Page 60 of Rogue Familiar

The wizard who’d cast the ward watched Jadren with opaque calm, perhaps waiting for a challenge, but Jadren held up his hands, palms out, then eased Seliah off his lap, helping her to her feet as he stood. “Can you stand?”

“I’m not a fainting damsel,” she bit out, but she also swayed on her feet, and he kept a steadying arm around her.

“We’ll cooperate,” Jadren called to the Refoel wizard, “but my familiar was injured in the duel with the wizard I killed. She needs healing.” In a lowered voice, he added, “Try to avoid giving our names, or any other hints about who we are. They haven’t asked, so don’t volunteer.”

She pressed her lips together, a stubborn lift to her chin, but she nodded acknowledgement. The fact that Seliah didn’t argue about being treated immediately said a great deal about just how badly Ozana had hurt her. He jumped out of the carriage, then helped Seliah step down and walk over to the Refoel wizard.

“I am Chaim,” the wizard told Seliah with gentle warmth, saying it in such a way that it was clear he wasn’t offering his name to obtain hers in return. “I wish only to help you. Maya will lead your horse.” He turned, leading Seliah to the Refoel carriage while the wizard inside stepped out and walked toward them. “Liat will ride with you, Wizard El-Adrel, and help bring your carriage with us.”

“It’s not mine,” Jadren hastily assured them, wrestling an irrational urge to snatch Seliah away from the wizard. “Leave it here.”

Chaim gave him a reproving look. “You would have us litter our forest with abandoned carriages, not to mention neglect the air elemental bonded to it? We are not so irresponsible in House Refoel.”

“All living creatures are precious to us,” Liat added sternly, making it sound as if Jadren might not be able to understand the concept. She was also dark-skinned with bone-structure similar to Asa’s aquiline face. “We will not cause harm to any living creature, either by direct action or by inaction. Refoel is not so careless of our responsibilities of stewardship to the world as other houses.”

Jadren barked out a laugh at that. Describing El-Adrel’s malevolent activities—not to mention those of other houses like Sammael and Elal—as “careless” seemed so mild as to be a joke. “You have no idea,” he said on a sigh.

Liat softened somewhat, following Jadren’s gaze to Seliah, Chaim’s hands all over her. He’d love to cut those hands off. “Your familiar will not be harmed.”

“I know.” Making himself look away, and curling his fingers into impotent fists, he climbed back into the fouled carriage. Liat, despite her prissy stance on all life being sacred, didn’t seem daunted by the gory remnants of Ozana. He supposed healers must become accustomed to seeing parts of the human body normally kept inside the skin.

“It is difficult for wizards, especially one with such violent tendencies,” Liat said, using her sleeve to clean off the elemental’s cupboard in order to redirect it, “to restrain their possessiveness toward their bonded familiars.”

Was that what he was feeling? Wonderful.

“Dare I ask what sort of enchantment created this… effect?” Liat queried, looking at the gore and showing distaste for the first time.

“That is something I’ll have to discuss with Lady Refoel.”

“Lord Refoel,” she corrected without rancor. “Lady Refoel recently retired and Chaim is now Lord Refoel.”

The overly solicitous Chaim was Lord Refoel? Jadren couldn’t decide if he was more surprised that the lord of a High House had been out doing the job of his minions or that the mild-mannered man had managed to win the typical feeding-frenzy of high-house heirs competing for the metaphorical throne. The wizard’s powerful ability to prevent Jadren from being able to extend his magic past his skin made more sense, as this was no ordinary patrol wizard. However, the fact that Chaim was tending to Seliah’s healing personally instead of him delegating the task became more concerning.

“Where is Chaim’s familiar?” Jadren asked, belatedly hearing the ripe suspicion in his own voice.

Liat set the carriage into motion, leaving Chaim and Seliah behind. “Chaim has not bonded a familiar.”

Jadren’s brows climbed his forehead as his misgivings curdled into sour jealousy, sinking his spirits further. He’d known they should have headed toward House Hanneil. “That’s odd for the head of a High House.”

“Quite the opposite for House Refoel,” Liat replied serenely. “For a healing wizard, a familiar provides magical resources for major works such as traumatic injury or severe illness, or for serving many patients in a short time frame. Chaim has always been focused on the administrative side of House Refoel, thus hasn’t felt a familiar is a high priority for him.” Liat slid him a look that clearly took in Jadren’s blood-smeared appearance with both pity and censure. “In House Refoel, there are no battles for primacy among siblings. The magic from our familiars is used for healing and nurturing, not murder and destruction.”

“She tried to murder me first,” Jadren muttered.

“You will have an opportunity to present your case before Lord Refoel.”

Great. The same guy who wanted to steal his familiar would be his judge, jury, and likely executioner. “What happens if I’m found guilty of murder?”

“You are guilty of murder. Three witnesses, including Lord Refoel himself, saw you kill the other wizard in cold blood.”

“I wasn’t cold at all. In fact, I’d say my blood was boiling at the time.”

He didn’t think he imagined that Liat struggled to suppress a smile. “By that I mean that the other wizard was simply sitting there, not being aggressive in any way.”

“You’d have seen plenty of aggression had you arrived a few minutes earlier.” Jadren craned his neck to see if Chaim and Seliah were following after them. “Those injuries to my familiar were caused by that other wizard. She used it to make us get into the carriage.”

“You will have an opportunity to present your case before Lord Refoel.”

“Circular argument is circular.” When Liat didn’t reply, Jadren asked, “Speaking of which, why did you all come out to find us?” And why had these supposedly noble healer types simply stood by without helping Seliah and him?

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