Michelle Sagara - Cast in Peril

“Can we get back to the entirely mine part?”

The small dragon reared up and bit her hand—but not quite hard enough to draw blood.

“Fine. Can we get back to the part where I’m entirely its?”

The Arkon snorted.

“And also the stories where Sorcerers destroyed half a world in order to somehow create or summon one?”

“Yes. Understand that those stories are exactly that: stories. They are not reliable or factual. There may be some particulars that suit the current situation, but many more will not.” He turned and readjusted the mirror, which made Kaylin wince; in general it wasn’t considered safe to move active mirrors, although Kaylin had never understood why. Angry Leontine was more than enough incentive.

“By the way, what is a Sorcerer?”

“For all intents and purposes? Think of a Sorcerer as an Arcanist but with actual power.”

Since her apartment was now mostly a pile of smoldering splinters, Kaylin thought his definition of “actual power” needed fine-tuning. “Any less arrogant?”

“There was purportedly one extant in my youth, but there was never confirmation of his—or her—existence. Given that people who possess power frequently decide what qualifies as humility or arrogance in a way that allows little dissent, I will offer a qualified no.”

“Fine. Arrogant and very powerful.” She looked pointedly at her shoulder. “How, exactly, is a small dragon of great use to an arrogant and very powerful Arcanist?”

“Bellusdeo implied that the ‘small dragon,’ as you call it, shielded both of you from the brunt of the damage the Arcane bomb would have otherwise caused. It is almost a certainty that you would not have survived otherwise. Further study is warranted, but it is clear to me that Bellusdeo would have been, at the very least, gravely injured. She was not.”

“If a Sorcerer is actually more powerful than the Arcanists, I don’t think some form of impressive magical defense would be beyond him—or her. I understand why the familiar might be helpful to someone like me, but I didn’t exactly destroy half a world to get one.”

“Ah, I think I see the difficulty. If you are referring to this story,” he said, tapping the mirror so that the image immediately shifted, “the Sorcerer didn’t destroy the world to, as you put it, ‘get’ a familiar; he destroyed half a world as a by-product of his attempt to produce—or summon—one. I’m afraid the original word could mean either, so the meaning is not precise. It was what you would consider collateral damage. And if you fail to understand how that damage could occur—”

She lifted a hand. “Not stupid,” she said curtly. “I know why the egg happened. I know what kind of magical disturbance produced it. Given the total lack of predictability of the effects of that magic, I can understand the how. I’m just stuck on the why.”

The Arkon nodded in apparent sympathy. “Dragons were not, to my knowledge, Sorcerers.”

“Meaning?”

“It makes no clear sense to me, either; the stories that we have are fragmentary and somewhat conflicting. The story that I am currently considering—and you may look at the mirror images if you like, but you won’t be able to read the words—doesn’t reference the practical use of the creature. It does, however, make reference to its astonishing beauty.” He lifted a brow. “This story implies that the familiar was winged, but of a much more substantial size.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, apparently its owner could ride on its back, and did. On the other hand, the use of the word summon is more distinct and implies something demonic in nature.”

“Demonic?”

“It’s a religious story.”

“Do any of the stories imply the familiars were a danger to their owners?”

The Arkon took minutes to answer the question. “…Yes.”

“Figures. Does it say how?”

The Arkon’s frown deepened. “I’m afraid,” he finally said, “that this is also a very dead language, and I’m uncertain. I will have to consult with the Royal linguists when time permits. You said that he ate one of your marks?”

She nodded. She didn’t, however, point out that the Devourer had also eaten some of her marks; her testimony was in Records, and if he failed to recall it on the spot, she wasn’t going to remind him. Why, she wasn’t certain.

“And that would be—” The rest of her sentence was lost to the sudden roaring that filled the Library. It wasn’t the Arkon’s voice. He lifted a brow and then shook his head. “Bellusdeo hasn’t really changed very much.”

“That was Bellusdeo?”

“Ah, no. That was the Emperor. I believe Sanabalis is at the doors.” The doors swung open—and shut—very quickly as Sanabalis entered the Library.

“I consider it a very good thing that Lord Diarmat is with the Hawks,” Sanabalis said when normal speech could actually be heard in the room.

“You didn’t stay for their discussion?”

“No. If the Emperor is to lose his composure, it is best for all concerned that there be no witnesses.” The last half of the last word was lost to the sound of more roaring.

“That,” the Arkon pointed out while distant breath was being drawn, “was Bellusdeo.”

* * *

The Arkon decided, during the small breaks between roaring—which frequently overlapped—that it was safe to leave the small dragon with Kaylin. By “safe,” he meant that she was allowed to leave the room with the dragon attached. He was aware that keeping the dragon, at this point, also meant caging the Private, and declined to, as he put it, subject himself to the endless interruption and resentment that would entail.

Sanabalis therefore escorted her from the Library. “Do you know the way to your rooms?” he asked when the doors were closed and there was another break in the roaring.

She looked at him.

“Very well, let me escort you. Attempt to pay attention, because this will no doubt be the first of many forays between the Arkon and those rooms. You will, of course, be expected to perform your regular duties during your transitional stay in the Palace.” He turned to face her as she regarded the door ward with dislike. “You will not, however, be in residence for long if the raid conducted this evening bears fruit.”

Kaylin wilted. “Nightshade?” she asked, too tired to pretend she didn’t understand what he was talking about.

Sanabalis nodded. “I am not entirely comfortable with the exchange of information for your time; the information, however, was crucial. Bellusdeo will be staying in the Palace while you discharge your obligation to the fieflord.”

“Was that part of the discussion with the Emperor?”

“It was—and is.”

“Then it’s not decided?”

“It is. The Emperor has been willing to grant leeway in all of Bellusdeo’s irregular demands for autonomy, but he will not allow her to leave the City—or the Palace—at this time. She intended to accompany you. He has pointed out one thing for which Bellusdeo has no reply.”

“What?”

“She endangered your life.”

It was true, but Kaylin felt it was also unfair. “Neither of us knew that someone would try to kill her.”

“It has always been an Imperial concern.”

“She probably thought you were being paranoid.”

“Yes. She made that clear. Her second thoughts will therefore occur in the Palace, and in your absence. I would suggest that you attempt to make the best of your status as guest here; you will depart for the West March in five days.”

Chapter 4

When Kaylin headed to the Halls of Law the next day, she went on foot. Bellusdeo wasn’t terribly happy about it, because Bellusdeo had been asked not to accompany her. The fact that she was willing to accede to a request that she clearly detested confirmed what Sanabalis had said about the almost deafening and totally incomprehensible Dragon conversation.