Blood Lies (Dark Brothers of the Light #9) (17 page)

Stygean reddened. "We were only talking,
Lord. She found me meditating and wanted to know what I was
thinking about."

Cordwainer gave a low chuckle. "Sounds like
Chinisi. Only don't do it again."

"I won't, sir. You have my word of
honor."

Stygean felt a bit better. Evidently these
introductions were a test of some kind. Then Isranon turned to the
broad-shouldered female in mid-calf tunic, trousers, a set of
blades at her hips and a long sword at her back.

"This is Teague Merishin the Battle-Master.
Give her your wrist and lower your shields completely."

Stygean winced and complied, remembering the
time that he had defied Isranon and refused to lower his shields:
Isranon had responded by shattering all of the wards Stygean
habitually maintained over his mind and mage centers. Her power
surged through him, examining and opening and closing doors within
him.

Then she withdrew from him. "I'll do it.
You're right. He's a battlemage."

"Do what?" Stygean asked.

"Teague will be helping me with your
training," Isranon said.

"But – but…." Stygean's eyes teared up.
"Don't send me away."

Isranon smiled and hugged him. "I'm not.
Teague can show you things that I either cannot or do not have the
time for."

"It isn't often that I get to work with the
apprentice of an Abelard. He's not completely pan-elemental, but
pretty damned close."

"I don't understand," Stygean said, glancing
at Isranon.

"I'm descended of the sister to one of
Josiah Abelard's ancestors," Isranon explained. "And one of his
grand-daughters."

"As well as Dawnhand?" Stygean's eyes
saucered.

"Yes. Now go sit down and have something to
eat, Stygean." Isranon dismissed the boy with a wave of his hand
and Stygean hurried to the middle of the table, close enough to
hear what went on, but far enough to be out of their way.

Isranon turned to the mages. "I want you to
examine the rest of the children. I have a theory that some
sa'necari are born mage-gifted, but that the rites kill out some
talents while increasing others. Then later we will take another
look at my mate's blood-slaves."

They all looked eager, never having had so
many sa'necari to examine and so safely before.

Stygean tried to pay attention to his food,
but he kept noticing the way everyone seemed to be staring at him.
Just what had Teague meant by saying he was nearly pan-elemental?
That did not seem possible. The first person who came to mind was
the very last person he ever wanted to speak to again: Chinisi. He
excused himself from the table and walked out the door; once inside
the corridor, however, he broke into a run.

Randilyn was just coming in from the yard
when he reached the outer doors.

"Have you seen Chinisi?" he asked, slowing
to a sedate walk.

Randilyn frowned slightly. "Yes, she is in
the rose arbor where Nainee tells me you left her."

"I have a question for her. Something I
don't understand. Teague is going to be my teacher for
battle-magic."

Randilyn smiled then. "Yes, go find
her."

* * * *

Jingen strolled through the gardens,
thinking how starkly beautiful the winter landscape was. There were
many apprentices with the masters and journeymyn. They all made him
a bit hungry, but he knew better than to try anything with a mage.
Besides, there was only one who held any interest for him:
Chinisi.

He spotted her sitting in the rose arbor and
walked over to her, bowing deeply as he had seen some of the older
males doing to the females. "Good afternoon, fair Chinisi," he
said.

"Don't 'fair Chinisi' me anything,'" she
said hotly. "You lied."

That took Jingen off guard and he hesitated
before asking, "What?"

"Nibble games are sex."

"I – uh – I. Chinisi, maybe this is what you
called a 'matter of definition'. And my father was always big on
getting the definitions right."

The color cooled in her cheeks. "So long as
the definitions are harmless–"

"Well, trust me. I won't do anything you
don't want me to." Jingen imagined what she would look like naked,
wondering if the thatch between her loins would be as red as her
hair.

"Good. Because otherwise I'll singe your
buttocks." Chinisi punctuated her statement by summoning fire to
dance on her finger tip.

Jingen had not seen her do that before, and
his eyes widened a bit. "I'll remember that."

"Good, now you were saying?"

"Lord Edvarde's holding a dance. I'd like to
accompany you."

"You aren't the only one to ask me. I'll
have to think about it." Then she rose and glided away from
him.

Jingen sat down on the bench and sulked.
Stygean had beaten him to it again. Well, he'd fix that.
Stygean
would not get away with stealing what rightfully belonged to him.
The Loosestrifes were always getting everything that Jingen wanted:
the finest horses, the most beautiful nibari, the accolades and
exclusive dinner parties. Liuthan had practically owned his
parents. Every time Jingen asked for something wonderful, his
father had started his replies with 'I'll speak to
Liuthan..."

* * * *

Stygean came around the corner feeling very
hopeful and ran smack into Chinisi. By then he had changed his mind
about talking to her and decided he would simply be patient and ask
Isranon first. He tried to walk past her, but she followed. "Go
away," he said, gesturing at her.

"I want to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to you. You're going
to get me in trouble again."

"Are you going to this dance of Lord
Edvarde's?"

Stygean stopped for a second. "Yes. I have
to. Dawnreturning is the honored guest, although the king is said
to be coming also."

"You'll escort me, won't you?"

"No." Stygean started walking and again she
followed.

"Why not?" she asked, grabbing at his
arm.

Stygean stopped and turned toward her.
"Because it will make your uncle and my mentor unhappy with
me."

Chinisi favored him with a disdainful frown
and threw her shoulders back. "Jingen has asked me."

Stygean flushed. "Isn't there someone
else?"

"No. So I'm going with him – unless I'm
going with you."

A sigh shuddered through Stygean as he saw
no way to get out of this without leaving Chinisi in Jingen's dirty
clutches. "I'll do it, but we get your uncle's and my mentor's
consent."

"Certainly."

"Then come on and let's get this over with."
Stygean led her back inside, and they went up to the meeting room
he had just left.

Chinisi chattered at him the entire way and
kept him blushing. They proceeded through the corridors drawing
looks from everyone they passed, and Stygean could feel his past
whipping him across his back like the sting of a lash. They reached
the meeting chamber and entered it.

Stygean held himself as straight as he could
to mask his shaking as he walked up to the four mages. He gave
Cordwainer a polite bow of his shoulders. "Sir," he said.

The mages all turned toward him as he
interrupted their conversation. Isranon's eyebrow lifted as he saw
Chinisi standing behind Stygean.

"Yes, boy?" Cordwainer asked, glancing
behind him at his niece.

"I would like permission to escort Chinisi
to Lord Edvarde's dance. You may trust me to prove a
gentlemon."

"Please, uncle," Chinisi said, her eyes
large and pleading.

Cordwainer eyed his niece curiously and then
cleared his throat in an expression of severity. "Yes, you have my
permission, but watch that you don't get out of line with her."

"I promise, sir," Stygean said.

Isranon gestured for Stygean to come over
and he took him aside. "We will discuss this later? Since the dance
is tomorrow?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good."

Chinisi came over and looked up at Isranon
with a clear intensity and profound curiosity. "They say you can do
it all … that you're the first since Abelard. Is it true?"

Isranon looked taken aback for an instant.
He shifted his staff into the crook of his arm and extended his
hands. He filled one with fire and the other with ice. "Is this
what you mean?"

Chinisi laughed in delight. "Yes!"

Isranon dismissed the fire and ice,
replacing one with vines of green energy and creating a small
breeze with the other. The three master mages came close to watch.
Again he dismissed them. Then he filled his hands with the black
power of death and the other with the white power of life. Everyone
was watching him by then, and a murmur of awe rose in the room. He
pointed to a ewer of water. A cloud formed above it, and he drew
the water from the ewer into the cloud. He sent the cloud to water
Edvarde's potted plants near the windows.

Stygean stared. Isranon had never
demonstrated all of it before. His mentor was, indeed, a
pan-elementalist as he claimed.

* * * *

Nevin and Gordain sat at an oblong table in
the drawing room, which Haig had claimed as the meeting chamber for
himself and his vampires. Opposite them sat Haig with Jun standing
behind him. Jun had his arms folded, his mouth tight and his head
tilted at a sullen angle.

"This has to stop before it turns into a
war, Haig," Nevin growled.

"A war?" Haig's face lost all expression.
"Between your people and mine?

"Aye." Nevin jabbed a finger at Jun. "We've
pulled him off Stygean three times now. We've watched him shadow
the boy, trying to catch him alone."

"Stygean is under the protection of our
clan," Gordain pointed out, meeting Jun's sullenness with
devil-may-care cheek.

"This is something we ought to discuss with
Isranon." Haig shifted in his chair to exchange glances with Jun;
however, the tall vampire's expression never wavered.

"No." Nevin balled his fist up and struck
the table. "The matter is between you and I, Haig. Not Isranon.
He's overburdened as it is. We'll settle this here and now."

Haig took Nevin's impassioned response
calmly, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin on them.
"This must have been going on for a considerable time to have
gotten you this worked up, Nevin."

The vampire captain's tone disarmed him, and
the lycan heaved a sigh, nodding. "Too long, my friend. Too long.
I'm the boy's guurmondru now. So I'm responsible for his
safety."

"Interesting. Does the boy know that you've
appointed yourself his father?"

"I don't know how much he understood when I
explained what a guurmondru is, but he accepted me."

Jun glanced from face to face, lowering his
arms. "He killed my Nolly, Haig."

Haig shook his head. "Amiri told all of us
that Stygean was innocent."

"He killed her!"

"That's enough out of you, Jun. You'll stay
away from the boy."

"No. Stygean disguised the seed in her hole
somehow. He hid the truth."

"Jun!" Haig made a chopping gesture with his
hand. "I am your captain. You will obey my orders."

"NO!" Jun fled the chamber.

It became Haig's turn to sigh. "He's upset.
I'll talk to him. If you catch him bothering Stygean, come to me
and I'll punish him."

* * * *

Jingen cornered Stygean after dinner that
night, shoving him into a corner alcove near the stairwell on the
second floor. "You're taking her, aren't you?"

Stygean stiffened. "Yes. And it's none of
your business."

"Are you putting it in her yet?"

Stygean scowled. "So what if I am? You are
not to touch her. I won't let you."

"You can't stop me."

"Leave Chinisi alone, I'm warning you."

"What will you do? Bite me again? You know
what that will get you? Dead. And your precious Dawnreturning will
let them do it."

"Then you'll be past harming her and I don't
care." Stygean shoved past Jingen and walked on.

Jingen caught up with him. "I still have my
blade, Stygean. Don't stand between me and what I want."

Stygean turned and snarled at him. "Keep
this up and I will call you out."

Jingen blinked in shock. "A duel? You
wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"You're a traitor and a coward, Stygean.
Accept it." Jingen's words came flooding out in a frothing stream
of vitriol that made Stygean cringe inwardly. "You'd lose. You
always lose. I'm better than you are. I'm a true sa'necari. You're
nothing. And that girl ... that girl is mine. You stay away from
her."

Stygean turned his back on Jingen and
stalked off, his ears alert for steps following him, but he heard
nothing. It was clear that Jingen had not chosen to follow him. He
was very uncertain whether that was a good thing or a bad one.
Stygean felt shaken by the confrontation with Jingen. He could not
say precisely why Chinisi affected him the way she did. She was
constantly getting him into trouble, and when she wasn't, she was
simply aggravating him with her endless intimate questions. Yet he
felt protective of her. He also knew that he did not wish to go
back to sharing a tent with Jingen once the ride north resumed. So
he went to Isranon's door and knocked on it.

"Who is it?" Isranon asked.

Stygean threw his shoulders back and tried
to look calm and steady. "Stygean, I wish to talk to you. It's
important."
Yes, very important
. But he did not wish to
sound desperate or childish.

"Come in."

Isranon sat at a small table with Anksha, sharing a
single glass of wine that bore the misty imprint of both of their
mouths. Stygean suspected they had been in the preliminaries of a
bedroom game. Anksha's blouse was unbuttoned down to her navel, and
Isranon's shirt was open. A tiny line of blood showed on Isranon's
neck betraying the early stages of a nibble game. Stygean wondered
if they had been going to do it on the floor.