The Magic Below Paris Boxed Set, page 66
part #1 of The Magic Below Paris Series
Henri sighed.
“Well, can you at least ask them if we can borrow the hearth. Rations taste better if you can heat them.”
Marsh had to admit the big guard had a point, but she wished he could have waited a little longer. She was about to say as much when the door to the kitchen cracked open and they all turned. The door froze, but it was open far enough for them to see two curious faces peering around it.
Two sets of dark blue eyes framed by honey-colored skin looked in at them from under bangs as black as pitch. There was wariness in those twin gazes, but lively curiosity, too…and Marsh would have sworn that she saw mischief mingled with the rest.
After a few heartbeats’ silence, the door was swung wide enough for the two women outside to come through. The taller of the pair slipped an arm around the other and stopped her from going too far into the room. A closer look showed that she was much older than her companion. The sister and her child? Marsh wondered. Brodeur hadn’t said the girl was in her teens.
“Wait, Claudie.”
Claudie?
Marsh hoped she hadn’t missed the details, but she couldn’t recall either councilor or captain mentioning the names of Brodeur’s sister or her child. The girl had caught sight of Mordan, but she stopped, although she shot her mother a reproachful look. Her mother followed the direction of the child’s gaze and smiled.
“Oh. Wait a moment, because even if not eating our supper is a good start, and asking for permission to use the hearth a step in the right direction, I still have one question to ask.”
Marsh felt the guards still. Even Roeglin froze as though trying hard not to startle the pair.
“Which of you can speak with minds?” the mother demanded.
The mage cleared his throat, moving one hand slightly to draw her attention. “Me,” he said. “Roeglin Leger of the Cavern’s Deep Monastery.”
The mother quirked an eyebrow at him.
“You said you rode with an emissary?” Gustav raised his hand. The woman glanced at him and then continued, her eyes traveling over the gathered company as though assessing where and what each and every one of them was. “And a newly minted shadow mage who speaks to the beasts.” Marsh raised her hand and the woman continued, ticking them off her fingers. “Two ex-caravan guards.” Here Henri and Jakob signaled who they were. “And three shadow guards.”
She caught sight of Gerry, Izmay, and Zeb standing in the hall.
“Ah, yes, I see.”
Her gaze returned to Henri.
“Now, what was this about borrowing my hearth?”
The ex-caravan guard reddened, but the woman gave him no time to recover.
“I won’t hear of it. Fetch me that pot.”
He followed the direction of her pointing finger and cast Gustav a troubled look.
“I’d do what she says, lad, or you won’t be getting any supper.”
There was a smile in the Protector captain’s voice, but it vanished pretty quickly when Brodeur’s sister turned to him.
“I’ll thank you to go sit at the table. You and all the rest.”
Her daughter tugged at her hand, and she glanced down.
“What is it, Claudie?”
“The kat, mama,” the girl whispered. “Can I…”
The woman lifted her eyes from her daughter’s face and looked at Marsh.
“Can she?”
Marsh looked at Mordan, who had taken shelter under the table.
“I have someone who wants to meet you,” she told the kat and used the link between them to draw Mordan’s attention to the girl.
Mordan yawned and stretched, but she didn’t get up. Instead, she eyed the young woman, who was staring at her in fascination. The girl cast Marsh an anxious glance.
“Can I? Is it okay?”
Mordan huffed out a sigh and laid her head on her paws, sending a deep feeling of resignation as well as her consent over the link. Marsh laughed.
“It’s okay, but she’s had a long day, so be gentle.”
She hadn’t finished speaking before the girl had hurried over to the table and slipped beneath it to kneel beside the kat.
“Oh, aren’t you the prettiest girl?” she cooed, and Roeglin rolled his eyes.
Marsh looked at the woman.
“She’s always liked animals,” the woman said and pointed to a door at one side of the kitchen. “Could you find me some vegetables for a stew?”
Marsh nodded, and the woman turned to Roeglin.
“There’s also some meat.” Roeglin followed Marsh, pausing as the woman added, “Bring some for the kat, too.”
Opening the door and discovering the pantry, Marsh tried to think what vegetables Daniel or Per would choose. The Deeps knew she’d worked in the kitchens often enough when she’d been growing up, although her recent forays into cooking had consisted of heating her rations or hitting a caf or dining hall. Not much cooking at all.
Roeglin followed her in and opened the stone meat-safe set in the back wall. He grunted at the weight of the lid and hauled out two small haunches.
“Think this will be enough for Dan?” he asked, holding one up.
Marsh nodded, staring at the unfamiliar array of vegetables, and Roeglin came to stand beside her.
“That one, that one, that one…and…ooh, that one,” he suggested, and she wondered how he had any idea.
“Rock mages,” he replied as he carried the meat into the kitchen. “They like their food.”
Thinking of the Beast Master, Marsh could see how. She grabbed the vegetables Roeglin had indicated and carried them out. Henri and Roeglin were standing by the pot, which now hung over the fire, but the rest of the team were seated at the table and looking very uncomfortable at not having anything to do.
Fortunately, their hostess had a solution for that too. She smiled when she saw Marsh’s selection and pointed to the table.
“Set them there,” she ordered and took cutting boards, bowls, and knives from a nearby shelf, distributing them to those at the table. She settled herself into a spare seat and divided up the vegetables. “We can talk while we work.”
It was as if she’d given a signal. Gustav breathed a sigh of relief and waited for the first lot of vegetables to land on his cutting board. The woman ignored him and introduced herself.
“I am Felicity Bisset, and the young lady under the table is my daughter Claudette. And you are?”
She waited for them to introduce themselves and then asked, “Why are you here, and clearly looking for my daughter and me?”
“Ines—”
At the mention of the councilor’s name, Felicity gave a short bark of laughter and then finished the surname in chorus with Gustav.
“Asselin-Labat. Of course.”
That last was said with a twist of bitterness and Gustav looked puzzled.
“Is she not a friend?”
Felicity blushed and looked down at her lap.
“She is. I was just hoping Louis…”
Marsh got it.
“He tried,” she said. “The council wouldn’t let him.”
“Then how did Ines come to ask you? She’s on the council too. Wedded to it, I thought.”
Marsh looked at Gustav, and the emissary picked up the story.
“Perhaps, but more concerned for your brother. She’s afraid the raiders are trying to pressure him by using threats against you.”
Felicity’s eyes widened.
“Oh, but he wouldn’t let them. He…” Her voice faltered. “That must be killing him.”
Gustav’s voice was gentle as he replied, and he didn’t stop working through the vegetables as he spoke.
“The councilor thinks so, and she cares enough for him that she doesn’t want him to have to live with that choice.”
“Why? She could always pick up the pieces afterward.” Felicity’s voice was bitter once more.
Marsh wondered what the councilor had done to earn the woman’s anger, but Gustav was already answering.
“I think she loves him,” he said.
Felicity started to debate it, then stopped. After a moment’s silence, she sighed, then lifted the cut vegetables from in front of the Protector captain and carried them to the pot.
“I suppose she must, then,” she said. “I just thought she found him useful, another tool to keep her in power. It would be nice if that’s not the case.”
She dropped the vegetables in and gave Henri a stern glare.
“Stir, and don’t let them burn.”
She went and collected the meat from where Gerry had been cutting one of the haunches into small cubes, and she added that too.
“How about some kaffee while we wait?” she asked, lifting a large kettle from a cupboard beside the stove.
“Thank you,” Gustav said, and let the silence stretch a little before continuing, “Do you and your daughter live here on your own?”
His question caused a brief storm of emotion to play across Felicity’s face, but she set the pot on the stove, checked the stew, and started to set the table. As she worked and the kaffee brewed, Felicity began. “No, but my husband drew the raiders’ attention long enough for Claudette and me to get away. We haven’t seen him since.”
“And the raiders?”
“Oh, them. We’ve seen them plenty, but we avoid them every time.”
“How?”
Felicity gave a small, small smile, casting a proud look at where her daughter sat beneath the table, her hand tangled in Mordan’s fur.
“Magic.”
18
Party Crashers
Felicity explained how Claudette could call the shadows to hide them and how the girl could draw them both into the very stones of the cavern, which was what they did every time the raiders arrived.
“How do you know they are coming in time to hide?” Gustav asked, and Felicity grew sober as she served the kaffee and added herbs to the stew.
“It’s hard to explain,” she said. “After that first attack, I thought about going to the Ledge for help, but I always hoped…” Her breath caught, and she momentarily closed her eyes before gathering herself to continue. “I hoped…that Claude would come back, and then the longer I left it, the more I realized we were trapped out here. That the raiders were everywhere and we had no hope of reaching town.”
“I found myself listening all the time, trying to pick up the slightest sound of movement, the barest whisper. I used to imagine I could hear them thinking…and then, one day, I wasn’t imagining it. I could hear them thinking, and I knew they were coming and hoped to catch Claudie and me as we came in from the fields. Well, I panicked.
“I’d left Claudie alone at home to tidy the house and pickle some of the shrooms before they spoiled. Who knew how long it would be before her father came back, and we didn’t want to run out. And she never did like it when we hunted, so I started to run for the house, thinking if I only ran fast enough I would get there in time, and knowing there was no way.”
“It was like she was shouting.” Claudie’s voice interrupted, making them all start with fright. “Only I couldn’t hear a thing. Just inside my head. The raiders were coming. They were almost here. I took the pickles off the fire and went to find her. Someone knocked as I left, and I’m sure I heard voices in the yard outside, but I didn’t stop. If Mama hadn’t warned me, I might have. Instead, I ran as fast as I could to get away from them.”
She paused, and Felicity took up the tale.
“I met her above the house, and she towed me off the path to Stroker’s Stack. It’s a big pile of boulders that looks like it’s trying to be a chimney or the corner of a building or something. Who knows what it used to be, but it stands where part of the cavern has fallen in and is perfect for hiding in. We could hear them coming up the trail behind us, so Claudie just pulled me into the rock. I was so cross!”
Claudette giggled.
“She was. It made it very hard to keep her inside the rock until the raiders arrived, and then it was all ‘how are you doing this, Claudie?’ ‘Claudie, we’ve got to run,’ ‘Claudie, stay still,’ ‘Claudie!’”
That last was said with such exasperation that Felicity laughed.
“You’re lucky you’re under that table, young lady.”
“Yeah, or you’d what?” the girl teased, but she didn’t move from Mordan’s side.
Felicity sighed.
“She’s learned to give her skin the consistency of stone,” she said. “Giving her a good smack has absolutely no effect.”
Another giggle sounded from under the table.
“Except on your hand.”
Felicity glared.
“I’m still your mother.”
Silence greeted that remark, and then Claudette sighed.
“I’m sorry, Mama. I shouldn’t tease you.” She was quiet for a moment, and then she asked, “Are we going with them to see Uncle Louis?”
The plea in her voice said she really wanted to leave but she wasn’t going to beg, and Felicity’s expression softened.
“Yes, petit chou, we’re going to go live with Uncle Louis for a while. He needs us.”
“To protect him from the Hellkat?”
Felicity blushed and rolled her eyes, and Marsh guessed they’d never been meant to learn that particular phrase for Councilor Ines.
“No, chou, to help him win the Hellkat’s heart.”
An inarticulate squeal of delight met this and Mordan rumbled a protest, drawing a string of apologies from the girl. Felicity turned to her guests.
“When do we leave?” she asked, testing the stew and serving it into bowls that she set Henri to deliver.
“In the morning,” Gustav told her, “as early as you’re able.”
He was about to continue, but Felicity smiled and handed Henri the last bowl.
“Thank you,” she told him, cutting across Gustav. “Now, go sit with the rest. I appreciate your help.”
The big man was blushing as he joined the other guards at the table, but he didn’t argue. He blushed even harder when Felicity placed a large shroom roll in front of his plate before setting a stack of bread-and-butter plates and a loaf of bread in the center of the table for everyone else.
“Welcome to my house,” she said before seating herself on a stool by the fire. “Come out and eat, Claudette. Our guests deserve your company, and the company deserves some peace.”
With a reluctant sigh, the girl did as her mother ordered, washing her hands at the basin by the door without having to be told and then moving to sit by her mother. They both looked surprised when Gustav and the other guards moved their chairs to sit near them, but not too surprised for Felicity to remember that she’d broken across what Gustav had wanted to say next.
She accepted the bread he offered her and dipped it into her stew, taking a bite before turning back to him.
“What were you going to say about the journey?”
She watched as he swallowed his mouthful and washed it down with a gulp of water.
“We won’t be returning directly to Kerrenin’s Ledge,” he told her and kept going as she took another mouthful of stew. “We have an errand to run for the council over in Mika’s Outlet.”
“Oh, that poor girl!” Felicity exclaimed. “I’m glad you’re going to help. Don’t you believe a word of the wickedness those folks are saying. Netti is the sweetest child you could ever meet.”
Gustav’s mouth had dropped open in surprise and he closed it as she finished, hastily gathering his thoughts.
“You know her?” he asked, taking another spoonful of stew.
“Yes, of course, I know her. We are neighbors, after all.”
Marsh watched as the emissary almost choked on his food and saw him focus on the necessary information as he finished what he was chewing.
“Neighbors?”
Felicity ate some more stew before answering.
“Oh, yes. They’re a half-day out of the Outlet and a half-day from here if you know the shortcut. She and Claudie used to play together all the time. The little scamps would meet halfway, as if their mamas didn’t know.”
This last was said with a sly dig in Claudia’s ribs and the girl blushed, clearly surprised by her mama’s knowledge. Still, she had to go one better.
“I bet you didn’t know it was Netti who taught me to play in the shadows though, did you, Mama?”
From the way the guards opposite almost choked on their stew, the look on Felicity’s face said it all. Claudette continued on, oblivious.
“And I taught her to play with the rock. It wasn’t fair when the others threw stones at her.”
“They what?” Marsh watched Gustav’s knuckles turn white around his spoon and the others paused, their eyes turned to him as though they expected orders to leave immediately.
Felicity laid a hand on his arm.
“That was weeks ago,” she said. “I was going to have Claudie ask the girl to come and stay with us, but then the raiders came.”
She stopped, her expression troubled, and she hastily dug into her stew.
“She’ll be okay for another night.”
Marsh thought she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else, but none of the guards argued otherwise. Not even Gustav, and he seemed just as unconvinced. She was about to suggest they go anyway when Mordan growled softly and lifted her head.
“Marsh?” Gustav asked as Claudie looked at Felicity.
“Mum?”
Felicity’s spoon stopped halfway to her mouth and then she rose hastily from her stool, setting her bowl on a sideboard and taking her daughter’s hand.
“We have to…” she began and froze. “They’re already here.”
Her terrified whisper echoed through the kitchen and the guards set themselves around the pair, with Marsh reaching the back door just as the handle turned. She threw herself against it, but she was too slow and too light and was thrown back as the door burst open.
Roeglin acted swiftly, pulling a dart from the shadow and hurling it at the large surface-worlder pushing his way into the room. The man swayed to one side, and the dart flew harmlessly past. He straightened, sidestepping to keep the wall at his back as he took in the number of people in the room.
