Cast in Honor (Chronicles of Elantra, #11)(74)

He was staring at the wall. Helen’s Avatar had not returned. “So,” he said, voice soft.

“I interrupted you; I’m sorry. It’s a bit of a habit.”

Gilbert shook his head as it was of no matter and picked up where he had left off. “I dwelled within a building similar to the space that Helen occupies. Its name was more complex, and its purpose less easily divined by those who had not dwelled within it for centuries; it is the gardia. It had, as Helen does, physical boundaries, external borders. I believe it occupied more space than Helen; perhaps as much space as a fifth of your city, absent the population that fifth also contains.

“We had warning of a grave perturbation and returned to weather the storm within the walls of that building. But the difficulties we faced were unprecedented, and in the end, we were drawn into the building’s core as it surrendered the outer walls and everything those walls contained. I chose to sleep. Sleep, for my kind, is not what Kattea experiences when she sleeps; it is a way of minimizing contact, an echo of the decisions the building itself made. There are periods of instability; when the instability has hardened or passed, I wake.

“In this instance, however, I did not wake on my own.”

Kaylin found herself holding her breath.

“Yes,” Gilbert continued, meeting—and holding—her gaze. “I woke at the behest of Lord Nightshade.”

*

Annarion leaned forward, as if to catch the words that followed. He didn’t speak. Kaylin was impressed; if she’d been Annarion, she’d have jumped across the room and grabbed Gilbert by his collar.

“Nightshade was in Ravellon.”

“Yes.”

“How? How did he reach Ravellon?”

“A good question, and a difficult one to answer. Lord Nightshade did not cross the boundaries that separate Ravellon from the rest of your world; he did not enter with the intent to find or wake me. He was sent to the core of the building that sustains those of us who survived the disaster.”

Gilbert closed his eyes briefly. “Lord Nightshade should not have been able to wake me. That he could was the will of the gardia, the building. I was the only one awakened. The great halls were empty and still. None save Nightshade moved or spoke. Even the gardia was silent.

“There is a silence that is welcome; it is a reprieve from noise and chaos, a type of peace. I do not mean to denigrate silence.”

Helen’s expression, as she studied Gilbert, was grave.

“Nightshade spoke. I did not hear him, at first. I could only see him from the corner of an eye.”

Kaylin, remembering the eyes she had, one by one, carefully closed, said nothing.

“I told you I had to invert myself; it was not a quick process. Nor was it painless. It is not something I have attempted prior to this. I could not speak to your Nightshade in any other way. The gardia had sent him to wake me—or so I assumed; I made the adjustment.” He winced, but the expression faded into a very surprising smile. “I did not expect to like his voice.

“The gardia provided for his needs, and I learned to speak, first Barrani, and then the Elantran, which seems more prevalent here. I learned to listen. It is surprisingly difficult; the language you speak is so flexible, and the same words can have entirely different meanings depending on the speaker. I had to ask questions, repeatedly; I had to choose different angles, different approaches.

“But I came to understand him. He spoke of his family. His father. The Barrani High Lord and its High Halls. The High Halls he described felt faintly familiar. He spoke of you,” he continued, staring at the mark on Kaylin’s cheek. “He spoke of his Lady, and last, of his brother, Annarion. He spoke of the way time changes all things.

“Time,” Gilbert added, “does not change me. The concept of this change—as a thing that occurs naturally and without the deliberate intent of a creator—was new. It was interesting. I asked many, many questions. Lord Nightshade spoke of his home. He spoke of his Castle. He spoke of Dragons, and of the Dragon who lived in Ravellon.”

Bellusdeo stiffened.

“Lord Nightshade wished to venture into Ravellon—and beyond. He wished to return to his Castle. He wished to speak with his brother, to explain what might be explained. I do not understand all of your difficulties,” he added, a trace of apology in his voice as he glanced at Annarion. “But I came to understand the depth of his desire, and I wished to accommodate it.

“Do you understand now?”

“You spent enough time with Nightshade that you became friends, and you wanted to help him?” Kaylin asked.

Gilbert smiled. “Yes. You understand.”

“How long did you spend getting to know him? In mortal years. Or at least my years.”

Gilbert turned to the empty space Kaylin had silently marked “small dragon.” He spoke. The familiar squawked.

Gilbert then turned back to Kaylin. “Not more than forty of your years.”

*

Annarion turned to Gilbert, his eyes a shade of purple that Kaylin seldom saw. “What did he tell you of our family? Of our father? What did he say of me? What explanation did he think to make that would be of value?”

Gilbert lowered his chin slightly. “You have no doubt noticed that I struggle with your language. With any of your languages. I do not share your history, except secondhand. I will not speak for your brother, in this.