Heroes Return (4 page)
Fiona was sprawled halfway down them, bent in an odd and painful-looking angle. We all froze, unsure how best to help, and I worried that Fiona’s stillness meant she’d snapped her neck.
Then she blinked and said, “Please.”
Dane stepped forward. “Where are you hurt?”
“Everywhere.”
“Anyplace more than others?”
“I can’t tell.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t move her until a healer can get here,” I suggested.
“Get me up,” Fiona ordered.
Dane climbed up the stairs and slowly picked Fiona up in an impressive show of precise strength. He carried her to a settee, and the way she moved to make herself comfortable assured me that she didn’t have a dangerous injury. She was, however, favoring her left knee.
“What happened?” Dane asked as he yanked on a bellpull.
Fiona accepted a glass of brandy from Tarce. “I don’t know. My foot just flew out from under me.”
“Were you light-headed or distracted?”
“No. Nothing like that. I just slipped.”
Fiona was looking a little pale, and I watched Taro to see if he was going to do anything about her pain. He had the ability to ease it, which was not a regular skill for Sources. It was a badly kept secret. He didn’t want the Triple S council to know about it, but he had helped enough people in High Scape that it seemed everyone in that city had heard the rumors about him.
Taro made no move toward his cousin. Perhaps he thought the pain was not great enough for him to expose himself, for Fiona was very composed. I thought any hope of his hiding his gift was overly optimistic. We were going to be living here for a while, and eventually something would come up compelling him to help someone.
I chose one of the lighter lamps and carried it to the bottom of the stairs. I saw a flash of someone in the darkness at the top. “Hey there,” I called. They didn’t come back.
“What are you doing, Lee?” Taro asked.
“Looking for something on the stairs to slip on.”
“Well?”
“I don’t see anything. But there was someone up there.”
“Probably someone heard Fiona’s fall,” said Dane.
“Then why didn’t they come down?”
“It wouldn’t be appropriate for them to come down and gawk at her. They need to wait to be called.”
I supposed that made sense.
“I can’t believe this,” Fiona muttered, embarrassment bringing a blush to her cheeks. “Your first night here.”
I almost told her I was used to it.
Chapter Three
When I woke up the next morning, it was still dark, and I could hear Taro breathing quietly beside me. That meant it was much too early for me to be getting up. I wondered what woke me, for in general I was the sort to sleep in until something forced me out of bed. I lay and listened, wondering if it was a noise that had woken me up, but I heard nothing strange.
I was hungry, though. Starving, in fact, my stomach curling into a knot in its protest of the lack of sustenance. I lay still awhile longer and watched the air lighten a little, but I really didn’t think I could wait until whenever the house served breakfast. I was that hungry.
When this had happened in the Triple S residence in High Scape, I’d simply gone down to the kitchen for some bread and cheese.
Fiona had told me to treat this place as my home.
But I didn’t like the idea of taking advantage of that invitation so soon.
Who would it bother if I went down to the kitchen and nibbled on something?
Damn it.
I slipped out of the biggest bed I’d ever slept in, wrapped myself in my dressing gown and made my way through the maze of chairs, settees and tables sprinkled throughout our bedchamber and sitting room. Once I was out in the hall, I couldn’t remember which direction took me to which set of steps, so I went right, because I was fairly sure I would hit stairs eventually. And I did.
I saw some candlelight curving around the walls, and a few moments later I heard sounds. Odd, grunting sounds. Frowning, I moved a little faster, and I came off the stairs onto a large, wide balcony. I was looking down into a large, long room. It was lit up with candles and Fiona and Dane were standing in it. It took a few moments for me to figure out what they were doing, it was so bizarre.
I saw Fiona strike out at Dane with her fist. I saw Dane block her blow and slap her on the face. Hard.
For a few moments, I was too stunned to do anything. Then I shouted, “Hey!” and the two of them broke apart and looked up at me. “What the hell is going on?” I ran down the next flight of stairs and jumped the last couple of steps to the floor.
“Don’t worry,” Dane said, stepping forward with his hands out. “It’s all right.”
“I wasn’t asking you,” I snapped. “Fiona?”
“It’s fine, Dunleavy,” she said. “I walked into it.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“We’re just training.”
“Training for what?”
“So I can protect myself.”
“By him slapping you? That hard?”
“Just watch. Dane?”
Dane stood before her. She was the first to throw a punch, which he dodged before striking back. She evaded his fist and reached out with her foot, hooking it behind his knee. He crumpled to his knees and she punched him in the nose. He rolled away and Fiona pressed forward, kicking and striking at him. He stopped suddenly, grabbing the leg on which Fiona’s weight was resting and yanking her off her feet. She landed flat on her back on the hard floor.
I covered my eyes with my hands. “Are you crazy?” I demanded.
“It’s wise for the titleholder to be able to fight,” Dane answered breathlessly.
I uncovered my eyes. Fiona was still on the floor, the breath clearly knocked out of her, while Dane sat on the floor beside her, unconcerned. “This is insane. What if you really hurt each other?”
“Then we stop, though, of course, we wouldn’t have that luxury in a real fight.”
Fiona was finally able to breathe, and after a few more moments she sat up. “I’m fine.”
“You’re demented.”
She grimaced. “Is there something I can do for you, Dunleavy?”
I suddenly felt embarrassed. I was presuming on a familiarity that didn’t exist. “I’m sorry. I just got turned around. I’ll go back up to my room.” I ran back up the stairs, ignoring dignity. What a horrible nearly first impression.
Daylight was much stronger when I found my way up to the suite I shared with Taro. And I smelled coffee.
I saw Taro, dressed for the day, standing at a window and staring out. His posture wasn’t quite as correct as it usually was. His shoulders seemed a little slumped.
I wondered just how hard it was for him to be here.
“Where have you been?” he asked.
“I was looking for something to eat.”
“The girl brought something for us.”
“Which girl?”
“She said her name is Lila. Apparently Fiona just hired her to see to us.”
“She didn’t need to do that.” In fact, I wished she hadn’t. We didn’t need a personal servant.
He shrugged. “It is done.”
I looked for and found the source of the wonderful coffee aroma. It was a large silver pot of coffee on a tray that held also a pot of tea, plates of pastry, cheese and fruit, and a letter with the Triple S emblem addressed to me.
“Lila said that came for you over a week ago.”
I poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed a pastry, then settled at a table. After a few sips of coffee and mouthfuls of the delightfully light pastry that tasted of almonds, I cracked open the letter.
To Shield Dunleavy Mallorough:
I trust this missive finds you and your Source in good health and meeting your obligations with competence.
As you are aware, it is the honor and duty only of the council of the Source and Shield Service to assign the posts of our Pairs. Be not alarmed. It can be understood why you and your Source accepted your transfer, but we trust you understand why we need to remind His Imperial Majesty that assigning the posts of our Pairs is not one of his responsibilities. It is for this reason that we ask for a complete account of the circumstances leading up to the oath of fealty given by your Source and the transfer made by His Majesty.
You may or may not be aware of the Source and Shield Service policy, which dictates that Sources are not to be posted at the places of their birth. Sources have been known to experience difficulties channeling in such circumstances. We require from you careful observation of your Source’s performance and a report describing such.
For the same reason, we request from you a report of the circumstances surrounding your temporary removal from the roster of High Scape by Her Imperial Majesty Empress Constia.
Finally, you resumed your post at High Scape only a few months ago after being absent from that post for over a year. We are aware that this absence was due to an order of the Empress Constia. Again, this is an action the Crown lacks the authority to take. Despite several requests, you have not yet informed us of the nature of the reason behind your absence, and where the relevant activity took place. We expect a thorough explanation of this matter in your next report.
Yours very truly,
Shield Kayan Lucitani
Source and Shield Service Council
Shield Kayan Lucitani
Source and Shield Service Council
Wonderful. What an annoying letter. I couldn’t really explain why the Emperor had done what he did, because I couldn’t figure out what the man was thinking. There was no logical reason for the Emperor to send Taro to Flown Raven. The man didn’t like Taro. Unless the Emperor knew being sent to Flown Raven would be a punishment for Taro, not a reward, but how would he?
I couldn’t tell the council what had been going on with the Empress, because we had been sworn to secrecy. The Empress was dead and could no longer hold us accountable for keeping that secret, but I still didn’t think it was wise to tell anyone that she had chosen us to look for the descendants of the collateral line to the throne, and that she had sent us to the remote southern island of Flatwell to do so. I didn’t know what the repercussions would be if we told anyone, but I was sure they would be nasty.
So that was going to be a short couple of paragraphs.
As to Taro experiencing difficulties, we already knew that. “They want me to tell them how well we channel here.”
Taro frowned. “We’ll channel well enough.”
“You know we’ve had difficulties before.”
“You were ill. We’ll do better now.”
“I’m not so confident.”
“We’re here now. We weren’t meant to channel from so far away. Now that we’re here, it will be better.”
Could that be true? “The Triple S must have forbidden Sources being posted at their birth places for a reason.”
“I think we can agree that the Triple S doesn’t know everything.”
That was true. “But if we tell the Triple S we’re having trouble, they might transfer us.” If they could. Sure, the Triple S was supposed to be independent, but its expenses were paid with money set aside by the Crown. Practically speaking, the Triple S couldn’t afford to try to discipline the Emperor. They simply lacked the power.
Taro stiffened. “I was born here,” he said. “These people have supported my family for generations. I won’t desert them.”
I was shocked. Taro had never shown any kind of loyalty to Flown Raven. “They won’t be deserted. Another Pair will be sent here.”
“That won’t be the same as me looking after them.”
No. It would be better, because it would not be a Source from Flown Raven. But Taro clearly wasn’t in the mood to be sensible, and he might be right. Channeling might be easier for us now that we were in Flown Raven.
A maid walked into the room. I was surprised that she didn’t knock, and I was uncomfortable at being seen by her in my nightgown. She didn’t appear to feel there was anything unusual in her behavior. “His Lordship”—that was Dane—“asks to speak with Source Karish and Shield Mallorough. Are you receiving?”
“We are, my dear girl,” Taro announced in a complete change of tone. “I’ll see him in the sitting room so my lovely Shield can fortify herself against the demands of the day.”
“Of course, sir,” the maid murmured as Taro wafted by her. She curtsied to me, which just looked wrong, and closed the door behind her.
I wolfed down another pastry and gulped down the rest of my cup of coffee. In my dressing room, some invisible person had hung up all of my clothes. I had no idea what we were going to be doing that day, but a tour had been mentioned, so I put on trousers and a shirt.
I entered the sitting room at the tail end of some comment Taro was making. Dane was frowning at him. Not in anger, I thought. More like confusion.
Dane had changed his clothes. His nose was very red. I wondered if he and Fiona had continued fighting after I’d left.
He smiled when he saw me. “Ah, Shield Mallorough, you’re looking lovely this morning.”
I was not. I was looking as plain as I possibly could, with loose clothing that did nothing to help my unremarkable figure, not a scrap of cosmetics to disguise my pale skin, and my red hair tied loosely at the base of my head. I hadn’t had the time to make myself look good.
“Have the two of you eaten?”
“I have,” I said, and Taro nodded.
“Good. I’ve been dispatched by my lady to show you the house. It’s possible to get lost here, and we want you to be comfortable. It’s your home now, and it’s been quite a while since Taro lived here. He might not remember everything.”
“I would be delighted to see the house,” I said. “But Taro might have a report to write to the Triple S.” Taro didn’t have any such report. As a rule, Sources didn’t write reports. But I thought he might not wish to face all the memories that might be lurking in his childhood home.
Taro frowned at me. “Was there anything about my writing a report in that letter you got?”
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