Heir to the Shadows

Page 41

 

  "Must have been tasty," Saetan murmured.

  The wolf licked his chops and whuffed softly.

  Mrs. Beale growled.

  "What about a different meat?" Saetan said quickly. "I'm sure our young friend could find a couple of rabbits. "

  "Rabbits?" Mrs. Beale waved her hand, slicing the air in several directions. "I'm to fillrabbits with my nut and rice stuffing?"

  "No, of course not. How foolish of me. A stew perhaps? I noticed last week that Jaenelle and Karla had second helpings of your stew. "

  "Noticed myself that that serving dish had come back empty," Mrs. Beale muttered. She pointed at the wolf. "Two rabbits. And not scrawny ones either. " She turned on her heel and stomped away.

  Lord Magstrom signed gustily.

  Lord Friall stumbled into his chair.

  Saetan wondered if he had any bone left in his legs. This was turning into a typical afternoon after all. He scratched the wolf behind the ears. "You understand?" He held up two fingers. "Two plump bunnies for Mrs. Beale. Tarl says there are plenty of them fattening themselves up in the vegetable garden. " He gave the wolf a last scratch. "Off with you. "

  After nuzzling Saetan's hand, the wolf trotted out the door.

  "You let a woman like that work here when there are children in the house?" Friall sputtered. "And you keep a wolf for a pet?"

  "Mrs. Beale is an excellent cook," Saetan replied mildly. Besides, he added silently,who would have the balls to dismiss her? "And the wolf isn't a pet. He's kindred. Several of them live with us. Another sandwich, Lord Magstrom?"

  Looking a bit dazed, Lord Magstrom took another sandwich, stared at it for a moment, then set it on his plate.

  "What's going on?" Jaenelle asked. Smiling politely at Magstrom and Friall, she settled next to Saetan on the couch.

  "We're having bunny stew for dinner instead of chicken. "

  "Ah. That explains Mrs. Beale. " Her lips twitched. "I suppose I should explain human territoriality to the wolves to avoid further misunderstandings. "

  "At least Mrs. Beale's territory," Saetan said, smiling at his fair-haired daughter, aware that the way Jaenelle sat so close to him was open to misinterpretation.

  "Is that your usual way of dressing, Lady Angelline?" Lord Friall asked, once more dabbing his lips with his handkerchief.

  Jaenelle looked at the baggy overalls she had acquired from one the gardeners and the white silk shirt Saetan had

  unknowingly donated to her wardrobe. She lifted one loose braid and studied the feathers, small bells, and seashells attached to the strips of leather woven into her hair. Then her eyes swept over Friall. "Sometimes," she said coolly. "Do you always dress like that?"

  "Of course," Friall said proudly.

  "Why?"

  Friall stared at her.

  "Remember their delicate sensibilities, witch-child. "

  "Screw their delicate sensibilities. "

  Saetan flinched. Her mood had shifted.

  He dropped one arm around her shoulders. "Lord Magstrom would like to ask you a few questions. " Hopefully the older Warlord felt the emotional currents in the room and would tread carefully.

  "Before the interrogation begins, may I ask you something?"

  Lord Magstrom fiddled with his cup. "This isn't an interrogation, Lady," he said gently.

  "Really?" she said in her midnight voice.

  Magstrom shivered. His hand shook as he set his cup on the table.

  Hoping to divert her, Saetan groaned theatrically. "What do you want to ask?"

  Her sapphire eyes studied him. Concern faded to exasperated amusement. "It isn't that bad. "

  "That's what you said the last time. "

  Jaenelle gave him her best unsure-but-game smile. "Dujae wants to know if we can have a wall. "

  He tried not to panic. "A wall? Dujae wants one of my walls?"

  "Yes. "

  Saetan pressed his fingertips against his temple. Something was clogging his throat. He wasn't sure if it was a shriek or a laugh. "Why does Dujae want a wall?"

  "We're going to paint it. " She pondered this for a moment. "Well, I guess saying we're going to paint it isn't quite accurate. We're going to draw on it. Dujae says we need to think more expansively and the only way to do

  that is to have an expansive canvas to work on and the only thing big enough is a wall. "

  Uh-huh. "I see. " Saetan looked around the tastefully decorated room and sighed. "There are lots of empty rooms here. Why don't you pick one in the same wing as the rumpus room. "

  Jaenelle frowned. "We don't have a rumpus room. "

  Saetan tweaked one of her braids. "You wouldn't say that if you'd ever been in the room under it while you were all doing . . . whatever. "

  Jaenelle gave him a look of amused tolerance. "Thank you, Papa. " She bussed his cheek and bounded off the couch.

  Saetan grabbed the back of her overalls and pulled her down beside him. "Dujae can wait a bit. Lord Magstrom has a few questions. "

  The cold fire was back in her eyes, but she settled against him on the couch, her hands demurely in her lap, and gave the two men a look of polite impatience.

  Saetan nodded at Lord Magstrom.

  His hands loosely clasped on the arms of the chair, Lord Magstrom smiled at Jaenelle. "Is art a favorite study of yours, Lady Angelline?" he asked politely. "I have a granddaughter about your age who enjoys 'mucking about with colors,' as she puts it. "

  At the mention of a granddaughter, Jaenelle looked at Lord Magstrom with interest. "I enjoy drawing, but not as much as music," she said after a moment's thought. "Much more than mathematics. " She wrinkled her nose. "But then, anything's better than mathematics. "

  "Arnora holds mathematics in the same high regard," Lord Magstrom said seriously, but his blue eyes twinkled.

  Jaenelle's lips twitched. "Does she? A sensible witch. "

  "What other subjects do you enjoy?"

  "Learning about plants and gardening and healing and weaponry and equitation is fun . . . and languages. And dancing. Dancing's wonderful, don't you think? And of course there's Craft, but that's not really a lesson, is it?"

  "Not really a lesson?" Lord Magstrom looked startled.

  He accepted another cup of coffee. "With so much studying, you don't have much time to socialize," he said slowly.

  Jaenelle frowned and looked at Saetan.

  "I believe Lord Magstrom is referring to dances and other public gatherings," he said carefully.

  Her frown deepened. "Why do we need to go out for dancing? We've got enough people here who play instruments and we dance whenever we want to. Besides, I promised Morghann I'd spend a few days in Scelt with her when they have the harvest dances, and Kalush's family invited me to go to the theater with them, and Gabrielle—"

  "Dujae," Friall said tightly. "Dujae is teaching you to draw?"

  Saetan squeezed Jaenelle's shoulder but she shrugged away from him.

  "Yes, Dujae is teaching me to draw," Jaenelle said, the chill back in her voice.

  "Dujae is dead. "

  "For centuries now. "

  Friall dabbed at his lips. "You study drawing with a demon?"

  "Just because he's a demon doesn't make him less of an artist. "

  "But he's ademon"

  Jaenelle shrugged dismissively. "So are Char and Titian and a number of my other friends. Who I call a friend is no business of yours, Lord Friall. "

  "No business," Friall sputtered. "It most certainlyis the Council's business. It was a show of faith that the Council allowed something like the High Lord to keep a young girl in the first place—"

  "Somethinglike the High Lord?"

  "—and to soil a young girl's sensibilities by forcing her to consort with demons—"

  "He never forces me. No one forces me. "

  "—and submit to his own lustful attentions—"

 
The room exploded.

  There was no time to think, no time to protect himself from the spiraling fury rising out the abyss.

  Drawing everything he could from his Black Jewels, Sae-

  tan threw himself on Jaenelle as she lunged for Friall. Wild, vicious sounds erupted from her as she fought to break free and reach the Warlord, who stared at her in shock while windows shattered, paintings crashed to the floor, plaster cracked as psychic lightning scored the walls, and the furniture was ripped to pieces.

  Hanging on grimly, Saetan let the room go, using his strength to shield the other men, using himself as a buffer between Jaenelle's rage and flesh. She wasn't trying to hurt him. That was the terrifying irony. She was simply trying to get past the barriers he was placing between her and Friall. He opened his mind, intending to press against her inner barriers and force her to feel a little of the pain he was enduring. But there were no barriers. There was only the abyss and a long, mind-shattering fall.

  "Please, witch-child. Please!"

  She came at him with frightening speed, cocooned him in black mist, and then brought him up to the depth of the Red Jewel before she turned and glided back down into the comfortable sanctuary of the abyss.

  Silence.

  Stillness.

  His head throbbed mercilessly. His. tongue hurt. His mouth was full of blood. He felt too brittle to move. But his mind was intact.

  She loved him. She wouldn't deliberately hurt him. She loved him.

  Pulling that thought around his bruised mind and battered body like a warm cloak, Saetan surrendered to oblivion.

  Lord Magstrom woke to a none-too-gentle slap. Blinking to clear his vision, he focused on the dark wings and stern face.

  "Drink this," the Eyrien snapped, shoving a glass into Magstrom's hands. He stepped back, fists braced on his hips. "Your companion is finally coming around. He's lucky to be here at all. "

  Magstrom gratefully sipped his drink and looked around. Except for the chairs he and Friall were sitting in, the room