I imagine that would be a lot of fun, Kaylin replied.
Ive offered to visit the High Halls instead of the city streets, was his cheerful counter. There, it wont matter if foolish or stupid people die; its considered a form of suicide, and it isnt Teelas job to prevent that.
Why did we think this was a good idea? Kaylin asked her fellow Hawk.
I never thought it was a good idea, if I recall. I merely pointed out that compared to your induction into the Hawks, Mandoran was far less likely to be in danger. Or to indirectly cause it. I was perhaps optimistic about the latter.
Mandoran snorted. So did Bellusdeo.
I thought you were here to keep an eye on Annarion.
At that, Mandorans smile dimmed. The color of his eyes shifted, but not into the midnight blue that generally meant upcoming injury or death. He glanced at Teela; Teela was studying the occupants of Elani street as if they were fascinating, dangerous, or both.
You will have to tell me, Bellusdeo said to Kaylin, exactly what did happen on your pilgrimage. It seems youve acquired companions.
Theyre Teelas companions, not mine. And there areat the momenttwo of them in the city. Youve met Mandoran. Hes the outgoing, friendly one with the questionable sense of humor.
It seems a fairly standard Barrani sense of humor, if less subtle than rumored.
Hes young for his age.
Not so young, Mandoran cut in, that he enjoys being talked about in the third person.
And not so mature, the Dragon countered, that he doesnt enjoy talking about other people present in the same way.
He grinned. His eyes were still a wary blue. Fair enough. He spoke Elantran. Kaylin doubted a similar phrase existed in Barrani.
Where is Annarion anyway?
Kitling.
Mandoran raised a black brow. Hes visiting his brother.
Nightshade.
And no, before you ask, its not going well.
Why didnt you go with him?
I wasnt invited. Or rather, I was specifically not invited. Lord Calarnenne was willing to entertain Teela, but for some reason, Teela didnt choose to accept his invitation.
I am uninterested in playing games of power with Nightshade.
But Annarion
Is not in danger. Whatever else Nightshade intends in future, the death of his youngest brother is no part of his plan. It is safe for Annarion to rage only in the absence of witnesses. Nightshade didnt invite me because he was concerned for Annarions safety; he wished to confine Annarions wrath. I, she added, with a slender, sharp smile, did not. She glanced pointedly at the mark Nightshade had left on Kaylins cheek. It was just so much skin to the younger Hawk, but it never failed to annoy Teela.
Heads up. Margot on the prowl, Teela added.
Margot was possibly the person on Elani street Kaylin disliked the most, not that there was any shortage of rivals for that position. She was a tall, gorgeous redhead, and she made the color look natural. She was statuesque, her skin was fair, her eyes striking, and she could milk money out of stone by oozing wisdom and charm.
Neither of which Kaylin privately believed she had.
She wont come here, Kaylin replied. Shes seen me.
If Kaylin played the least-favorite game, so did Margot. Kaylin was on the top of the Hawks list, and possibly near the top three across the board. She still blamed Kaylin for the loss of one of her most lucrative clients, which cost Kaylin no sleep at night, ever.
Pretty, Mandoran said, which didnt help. Margot was not an idiot, whatever else one could call her; she cast an equally appreciative look at Mandoran, but kept her distance. Barrani affairs were seldom safe for mortals, and attempting to bilk a Barrani out of money was a mugs game; it required stupidity and overbearing ego, and Margot only had one of the two. She pretty much failed to see Kaylin as Kaylin sauntered past.
She is attractive, Teela saidwhich was obviously meant to irritate Kaylin, because there wasnt any other reason to say it out loud.
Bellusdeo shook her head. By mortal standards, perhaps, but theres a brittle edge to the line of her mouth I find unappealing.
Guys, Kaylin snapped. A little less ogling and a little more patrolling.
Im not patrolling, Mandoran chuckled.
Technically, youre not here.
He laughed. You know, he said, I think, when you have a place of your own, Im going to be visiting a lot. You really are much less stodgy than Teelas become.
Teela is no ones definition of stodgy.
Kaylin will not be living on her own, and I dont do drop-ins, Bellusdeo pointed out. Her eyes remained golden. Mandorans had edged toward green, but a stubborn streak of blue persisted. If he eventually chose to be comfortable around a Dragon, it wasnt going to be today.
He shrugged. From the sound of it, youre not going to find much of a place of your own anyway.
I can find a place, Kaylin said. And Bellusdeo, despite appearances, doesnt require something palatial or even regal, given where we were living before.
Oh, its not your friend thats going to be the problem. He glanced at Teelas expressionless face, and added, on the other hand, it could be worse for you. You could be living with Tain. His grimace looked nothing like a Barrani expression.
Teela cleared her throat. Loudly.
Youre living with Tain?
If you can call it living, yes. For some reason, he doesnt seem to want me to see much of your fair city. I want, he added, to visit the Leontines I hear you have living here. I didnt even know they could function in cities. But your Sergeant seems fine wearing clothes.
Bellusdeo glanced at Kaylin. Kaylin turned a tight-lipped stare on Teela, who shrugged. Surely you expected this? the Barrani Hawk asked. You know he hasnt lived in a mortal city before; he certainly hasnt lived in this one.
The Leontines, Kaylin told Mandoran, in chilly Barrani, are not animals. Nor are the humans. The Aerians are not birds. This is a city, not a zooand none of its inhabitants are here to be stared at through cage bars.
Kitling.
Mandoran chuckled. My apologies, Lord Kaylin. I seem to have touched a sensitive spot.
Youve reminded me of all the things I hate about Immortals. I dont know if youd consider that a sensitive point or not. She didnt much care, either. The small dragon lifted a head and squawked. When Kaylin, still tight-lipped, ignored him, he nipped her ear.
What? She turned to glare at him, and he avoided her by leaping off her shoulders to hover in the air. When she still failed to understand whatever it was he was trying to tell her, he added sounds to the flap of wings, and when she failed to get that, he flew, head first, toward a window. A storefront window.
Kaylin ran after him, arms outstretched, while people in the street stopped to stare. She hadnt been patrolling on Elani for almost two months; the small dragon was still a novelty. Some of the gawkers were no doubt assigning a monetary value to him; she pitied anyone foolish enough to actually try to grab him and carry him off. Actually, scratch that. At the moment, shed probably enjoy it.
It was only as she reached up for small and squawky that she recognized which window hed threatened: it was Evantons.
The door, habitually shut, now swung open; a wizened, bent old man was standing on the other side of the frame, his frown bracketed by a decades worth of lines. Dont stand there gawking, he said, matching tone of voice to expression. Come in. I put tea on ten minutes ago.
* * *
Evanton didnt actually drink tea. He made it for guests. Given his current mood, those guests might as well have been tax collectors. Bellusdeo entered his store, her eyes rounding. If shed been mortal, Kaylin would have assumed she was surprised at the clutter and the occasional moving cobweb. She wasnt. She turned to Evanton, in his apron, his jewelers glass hanging on the edge of a tarnished silver chain, his white hair in wisps above the crown of his head.
And she bowed.
This seemed to mollify the old man. You must be Bellusdeo, he said. Rise, Lady. While I have a home here, you will always be a welcome, and valued, guest. His voice was deeper than usual, and to Kaylins ear, stronger; it rumbled as if he were almost a Dragon. I do not know who named you, or from whence they took the name, but it is yours in its entirety. I am honored.
Kaylin remembered, belatedly, to close her mouth. She stared at Bellusdeo. Bellusdeos eyes were a luminous gold, and her lips were turned up in a gentle, almost reverent smile. You have the advantage of me in many ways, she said.
Ah, forgive me. He turned a far less reverent gaze on Kaylin. Private, introduce us.
Sorry. Bellusdeo, this is a friend of mine. Hes called Evanton, around these parts; if he has a family name, hes never shared. The young man hiding in the kitchen is Grethan, his apprentice.
Bellusdeo frowned.
Kaylin is, like the rest of the inhabitants of Elantra, very informal, Evanton said. He was, however, smiling in his slightly pained way.
And you allow this?
Lady, she has twice saved my garden. In ignorance, shes borne the responsibility that has been the entirety of my adult life. She has never demanded reward greater than tea and snacksand if I am to be honest, she doesnt so much demand as help herself if I am slow. I am willing to accept informality from her; formality would be so unnatural the awkwardness would likely kill one of us.
Kaylin, do you understand who Evanton is? Bellusdeo demanded.
Yes. Hes the Keeper.
And do you understand what that means?
Hehe stops the elements from destroying each other. And incidentally the rest of us, although I dont think theyd notice that as much. She hesitated and then said, How did you know what he is if you didnt recognize who he is?
Bellusdeo now turned to Teela. Have you never explained?
Teela brought me here, the first time. When I wanted practical enchantments.
Evanton winced.
Practical?
My daggers dont make a sound when I draw them.
The Dragon looked scandalized.
Evanton looked even more pained. We all, as Kaylin likes to say, need to eat.
I should have expected no better from an Empire that so denigrates the Chosen. Bellusdeos eyes were now a deeper than comfortable orange.
I am content, Lady, Evanton said, voice grave. If the current Empire does not treat me with the regard or respect you now offer, it is a far less lonely place than it once was. Grethan, he added, his voice developing the gruffness and irritability of age. You are being rude to a guest.
Grethans stalks appeared from the left side of the door frame; they were followed, slowly, by the rest of his face. He didnt look comfortable. He was Thaalani by birth, but although he had the characteristic racial stalks protruding from his forehead, they were decorative. He couldnt join the Thaalaan. He couldnt speak to his own people the way they spoke among each other unless one of them touched him and entered his thoughts. The deafness had, in the parlance of the Thaalani, resulted in insanity. In normal human terms, hed been angry and isolated, and that anger and isolation had almost caused the death of a Thaalani child.
A child whose life Grethan had, in the end, saved.
Evanton had taken him in; Kaylin often wondered if what had seemed an act of forgiveness and mercy wasnt just one long, extended punishment. But the only thing Grethan seemed to fear now was Evanton. He certainly wasnt afraid of Kaylin, Teela or Bellusdeo.
Grethan, Kaylin said. Its good to see youre still alive. Evanton seems to be in a bit of a mood today.
Bellusdeos eyes almost popped out of her head. Kaylin made a mental note not to visit Evanton with Bellusdeo in tow.
The small dragon squawked and landed on Grethans shoulder. Grethan looked at least as surprised as Kaylin felt. She recovered first. Grethan seemed entranced.
So why is Evanton so cranky today?
Unfair, Private, Evanton replied. Your tea is getting cold. And youve failed to introduce me to your other companionalthough I suppose you could rightly attribute that lack of manners to Lord Teela.
If she were unwise, Teela replied, her eyes an easy green. Evanton, this is Mandoran. He has just returned to our lands after a long absence, and everything in them is new, except perhaps rudiments of our language. Mandoran, this is Evanton, the current Keeper.
Mandoran? Evanton frowned. It was a very peculiar frown; his eyes narrowed. In the dim light of the storefront, they seemed momentarily blue, although Evantons didnt, as a general rule, change color. He extended a hand. Mandoran hesitated before extending one of his own. Come, join us. Grethan, if you can detach yourself from Kaylins companion, I would ask that you move refreshments to the Garden.
Grethans eyes widened.
The kitchen, while suitable for a private of the Hawks, is nowhere near suitable for Lady Bellusdeo. The official title was Lord, but Kaylin didnt bother to correct him. We will therefore repair to the Garden.
* * *
What is he up to? Teela whispered. She was at the back of the line, because Evantons rickety halls were at best one person wide. She had maneuvered into the position in front of Kaylin, who had pulled up the back, and had merely stopped walking until everyone else was far enough ahead.
Kaylin shook her head. I dont know. She accepted Teelas suspicion because she felt some of it herself. How did Bellusdeo recognize him as the Keeper? Did you, when you first met him?
Teela exhaled. Yes.
How?
Mortals dont have true names, unless theyve done something technically questionable.
Meaning me.
Meaning you, yes. No one is certain what having a name means for a mortal, and given you aretheoretically mortal, you arent considered enough of a threat that an answer must be found. The answer itself would take longer than the rest of your life to obtain.
And thats relevant how?
Evanton doesnt have a name, per se. Not the way Immortals do. But if we meet his eyes for any length of time, we can see four words in their depths. They are names, they are linked to him, and they cannot be used to control him. It is the way the Keepers make themselves known to those who might otherwise intend them harm. If you look, you might be able to make out two of those namesbut you might not. Im not certain Evanton would stand still for long enough.