1/Terreille
It was time. Lilith couldn't put it off any longer, and knew she had to go check on Tarine's district. She hadn't been there since before she had edged her way into Meredith's court…the first time. Counting back the weeks, that was nearly four months ago. Far too long, even for a court as well established as Tarine's was.
Secretly, she'd been hoping that Alex would move on before she went back there. Facts were facts. If he hadn't contacted her by now, he wasn't going to. 'Nelle was going to be very upset when she came back with him. Especially given how long she had been gone. Haedyn and Taenne must be driving her crazy by now.
But two angry Arcerian Warlord Princes in Kaeleer were the least of her worries right now. Lilith was far more worried about the angry Hayllian Warlord Prince here in Draega. The last thing she wanted to do was run into him unexpectedly while she was in the district. After the way she'd left, things were awkward enough.
Lilith supposed that she was a coward, but she slipped into Tarine's district as far from where she knew Alex to be and made a beeline for the Queen's residence. At this time of day, it was alive with court business, but she knew where she could find Tarine. Audiences were over for the day, but she'd be reviewing appointments with her Steward in one of the smaller salons.
The Warlord at the entrance was new, so Lilith wasn't surprised when he stopped her from entering the building.
"Your name, Lady?"
"I am Raenel, Warlord."
His eyes rounded in surprise. Lilith tried not to show her amusement as he pulled himself together. Everyone in the community had heard of her. How could they not, she supposed. But few of them spoke with her directly these days.
"Lady Raenel, you said?"
"Indeed so."
Now that the initial shock had worn off, the Warlord looked skeptical. Lilith could well appreciate why. Plenty of witches thought they could impersonate her and get away with it. They were all very wrong, of course. But that didn't mean any of the Queens weren't wary of anyone claiming to be Lady Raenel. They taught their courts the same wariness.
"I have to ask…" he began.
"I'm not offended, Warlord. I am most happy to give you a demonstration to prove I am who I say."
He looked relieved, and waited. Lilith smiled and called in the illusion she presented as proof of her identity. As it unfolded, the elaborate flower bloomed and shimmered in the sun. From stem to petal, it was a work of intricate Craft that no one else could reproduce.
The Warlord stared at it for some time. Judging from the look on his face, her identity was not in question. Rather, he seemed mesmerized by the illusion. Lilith let it fade, or else they may stand there all day. Once it was put away, the Warlord snapped back to attention.
"The descriptions don't do it justice, Lady."
"I'm glad you found it so impressive. Is Lady Tarine in residence today?"
"She is, Lady. Do you require an escort?"
Lilith shook her head with a laugh. "No thank you, Warlord. I think I can find her. If my guess is correct, Lord Braetyn has her buried under a pile of appointments and petitions."
"You know Lord Braetyn well, Lady."
As Lilith passed through the doorway, she laughed again. She'd rarely met anyone so well suited to the position of Steward as Lord Braetyn. The man brought more enthusiasm to paperwork than Scelties herding sheep. Tarine was either very lucky or very unlucky.
The Queen's residence was looking better and better with every visit. Lilith couldn't help noticing that since she was here last, they'd added an additional wing. And inside, the rooms were showing signs of skilled craftsmen and artisans from the district. Where there used to be bare walls and empty hallways stood pieces of fine furniture and decorative weavings. Tarine was doing well, and it showed.
At last she came to the door of Lord Braetyn's records room. From inside, she heard the voices of the Steward and the Queen. The latter sounded about at the end of her patience, so Lilith thought it best to rescue the poor man before she clobbered him with his own appointment book. She gave a perfunctory knock and entered.
"Lord Braetyn, what in name of Hell are you pestering Lady Tarine about now? I can hear the two of you from out in the hall."
Tarine looked up from the hopeless mess of paperwork on the desk, her face lit with a relieved smile.
"Raenel! You have perfect timing. Convince him that I can't possibly go through all of these," she complained , gesturing in front of her.
Tarine's Steward was determined to defend his position, and crossed his arms.
"Right after she's done convincing you that you need to review the petitions to be ready for tomorrow's audiences."
"Oh no, you two are not putting me in the middle."
"But Raenel…"
Lilith held up her hands for silence. She gave each of them a stern look and stepped closer to examine the disaster piled almost a foot high. With a raised eyebrow, she considered Tarine.
"Your Court- right now you have only a First Circle?"
"Yes of course."
"And how many make up that circle?"
"Twelve males and five witches."
"They all have duties, yes?"
Tarine seemed baffled by the line of questions, but she answered anyway.
"They're all very busy, actually."
"And how's the Court's treasury at this point? From what I saw walking in, it looks like people of the district are able to fulfill their tithes and you're doing well."
"This quarter went especially well, but I expect to see that trend continue."
"So you have finances enough to start thinking about a Second Circle."
"A Second Circle," Tarine echoed.
"We went over that in the Protocol lessons. As a court grows and becomes stronger, it becomes necessary to provide openings for additional circles. Your Second Circle are trusted enough to take care of personal assignments, but are not quite as close to you as your First Circle."
Lilith picked up one of the petitions and glanced over its contents absently. She let it drift back to the desk.
"Sorting and summarizing petitions sounds perfect for someone in a Second Circle position, don't you think? I'm sure that even a man who loves paperwork as much as Lord Braetyn could use an assistant in here."
Steward and Queen were dumbstruck for a few minutes, and Lilith settled into a chair to wait for them to recover. She couldn't fault them for being surprised. Neither of them likely thought that their court would survive, much less grow to the point that they needed more than the First Circle.
Tarine spoke first.
"I guess we didn't realize that the Court had gotten that big. It didn't seem that way."
"Tarine, my darling. Whether you realize it or not, aside from Meredith, you have the largest court in all of Hayll."
She couldn't tell if the expression on Tarine's face was shock or horror.
"You're not serious."
"Absolutely serious. Not even Meredith's pet Queens have half as many members in their courts. Hell, if I were to judge them by the standards of the Old Ways, none of them even have courts. They have covens of frightened and brutalized witches, nothing more."
"How long, then, before Meredith realizes that we're here?"
"If not for the uproar caused by destroying all the Rings of Obedience in the city…she would likely know in less than a month or two. But since she's focused on keeping her coven in line, we have some time yet."
"How much time?"
Lilith considered what information she'd learned over the past three months. The pet Queens were hanging onto their districts- barely. Meredith would have to divert resources to them if she hoped to keep control of Draega. And then she had her core coven to deal with. Lilith had seen fissions and rebellion building there as well.
"A year , maybe two." A wicked smile bloomed on her lips. "If I give her more trouble elsewhere, it could be as many as five."
"I see."
"Will you be ready by then, Tarine?"
The Queen gave her a measured look. She was by no means naïve, and heard the double question. With a glance at Lord Braetyn and gave him a brief nod.
"Would you excuse Lady Raenel and me, Lord Braetyn? We'd like to finish this conversation in private."
"Your will is my life, Lady."
"Thank you. Maybe you could draw up a list of potential candidates for an assistant position and we can look at it later today?"
"I'll do that."
With that, Lord Braetyn left the room swiftly. Lilith knew she shouldn't be worried anymore, but she sent a light psychic probe after him to get a sense of his opinion. As expected, he didn't seem bothered that they wished to talk alone and Tarine had asked him to be excused. In truth, he was far more excited about the possibility of training an assistant to take offense. She breathed an inward sigh of relief.
But now it was time to deal with what she'd just let out of its box. Tarine leaned forward, resting her forearms on the desk. She regarded Lilith seriously for several minutes before saying anything.
"When you ask if I'm ready, it's not just Meredith you're talking about, are you?"
"Eliminating Meredith isn't going to be the most difficult challenge to face," she admitted.
"I can't imagine that she will be an easy opponent to battle."
"I never said it would be easy," Lilith countered. "I said that by comparison, it is the easier feat to tackle."
"Do I dare ask what is worse?"
"Filling the vacuum left behind once a regime- especially an oppressive one- has fallen. It's rebuilding that takes more work."
Tarine listened thoughtfully while Lilith continued with her point.
"That's why Hayll crumbled in the first place. After Dorothea and Hekatah were destroyed, there was no way to replace their corrupt Courts with healthy ones."
"Which is what you've been doing for nearly half a century." She hesitated. "Meredith's coven could have been destroyed a long time ago- couldn't it?"
"Yes. If that's all that needed done, it could have been done decades ago."
"Was it worth it, Raenel? While we've been waiting, she's destroyed countless witches and Blood males."
"That's true. Tell me, Tarine- how many would have died in the chaos that followed and how can you know that another Meredith couldn't have risen to power when it was over? You saw for yourself the effort it takes and the bloodshed required to heal just one district."
Tarine shuddered at the memories of those early days. Very bloody times to purge all of the tainted Blood from the district and maintain control over those willing to learn. Executions and harsh punishments had been common- and necessary. But Lilith had always performed them with as much fairness as possible.
"Now imagine that city-wide. Territory-wide."
"That's what's coming," Tarine whispered.
"Yes. Which is why I ask you if you are ready."
"Just me? Or have you been asking all the Queens?"
"I have asked them the same words, but not the same question."
"I don't know if I like the sound of that."
"I doubt you will."
Lilith drew a long inward breath and revealed the true purpose of her question. "Tarine, you're my choice for Hayll. When Meredith's coven is gone, you will be Territory Queen. I need to know if you are ready for that challenge."
Stunned silence followed her words. Tarine looked dazed and slightly ill at the prospect of becoming Territory Queen one day. Lilith took that as a good sign for Hayll. Anyone grasping to rule either didn't appreciate the gravity of what it meant…or was thinking only of the power and wealth it would bring.
"That is a lot of lives to be responsible for," she said at last.
"You'll have help," Lilith assured her. "I'm sure that you'll find suitable Queens in our network who have the ability to become Province Queens, and they can assist to settle the other districts. I'd never ask you to do it alone."
"You're really serious, aren't you?"
"Absolutely and without question."
"We have a lot of work to do, then."
2/Kaeleer
Daemon headed to Tersa's cottage, hoping she might have some answers for him. It had been two months since Jaenelle Saetien and the cats had gone to Ebon Rih, and they were no closer to finding out when Lilith would be coming back to Dhemlan. The last time he'd gone to visit Jaenelle Saetien, she was thoroughly distraught over the matter.
But she was not any closer to telling him where her friend had gone. He'd tried the cats as well. They were just as silent. Even Lucivar hadn't been able to goad them into revealing anything. So when that failed him, Daemon turned to one person who might be able to help.
Jolinne was grinding powders in the kitchen when he entered Tersa's cottage in Halaway. Daemon nodded to her with a smile and paused long enough to find out where to find his mother. As usual, she was in her workroom. Out of respect, he stopped just outside the door and knocked.
"Hello, Darling. You look busy, but I thought we'd visit if you had time."
Tersa turned around and smiled at him in her faraway way. She brushed her tangled hair away from her face.
"There's always time for what's important."
"Where would you like to talk?"
"This is a good place."
They didn't usually talk in her workroom, so Daemon was a little surprised she wanted to stay here. But he slipped his hands in his trouser pockets and balanced against the back of a chair. Tersa didn't move, standing in front of her worktable. He couldn't be sure, but Daemon thought he saw a tangled web in a frame behind her. He wasn't here to ask about that, but it did give him an idea where to begin the conversation.
Since this issue with Lilith's disappearance came up two months ago, he'd attempted to weave tangled webs that would locate her in Kaeleer. After all, it shouldn't be that difficult for him.
Far from getting the results he'd expected, the webs had shown him something chilling different. The images he'd seen weren't clear, but they spoke of warnings and death. Up to now, he hadn't shared what he'd seen with anyone. Maybe he should share it with Tersa.
"I was thinking lately that maybe Jaenelle Saetien isn't the only one who needs to keep up with lessons in Black Widow Craft," he began, taking a round about way to the point.
Tersa considered him cautiously before nodding her agreement.
"Practice shows new paths and strengthens the old."
"I'm not sure whether it's the new or the old that has me tripped up lately."
"The threads must balance. Must find the right balance."
They talked for a long while about theory and lessons that he knew well about creating tangled webs. Tersa's mind wandered here and there, sometimes leaving the subject altogether. But Daemon let her talk without trying to steer the conversation. If he was going to get any help, he would have to gather it from the pieces of what Tersa told him. It was a technique Lucivar had taught him, but that didn't mean it wasn't frustrating sometimes.
Tersa frowned at him after a time, thoughts turned inward. She turned back to the web behind her on the table.
"The web that hides," she said at last. "The snare that traps and obscures all others."
Daemon held his breath. He didn't dare interrupt her thoughts, hoping that maybe she might be able to give him some insight.
"It binds even as it unravels, blinding all but the one who can shatter it."
"Seems like a risky gamble."
"A dangerous web," Tersa whispered. "For the weaver and the lives bound in the web."
She knew. The ominous visions he'd had lately mirrored what Tersa was telling him. Not quite in the same images, but the message was the same. Of course, that didn't mean that he had any better idea what they meant. Daemon risked pushing his luck.
"Darling, I need to ask you something important. I need to know if Jaenelle Saetien has woven something to hide where her friend Lilith has gone."
Tersa shook her head.
"My little Sister can weave well, but even her webs are snared in the weaver's web."
So much for that theory. Daemon didn't know whether to be relieved or more alarmed. If this wasn't Jaenelle's doing, who could it be? He tried to play it off as if he wasn't worried.
"I suppose I should have guessed as much, since it would seem my webs aren't faring any better."
Tersa shifted to the side, allowing him to see for the first time her web. Without knowing why, he felt an instinctive rush of fear sweep through him as he looked at it. She half turned to him, expression hauntingly eerie and sad. Daemon shuffled over to his mother as she beckoned him to stand beside her.
"Webs can't be built this way," he struggled to say.
"A web meant to endure- no, it could not be built this way."
"What is it built to do?"
"Shatter."
"But why?"
"The weaver weaves the web, but the memories chose the path it will take in the end."
Daemon was afraid to ask his next question, but he needed to know. He had to know if the vision he'd seen was as bad as he thought.
"What will happen to the weaver at the path's end?"
Tersa stretched out a hand towards the web and skimmed her index finger along a slender thread holding the web together. The weaver. Daemon saw places where it was worn thin, stretched to the limit. Even the light brush of a finger made the whole web tremble.
His mother was looking directly at him, eyes unusually focused and intense. She didn't say a word, and viciously snapped the thread. The whole web collapsed into a twisted mass of spidersilk. Daemon's mouth went dry as he stared at it.
"Who is the weaver, Tersa?"
"Ask the Lost Dreamer," she replied, shaking her head.
Ice sluiced down the valley of his spine. Webs, weavers and dreamers. If he didn't know better, he would swear that Tersa was trying to tell him that Witch walked the Realms. Daemon couldn't believe that was true. The Dream had come and gone with Jaenelle Angelline. No matter how much he still felt the loss of his Queen, he would not tempt himself with thoughts that she could come back.
Mother Night, she couldn't come back. Daemon didn't know what it would do to him- to any of them- if she came back. He'd grown to love Surreal and the life they'd built with their daughter. But if Jaenelle came back, Daemon wasn't sure he wouldn't walk away from them to be with her instead.
Tersa seemed to be waiting for his reply. She must have known the turmoil he was feeling, and brought a hand to his cheek. For awhile, neither of them moved or said anything.
"She…I…" he began haltingly, but couldn't bring himself to finish the thought.
"The Lost Dreamer will have the answers."
"How long?"
Vagueness and exhaustion crept into Tersa's eyes.
"It is not yet time. But soon."
That answer would have to do. Daemon could tell that she was reaching the limits of what she could give him. He slid his arms around her and kissed her temple gently.
"We'll just have to wait for this Lost Dreamer, then, won't we?"
Tersa was silent, staring down at the remnants of the web. Worry and fear lurked there, making him uneasy. If even she was worried about this, Daemon knew that something was very wrong. But there was nothing to do about it now. Until this Lost Dreamer appeared, they'd have to try to find something to distract from the worry.
"Any chance there might be nutcakes to eat while we're waiting?"
She gave him a knowing smile.
"There might be."
3/Terreille
She was here. Alex had heard whispers in the marketplace this morning that spoke of Lady Raenel's return. If not for the rumors, he never would have known she'd come to the district. Since they'd parted three months ago, he'd been unable to track her Jewels. Short of sending a message on an Ebon-gray thread, he'd had no way of knowing where she might be.
He wondered if Lilith knew he was here. The masking spell he used to hide his Jewels from the locals was fed by the Ebon Black, so it might be effective enough to hide them from her, too. Alex feelings on that matter were torn. If she didn't know he was here, he might be able to catch her before she got away. On the other, he had a foolish hope that she might have come looking for him.
Doubtful. And if she was, Alex wasn't sure her reasons would be happy ones. Over the past few months, he'd spent a lot of time thinking about what he'd done that night. Alex was convinced he'd done the unforgivable, and the guilt gnawed at him. He should have let her go as she had asked in the beginning.
"Something on your mind, Vrede?"
Alex looked up from the half empty cup on the bar in front of him. The barkeep was refilling a mug with beer for another patron, but his look was directed at him. With a shrug, Alex hoped that he was convincingly nonchalant. It didn't work. The barkeep handed the mug off and came over to this end of the bar.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"You look like something's eatin' at you."
"How can you tell, Chaeke? Weren't you the one who said last week that I always look too serious?"
"Yessir I did, but there's something different today. Was just wonderin' what it was."
The man was genuinely interested in Alex's problem, whatever it was. Even after so many months, he wasn't quite used to what it was like here. The friendly camaraderie in the community was an oddity in and of itself, but even more bizarre when it was aimed at him.
His Jewels, caste and reputation in Meredith's court had kept him isolated from the rest of the Blood. But here he was looked at like an equal to everyone else.
"It's nothing really. I was just musing over some rumors I heard today."
"Aye, I suspect the whole district is talking about Lady Raenel's arrival. It'll be awhile before she makes a tour of the neighborhoods. First day she's usually cloistered with Queen Tarine."
"What does she do when she's here, usually? I haven't been here long enough to see her yet."
A whistle from the other end of the bar called Chaeke's attention away for a few minutes. He was back in no time, and picked up a dry towel to polish a few glasses.
"Usually comes around to give Protocol lessons to the youngsters and debate the finer points of the Blood Code with some of the older ones. Sometimes she'll offer advice if there's been trouble in the community."
"Isn't that something Queen Tarine does?" Alex asked politely.
"Queen Tarine makes decisions about what is or isn't done in the district now."
Alex caught the subtle inflection on his words and grabbed onto it.
"Now?"
"Long ago when we first started, Lady Raenel led the community. But she turned it over to the Queen a few decades ago. So now she does things differently. She's not giving commands or rulings anymore- not without the Queen's permission, anyway."
"I see."
"You'll get a better idea what it's like when she comes around in a day or so."
Alex hesitated to ask his next question, but figured it wouldn't hurt to find out as much as he could.
"What sort of witch is she?"
"How do you mean?"
"I mean, no one really said what Jewels she wears or her caste. If she's so close with Queen Tarine, I was thinking she might be one, too."
"Nah," the barkeep said, shaking his head. "Lady Raenel is a gifted Healer and a Black Widow, but she's not a Queen."
Well, that meant Lilith was hiding her caste from more than just him. Interesting. Alex had assumed that when she wasn't in Meredith's court, she didn't hide what she was. Apparently, he'd assumed wrong. So what reason did she have for keeping it a secret around here?
Alex set that thought aside to follow up on the other half of his question.
"And her Jewels?"
"Never seen them myself, and there's been speculation on that score from others, too. No one's quite sure what they are, but based on what I've seen, they lean towards the darker ranks."
"I wonder if they're anything as dark as any of the bitches in Meredith's coven," he suggested idly, hoping to prod more information out of Chaeke.
"It's unlikely they're that dark, Warlord. Most of the stronger witches were killed off by them centuries ago."
His opinion was in keeping with what Alex expected to hear. After all, Lilith had told him she kept her rank Jewels hidden under illusions to protect herself. He wasn't surprised that included the times when she was in safer communities like this one. So he let the subject drop and took another drink.
"Well, I guess as you say, I'll see for myself in a few days."
"If you're that curious, you could go attend one of the open audiences in the Queen's Residence tomorrow," Chaeke suggested. "Lady Raenel usually attends them while she's here."
"Does she? I might have to think about that."
Alex stood and drained the last of the contents of his cup. When he waved away the offer to refill it, the barkeep gave him a nod.
"Headed out, then?"
"Yeah, there are things I ought to get before the shops close for the evening."
"See you around, Vrede."
It was time he left, anyway. The evening crowd was starting to drift in, and before long, the tavern would be packed with witches and Warlords alike. The Warlords he could handle, but Alex was still on edge around witches. If not pressed into close quarters with them, he did all right.
But in places like this he felt cornered and uncontrolled. More than once he had to make a hasty exit before doing something he'd regret. Even Chaeke had noticed how uncomfortable he was around witches. After the first few weeks of coming in here, Alex recognized that the casual flirtation from the barmaids and regular guests stopped.
He suspected that the barkeep had something to do with that. Not that he minded. In fact, he'd been grateful that someone had solved the problem instead of him. It saved Alex the misfortune of killing some witch who'd really meant him no harm. Whatever Chaeke had said to the witches in the tavern, they gave him a wide berth when Alex was there.
Still, best not to go asking for trouble. So he stepped out into the streets fast darkening with the coming night. Before he went back to his rented suite at the inn, he wanted to stop at the bookseller. The library in Meredith's Hall was one of the only things he missed.
The bell jingled merrily as he entered the shop. At this hour, not many patrons were browsing the shelves of books. Alex nodded at the shopkeeper and stopped at the counter.
"Anything new in lately?"
"New shipment came in yesterday. Got a few new authors in that you might find interesting, Vrede."
"Yeah?"
"Well, they're new for me, but the books were written some time ago. You'll see the titles over on that middle shelf- Shadow and Tracker series."
Alex turned on his heel and walked up to the shelf in question. He plucked one of the books out of the group and flipped through several pages to get a sense of the story. After a few paragraphs, he was close to laughing at the antics and interplay of the characters. Oh yes, he knew he was going to enjoy this series.
Who would have had the imagination to invent the idea of animals who wore Jewels? Alex couldn't have pictured it himself. In Meredith's Hall there had been few pets, so he didn't have much experience around them. But in his boyhood he could have used the company of a talking dog like Shadow.
He grabbed two of the books, telling himself that he couldn't possibly finish reading the whole series in a day or so. And if he found the courage to talk to Lilith, he might be leaving this district as early as the end of the week. If he didn't, well, he could always come back and buy the rest when he'd read these.
"You're right. These are perfect."
"I thought as much. Only two this time?"
"Trying not to bite off more than I can chew," Alex replied good-naturedly. "That last set was a lot more challenging to finish than I expected."
"Well, there's plenty more in the series once you've finished off those. If you like them, I'm sure you'll be back soon enough."
"That I will." Alex pulled out a few silver marks to pay for the purchase. "I'll be seeing you."
"May the Darkness embrace you, Vrede."
With a nod, Alex left. He'd heard that farewell said all over the community, but still didn't know how to reply to it. He'd never heard it before coming here. Once or twice, he'd almost asked Chaeke what it meant, but always changed his mind at the last minute. Maybe he'd ask next time he was in the tavern.
As he was walking back to the inn, Alex realized that aside from the issues he still had with witches, he'd grown almost comfortable with this pretend life. In his heart he knew he wasn't meant to be a light-Jeweled Warlord living a quietly unobtrusive life in Draega. But part of him was enjoying the freedom of that kind of existence.
Did he really want to trade it for the unknown future he'd face if he left with Lilith for…well, wherever she was going to take him. He didn't know his family or what they'd be like. But he had a feeling that he'd have to face the man he really was, not the one he was pretending to be here. Would they be able to accept him?
Would he be able to accept himself?
4/Kaeleer
'Nelle's whole body ached. She was sore all over from all the practicing with her cousins. Titian had promised to go easy on her when she got here two months ago. No different than if it had been Lucivar or the Boyos, anyone who believed that was in for a nasty surprise. The Yaslanas didn't know what the word 'easy' meant when it came to practice. Even after all these weeks, 'Nelle still felt like a worn out dishrag when practice was over.
She collapsed on her bed, not even caring that she hadn't changed clothes first. The door to the cottage opened, and 'Nelle turned her head to see Titian slip inside. Small favors- she was alone. That was something, at least. She was so not in the mood to deal with males right now. Even so, she wasn't all that thrilled to see Titian, either.
"Here to finish me off, are you?"
"Cheer up, cousin. You're improving."
"Yeah, I can move after you're done with me. I suppose that's an improvement of some kind."
"It wouldn't be so bad if you would practice when you were back home," Titian suggested sympathetically.
"There are really not a whole lot of partners to practice with at home. Dhemlan witches aren't so eager to learn how to spar with one another."
Her cousin flopped down onto the bed next to 'Nelle and gave her shoulder a light tap.
"Perhaps Papa should return your visit and fix that."
"Oh no. No no no. There is no need to get the witches of Halaway pissed off at me for bringing Lucivar down on them."
"You could practice with Lilith. She seemed to do all right when she had her first lessons."
'Nelle's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Any time her uncle or cousins mentioned Lilith, she had to wonder if her father put them up to it. Too often, their offhand questions sounded more like an interrogation. She had to be very careful what she said.
"Mmm…perhaps. Although I think I'll have to wait in line after the kitties. They've been working extra hard these past few months and I think they mean to prove a point."
"Haedyn and Taenne have many points- particularly with their claws and teeth."
Rolling over on her side, 'Nelle risked a laugh.
"I have a feeling they're going to get into trouble when she gets back."
"Oh c'mon. It was only a matter of time before Papa was going to train them. He's trained every Arcerian who's come to live at the Hall."
"I know, I know. But I think we were hoping to push it off a little while longer."
"I'll bet you ten silver marks that Lilith doesn't even make a comment about the training when she gets back."
Well, there was no losing that bet if she took it. 'Nelle knew that Lilith would have tons to say about the kitties' newly learned skills when she came back. Particularly what Haedyn and Taenne expected to do with them.
That is, if she came back.
Worry has blossomed into terror over the past month. In all the years that 'Nelle had known her, Lilith had never stayed in Terreille this long without returning to Kaeleer. And her friend had most definitely not returned to this realm. All of their friends said they'd not seen her.
If this went on for another week, she was resigned to confess to Papa where Lilith had gone. There was nothing else to be done about it. None of the webs she'd woven since arriving in Ebon Rih had shown her anything useful about the situation. All she'd accomplished was to scare herself even more.
She was roused from her thoughts by a poke from Titian. Her cousin was studying her closely. Hell.
"You do know when she's coming back, don't you?"
"As much as any of us ever knows," 'Nelle tried to brush off. "You know what she's like- all mysterious about where she goes and what she's doing."
"Yeah, I know what she's like. I just figured that she actually told you what it was she was up to."
"Not as much as I'd like."
"Oh."
Conversation paused for a moment while Titian considered her words.
"Lilith is coming back, isn't she?"
"She damn well better," 'Nelle grumbled. "I am not explaining to Papa that she's gone and we're stuck with the kitties."
"No kidding."
'Nelle decided to press her cousin to see just who was behind this conversation. And for once, she was glad her cousin was Eyrien. Unlike the Dhemlan witches in Halaway, she could just ask Titian a straight question without dancing around with a lot of sideways chatter.
"Did Uncle Lucivar want you to ask me about where Lilith is?"
"He might have."
"And does that have anything to do with the conversation we're having now?"
"It might," Titian replied with a shrug. "But I might also be wondering where my friend is- and why you're so worried that she's been gone so long."
'Nelle leaned close, dropping her voice low.
"Trust me, Titian, you don't want to know the answer to either of those things. And neither do they."
"Why not? What can be worse than not knowing?"
It could be a lot worse, she thought to herself. Far worse to know and be helpless to do anything about it. 'Nelle was silent, unable to answer her cousin's question. Instead, she glanced around the familiar decorations of the cottage and tried not to think about how bad it could be in Terreille.
"I see."
Titian stood up and crossed the room. She paced the oval braided rug on the floor several times before saying anything else.
"Is it worse than the time we all went hiking with Haedyn and Taenne in the mountains in Glacia and got lost for a few days?"
'Nelle still couldn't answer.
"Worse than the time we dared each other to go to Arachnia…and then did it? Nothing in Kaeleer is worse than that."
Silence was the only response she had. If she said anything, it would give away too much. But 'Nelle worried that was a foregone issue already. Titian wheeled around suddenly, a horrified look on her face.
"Mother Night, 'Nelle. Don't tell me that she's left Kaeleer."
"If you recall, we've all left this realm at some time or another. We've all been to Dena Nehele and Shalador Nehele. Your brothers have spent years in Askavi Terreille, even."
"Yeah, but even so…most of Terreille isn't very safe. Especially not for a witch alone."
"I didn't say that's where she went, did I?"
"But you haven't said the opposite, either."
"Titian, I'm not telling you where she went."
"Why? Because you think I'll tattle on you both to Papa and Uncle Daemon? I can keep a secret, you know."
"I know you can. But this isn't my secret to tell." After a few minutes of hard looks at one another, 'Nelle sighed. "She made me promise, Titian."
There was nothing her cousin could say to that. They both knew how important it was to keep a promise once it was made. So Titian let it drop.
"All right. So you can't tell me. What can I do to help you until she comes back?"
"Help me keep them distracted. At least for one more week. I'll decide what to do by then."
"A distraction, huh? I think I can manage that well enough."
The devious grin on Titian's lips boded ill for everyone, but 'Nelle told herself that she'd take whatever help she could get. She just hoped whatever mischief her cousin had in mind wouldn't get them into any more trouble than she was going to be in in already when Lilith got back. Her Papa would have more than enough yelling to do when this was finally over.