If he had an answer, he didn’t share it. But he didn’t share objections, either.
The kitchen led to the dining room, where chairs sat beneath the top of a long table. Helen had not set the table for guests, in theory—but she had set it to be seen. Yvonne hadn’t been invited for a meal but had been invited for the equivalent of morning tea. Kaylin didn’t love tea but understood the word as a loose description of a social event. Given Yvonne’s readiness to join the kitchen, she imagined Yvonne wouldn’t care about specifics of torturous etiquette—but An’Tellarus would.
Etiquette, however, was not foremost on An’Tellarus’s mind. Nightshade had been mentioned, but an outcaste fieflord was not yet as important as the possible fate of a haunted Yvonne. Kaylin couldn’t unsay Nightshade’s name. An’Tellarus wouldn’t forget it. Kaylin was certain both she and Terrano would get an earful—or eleven—when An’Tellarus finally departed.
The problem was to get her to depart.
“I think that unlikely,” Helen said quietly. “While she is difficult—and she has always been difficult—she is not what the Barrani would consider malicious. Her concern for Yvonneis genuine, but her attachment to Severn is also, to my surprise, genuine. She feels Severn can take care of himself—and she is not a fool; she recognizes his attachment to you. But she feels that Yvonne stumbles into things without will or intent—and can easily get swept away by them.
“I do not believe she is wrong. But Kaylin—you, too, tend to stumble into the most extreme of situations. An’Tellarus is willing to trust you, in part because you’ll be dead soon—of old age, one hopes—and in part because Yvonne already does. Yvonne’s instincts are good, in Cediela’s opinion. It’s just that she can’t act on them much of the time.”
“Why do you call her that?”
“Forgive me; that was rude. It is the name by which she is called by closer acquaintances at court; it was used far more frequently in the West March than it has been in the High Halls.” Helen hesitated. “I believe I can distract An’Tellarus; I can entertain her. But if I do, it will require far more concentration than it does to keep track of the cohort’s doings within my walls.”
“Why?”
“She is old, she is canny, and she is fully capable of masking her thoughts. She is not without personal power. And she despises boredom. She is not bored now; she is fully engaged—indeed, she was like this in the distant past.”
“You liked her,” Kaylin said; it was almost an accusation.
“She is not the type of person one either likes or dislikes. She is the type of person one appreciates. But buildings, as Barrani, are eternal unless destroyed. Ennui and boredom can threaten us all when we have no will or goals of our own. An’Tellarus was, to the ruin and dismay of many, never boring. I may be forced to adopt an entirely different form for my Avatar; I hope it will not be alarming.”
“But if she talks to you, she won’t insist on joining us in Nightshade’s room?”
“I will not allow her to enter if Annarion does not agree. Annarion will never agree.” Helen’s smile was serene. “But Cediela understands at least this much. She may demand. She will not attempt to use force.”
“Her demands are pretty forceful.”
“That is true. I have let the cohort know that my physical form will be concentrated in an appearance to which they are not accustomed—and I have asked Fallessian to escort Imelda to her quarters and keep her company there over tea. Unless things become heated or physical combat ensues, he will remain with her.”
If physical combat, as Helen put it, ensued, Kaylin suspected that Fallessian might remain with her as well.
“Do you expect things to be that messy?”
“People are nosing around my perimeters at the moment; they believe they are being subtle.”
That shouldn’t be a problem for Helen. “They’re not Tellarus’s people, are they?”
“No.”
“...they’re not trying to enter the premises the usual way.”
“Sadly, no. It makes containing An’Tellarus in a socially acceptable fashion more complicated. The cohort is also keeping watch and have expanded the domains in which they are being watchful—but only Mandoran and Terrano have any experience with some of the paths that I believe might be used. I have made Terrano aware of the possible difficulty. He has informed the others. But I believe Serralyn wishes to join the cohort, and a small argument is in progress.”
“Is thereevera time when a small argumentisn’tin progress?”
“Yes. When things are, as you might put it, on fire.”
26
Annarion accepted Yvonne’s presence in the room. He also accepted Severn’s. He would have barred the door and stood with drawn sword had An’Tellarus made any attempt to enter. His brother, unconscious and injured, could not defend himself against any attack she might make, nor would there be consequences if she killed an outcaste.
Kaylin didn’t believe An’Tellarus would try. The older Barrani Lord had nothing to gain should she somehow succeed. But An’Tellarus was unpredictable, and her alliances almost unknown. Kaylin wouldn’t have taken the chance had she been Annarion, either.
He trusted Helen to keep them safe, but it was a near thing. Had Helen been able to clearly explainwhyNightshade wouldn’t wake and couldn’t be touched by Kaylin’s healing power, his response might have been different. But An’Tellarus would leave the house with whatever information she gained—and she’d gained a lot of information no one had had any intention of imparting.
Everything had grown too large. Every small bit of information Kaylin had gained in bits and pieces over the past year was a thread, and the threads were tangled and messy, a giant ball of complication. Kaylin investigated murders and lesser crimes for a living and had come to understand that the most important thing she could do to solve a crime was to ask the right questions. Only then could she find the right answers.