The Silent: Irin Chronicles Book Five(36)

“Our culture is more suited to Irin customs than American culture,” Alyah said.

Ginny said, “You’re just saying that because you hate it when I hug you.”

Alyah allowed a small smile.

“Interesting,” Leo said. “So regarding Prija, it could easily have been foreign scribes traveling through who didn’t know or understand that Prija wasn’t being exploited. That she was safe here. They must have known she had angelic blood, and they might have thought they were doing the right thing in trying to take her.”

“Possibly.”

Leo could tell from Sura and Niran’s faces they were skeptical. Perhaps Leo was being too forgiving, but he could understand how the mix-up could happen. There wasn’t enough guidance from the Elder Council on such things. The rules of this new world weren’t clear.

“Either way,” Alyah said. “What they did was not sanctioned by the Bangkok scribe house. I have explained the situation here, what you have been doing in Chiang Mai to secure the city, and our watcher is interested in further conversations to coordinate our activities.”

Niran nodded. “Thank you. I’ll talk to Sura privately and let you know what we decide is the best course for our family.”

“Of course.” Alyah nodded but didn’t press for more.

Leo suspected the free Grigori of Chiang Mai and the Irin in Bangkok would be able to form an alliance to benefit them both. While Niran wasn’t the easiest person to deal with, Alyah was more than diplomatic, and Sura’s personality tended toward cooperation. The fact that the emissary from the scribe house was female instead of male probably helped, given past tensions between Grigori and scribes. Either way, it appeared that Leo’s mission to Thailand was nearing completion.

But how long did Kyra expect to remain? And how would Leo build her trust in him when he was thousands of miles away?



Leo, Alyah, and Ginny departed the temple that night with an invitation to return the next afternoon. They spent a quiet morning in Chiang Mai, drinking coffee by the river and talking about everything they’d learned, while Ginny gently teased him about Kyra and Alyah tried to change the subject. By the time they arrived back at the temple, Leo was jumping through his skin, he was so eager to see Kyra.

To his disappointment, she was teaching her meditation classes with the other kareshta. Alyah and Ginny went to find the class while Leo tamped down his impatience and accepted Niran’s invitation to watch Sura perform a Sak Yant tattoo for one of his brothers.

Despite Niran’s subtle antagonism, the process was utterly fascinating.

“What do you use for ink?” Leo asked Niran quietly as Sura inked the tattoo with a long bamboo stick with a metal point. The process was similar to Irin tattoos, though Leo used an ivory needle rather than a metal one.

“Normal human ink.” Niran frowned and looked at Leo’s talesm. “Why? What do you use?”

“We make our ink from ash.” Leo didn’t know if he was supposed to share the information with Grigori, but Sura had been open about their tattooing practice with him, so Leo didn’t feel right being secretive.

“Interesting.”

“I don’t know if it’s only tradition or if there is a magical element to it,” Leo said. “But our sacred fires do hold power. I was healed from a heaven-forged blade by the sacred fire.” He lifted his shirt to show Niran the scar where he’d been stabbed in Istanbul. “It still stings sometimes, but it doesn’t make me weak.” The scar itself was an ink-black jagged line that Leo had tattooed around to help the wound heal. It had been two years before he felt back to full strength after the injury.

“We don't tattoo around injuries.”

“You might try. This tattooing is powerful,” Leo said. “I can feel it.”

“Day-to-day practice is where the power comes from,” Niran said. “The tattoo is only a symbol of that.”

“Don’t discount the power of the tattoo,” Leo said. “Your natural magic lies with the written word. It’s the same magic that allows us to learn languages so quickly. Any written system speaks to us, even if it’s human in origin. The fact that this practice is so old means it holds power. The words are in Sanskrit?”

“No, Pali. Older than Sanskrit, but I believe they are related.”

“I believe you are correct.”

The origins of Sak Yant were very interesting, in Leo’s opinion. He’d spoken with Ava about the spells she’d learned from the Fallen, primarily from the trickster Vasu, and Azril, the angel of death, who was neither Fallen nor Forgiven. The spells she’d learned from both of them reminded Leo far more of Sanskrit than the Old Language of the Irin. Leo made a mental note to find a Pali scholar among the scribes in Thailand or India as soon as possible. It could be the Pali language was more closely related to the Old Language than any scribe had realized before.

“How many brothers do you have now?” Leo asked.

“Around fifty altogether,” Niran said. “But not all of them live here.”

“Your father was prolific.”

“He was a bastard. And he was prolific. I’m only counting the sons who follow our path. There are more who have fled north. They’re not allowed in our territory unless they’re willing to follow Sura’s and my rules.”