Authors: Robin D. Owens
Except the son had black-and-white streaked hair. Reynardus's
words from earlier echoed in her head:
"A black-and-white is
flawed"
So he had a flawed son. That couldn't have been easy on either
of them.
Thealia and Partis moved to support the wounded rider while Mace
and the Medica stripped. Alexa turned her gaze away from the large man. It was
evident that this society—or this class of it—had fewer taboos about nudity
than her own. Her mores regarding nakedness were deeply ingrained—especially
since she'd fought all her childhood for privacy in foster homes.
The muff rolled until Sinafin was next to her leg, warming it, as
if sensing Alexa's bad memories.
Keep your good customs, but take good from us, too,
Sinafin
said.
The mix has happened before and the blend has helped us survive.
Alexa picked up the muff and set it on her lap. It had no discernable
sensory organs or limbs. "Isn't being a muff uncomfortable?"
A chuckle came to her mind from Sinafin.
It is restful.
Alexa turned her attention back to the drama. Now Mace cradled the
fallen rider in his arms and walked slowly to the shallow end of the pool.
Thealia was helping the other rider disrobe with tender briskness.
Partis's Song rose and filled the Temple. The dome and crystals
reverberated certain notes back that reached inside Alexa and touched her very
core.
Yes, she was seeing the other side of the coin—how magic could
heal and save rather than destroy.
Sinafin settled more snugly into Alexa's lap.
You are meant to
be here. Meant to help the Castle. Your home is with us.
The light became diffused, adding softness to the scene. They all
moved as if in an elaborate dance, truly a team, concentrating on the injured
women. If she wanted, she could join with them, work with them, be accepted.
One part of her yearned to do that, another rejected the idea.
The Medica held the unconscious rider's torn arm close to her
body—ready for healing in the jerir pool, Alexa supposed. Alexa swallowed hard.
The pain would be horrible.
Splashes, then screams. From the Medica and the less-injured
flyer. The men's faces looked strained but determined.
They dunked the terribly wounded one.
Alexa couldn't stand it. The jerir ordeal was so rough, so
demanding. They needed more hands. She could help. She ran to the pool in time
to see Dema, the lightly wounded rider, go under. Oh hell! Alexa jumped in.
It wasn't as bad as the night before. More like being stung by a
horde of hungry mosquitoes, then lashed with tiny whips in each
scratch. Her hand slicked against a rounded limb. She
grabbed it and found a female arm. Good enough.
Out!
her frantic mind demanded.
She shot from the pool like a superhero, hung a couple of feet in
the air, then collapsed onto the stone floor—with her rescuee. Damn! How
humiliating. It was obvious that whatever magic she had was uncontrolled. She
hoped she wasn't turning red.
Rolling to her feet, she tried to look as if she'd meant to be so
dramatic in the rescue.
All the others were out of the pool too. Reynardus wasn't buying
Alexa's pretense. He stood, thick jerir slowly rolling down his body, giving
her a scornful glance. He made a comment and a gesture that Alexa could only
interpret as "teach the fool some magic and manners," then stalked
away to a screen near the edge of the room. Another splash came from that
direction.
Dema scrambled to her knees, gasping, and crawled over to her
lover. The other woman's chest rose and fell slowly. Tears joined droplets of
jerir on Dema's face.
"Vivant!
" She stroked the wet hair of her
mate.
The others stared at Alexa.
"Trey," said
Thealia.
Three? wondered Alexa, or maybe she meant "very." Wasn't
there a French "trey" that meant "very"?
Very stupid to go into the jerir three times.
Yeah. Her mouth set. That was it. Final.
Fini.
Latin for
really done. Her soft heart had gotten the better of her and she'd helped. Now
she'd get out of the Castle. She didn't owe anyone anything. No one was rushing
to thank her; her effort hadn't garnered any respect. She was outta here.
She stalked over to where she'd left her muff, Sinafin. The little
greyhound waited with perked ears.
"Come on, feycoocu. Let's go. Lead the way to the Town."
Ignoring curious glances, Alexa left the Temple. The doors were
too heavy to slam satisfactorily, so she just huffed a breath. She stepped from
the portico out into the yard.
It was full of people. Alexa recognized servants in their rainbow
garb, the nattily dressed man from the Assayer's Office, soldiers in the livery
of the Castle, and more flyers dressed like the pair in the Temple. Chevaliers.
And five different flying horses. She eyed them as she followed
Sinafin, fascinated, tempted to linger just to look at them. The small dog
danced across the large paving stones, attracting attention.
"Fejcoocu."
The murmur ran around the
square.
The sun was warm on Alexa's clothes and they gave off a faint,
astringent steam. She tried to look as if she walked around in steaming clothes
all the time.
The Temple was at one end of the wide courtyard. About a block
from it, a gatehouse sat between small towers, showing a shadowed opening
through the deep walls. A door?
Along the opposite side of the courtyard ran cloisters—covered
walkways with openings of triple-pointed windows. Next to that wall was a long
two-storied building. On her own side of the Castle was the large Keep with
several towers. She could even see the top of the back one that held her former
rooms. The walk here was open, just part of the pavement. She started down it
and soon reached the gatehouse.
Marwey's young, handsome soldier was there, along with a
thirty-something, stern-looking man, equally attractive. One glance at his
expression and Alexa knew he was related to Reynardus. Another son? But who
cared? She wanted
out.
Out of the politics, out of the Castle.
As she came near, distaste lit his eyes and he drew back. His mouth
turned down and she sensed it was more because of his own reaction to her than
to herself.
She nodded to the men and went through the archway between the low
gateway towers and up to the doors, whispering from the side of her mouth to
Sinafin. "How do these damn doors work?" Hell, she'd never been a
history buff.
Sinafin barked and an unobtrusive smaller door set in the huge
ones swung in.
"Good job!" Alexa grinned. She was on her way out of the
courtyard! She could
feel
people's mouths drop open as they watched her
and the feycoocu. At least they weren't interfering, trying to stop her.
The Lladranan-size door didn't reach the ground. She had to step
over a thick partition. A security measure, Alexa supposed. The next yard was
larger than the one behind her. How big
was
this Castle, anyway?
Frowning, she glanced back into the other court and found the
Assayer's Office just off the Keep.
Sinafin followed her gaze.
The Assayer's Office also opens onto
the landing field.
She jumped back over the edge of the door and trotted to
the men. Marwey's soldier faded back; the other stood stolidly, a wary look on
his face. She circled around him, sniffed his knee, barked in acknowledgment
and let her tongue loll. The Chevalier grinned.
Sinafin ran and hurdled the door again, skidding to a stop in the
dust before Alexa.
Luthan,
she said.
Brother to Bastien we saved last
night. Sons of Reynardus.
Why it was important, Alexa didn't know, but she tucked away the
information. She held out her arms and the dog leaped into them. Luthan watched
them, eyes narrowed. Feeling a little foolish, Alexa bobbed her torso in an
abbreviated bow. Luthan's eyebrows winged up. Aha! She'd surprised another
person with simple courtesy. Good, she had the feeling it would be in her best
interest to keep the Lladranans guessing.
Alexa turned and studied the new courtyard. She sighed. This one
was about a block and a half long—various buildings jutted from the stone
walls, in various sorts of architecture, interesting little alleys running
between them. Some of the buildings were of the standard gray stone; a few
older, smaller ones were made of a creamy yellow stone.
She glanced back and saw the top of the round Temple in the
previous courtyard. It alone was a striking white. She started forward, out of
the Castle.
This yard had stone sidewalks around thick grass, brown-tinged
with blades of renewing green. A small round stone cupola stood in the center,
looking new.
They had to cover the well,
Sinafin said.
Alexa didn't want to know why. She had enough on her mind. So she
strode down the right-hand outside path toward the huge gate in the middle of
the opposite end. Since this gate was between two substantial towers, it must
be the main entrance. She wondered if there'd be a moat and drawbridge. Cool.
But the coolest thing was that she felt in control of her life
again. She was escaping the Castle.
B
astien had gnawed a turkey leg as he watched the incredible events
in the Temple courtyard—Temple Ward. He tossed the bone in a trash box and
listened to an excited Urvey report all the gossip. The Exotique had plunged in
the jerir again and saved Dema, she'd flown around the inside of the Temple,
then she'd argued with the Marshalls, stunned them all with her Power, and left
for the Town with the feycoocu, vowing never to return.
When Urvey stared yearningly after the strange Exotique as she
left the Temple with an equally strange-looking small dog, Bastien had given
him leave to follow the new Marshall. Bastien had always been of a curious
nature himself. His new squire could be a boon.
It sounded like the Marshalls, and specifically his father, had
made a mistake. If the woman left the Castle, Bastien guessed, the Chevaliers
might also make a mistake and invite her to join them as
their
Exotique.
He pondered whether he should intervene in the matter.
At that moment, Marrec, a Chevalier with Lady Hallard, hurried
down the cloister walk, then slowed as he saw Bastien. "Good, I'm glad
you're here to accompany me. Lady Hallard wants a report on the health of
Farentha and Dema from the Marshalls."
"Yes, I voted for her to be the new representative of the
Chevaliers. Good woman. She sent you to question the Marshalls and you don't
want to face them alone? I don't blame you." He clapped the man on the
shoulder. "Just think of it as being in a den of clever thieves ready to
skin you."
"Thanks a lot," Marrec muttered as they entered the
shadowed Temple.
The Marshalls didn't look stunned into immobility by Exotique
Power. They looked angry and even divided—until they noticed Bastien and
Marrec. Then their auras melded into solidarity.
Still smiling, Bastien addressed Reynardus. "My
congratulations, Father. With your usual charm you alienated the powerful
Exotique, Savior of Lladrana." Bastien put as much swagger into his steps
as he could and still tread carefully so as not to jar any of his aches and
pains. He felt as if any major effort would break something loose inside him.
The Marshalls turned in a body to stare at him, some squinting.
Even with light from the windows near the ceiling, the Temple was dim. Bastien
grinned. One of
his
natural gifts was excellent night vision.
"Don't you think you should be more diplomatic?"
muttered Marrec.
Bastien ignored the comment, continuing to approach the people
around the jerir pool. He ignored the pool too, not wanting to remember the
pain and how close he'd come to dying from sheer stupidity.
His father's mouth thinned into a stern line and his gaze flattened—his
usual expression around Bastien.
"Alien
is right," Reynardus said. "A
small woman of no account. No doubt her Powers are much exaggerated."
"Oh?" Concentrating, Bastien mentally located his
quarterstaff in the stables of the Castle with the rest of his gear and
volaran. His legs had started to tremble, but he had no intention of appearing
weak before his father. A person was foolish to show any weakness to Reynardus.
With a thought he summoned his quarterstaff, liking the sound as
it smacked into his outstretched hand. He leaned insouciantly on it. "I've
heard that even untrained she had enough Power to kill
Disparu. That she claimed the famous Jade Baton. That she's
survived three plunges in the jerir, and brought Dema and Farentha back from
the gates of death. That a feycoocu has come to companion her."
Not to mention that she'd hauled his own sorry ass out of the
jerir pool. He was glad he only remembered a flash of startled female eyes.
"Quite a list for someone who has been in Lladrana barely two days. And
now you have let this paragon walk away from the Marshalls."