The Emperor's Wolves (Wolves of Elantra #1) - Michelle Sagara Page 0,79
you will make a good Wolf.” He turned to Helmat, his shoulders slowly relaxing. “Empathy is the bane of our existence.”
“It is what makes you more than human,” Helmat replied, his eyes almost hooded. “But I understand that the Tha’alanari fear to lose her, as they themselves are almost lost. She is warm in a way that very few people—of any race—are.”
“She has always kept us sane,” was Garadin’s quiet reply. It was a surrender. “She has always noted which of us were closer to the edge of madness than we thought, and she has called us back and away before we fall. Yes, we fear to lose her. But Severn,” he added, “you were not yet born when the murders occurred. Ybelline was—and she remembers them all. She does not need to enter the Tha’alaan to touch those memories; she lived them. At that age, she understood that she was powerless.
“And perhaps at our age, the powerlessness was far more scarring.” He bowed—to Severn, not to the Wolflord.
“I want to protect her, too,” Severn blurted out.
“Yes. I can see that. She trusts you. I cannot think why, given her experiences.”
“You don’t.”
“No, of course not. You are not only a servant of the Emperor, you are a Wolf.”
* * *
When Garadin left the office—without slamming the door—Helmat turned to Severn. He was surprised at the boy’s conversation and observations, which was why he’d made no attempt to take back the reins of the conversation, if it could be called that.
“The Tha’alanari, as you may have guessed, are not pleased with your request.”
“No. But they were never going to be pleased with it.”
“If we haven’t called the Emperor in as mediator, I can assure you that some of them have. They are of vital import to the Imperial Service.”
“And we,” Elluvian said, almost grinning, “are not.”
“The Imperial Service does not move at the whim of the Tha’alanari, except at need. The loss of several Tha’alani agents has made them far more careful than they otherwise condescend to be.”
“How does it work?” Severn asked.
“Pardon?” It was not the question Helmat had expected; in truth, he’d expected no questions at all.
“The Tha’alanari and the Imperial Service. What rights of refusal do the Tha’alani have?”
“None. They have the right to choose which agents attend the Service’s demands, when choice is possible. They have the right to withdraw an agent if the interview is considered harmful—but they must offer a substitute.” Helmat exhaled. “It is a sword dance. The Tha’alani are necessary. The Emperor is cognizant of the effects of interrogation on the Tha’alaan. He does not desire to wield a tool until it snaps or breaks—not when it is so singularly important.
“While the Tha’alanari are, as loyal citizens, beholden to the Emperor, he will often accept their evaluation of the state of the Tha’alanari. His laws do not require such consideration; he attempts to be pragmatic. He is well aware that the Tha’alani would, if offered a true choice, never approach the Imperial Service at all.
“What did you discuss with Ybelline?”
“I asked her to find a Barrani memory within the Tha’alaan.” The boy’s glance flickered over Elluvian’s face, and returned to Helmat’s.
“Why?” He knew. He wanted to know how Severn would handle the question.
“Because the deaths don’t make sense otherwise.”
“You think a Barrani of note allowed himself to meld with a Tha’alani?”
“It’s the only thing that would explain the risk taken. The Barrani involved humans. The victims were Tha’alani. The laws of exemption don’t—can’t—cover the murders. Elluvian says—”
“I have already spoken with Elluvian.”
“—that the laws of exemption are very seldom broken by the Barrani, or by the significant members of the Barrani people. When crimes that would fall outside the exemption occur at the hands of Barrani, their bodies are often deposited on the steps of the Halls of Law. They are dead. Their deaths, at the hands of their own people, are not illegal.”
“They are, technically,” Elluvian said.
“En.”
“We do have laws.”
“En.”
“Do you expect to find that information? Or rather, do you expect Ybelline to find it?”
Severn hesitated for three solid beats. “I’m not certain. I hope she will, but she considered it highly unlikely; if the memories existed in the Tha’alaan, they would be heavily examined, heavily visited, by the curious. She didn’t think they would be hard to find, in that case.”
“But you believe they exist.”
His hesitation this time was different. “She believes they exist,” he finally said. “And Garadin’s presence here today implies that she’s right.”