Title: Murderer's Touch

Author: I_nv_u50

Rating: PG13 for … stuff? O.o;

Disclaimer: Characters and plot mine, the rest isn't.

Warning: Slash :D

Author's Notes: Chapter two already O.o;; I'm on a role!! ^^ Might have the next chapter out soon as well ^^ Please read, enjoy and review!! ^^

:What… what was that?: Brynn asked, his mind still stunned.

Devoni replied with a faint hint of dry irony, sounding impossibly smug. :Can't tell you yet. It's something you have to work out for yourself.:

Brynn wrenched his gaze away from the murderer and glared at his Companion. Devoni watched him superiorly.

:You know,: Brynn scolded bitterly, :You're supposed to help me figure these things out.:

Devoni merely sent him a kind of mental shrug, and Brynn turned back to the younger boy, who was still watching him with an undeniable suspicion.

Brynn scowled, upset with himself for forgetting for even an instant that this boy had murdered his best friend. "Come on then," he muttered, deciding to ignore the weird flash of something he had just felt. "The King is waiting."

He smirked inwardly as Kylan's face paled, but for some reason, didn't feel as good about the justice system the court had now. When they got there, the King would interview Kylan, and then, probably, Kylan would die, sentenced to death.

Why the idea suddenly made him feel more than a little depressed, he had no idea. Apparently Devoni knew, but he knew his Companion well enough by now to know that Devoni would only tell when he was ready to – or when Brynn had found out the information himself. Devoni was extremely helpful in matters of Valdemar, but with personal… he preferred to let his Chosen work out personal problems himself, unless it held some sort of danger or urgency to either them or the country.

He mounted Devoni easily, used to the way the Companion felt under him, but still reveling in the fact. No matter how much the horse look alike annoyed him sometimes, he was still Brynn's best friend.

Aside from Akseli, of course. Brynn scowled at Kylan at the reminder of the murder. "Come on, hurry up. Can't keep the king waiting, you know."

Kylan scowled up at him, a flash of fear flitting across his face before it disappeared in a cocky, more arrogant expression. Brynn held down a hand reluctantly.

"Tell me if you're going to be sick again," he ordered curtly, feeling Devoni's brief gratitude at that. "And do it quickly. Companions have better things to do than be thrown up on."

Kylan's expression darkened and he accepted the help, swinging up into the saddle with only a little difficulty; just enough to let Brynn suspect that he had been on a horse before. He momentarily wondered when, and dismissed the thought almost as quickly as he was able to dismiss his own guilty pleasure in the close contact of the murderer.

Devoni whickered a laugh back at him, and Brynn frowned at the pure white ears in front of him.

:Shut up, horse.: Brynn ordered shortly, and Devoni snorted with amusement before setting off for the Palace.

Brynn tried to ignore the warm body sitting so close behind him, concentrating instead on how his friend's blood covered the ragged clothes.

The guard at the gate looked grave and serious, almost sad. The news of the Herald's death had, no doubt, reached all around the Palace by now. Indeed, there was no place inside the grounds that the Death Bell's grieving toll didn't reach. All the Heralds would be around, mourning the loss of someone who had honestly been one of the best and most well liked Heralds.

Brynn asked Devoni to walk as fast and as far away from the Grove as he could, and Devoni complied with a quiet sort of concern that warmed Brynn somewhat, and a sense of misery that didn't help the situation. But Devoni was going to lose a good friend as well, as Shaelin would probably pine herself away with the loss of her Herald. In a small surge of protectiveness that Brynn wished he hadn't felt, Brynn decided to keep the murderer as far away from the Companions as he could. And as many of the Heralds that would allow him.

It was a pointless idea, and a moot one anyway, because killing a Herald that wasn't at war did carry the Death Penalty… or a penalty that would result in death…

Kylan's hands suddenly gripped Brynn's hips, and Brynn shifted, uncomfortable with the ease he might have accepted the action with.

"What is it?" he snapped.

"Where are we going?" Kylan's voice was nervous, and Brynn absently noted that the smaller body was tense against his.

"To see the King. He wants to see you as soon as possible."

"Oh…" The quiet voice replied, and Kylan fell silent, leaving Brynn feeling somewhat bereft of something he couldn't identify. He had a disturbing notion that was only half recognized before a guard planted herself in front of Devoni.

Devoni snorted slightly, surprised but not wary yet.

Brynn turned his attention to the woman. She too had unchecked tears still rolling down her face, and Brynn suddenly realized that there were a lot more Heralds approaching.

Devoni snorted warningly, for reasons beyond Brynn's understanding. He also wanted to protect Kylan until the king got to speak with him, but Devoni's actions implied more than that. He felt a sudden sense of betrayal at Devoni's willingness to protect a murderer of one of their best friends.

Devoni shook his head at Brynn, snorting warningly at the guard and pushing past her.

She let him go, but Brynn, looking cautiously over his shoulder and Kylan's, could see that she still wasn't happy. And neither were the Heralds that stepped out behind her.

"Who was that?" Kylan whispered into Brynn's shoulder.

Brynn started, not having realized that the other was so close. He flinched away, ignoring the sudden coldness that came with the absence of Kylan's touch. "One of the friends of the Herald you killed," Brynn answered shortly, still not wanting to speak about his friend's death. The full grieving would come later, when he was alone, with only Devoni for company if he had any at all. He had barely had any time to mourn after the Death Bell tolled; Devoni had alerted him to the news that Akseli's murderer was on the run, but still within catching distance. He had saddled Devoni with a speed that could have rivaled any, and had let Devoni pick the way to follow.

Devoni stopped right in front of the stairs to the Palace, and Brynn had nudged Kylan off, almost wanting to push the younger boy off. He didn't. He restrained himself. Kylan looked sullen, defiant, and totally panicked, although that might have only been Brynn's overactive imagination.

"Ready?" Brynn asked, not really caring what the answer was. He started up before he heard it anyway. :Wait for me in the stables, all right?: he asked Devoni.

Devoni snorted and bobbed his head. :Be easy on him, Brynn.:

Brynn ignored that, not wanting to understand how Devoni could be so forgiving so quickly. Devoni would miss Shaelin about the same amount he would miss Akseli. He scowled at nothing and let Kylan follow on his own, not bothering to slow down for the hesitant, stumbled steps the murderer walked with behind him.

They weaved in and out through the corridors silently, the steps behind Brynn picking up speed and an almost unidentifiable confidence. Brynn snorted at the idea, and stopped outside the King's conference room, where Devoni had quietly told him the King and the King's Own were waiting for them.

Brynn idly toyed with the idea of sending Kylan in alone, then decided he couldn't. He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't allow anything too bad to happen to the other young man. He disliked the thought as soon as he thought it, but couldn't get rid of it. It refused to leave his mind, and he submitted reluctantly, bitterly wondering when he had started to care so much for a murderer.

He knocked politely, softly for protocol, and pushed the door open a crack. Then he waved Kylan in, following slowly himself once the other was inside and had no options of backing out.

King Solas stood, looking dangerously sad and angry at the same time. The King's Own, Herald Astral, stood as well, looking stern and forbidding enough that Brynn repressed a shudder and had to make himself keep watching them, as opposed to looking at his feet like a guilty Trainee, like he felt like doing. A quick look to his side reminded him of who the guilty one was, and while he was looking, his brain sort of froze.

Kylan was covered in blood. Unfortunately he seemed mostly unaware of this, glowering resentfully at the two most important Heralds in the kingdom. Blonde hair was matted with dirt and dark, dried blood, and Brynn self consciously ran his eyes over the rest of the figure, unable to help himself, yet cursing himself as he did so. Kylan looked frail, fragile almost, but in a way that hinted at muscles under the skin, an unfinished air about him as if he hadn't stopped growing yet. Brynn found himself wondering how old the murderer was, and felt a pang of regret that Kylan probably never would live to see himself fully grown. It was more than regret though… it was misery too, and a flare of sudden panic.

Brynn faced the other two Heralds with a sudden surge a determination. He couldn't allow them to kill Kylan, however much he deserved it. He just couldn't.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" King Solas snapped, glaring at the boy from under deeply furrowed brows.

Kylan shrugged.

"Don't you feel the slightest bit sorry?" Herald Astral pressed, searching for some reason for the crime.

Kylan shrugged.

Brynn winced mentally. It wasn't going too well, and if all Kylan did was shrug, then he doubted his abilities to save the murderer.

:Don't worry, Chosen. You won't let anything happen to him.:

:But why?: Brynn mentally wailed back at his Companion. :Why do I feel like this over someone who is so obviously bad?:

There was a pause, and a slight hint of regret in Devoni's mental voice when he answered. :I'm sorry Chosen. You must realize for yourself. It all depends on how you accept it. It all rests with you now.:

Brynn scowled, both mentally and physically. Devoni could be such a help at times, and such an annoyance at others. Stupid horse, he thought grumpily.

Then he turned his attention back to the present situation, where Kylan was staring at the King in confused amusement, that, Brynn knew somehow, hid a kind of consuming panic.

Astral was talking quietly to the King, and Brynn glanced at them before shooting another quick look at Kylan.

"What did you say?" he hissed.

Kylan jumped, startled, then scowled at him. "Nothing. That's what they're arguing about," he said proudly.

Brynn had the sudden urge to beat the brat. "Why not tell them you didn't mean to?"

Kylan looked surprised, then skeptical. "You think they'd believe me? Besides," he looked thoughtful for a second, and shrugged again. "I did mean to do it."

Brynn gaped at the bloodstained boy, but before he could say anything, Solas pulled out of his conversation with Astral. "We're going to consult with the other Heralds and Companions, but I think you know what the ultimate punishment will be."

Kylan grinned, suddenly, and Brynn felt a flash of foreboding.

"Course I do. I die, and this whole issue disappears, forgotten in everything except the chronicles. What else to do to a murderer but murder him yourself?" Kylan shrugged again, and shook his head, grinning harder. "I don't understand it myself, but there." His expression darkened. "Heralds will be Heralds, and people will be people. You shouldn't try to cover up the darker impulses, you know. It's actually quite stupid. They're bound to come out in the end, probably darker than you've ever seen before."

Brynn stared at Kylan, astounded. The other two Heralds glanced at each other, irritated anger trickling into their expressions.

"Of course," Kylan continued slowly, seeming to talk to himself, "if you really think you should kill me, you should at least do a good job with it. Can't have me being a bad example to the others, can you? And there are others. I know that for a fact. They won't leave you alone, they're too bitter of the Heralds to even try and think about what good the Heralds do." He paused, and shot another cocky grin at the two elder Heralds. "If you do any good at all, that is."

Brynn eyed the other people in the room cautiously, unsure about what to do. Something bad was going to happen, he didn't need Foresight to know that…

"Kylan," he said softly, "maybe you should-"

Kylan gave him a baleful look. Brynn scowled back but shut up.

Solas sat down again, grinned calmly yet managing to imply his anger quite nicely. "As you like then. We won't consult the other Heralds. We hereby condemn you to death, by witness of myself, King Solas, the King's Own Herald Astral and Herald Brynn."

Called out of his stunned horror by the mention of his name, Brynn took a deep breath and walked calmly to stand in front of Kylan, unsure about what he was doing, but not finding time to doubt it. He couldn't let Kylan die. He just couldn't.

"I disagree." Brynn said softly, looking calmly into the surprised eyes of the other two Heralds. "I don't think the condemned deserves death." Brynn continued, unsure exactly of what the outcome was going to be. He wished he had the gift of Foresight.

"Herald Brynn," Astral said softly, "may we know the reason of this disagreement?"

Brynn thought it over hard. He honestly did. All he registered though, was the fact that Kylan was fidgeting behind him, unsure. All he recognized was the fact that he simply could not let the condemned die.

"I don't know," Brynn replied honestly, just as quietly as Astral had spoken. "I don't know."

Solas and Astral exchanged confused glances. "We need a better reason than that, I'm afraid, Brynn." Solas told him slowly. "You know we do. We need a good reason, or he's going to die."

"No," Brynn snapped, unconsciously reaching out behind him and taking Kylan's hand unerringly. It was limp with shock, but there was still a jolt of rightness, one that Brynn had only ever felt from Devoni before.

Devoni. He would help, especially now that the situation was serious.

:Help me!: Brynn silently called. :Please! Tell me why they should spare him!:

Devoni's sigh echoed around his head. :All right.: he said, his voice heavy with reluctance. :But only because it'll damage you if you fail.: Devoni paused. :Kylan's… You are… You two are lifebonded.:

The sudden shock on the other two Herald's faces told Brynn that Devoni had told them that as well, but he didn't register it. He couldn't. all he could absorb was the way the word suddenly fitted in with everything he felt, everything he had felt since he had caught Kylan when the boy fell.

"Havens…" Astral breathed, as Solas eyed Brynn, wide eyed. "What are we going to do now then?"

Brynn, still feeling the warm hand in his own, could only agree with the sentiment. They were in trouble.