Part 44 (1/2)

Bellusdeo listened, thought about it for a few seconds, and then shook her head.

”Well, she's going to have to learn.”

”I find it a tedious language; it is even less exact than Barrani,” the Arkon helpfully interjected.

”Yes. I'm not saying she has to speak it; neither of you usually do. But you both know how. And, more important, you understand it when we lesser mortals are speaking it.” She turned back to Bellusdeo. ”I'm not unhappy with my living arrangements.”

”I see.” Bellusdeo folded her arms across her chest in a way that very much implied she was. ”I will, of course, have to see them for myself.”

If Kaylin had been less than happy about the company on her return home, Maggaron was equally unhappy about his lack of the same company, because Bellusdeo-bending slightly to accommodate Kaylin's purported lack of room-had all but ordered him to remain in Tiamaris. She promised to come back and get him should Kaylin's description of her own home be an exaggeration.

Severn had ducked out on them as soon as he crossed the bridge, which Bellusdeo encouraged; this left Kaylin in the company of a Dragon for the long walk home. A walk that didn't normally feel all that long.

”You understand that I don't really require opulence or finery? After all, I was practically born in a cave.”

Kaylin laughed. This didn't seem to offend Bellusdeo.

”The cave was preferable to the Shadows,” the Dragon added, her voice softening. ”I talk a lot, don't I?”

She did. Kaylin decided a curt nod was the safest reply.

”I used to have sisters.”

”But they were-”

”We were one, yes. But we weren't. We didn't see the same things, unless we deliberately shared; we didn't experience the same things. Some of us hated foods that the others loved. The dress was Callie's idea.”

Callie didn't really sound like much of a Dragon name. Then again, Bellusdeo seemed very much like a person who used diminutives.

”They're gone. Or they're part of me. I don't know which is true. But I don't hear their voices. I can't see the parts of a day I didn't personally experience.”

”Not even through Maggaron?”

”Oh, you are observant!” Bellusdeo laughed. In spite of herself and her very real desire for a bit of peace and privacy, Kaylin found herself liking the sound of that laugh. It died when they reached the front doors of the apartment building. ”This is really where you live?”

”Every day.” She fished a key out of a pocket, which took time. The door creaked open, and Kaylin held it while Bellusdeo entered. ”Up the stairs.”

”You really weren't exaggerating.”

Kaylin, bent over in a mostly dark room in an attempt to pick up the bits and pieces of stuff on the floor, said nothing. The mirror was flas.h.i.+ng, but a quick perusal told her it wasn't an emergency-it was just Marcus and she didn't need to be chewed out in front of a total stranger.

”It's very small. Is it really one room?”

Suppressing the urge to ask her how high she could count, Kaylin grunted a yes.

”Chosen, understand where I spent the better part of centuries living, and you'll understand why I say I don't need much. Here, at least, I can move around. I can lift my arms. I can open the window.” She walked across the room, knelt on the bed, and did just that. ”There? I couldn't do anything but listen to Maggaron's voice. I couldn't speak to him at all. He had a very, very rough time, but...he survived it. There's something simple about him,” she added, but her tone was not unkind. ”I think even the Shadow can't corrupt it.” Grinning, she added, ”I certainly couldn't.”

Kaylin didn't know what to make of Bellusdeo. Because she was tired and practical, she said, ”The Dragons I know don't eat much normal food. Do you?”

”Define normal.”

”It's not moving, it's not breathing, and it probably never was. Bread and cheese. The cheese may be a little bit dry.”

”I did eat at the Tower.”

”So did I. More or less. I'm going to eat a bit.”

”You didn't eat enough?”

”I'd like to eat without the lectures.”

Bellusdeo snorted and sat on the bed; she was, no surprise, heavier than Teela, even if she was shorter. ”Why do they lecture you?”

”I'm mortal.”

”Are you really?”

Kaylin was silent. Partly because she was chewing, and partly because the question made her uneasy.

”You have a name,” the Dragon continued, staring at her in the darkness.

Kaylin glanced at the moon. ”Yes,” she finally said. ”You can see it?”

”No, of course not. But I can sense that it's there. Do you have it because you're Chosen?”

”Indirectly, maybe.” She gave up on eating and closed the basket that more or less preserved food. Dusting the crumbs off, she said, ”Do you want the bed?”

Since Bellusdeo was more or less on the bed, Kaylin a.s.sumed that was her answer, and stumbled across the floor to retrieve blankets. She also pulled the pillow off the bed, because if she was going to take the floor, she deserved some comfort. But as she made s.p.a.ce for herself, she remembered the egg under the bed, and set about retrieving it. She hit the slats of the bed's underside at least twice, and cursed liberally.

”What does that mean?” Bellusdeo asked, her voice slightly m.u.f.fled by mattress.

Kaylin dragged the box out from under the bed and sat up. ”You really don't want to know.”

”Does that mean you don't know?”

It was Kaylin's turn to snort; she did it with less smoke. ”If you use language like that, they're going to know where you learned it. I can't afford that.”

”Can't afford?” Bellusdeo's voice was distinctly cooler.

”I serve the Emperor. I get paid to serve the Emperor. I don't serve him directly. I don't know if you're familiar with the concept of policing, but that's what I do.” Kaylin began to unwind the wrappings that cus.h.i.+oned the egg, and hopefully kept it warm while she was away. ”Because of the marks on my arms and legs, I'm expected to actually meet the Emperor. I've been instructed to take lessons-etiquette lessons-in order to meet him without offending him.”

”And he's considered so easily offended that you will face death without these lessons? Does he honestly care how you hold a fork?”

”I haven't had the opportunity to ask. If and when I do meet him, it won't be the first question on the list.” She pulled the egg into her lap and curled her arms around it.

”What are you doing?”

There were reasons why Kaylin occasionally valued her privacy. Gritting her teeth, she said, ”I'm holding an egg.”

”Yes, I can see that. Why?”