Page 79 of Cast in Atonement

Kaylin watched Mrs. Erickson, but said nothing; Mrs. Erickson seemed genuinely distressed. If Kaylin could have believed that she was upset because of Evanton, she would have been a much happier person. She didn’t. Kaylin was certain that Mrs. Erickson had seen something in the hall that her living companions couldn’t.

Bellusdeo might have suspected it as well, but she was gentle and careful. If Mrs. Erickson was to be questioned, she would be questioned in the comfort of Helen’s watchful presence.

And she would have to be questioned. Evanton was gone. Kaylin intended to check his store when she went on work patrol—but she really didn’t expect him to have made his own way back. She knew she needed to go to the Academia, but Bellusdeo’s pain—and loss—would have to be put on hold.

The gold Dragon realized this as well. How could she not? She’d ruled a small empire at the end of a world—she knew how to triage.

Bellusdeo escorted Mrs. Erickson to Helen’s perimeter. She looked at the door, which opened the minute Kaylin crossed the property line, but didn’t approach.

“It’s late,” she said, her voice subdued. “Mrs. Erickson needs sleep, and I need to confer with my Tower. You mean to go to the Academia tomorrow after work?”

Kaylin nodded.

“I’ll see you there.”

I think it’s likely we’ll be going to the Academia first thing in the morning, Severn said. He, like Bellusdeo, stopped at the property line. The Keeper may be missing.

We can check on him tomorrow at work.

Severn shook his head. If Mrs. Erickson is willing to talk, listen. I’ll head home.

Helen’s eyes were black with flecks of color by the time Kaylin had stepped foot into her home.

“Has Terrano returned?”

“Not yet.” It was Mandoran who answered. His eyes were blue. “We’ve lost contact with him. He’s still alive; if he were dead, we’d know.”

“Did he manage to follow Evanton?”

Mandoran nodded. Without another word, he headed up the stairs, no doubt to Sedarias’s room.

That left Helen, Mrs. Erickson, and Kaylin. Kaylin exhaled. She couldn’t put on her Hawk face, not with Mrs. Erickson, and not at home. But she needed her newest housemate to speak about what she’d seen, or what she thought she’d seen.

Helen agreed. “Imelda, I know you had a very stressful evening. As a homecoming, it was far less nostalgic and far more dangerous than even I would have expected.”

Mrs. Erickson nodded, silent.

“Come sit in the parlor with Kaylin.” Helen’s smile was gentle, but her eyes remained completely black. Kaylin wasn’t certain Mrs. Erickson noticed. She allowed herself to be led to the parlor, which was a small room this time; it contained two comfortable chairs and a modest table, although a third chair materialized before the door had been closed.

“You will have privacy here; the only person who tends to ignore privacy is Terrano. While the cohort has no privacy among themselves as a general rule—with An’Teela being the sole exception—Terrano is friendlier; he considers any housemate to be part of his family. But he hasn’t returned yet.”

At Mrs. Erickson’s expression, Helen added, “We expect him to return safely.”

It was Evanton everyone was worried about.

Mrs. Erickson didn’t speak. Tea appeared on the table, and Helen poured it into cups, which she offered to Mrs. Erickson first; Mrs. Erickson took the cup in shaky hands but didn’t drink. She closed her eyes.

“You see things the rest of us can’t,” Kaylin said. She made no effort to gentle her voice—that always happened naturally in Mrs. Erickson’s presence. “I have Hope. I can see things most people can’t because I can look through his wing. But I can’t see what you can without any of that.

“You didn’t see anything different in your house. Maybe the painting was different somehow, but no one let you enter the family room.”

Mrs. Erickson remained silent. Kaylin glanced at Helen, who pursed her lips but didn’t speak.

Kaylin exhaled. “Evanton was concerned, and I think visiting Azoria’s old home made clear to him, or clearer to him, why. But I think... There was something dead in the outlands that Azoria’s self-portrait led to. I think that’s where Evanton’s gone. But it was contained in the outlands the first time we visited. It was shut off while Azoria was alive.

“I think that barrier—between the living Azoria’s manor and whatever remained after she died—is gone. The fact that you could see something in the manor makes that clearer, although clear isn’t quite the right word. You didn’t come with us to the outlands; you were protecting your kids.

“But what you saw in the manor might be related to the dead person in the outlands.” Kaylin hesitated, and then added, “Self-professed dead person. Most dead people can’t talk; they said they were dead, but...death seems to mean they feel they now have no purpose. Most dead people can’t create whole landscapes on a whim. Terrano saw them; I saw them.

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