“The one who’s more or less normal.” He could see the other two. She wondered if Teela would, and mentally kicked herself. Teela didn’t materialize out of thin air the way Mandoran and Terrano could; no, she came up the stairs from the training rooms at a full-on in-pursuit run. Tain wasn’t far behind.
“What did he do? What did he say?”
“He attempted to invoke Helen’s command phrase. It’s like a name,” Terrano added, “but vastly less complicated. You have problems even trying to look at complex True Names; you’ve said that yourself. You aren’t the only one. Buildings like Helen were created for use by the powerful, but in times of war, the powerful ceased to exist.
“In order to make certain that the access to the building itself didn’t cease with them, there were invocations created that would allow the command of the building to be passed on.”
“And that’s what he just said.”
“Yes.”
Kaylin turned to Helen, understanding the change in her Avatar.
“It’s not going to force Helen to obey him.”
“No,” Helen said. She was angry.
Teela, however, had reached the front door. Without asking, she opened it. Kaylin was surprised; she was mostly certain Helen wouldn’t have let that door budge if she’d tried it herself.
“No,” Helen said again, the single word resonating beneath the ceiling of the foyer as if it were a miniature storm. “But Teela assures me that this is political.”
“Can you keep the other two from coming through an open gate?”
“Teela has no intention of opening that gate,” Helen replied.
“That means no,” Terrano added. His eyes had not reverted to regular Barrani eyes. “And even if the gate remains closed, I’m not certain we’ll be able to keep them out indefinitely. They shouldn’t be here,” he added.
“And water is wet.”
“Yes, it is—why is that relevant?”
“Are they trying to do here what they did to Alsanis?”
“That’s the worry, yes. It’s easier with Alsanis,” he added. “Alsanis is Hallionne; he is meant to be host to guests. He is sentinel against Shadow, but he doesn’t automatically expect the Barrani who comprise the largest part of his duties to carry that Shadow with them.”
Tain followed on Teela’s heels. Kaylin followed on Tain’s. Or tried. Helen’s armor-clad arm came up so quickly Kaylin bounced off it. Hope squawked, but it wasn’t the angry squawk.
“Not you,” Helen said.
“Terrano?”
Kaylin grimaced.
“I’d rather not be seen,” he said.
“Yes, I get that. But seeing you might put the other two—the ones that are less visible—off their stride.”
“Or it will alert them to his presence. He is not widely believed to be part of the cohort; he was not, after your duties in the green, among the guests who remained with Alsanis. Or who accompanied you here. If your suspicions are correct, much of their knowledge about what we will politely call an indeterminate state came from Terrano.
“What they’ve learned in his absence—and what he’s learned in his absence, as well—is not known. It would be best, at this point, that they remain ignorant. Terrano can be impulsive.”
“And water is still wet.” Although Kaylin could have said this, she hadn’t. She turned, as the doorway grew more crowded. Mandoran had arrived.
“Annarion’s coming, as well. Everyone else is trying to pin Sedarias down.”
Helen nodded her approval. “Annarion is levelheaded when his brother is not involved.” When he arrived, however, he looked a lotlesslevelheaded. Kaylin grimaced.
Mandoran began to visibly waver in Kaylin’s field of vision. In both eyes. Annarion glanced at Mandoran, who nodded, the gesture and expression so grim he actually gave off a Barrani vibe for a change.
