Cast in Wisdom (Chronicles of Elantra #15) - Michelle Sagara Page 0,65

you looking for?”

“Streets.”

“In backyards?”

“The visible—to the non-cohort—street follows the street from the fief. I want a street or two that goes parallel to the fief, rather than perpendicular, in the border zone. I think there has to be one—but we weren’t looking when we left Killian behind; we just wanted to get out.

“Killian’s building looked like a town hall, but bigger. And the exit didn’t run in the same direction as the border zone streets generally run. We turned right, onto a street, and followed it out.”

“And couldn’t get back.”

“More or less.”

“Could you see it from above?” Teela asked Bellusdeo.

“No—but Kaylin wasn’t keen on aerial exploration.”

“That’s odd—she usually loves flying.”

The Dragon reached out and grabbed Mandoran by the arm. “I could see. You can’t. Don’t even try it.”

“I could probably trace an area of the fog zone from above. I want to know what the border zone looks like from above. Is it all just fog for days or can we rise above it?”

Bellusdeo glared.

Mandoran was immune to that, as he saw it all the time.

“He’s kind of tethered to the rest of them,” Kaylin pointed out.

“You think it’s safe?”

“Not really. But I don’t think it will kill him.”

“He’s one of the few members of the cohort who possess a sense of humor. I’d hate to lose that.”

“When you’re not trying to turn me to ash?”

“A sense of humor doesn’t imply a good sense of humor. It’s still better than nothing.”

Maggaron, who had been so silent Kaylin could forget his presence—which said a lot, given his height—cleared his throat. “I do not think I see what you see.”

They all turned to stare at him.

Chapter 12

Bellusdeo was first to speak. “What do you see?”

“I see buildings,” he finally said. “I see the street.”

“Which is what we see.”

“I do not think I see the same buildings.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because the buildings I see are buildings that would house my people, not the people of this city. The doors are taller. The ceilings are higher.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because Kaylin said that the buildings looked the same in the border as they do in the actual fief. That is not what I see. When we enter the border zone, although the street appears to be a continuous line, the buildings themselves are...empty, deserted remnants of one of our cities, to me.”

They turned to look at Maggaron; Kaylin then transferred her silent question to his Dragon.

“They look like mortal buildings to me. I see, I believe, what you see, not what Maggaron sees.”

“Can you change your height?” Kaylin asked. “I mean, if Maggaron’s people—”

“No. It is nowhere near as simple as that.”

Mandoran spoke next, as if making a decision. “Let me go up above the clouds. I’ll go straight up; I won’t attempt to wander the line of fog. I have the others here; they can tell you what I see.”

Bellusdeo rumbled, her wordless annoyance at odds with her appearance. She glared at Kaylin but offered the Barrani a grudging nod.

Mandoran’s feet left the street. Since he couldn’t see the street, it probably wasn’t as unsettling to him as it was to Kaylin. She watched him rise above the two-story buildings, looking at almost nothing else, as if her gaze could somehow be an anchor.

Annarion and Allaron didn’t watch, but didn’t have to; Teela’s gaze, like Kaylin’s, was fixed to Mandoran—or the bottom of his feet. He didn’t drift toward either the city or Ravellon. As he’d promised, he attempted to rise in a straight line.

“Something’s strange,” Annarion said, eyes closed.

“Is he above the fog line now?”

“Yes.”

“What’s strange?”

“All he can see is fog, in any direction. There’s no visible fief on either side of where he’s standing.”

Kaylin had a very bad feeling about this. “Tell him to come down.”

“He wants to look at something.”

“Tell him we look with our eyes,” Kaylin snapped.

“Barrani children are not raised with that phrase,” Teela told her. “It won’t have the same weight it does in the office.”

Bellusdeo’s rumble enclosed the words, “Stand back.” Kaylin had seen this transformation often enough that she had a good idea of how much space “back” meant; Teela caught Annarion and Allaron and pulled them out of the way. Maggaron didn’t move.

“This is a bad idea,” Kaylin told the gold Dragon.

“Really? Why?”

“That’s unkind to Kaylin,” Teela said, before Kaylin could dredge up an answer that wouldn’t make things worse. “You know well why.”

Bellusdeo shrugged, a ripple of motion that traveled the length of her back. “You’re not trying to stop me.”

Teela shook

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