about."
Portia
draped her arms around Imogen’s shoulders. "I’m not about to call you
a liar, but there is more bothering you than Radinka’s well-being."
Imogen
looked away. "I don’t want to stay here."
"It isn’t ideal, I know. But we’ll be safe enough until we can get what we need and get out."
"No, it isn’t just…. It’s him ."
"Who? Alaric?"
She
nodded. "I dare not speak it aloud."
"Whisper
it to me." Portia touched her forehead. "You can do it."
Imogen
nodded again and sat down on the bed, tucking her long legs beneath her. Portia
sat, settling her hip against Imogen’s like they had always
done when sharing secrets.
Imogen
sat a long moment, composing herself and prodding gently at the edges of Portia’s thoughts.
Finally,
in a quivering, soft voice she began.
"The night I died, the thing we
fought was not a normal demon. Not in the least. It has been so long since I
have been able to speak about this, I find I don’t have the right words. After
all these years that I have been waiting to tell you."
" Tell me what? "
" When
I said it wasn ’ t your fault, Portia, I
meant it. It was all I could tell you, but it was the truth, the absolute
truth. You didn ’ t fail in your duty to
me. "
" Imogen —"
" No, let me finish
or else I fear if I stop speaking I will never be able to say another word so
long as a live." She reached out and touched Portia’s hair. "Events are
not always as we remember, or as we perceive. This had nothing to do with the
fiend at all. Maybe it brought it on faster than what was natural, but you were
meant to have silver hair from the moment you were born. You were born more
angel than the rest of us. The good sisters wanted to find you, wanted to keep
you from this destiny."
"No one can keep anyone from
their destiny, but I am happy they thought to try for me."
Imogen looked around, nervous as a feral
cat, and Portia wrapped her wings around them both, sheltering them.
"It is the same with the demon
we fought that night. It was sent with all the strength and spells to overcome
us. Its duty was to kill me."
" What?
Why? How can you possibly know that? "
" It
silenced me with a particular spell. The words that would have alerted you
dissolved on my tongue. But since I have come back, those blocks are gone. I
have been frantic to tell you for so long. And now, when we finally have a
moment, the very proof falls onto my lap! "
" I
don ’ t understand. "
" That
foul creature ’ s aura was all but
covered in sigils and glyphs giving it every protection against you. You didn ’ t destroy it that night, Portia, only banished
it for a time. It lives, still, and I can smell it in this house. "
" What?" Adrenaline
and anger filled Portia, and she jumped to her feet . "Where? There is no
spell that can save that bastard from me now."
"It’s not so easy, please,
please, sit down, my love. I haven’t even told you the worst. It’s Alaric. He’s
part of this. The coat of arms in the main hall. That was the key."
Portia nodded . "You seemed distressed to
see it."
"It took me a moment to
recognize it, to put it together with what I saw that night. But it was one of
the sigils on that demon. Sort of. It’s difficult to explain, but imagine a
constellation—an image drawn only point to point—and if you squint and tilt
your head then maybe it’s a bear or a dragon or a warrior. There was a glyph on
the beast like that. I had never seen its like and I had been trained, like the
others of the convent, to read glyphs and to use them. Not like the Aldias do,
to control spirits, but more like the Vedma used to, to heal and make things
grow, and channel the forces of nature and magic in specific paths.
" So on that night,
the demon spoke to my mind and soul and it said ‘mouna ,’ silence. As soon as
it made that contact with me, I could see into it. Because a door that is open
may be passed through in either direction, you know. And I looked at the things
written
Portia
draped her arms around Imogen’s shoulders. "I’m not about to call you
a liar, but there is more bothering you than Radinka’s well-being."
Imogen
looked away. "I don’t want to stay here."
"It isn’t ideal, I know. But we’ll be safe enough until we can get what we need and get out."
"No, it isn’t just…. It’s him ."
"Who? Alaric?"
She
nodded. "I dare not speak it aloud."
"Whisper
it to me." Portia touched her forehead. "You can do it."
Imogen
nodded again and sat down on the bed, tucking her long legs beneath her. Portia
sat, settling her hip against Imogen’s like they had always
done when sharing secrets.
Imogen
sat a long moment, composing herself and prodding gently at the edges of Portia’s thoughts.
Finally,
in a quivering, soft voice she began.
"The night I died, the thing we
fought was not a normal demon. Not in the least. It has been so long since I
have been able to speak about this, I find I don’t have the right words. After
all these years that I have been waiting to tell you."
" Tell me what? "
" When
I said it wasn ’ t your fault, Portia, I
meant it. It was all I could tell you, but it was the truth, the absolute
truth. You didn ’ t fail in your duty to
me. "
" Imogen —"
" No, let me finish
or else I fear if I stop speaking I will never be able to say another word so
long as a live." She reached out and touched Portia’s hair. "Events are
not always as we remember, or as we perceive. This had nothing to do with the
fiend at all. Maybe it brought it on faster than what was natural, but you were
meant to have silver hair from the moment you were born. You were born more
angel than the rest of us. The good sisters wanted to find you, wanted to keep
you from this destiny."
"No one can keep anyone from
their destiny, but I am happy they thought to try for me."
Imogen looked around, nervous as a feral
cat, and Portia wrapped her wings around them both, sheltering them.
"It is the same with the demon
we fought that night. It was sent with all the strength and spells to overcome
us. Its duty was to kill me."
" What?
Why? How can you possibly know that? "
" It
silenced me with a particular spell. The words that would have alerted you
dissolved on my tongue. But since I have come back, those blocks are gone. I
have been frantic to tell you for so long. And now, when we finally have a
moment, the very proof falls onto my lap! "
" I
don ’ t understand. "
" That
foul creature ’ s aura was all but
covered in sigils and glyphs giving it every protection against you. You didn ’ t destroy it that night, Portia, only banished
it for a time. It lives, still, and I can smell it in this house. "
" What?" Adrenaline
and anger filled Portia, and she jumped to her feet . "Where? There is no
spell that can save that bastard from me now."
"It’s not so easy, please,
please, sit down, my love. I haven’t even told you the worst. It’s Alaric. He’s
part of this. The coat of arms in the main hall. That was the key."
Portia nodded . "You seemed distressed to
see it."
"It took me a moment to
recognize it, to put it together with what I saw that night. But it was one of
the sigils on that demon. Sort of. It’s difficult to explain, but imagine a
constellation—an image drawn only point to point—and if you squint and tilt
your head then maybe it’s a bear or a dragon or a warrior. There was a glyph on
the beast like that. I had never seen its like and I had been trained, like the
others of the convent, to read glyphs and to use them. Not like the Aldias do,
to control spirits, but more like the Vedma used to, to heal and make things
grow, and channel the forces of nature and magic in specific paths.
" So on that night,
the demon spoke to my mind and soul and it said ‘mouna ,’ silence. As soon as
it made that contact with me, I could see into it. Because a door that is open
may be passed through in either direction, you know. And I looked at the things
written
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