Part 23 (1/2)
CHAPTER 13.
Severn woke her in the morning. Morning, given the previous evening, wasn't as much of an enemy as it usually was, and she woke to the aroma of food. Severn was cooking. He was also whistling something, and even whistling on-key. He stood where sunlight could reach him, and sun was streaming in through the open windows; his shadow was long.
”Teela dropped by,” he said without turning. ”She tried to wake you up.”
Kaylin had no memory of that at all. ”Are you sure?”
”I stopped her from upending the bed, if that helps.”
Kaylin laughed. ”Was Tain with her?”
”No-but she had a message from Evanton she wanted to pa.s.s on.”
”Evanton?”
”Apparently.”
”He couldn't mirror?”
”Apparently not.” He turned then; he was grinning. ”Physical objects don't travel well through mirrors.”
”Of course not-that would be useful. What did she bring?”
”It's on the counter.”
Curiosity was a better incentive than work; Kaylin slid out of bed and slid into clothing. While she dressed, Severn said, ”She seemed a bit surprised by the egg.”
”Surprised how?”
”She wanted me to explain biology to you.” He was smiling broadly. It wasn't genuine.
”What did she say?”
”She did say that. But she touched the egg, Kaylin.”
”And?”
”It turned red.”
”Red.”
He nodded. ”Red, orange, gold; it looked like a small, contained fire.”
”Did it-did it burn her?”
”Got it in one. It didn't burn you, though-and you were in direct contact with it the entire time. She's not happy,” he added.
”What did she say?”
”Oh, some Leontine, some Aerian, some Elantran. Strictly non-Barrani for about two minutes.”
Kaylin examined the egg; it looked the same as it always did in the morning. She placed it back in its crate, wrapped it with care, and shoved it back under the bed. ”Does she know what it is?”
”No. She wants you to get rid of it, though.”
”Big surprise. What did she bring?”
Severn reached across the counter and lifted something: it was a sheath.
”How the h.e.l.ls did he know?” Kaylin asked as she crossed the room to take it from his hands.
”He's Evanton. If I had to bet, Teela probably told him.”
She lifted the sword that she had taken from Maggaron, and took the opportunity to examine it closely. The blade was still much shorter than it had been the first time she'd seen it, but aside from that one huge s.h.i.+ft in shape and form, it was solid. It was a clean, gleaming steel that held a perfect edge when inspected with the naked eye. Runes, however, had been carved in the flat of the blade on both sides.
”I'm glad Teela left,” Kaylin murmured as she swung the short sword experimentally in the air a few times. She could fight with long knives, but long knives and short swords weren't the same species of weapon, and her sword training, given that she'd started it so late, was minimal.
”She wasn't.”
”She's a core part of the Exchequer investigation. Marcus is enough on edge about that he'll rip out her throat for the usual minor infractions.”
Severn shrugged because it was true.
Kaylin picked up the sheath sent by Evanton. It was wrapped in what felt like leather, except at both lip and tip; those were steel of some sort. There were no words on the leather, and no engraving on the steel; nothing set the scabbard apart from any other utilitarian scabbard she'd ever seen. It suited her.
It did not, unfortunately, seem to suit the sword. Kaylin had sheathed many weapons in her life; she'd never before had the privilege of fighting with said weapon when she tried.
”Kaylin!” Severn shouted. ”The sword's glowing!”
The sword wasn't. The runes were. Severn could be forgiven for skipping the details. He could also be forgiven for jumping as far out of the way as her small apartment allowed before he hit the wall. The sword swung her arm. It hit her chair. It cut her table. It separated parts of the mangy rug she used to absorb the sound of creaking floorboards. She hoped like h.e.l.ls that it hadn't actually split the floor.
She wasn't weak; she spent at least three days of any given week drilling and lifting weights. That probably saved some of her furniture, because she began to fight the sword for control of its direction. She wouldn't have been surprised if the d.a.m.n thing had started to speak, but it didn't. Instead, it started to change shape, which was so not what she wanted.
Cursing in Leontine, and wis.h.i.+ng she had the bulk that usually came with the language, she grabbed the hilt with her other hand and tried very, very hard to keep it still enough to put it in the sheath.
It took twenty minutes and some very cautious help from Severn before she managed to slide the weapon home. Only when she'd managed it did it suddenly cease to struggle.
”I want words with Evanton,” she said. She'd managed to bite her lip because one of the directions the sword had swung had connected her knuckles with the underside of her chin. Because she was in her apartment and no one, in theory, cleaned it but her, she didn't spit the blood out.
”They're going to have to wait,” Severn replied. ”So is breakfast.”
They weren't late. They weren't late by a very small margin and a very fast run. Kaylin's new scabbard hung off her waist by a thick and serviceable belt; she tried not to stare at it with either annoyance or suspicion when she walked between the guards that led into the Halls.
They went on a quick flyby of the office; Marcus was shouting at the mirror, which was a good sign for Marcus and a bad sign for whomever it was he was speaking to. She would have cleared the office after sign-in, but Caitlin caught up with her.
”Lord Sanabalis is waiting in the carriage.”