“As you wish. I’m sure you know better.”
I might, she thought, rising from her seat and leaving him there.
♦ ♦ ♦
An hour later she stood on the training ground, watching her soldiers bash each other with wooden practice swords. They were undisciplined, the trainers as well as the trainees. Yet, there was a certain savagery to it that was gratifying to watch. Right now, she didn’t need shipboard discipline. She needed killers who would wade into battle unafraid.
“Lady Jocasta.” Darius stood at her elbow.
“Mmm?”
“You have a visitor.”
“And? Find out what he wants and get rid of him. I’m busy.”
“He’s from Towering Oaks, Lady. He says he’s been sent here by their Head of House.”
Jocasta sighed. She wanted to send this emissary on his way. But they weren’t ready yet. This was the part she hated. Playing nice for the sake of politics. Well, hopefully that would all be over in the near future.
“Bring him here…no wait. I’ll go to the library. Bring him there.”
This was Towering Oaks. They didn’t need to see any of House Whispering Pines training.
♦ ♦ ♦
The man was waiting for her when she arrived. Unlike Childress, he wasn’t seated at his leisure, instead standing ramrod straight where he could see her enter.
“Lady Jocasta,” he said, and bowed.
She had to admit, his form was excellent. That vaunted Towering Oaks discipline.
“What can I do for you?” she asked.
This one could work for Childress, she thought, when her blunt opening had no effect on him.
“My name is Orlando. I come from House Towering Oaks, at the behest of Lady Shireen, our Head of House.”
Jocasta felt her eyebrows rise involuntarily. There was no hiding her reaction from this Orlando.
“You were expecting a different name?” he smiled.
“As you knew I would be. What happened to him?”
“Well, we haven’t made this public knowledge, but given the relationship our two Houses share, I’ve been given the go ahead to fill you in.”
“How nice,” Jocasta replied. “Sit.”
Orlando took a seat and she did the same. She hadn’t thought to entertain him long enough for such pleasantries, but this was news indeed.
“Now,” she continued. “Tell me everything.”
Chapter 14
The fire that burned the Soul Gaunt was only the beginning. If he thought back to it, although he tried not to, Thaddeus could remember the stone he used to light up the inside of the afflicted Rustling Elm tree. He made that thing flare far brighter than he ever would have believed possible. Right before they took him.
It wasn’t anger that gave him the strength then, it was fear and desperation. And that strength hadn’t lasted. It gave out too soon, the stone went dark and his next few days were spent in misery.
Of course, if he were a weaker man, as Shireen seemed to think, he wouldn’t have ended up here in House Subtle Hemlock. Instead, he would have been killed by the Soul Gaunts for their amusement, as they tried to do to the human.
The light he was creating flickered, then regained its brilliance.
“Problem?” Melanie asked. She was seated nearby, shielding her eyes against the bright light coming from an orb floating in the middle of the room.
“No, just lost focus for a moment.” That was true; and, not long ago that would have been enough for the light to fail entirely. Now, it wavered for a moment, then came back every bit as strong.
“Well, you better stay focused now,” she said, rising from her chair. “I’m going to fight against the light. Ready?”
Good luck, Thaddeus thought, but said aloud to her, “Ready. Hope I’ll be able to hold it.”
Melanie started to chant softly under her breath, and shadows began to creep into the room. The light Thaddeus was creating was enough to chase the darkness from every corner, but Melanie pulled it from under the furniture and the doors themselves.
The shadows flowed forward, almost like living creatures. One across from his glowing sphere rose up, forming into a hooded creature, very much like a Soul Gaunt. Thaddeus could feel the shadows pushing at his light, threatening to extinguish it.
Well, threatening might be too strong a word for what they were doing. Their pushes were more like gentle nudges. Thaddeus let them come on anyway, darkening the room slightly.
Let Melanie think she was beginning to win. He was going to show her something new.
He started to push back, her shadows growing weaker. He let a small amount of heat into the spell as well, and the temperature in the room rose a couple of degrees. Thaddeus felt a slight sheen of sweat break out on his forehead. He glanced over and saw the same on Melanie, but her eyes were closed as she fought against him and she didn’t see his grin.
Good. Then she also wouldn’t see him turn his hands just so, moving the glowing globe in the air toward her. He pushed more heat into it, moved it a little closer still. They’d see how well her shadows worked when the heat was really on.
Wait? What was he doing? This was Melanie! His friend, his lover, his mentor! He couldn’t do this to her. It was foul play, dark magic that was beneath him. Besides, he loved her! More than life itself.
He clawed at the air in front of him, as if he were grabbing an invisible rug and the glowing sphere shot back toward him, much too quickly. He yelped as he felt his hands burn before he could shut the spell down.
It was only then that he noticed the unpleasant ringing in his ears.
“Damn you!” He nursed his burned fingers.
