Heroes Return (12 page)

“You may prove to be the exception to the rule.”

Daris laughed. “Go ahead, Fiona. Try it. Dare to have the neighbors whisper about your shocking behavior, casting out your penniless sister when you have so much to share. I would worm my way back within a day.” She poured herself another whiskey. “I’m off to talk to the shy academic. He may prove to be entertaining.” She headed back to the stairs.

“You leave him alone,” Fiona ordered.

A laugh was the response.

“She wouldn’t have taken the rope, Fiona,” Dane said.

“You don’t know her.”

“I’ve lived with her for years.” And he sounded less than thrilled about it.

“You’ve only seen what you’ve been allowed to see.”

All right, if she was that bad, why was she living there? So what if she was family? So what if she had nowhere to go? If she was ungrateful and dangerous, kick her out.

Obviously, it was not my place to say anything like that.

“It was probably an animal,” Dane suggested.

“What kind of animal do we have around here that could do that?”

They were gearing up for an argument. I had no interest in witnessing that. Taro and I left the room without saying anything. Fiona and Dane didn’t seem to notice.

Supper was held in the formal dining room, and it was an uncomfortable affair. We were all seated around one end of the table, and it was clear Fiona and Dane were still feeling the effects of their argument. Daris said nothing that wasn’t an insult. Tarce looked bored and uninterested with his food. I was dead tired and would have preferred to be in bed. Taro was just acting weird.

So, this was what family life was like. I was happy to have been spared it so far.

I was desperate for conversation that didn’t cause tension. “Have you come across other books written by the First Landed, Academic Reid?” I asked.

“Yes,” he answered eagerly. “Two. One in the library in Erstwhile and one under the ruins of Velia. It took years to translate the first one. It seems our language has drifted a great deal from the one the First Landed wrote and spoke. But having translated the first one, the second went much more quickly.”

“What were the books about?”

“The one found in Velia was a book of theories about what form of government would be most suitable for the people living here. It is fascinating, the different models that were described, and there were examples taken from their other worlds. That one was a real find. The one found in Erstwhile was a book of spells.”

The mention of spells made most of us glance toward the door. Damned Guards. I wondered where they were. Maybe Fiona had told them they weren’t allowed to eat with the rest of us.

“Unfortunately,” Reid continued, “once we determined that that was the nature of the spell book, we lost access to it. I understand the Emperor doesn’t approve of such things.”

“But you’re sure the book was made by the First Landed?” I asked.

“As sure as I can be.”

“You’re saying you think the First Landed used spells?” He couldn’t be saying that. We knew the First Landed had all sorts of wondrous machines. What need did they have for casting?

Reid opened his mouth, paused and shut it with a wink. “You’ve gotten me talking when I should be listening. And a good historian doesn’t reveal his theory without having a few facts to support it. I’m not there yet.”

Damn. That was enticing. And annoying.

“Tell me, Academic Reid, is my sister paying for your expertise?” Daris asked.

“I don’t believe it is appropriate to discuss that,” said Reid, a little coolly.

“Which means that she is.”

“Leave it alone, Daris,” Fiona ordered.

Daris, of course, didn’t listen to her. “Knowing my sister, you’re not getting much.”

Reid looked down at his plate. “There are things more important than money.”

Daris laughed. “There is nothing more important than money.”

“Not everyone thinks as you do, Daris,” said Fiona.

“Maybe you don’t, but that’s because you’ve always had scads of it. You’ve never had to worry about it.”

“You’ve never been without.”

“Scraps from your table.”

Why were they arguing in front of us? I would have expected better manners from Fiona, at least. Or maybe that was how all families behaved, guests or no. Certainly, the Duchess never let an audience keep her from being obnoxious.

I turned back to Reid. “Will you need some assistance while you’re here? I have a lot of free time and would be happy to contribute.” I didn’t think my research skills would be of any use, but I might be able to make copies of the documents for him, if he needed.

“Now, Lee, don’t seek to dominate the poor man’s time,” Taro chided. “You’ll have him working all the time, and that’s no fun.”

Reid frowned in confusion before saying, “I’ll need to start before I can know what the workload will be.”

“And you’ll want to savor the delights of Flown Raven while you’re here,” Taro added suggestively.

Reid flushed again. He would have to get over that. I watched him as he appeared to be searching for something to say, and failing.

Fiona took pity on him. “You know, I don’t understand why we can’t read their books. I thought we spoke the same language.”

“Actually, the First Landed spoke several different languages, though as far as we can tell they also all spoke a common language. We think what we speak is mostly the common language, with some influences from the other languages, but with some drift due to the passage of time and the experiences we’ve had while living here. The way we shape letters has changed, too, partially because of the tools we’ve used to write. With all of the changes, the average person looking at a First Landed book probably wouldn’t be able to read it. I would, because I know what to look for.”

Reid spoke at length about language and its historical importance. I didn’t understand a lot of what he said—I was starting to suspect he wrote better than he spoke—but his words seemed to suppress all the tensions at the table, and for that I was grateful.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t follow Taro and me up to our suite, where Taro demanded as soon as the door was closed, “What the hell is the matter with you?”

As far as I was concerned, that came out of nowhere, so all I could say was, “Huh?”

“You were drooling all over him!”

I stared at him, shocked. “Are you insane?”

“You think I’m going to watch you grovel for some man without saying anything?”

“There was no groveling.” Except by Taro. “There was no drooling. He’s a respected historian. I enjoy history. You know this.”

“Offering to be his assistant? Are you serious?”

“We don’t have regular watches here. What are we supposed to do with our time?”

“I didn’t know seducing people was a viable option. I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

“I am interested in the books he has written, and what he might find here. I have every right to speak to him and show my appreciation for him.”

“That wasn’t appreciation. That was—”

“You do not tell me how to behave. And talk about drooling, you were the one who was flirting with him.” And what had that been about? Reid didn’t seem Taro’s type, a little too serious with rather tame pursuits.

“According to you, I flirt with everyone all the time. I thought he might like to see how it was properly done.”

I rolled my eyes because all I could think of was to call him an ass. Name-calling was an indication of a weak argument, even if the other person really deserved it. “I’m not being inappropriate and I’m not changing my behavior.”

He crossed his arms. “Then neither am I.”

Sometimes I just wanted to smack him.

Chapter Nine

We went to bed angry, but I slept surprisingly well. It had been a long, trying day, and I didn’t appreciate being shaken awake.

“I’m going to kill you, Taro,” I muttered.

“Shh,” a voice said. “Get up.”

That was a woman’s voice, and when I cracked my eyes open I saw it was Fiona. And that it was barely dawn. I couldn’t hit Fiona, unfortunately. “Something wrong?” I asked in a sleep-roughened voice.

“Shh! Get dressed,” she whispered. “Wear something warm. Bring a coat or something.”

“Taro—”

“Not him.” She left the room then.

If Taro didn’t need to be awakened, it couldn’t be an emergency requiring immediate attention. I was tempted to go back to sleep. It would have been so easy. But I supposed that would be rude. I sighed and pulled myself from the comfortable warm blankets—it was a little chilly—and dressed in trousers, a shirt and a cloak.

Fiona was waiting in our sitting room. “What’s going on?” I asked.

She put a finger to her lips. Really, what was with all the melodrama?

I followed her down to the kitchen. Radia was there by the back door. I wondered if we were going to indulge in secret feasting. I wouldn’t mind getting up early for something like that.

But Radia disappointed me by opening the door, and we all walked out into the cool, moist morning air. Whisps of fog were clinging to the ground, and the silence was heavy in the air.

“What’s going on?” I asked in a hushed voice.

“We’re going for our morning constitutional,” Fiona answered.

“Your what?”

Radia snickered. “A walk.”

I knew what the word meant. “That’s very nice,” I muttered. “Why do I have to go with you?”

“Because it’s good for you,” said Fiona.

“Sleep is good for me,” I retorted.

Fiona laughed. “You need to get familiar with the area and the people. You’re going to be here for a while.”

Not if the Triple S transferred us. I still had hopes for that.

But the fresh, cool air was nice, I had to admit, and I felt a little more energy and a clarity of mind as we walked around the house and headed in the direction of the village.

“I have begun the wall hanging for Lord Serilin,” said Radia.

“Excellent.”

“How did you learn to weave that way?” I asked.

“My mother taught me. She was a merchant’s daughter, and her family dealt in wool. She had little to do once she moved here.”

“Where are your parents now?”

“My father died. My mother moved back to Soothing Way. Flown Raven was too remote for her. She is happier with her family in a larger city.”

“I’m sorry.” It must have been difficult to be left behind.

She shrugged. “My father loved it here. So do I.”

“What about siblings?”

“I have an older brother. He left with our mother.”

“How was it decided that you would be the next Wind Watcher?”

“I have the talent,” she told me.

“And your brother didn’t?”

“No.”

“How exactly does it work?”

“I really don’t know. I just feel something that tells me I need to stay close to my tower in case the wind gets too strong.”

Huh. That was interesting. What was such a thing the result of? Was it something like casting? Was it somehow like being a Source and a Shield? I’d never heard of such a thing.

“I have heard grumbles,” Radia said to Fiona.

“People are always grumbling,” Fiona said dismissively.

“I believe the grumbling is getting stronger rather than dissipating. More and more people are saying you’re failing as a titleholder. I think some kind of display is in order.”

Fiona frowned. “What kind of display?”

“I don’t know. Something that shows off your power. Something splashy.”

Fiona raised her chin. “I am the rightful titleholder. They owe me their loyalty. I don’t need to entertain them like some kind of jongleur.”

“That is, of course, up to you,” Radia said mildly.

“Besides, I’m getting to think the only way to impress these people is to kill a whale and drag it in and render it all by myself. I mean, what do they want?”

“A Karish,” said Radia.

“Who doesn’t?” I murmured.

The two women looked at me. “What do you mean?” Radia asked.

“Nothing of any sense,” I said. “I really don’t understand why they care so much. Taro has no training. He wouldn’t know what he was doing. Wouldn’t that cause them some concern?”

“To the people here, tradition and custom are very important,” said Radia. “Change alarms them.”

“We’ve been through all this before,” Fiona complained. “They just need time to see I can do the job.”

“It’s been more than two years,” Radia reminded her.

“Merely a blink of an eye in the long term.”

I had a feeling Fiona was aping a certainty she didn’t feel. Was she hoping that if she appeared confident, she would inspire confidence in others, or was she merely in denial?

Then again, what option did she have but to appear confident? She couldn’t afford to appear weak. People would walk all over her.

Did she have the option of handing the title to someone else? She was in a different situation from Taro. He’d never had the title. Could Fiona, having accepted the title, now give it away? Would that be the best thing for her?

“So, Roshni, my love,” Fiona said in a completely different tone of voice. “When are you going to take pity on my poor brother and give him a smile?”

Aha. I was right.

“I fear what encouragement he might derive from a smile.”

“And why should you fear what encouragement might bring? Is he not handsome? Is he not young? Is he not attached to the highest of families? And it would be so convenient for you. You wouldn’t even have to move.”

“All this is true.”

“So what objections could you possibly have with my perfect younger brother?”

Radia grimaced. “Please don’t make me say it.”

“What? You mean that he’s arrogant, idle, and ill-mannered? But what obstacles can such things be in the path to true love?”