The Way of Things: Upper Kingdom Boxed Set: Books 1, 2 and 3 in the Tails of the Upper Kingdom (89 page)

It was very dark and very late and still we sat, no one wanting to
sleep, no one wanting the night to end. The Major and the Seer sat side by
side, the young falcon dozing on his shoulder for a change. She seemed to prefer
the top of his head. Naturally, he did not, and it was proving to be a
difficult lesson for her to learn. My new sister sat tucked under her husband’s
arm, and again I marveled at the match. Lion and Tigress, husband and wife. Not
the way of things, but a good way, nonetheless, and I found my own heart
suddenly aching for the two women who taken up residence there. Neither
lioness, both bound to my heart forever. I would never be able to repair that
glass.

I watched her for a time, the sad quiet tigress, found it odd that she
couldn’t look at any of us. In fact, the song she had sung had been very, very
sad, and she seemed to be struggling with something. Kerris was unnaturally
quiet as well, for there had been no story for weeks, no tale of Kaidan, no previous
exploit or ancient fable. Tonight was the perfect night for a story. I glanced
at Solomon. He could not bring himself to look at me either, and suddenly I
knew.

I knew.

“Kerris,” was all I could say.

Now he did look up, smiled at me sadly.

“It’s for the best,” he said softly. “There’s a whole new world to
explore, and you know how I love a good explore.”

I couldn’t speak. My heart ached all the more.

“We’ve talked to Solomon and he’s happy to have us. Besides, it would
be bloody well impossible for him to take that ship across the world alone. He
needs our help and we are good on the boat. Fallon is so incredibly smart, and
I can learn lessons if I put my mind to it. We both want to do this. We both
want to go.”

Fallon nodded but still did not look up. Kerris went on.

“It’s an amazing adventure, one worthy of Kaidan himself. And it’s the
ocean, Kirin. The ocean! I will finally be able to see what it is like, so far
beyond our shores. I’ve always known I would. Always.”

The ache in my heart had doubled.

“Maybe there’s Ancestors, maybe not. But there will be no cats, no
Upper Kingdom, no Pure Races.” He kissed his wife on the forehead. She hugged
him tightly. “Because Fallon thinks she’s pregnant, and if I know anything
about her at all, I think she’s probably right.”

Pregnant.

The Seer beamed. The Major shifted slightly.

Pregnant.

“There is no place in our world for grey striped kittens. Forgive me,
sidalord
Seer, but the life of a mongrel is hardly a
life at all. Pits and beatings and being chased from one town to another.”

Sireth cocked his head. The bird chirruped in her sleep. “Hardly a
life. But still.”

Kerris sighed. “And so, perhaps there will be a chance for them in the
new land, without all the rules that tell us how to live and whom to love.”

So many protests running through my head, but I was mute. I could not
think.

It was the Seer who spoke up, as if in my very thoughts. Which, given
his gifting, was
entirely possible.

“And if there are no cats there, only Ancestors, do you presume that
they will not be looking at you differently? They would never have seen a cat
before, at least according to Solomon. You and your kittens will be a novelty
still.”

“Better a novelty than a scourge.”

“Is that how you felt growing up, grey coat?”

Kerris said nothing.

“And you, Khalilah. Is it so easy to say goodbye to your family, to
never see your mother and father and sisters again?”

Finally, she did look up. Her stripes were darker with tears. “No,” she
sniffed. “It’s not so easy. It breaks my heart. But they won’t understand. They
won’t approve.”

“You haven’t given them the chance.”

“You are the last person I would have thought to be defending the
Kingdom, sidi,” said Kerris.

“It is a good Kingdom, and I love it very much. I would not be at
Sha’Hadin if I did not. But you need to find this out for yourself. And you
will, I see that much. And when you do, I would like you to consider returning
to Sha’Hadin. You are an Elemental and you have run from your gifts as surely
as you have run from your people. I suspect you can do far more than toss a few
lightning bolts around.”

Kerris stared at him.

“Just a thought. When you have wearied of your exploring, please bring
your tigress wife and six grey striped kittens and join the Major and I in
building something new, something that might serve as a model for the rest of
the Kingdom.”

What was he saying? I sat forward.

“You are changing
Sha’Hadin?”

“If you reinstate me.”

“Hmm.” And so I asked, for it was easier to speak of this than Kerris.
“Unification?”

“I’m afraid so, Captain. I believe my own glass has been overturned of
late. I need to revisit some old ideas.”

I was fascinated.

“I will also be setting my mind to find our wayward Alchemist. I
believe she is in
Sharan’yurthah
at
the moment, although not with the Magistrate. How she crossed the border is
quite beyond me.”

“Why would you want the Alchemist?” I asked.

“She has abilities beyond any I have encountered. If Unification is to
become a reality, we may need her skills. And if Solomon is correct and there
are indeed Ancestors in this place across the ocean, then the Upper Kingdom may
need all the resources at its disposal to survive them.”

“Hmm.” I said again.

And so we sat for the rest of the night, saying little, but thinking
much, until the first light of dawn crossed the horizon.

 
- an excerpt from the
journal of Kirin Wynegarde-Grey

***

They said their goodbyes as the
sun rose above the sea. The sailing boat rocked on the waves, its canvas sails
falling loose against the masts. They had brought aboard the barrels of fruit,
and the few things that had belonged to Kerris and the Scholar as well,
including her strange book, and they all stood on the sand, not knowing where
to start, or how to end, and wishing somehow that life had been very, very
different.

Solomon went first.

Ursa handed him a dagger she had
fashioned out of relic steel. It looked sharp and very dangerous.

“For shaving,” she said.

He hugged Ursa Laenskaya, and she
growled and lashed her tail, but to her credit, did not kill him. He moved on to
the Seer, reached out his hand. To Kirin’s surprise, benAramis took it, shook
it good and hard, before pulling the man into an embrace of his own and they
hugged like old friends, or more appropriately, brothers. They had already said
goodbyes once before.

And finally, the Captain.

Solomon sighed, ran a hand
through the tangle that was his hair. “Captain, I don’t know what else to say,
but thanks. For everything.”

Kirin nodded. “I hope you find
what you are looking for.”

Solomon grinned. “No, you don’t.”

Kirin grinned. “No, I don’t. But
still.”

Solomon held out his hand. Kirin
eyed it and, remembering how the Seer did it, took the pelt-less hand. It felt
strange and warm, but good.

Solomon stepped back, turned to
board the small boat that they would row out to the sailing one. He pushed it
out into the water and waited.

Fallon stepped over to the Major.

“Um, I just wanna say, um,
thanks.”

The Major arched a brow. “For
what?”

“For teaching me, you know. For
teaching me to stand. For teaching me to hold a sword. For teaching me the
balance of mind and body in the practice of Chai’Chi. For teaching me that it
doesn’t matter what people think of me, because when I’m strong, they will
respect me, and that with respect, I can do anything. For teaching me that if I
put my mind to it, life will never slow me down or stop the beating of my heart
until it is my time and then, for teaching me how to meet that time with
dignity and courage. Yep, for teaching me all of that.”

Ursa stared at her for a moment.

“You are a stupid, skinny little
tigress,” she began. “You are obstinate, opinionated and you talk far too much.
But I think you are very strong. You would have made a good pupil. I would have
been honored to train you.”

The tigress was a blur as she
threw her arms around the snow leopard, hugging her so tightly that one could
almost hear ribs cracking. Ursa growled and lashed her tail, but to her credit,
did not kill the tigress. Fallon disentangled herself before launching herself
into the Seer’s arms. He kissed her forehead, smoothed her wild white-streaked
hair from her face. She was doing her very best not to cry.

“I’m gonna miss you so much,” she
whispered.

“Not too much,” he smiled,
gathered both her hands in his. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath. “Hmm. I
think you will be very busy, very soon.”

Her emerald eyes were wide,
asking.

“Two,” he said. “It’s a start.”

“Two. Twins. Wow. What was her
name?”

“Who?”

“Your daughter. What was her
name?”

Now tears did come, but to his
eyes. Both of them.

“Soladad,” he said softly. “Her
name was Soladad.”

“Soladad Waterford
Wynegarde-Grey. Yep, I like it.” And she hugged him one last time, stood up on
tiptoes to kiss his cheek, before turning to the Captain.

She took a deep breath, shook her
head, threw her hands up in the air. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m not sure, I
didn’t mean, I just, I just wish…”

“Sister,” said the Captain, and
he reached his gloved hands for her, allowed her to fall into his arms and he
held her while she wept, stroking her hair and whispering to her in hushed
tones.

“But, but I don’t know what I’m
trying to say!” she sobbed.

       
“I
do.” And he too kissed her on the forehead, smoothed the wild, white-streaked
hair from her face, before releasing her. “Take care of him.”

She nodded, took a deep breath
and began to back up, sloshing into the water toward the little boat where
Solomon was waiting.

“Ah, really. Must I?” Kerris
sighed, whacked the ground with a stick he had found. “This is all so
melodramatic. Goodbye all and be done.”

The Major growled and lashed her
tail, and stomped through the sand to where he was standing. She snarled up at
him, the wind whipping her long hair into and out of her face. She held up a
bunch of tangled cords, pendants swinging wildly at the end of them. She had taken
great care to remove the blood.

He stared at her. “My pendants…”

“I found them at our old camp
site. They were broken. I have fixed them.”

He reached out to take them from
her hands. “Oh my…”

“They are stupid and catch on
everything. You should throw them away.”

“Thank you,” was all he could
say, as he began to slip them, one by one over his neck. He looked up at her,
beaming, the sun, moon and stars all rolled into one. “You are marvelous.”

“You
…are spoiled.”

“Just spoiled? Not insignificant?
Not an excuse for a lion? None of that? Have I really changed that much?”

She snorted, and he leaned in to
lightly kiss her cheek.

“If you hug me, I will kill you.”

“Sorry I couldn’t stick around
for you, love. I know how you’ll weep.”

“If you hurt her, I will kill
you.”

“I love you too, dearest and
gentlest.” He whacked his stick a few more times before ambling over to the
Seer. “You are a crazy man for marrying that one. She’ll be the death of you.”

“I know.” benAramis smiled at
him. “The other land will not bring you the peace you seek.”

“Ah. Spoken like a true monk.”

“It is simply my job.” But still,
he was smiling. “You would find a home in
Sha’Hadin
.
I could train you.”

Kerris laughed. “Oh yes. Kerris
the monk. I can see it all now.”

“Perhaps
I
can.”

The laughter died, but the smile
remained and the blue eyes narrowed. “Perhaps you can at that…”

And he took several steps away,
until all that was left was Tao. Yin and Yang. Silver and Gold.

They could not bring themselves
to look for a very long time. The wind was strong, the gulls crying overhead.
The waves rushed upon the sand. There was nothing at all to be done but go.

“So, um, Quiz…” Kerris began.
“When you get home, let him go just outside the gates. Just take his blanket
off and let him go. He’ll find a herd, somewhere. Say, you should stop by the
Magistrate’s at
Sharan’yurthah.
See
if that little bay colt is there. He likes you. He’d make a good little mount,
even if he does have a straggly tail and all…”

“Yes,” said Kirin quietly. It was
difficult to talk. “I will do that.”

“And, ah, give Mummie a kiss for
me. Tell her I went off on another adventure. Oh and here!” He dug inside his
trouser pocket, pulled out a palm filled with shark’s teeth and one large
exquisite single pearl. “For Lyn’ling. A treasure from the bottom of the sea.”

Kirin took it in his gloved hand,
stared at its perfect beauty, marveled how it, of all things, had made this
journey intact. He closed his hand around it. “I will give it to her.”

“Right. So, then I’m off –“

“Kerris. Wait.”

Slowly, very carefully, Kirin
undid the buckles of the obi at his waist, folded it so that it sat in his
hands, underneath the long sheath of the katanah. Both sword and obi he held
out to his brother.

“For you.”

Kerris took a step back. “Ah no.
It was good for a time, you know, when I needed it. Or thought I needed it. Or
wanted it. But it’s yours, Kirin. Always has been.”