Iron Kin: A Novel of the Half-Light City (12 page)

Guy whispered something to Holly, then straightened. “So now there’s only one more thing to deal with.” He hesitated a moment, looked over at Saskia. “Sass, why don’t you go arrange some tea for everyone?”

Saskia shook her head. She had a slightly wild look about her, as though she wasn’t quite sure she’d actually gotten what she wanted. Or that she wanted it now she had it. But the vague air of uncertainty was mixed with determination. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

Chapter Seven

F
EN

“Tea
will have to wait,” Saskia said. “We need to hear what Fen has to say.” Lily nodded agreement.

I swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. These people . . . the DuCaines. Holly. Lily. They were all willing to fight to save the City. They believed they’d win. That their side was right and that right would triumph. How could I tell them that maybe that wasn’t going to happen?

“Tell us what you saw,” Guy repeated.

“You’re not going to like it,” I said, stalling.

“I don’t like much of what’s happening lately. One more thing isn’t going to matter. Talk.”

Five expectant faces focused on mine. There was no way I’d be allowed to leave this room before I told them. “I saw Ignatius Grey,” I said bluntly. “Seated on what looked like a throne with Fae and humans kneeling before him.”

Behind me there was a startled gasp. Saskia.
Damn
. Across from me, Holly’s face had turned pale. Lily was pale to begin with, but her eyes had turned to silver ice.

“Anything else?” Guy asked.

“Isn’t that enough?” I didn’t want to remember anything more. Mostly I remembered the feel of the vision. The chill of hopelessness against the fierce, piercing heat of victory in Ignatius’ eyes. The dread that had opened up before me and swallowed the world.

“Did you recognize anybody else?” Simon asked.

“No.” I made myself face the memory to make sure it was the truth. Ignatius on the throne was clear enough. I turned my attention to the faces of those in front of him. Not easy—they had their heads bent in homage or fear or both. I could see their hair and the clothes. The long robes of the Fae, which meant they were from the Veiled Court rather than those who lived outside of Summerdale. Which only made the vision worse.

Please be wrong
, I thought, even as I turned the image in my head, looking for anything familiar.

Nothing.

Which might mean it was a false vision or just that there truly was no one I recognized who was present when this came to pass. I was hardly on intimate terms with the Fae who lived in Summerdale, nor did I know many of the humans from the DuCaines’ level of human society. I’d attended exactly one ball. I wouldn’t be able to identify any of the members of the human council if someone had offered me gold. I was more familiar with the humans and Fae who worked at St. Giles with Simon, but they, except for Lady Bryony—the Fae healer in charge of the hospital—and a few other senior healers, were hardly likely to be involved in the negotiations. And I couldn’t imagine Lady Bryony kneeling for anybody.

“No,” I repeated. “Nothing.”

Not yet at least. I would be paying strict attention to the faces that crossed my path during the negotiations.

“Does that mean it’s not a true vision?” Saskia asked.

“I rarely know if something’s a true vision. Not at first.”

“How, then?” Guy asked.

“If the same thing shows up over and over again, it’s more likely to come true,” I said. I didn’t want to mention the flames and blood I’d been seeing for weeks now as an example. “Like you and Holly,” I said. “When I see you together, I see gold bands on your fingers. Every single time.”

Simon grinned at this, whereas Guy just grew still. Beside him, Holly looked somewhat astonished.

Saskia frowned. She’d pulled her prentice chain out from beneath the high neck of her dress, the bright silver and dark gray metal heavy against the dark green fabric. One hand strayed to it now, fingers twining around the wide links nervously.

“Perhaps. But it’s not like I can re-create a particular vision at will. For a start, I usually have to be near the person. Or near someone who’s spent a lot of time with them.” I realized that the three DuCaines had identical expressions of concentration on their faces. I shifted my weight, uneasy to be the subject of their regard. Since Holly had first met Guy I’d learned that when you put Simon and Guy together, a plan to do something seriously foolhardy in the name of getting what they wanted was quite often the result.

Saskia, I had started to accept, was cut from the same cloth as her brothers.

“Someone like Martin Krueger, perhaps?” Simon said.

Fuck. I hadn’t thought of that. “Maybe—” I shook my head. “No. That’s not a good idea.”

“Why not? You said Martin wanted you to see for him,” Simon said. “That gives you the perfect opportunity.”

I had the sudden nasty sensation of a net dropping neatly over my head and holding me fast. “If Reggie’s there, I’ll need my strength to get her out. The visions . . . they—” Hurt like hell. I didn’t know how to say that to Simon and Guy. “They take power—energy. Simon, you’re a sunmage. You know what I mean.” Unlike Simon, I couldn’t just step into the nearest sunbeam and refuel myself.

“If Reggie’s there, then it will mean Martin’s trying to force you to do what he wants,” Guy countered. “And what he wants is your visions.”

The net closed more tightly.

I could argue, but that wasn’t going to change the reality of the situation. “I’m not promising anything,” I said. “I can’t control what I see.”

“But you’ll try?” Saskia said.

“Reggie is my first priority. But if I get a chance, then yes, I’ll try.”

“Good,” Guy said. He sounded satisfied. Mostly. I doubted he was completely happy with a situation where he couldn’t take direct action himself. But for now he was going to have to wait and see what Lily and I could find out.

I hoped like hell it was Martin who had Reggie. Getting her free from the Beasts would be a lot easier than spiriting her away from the Blood warrens. Presuming she was alive . . . My throat tightened and I jerked my hand, wanting the sting of the iron to drive out the fear.

“I suggest everyone gets some rest until then,” Guy continued. “Saskia, you should go back to the Guild.”

She frowned. “Stop trying to get rid of me.”

This time it was Simon whose face turned stern. “You may be part of our delegation, Sass, but you’re still a student at the Academy. You need to go back and tell them that you will be absent for the length of the negotiations.”

Saskia’s expression turned . . . well, it was still somber, but there was a certain degree of satisfaction in it. “I do, don’t I?” she said. “But you wanted tea—”

“We can manage,” Simon said. “The Guild needs to know where you’ll be. Come back afterward, if you must.” He sounded resigned, as if he knew there was little chance that Saskia would choose not to get involved in the hunt for Reggie.

“I will.” Saskia took a moment to hug Holly, smile at Lily, and then she dropped a kiss on Simon’s cheek before walking to the door. She paused, looked back at me with something like reluctance in her expression. I looked away, not wanting to complicate things any further than I had already. But I still felt it when she slipped out of the room.

S
ASKIA

* * *

The Guild hall was busy as usual as I walked toward Master Aquinas’ office. I hoped he would be available. Better to get this over with quickly. I didn’t think my announcement was likely to get a warm reception, but I wasn’t going to change my mind. The negotiations were my chance to finally do something.

No one was going to dissuade me.

Besides which, I was eager to get back to Simon’s house and rejoin the others. To do whatever I could to help them find Reggie. Even though I knew nothing could happen until the sun went down, worry gnawed at my stomach, making it hard to focus. Worry about what might happen to Lily and Fen. Worry about what might be happening right now to Reggie.

I’d gotten what I wanted today but there was no pleasure in the victory now. Though Reggie’s disappearance made me even more determined to help set things right in the City.

The clerk outside the office informed me that the Master was busy but that if I cared to wait, he would be able to see me after his current appointment.

I settled into one of the chairs outside the office to do just that, spending my time studying the portraits of previous Masters of both the Guild and the various metals. The current Masters of Iron, Gold, Silver, and Copper stared down at me from their prize positions above the Guild Master’s door.

I tried not to look up at the unsmiling face of the Master of Iron. Master Matthews had been nothing but supportive of me over the years I’d been at the Academy. An affinity for iron was rare in women, who tended to be more in sympathy with silver and gold for reasons nobody quite understood, but Master Matthews treated me as he did the male students. Hopefully that support would continue. Hopefully he would understand.

My stomach twisted again, nerves about what I was about to do mixing uneasily with the underlying stew of anxiety.

Eventually the clerk rose from his desk, a sheaf of papers in his hand, and tapped softly on the Master’s door before slipping inside. I heard him say, “Prentice DuCaine would like to see you, Master Aquinas,” before the door closed again.

I shifted in the chair. Although its upholstery was rich velvet and well padded, it was, like most of the furniture in the Masters’ offices, made of metal. I preferred wood. It was both more comfortable and less distracting. Wood didn’t sing to me like metal did.

I couldn’t afford the distraction right now, even if part of me automatically listened to the songs, identifying the makeup of the bronzelike alloy that had been used by whoever had fashioned the chair. Percentages and alternatives started filling my head. A little more tin and a shift in the magics used to strengthen and the chair could have been—

The door opened abruptly and the clerk emerged. “The Master will see you now,” he said, beckoning.

I rose, tried to smooth my somewhat rumpled skirt as my nerves bit harder. No turning back after this.

When I walked through the door, my heart sank a little. Seated across from Master Aquinas near the fireplace was the Master of Iron himself. Ellis Matthews looked exactly like one would expect a man who could bend iron to his will to look. Tall, broad-shouldered, and ruddy-faced. Dark hair tamed back from his face with a leather twist and eyes as dark a gray as the metal he controlled. Beside him, Master Aquinas looked almost small. But you couldn’t mistake which of them was the Guild Master.

“Saskia,” Master Aquinas said, “we were just speaking of you.”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to know why that might be. I forced my lips into a smile. “I don’t mean to intrude, Masters.”

Master Aquinas gestured to the chair beside Master Matthews. “You’re here now, so why don’t you tell us why?” He looked relaxed, slouching back in his chair as if he had not a care in the world, but his eyes were sharp. It had been only half a day ago that I had stood here and heard him tell me that I couldn’t have what I wanted. How would he react when I told him that I’d found another way to get it?

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. “I need to request a leave of absence, Master.”

Both men straightened. “Has something happened? Your family?” Master Aquinas asked urgently.

I shook my head. “No. Everyone is fine.”

Expressions of concern turned to frowns. Master Matthews’ forehead settled into deep lines of disapproval. “Then why would you want to leave your studies, girl? You’ve been making good progress.”

I bit down my automatic “apparently not good enough” retort and lifted my chin. “I’ve received an invitation to be part of the Templar delegation. And I’ve accepted.” I spoke the last in a rush before either of them could say anything.

“What?”

“You can’t—”

I held out a hand. “I have,” I said simply. “So I’m asking for leave from my studies for the period of the negotiations.”

Master Aquinas rose from his chair, displeasure sharpening his face. The chain around his neck seemed to flare brighter for a second. “We discussed this yesterday. Your talents are valuable and we don’t want you to be at risk.”

“I’m aware of your views,” I said, keeping my tone cool with an effort. “But I don’t agree with them.”

Master Matthews made a rumbling noise. “You’re a student, here,
Prentice
DuCaine. It doesn’t matter whether you agree with our views or not. You agreed to abide by the decisions of the Guild when you joined the Academy.”