Gatewright (28 page)

I
was still sitting cross legged, with one hand on Calin’s knee.  However,
Riven was not where I’d left him.  He was sitting directly behind me, arms
wrapped around my waist, legs straddling me.  He was almost unbearably
warm.  He leaned his head against mine affectionately.  “I’m crazy
proud of you,” he whispered.  “But don’t do that again.”

Calin’s
eyes finally opened and Jack stepped back from where he’d been tending
him.  He tried to say something, but it came out in a croak. 
Kestral, kneeling on his other side, handed him a cup of water, which he
immediately drained, then cleared his throat again.  “Thank you,” he told
her, then took in the scene.  “Thank you, all of you.  And Jan…” he
shook his head in wonder.  “I will give you proper thanks later.  But
right now…” he shuddered.

“Did
you send a letter to Peregare?” Jack asked him quietly.

He
nodded, then his eyes flicked to Riven, who still hadn’t moved from where he gripped
me.  I leaned into him, my sweaty clothes cooling quickly in the chilly
air.  I shivered slightly and Riven sent me a little warmth.  I
wasn’t sure if I had the
lianyos
thing down perfectly yet, but I tried
to send him gratitude in return.

I
could practically see the gears spinning in Calin’s head.  “That’s Kusay
Vaal.”  He sounded more surprised than anything else.  “You were
ousted from Peregare,” he slowly realized.  “You’re here to make sure that
I haven’t sent a message.”  He gave his brother a withering look. 
“I’m not
shecoa,
Ash
.
”  But he turned his attention back to
me, evaluating, and raised an eyebrow.  I belatedly realized Calin and
Kestral would know we were a thing.  Were we a thing?  Ulg, it was
too much to think about right now.

“Calin,
watch your language.  And let’s go inside, shall we?” Kestral pointedly
encouraged us.

Jack
helped his brother to his feet, and Riven extracted himself from me.  My
legs wobbled.  Riven reached out to either steady me or steady
himself.  More likely a combination of the two.  Nevertheless, we
followed the Becot family back to their house.

“The
letter can’t be traced to me.  It’s addressed from Hazel,” Calin added
irritably, leaning heavily on Jack.

“Oh,
that’s sneaky,” Riven murmured.  “I’d know she was dead but anyone else
might think she’d survived and is hiding somewhere.”

Jack
breathed a sigh of relief.  “I should have known better.  I apologize
for doubting you, brother.”  He searched Calin’s face, frowning.  If
I could see Calin’s frayed nerves, Jack certainly could.

Calin
rolled his eyes.  “It’s not like it’s the first time.  And I can’t
expect you to be as smart as I am.”

“No,
I just need you around so I can pull all the good ideas from your head,” Jack
teased.

“Just
try it.”  Calin’s eyes glinted in the darkness.  Was he trying to
pick a fight?  After what he’d just been through, he should have been
passing out, not testing his brother’s patience.

We
entered the house quietly, shutting the door softly behind us.  Calin lay
down on the cot, and Jack took the chair, leaving Riven and me on the
couch.  Kestral stayed in the shadows at the entrance to the adjoining
room, where if I listened, I could still hear Copper’s rude snores.  I
scooted over so she would have room on the couch, squishing myself against
Riven, but she didn’t take it.  “Is this the Kusay who wanted to find
me?”  Kestral asked.

Riven
nodded.

 “Were
you outcast because of it?”

Riven
blinked.  “I hadn’t considered it.”

“You
were
really
obvious trying to find her,” Calin informed him apologetically. 
“Do you even know the meaning of subtle?”  I knew he wasn’t
just
talking
about Riven’s efforts to find Kestral and Copper.

“Well,
Becot Ashad here was practically jumping from foot to foot to get back, so I
was trying to hurry it up,” Riven justified himself.  “But perhaps. 
Mikiril’s arrival at Peregare felt rushed but not unplanned.”

“Why? 
What importance would Kestral have to Mikiril?  No offence,” I hastened to
add.

“It’s
not common knowledge that Kestral and I are not
lianyos.
  And when I
was exiled, I was defending a woman who’d gravely insulted Mikiril,” Jack
mused.

“And
then, out of the blue, after surviving an assassination attempt and consorting
with humans, a random Kusay starts asking questions about the Exile’s wife,
likely
lianyos.
”  Calin added.  “A wife who is connected to
the temple, and me, and I’m connected to the outcast, and the outcast are
connected to the assassination.”  He turned away from us, hiding his face.

“That’s
a lot of jumps,” I pointed out. “Is there a way to talk to the outcast? 
They’re the missing link right now.”

“Calin
already knows all of them.  They’re in his care,” Kestral protested.

“Not
the ones who escaped.” Calin’s voice caught.

I
frowned and exchanged a glance with Riven.  His recent trance must have
left him particularly emotional.  I couldn’t imagine why else Calin would
be on the verge of tears.

“How
would you know where to find them?  Or do you need me to pull it from one
of the minds of those who remain?  Do they know?”  Jack offered,
trying to solve the problem.

Calin
braced himself, and turned back to give Jack a meaningful look.

Jack
stepped back, eyes widening in surprise.  “Well, that’s complicated.”

“Will
you at least speak so we can
all
hear?” Riven grumbled.

Calin’s
gaze fell to the ground, and Jack cleared his throat.  “A bit of
context.  Calin has always preferred the company of men.  Yet, he is
still expected to take a wife and produce heirs.  By joining the temple,
that burden is lessened, yet a duty that is still encouraged.  Becoming
lianyos
,
however, and mating for life with a single male, is not accepted among the
nobility.  Calin not only is
lianyos
to a male, but is
lianyos
to
an outcast under his charge who he then
let escape.
”

“Oh,
shit,” I exclaimed before I thought better of it.

Riven
stiffened with outrage, then relaxed.  “Let me guess – most of the outcast
here are not actual criminals, but those who angered a Queen.”

Calin
nodded.  “Actual criminals are usually sent home to be punished by their
clan.  I walk a fine line – I know the truth, but if I let them all
escape, their situation only worsens.  So I do my best to make them
comfortable, while creating an image of a fair master.”  He smiled. 
“Tyawon saw through me in about three seconds flat.  We have been
lianyos
for five years.  He ‘escaped’ three years ago.  I have not seen
him since.”  He gripped the edge of the cot, knuckles white.

Kestral
put her hand on her heart.  “I know the feeling.  You have my
sympathy, Becot Calin.”

Calin
smiled wanly.  “Congratulations, you’re all the first to know. 
Tyawon certainly can’t share that his
lianyos
is a priest who is
technically supposed to chase after them and bring them all back.  Since,
of course, I know where he is.”

“We
have to contact them,” Riven declared.  “And see if they know who sent the
assassins.  For the sake of those who died.”

“But
Peregare…” I protested.  “Your mother.”

“And
what would I do about it?” Riven snapped.  “Invade by myself?  Throw
you or Jack into danger?  Any other fey will see me as outcast, or
Exile.  Take your pick.”

“I’m
sorry,” I murmured, and shifted away.  “You’re right.”

“Goddamned
right.  Otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here making nice with a pair of
Becot brothers.”

Calin
and Jack let it slide.  Riven might still feel feisty, but he looked like
he’d run a marathon and then been attacked by Edward Scissorhands on a bad
day.  I shouldn’t have said anything.

Calin
inhaled deeply.  “This is why I went so deeply into the trance.  It
was not a meditation gone wrong.  I have sought the help of the Great
Mage, and she has answered.”

“What
did you seek?” Jack asked respectfully.  For the first time I saw him
speaking to a man who was not just his brother, but a leading priest.

“I
sought to answer Riven’s question and discover who planned to kill the
humans.”  He took a deep breath.  “I saw Queen Mikiril speaking with
a
nagali adail
, sending him to guard the gate in Emor when the humans
came through.

“Kaebris,”
Riven recalled.  I remembered him.  He’d scanned us when we’d come
through and I was clutching the floor.

Calin
continued.  “Later, that same
adail
– Kaebris – brought word of the
mission’s success.  When Mikiril discovered his error, she commanded him
to kill the outcasts who’d failed her.”  He gripped the edge of the cot so
hard that his forearms trembled.  “The Great Mage then pulled me from the
past and placed me in the future.  The outcast die at Kaebris’s
hand.  Tyawon dies.”  He looked down at his hands, voice wracked with
grief.  “Why would the Great Mage show me something I can do
nothing
about? 
Kaebris is already on his way with his warriors, on horseback.  Even if I
managed to find a way to get there before they do – which I can’t imagine –
they’d just kill me as well.  All I can do is wait until I feel the pain
of Tyawon’s death.”

“Perhaps
he will feel your alarm and will avoid death,” Kestral offered optimistically.

He
shook his head.  “I saw him die fighting.  I saw him
die,
Kestral.”

Grim
silence fell.

“How
far away is Tyawon?” Riven asked.

He
gestured vaguely.  “About sixty, seventy miles to the northwest.”

Riven
stood.  “Let’s go.”  He pointedly ignored me, and I knew without
doubt he was still angry at me for implying that he didn’t want to save his
mother.

Calin’s
head snapped up with a flash of hope.  “What?”

“That
shouldn’t be more than an hour’s drive,” Jack nodded in agreement.

“Drive? 
In what?  How?  Do you think we’d actually stand a chance?”

Riven
gave him a dark smile.  “I have a debt of revenge to pay the Queen of
Becot.  This seems like a wonderful opportunity.”

His
quiet words were at odds with his eyes.  I stood as well.  If we
meant to get there in time, we couldn’t waste another minute.  “Calin, let
me introduce you to my world.”  I reached out, and pushed apart the strands
of reality that separated our worlds.  Funny, I’d never thought of it
before like that.  Submerged in the flow of magic, perhaps I’d gotten a
step closer to understanding the how of being a gatewright.

Calin’s
jaw set with determination, a new aspect in his eyes.  To my surprise, he
bowed his head, one hand on his chest.  “For all things are done with a
reason.  I follow your guidance, Great Mage, even though it should result
in my death.”  Prayer over, he looked up, and a slow smile spread over his
face.  He reminded me so strongly of Jack in that moment that I couldn’t
help but smile in return.  “Take me to my
lianyos, ras
of Gates.”

My
gate landed us in the middle of the woods, and I groaned.  Why was it always
the woods?  Jack led the way back to the car after we made a large pile of
leaves to indicate the spot where we should jump back.  We weren’t very
far from Sadie, just enough to be out of sight of the buildings.

I
paused before I got in the car, caught by Calin’s reaction.  Fascinated,
he ran his hands over the car, leaving clean streaks, murmuring a prayer. 
At least he hadn’t written “clean me”.  He caught me watching him with
curiosity.  “How does it work?”

As
Riven got into the back seat, he grinned at the priest.  “I’m sure Jan
will introduce this thing called the ‘Internet’ at some point.  It holds
all the answers of humankind.”  I thought of 4Chan and some other message
boards, and winced.

Jack
had been awake for an ungodly number of hours, and neither Calin nor Riven
could drive, so I drew the metaphorical short stick.  I eased into the
driver’s seat, readjusting every mirror, the seat, and the steering
wheel.  Jack was tall enough that each setting had been shoved back to the
max.  No wonder he didn’t own a car, driving them must be uncomfortably
cramped.  I started the engine, and breathed a short sigh of relief. 
We had half a tank of gas left.  The clock glowed at me in green numbers,
“3:32 AM”.

That
couldn’t be right.  We’d been in Azry 30 minutes,
max.

Jack
picked up my thought as he got into the passenger side.  {You were with
Calin for over an hour.}

I
sucked in a breath.  No, my thesis!  My entire premise was that time
ran the same in both realms.  Oh God, was I wrong?

Jack
chuckled at my reaction.  “Obviously, that’s the important thing right
now.”

I
sent him a dirty look.  Writing that thesis had been nine months of my
life.

“Now
if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sleep.”  He cranked the seat back,
crowding Calin.  Neither Becot was short.

“Ashad,
I understand your need to sleep, but you’ve left me no room.”

Jack
answered by leaning his seat back.

“You
haven’t changed at all, have you?” Calin grumbled, vainly trying to shift to a
comfortable position.

This
was going to be a
long
night.

Calin
kept both Riven and me awake on the drive with a constant barrage of questions
and observations while Jack snored away.  “I’m not as powerful as Jack,
and I don’t rely on my power that much, so being here actually doesn’t bother
me as much as I was afraid it would,” he chattered away.  “This could
explain why fey tourists to Earth weren’t rattled by it, since the gate was
right there leaking magic.  How much exposure to Earth have you had,
Riven?  It looks like the human changes are complete on you.  Not a
bad look, if I may say so myself.”

We
stopped several times to let Calin jump back to Azry and orient himself. 
The first time he returned, he was laughing.  “Tya’s confused as hell. I
can’t imagine what he must be thinking. He sensed me leave Azry, and just now I
pop back, closer to him.”

With
each navigation check, Calin’s eyes shone with amusement and excitement. 
Three years, he’d said, since he saw his
lianyos. 
I couldn’t
imagine.  When we finally left the highway, Calin was practically
bursting, despite his fifteen-hour trial.  I took energy from that and
forced myself to keep opening and closing the gates, although I could feel the
exhaustion threatening to overwhelm.   In truth, I shouldn’t even
have been on the road, as tired as I was.

He
pointed us to a well-developed, suburban neighborhood.  I winced a
little.  Making a gate here would be… interesting.  At least it was
still dark, although the very first light of dawn was beginning to stain the
east.  My clock told me it was 4:52 AM.  Longest.  Night. 
Ever.

We
parked on the quiet street and I scanned the rows of modest homes for
concealment.  Calin woke Jack with some choice insults when Riven failed
to rouse him.  I gestured the fey to follow me, and trotted up a driveway
to hide in the deeper night of the space between the buildings.  I cracked
open a portal, and for a moment, black edged my vision and I wavered on my
feet.  How many gates was that today?  Riven’s rescue – getting Jack
to his brother – navigating our way here… a dozen gates in total? 
More? 
Plus
swimming in magic.

Strong
hands caught me.  “Close this one, we’ll take it from here.”

“But
that’ll take time,” I protested.

“If
you can’t close a gate…” Riven trailed off, leaving the consequences
unspoken.  Despite his logic, I made a good show of claiming I had enough
juice in me for at least a half dozen more.  Riven didn’t buy it. 
Instead, he half-carried me through the gate.  I shook him off and planted
myself, and tried to shut the gate through a wave of dizziness.  The gate
remained open.

Concern
radiated from Riven, which only served to piss me off.  I stood taller and
glared at the gate.  “Piece of shit gate, fucking close!” I yanked on it,
hard this time.  It snapped shut with a pop and I breathed a sigh of
relief, holding on to consciousness by the skin of my teeth.

Riven
picked me up, and I protested fiercely.  “I can walk!”

“Mhmm,”
Riven agreed, and ignored me.

I
had no choice but to relax and enjoy the comfort of his arms.  Wait,
weren’t we mad at each other?  Instead, I rested my head against his chest
and closed my eyes, listening to the beating of his heart, and slipped into
silky darkness.

When
I groggily came to, I lay on a cot, head propped on a rough pillow. Daylight
streamed through an open window of the simple shack.  Riven watched from a
nearby stool, an amused quirk to his lips.  “I’ve never seen someone drool
and snore their way so bravely through such serious conversation,” he told me,
offering me a plate of sliced fruit covered in walnuts with a glass of milk.

“You
should have woken me up.”  And not watched me while I slept, I added
silently, but took the food and drink. 

Riven
ignored my criticism.  “When Kaebris gets here, you need to be awake so
you can get yourself home.”

I
threw my small, lumpy pillow at him in response and drew myself up to eat
properly. “What time is it?”

He
caught it deftly, and smiled at me.  “A little after midday.”

His
smile was very distracting.  I forced myself to focus as I stuffed the
food down, washing it down with the rich, cream-like milk.  I was a long
way toward feeling rested, even if I still dragged. Once back in my proper
world, I planned to sleep for several days solid.  “What’s happened?”

“Tyawon
met us in the woods.  He and Calin were out of their minds with
happiness.  Eventually Calin got around to introducing us, then brought us
back to camp.  I’ve never seen a group of fey more on edge.  Calin
explained everything about three times before they decided that Kaebris was the
threat, and not us.”

“Do
we have a plan?  Does Calin know when Kaebris will get here?”

“In
Calin’s vision, the shadows were long.  So we’re on high alert in the
morning and evening.”  Riven’s expression tightened.  “But I think
you need to hear some things first.”

“They
know something about the murders,” I deduced.

He
didn’t need to answer me.  I rose, opened the wooden door to the shack and
stepped into the broad daylight.  The outcast camp, made of scattered
shacks and fire pits, hugged the banks of a lake.  Small, deep streams ran
through camp in a confusing maze that reminded me of the temple’s labyrinth.

The
fey turned their attention to me, and I couldn’t help but stare back. 
Perhaps thirty fey, with hair of a variety of short lengths, sat on logs and
earthenwork benches they’d crafted from the ground.  I spotted Calin
speaking animatedly with a smaller group of perhaps a dozen who watched me
approach.  Jack held himself slightly apart, arms crossed, frowning. 
Riven was right.  The tension in the air was palpable. 

“Good
morning,” I greeted them.  “Thank you for the accommodations.”

“The
human is polite, and speaks our language?”  An outcast with brown hair
mused, pleasantly surprised.

“Watch
your tongue, Frein,” another said, with thin blonde hair. 
Kawoli
? 
Calin rubbed the
kawoli
’s arm absentmindedly.  Ah, Tyawon.

“You
know about the murders.”  It wasn’t a question.  “Tell me why you
killed them.”

Riven
had followed me out of the hut, and placed his hand on my shoulder.  I
couldn’t decide if he was restraining me, supporting me, or sending a
protective warning to the outcasts.  Or all three.

The
fey drooped as one, slumping their shoulders and looking at their feet. 
Frein spoke reluctantly.  “Becot has been hunting us for some time. 
Finally, one of their scouts found us.  We expected to have to flee at any
moment, but no army came to root us out.  Instead, we received a
message.  It simply stated to be in Emor on a certain date, and kill any
humans before they arrived at the Citadel of Fountains.  Otherwise, our community
was forfeit.”  He paused, searching for the right words.  “You
understand, I was not doing this for myself, or out of any prejudice.  I
wanted to preserve the lives of the fifty fey that live and work here.”

“You?” 
Hadn’t Riven killed all our attackers?

He
gestured for me to wait.  “Our
nagali
learned, by some careful
conversation with Meadow, that you planned to ride out two days after the
festival.  So we celebrated the festival, expecting it to be our
last.”  Frein gave a sad smile.  “I became… distracted by a young
female for the night.  I was not with my fellows when they learned that
Kusay Vaal had changed plans, or when my companions stole horses in order to
chase you down.”

I
didn’t know whether to feel guilty we’d cut them down or hatred they’d attacked
in the first place.  Maybe both.  I said nothing.