Cast in Honor (Chronicles of Elantra, #11)(117)

*

She tossed the lit flare down into the basement she could see without her familiar’s wing, taking care to avoid following it.

The light illuminated the hard sides of walls, and the rope seemed to sink forever; the flare didn’t actually reach the floor on the first two attempts. “Can you see the walls now?”

Silence.

“Okay, tell me what you guys see.”

Mandoran said, “I think I see what you see.”

“You think?”

“The walls are old and crumbling, to my eye. If the street is built over this, it’s a wonder it hasn’t sunk.”

“They’re not crumbling, to my eye. They look almost new.” She frowned. “They look...” She turned to Gilbert and Kattea. “They look like the walls in your basement.” She paused. “They look exactly like the walls in your basement.

“Gilbert—”

But Gilbert had come to the edge of the hall that the rest of them could see—or rather, the edge of space where the hall had been. “Yes,” he said softly. “You are right.”

“Share,” Mandoran said, in exactly the intonation Teela would have used.

“Gilbert’s basement is a giant hall, or a series of halls. There are doors, which imply rooms—but Kattea said—”

“The rooms move,” the girl said. She glanced at Gilbert. “Gilbert has a room. Sometimes it’s hard to find the room.”

The Arkon’s very orange eyes fixed themselves on Kattea. “How do you find the room without getting lost?”

“There’s a mark on the door. Gilbert’s name.”

Silence.

“When you say Gilbert’s name—” Mandoran began. Kaylin stepped on his foot.

“The rooms...move,” the Arkon said slowly. “But you find them. How long does it take you to find them?”

“Not very long. Well, once it took hours.”

“And you said the water carried you to the basement, and you found the house above it?”

Kattea nodded, uncertain now; she looked to Gilbert for confirmation. “We found the stairs,” she said. “And they weren’t like the rest of the halls. I mean, they were more...normal. So, we climbed those.”

“Where did you think they would lead?”

She glanced at Gilbert again. He seemed to be interested in the answer; Kaylin wanted to scream with frustration. Time. Time. Time.

“Somewhere safe,” she said quietly. “Somewhere on the other side of the bridge.” More silence. “I thought... I thought maybe I might find my dad.”

*

Kaylin said, “Grethan, I think you should join Evanton.”

He blinked. “Do you really see stone halls?” he whispered.

“Yes. But I think Evanton might need a bit of help. It’s just a guess. I can’t hear or see him.” Which was probably a mercy.

Grethan, having found more rope, nodded, and slid an arm around Kaylin’s again. The small dragon complained but lifted a wing. Kaylin walked Grethan down the familiar hall to the familiar door. “You guys can see us, right?”

Silence.

Severn?

No. There is some panic, but it is muted; Gilbert believes he can see you, and the Arkon has chosen—barely—to trust him. Hurry.

Mandoran? Annarion?

I am attempting to keep them in one place. Annarion is worried.

Worried?

His eyes are almost black. Mandoran’s are the regular blue.

Don’t let them follow.

No. But, Kaylin—hurry.

*

The door opened into the Garden, and to Kaylin’s surprise, it didn’t open into torrential storm or mudslide or raging fire or windstorm. She could hear the relief in Grethan’s breathing. “Evanton!”

The Keeper was nowhere in sight.

Kaylin, clutching Grethan’s arm, told the familiar to drop his wing. The wing folded; Grethan’s arm was still attached to Kaylin’s. The apprentice, however, froze in place, his eyes widening, his stalks doing the panic dance while attached to his forehead.

There’s a problem, she told Severn. And there was. She had thought—she nudged the familiar—that the Garden existed; she assumed it was just the hall that was a problem. But Grethan couldn’t see the Garden without the familiar’s help. And Kaylin was afraid to let go of Grethan because she wasn’t certain she would be able to find him again if he moved.

“We’re switching places,” she told the apprentice. “Do not let go of my arm unless you want to lose me forever.”

“What—”

“I need to know what you see when you’re not looking through his wing.” Before he could reply, she said, “Keep an eye out for Evanton. I think we’re going to need him.”

*

The familiar raised his wing to cover Grethan’s eyes again as Kaylin slid out from behind the other. He bit her hair and smacked her face—twice—to let her know just how smart he thought this was. He also tucked his tail, tightly, around her neck. “Grethan didn’t fall through the world when you removed your wing,” she reminded the squawky pest. “And you’re hardly likely to be able to stop me from falling at that size.”

She regretted the words the minute they left her mouth, and pretended they hadn’t. Grethan was calmer, but true calm was not going to return until they had at least found Evanton.