Page 48 of Ever Dark Academy: Vol. 3
“And Julian and Christian and a few trusted others,” Ryder added.
“I just don’t know how this will work! The entire Mirryr mansion is part of the party! We designed it so that there will be all these little intimate, out of the way nooks for a few people to gather in,” Charlie explained, making little figures with his fingers. “Choosing a fledgling requires knowing them intimately and since we can’t look in their brains like our rolodexes–”
“We don’t do that! And it doesn’t work that way? And really!” Balthazar shook his head. Then he grimaced and added, “But, point taken, that you need to speak with them. Out loud.”
Charlie sniffed. “Well, now you’re saying that these little nooks might lead to death instead and–”
“Though it would be wise not to have those, changing anything last minute would not work,” Ryder told him. “So you’ll have your nooks–”
“Of death!” Charlie wailed again.
“No one is going to die!” Ryder growled.
Balthazar tilted his head to the side and his eyes went unfocused. Ryder knew he was speaking telepathically with Grayson. Balthazar nodded and brought his hands together.
“All right now, Charlie! We didn’t bring you here without a plan,” Balthazar said with his usual grin on his face. “First things first!”
Balthazar began to rattle off what each Immortal would do plus Christian, Julian and other trusted individuals. It was a good plan as plans go when things could not be optimal.
Ashyr’s plan. The General, Weryn said with a kind of glee.
As Balthazar was winding down, Caemorn came over and lightly touched Ryder’s left forearm. He turned to look into the face of the lord of death.
“Would you speak with me outside for a moment?” Caemorn asked.
It was an unexpected request, but then Ryder thought of Caemorn’s observance of Grayson earlier. He nodded and followed the Kaly Vampire out through a set of french doors into the night. The scent of roses wrapped around them both. There was a slight chill in the after leaving the warmth of the palace, but it was invigorating nonetheless. Caemorn stopped walking over by a tree, leaning against its gracious trunk.
“What do you want to talk about, Caemorn?” Ryder asked, trying to keep the growl from his voice that Weryn wanted to add in there.
Is this truly Kaly? Weryn wondered. He is and is not how I remember.
He was sick back then. He’s not now, Ryder said.
Sick? Madness is the Lord of Death’s natural state, Weryn cautioned.
Caemorn brought his hands together in front of him. “I wanted to caution you about Ashyr.”
“Caution me? I can assure you that Grayson and–”
“Ashyr,” Caemorn softly corrected. His silver eyes burned in the dark. “He does not wish to be Grayson. He wishes to be himself unlike you and most of the others in that room.”
He tilted his head back towards the room they had just left. Ryder followed that tilt. He wondered if Grayson knew he had left to go outside. Of course, Grayson knew.
“I saw you and the others thinking that Ashyr was not serious when he said that the woman who gave birth to his current form should be removed if she was a danger to him or us,” Caemorn said quietly. Inexorably somehow.
“Yes, Grayson has conflicted feelings about his mother, but–”
“Ashyr doesn’t have a mother,” Caemorn repeated what Grayson had said.
“Yes, but Grayson–”
“Ashyr. Not Grayson. Ashyr is the one who was talking. Who is talking,” Caemorn corrected once more. “There was a reason I took out Ashyr first when I started my attack.”
Kaly… Weryn hissed.
Ryder’s shoulders drew back. “You should not discuss–”
“Because he was the one I knew that could stop me,” Caemorn continued, ignoring the warning. “Because he would do whatever it took in order to stop me. And he would not regret it.”
