Page 37 of Cast in Conflict

Kaylin cursed in the foulest Leontine she knew.

06

Years of emergency work with the midwives’ guild had their uses; Kaylin was fully dressed and ready to run in minutes. Helen opened the bedroom door as Kaylin approached it and stepped into the hall.

The hall was no longer the familiar hall composed mostly of doors that bore silhouettes related to their occupants. The warm wood tones of the floor had been stained or replaced by ebony, and the doors themselves were missing.

“Helen?”

“My apologies,” Helen replied. “There is some destabilization.”

“Caused by you or by the cohort?”

“A combination of both, I suspect. There has been—” the words were lost to roars of fury “—very little physical combat. I believe Maggaron was injured.”

Kaylin, who intended to run to wherever the shouting originated, froze in place.

“The injury is minor, and it was not caused by the cohort.”

“You’re telling me Bellusdeo injured Maggaron? I don’t believe it.”

“Ah, no. It is slightly more complicated than that.”

Hope squawked.

“Did you remove all the stairs?” Kaylin asked, having run to the end of the hall. Without reaching it.

“No, dear, but I’m not certain it’s entirely safe.”

“Then why did you wake me up?”

“I was not responsible for waking you, if you recall.”

“You turned the lights on.”

“True.”

“Can you remake the stairs? No, belay that. Can you make a path that’ll take me to wherever—” The rest of the words were drowned out. The roaring appeared to have lessened. “Now?”

“I am attempting to do so. I do not wish to have you open a door into a face full of fire.”

“What happened?”

“Sedarias returned from the High Halls. There was some difficulty in those halls, but no deaths of significance to Sedarias.” Meaning, none of the cohort had died. “Indeed. This was not the preference of a few of the Barrani in the High Halls, some of whom did. She was, however, not in the best of moods upon arrival.”

“Yes and?”

“Bellusdeo arrived perhaps half an hour later—” Helen paused for the interruption of roaring and waited until most of it had passed. “She had a somewhat difficult day. She has not made direct contact with Candallar’s Tower, but she has been patrolling the Candallar border, and she noticed anomalies there that she is not absolutely certain existed before Candallar’s unfortunate fall. She has been working in concert with Tiamaris; such anomalies are of concern to Tiamaris and Tara.

“She is therefore somewhat sensitive.”

“And she started shouting?” Or the Dragon equivalent thereof.

“Not immediately, no. But Terrano decided that tonight was the night in which to sit down and discuss, civilly, the growing concerns the cohort has about the Tower of Candallar.”

“And Sedarias didn’t shut him up?”

“She did make the attempt. It was not appreciated. Her failure was...annoying. To her.”

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