They walked out of the doors side by side, following in the wake of Teela and Tain. Teela was not dressed for Court, but she wasn’t dressed for the Halls of Law, either, and as she approached the gate, she placed a hand on the hilt of her sword. Kaylin hadn’t even noticed the sword, which said something.
“Are you sure I can’t go out there?” Kaylin asked without much hope.
Helen didn’t answer. Kaylin realized that she could insist, and Helen would allow it. But she thought Helen would be far more worried, and therefore more likely to react in a way that might have political repercussions they wanted to avoid.
It’s why Bellusdeo wasn’t here and heading out the doors, either.
Kaylin poked her familiar. He bit her finger, without drawing blood. But he also shook his head, shifting the position of his wing so that it once again covered both of her eyes.
Mandoran and Annarion reached Teela and Tain, and then both stepped to the side of the stone drive. She realized, as they did, that the shadows they cast on what looked, even through the familiar’s wing, like normal grass were not the shadows she would have cast had she been standing where they were standing.
“No,” Helen said quietly. “If Hope removes his wing, you will no longer see the boys. But the two who are effectively invisible can see them quite clearly. No threat has been made; no warning has been uttered. This is the heart of Barrani politics; all of the possible and probable death is implied in every action.”
“Mandoran or Annarion just said something, didn’t they?”
“Yes. But I believe it’s Teela who is having the greatest effect. I find her sword disturbing,” Helen added in a much more normal voice. Kaylin glanced at her. She had shifted out of armor into her normal clothing, but her eyes were still obsidian.
“Are they still trying to invoke commands?”
“No. I think they believe that someone more powerful has taken control of me.”
“Well, technically, that’s not wrong.”
“It’s worrying,” Helen continued, as if Kaylin hadn’t spoken. “Because if that’s their supposition, they will be attempting to remove the person who has that control.”
“Either that or they’ll just wait until we all descend on the High Halls, which would make more sense.”
“I think they hoped to enter and prevent that from occurring. If I had not damaged myself quite so badly in the past, all of my guests would likely be dead. They clearly do not want the cohort to enter the High Halls.”
Chapter 15
Things at the front gate were not going well. Angry Barrani—for someone with Kaylin’s childhood experience—were a flag that could be seen at a distance, because distance was the only way to survive that anger. Time spent with the Hawks had lessened the visceral fear. The Hawks contained both Barrani and bureaucracy, so some anger was inevitable.
Bressarian was an angry Barrani. Kaylin couldn’t see Teela’s face, but the line of the Barrani Hawk’s shoulders implied that she wasn’t particularly cheerful, either.
“Is he demanding that we let him in?”
“I don’t think that he would be foolish enough to make that demand of Teela,” Helen replied.
“He’s probably learned bad habits from Coravante,” Terrano said. “He wants to be a power, so he’s trying to act like he is one. Weren’t you ever told that?” he asked Kaylin.
“Told what?”
“If you want to be a power, you have to act like you already are one?”
“No. I was raised in a rougher part of town.”
“What were you told?”
“Keep your head down, don’t attract attention because all attention is bad, learn when to run like hell.” She shrugged. “Don’t get involved in games of power when you don’t have any. Stuff like that.”
“Were you expected to live your entire life like that?”
Fief shrug. “It beat the alternative.” Until it hadn’t. “Being dead,” she added, in case Terrano was slow on the uptake.
“Teela’s just dropped her hand to her sword hilt.”
“I believe he believes that Teela is the master of this house,” Helen told them both. “And her refusal to even allow him entry is personally vexing.” She smiled, but this time the smile was cold, hard and more than a little smug. “One of his companions is attempting to invoke words of command. I believe it is the woman.”
