Exile's Return (Book 1) (18 page)

Jenn looked at him, appreciating his kindly face, his gentle tone. ‘Me? How can I decide anything? And what difference would it make anyway? You’ve already decided what’s to become of me. Finnlay is determined that I stay here. He thinks he can sway his brother to leave without me and it’s not just him. Go on, deny it. Deny that you’re all thinking how much I can do for you here.’

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Robert trying hard to conceal a smile. In that moment, she decided. She could trust him after all. If he hadn’t tried to hide the smile, or if he’d said anything at all, it would have been different. But he hadn’t. Instead, he seemed to hold the opinion that she had the right to determine her own future – unlike these
others. Perhaps that was really why he didn’t fully belong to the Enclave. Perhaps that’s what he didn’t agree with.

Henry slowly shook his head, ‘No, I would be a liar if I said I’d not thought about how much you could help us. You must understand, child, you have a unique talent.’

‘Unique? How?’

Henry raised his eyebrows, offering the question to someone else. The others, however, remained silent. ‘Well, the power you have, we all have – is inside you. You were born with it and you will die with it. We don’t really know what it is exactly, or what makes one person have it and another not – but we do know that it’s a raw power and one that’s fuelled by your own body. If you use it too much, you’ll quickly become exhausted – beyond that, it will kill you. Believe me, it has happened. That is why we use an
ayarn.
It reduces the amount of energy we use, at the same time protecting us from a backlash. The stone itself is nothing special. We choose them at random – then put them through a process which bends them to our needs.’

He paused to take a sip of wine then turned back to her. ‘You need to understand all this in order to appreciate how we see your abilities. You’ve performed at least four workings of enormous power without the aid of an
ayarn,
or a shield of any kind. You should be dead – and after this morning, us along with you.’

There was no reproach in his voice, but Jenn held his gaze before looking away. Her eyes rested on Finnlay a moment longer, but he refused to look at her. She let him smoulder in silence. ‘All right, so we’re not all dead. What does that mean? Why am I so different?’

She asked the question gravely and was a little put out when Robert chuckled quietly at her side. She turned her head and said archly, ‘I’m glad you find this so amusing.’

Rather than look ashamed, his smile widened. He shook his head in apology. ‘I’m sorry. One day, I promise you, you will understand why I laugh. For the moment though, take no notice of me.’

There was a pause, then Henry addressed her last question.
‘I don’t know why you can do the things you do. Answers like that take time – and others, like why at your age you should suddenly develop powers. Normally the signs are there at a much earlier age, about five or six.’

‘You’re making the assumption,’ Wilf grunted from his seat, ‘that she is in fact a sorcerer.’

All eyes turned to him and he continued, ‘After all, we know so little about what we do. Who’s to say that she doesn’t have some other kind of power? Something we’ve never seen before.’

‘What other kind is there?’ Jenn asked him directly.

‘How should I know? I’m only saying that we know just enough to know we don’t know everything.’

‘I think you’re trying to make this unnecessarily complicated,’ Ayn murmured. ‘Don’t confuse her with any more possibilities, please.’

Henry held up his hand to forestall the discussion digressing. ‘The point I’m trying to make is, that there is a lot we could learn about your powers if you were to stay here, with us. You would be a full member of the Enclave and receive all the training and education you need. You would have the opportunity to achieve your full potential – whatever that may be.’

Jenn couldn’t miss the way Robert stiffened at this proposal. He kept his face schooled and said nothing, but his silence spoke volumes. She didn’t understand his reasons, she only knew that if she asked him, he would suggest that she not stay at the Enclave. She burned to know why, but knew she would have to wait for the right moment to ask him.

She turned back to Henry. ‘I understand all that. What I don’t understand is why my having this House Mark should affect it all.’

Silence.

Jenn glanced at each of them, but they all found somewhere else to look. Exasperated, she turned to Robert.

He shrugged and held out his hands to the fire. ‘I’m afraid I didn’t fully explain the significance to you this morning. I
was anxious for your safety and I didn’t want to go into lengthy explanations. However, what I omitted to say was that – you have a House Mark for a reason. As I said, only those in the direct line of descent bear the Mark. I do, but my cousin does not, if you understand.’

‘Yes, but …’

Patric suddenly lost his cool detachment and leaned forward, his eyes alight. ‘For you to have a House Mark means that you must be the daughter of the head of one of those Houses.’

Jenn held her breath as his words sunk in. She hadn’t really thought about it much since the morning, but now she did, of course it made sense. She glanced at Finnlay again, but his face was in profile as he stared at the stone floor. There was something going on here that she didn’t know about. ‘Which House?’ she asked simply.

Robert took in a breath. ‘From the description, I’d say an eastern one, near my own. However, considering your age and the style of the Mark, I have to say I believe you are a daughter of the House of Elita. Your father is Jacob Ross, Earl of Elita.’

Jenn’s heart began to race. ‘My father? But … how can that be? Surely …’

‘How much do you remember of the Troubles?’

‘The Troubles? What has that to do with it?’

Robert waited for her reply.

‘I don’t really remember much at all. The Houses were at war with each other. King Edward tried to restore order but he wasn’t strong enough to do much more than watch. After three years, Selar invaded. That’s all I know.’ She watched him, mystified, waiting for clarification.

Robert nodded. ‘Before Selar came nearly all the houses were involved in the Troubles. Feud built upon Feud. Then there is the little-known fact that raids were carried out on one House after another – raids designed not only to wreak havoc on the enemy but also to kidnap a child of each House. Preferably the heir. Those children have never been seen again.’

Jenn shook her head slowly. ‘I’ve never heard that. How many were taken?’

‘Seventeen confirmed kidnappings in all. The thing is, Jenn, all those taken were boys of around the age of three or four. Only one girl was ever taken. You.’

‘But I remember growing up at Shan Moss. I remember my father as far back as I can. If I was taken the same as those others, why can I remember so much?’

Finnlay chose this moment to enter the discussion. ‘Wait a moment, Robert. I don’t remember reading anything about any girl being taken. What makes you so sure she is Jacob’s daughter?’

‘Apart from the Mark on her shoulder?’ Robert replied quietly. ‘I was at Elita the day after she disappeared.’

‘What?’ Finnlay sat forward as all eyes in the room now turned to Robert, but he ignored them.

‘I was travelling through Elita lands and stopped to pay my respects to Jacob, who was a friend of my own father. What I found was a scene of tragedy. His youngest daughter had been playing by an old ruined mill. She’d wandered off on her own and was never found. The only thing her nurse could say for certain was that she heard a splash in the river by the mill. She and Jacob believed the child had fallen into the river and drowned, her body taken away by the swift water. After I’d heard this story I rode down by the river. I found the tracks of many horses. They went no further than the mill, then headed up into the hills. The tracks were fresh and in amongst them was a single child’s footprint. I tried to tell Jacob what I’d found, but he was stricken with grief. I decided I would wait. Then Selar invaded and there didn’t seem much point in telling him any more.’

Jenn shook her head, unable to understand any of this. ‘So they all think I’m dead?’

‘Yes,’ Finnlay mimicked, ‘they all think you’re dead.’

Jenn’s eyes snapped around to meet his. At that moment she could happily have hit him, but instead she just let him see her contempt. When he finally looked away she turned back to Robert. ‘I’m sorry, but I think I’m still missing
something. What has this got to do with whether I should stay at the Enclave or not?’

‘Well, for a start, it means you have another option. You could return to Elita. Jacob would be shocked, but he’d be delighted to have you back.’

Jenn frowned, but couldn’t completely take that in for the moment. ‘Go on.’

But it was Wilf who spoke. ‘What he’s trying to avoid saying is that apart from himself and his surly brother here, you’re the only other member of a great House who is also a sorcerer. That little fact is of great significance to us.’

‘Why?’

‘Well, look around you, girl. None of us can do the things you can do – and none of us, no matter how talented, is anywhere near as powerful as Robert. I would say at a guess that once you’re trained, you two would be evenly matched – but that’s only a guess. None of us here has really seen the true extent of Robert’s powers and he keeps the facts to himself. Finnlay missed out on the greater share, so between you and Robert you could probably outdo half the Enclave put together.’

‘Really?’ Jenn’s eyes widened. She’d not realized there was so much at stake. Now it all began to make sense. ‘So coming from a major House has something to do with sorcery?’

Wilf laughed. ‘By the gods, child, if we knew that we’d be halfway to finding the Calyx.’

‘So, what are you going to do?’ Finnlay could hold his peace no longer. ‘My brother has insisted you be allowed to make the choice yourself, and no one here has the courage to gainsay him.’

Robert sighed wearily. ‘Finnlay, that’s enough. If you want to fight with me that’s one thing, but don’t take your revenge out on Jenn. I won’t stand for it.’

Finnlay stood and put his hands on his hips. His glowering face was formidable, but lacked the intensity of Robert’s level gaze. Though they looked alike, even Finnlay’s searing
fury could not match the indomitable presence of his brother.

With a sharp intake of breath, Finnlay snapped, ‘I don’t understand you, Robert. You refuse to be involved with anything that matters – the Enclave, your country, even the King – and yet you take the side of this girl from nowhere over an argument that’s really got nothing to do with you. You’re not doing a very good job at staying neutral.’

Robert climbed to his feet also. ‘I’ve already made myself clear. I don’t have to answer to you or anyone else – one of the privileges of being neutral, as you call it. If you don’t understand my reasons, then I’m sorry – but that doesn’t change the fact that if you want to get at Jenn you have me to deal with first.’

Jenn listened to them, hearing the anger and long held frustration in Finnlay’s voice and the dark determination in his brother’s. She found herself standing and moving to a position between them. ‘You don’t have to argue any longer. I’ve decided what I’m going to do.’

The air was thick with anticipation as she spoke her next words. ‘I’ll go back to Elita.’

*

‘Would you help me with this?’

Robert looked up from his book to find Ayn standing in the doorway of his room, holding out a white stole in one hand and a palm full of silver studs in the other. He stared at them a moment, then pushed his chair back from the table and stood. Keeping his thoughts under tight control he murmured, ‘So, you’re going to Stand the Circle, too.’

She put the studs in his hand. ‘Why not? I don’t think the Key will choose me but I think it is up to me and others like me to give the Key some kind of choice.’

Robert took the stole and placed it around her shoulders, pinning it to her grey robe with the silver studs. ‘Who do you think will be chosen?’

‘I’m not the best person to ask. After all, when Marcus stood he did so for the same reasons as me – and he was chosen. I’ve seen five Jaibirs in my time here and I would
have guessed at none of them.’ She paused. ‘Perhaps Jenn should stand.’

Robert raised both his eyebrows as he finished attaching the last stud. ‘So you broach the subject at last. You think to make me change my mind by suggesting Jenn take my place in the Circle – that if I care about her welfare I would sacrifice my own principles to save her. Interesting.’

‘Oh, Robert, please …’

‘Don’t.’ Robert stopped her with his hands raised. ‘Sometimes you can be as bad as my brother.’

‘I find myself understanding him very easily. He’ll blame you for taking Jenn away, you know.’

Robert shrugged. ‘He can add that to the list.’

‘He will say you poisoned her against the Enclave and the place you’re taking her to is far away. How will she receive any training? How will she survive as a sorcerer? Will you teach her?’ She reached up and put her hands on his arms. ‘Please, I beg you to reconsider. Stand the Circle and finally allow the Key to make its proper choice.’

He looked down into her familiar tawny eyes. It would be so easy to give in. So simple to do as she wanted. She asked so little – and he owed her so much. Her and Marcus. He had wanted this. In his steadfast and forthright manner, Marcus had said over and over again that Robert should take his place. But now Marcus was dead and all Robert had left of him was his widow, dear, faithful Ayn. Her eyes pleaded silently, but she used no power on him. This – this silence was the hardest to bear. To reject her now would be to tell her to her face that he did not respect the memory of her husband, that he did not love her nor care about the community she lived for.

But he did care. He cared so very much.

Even as he turned away from her, a part of him cried out to tell her the truth, explain so she could understand, so she would not hate him. Why had she of all people come to ask this of him?