Raven's Strike (Raven #2)(32)

"I have questions for you," she told Hennea. "But they will wait for another time. Jes, it's all right."

"You are angry," he said.

"Mother's angry a lot," Rinnie told him. "Unless she's angry with you, it's all right."

Jes looked down at his sister. "Not at Hennea."

"Well," she said conscientiously, "you're right. I still wouldn't worry. She can do what I do, keep out of Mother's way until she calms down."

Lehr glanced at Seraph's face, and she thought she saw him hide a small smile before he turned to Rinnie, and said, "This might be a better conversation to have when Mother's not here."

Seraph brooded as she climbed. But the conclusions that she had come to earlier still held. Hennea was merely a Raven with secrets - and that was bad enough.

Willon's shop, the last building before the temple, was dark and empty when they went past it.

"He must still be in Taela," Lehr said, breaking the uneasy silence. "I'd forgotten that he went there, too. He was going to help us. I hope he's not still there waiting for us."

"He could hardly help but hear that a band of Travelers rescued the Emperor," said Seraph dryly. "I'm sure that he knows who that was. Though if I'd thought of it, I would have sent him a message before we left. He goes back to Taela every year to check on his family anyway. He didn't go there just to help us - though he would have if we'd asked. But we didn't need gold or information, just magic and swords; and those aren't something a merchant could help us with. He'll be back soon."

They climbed past the storefront and up the steep trail that led to the abandoned temple of the Path of the Five.

The temple burrowed deep into the heart of Redern Mountain, leaving only its head to mark where the bulk of it hid.

One door lay several feet from the temple, and the other was leaned neatly against a wall. It looked as though the troll had decided to investigate the temple, though when Seraph glanced around she saw no other sign of the creature. Then she remembered that Karadoc told her Ellevanal had used him to rip open the doors and was amazed he'd come out with no more than torn fingernails.

Seraph stopped just outside the entrance. "Would you check this to see if it is shadow-tainted, Lehr?"

"I already did. There's no shadowing I can sense."

"Jes?"

He didn't answer, and when Seraph looked for him, he was staring down at the roof of Willon's store which, because of the steepness of the mountain, jutted out of the ground only a few feet below where he stood.

"Jes?" Hennea reached out, but stopped just short of touching him. "Are you all right?"

He turned his face away from her and looked at Seraph. "There's nothing here," he said shortly. "Volis is dead. The forest king and Karadoc took care of the rest. Lehr says there is nothing here - why do you bother to ask me?"

Jes was usually cheerful unless the Guardian was present. He was very seldom sullen or moody.

"Hennea, take Rinnie and Lehr into the temple, Jes and I have some things to talk over," Seraph said, forgetting for a moment she wasn't just talking to one of her children. "Please," Seraph added hastily when Hennea stiffened. "We'll join you in a few minutes."

She waited while they filed in. Then she turned her attention to Jes, who had gone back to staring at Willon's roof.

She debated simply waiting until he was ready to talk - but this was Jes. It might be days before he was ready, and she didn't have Tier's patience.

"What's wrong, Jes?"

"Nothing is wrong." He didn't look at her, but she could see the stubborn set to his jaw.

Tier was better at this sort of thing than Seraph, but he wasn't here. She thought back over the climb up Redern and tried to pinpoint when Jes's discomfort at being surrounded by so many people had turned to anger.

"Hennea is entitled to her secrets," Seraph said tentatively.

"Of course." The words were clearly enunciated, but Seraph knew that the Guardian was still at rest because she felt none of the dread that came with his presence.

"I don't like it when she hides things that might be important," she tried. She couldn't tell if he was angry at her or Hennea.

"Sorry."

Seraph picked up a small rock and tossed it down the mountainside.

"You'll hit someone," Jes said. "Papa says don't."

"Tier's usually right."

"Papa's always right," said Jes bitterly.

Ah, thought Seraph. "Your father doesn't disapprove of Hennea, Jes. He talked to me about several things he'd noticed about her - remember, he doesn't know her as well as we do. One of the things was that he thought she was older than she admitted."

"Does that matter?"

"That depends upon a number of things," said Seraph.

"Don't tell me," said Jes, kicking a clod of dirt onto Willon's roof. "I'm too stupid. If it's important, tell Lehr or Hennea or Rinnie. Or you could wait for the Guardian, he's smart."

Hmm, she thought.

"I thought your father was mistaken about Hennea's age until I asked her about it just now. She didn't answer me, Jes. She could have lied, but she didn't want to."