In the short months of their marriage Illidian had quickly learned that one of the things she hated most was the sense of grime that came with being bedridden. That and the humiliating necessity of being carried to the privy—or collapsing trying to get there alone. They’d had several discussions about Kolan bathhouses, and it was typical of Illidian that once the Kentatsuki was out of the way he’d reverted to their original plan for enjoying the first one they came to. They were certainly more convenient than a beaten metal tub manually filled.
If only she could revert to the physical condition she’d been in two days ago. At least with Illidian there the probability of passing out in the bath was not so great an issue. And it was wonderful being very warm and slippery clean and able to see that he was completely uninjured, only a little worn and tired. She fell asleep, woke snug in bed, and watched him reading for the short time before Kellian senses alerted him to her gaze. With him safely under her eye she finally felt able to question what had happened.
"Could it have been coincidence?"
"I lean toward the view." Illidian glanced briefly at the nearest window, which showed only that it was still night outside. "The Kolan commander we worked with told me that this is not the first Eferum-Get of unusually high calibre they’ve encountered in the past month. They may be remnants of the incursions caused by the Grand Summoning, since the impact of that stretched well past Tyrland’s borders. Merely bad fortune that we encounter a Kentatsuki. Yet, given Prince Helecho’s abilities, not impossible that he could arrange such a thing. I could not find any trace of him, amongst the swarm."
"How far did it spread?" The length of his absence had already told her that containment hadn’t been simple.
"Two of the nearby farmsteads were completely lost. Three more with some survivors. When we could no longer track any roaming Kentatsuki, the soldiery recalled the small bands searching the area. They will commit a very large force and sweep the entire region to ensure none escaped. It’s a methodical approach, and they’ll clear any other Eferum-Get in the area at the same time. And the settlements have been warned."
There was a hint of dissatisfaction in his thin voice. It was one thing to be unable to find any Kentatsuki in the immediate area, and another to be certain none had escaped.
"What was the Kolan attitude toward your involvement?"
"Relief, primarily. A little unease and surprise when witnessing our inhuman aspects, but the Sentene are not unknown outside Tyrland’s borders, and of course the Grand Summoning has been widely discussed in many countries. The commander was also aware of the role we both played, and the recent debates regarding Kellian. Any hope we had of travelling unremarked is completely lost, but our reasons for journeying to Koletor are not openly doubted. They are unlikely to interfere with us, but will certainly keep us under observation. It is more the possibility that, trap or not, Prince Helecho will hear of our presence and come here. If that had been anything less than a Kentatsuki, I could not have risked leaving you so long with only Sukata as protection."
Her Wicked Uncle had already demonstrated that travelling via the Eferum made it easy for him to keep a step ahead of them, though the lack of Grand Summoning-related breaches from the Eferum might make that no longer so true.
"We leave at dawn, then?"
"Yes. A very large caravan, since this emergency has kept almost everyone from the roads. They were very careful to reserve space for us." His voice was dry, for Kellian were used to being seen as convenient. "What is it you’re trying to hear?"
She shifted to look at the Sigillic barely visible in the muted light of the partially covered glows. "I don’t know. Something magic-based, because if it was simply sound, it would be you, not me, trying to track it down. Three times now, since we approached port, there’s been snatches of music too distant for me to properly hear. I’ve yet to construct something I would risk casting, since the subject is so vague to me, and I can barely stay conscious to concentrate. It is possible that it’s simply area noise—part of the land’s natural magic—but I don’t like to ignore it."
The way Illidian’s arms tightened told her that he didn’t, either. She could only hope that the solution wouldn’t be delayed too long by her interminable need to sleep.
Chapter Twelve
"Very different from the Little Mutching house," Sukata said, studying the building that would be their home for the next week.
After five long days on the road, Kendall was more interested in stretching than looking, but glanced up and nodded. "You’d not guess it belonged to the same family." The Claires' house in Little Mutching was bigger than Kendall’s own family’s had been, but of much the same type. This place was something else.
"We won’t be short on room," Rennyn commented, critically eyeing four levels of windows, every one of them lit.
There was only a low bit of fence separating the straight-up rise of the house from the paved walkway, and the houses on either side were all the same type, with little in the way of gaps between them, so at first glance it all seemed to Kendall like a single endless building stretching down the street. There were other entry doors to show that wasn’t true, but it was still a proper huge mansion, very near to the centre of Kole’s capital, Koletor. The kind of place a Duchess might live in.
The shrivelled-up turtle of a man of business they’d collected continued his endless Kolan gabble, leading the way up the nearest short set of stairs. He’d been acting like Rennyn was some long-lost niece, but with just a touch of deference, and a lot of twittery excitement only dimmed when he noticed how very hard it was to see some of Rennyn’s companions in the evening gloom.
"Mr Witteseer engaged servants after Her Grace’s letter arrived," Sukata said, translating. "The house has been fully turned out, although some of the linens had decayed and needed to be replaced." She paused, struggling to understand, then added: "He is glad to see it open again after so many years."
"I’ll be glad if he’d just get us inside," Kendall said, as the thin rain threatened to return. "Think these servants will have anything on hand to eat?"
"The agent said he engaged a household," the Pest said, coming up to them. "That will have included a cook." He was looking entertained. "Estimates of the remaining Surclere fortune have been over-modest. Do you suppose the library here is as extensive?"
"Probably," Kendall said shortly, though the Pest never could catch a hint.
Nor could he hide the avid note that crept into his voice whenever the Surclere libraries came up. Since one of the reasons Rennyn was here was to check this house for things she didn’t want people to see, there was a good chance there would be some juicy magical secrets for him to poke his nose into. More fool Rennyn for giving him the chance.
The front door of the house opened almost as soon as the turtle put his hand on the shiny knocker, but Kendall hadn’t a chance to do more than see how warm and welcoming the inside looked before Sukata abruptly moved to stand by Rennyn’s carriage door. Captain Faille turned from where he was waiting at the turtle’s elbow, and then came down the stair as a squad of uniformed people on horses clattered to a halt as close as the carriages would let them. A round dozen extra-fancy soldiers looked at them through masks of leather panels and loosely-swinging chain veils of black and silver. Their clothes were coloured the same, and even the horses were done up to show they were special and important.