Cast in Wisdom (Chronicles of Elantra #15) - Michelle Sagara Page 0,27
stood to the side and offered them a bow.
The doors opened into the washed-out color of the streets of the border zone. The buildings were not the same buildings—there was far more street, for one thing, and fewer smaller buildings that might once have served as homes. She thought the shape of the street directly ahead of these doors could have served as a standing place in front of the Town Hall. Or the Imperial Palace.
She turned back to the door that Killian had not yet closed. “Do these streets always look like this?”
He nodded.
“Which Towers are closest to these doors?”
“Durandel, Aggarok and Karriamis.” None were names she recognized. “Be wary. I must close the doors now.” And so saying, he did.
* * *
The building didn’t magically disappear when the doors had been closed. The streets didn’t shift. They were in the border zone, between two Towers Kaylin had never heard of. She turned to Severn, raising a brow.
“We’re in the border zone of Nightshade, closer to the Ravellon edge,” Severn replied, although she hadn’t actually asked the question.
“So, between Nightshade and Tiamaris?”
“Between Nightshade and Liatt.”
“So this building somehow extends—under the ground—between two full fiefs.”
“I do not believe it’s that simple,” Bellusdeo then said, in High Barrani.
“And we’re nowhere near Candallar, where we’re supposed to investigate.”
“Looks like. I highly suggest that we return to the Halls of Law.”
“And I,” Bellusdeo said, pulling rank—even if she didn’t have one, “suggest we repair to the Imperial Palace. We were supposed to consult with the Arkon anyway.”
Chapter 6
Their exit from the border zone, orientation provided by Severn, took them into the fief of Nightshade in midafternoon. Nightshade was not where Kaylin wanted to be on the best of days. She didn’t number the day so far to be among those.
This fief, unlike Tiamaris, radiated the grim despair of the desperate—a reminder of the life she’d had no choice but to lead, and never wanted to return to. But on the plus side, she knew Nightshade fairly well, and leaving it as a Hawk, with a Dragon as a companion, did not present problems, although it did somewhat clear the streets.
Most of the fief dwellers wouldn’t recognize Dragons on sight—not unless they were in their scaled, Draconic forms. But they did recognize the Hawk, and Kaylin and Severn were both wearing tabards. It wasn’t always safe to attract that kind of attention—but that happened outside of the fiefs, as well.
Given the day, she was almost surprised that Nightshade didn’t just materialize on the streets as they made their way out.
I did not know that you would be in my fief until this moment, the fieflord replied.
You didn’t know.
No. For some hours, you could not be reached at all. I am accustomed to this; Helen does not often allow communication unless you initiate it. You are not, he added, with Helen.
She hadn’t noticed, but she hadn’t attempted to contact any of the people whose thoughts could reach straight into the inside of her head while she’d been looking for a way out.
Do you recognize the names Durandel, Aggarok and Karriamis?
Had he been present, he would have blinked; she could feel his wordless surprise. Durandel was the name of the Tower that is now called Castle Nightshade. It is a historical name. I am curious to see what the Arkon makes of it. For that reason, nothing will impede your passage across the Ablayne today. I would, however, appreciate it if Lord Bellusdeo refrained from transforming in my streets. Where there is panic in Nightshade, I prefer it to be orchestrated panic.
Meaning he caused it.
Your brother would be a lot happier with you if—
My brother has only barely survived being himself. I have survived for centuries without his advice.
Kaylin shut down that line of thought, although it remained behind the words she struggled not to say. Which meant that Nightshade was aware of it anyway.
Candallar, she said, dragging different words and different worries to the forefront.
I understand your concern, given the events you have only recently survived. Nightshade’s tone was less glacial. You will find, however, that few of the fieflords spend the entirety of their existence within the fiefs that bear their names. Each have their own concerns.
Have you met many of them?
Silence again.
Kaylin gave up.
* * *
The Arkon’s library—or rather the Imperial Library—was open to the public. Public, in this case, involved a string of permissions that would discourage anyone who didn’t like to sign papers in figurative blood—but there were a lot of