“Maybe your castleishaunted.”
“That sounded laughable and ludicrous when we were across the lake.”
Another eerie moan wafted out.
“And now?”
“Whatever is making that noise, it’s not laughable.”
4
Nothing untoward happenedwhen Rylana pushed the front door open farther, so she risked stepping into the foyer. There weren’t any lamps lit to illuminate the ancient slate floor tiles, and the blue glow wasn’t present in this part of the castle, so it was quite dark. If not for her memories, her eyes would have struggled to identify the various shadows around the space. A candelabra hung from above, little more than a dark shape near the high ceiling, and a few suits of bronze armor stood against the walls to decorate the circular space. Supposedly, they were to warn away intruders as well. Rylana remembered an uncle telling her and her brother that they could come to life to defend the castle if enemies tried to enter.
Just inside the threshold, she waited to see if the magical wards would activate, believingheran enemy. Since she’d been gone so long, she wouldn’t be surprised if her father had reconfigured them—or gotten an entirely new security system. The old gods knew she didn’t remember a system that caused thelibraryto glow blue.
“I can sense magic,” Sylin said from the threshold. “Your family’s wards, I presume.”
“Probably.”
When nothing zapped Rylana, she ventured deeper into the foyer, passing the narrow side halls that led to the towers and pausing before a curving staircase that rose to the upper level and the ramparts. To either side of the wide steps, orbs were mounted on the railing posts. Rylana pressed her hand to one, something she’d done often as a child when friends from the neighborhood had come to visit. Back then, the wards had been cued to obey her and let people in, but she expected the orb to ignore her. Or to knock her across the room and onto her ass.
To her surprise, it warmed beneath her hand, just as it had in her youth. The doorway flashed once, silhouetting Sylin.
“Am I invited in?” she asked.
She’d probably had all manner of experience with wards, but every system could be different. The ones made here in Tranquility, usually by gnome wizards, often specialized in keeping the mischievous pixies out as well as larger intruders, and they could be finicky.
“If I am, you are,” Rylana said.
The eerie moan sounded again. The library was on the other side of the castle and its inner courtyard, but she had a feeling the noises were coming from there. What could Vormalt have possibly done? And to what? Thebooksdidn’t moan.
“Comforting,” Sylin said without moving.
“You can wait there if you want. Maybe a pointy-eared werewolf will come along to woo you.”
“I don’t know why I spend time with you.”
“Unlike others, I don’t mind that you’re an assassin, and I believe you when you say you’re not angling for the elven queen.”
Sylin’s grunt didn’t sound that grateful.
Rylana, now convinced that her father had left her in thesecurity system’s magical memory, ventured out of the foyer and toward the great hall. She debated whether she should light some of the lamps along the way. Had Vormalt come in before night had fallen?
Sylin, her hand on the hilt of her knife and her eyes wary, followed her. Rylana kicked something on the floor and paused as the lightweight obstacle bumped away.
“A toy?” Her first thought was that there weren’t kids around, but she didn’t know if that was true. During the coffee meeting with her father, he’d mentioned that her brother, Frodin, had married and had two children. Though he’d also said Frodin lived in his own house in the city, working in the family office near the core of the shipping district.
Rylana plucked two portable lanterns from holders on the stone wall, found a match, and lit them.
“Ah,” she said as the small flame revealed a floppy velvet rope with numerous knots. “Dog toy.”
“It sounds like your father has a more robust relationship with his hounds than he has with you.” Sylin accepted one of the lanterns.
“That’salwaysbeen true.”
A gnomish dusting machine whirred past, capturing debris on the floor. It avoided the dog toy, perhaps regarding it as belonging there.
Rylana and Sylin navigated around the contraption and continued through the great hall, which opened to a study, staff living quarters, offices, and eventually the kitchen and dining rooms. On one side, windows overlooked the lawn and, on the other, the enclosed courtyard. A square area in the center of the castle, it had raised garden beds, outdoor seating, decorative urns, and a small fountain. Everything glistened with moisture from the rain, and the blue light beaming toward the sky reflected in puddles.
