Page 69 of Cast in Conflict

Bellusdeo stepped on Kaylin’s foot. “Enough. That is not why we are here.”

“No?” a new voice said. As there were no new people—no visible people—on the streets, Kaylin’s hand fell to her dagger. “I would be delighted to know why you are here.” The voice came from the left.

Bellusdeo had already turned toward it when Hope sat up, digging claws into Kaylin’s left collarbone. He roared, which came out as the usual very loud squawk. If Liatt was mortal, he probably sounded like an angry bird to her.

She appeared, as if stepping through mist, or rather, she seemed to be a thing of mist, of silver mist, as she solidified in the streets of her fief.

Kaylin wasn’t certain what she expected. She knew that Durant and Liatt were the two mortal captains of the six Towers. Durant had seemed entirely relatable and friendly; his architectural choices matched Kaylin’s. She knew he was a fieflord, but...she liked him.

She was certain she would never feel the same way about Liatt. Nightshade had said she’d been the Tower’s lord for longer than Durant; that meant longer than eighty years.

She wasn’t young. She looked double Kaylin’s age—possibly closer to triple. Her hair was a silver-gray, and her eyes a striking blue—a gray-blue that implied ice, not clear sky. Her face was long, the lines of it etched there by facial expressions like this one: grim.

Bellusdeo recovered quickly. She offered the fieflord a bow. “Lord Liatt. I am Bellusdeo. This is Maggaron, my Ascendant.”

“I am not familiar with the concept of Ascendant,” Liatt replied. “And your other companions?” Her gaze lingered longest on Mandoran, her eyes narrowing.

“This is Lord Mandoran. He is newly come to his title in the High Court of the Barrani. This is Corporal Neya and Corporal Handred. They serve the Hawks in the Halls of Law.”

“Which has, as I’m sure you are aware, no jurisdiction here.”

Bellusdeo nodded.

“You have been speaking for some time about the nature of my Tower.” This was directed to Kaylin.

Kaylin felt underdressed and poorly mannered; there was something about Liatt’s age that implied wisdom and regality. She was clearly the most significant power present. How she achieved the impression wasn’t clear; she wasn’t extravagantly dressed, she wore no emblems of office, and there was nothing about her appearance that implied her position here.

Maybe it was the confidence with which she faced a Dragon, a Norranir and a Barrani in the open streets.

“I spoke with Arbiter Starrante, in the newly reopened Academia. He’s a librarian.”

“Starrante, is it?”

“It’s what he’s chosen to be called by people who don’t have the same vocal cords as his people do. He’s a giant spider, by look.”

She was silent for a much longer beat—as if she were an Avatar, not a person.

“The library is now accessible?” she finally asked.

“The Academia is accessible.” Although it hadn’t been Kaylin’s intent to take over the conversation, she did because Liatt was speaking to her. “The library and its Arbiters can be reached through the Academia—and that’s mostly why we’re here. Bellusdeo, speaking on behalf of the chancellor, wishes to discuss the Academia and the possibility of students from Liatt.

“You’ll note that the border zone has now disappeared. The border zone was, in some fashion we don’t understand, the Academia. Or the Academia’s stasis. Before the Towers rose, the Academia occupied a large chunk of land between Nightshade and Liatt. After the Towers rose, the border zones rose as well—and I think we all assumed—”

“We?”

“I grew up in Nightshade.”

Her brows rose. After a pause she said, “You don’t live there now.”

“No. I live in Elantra. I couldn’t be a Hawk, otherwise.”

“I interrupted you. Apologies. Continue.”

Kaylin exhaled. “We thought the border zones were there because of the Towers. But they’re not there now, and the Academia is.”

“I have lost no land, and surrendered no responsibility,” Liatt replied. “Liatt is mine. Its people and the barriers that protect us from Ravellon, my responsibility. If this Academia exists in its previous location, it does not exist on this plane.”

“I don’t understand it, either. But there are streets—solid streets—that lead from the Academia into Liatt, and from Liatt into the Academia and the buildings that surround it. There are streets that lead from the Academia to each of the six fiefs; we walked one to reach this fief today. We didn’t cross a border zone. I’m very sensitive to portals and portal transitions, and I believe that I’d notice if we’d crossed one.”

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