Page 153 of Envious Of Fire
“What’s that?” comes Markadian, who has followed Kyle, standing at his side. “An illusion? This …? How flattering, that you think my power to be so capable as to produce such music. No,” he then says, a note of humor in his words, “I am humble enough to confess that this … is no illusion at all.”
The resemblance is uncanny. “He … He looks just like …”
“You?”
Kyle can’t take his eyes off the violinist. The tears run. “It can’t be real. It can’t be, because … because he’s—”
“Exactly as old as he’s supposed to be?” suggests Markadian kindly. “Appearing exactly as you may have expected him to … had he survived a certain … fateful … night …?”
Kyle brings a hand to his mouth.
The tears keep flowing.
A river made from a single drop of water.
Kaleb is dead. This man can’t possibly be him. This man is a trick to torment Kyle, the reason for the darkness behind each and every word Markadian has uttered since Kyle arrived—a cruel, unforgivable joke.
“Kaleb?” calls Kyle.
“He’s much too far away,” insists Markadian, “too into the music, amplified in his ears. He can’t hear a word.”
“Kaleb??” Kyle calls out again anyway.
“By the way, if you wish to thank anyone, I must confess it is not me to whom you owe your gratitude. Thank your dear friend Tristan … who saved your little brother’s life, then hid him here, in this very House, all of those years ago.”
“You’re lying,” says Kyle, but he knows it isn’t a lie. Even his Reach can confirm it, feeling the familiar presence right there on that stage, his brother, his real brother, alive …
This is no illusion.
“Kaleb here is playing you a song of sweet endings,” says Markadian. “I only hope he can make it to the end of the song.”
Kyle can’t peel his eyes from the violinist. “Why wouldn’t he make it to the end?” The song is so beautiful, so captivating. “He’s … playing strong. With confidence. Not a single note falters …”
Kaleb, the pride and joy of their family.
Kaleb, now a man of thirty-nine.
Kaleb, still playing the violin.
Still alive.
Markadian’s lips draw close to Kyle’s ear. “Tristan told me what your favorite animal is, yet noted you had never once seen one in the flesh. How sad. So I wish to present you with a gift.”
A second curtain, unseen, sweeps open behind the violinist.
It reveals a lion.
33.
The Talent of Blood 1025.
—·—
Kaleb is lost to the music.
Cradling his violin.
The song drifts in the air, carrying the nuance he puts into each and every note.
