Heart Journey (27 page)

W
hat did Raz want? She’d discovered a few things. He wanted a
kitten Fam, and Del was pretty sure that a mongrel would be more loved by him than a purebred—and what did that say about his feelings for her? That he preferred the unique? Something else they had in common.

She’d already arranged that the next time a commoner litter of Fam kittens was brought to Danith D’Ash, Del would get one. She’d taken a cut in her commission with T’Ash for the landscape globes, but gilt would never be a problem. She’d finally totaled up everything, including the massive amount of income from each individual scrystone sold due to Elfwort’s genius, and she had enough wealth to fund the Family forever.

What else did Raz want?

He wanted to star in Amberose’s new play. That was evident from this morning’s discussion with Johns at the Thespian Club. Johns wanted that, too, and so would Trillia. If Del produced the play and hired the actors that Raz respected and liked to work with, he might be more amenable to moving from Druida.

Bring them out of Druida, to some other place. But where? Even Gael City felt too big to Del. Maybe she could manage the outskirts of the town. She didn’t know. But not Druida.

This Amberose thing was key to pleasing him. The playwright wanted to choose the actors and director. Raz and Johns thought they and Trillia were right for the play, but they didn’t like Lily Fescue.

Despite being in the heated water, Del’s neck muscles had tensed, a headache tightened like a band around her temples. Too much maneuvering. There were too many pieces of this particular puzzle to fit into a good map right now. Needed more exploration and knowledge. Let it lie and take it step-by-step.

All she wanted was to be a partner with her HeartMate.

But she had no idea if Raz wanted more than a hot, brief affair. In Druida.

She gritted her teeth then deliberately relaxed and let her mind drift, directed the bubbles to loosen her knotted muscles. As she settled, she instinctively
reached
for her HeartMate, found the connection between them had widened from yarn width to strong, thick rope.

He was meditating, too. In a semi-trance before he went to work, stepping out on stage to practice the profession he loved.

She would take that away from him.

No.

Compromise. She would ask him to leave the audiences of Druida. Find a base where she could practice her craft and he would be satisfied with his. Though the thought of leaving him for long treks in the wilderness didn’t appeal.

She’d tensed up again, so let out a steady breath. She had changed. He could, too. Naturally.

Being HeartMates would do that, she hoped. He would want to be with her more than . . . Her mouth twisted. More than be on stage in Druida?

He was concentrating on his part and dissipating the negativity that Lily Fescue had smudged on him with some sort of argument. Some actor thing that mattered to him but would never affect Del except as it impacted him.

She probed his emotions lightly, hoping to find out how he’d felt when he’d walked into his dressing room and had seen her gift. Her world tapestry was more colorful than his beige and gold and green one had been. He liked it. In fact, now that she’d pushed his thoughts in that direction, he smiled and she felt affectionate warmth from him.

Then his calendarsphere chimed, announcing that it was time for him to don his costume.

So Del withdrew and hauled her wrinkled self from the pool, waved a hand to circulate the water and rid it of any city dust. With another Word she closed the glass cover, walked on it to make sure it was safe for the children.

The scrybowl in the HouseHeart tinkled. Even though Del
knew
it couldn’t be Raz, she glanced over—to see Straif T’Blackthorn’s colors. They had a bond between them, too, a present bond of Family due to the child they loved.

Darkening the background and draping a bath sheet around her, Del answered. “Here. What?”

“Charming,” Straif said. He was grinning.

Del huffed.

He said, “I’ve set up an appointment with T’Apple to meet with you and Doolee for your holo painting. Here at—”

“No, not at T’Blackthorn Residence.”

Straif scowled. “T’Blackthorn Residence is one of the most beautiful places on the planet.”

“Sure, but it isn’t Elecampane land. I want it here.”

“Have you really looked around your house? All white and gold . . . not flattering to your or Doolee’s coloring, I might add.”

Del’s jaw flexed. He was right. “Here or not at all.” She perked up. “Maybe we should cancel—”

“No. We are not canceling the professional, artistic holo painting of you and Doolee. I insist,” Straif said.

“Then it will be here. In my map room or workroom or—”

“You really want a young child in a place where you work?”

Maybe not. She couldn’t hold Doolee all the time. That would be rough on both of them. “I’ll find someplace. Outside, the gardens maybe.”

“It’s raining now, could rain again.”

“I have a gazebo. More than one. A pool house. Something. When did you say the appointment was?”

“He can fit you in today, MidAfternoonBell.”

“All right.”

“I’ll be there with Doolee and T’Apple.”

“Fine.”

Straif stared at her a minute, then finally said, “I hope everything resolves well for you, Del.”

She did, too, but she only inclined her head. “Merry meet.”

“And merry part,” Straif replied.

“And merry meet again,” Del ended.

As she dried, she thought of the invitations that had been coming her way, sighed again, and lowered the energy to the candle in the room. Time for her to haul her sorry butt out of the HouseHeart and put on party clothes. Having a great amount of gilt was like bait on a fish hook and would bring people to her, such as Amberose’s agent. But she had to drop the line.

 

 

D
el wasn’t in the audience. During one of his short breaks off stage,
Raz searched for her mentally. They had a nice, strong bond between them and that worried him. But it irritated less than the fact she wasn’t here, that he’d taken a step away and she’d taken three.

Then he caught a swatch of her thoughts and knew she was at some noble garden tea party. After a rapid review of social events, he recalled there was a charity fund-raiser for additional beautification of the old Downwind section of town.

He smiled. Del had agreed to map Downwind, and she did believe in nature. She hadn’t told him that she had planned on attending. Or had she decided to go after their mutual withdrawal? He couldn’t see it; Del was more of a loner than anyone he’d ever met. It must have been a big step for her to ask him to go on a trip with her.

A simple overnight getaway out of Druida. The city got on her nerves, and it was hot and muggy at this time of year.

The stage manager poked him in the back and he started, knew he was a second late for his cue. Lily glared at him from on stage and he cursed under his breath. He’d made two errors in the last week. Nearly unacceptable, no matter that he’d performed the best ever in the last couple of eightdays.

The rest of the performance went well enough. After the standard number of curtain calls, they trailed backstage, Lily scolding him all the way. He winced and tried to ignore her by escaping to his dressing room across the hall, shutting the door.

Only to find that his sister was sitting on his couch with tears running down her face.

Raz’s gut jolted. He went to her and took her hands, sank into the couch next to her. “Seratina, what’s wrong?”

She gulped and hiccupped. “Our Gael City house.” Her lips quivered. “It was robbed, too. Torn apart. We just heard.”

She hugged him hard.

The door opened and his parents and Seratina’s husband entered. His mother carried a loudly purring Fam kitten.

Raz’s dressing room was now crowded. He stroked Seratina’s back and met his father’s serious eyes.

“One of us needs to get down to the house in Gael City,” T’Cherry, Raz’s father, said.

A burn of irritation started in Raz’s head, flowed under his skin. He knew what was coming.

His sister’s hands clamped around his shoulders as she sobbed. “I . . . I don’t think I could . . .” She shuddered, took a breath. “I don’t think I could face it.”

She wasn’t lying or acting. She’d always liked that house best. Had lived there until their mother had asked her and her husband to move in, Seratina to take over more of the business.

T’Cherry’s jaw clenched as he stared at Raz. “I’m in the middle of delicate negotiations with old Eryngo for one of his runs.” He glanced at the women, squared his shoulders. “I can—”

Angry at this whole mess, Raz disentangled himself from Seratina and stood, letting her husband take his place. Raz squared off against his parents. “Just because I am an actor doesn’t mean that my work ethic is less flexible. I do ten performances a week, including weekends. It
is
the weekend and I just came off stage, am expected to be back on tonight.”

“We know that, Raz,” his mother soothed. She thrust the kitten into his hands, and he began to stroke the little feline.

“My career and
business
is no less important to me than Cherry Transport.”

His father jerked his head in a nod, pivoted to leave the room. “I’ll contact Eryngo.” He bit off the words.

“No,” Raz said. “I hate being put in this position, but I can do it.” He let his jaw flex, sent the negative energy—from Lily’s sniping and this whole mess—through his body to dissipate in the floor. He felt the loss of the energy, his soles grew hot, the down payment on this trip that could be expensive. “I have an understudy,” he said, resigned.

The kitten licked his thumb.
Thank you. FamWoman sad. Doesn’t
want
to go.

That was the truth. He looked at his sister, who was sniffling into a softleaf, leaning against her husband—her HeartMate. Her eyes were red and swollen with tears.

It occurred to him that Del would never fuss like Lily had over a minor glitch in her work, would never ask anyone to take care of a problem for her, like his sister.

But Del had had a harder life.

He looked at his mother. Her arm tucked in his father’s, she watched him with a smile on her lips but concern in her gaze. She could, of course, go and take care of everything, but she preferred to stay with his father and work as his partner. She’d be entertaining Eryngo; the negotiations were probably taking place at T’Cherry Residence, and that was her province.

Now Raz could see Del in his mother, standing with her partner through everything, able to ask anyone else to solve a problem if it meant he was spared worry.

“A Family matter.” His exhale became a sigh, but his throat tightened with love as he looked at them all. His sister and her HeartMate linked, his parents a unit, the kitten snuggled in his hands. He was a part of them.

Del was alone, almost defiantly alone, with no one to solve any problems she might not wish to shoulder.

Then his father moved forward, hugged him. “Thank you, Raz. I know what you’re giving up for us.”

Of course he didn’t. His father knew very little about how the theater worked.

“I shouldn’t suffer,” Raz said.

He thought of the Ship, who wanted a viz of
Heart and Sword
, thought of seeing Trillia again. Thought of taking Del with him. She’d like that, she’d already said so.

“Thank you, Raz.” His sister blinked and stood, hand in hand with her husband, who nodded with relief. He was estranged from his Family in Gael City but fit in well with the Cherrys.

There were all sorts of Family permutations in the world. Raz
did
cherish his, especially with his father’s thick arm lying across his shoulders in easy pride.

His mother came and slipped her arms around his waist, leaned against him, and she was the softness and the scent that meant “love” for all of his life.

Family. They could be maddening, but they were worth it.

A knock came on his door. “Come,” Raz said, and the stage manager walked in, frowning. Behind him was the guard, Winterberry, who was handling the investigation into the thefts and the fire at the yard.

E
veryone in the room stiffened. Raz’s father transformed into T’Cherry,
equal in status to Winterberry.

“We received notification of the theft and vandalism of your Gael City estate,” Winterberry said.

“What do you need to know?” Raz’s father asked. He glanced at the stage manager. “Sorry to tell you that right now, Raz is the only one who can be spared of the Family to take care of this matter. With the express—”

“I don’t anticipate being gone long,” Raz informed the man, handing the kitten back to his mother who joined his father. “Overnight.”