I am tired, he thought. Bone weary, as the mortals say. 'I'm better now that you're here,' he said. 'What's brought you?'
The elder deva adapted a look of mock indignation. 'Why, Tauran! You wound me! Think you so little of my divination skills that you would doubt my ability to know when and where I am needed?'
Tauran laughed, gladness filling him for a moment. 'You divined that I would be here?' he asked.
'No, I did not expect to find you here,' she answered. 'I merely augured that I would be needed here, at this time. As usual, I was right.' She hugged him again, then pulled back to stare the angel squarely in the face. 'What troubles you?' she asked.
Tauran looked away and felt the full weight of his worries. 'I don't know,' he said, watching the storm-tossed clouds roil around the two of them. 'I fear that I am losing my way, Eirwyn,' he said, returning to gaze earnestly at her. 'No one seems to see what I see, the menace that seems to be gathering in the House. Not even Micus shows any grasp of the threats I fear.'
Eirwyn sighed. 'This feud between Tyr and Helm has upset the balance. The sooner they settle it, the better off we'll all be.'
For a moment, they sat together unspeaking, with only the roar of wind and waterfall filling their ears. The moment stretched out, became a bit uncomfortable. Tauran wanted to share more, but he fretted that he was about to cross a threshold from which he could not return.
'You can tell me, Tauran,' Eirwyn said at last. 'It won't hurt my feelings. We've been friends too long to let this feud come between us.'
If only it were that benign, Tauran thought. He smiled slightly. 'It's actually the opposite,' he said. He drew a deep breath before proceeding. 'I believe Tyr has lost his reason.'
Eirwyn drew her head back a bit when she heard the angel's words. She scrutinized him for several heartbeats, until he began to fear that he had misjudged her. I thought she would understand better than most. But maybe-
'That's a dangerous thing you say, Tauran,' the elder deva said. 'Most within the House-or at least the Court-would not take kindly to hearing those words.'
'Believe me,' Tauran said, 'I know. I dare not blaspheme that way in front of'-he cast a quick glance in Eyrwin's direction-'anyone less sympathetic to the notion.' He saw her smile slightly then. 'But I believe it,' he continued, 'and furthermore, I think I can prove that Cyric has his hand in it.'
Eirwyn gave a small gasp. 'You don't really have a good grasp for building support for your ideas, do you?'
Tauran's chuckle felt mirthless. 'It would seem not,' he said. 'And yet, I'm about to go before the High Council and argue that very thing.'
'Tauran!' she said, admonishing him. 'I don't think that's wise.'
Tauran sighed. 'Perhaps,' he said. 'But if I'm correct and do nothing, then I fear I have committed the greater crime. The risk I take in revealing my suspicions pales in comparison to the repercussions if I am right.'
'What leads you to believe this?' she asked.
Tauran explained what he knew of Aliisza, Vhok, and Zasian.
When he was done, Eirwyn sat very still. Finally, she rose to her feet. 'What you claim is very serious, Tauran. But my divinations did not lead me here to talk you out of your plan. Of that I am confident.'
Tauran stared up at her, waiting to see what she would say next. What he thought he had lost in Micus, he hoped against hope he had gained in Eirwyn.
'I am going to meditate on this,' she said. 'And when I have more information, I will seek you out again. Perhaps I have a part to play in this.'
'Thank you,' Tauran said, rising to face her. 'You've given me renewed strength to see this through.'
Eirwyn held up her hands to forestall his gratitude. 'I cannot promise that I will be able to offer you much,' she said, 'but I will do what I can.'
'That is all that I can ask,' Tauran replied. He hugged her then, thankful for her friendship.
When he stepped back, her gaze bore into him. 'Be very careful, Tauran,' she said. 'You will make many enemies revealing these theories. The High Council of Tyr is a dangerous entity to rile.'
Tauran nodded. 'I know,' he said. Then he drew a deep breath. 'But I am due to appear before them any moment, so I must go. Thank you again.'
Eirwyn smiled and vanished. A moment later, Tauran departed too.
Neither of them had noticed the lantern archon flitting nearby, hiding beneath the protrusion upon which they sat. Having heard the entire conversion, it vanished, too, hurrying with a heavy heart to report to Micus of Tauran's treachery against Tyr.
Aliisza sat on the bed and wished Kaanyr would stop pacing. The cambion had been at it since the two of them had been brought to her chambers-at least, she assumed they were hers. It felt as if only a day or so had passed since she had last been there, and she had to keep reminding herself it had been eleven years. She wondered if anyone else had spent time here. That thought mildly annoyed her.
What's the matter with me? she thought, growing more agitated. I'm acting like I want to stay here.
On the contrary, the moment two of the dog-headed creatures had escorted the pair to her chambers while Tauran and Kael departed to attend to other matters, Aliisza had grown restless. Certainly, the foreboding sensation of being trapped again unsettled her. But the alu knew it was more than that.
Tauran and Kael's departure had stirred feelings of… regret.
I didn't want them to leave, Aliisza realized. Am I so loath to face Kaanyr alone? Or is there more to it?
'I've been going about this all wrong,' Kaanyr said, disrupting her thoughts. 'I've been fighting this the whole time. I should know better.'
'Fighting what?' she asked, thankful that he had deigned to come out of his brooding to speak to her.
'The angel's hold over me. His plans. All of it.'
'Yes,' she said.
Kaanyr stopped pacing and turned to look at her. 'What is that supposed to mean?' he asked, scowling. 'You never just agree with me lately.'
'Only because you've been making no sense lately,' she countered. 'You have been acting the fool, revealing your every emotion, reacting instead of scheming. You have not been the Kaanyr Vhok I thought I knew.' Does that Kaanyr Vhok even exist? she wondered.
The cambion stood and stared at her for a long time. His eyes bored into hers, roamed up and down her body, lingering appreciatively in certain places. She had assumed her true form when they had returned to her chambers, but he hadn't noticed before right then. For the first time in a very long time, Kaanyr seemed…
Hungry, Aliisza decided. She actually began to blush beneath that gaze.
Kaanyr seemed to shake himself out of his carnal stupor. 'I'm not the only one behaving oddly,' he said. He turned and sat upon a cushioned chair on the far side of the room. 'You are not yourself, either.'
Aliisza caught herself feeling a bit jealous that Kaanyr had managed to stroll away so easily. She didn't want the moment to end quite like that.
'Who's to blame for that?' she asked, feeling the tiniest bit petulant. 'Who arranged for me to become trapped here, under the tutelage of an angel? What did you expect would happen?'
'Zasian assured me that his protective spells would ward you from any true change.' Vhok's voice was quiet. 'Did he lie about that, too?'
Aliisza thought for a long moment before answering. 'No,' she said at last. 'But he didn't tell you the truth, either. What he did-the spells that he wove over me to shield me from Tauran's influence-wasn't so much a protective mask as it was a… reversion.'
Kaanyr cocked his head to one side. 'Explain,' he demanded.
'He didn't cast a spell that would shield me from something Tauran forced on me. He cast a spell that would change me back at the end.'
'So the angel's damnable tricks took hold?' Kaanyr narrowed his eyes and scowled.
'That's just it,' Aliisza said, feeling uneasy. She wasn't sure if she wanted to admit her next words to herself, much less to Kaanyr. 'There were no tricks, my love. He only showed me a perspective.'
