“I cannot answer your question.” His eye narrowed as Hope continued to squawk.
“Can you understand a word he’s saying?” Kaylin asked Bellusdeo.
“No.” Her eyes were a deeper orange now.
“I have no access to the room you describe. I will not lead you there. I will show you the exit. I cannot guarantee that you will return to the same physical location you entered.”
Everything about this conversation was strange. Given the circumstances, strange was expected, but it was strange on the wrong axis.
The man who had introduced himself as Killian then turned and once again resumed his graceful but unhurried walk.
The way out was six halls and one short flight of stairs away. Kaylin counted. The building was enormous, but oddly narrow. Geography was not her strong point; she navigated by landmarks when she could identify them, by instinctive memory when she couldn’t.
But the last hall was wider, and looked like the entrance to an old, well-used building in which one expected guests, or if not guests, visitors. This was not so much a home, in Kaylin’s opinion, but...maybe a boarding school? She’d had cause—once—to visit a school meant for adult students. She hadn’t been comfortable there. This reminded her of that, except emptied. Although the floors and the carpet runners showed wear, all doors were closed; she could hear no sound of movement, no sound of discussion, outside of their own.
Hope squawked.
“I do not advise you to attempt to return. If you must, I advise you to avoid your previous method of entry. It is not well maintained, and could prove dangerous to your companions.”
Kaylin had no desire to set foot in this building again. Killian reached two closed, but much larger, doors. She was surprised to see him move to physically open them. She stepped forward to help, but Hope bit her ear.
“This building was once—long ago—a school. The rooms we passed were occupied by students; there are rooms you did not encounter that were occupied by teachers.”
“Are you the building’s sole occupant now?”
“No.”
“And we’ve managed to avoid any of the other occupants?”
“Yes, it is best to avoid them. Some of them will not be pleased to encounter you or learn of your existence.” The doors fully open, he stood to the side and offered them a bow.
The doors opened into the washed-out color of the streets of the border zone. The buildings were not the same buildings—there was far more street, for one thing, and fewer smaller buildings that might once have served as homes. She thought the shape of the street directly ahead of these doors could have served as a standing place in front of the Town Hall. Or the Imperial Palace.
She turned back to the door that Killian had not yet closed. “Do these streets always look like this?”
He nodded.
“Which Towers are closest to these doors?”
“Durandel, Aggarok and Karriamis.” None were names she recognized. “Be wary. I must close the doors now.” And so saying, he did.
The building didn’t magically disappear when the doors had been closed. The streets didn’t shift. They were in the border zone, between two Towers Kaylin had never heard of. She turned to Severn, raising a brow.
“We’re in the border zone of Nightshade, closer to theRavellonedge,” Severn replied, although she hadn’t actually asked the question.
“So, between Nightshade and Tiamaris?”
“Between Nightshade and Liatt.”
“So this building somehow extends—under the ground—between two full fiefs.”
“I do not believe it’s that simple,” Bellusdeo then said, in High Barrani.
“And we’re nowhere near Candallar, where we’re supposed to investigate.”
“Looks like. I highly suggest that we return to the Halls of Law.”
“And I,” Bellusdeo said, pulling rank—even if she didn’t have one, “suggest we repair to the Imperial Palace. We were supposed to consult with the Arkon anyway.”
