Keeper: First Ordinance, Book 2 (23 page)

"I will come," Kaldill's hand dropped on my
shoulder.

"As will I," Berel nodded.

I wanted to pitch a tantrum in Gurnil's Library like a small,
spoiled child.

I didn't. "Very well," I jerked up the first bag I'd
determined was mine. "Where am I to sleep?"

* * *

"Quin?" Dena knocked on my bedroom door. At the
castle, I was back in Justis' suite while Kaldill and Berel's suites were down
the hall. At least they had windows—my small bedroom had nothing of the kind.
Justis had the wide windows in his bedroom and sitting room.

"Come," I said. I had to work to keep the anger from
my voice. Why was Justis doing this to me? He knew I'd been miserable in the
kitchen, serving the Black Wing guards.

"Gurnil says you're upset." Dena opened the door
wide enough to enter, then closed it quietly behind her.

"I am," I admitted. Just when the ground beneath my
feet felt solid around Justis, he managed to unsettle it again. "Why is he
forcing me to have a midday meal in the guard's mess?" I asked.

"I thought he wanted to show you off."

"What?" I jerked my head up at Dena's words. "No.
I don't believe that for a moment."

"Then I hope it's not too difficult for you," Dena
said. "Tell me what happened in Kondar. I really want to know and Ardis
couldn't get anything from Justis."

I spent the next hour explaining the events in Kondar, most of
it still unresolved. "I wanted to fly out to see the ships," she
said, "but Ardis almost had a fit."

"He's just afraid for you—I can't say whether those
people on the Sector Two ships are safe to be around."

"But surely when they hear that the wizard lied to them,"
Dena scoffed.

"Some people want to believe the lie," I said. "It
feeds their beliefs at times, or their desires for a conspiracy, when there isn't
one. Either way, it's self-serving of Sector Two's politicians to mislead their
people, rather than to focus on the real danger. Fyris did the same, under
Tamblin's rule."

"He's dead, isn't he?"

"He is," I nodded. "As is Yevil, if what Justis
tells me is true."

"It's true—that's all anyone talks about at mealtimes.
Nobody had been sent through the gate since Treven, so I suppose it's fitting
that his half-blood son followed in his steps."

"I hope you know not to judge all half-bloods by Yevil's
standards," I said. "I'm sure most of them would be just like anyone
else, if they'd been given a chance to survive."

"I know." Dena studied her hands for a moment. We'd
chosen to sit on my bed to have our conversation; I watched Dena's chest rise
and fall with the deep breath she took. "Ardis asked me to share his quarters."

"Do you want that?"

"Yes."

"Then there's no problem. Is there?"

"No. I just hope he doesn't tire of a plain Yellow Wing
and look for something better."

"Why would you call yourself a plain Yellow Wing?" I
asked. "There is nothing plain about you, and your wings are lovely. Black
and Yellow look quite fine together."

"Shall I wear black clothing, then, to say I am his?"

"If you want," I said. "The color you wear
should be your choice, don't you think?"

"You make things sound so simple," Dena sighed. "I
told my mother about Ardis, and, well."

"She put that notion in your head—that he may look for
something else?"

"She can't help it. She has brown wings. My father has
yellow."

"Why do people think they're better than anyone else? It
makes no sense to me," I flung out a hand. "Your deeds will always
speak louder than any wing color you may wear," I said. "Look at
Halthea. Most know she acted no different when she wore yellow wings. She was
exactly the same—mean, greedy and vicious. It would be the same if she'd worn
black or green wings."

"She was favored consort to the King," Dena said.

"He was blinded by her wing color, too, never forget
that. I understood what she was the moment I saw her."

"You can't say those things within the King's hearing,"
Dena whispered.

"I know. Politics and monarchs will always be the same,
no matter what. Look, what shall I wear to this midday meal? Bear in mind they'll
likely dump the food on my head rather than serve it properly."

* * *

"You look nice," Justis said. So far, I hadn't
spoken to him. He hadn't asked me about going to the Guard's mess. If he had, I'd
have said no. He'd been drilling his guards when I arrived, so I wasn't upset
about that. He had work to do, just as most others did.

"Dena dressed me," I mumbled, refusing to look at
him.

She had, choosing one of the tunics and matching trouser sets
that Queen Lissa had provided. It wasn't overly dressy, but it was raw silk, in
a pale blue. For a midday meal, it was suitable—if I were dining with nobles or
the High President.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No."

"There is." His hand touched my cheek. I jerked
away.

"Quin—I know you're upset—Gurnil told me. I think I know
why. Come with me this once, all right? You don't have to go back again unless
you want to."

He lifted my shaking hands to his lips and kissed them. I
sniffled once, forced myself straight and nodded.

* * *

Moments later, after a short flight over the Castle and then
down to the flight balcony outside the Guard's mess, I followed Justis into the
castle, entering the same way that guards uncounted had arrived through the
years.

Boisterous conversation stopped immediately the moment I
arrived and struggled to keep up with Justis' long steps. Just as I feared
would happen—all of them stared. Wanting to weep, I kept my eyes on Justis'
black wings and looked neither right nor left until we arrived at our table.

Chapter 12
 

I was grateful that Kaldill, Berel, Ardis and Dena were
already there and seated. At least I wouldn't have to sit at a table with Black
Wings who'd ridiculed me in the past. I had no idea whether I could force food
past my lips, I felt so ill.

"Dearest, you look pale," Kaldill said as I sat
beside him. Justis, looking somewhat grim, sat across from me. A Black Wing
Captain stood at the center of the room and called for everyone's attention.

"Today, I am pleased to announce a promotion," he
began. "Ardis, former Captain of the Black Wing Guard, has now been
restored to his rank. Welcome to the guard, Captain Ardis."

Ardis stood and beamed as cheers sounded throughout the dining
hall. I breathed a sigh. Perhaps this was why Justis asked me to be present—so
I could see Dena's joy at Ardis' elevation. Reaching across the table, I took
her hand and smiled. Her return smile was tempered with tears of happiness.

When the cheers and shouts abated, I thought the meal would be
served when Ardis took his seat. The Captain at the center, however, was still
standing. "All the guards know that when the life of a Black Wing is
saved, then our highest honor is bestowed upon the one who saved the life,"
he said.

"I have an Order of the Black Feather with me today."
He lifted an object in the air. I blinked—it was made of fragile glass in the
form of a large black feather with a gold quill. The skill required to make it
must have been wondrous, and I wished I could have observed its making.

"Commander Justis, this is your honor to bestow,"
the Captain held the glass feather out. Justis rose and walked toward the
Captain, accepted the delicate object with a nod and backed away. The Captain
took his seat.

"Only a few of these have been given," Justis
announced. "I was not among the ones who nominated or voted upon its
recipient. Nevertheless, it is with great honor, and my blessing, to present
the Order of the Black Feather to Quin, who saved Captain Ardis' life."

The dining hall erupted.

I fainted.

* * *

"I don't believe any recipient has ever fainted before,"
Justis' face came into view when I opened my eyes and blinked to clear my
vision. At least he was smiling and didn't look embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," my hand went to my head. "It wasn't
intentional."

"We know. Sit up and drink this," Justis held out a
cup. Kaldill helped me sit up, and then lifted me to my feet, keeping me steady
when I wobbled. I took the cup from Justis and drank, discovering the liquid
was wine.

With a great deal of embarrassment, I was seated at the table
again while a host of Black Wing guards looked on in curiosity. "Um—thank
you," I said, as loudly as I could. A few guards laughed. It wasn't a bad
sound, and I was grateful. The glass feather was set before me, with room left
for a plate of food.

Servers began their routes between tables, setting plates
before Black Wings. I was relieved when they turned to their meal and stopped
watching me. My dizziness returned when I saw the one who brought our plates on
a heavy tray—Jadin.

He served everyone else first. When he set my plate in front
of me last, he set another object beside it.

It was a long, wooden spoon. "You have my apologies,"
he mumbled, his face darkening with embarrassment. "I saw the one who did
the murders, when he was forced through the gate. You may hit me with this
anytime you wish." He jerked his head at the spoon.

"I don't wish to hit anyone," I said. "But
thank you for the spoon. If Justis will cut a notch in it, I can reach the high
hangers in my closet."

"That's a wonderful idea," Dena said. "Why didn't
I think of that?"

"Is that what you do, Lady? Find the true purpose in
everything?" Jadin asked.

"I don't know—it just came to me."

"Back to work," someone called out. Jadin nodded to
me and walked away.

"Why did he call me Lady?" I asked the moment he was
gone.

"Because you're an ambassador of Kondar, and you have
this," Kaldill tapped the glass feather lightly.

"The Black Wings will stand with you always," Justis
said. "Because of that glass feather."

"Justis, I'm afraid," I blurted.

"Of what?" I thought he'd come out of his chair when
I made my admission. Kaldill gripped my hand under the table.

"I don't know that we can save Siriaa," I said. "While
the poison hasn't taken Kondar or Yokaru as it did Fyris as yet, it will. I
worry that you'll have to leave your home unless you want to die like Omina and
Rath."

"This is a conversation best saved for later, dearest,"
Kaldill whispered against my hair before dropping a kiss on my temple. "These
here believe otherwise at the moment. We should proceed with caution."

"I know."

"We will discuss this later—in the Library after our
dinner with the King," Justis nodded. "Try not to worry, although I
realize it troubles you. I do see some things, Quin."

"I know that, too."

* * *

Kondar

"The news isn't good, Edden." Hadris Jem and Firth
Quel, Chiefs of Medical Science and Science, brought a report to the High
President. They'd worked with the research facility staff, reviewing records
and experiments.

"What is it? What about the standoff with the Sector Two
ships?"

"The ships' crews want to leave, but the stubborn Second
Vice Presidents refuse to allow it. The crews want nothing to do with those
hovering airships above the facility."

"Very well. What's the bad news?"

"We can't kill the creature that produces the poison. If
we starve it, it goes dormant. The moment an energy source is provided, it
wakes again. When we cut into them with micro-lasers, the creature splits and
becomes two or more creatures."

"This is more frightening that I imagined it could be. What
do you suggest?"

"The planet will die," Firth shook his head. "It's
merely a matter of how long it will take the creatures to kill it."

* * *

Le-Ath Veronis

"Morid, if this doesn't work, there's nothing we can do
for you except send you to Siriaa," Lissa said. "The poison and the
creatures are already there—so you won't harm another world when you die."

Morid, lying in a quarantine unit at a nearby hospital,
wheezed and nodded.

"Adjust the oxygen," Karzac suggested to the masked
and gowned attending physician. "He's having difficulty breathing. Are you
sure you want to try this, Lissa?" Karzac turned to her.

"What else do we have? I hope I can leave the creatures
behind when I turn him to mist. Just get that second bed ready for him when I
let him go, and be prepared to send this bed to the ocean outside Fyris. I can't
imagine that a hospital bed and a few more creatures will make any difference
there in the long run."

"I'm ready," Karzac nodded.

Lissa, one of the few vampires with misting ability, became
mist and then pulled Morid into her mist. Karzac, employing only a bit of the
vast power he held, sent Morid's bed straight to the bottom of the sea
surrounding Fyris, a thousand light-years away.

* * *

"Did it work?" Renée looked up from her comp-vid when
the Queen walked into her office.

"It looks good—Morid is now creature-free, as am I. You
understand this is a last resort, though. I had no desire to chase those tiny
bastards around Le-Ath Veronis, once Morid was dead."

"I just can't imagine anything that can't be destroyed,
somehow," Renée shook her head. "Is it all right if I take a long
lunch break today? Montrose asked if he could see me."

"That's wonderful. Tell Monty hi," Lissa smiled. "Have
a bottle of blood substitute on me."

Renée was hoping for the bite and not a bottle of blood
substitute, but didn't say it. Lissa waved and walked into her private study,
closing the door behind her.

* * *

Avii Castle

I took the old physician's journal to the Library after the
midday meal, although Justis wanted me to lie down instead. He'd followed me
back to my bedroom after our flight to his suite, and supervised the placing of
the glass feather.