Fate's Edge (8 page)

“There was a ball,” Jack said, trying to keep his voice monotone. “Or a banquet. One of those things Declan does because of his job as Marshal. A lot of people came. I walked around. They never notice me because I am quiet. Some people were standing there eating shrimp and those crab things on toast. I walked up behind them. They were talking about Rose. An older man said that Declan had all those women he could’ve picked and he had to go to the Edge to get himself a whore, and why do they suppose he had to do that?”

His voice was building. Jack knew he should keep calm, but the fury he’d felt last night woke up again inside him, like an animal that rose to find himself caged. He remembered every word and every sound of that conversation. William had told him before that it was a changeling thing, and his perfect memory was spurring him on now.

“And then the woman in blue on his left said that maybe there was something wrong with Declan, physically. He had to get the kind of woman who was dependent on him completely, so she wouldn’t say anything.”

The anger was scratching at him now, trying to rip him up from the inside out and escape. The skin between his knuckles itched, eager to let his claws out.

“And the other woman, in yellow, she said, ‘Like mother like son. His mother was an Edge woman of ill repute.’ And the man said that he questioned the wisdom of associating with a woman who brought two mongrel children with her and that there must be something really valuable in the services she performs in the bedroom for Declan to keep her around. And then I said . . .”

His voice snapped into a deep, ragged growl. The fury broke and took him off his chair. He knew his eyes were glowing, and he didn’t care. “And I said that the Edgers take care of themselves and don’t come to other people’s houses looking for handouts and insulting people who’re feeding them, like fat ticks leeching off their hosts and complaining that the blood they’re stealing doesn’t taste right. I said, you think my sister is an Edge whore? Then don’t come here to eat her food.”

“Oh, Jack,” Cerise whispered.

“And then everyone was shocked.” Jack paced up and down, snarling. The hair on his arms was standing on end. He remembered the man’s scent, vivid and sharp, his face, his voice. “I wanted to kill him. They should’ve let me kill him! I would snap his neck with my teeth!”

“What happened next?” Cerise asked.

“Declan got this crazy look, and he said, ‘Either the boy is lying, which he never does, or you’ve insulted my wife.’ The man said, ‘At our house, we chain our animals before the arrival of guests. Perhaps you should do the same.’ Then Declan said, ‘Leave or I will throw you out.’ The man said, ‘Is that a threat?’ And Declan said, ‘Would you like it to be?’ The man said, ‘If you insist,’ and put his hand on his sword. And then Rose did her flash. It was shooting around her in spirals like white lightning, and her eyes were glowing with white, and she said, ‘This is over! Leave before I slice you and your family into ribbons.’”

Jack kept pacing. “And then the banquet was over, and I had to go to Declan’s office. He was really mad. I said, ‘I was defending my family! He was a bad guy.’ Declan said that he knew the guy was bad. I asked him why he invited him, and Declan said that he wanted to see who was friendly with this guy, so Declan could learn who his enemies are, and that I pretty much stabbed that plan through the heart. He said that he didn’t expect me to be perfect, but we can’t keep having these catastrophes every time I show my face in public. He said it’s causing problems between him and Rose, and he doesn’t want those kinds of problems, so we couldn’t keep going on like this, and something had to change. He also said that I needed more supervision and that I left him no choice. And then he told me I could go.”

Jack took a deep breath. “I know what this means. He doesn’t have to spell it out. He’s sending me to Hawk’s! For supervision!”

“Sit down!” William barked, his eyes glowing with green.

Jack landed on the floor and shut up.

“The animal thing inside you, the Wild. Has it ever taken over?”

Jack shook his head.

“You ever see red?”

Jack nodded.

William glanced at Cerise. “He needs to rend and soon, and we don’t have time. The first time is always the hardest.” He turned back to Jack. “Listen to me. We have a thing inside us, the Wild. The Wild sleeps in a den deep in you. When you get angry, or worried, or excited, the Wild wakes up, and if you let it, it will break out. When the Wild takes over, you forget that there are rules. If it ever happens, you will kill in a frenzy, and you won’t stop until you’re dead or exhausted. It will take you to a place without gods. This is called rending. We all do this from time to time. There is the right way to rend and the wrong way. Rending in the middle of dinner filled with civilians is the wrong way. Do you understand?”

Jack nodded. “Yes.”

“You must keep the Wild in check until you and I can find a way to release it safely.”

“How?” Jack asked.

“I told you, the Wild sleeps in its den. When you see red, it’s about to escape. That’s when you push it back into its den and make it stay there. If the red ever goes black, you’re gone. Don’t let it drag you under, Jack. You get me?”

Jack nodded again.

“Next, Declan won’t send you to Hawk’s. That’s not the kind of man he is. Even if he did, they probably wouldn’t take you. You’re too old. You wouldn’t survive—they would have to crush your spirit completely, which would make you a lousy soldier and useless to them.”

Yeah, yeah. They would take him if Declan asked, but now didn’t seem like the best time to mention that.

“But the Camarine Castle might not be the best place for you for the next few years, no matter how much Declan and Rose love you. Their house is the house of the Marshal. Cerise and I are leaving tomorrow morning. We have a mission for the Mirror. When we come back, I’ll speak to Declan about it.”

The full enormity of the statement crashed on Jack. William was leaving. There would be no help. “Where are you going?” Jack asked in a small voice.

“You know I can’t tell you where or how long we’ll be gone.” William leaned forward.

A weak hope flared in Jack’s mind. “Can you talk to Declan tonight?”

“No. It’s a long and complicated conversation.”

The hope died. A mission for the Mirror could take a week or a month or half a year. He needed help
now
.

“So what am I supposed to do?” Jack asked. His voice sounded defeated even to him.

“Keep your head down, and don’t do anything stupid,” William said. “Stay out of trouble until I come back.”

“Not going to happen,” Jack said. He couldn’t stay out of trouble because he had no idea where normal ended and trouble began. “I can’t do that. I don’t know how.”

“Yes, you can,” Cerise told him.

A faint noise tugged on Jack, the dull hum coming from above. William rose and walked out of the kitchen. Jack followed. Outside, the hum grew louder. Jack squinted at the sky. A small dot darkened the clear blue, growing in size.

Cerise stepped out behind them. “A wyvern.”

“Mhhhm. Air Force.” William growled under his breath, and he and Cerise strode across the inner yard to the gate. Jack trailed after them. They passed through the dark gateway and out into the light again.

The wyvern dropped lower, a huge, scaled creature with massive leathery wings that spread so wide, their shadow covered the entire clearing. Its two muscled legs were bent close to its scaled belly, pale purple, like the sky at dusk. The beast circled the house, tilting as it turned, and Jack caught a glimpse of green scales on its back and the tightly woven wicker shelter of the cabin. The air had a dry, bitter wyvern scent. It made Jack’s nostrils itch, and he sneezed.

The wyvern banked, flew over their heads, and landed in the wide field in front of the house, its wings spread, its two legs digging into the soft soil. It shifted in place, settling down, spread its wings, dipping them down to rest on the grass, and lowered its head to the ground. The door of the cabin swung open. A dark-haired man emerged and slid down the wyvern’s side to the ground, like it was a playground slide. The wyvern stirred, sending a gust of air their way, and Jack caught a familiar scent. “Kaldar.”

William growled under his breath, looking as if he had bitten something sour.

“Cousin!” Cerise waved. “Long time no see!”

Lean and light on his feet, Kaldar landed in the grass and strode to them with a big smile on his face. He wore jeans and a blue T-shirt that said WORLD’S BEST UNCLE on it in black letters written in the Broken’s English.

Kaldar was Cerise’s cousin. The last time they had met, Jack and Lark were still friends, and she told him to watch Kaldar at dinner. While people ate and mingled, Kaldar stole things from their pockets, then put them back.

“Hello, hello!” Kaldar grinned wider, showing white teeth. Cerise hugged him; he laughed and held his hand out to William. William unclenched his teeth and clapped Kaldar’s hand and made some sort of quiet snarl that could’ve been
hello
or could’ve been
I’ll kill you
, Jack wasn’t sure.

Kaldar pumped William’s hand and turned to him, palm out. “Jack!”

Jack took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

Kaldar’s eyebrows crept up. “Easy now. Don’t break my fingers.”

Jack hid a smile. Heh-heh.

“I’ve come to beg for help,” Kaldar said. “Professional, not personal.”

“What is it?” Cerise asked.

“I’m tracking the theft of an item for the Mirror. The trail led into the Edge, so I ran some evidence I had by a buddy of mine in Baton Rouge PD.”

“Did sirens and blue lights go off when you walked into the police station?” Cerise asked.

“Very funny.” Kaldar grimaced. “I had a fingerprint I lifted from a crime scene in Adrianglia. He ran it through the database. One of the thieves popped up. He is in California in a drug rehab facility.” Kaldar grimaced again. “To get to him, I have to fly to the Democracy of California on the Weird’s side. You know what it’s like. I need backup.”

William showed Kaldar his teeth. “Not happening. We’re leaving tomorrow.”

“Business?” Kaldar asked.

William nodded.

Kaldar sighed.

“You could request assistance from the field office,” Cerise said.

“And work with a stranger? Please.” Kaldar frowned. His eyes lit up. “Wait. Give me the boy.”

“He’s twelve!” Cerise reached over and gently popped Kaldar on the back of the head.

“Not Jack. Gaston.”

Jack bared his teeth. He liked Gaston about as well as William liked Kaldar. Gaston was William’s ward and Cerise’s nephew or cousin or something. He was bigger, stronger, older, and he wasn’t all human, either.

William shrugged. “He isn’t a full agent.”

“He’s been trained by the Mirror for three years, he’s nineteen, and he can lift a cow. I am not exaggerating. I’ve seen him do it. Let me take him.”

“I’ll think about it,” William said.

“Why is everything so difficult with you?” Kaldar raised his left eyebrow.

“I’m responsible for him,” William growled.

Kaldar’s face turned serious. It was like someone had jerked the funny mask off his face. “William, I was there when he was born. I changed his diapers. Do you honestly think I’d let any harm come to him?”

“Let me think . . .” William leaned forward. “Yes!”

“That’s ridiculous. I just need an extra pair of eyes and ears. Consider it his final exam, Professor. I can look after him much better than you.”

William took a step toward Kaldar. His eyes got a predatory glint.

“All right!” Cerise declared. “Why don’t we go to the house and have some delicious rabbit before I pull out my sword and have to separate you two.”

She put her hands on the arms of both men and pushed them toward the house. “Come on, Jack.”

There was nothing to do but follow.

 

JACK trotted down the path toward the woods, away from William’s house. His belly was full of hare. It should’ve made him happy, but it didn’t.

The wind brought a familiar scent of lemon. Jack stopped at a large oak and leaned against it, his back to the bark. Above him, branches rustled. A moment later, George climbed down, holding a small spyglass in his hand. He wore a white shirt, a pale brown vest, brown pants, and dark brown boots. A short rapier hung from his waist. His hair was pale blond and cut longish. His eyes were big and blue, and he looked like a girl.

“How did you know where I was?” George asked.

“You put lemon juice in your hair again.”

“The juice makes it lighter.” George leaned against the maple to Jack’s left. “How did it go?”

“William and Cerise are leaving tomorrow,” Jack said. “Mirror mission, and he doesn’t know when he’s coming back. William said he’ll talk to Declan when he comes back. He says to stay out of trouble until he comes back.”

“Not going to happen,” George said.

“Yeah.”

“So what are we going to do?” George asked.

“I can’t stay at the house. I’ll do something or say something, and they’ll ship me off. With William away, nobody will tell them no.”

“Rose wouldn’t do that,” George said.

Jack glanced at him. “She’s mad, George. Really mad. I’m going to get my bag tonight and go into the woods. I’ll wait it out until William comes back.”

“Jack, you have to think ahead.” George shook his head. “What happens if you disappear?”

Jack shrugged. He would be in the woods, that’s what would happen.

“Declan and Rose will think that you ran away. They’ll search for you. They won’t find you, because you’re good at hiding, so more people will get involved. Rumors will spread: Lord Camarine, the Marshal of the Southern Provinces, has lost his changeling brother-in-law. Obviously, he can’t control him, because the beast took off into the wild. Lock your children, or he’ll break into your house and devour them at night. Maybe we should hunt him down with torches.” George shook his head again. “They will send you to Hawk’s after that for sure. No, we need an actual plan.”