Cast in Wisdom (Chronicles of Elantra #15) - Michelle Sagara Page 0,66
her head. “I like you. I don’t generally care for Dragons for obvious reasons. If the Dragon species has been whittled down to five—six, including yourself—it makes no material difference in my life. If the species remains at that number for the foreseeable future, it will not upset the balance of power.
“Some might argue that your disappearance here would be to our advantage in the long term. If you choose to be careless, if your decisions put you in the way of harm, it might prove useful.”
Kaylin was outraged.
Annarion dropped a hand to her shoulder but said nothing.
“And you have no chance of personally stopping me?” Bellusdeo asked.
“None whatsoever,” Teela replied, smiling. “But I would appreciate it if you did not involve Kaylin, because Kaylin stands even less of a chance and feels compelled to try.”
Maggaron climbed up Bellusdeo’s back. If Teela’s words upset him, it didn’t show—but Maggaron didn’t speak much. His native tongue was not Elantran.
Bellusdeo exhaled a small plume of fire.
“Can you hurry?” Annarion surprised them all by saying. “I think something’s gone wrong.”
* * *
Bellusdeo was halfway to Mandoran when Mandoran disappeared. Given the grim expression on Annarion’s and Allaron’s faces, Kaylin guessed that they could no longer hear him. They certainly couldn’t see him. She glanced at Teela, whose eyes were now on Bellusdeo. The Barrani Hawk’s expression was grim, but shaded more toward frustration and disgust than actual worry.
“Tell me,” she said, her throat elongated by her rising chin, “why I haven’t strangled him.”
“Beats me. I know why I haven’t.”
“You can’t.”
“Pretty much. You two think he’s gone to wherever Terrano went?”
“Probably. It’s the same—there’s no fear and just a faint hint of surprise, and then silence. Nightshade?”
“I was sleeping at the time. I have no idea how or where he vanished, and no idea what he was feeling. But...if he were actively fighting for his life before he blinked out, I think I’d probably know.” She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted to catch Bellusdeo’s attention. “Don’t go higher!”
Bellusdeo had seen Mandoran’s disappearance. Inclination aside, she wasn’t stupid or reckless. And she had Maggaron with her; from what little Kaylin had seen, he was the steadying influence and possibly the only person present who could talk sense into her and have her listen.
Which, all things considered, probably wasn’t saying much. But she circled the area beneath which Mandoran had been drifting when he had disappeared.
“What do you see?”
“Border zone,” the Dragon replied. “It extends in all directions for as far as I can see. Which follows his comment about fog. I can’t see Nightshade. I can’t see Liatt. If I could go higher, I might.”
“Please don’t. Let’s try to follow the actual zone from the ground.”
“That didn’t stop Nightshade from disappearing.”
Fair enough. But at least they would all be together.
* * *
“What do you think the border zone is?” Teela asked as they once again resumed their march through theoretical backyards and the alleys made by the sides of buildings.
Kaylin shrugged.
“Why do you think it exists?”
“Until yesterday or the day before, I didn’t think about the border zone much. It’s not supposed to be safe.”
“The fiefs weren’t safe, given Ferals. And the buildings seem to be relatively solid.”
“We didn’t spend a lot of time playing in the border zone. People were rumored to have entered it and never escaped.”
“Or entered it and crossed into a different fief?”
“If they never returned, no one could question them.” She exhaled. “The border zone wasn’t solid. It’s not like you could find a place to live—an empty place—and cross back into the fiefs. If it worked that way, the border zone would be occupied. It wouldn’t be empty. The Ferals didn’t cross those borders; they came from Ravellon and returned to Ravellon.”
“And you know this how?”
Kaylin shrugged again. Trying not to sound as defensive as she felt, she said, “We were kids. We were trying our best to survive. People we mostly trusted gave us advice; we followed it. Why didn’t matter. Keep your eyes open; we’re looking for a cross street that doesn’t run to the fief on either side.”
“What did the Arkon have to say about the border zone?”
Kaylin almost shrieked. “Nothing useful at all. But to be fair, we were asking about Killian. Mostly. Bellusdeo thinks he was hiding something.”
“She didn’t ask?”
“If it’s something complicated, he generally says I’d die of old age before he adequately explained it.”
“That’s possibly true. I’d bet you pass away from aggravated boredom first, though.”