnt be bothered. Shes a Lord of the High Court, Teela. She has access to the Consort. Shes seen the Lake of Life. Shes considered the Consorts emergency replacement. If she wanted to, she could find this out by taking a walk in the Consorts garden!
When?
Mandoran shrugged. Does it matter? He made a face at Teela. She was going to find out anyway. Teela clearly made her reply in the silence of their name bond; Mandoran couldnt be bothered. Shes a Lord of the High Court, Teela. She has access to the Consort. Shes seen the Lake of Life. Shes considered the Consorts emergency replacement. If she wanted to, she could find this out by taking a walk in the Consorts garden!
Teela relented. Yes, if she wanted. How much of Kaylins desire strikes you as political? It wouldnt occur to her to ask. Shes accepted at Court because she is so firmly outside of the power structure she does nothing to shake it. Start down this road, and she wont even last the few measly decades allotted her.
The rest of us have forever. We can wait. Kaylin has forty or fifty years. Teela stood, her eyes a shade that wasnt quite blue but was definitely as far from green as it could get. Im not asking for any of you to put your lives on hold indefinitely. Im asking that you wait. A handful of decades isnt going to change your lives.
Mandoran glared at Teela. Clearly hed heard it all before.
You understand, Kaylin began, but Teela lifted a hand.
I understand everything in exhaustive detail. I have had enough notice to form a skeletal defense against the worst of the politics.
Sedarias thinks youd be more successful getting information than Teela has been, Mandoran told Kaylin. Because of your position as emergency mother to the Barrani.
There was a flash of blinding light that made the dining room vanish because Kaylin hadnt had time to close her eyes.
Corporal, Helen said, in a more steely voice.
Teela immediately said, My apologies, Helen. The spell was not materially harmful.
No, I understand that. I know Barrani dont require sleep, but in my long experience, they require some moments of privacy and peace. Come. I have rooms waiting for you.
Teelas shoulders sagged. Affection, she told Kaylins house, is a curse and a terrible, terrible weakness.
So thought the people who built me, Helen replied serenely. I do not believe they were correct.
No?
There are reasons I am less than fully functional. I chose to destroy some parts of myself to preserve the parts I value. It was painful, and there are lingering regrets on the bad days. On the good days, I am grateful that I was sentient enough to be able to make that choice. Come, she said again.
Teela quietly followed the Avatar of Kaylins house.
And eat, Kaylin, Helens disembodied voice added.
2
Teela, who had come prepared for work, left immediately. Tain, also properly attired, went with her. Kaylin, who had stumbled from sleep into several arguments, wasnt ready. She headed to her room to start a day that already felt too damn long.
Something political was happening in the High Court, and some ofif not all ofthe cohort felt that Kaylin had actual political power there. Of course, one of them was Mandoran, a man not known for his wisdom or caution. She dressed quickly and competently, no longer being half-asleep, and headed out the door, Bellusdeo in tow.
Youre thinking, the gold Dragon, in her distinctly human form, said. I approve.
Probably because you cant actually hear most of it. Dont eat that, she added, to the familiar who was gnawing at the stick in her hair. She was lucky that most of the stick was invisible, because it looked distinctly like a puppy chew toy when examined.
The orange in the Dragons eyes faded to a more prominent gold. Its not Teela you need to worry about. Or, she added, me. Although I admit I dont find it as offensive most of the time. I have some respect for Annarion. I daydream about breathing fire on Mandoran. And I actually like Teela. Im not concerned about the cohort and its arrival. Helen will keep me safe. Helen, she added, her lips twitching up at the corners, will keep them safe if they happen to anger me.
Id bet on you, if that happened.
With your own money?
Youre getting the hang of this.
And youre not answering the question. But Bellusdeos eyes were a warm gold. You remind me of one of my sisters.
Given what the Arkon has said about them, Im not sure thats a good thing.
We were children, then. And children are often both beloved and difficult. But its not me you should worry about.
Its the Emperor.
It is, Bellusdeo agreed, the Emperor. At the moment, he and his Court are heavily preoccupied. He trusts your intent, but also credits your uncanny ability to find disaster. I believe he used the equivalent draconic word for epic. He will not, of course, demand that you turn over your guestsor that you turn them away. He is cognizant of his own laws, and will not create new ones simply for his own immediate convenience. She hesitated.
Kaylin understood why. With no intent whatsoever, Annarion had caught the attention of Shadows in the fiefsand they had crossed the Ablayne to find him. In and of itself that wouldnt have been a problem; Shadows were the reason the Towers in the fiefs existed. But he had also been somehow loud enough to wake things ancient and slumbering, and they had not been subject to the Towers will.
When she finally spoke, her words surprised Kaylin. I am concerned about the cohorts arrival.
Were all concerned
As in, I am uncertain that they will survive their travel here.
Kaylins mouth opened, but no words came out. Of all of the possible future disasters she had expected or considered, this wasnt one.
I believe it is one of the handful of things Teela fears. Mandoran and Annarion do not, but they are young. Stay out of it. I mean it. I might survive entanglement in Barrani politicsI have beforebut youre not a Dragon. Im sure its the biggest reason that Teela doesnt want the cohort here. You stick your nose into everything, and these matters are not remotely safe for any of us.
I live here.
It might have escaped your notice, but so do I, and I fully intend to avoid the cohort as much as possible. And if you keep arguing, youre going to be late.
* * *
Clint and Tanner were on the door, which wasnt strange. Tanner looked alert and Clint looked worried, which was. Neither appeared to be interested in the how-late-will-Kaylin-be betting pool, which was not a good sign. Kaylin slowed as she approached the stairs. Theres bad news, she told Bellusdeo.
The Dragon didnt argue. Do you think its personal bad news, or is there some difficulty in the Halls?
Not sure. I dont think its me. I havent been late in days, Im not working on a sensitive case and I also havent pissed Margot off, so Marcus isnt wading through the mountains of paperwork she constantly requires.
You could just climb the stairs and enter the Halls. Its probably faster than speculating, and likely to give you more accurate information.
Thats what Im afraid of. Kaylin drew breath, heading resolutely toward the doors Clint and Tanner were guarding.
You look, Bellusdeo said, out of the corner of her mouth, as if youre heading to an execution. Probably your own.