Ginn Hale - Lord of the White Hell book Two

"No point in you riding alone, is there?" Nestor's question slowly penetrated Kiram's distraction.

"What?"

"Well, we're all three going to Anacleto. We might as well share a carriage."

"You mean you, me and Elezar?"

"Sure," Nestor replied. "It seems lonely, you staying here an extra night just to ride all that way alone."

Kiram agreed to leave today with Nestor and Elezar. Then at least he wouldn't have to return to his and Javier's room, knowing that Javier would not join him.

Briefly he wondered what Fedeles felt, remaining all year at the academy, maintaining his treatments while all the other students returned to their homes.

If he felt hurt or lonely, none of it showed when he came to see Kiram off. Fedeles sang and danced beside Kiram. After Kiram's belongings had been packed onto the red Grunito carriage, Fedeles hugged him fiercely.

"Don't forget Firaj," Fedeles told him.

"I won't" Kiram reassured him. He wished that he could bring Fedeles with him and remove him from Holy Father Habalan's grasp. But Scholar Donamillo's mechanical cures offered Fedeles far greater protection than Kiram's company could. "You'll look after him while I'm gone, won't you?"

Fedeles nodded but his expression was distant and dreamy. A moment later he dashed away to the Tornesal carriage, singing out a gibberish of students' names and dance steps as he went. Kiram took his seat beside Nestor and across from Elezar. He glanced out the small window and caught sight of Javier.

Kiram's pulse quickened. He prayed desperately that Javier would stride across the grounds to the carriage. If only he would ask to come along to Anacleto or offer to take Kiram to Rauma…

But he did not move. He remained at a distance, watching with an expression of studied indifference. Even when the carriage pulled away, Javier remained where he stood. As they passed through the academy gates Kiram lost sight of him.

After eight days of cramped travel Kiram was thrilled to catch site of Anacleto. The port city rose up from the sea like a white wave of limestone, granite, marble and gold. Square, towering Cadeleonian architecture dominated the northern streets. Churches with gilded steeples shot up between the immense houses of merchants and noblemen. But even here in the most conservative section of the city, Kiram caught sight of Haldiim patterns on men's vests and brilliantly feathered hats in the latest fashion, inspired by the princes of Yuan.

Heavy accents and foreign words mingled with the shouts of Cadeleonian street hawkers and wagon drivers. Amongst the tight press of carts, carriages, pedestrians and horsemen Kiram spied tattooed sailors and red-haired Mirogoths. Wood smoke, animal sweat and rich spices perfumed the air but never blotted out the moist, salty tang of the crashing sea.

"There!" Nestor jabbed his finger against the window, pointing to a massive limestone wall and the thick clusters of cherry blossoms that bowed over it. "That's our house!" His face flushed with joy and he beamed at Kiram. Across from them, Elezar straightened and peered out the window. He smiled but without Nestor's wild enthusiasm. Then again, why would he? Elezar didn't have a lover awaiting him.

Their carriage turned up a narrow street. Immediately the wrought iron gates swung open and they rode past the great lawn with its flowering trees to the entry of the massive marble Grunito house. Red-enameled statues of bulls stood at either side of the stairs and ivory tusks curved like giant horns over the red doorway.

Footmen in crimson liveries ran ahead of the carriage, and even before it had drawn to a halt, people flooded out of the house. Lady Grunito, dressed in a pinstriped gold gown, led the throng of beefy boys and youths. At a glance Kiram knew that these had to be Nestor and Elezar's brothers. One tall, comparatively gaunt young man wore a holy collar and Kiram guessed he was the eldest brother, Timoteo. The other eight boys appeared younger than Nestor. They pushed and bounced off each other like fat puppies.

Then Riossa broke out from the group and rushed down the stairs. Nestor bolted from the carriage, narrowly missed a spill as he hit the mud, and then rushed to Riossa. He swept her up in his arms and kissed her as though he were the hero of some ancient epic poem returning home after twenty years lost at sea. Kiram strongly suspected that Atreau had served as an example and instructor of the technique. Riossa melted into his embrace.

At the top of the stairs, Lady Grunito simply shook her head and Kiram was amused to see her exact expression and gesture mirrored by Elezar, who remained in the carriage seat opposite him. Then the pack of plump young boys pelted down the stairs to embrace and tease Nestor. They squealed and laughed as Nestor grabbed them and pinched their noses. Footmen hurried past the scene to unload baggage from the carriage.

Elezar glanced to Kiram. "Will you stay with us or shall I send the carriage on to your family house?"

"I think I should see my family as soon as possible." Witnessing the warmth of Nestor's return home had made Kiram feel the absence of his own family with sudden intensity.

Elezar gave an understanding nod by way of saying farewell. He exited the carriage with an easy bound. At once his little brothers hurled themselves at him and Elezar swung two of them up off the ground tucking one under each arm, while a rotund child clamped onto his leg and rode his foot.

As Elezar directed the coachman on his way, Nestor shouted, "Kiram, I'll visit soon!"

Then the carriage carried him back out into the crowded streets of Anacleto. As they traveled south, stately marble facades gave way to plaster walls and cramped winding lanes. Buildings leaned into each other; print shops shared walls with taverns, dancehalls and teahouses. Street vendors dressed in gaudy coats shouted and crooned to the dense afternoon crowds. One woman danced in a full skirt while twirling long strings of glass beads. Another simply waved skewers of peppered meat, allowing the strong aroma to advertise her wares. Between them, boys hawked the newest printings of sheet music and broadsheets.

As the carriage bounced over the wooden planks of the Black Moon Bridge, Kiram's heartbeat quickened. He'd crossed this bridge countless times with hardly a thought but now every one of the two hundred and forty beams registered as an increment closer to home.

Across the bridge a huge limestone wall loomed up, marking the boundary of the Haldiim district of the city.

Bored Haldiim sentries stood guard at the top of the wall and two older Haldiim men, dressed in the black uniforms of Civic Guards, lounged at the gates. They waved wagons and carriages through without concern. Kiram smiled, remembering his own turn up on the wall two years earlier. At the time he'd thought that he would never have a use for all the archery practice. He'd complained to his father about the exhausting labor of it. If only he had known what the Sagrada Academy had held in store for him.

As he passed through the massive wood and iron gates the entire world changed. The architecture flowed and curved with color. Brilliant vitreous tiles glittered across domed roofs; floral mosaics glimmered from walls and arches. Almond trees abounded along the red cobbled streets. Their clustering, white blossoms nearly obscuring the ribbons and simple lamps that hung from their branches.

In every direction that Kiram looked he met dark Haldiim faces. Men and women dressed in long vests and bright coats. Most of the men wore wide-legged trousers, while the women often wore skirts over their thinner trousers. Haldiim voices rang out and the scents of mint, lemon and cinnamon filled the air. Red-dyed doves cooed from their nests. Kiram felt as if the very atmosphere was somehow warmer and more welcoming.