His last thought before the darkness crashed in on him was of Celia. Perhaps the spirit lied about that as well.
Chapter 9
Thaddeus tried to keep his nerves under control as he sat across the desk from Malachi, the Head of House Subtle Hemlock. It was the first time he had seen the man since his arrival here, when he was still half in shock and almost gibbering with relief at having been yanked away from Solomon at the last minute. Then, Malachi had looked at him in what Thaddeus thought might be pity and told the one who had grabbed him to get him cleaned up and settled in.
There was a lot less pity in Malachi’s gaze now. His gray eyes were icy as he regarded Thaddeus, who tried not to fidget in his chair. The silence was getting more than uncomfortable.
Finally, when he couldn’t take it anymore, Thaddeus cleared his throat and started to open his mouth.
“Do you think you belong here, Thaddeus?” Malachi asked him, cutting his own fumbling opening off before he could start.
“Do I? Well, yes, I think so … I mean … that is … I. Yes.”
Thaddeus hated hearing himself stutter and stammer. What happened to him? At one time, his cousin used to call for his services whenever he had a delicate meeting to attend, even with Glittering Birch and the famously touchy Jamshir. Now Thaddeus couldn’t string two words together without sounding like a fool.
“Then why do you make a mockery of our training methods?” Malachi asked.
Thaddeus was taken aback.
“Mockery? I don’t understand. How have I done that?”
“For days on end you sit and stare and produce only a wisp of smoke from a candle wick. Then you burn a valuable asset to ash. What am I to make of this ‘sudden breakthrough’?”
“I admit that I was having a hard time—"
“Why? It’s not what I was expecting when against my better judgment I allowed you to be brought here.”
“Why was I having a hard time, you mean?”
Malachi nodded once, a sharp short jerk of his head.
“It was a Soul Gaunt. I assumed you designed the task as something that would bother me on purpose.”
“Yes,” Malachi said. “It was a Soul Gaunt. It was only a Soul Gaunt. And only one of them at that. A creature that any novice spellcaster should have the measure of. But you? They terrify you that much?”
Thaddeus haltingly held up his hand to show Malachi his missing fingers. At first, he was ashamed, both by his injury and his difficulties in the dark room. Then, as he looked at his own disfigurement, a heat started to grow in his gut.
“This,” he said, his voice firmer than at any time since entering the room. “This is why I had a hard time. They bit them off, without warning or provocation. And there was no treatment after, either. All this, under the watchful eyes of a member of this House, I might add. Then, I watched and listened as they tortured and finally killed my cousin. So, yes, I had a hard time concentrating with one of them in the room with me.”
Malachi sat back in his chair, a slight smile playing about his lips.
“Until you got angry,” he said.
“Yes, until I got angry!”
“As you are right now.”
Thaddeus suddenly realized the tone and volume of his voice and remembered who he was speaking to. His hand fell back into his lap and he dropped his gaze to the desktop.
“Forgive me,” he said. His voice was quieter, but still firm, no longer wavering.
“There is nothing to forgive,” Malachi replied. “Look at me, Thaddeus.”
Thaddeus looked back into Malachi’s eyes.
“You can be a great asset to this House,” Malachi said. “But you need to learn to control your emotions. You were known to us before we ever helped put Jamshir’s plans into place, but we weren’t sure of your temperament. Besides, your loyalty to Florian seemed beyond question. At that time, we made the decision not to approach you.”
“What changed?”
“Opportunity. When you arrived at the Rustling Elm compound, we saw our chance. Since we still weren’t sure, Nathanial, the one you knew as the Advocate, thought to put you to the trial and see what you were truly made of.”
“All of that was a test?” Thaddeus hissed.
He was starting to feel the same burning that he had in front of the Soul Gaunt’s cage. That almost overwhelming desire to let what was inside of him go and burn everything down.
“No, not all. And don’t feel that you were alone in this. Oh, I don’t mean your particular trial. You were most definitely alone in that. I mean in our methods. All of us, for years uncounted, have been tested in the most extreme ways. Ask your friend Melanie what she went through.”
“And Florian?”
Thaddeus was holding on to his temper by the slightest edge. If Malachi told him that Florian’s death was just another test…a game…he would….
“No. Florian and Jediah both were part of a greater plan. Remove the Heads of the Houses that were the biggest threats to Jamshir, and the rest should have been easy. But then Solomon returned, and threw all our plans into disarray.”
Thaddeus took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax, remembering that he was speaking to his new Head of House.
“And now?”
“Now? Our goals are still the same. Play behind
