Page 101 of Cast in Atonement

“Our memory is perfect; it’s our grudges you’re complaining about.”

“I did think about it. Amaldi and Darreno were first captured when they were her slaves; she clearly spent time in the green during their early lives together. Could she have taken a flower and preserved it the way she preserved the two mortals?”

“That,” Teela said, as she set her drink down, “would be the best possible option.”

“And given our luck, it isn’t. So option two: she grew the flower on her own. Which means one of two things, again. Either the knowledge that the flower blooms nowhere else is just wrong—and Serralyn’s research implies that it’s not—or...”

“Or?”

“Or she managed to build a slender connection to the green, and she could, with care and subterfuge, draw on it, at least to the extent that she could grow those flowers.”

“That would be the worst possible option, yes.”

“Which means the green is involved peripherally, and if something is growing in Azoria’s metaphorical graveyard, it’s possible the green is aware of it, disturbed by it, or in the worst case beginning to be affected by it. While she was alive, she could hide the connection; she could make certain it wouldn’t be detected. Now she can’t.

“So my actual guess is the Lord of the West March mentioned his concerns—which would be very recent—and his brother, the High Lord, mentioned them to you. And you’re involved on a non-Halls level because of that.”

Teela’s smile was sharp, but genuine. “Very good. That is observant guesswork, Corporal.”

“Just...how messy is this going to get? The Keeper, the garden, the green, and one big, dead—” Kaylin shut her mouth. “More and more things seem to be getting snarled in the problem. There are no experts in knowledge of the Keeper. There are certainly no experts in knowledge of the green. And no one can tell us more than a handful of questionable things about Necromancers.”

“No.”

“But if something dead is powering Azoria’s manse, and the slender connective threads also lead to the green, that could be a disaster.”

Teela nodded. “There are reasons children are never exposed to the regalia. The green’s power is, and can be, transformative if those subjected to it are not fully protected or prepared.” No one knew the truth of this better than the cohort, of which Teela was part. “I am therefore here as a representative of the High Court. I am experienced with the Arcanum as well.”

“A lot of Barrani were—or are.”

“Yes. But none of them are Hawks. Inasmuch as it is considered safe for anyone attached to the Arcanum to become involved, I’ve been chosen.”

“How much did you tell them about Mrs. Erickson?”

“Kitling, I barely mentioned her at all.”

“And Azoria?”

“She was far more heavily discussed, as the High Lord was aware of the traces of the quarters preserved after Berranin’s fall; he was informed of the paintings and their presumptive use. Given the nature of Azoria’s crimes, she will always be a sensitive subject.”

“And Mrs. Erickson is mortal.”

“And Mrs. Erickson is mortal.” Teela’s half smile was sympathetic. “You do not want my people to consider mortals significant. There is no advantage for you in it.”

Kaylin said nothing, struggling a moment against the resentment of the immortality humans would never possess. She won, because it wasn’t entirely relevant, but some days it was harder than others. “The High Lord’s concern is the green, then?”

“Azoria is our version of the bogeyman,” Teela replied, glancing at Tain for confirmation. Tain nodded. “If there is nothing else that unites a fractious, political people, the Consort and the Lake unifies in our desire to protect. The foremost scholars and Arcanists cannot tell us that the Lake is safe from depredation, because they have never been given access to study it. The High Halls is our only source of certainty—and that is both ancient and recent.

“The green has sentience in a way the Lake does not—again, according to the High Halls. The Lake does have some sentience—just enough to choose a Consort, a steward, a new mother for our race. It will surrender names to the Consort of its choice, and those names are carried to us as infants; it awakens us. We understand its purpose.

“We do not understand the purpose of the green. Although Barrani husband and tend it, we do so as supplicants. The green chooses those who participate in the regalia, and the green tells its story. We have never fully understood the reason the tale is told; assumptions have been made, but there is no way to prove them correct, which has annoyed and upset scholars for generations.

“In the green, flowers and trees grow that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. They are thought to be of the green—but they have no purpose that we understand. They were once used in personal vows, but they did not bind as blood oaths can; they were ceremonial. If they were once used for different reasons, that meaning is lost.”

“And Azoria’s use implies more than the ceremonial.”

“Yes. Yes, it does. As I said, there is concern. If the Barrani do not own the green, we husband it and we guard it. But there are avenues to walk in the green that we cannot control.”

“The Hallionne,” Kaylin said quietly.

---