The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure - By Storm Constantine Page 0,164

‘Swift would be more than pleased. Any friend of Pell’s is a friend of his.’

Flick put the glass he was holding down on a table. ‘Seel, get this straight, we can’t just…’ He scraped a hand through his hair. ‘I can’t forget what happened to me and I can’t call myself Pell’s friend. Friends keep in touch, don’t they? Respect what I am and let me be.’

Seel frowned. ‘You’re here now.’

‘Did I have a choice?’ Flick sighed. ‘I’m sorry. This is all a bit overwhelming.’

‘No, it’s me who should say sorry,’ Seel said softly.

Flick looked into Seel’s eyes, and his heart turned over, but then Seel said, ‘I just take it for granted, all this. I understand how you must feel, being swept along in this great current of change. You need time. That’s OK.’ He reached out and touched Flick’s face and it took all of Flick’s will not to flinch away. ‘You’re not going anywhere,’ Seel said. ‘Not tonight.’

Just for a brief moment, Flick was back in the tepee of Wraxilan the Uigenna. He must get away as soon as he could.

Seel, however, clearly did not intend to let Flick drift from his side and Swift kept away, no doubt believing Seel and Flick wanted to catch up on old times in private. Flick wondered how much Seel had told Swift, and how it would go when he finally had to insist he was leaving.

Hara began to leave the party around two in the morning. By this time, Flick had drunk quite a lot but he didn’t feel intoxicated by it. Seel had told him the story of how he’d met Swift, when Swift had taken Cal to the Gelaming. ‘Swift thought he was looking for his father, but in reality he was delivering a criminal into custody,’ he said. ‘It was the way it was meant to happen.’

‘How did Swift feel about that?’ Flick asked. ‘I heard he thinks fondly of Cal.’

‘Swift rarely has bad thoughts about anyhar,’ Seel said. ‘He feels sorry for Cal, that’s all. He has a big heart.’

‘How is Saltrock?’ Flick asked. ‘Do you ever go back there?’

‘I don’t have the time, really,’ Seel said, without a flicker. ‘Colt and Stringer run it more than adequately, I’m sure.’

You gave up your dreams, Flick thought. I’m not sure I even like you any more.

‘We had good times once,’ Flick said. ‘I miss them. But life moves on.’ He paused. ‘Seel, I don’t want to go to Immanion. It was… interesting… meeting up with you like this, but I’m already pining for the river. I have to go.’

Seel blinked at him. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

‘I’m serious. Please don’t argue about it.’ He took a deep breath. ‘No matter who and what you’ve become, you can’t order me around any more.’

‘It’s not our decision,’ Seel said. ‘Don’t you understand? Pell would want to see you and he is Tigron. He’s never stopped mentioning you, Flick. He was devastated to hear we’d… to hear you’d left Saltrock. It is my duty to take you to him, and yours to comply. If you don’t want to remain in Immanion after that, it’s between you and Pell, but he’d never forgive me if I just let you slip away again.’

‘Then don’t tell him!’ Flick snapped. He glanced around desperately for Ulaume, sure that if he tried to make a run for it, Seel would order hara to restrain him.

‘Sleep on it,’ Seel said. ‘Sleep here. We can talk more tomorrow.’

‘And Ulaume?’ Flick asked. ‘Can he sleep on it too?’

‘Ulaume is not part of this,’ Seel said. ‘He never was. You know what happened between him and Pell once.’

‘So… let me get this right. You are taking me away from my chesnari? I have no choice?’

Seel laughed. ‘You are not chesna with him. I appreciate you might have seen qualities that have passed others by, but… Flick, you can’t reject what’s on offer. I tried to once, but I don’t regret going for it eventually. Look what I have now.’

‘You used to say that,’ Flick said bitterly. ‘You used to say that, when kids were scared of inception. I remember.’

‘So, it’s another kind of inception. Your point being?’

‘Call your guards,’ Flick said.

‘What?’

‘Call them. It’s the only way you’ll force me to stay here.’

Seel stared at him. ‘Don’t make me do that.’

‘What? Don’t make you put the knife in me, don’t give me the blood? Oh, but you can’t because I know too much now, don’t I? I know the truth and