Michelle Sagara - Cast In Deception

“No, sir.”

“Good. Dismissed.”

* * *

Teela was, according to Caitlin, still in the infirmary. Tain, however, had drifted back to his desk, where he sat stiffly, blue-eyed and grim. Grim wasn’t necessary; Kaylin had seen Barrani with eyes of midnight laughing. But not often.

“Is Teela still in the infirmary?” she demanded.

“You’re expected to head out to Elani.” Which meant yes.

Kaylin folded her arms. Tain was seated; she could look down at him. It was Bellusdeo who spoke. “Teela’s enemies in the High Court are better prepared than you expected.”

“Characterizing them as Teela’s enemies is not, or was not, accurate. Sedarias is cunning, ambitious, and political in a way the High Court understands. She is not of the High Court; none of the cohort are. But were she, she would become a power to reckon with. Perhaps not in your lifetime, but perhaps at the end of it—and that would be meteoric in Barrani terms. But if their opposition is prepared to orchestrate an attack in the Halls of Law—where there are other races as possible collateral damage—it’s not a good sign. This won’t be the only assassination attempt; it’s merely the first.”

“You think they’ll attack Teela again?” Kaylin’s hands were fists.

“Teela is better prepared than the cohort. If the cohort arrives intact, it will be a small miracle. Or a large one. If they weren’t staying with Helen, I’d ask you to stay out of it.”

“You think she’d stay out of it if they weren’t staying with her?” Bellusdeo asked.

“I think the chances that we could keep the worst of it from her would be much higher, yes.”

“Oh, and assassination attempts in the Halls of Law would completely go over my head.” Kaylin folded her arms. She had never liked being treated as if she were stupid. And Teela was important.

“No one expected that.” Tain hesitated, which was unusual for Tain.

“Including Teela,” Bellusdeo then said, finishing the thought. “Who must be something of a political force herself if she can both retain her power at court and serve as a Hawk.” Kaylin knew Teela was a Lord of the High Court—but even that knowledge had been gained in the last year or two. She thought of Teela as a Hawk, and as a friend; sometimes as an older sister.

Tain did not reply.

The Dragon cleared her throat. “I believe I will visit Moran. I’m a Dragon, and I served as her bodyguard during the worst of the friction with the Aerian Caste Court. She will have a much harder time shutting her door in my face.” Her smile had long teeth in it. “I have Imperial permission to be in the Halls of Law. Moran is not my commanding officer. She can neither threaten nor command me.”

Kaylin wasn’t certain she wouldn’t bet on the Aerian, but said nothing.

* * *

Tain remained at his desk. Severn remained at Tain’s desk. Both suggested, with varying degrees of subtlety, that Kaylin remain there as well. Kaylin didn’t have time to argue, because when a Dragon made a decision—or when Bellusdeo did, at any rate—she acted on it immediately. The private had to scurry to keep up. If she followed in Bellusdeo’s wake, she’d be allowed in.

The old infirmary was still being rebuilt. In the weeks that had passed since a bomb had reduced it to splinters of wood, stone and glass, new floors and new walls had been installed, as if by magic. It wasn’t magic, of course; not yet. Magic would come later, when Moran had approved of the base rooms.

The conference room which had been the largest space available for emergency operations had been reclaimed by the Halls, but the infirmary itself had taken up temporary residence in a smaller set of rooms that were seldom used and more functional than a room that was essentially created to house a huge table and a bunch of chairs. They were less easily accessible, in part because they had been used as general storage. Kaylin didn’t ask what had happened to whatever was being stored here; that was the quartermaster’s problem.

The door was closed. The door was warded. Bellusdeo lifted golden brows in Kaylin’s direction, but touched the ward herself. Kaylin wasn’t entirely surprised when the door opened. She wasn’t surprised when a bristling Aerian with high, spotted wings stood almost in the frame. Nor was she surprised when the bristling wings folded as the Aerian caught sight of the Dragon. Slightly envious, but not surprised.

Moran’s eyes were Barrani blue. Her expression took a turn for the worse when she looked past Bellusdeo to see Kaylin.

“The private is my escort,” Bellusdeo said, in a perfectly friendly, perfectly bland tone.

“There is nothing here that requires the private’s attention, and a great deal that does not.”

Kaylin opened her mouth. Closed it. It was smarter to let the Dragon do the talking because Moran couldn’t do anything to the Dragon. Small and squawky, almost forgotten, lifted his head and batted Kaylin’s cheek with the top of it. He looked bored.

Teela appeared in the door frame behind Moran. “Why are you here?” she asked.

“It was here,” Bellusdeo replied, although Kaylin was pretty sure the question wasn’t aimed at the Dragon, “or the East Warrens.” Kaylin couldn’t see Bellusdeo’s expression, but the bland, cheerful, neutral reply was like a red flag.

Severn had probably made the smarter choice. Tain’s desk was safer. But Kaylin had really wanted to see Teela for herself. She’d wanted to be certain that Teela was whole.

It was the sergeant, not yet retired, who said, “The East Warrens. Marcus sent Kaylin to the East Warrens.” Clearly she had not been informed, and while the duty roster was not her responsibility, she knew it was a Barrani beat. Her glare traveled down the hall, as if she were considering offering Marcus a few choice words herself.

“I was, of course, with her.”

Moran folded her arms. “Come in,” she told the Dragon brusquely. She ignored Kaylin entirely and Kaylin followed like a shadow.

* * *

“You met Candallar. In the warrens.” Teela was now lounging on a chair so bare it should have been uncomfortable. To her left, in one of three beds in the small room, a Barrani Hawk slept. Since Barrani didn’t need sleep, he was probably unconscious. Or wishing he were.

It was Canatel. He was, like Teela, a corporal. He’d been part of the Hawks for as long as Kaylin could remember, which really only meant about eight years. In Barrani terms, that was a blink of the eye.

“This is well above your pay grade, kitling. It is not for you.”

“How many people are descending on my home in the near future?”

“If I have any say in it?” Teela exhaled and stood, losing the studied nonchalance of chair lounging. “You’re certain it was the fieflord?”

“I’ve never met him. Severn was certain.”

More Leontine followed, but it was soft. Clearly Teela trusted Severn’s opinion.

“Why is Candallar involved?” Kaylin asked, as Bellusdeo said, “Candallar is outcaste, yes?”

Teela only answered the Dragon’s question. “Yes.”

“Does he happen to be related to any of the cohort? Because I’ve got one furious fieflord visiting my home at least three times a week, and I think I could do without another one.”

“You would rather he visit your home than encounter him elsewhere. Candallar noted your mark?”

“Nightshade’s mark? Yes.”

“Good.”

Kaylin thought she’d take the nearest seat, she was so shocked. “Good? You still hate him for putting the mark there!”

“Yes. But it will serve as a warning to Candallar, if a warning is required. He is not Nightshade.”

“Nightshade is more powerful?”

“He was, before he was removed from the High Court. There is a reason he possesses one of The Three.”