The Cage King (19 page)

Move on.
Yes, that he wanted to do, and he got to his feet, walked to where Nalah was sitting up, protesting her treatment by Rorth and Aislynn. “Honestly, I’m fine. I’m good. My head feels clear for the first time in forever – better than it used to.” His shadow touched her and she looked up, and a luminous, hesitant smile stole over her face.

Screw hesitation. He bent and lifted her, picking up the kiss as it had been by the waterfall, and her hands tangled in his hair and pulled tight as she kissed him back. It felt like their first kiss all over again, and in a way it was. They were as free of the past as they could be, and it was time to celebrate.

Whistling. It was whistling that broke them apart, and Fallon gave a close-lipped smile. “If you let us wrap this up, you can do that as much as you want and I won’t bother you again.”

“Fallon,” was Nalah’s small protestation, but she patted Esh in an unspoken plea to be put down, which he complied with. She looked among the three of them. “My mother’s ring.”

“I’m sorry, but it has been taken,” said Aislynn, her expression pure empathy for Nalah.

“That…woman.” Nalah shuddered and huddled closer, and Esh held her to combat the chill. She looked to Fallon. “Who was she?”

“
A Rainha Flor-Cadaver
 – the Corpse Bloom Queen. Pray you don’t meet her again.”

Esh never prayed – never a reason to – but if he ever started, that would be his first.

Fallon turned the conversation away from the ring and their recent enemy. “The Phoenix Clan will want to know about you. Do you want to meet your people?”

“If I have a people, why the hell was I running the streets?” Old hurt rode him even after the earlier cleansing, and bitterness still seeped through his tone.

“You don’t need me to tell you the Great Collision destroyed a lot of lives, so don’t expect me to coo over you because yours was one of them.”

Before he could open his mouth to respond, Aislynn put her hand on Fallon’s shoulder and said, “Perhaps at this point I should speak?” Fallon motioned her forward, and Aislynn took focal point of the group. “I do not know what happened to your family or why you were alone. What I can assure you of is the Phoenix Clan is small, and it values all of its blood. If the Clan knew of you, they would never have let you live out your life on the streets. And while in one way that would have been a great joy, it would have meant you would never have found Nalah or your calling in the fights.”

“You think the fights are a calling?”

Esh’s question was full of attitude, but Aislynn’s response was not. “Some of us have the skill to fight, but we are not fighters. While I accept my place in battle, it is hard for me to exist there.” The elf’s blue eyes went flat in a way Esh knew from older fighters, those who were at the end of their time in the cage and ready to escape it – in any way necessary. His gaze flicked to Fallon, but she was speaking in low tones to Rorth and not watching the elf. “You, however, thrive there, and you enter and leave the same way, as a good man who upholds his honor. So yes, the fights are your calling. Whether they are in front of a crowd, or should our battle come to your door, beside us in combat.”

They were Guild. Their existence was fighting. Kind of surprising, Nalah ending up with them instead of him. And if Nalah stayed with them? Then fucking positive the battle would land at his door, because she wasn’t going without him.

“One day,” Esh answered. “Soon, I’ll meet with the Clan. Got questions I want answered anyway. Right now I want space.”

Fallon had finished her discussion with Rorth and again took point. “Sounds reasonable. I’ll let them know of your existence so they’ll be ready when you contact them.” She softened a fraction then, her eyes flicking to Nalah, who was still in the circle of his arms. “You did well. Not many could take on the Corpse Bloom Queen for even a moment. What are your plans now?”

Nalah glanced at him, love and desire and no ghosts in that gaze. He thought he knew freedom before, but this, loving and being loved, this was free. This was true happiness. “I am going to be with him and we’re figuring out our life together, and I don’t know how long it’s going to take or where it’s going to lead us.” His heart stuttered in his chest over this final proof she’d forgiven him, and herself as well.

“And the Guild?”

“I don’t know.”

“Fair enough, but even if you choose not to come back, know you’ll always be Guild. You’ve been marked by our enemies and you need to remember that, and if there is a question that only your talents can find the answer to, we will call on you. You’re never truly free.”

Fallon’s response was reasonable. Still, flame bristled under his skin at the directive, while Nalah answered. “I understand. That means also if there is something only the Guild can help us with, we’ll be sure to call
you
.”

With that, Fallon smiled a wide, genuine smile. “Make sure you invite Laire to the wedding. She gets horribly depressed if she misses any occasion that allows her to dress up.” In a smooth movement Fallon turned and headed back to the town, the other two following.

Let them clean up, or arrest people, or whatever else. He was done, and all that mattered was getting back home, getting his motorcycle, and bending Nalah over it as he’d been dreaming about for six years.

Speaking of, Nalah leaped into his arms and began raining kisses over his face. “I love you,” she said, fierce and forever, and it seared itself onto his heart. “But don’t think you’re getting your way in everything. Five years is a long time, and we need to readjust to one another. So don’t expect us to move in together right away.”

He started kissing her neck. Not right away then. He’d give it two weeks before he moved her.

She was wriggling in his arms, her voice growing breathier as her body responded to his kisses. “And I’m not staying at home while you get in trouble. Even if I don’t go back to the Guild, I need to use my talents and be productive.”

There were handcuffs to keep her at home. Though by the bulge in his jeans, handcuffs were both a good and bad idea. Good because it would keep her safe. Bad because he’d never leave the apartment if she was cuffed to the bed.

“And why the hell do I bother to talk? You aren’t listening to a damn thing I said.”

“You said you love me. What else do I need to hear?”

And after her bright smile, as she leaned in to kiss him, she said, “You better stay very good in bed if you expect lines like that to keep working.”

That, he intended to do.

‡

T
he huge walls
and domed ceiling of the hall told the story of a proud and powerful people. Guards stood at the ready with weapons while behind them tiled scenes decorated every square inch of stone, scenes depicting battles and victory and always, always, flame and ash and the burnt remains of those who were enemies.

Red and gold dominated, followed by rich earthen colors. A closer look revealed the decoration to be gold and silver, gems of all types within the designs. None entering could mistake this place as anything but the domain of one who should be looked on with awe or fear – or both.

The hall led to a room, large and forbidding. Everything from the wood of the floor to the fabrics that covered the scattering of furniture was rich and sumptuous, tasteful, restrained, and any Blackguard’s mouth would water at the fortune contained within.

At the far end, in front of a huge picture window, the man stood, his shoulder-length red-gold hair alight from the incoming sunshine, creating a halo effect.

“No wonder your kind were looked upon as heaven’s messengers. I can almost hear the harps.”

He didn’t start or look away from whatever held his attention beyond the glass. He answered, his voice the deep tones of culture and breeding. “And do you wonder about the workings of heaven, Dragon Slayer?”

Fallon gave a short laugh that edged into humorless. “Hardly. I have enough problems worrying about all the gods wandering underfoot down here. I’ll leave heaven to its own. Lord Kyo sends his regards.”

He turned to her, his eyes a simmering flame, red and gold mingled together, almost the same shade as his hair. The expression on his face was pleasant, the rehearsed pleasant that spoke of training to never let real emotion through. “I have been anxious to hear your account of our operation. I am pleased it was a success.”

Fallon’s eyes flicked to the side, her mouth twisting in one corner. “Depends on your definition, though Kyo agrees with your assessment.”

“Yes, Lord Kyo and I are in agreement.” His next words were a volley, a gentle probe against her defenses. “And your thoughts?”

The quirk of her eyebrow spoke that she knew what he was doing, but she answered anyway. “While I agree that Esh was our priority, I think I put a little higher value on the Realm Jumper than perhaps you or Kyo.”

“The Realm Jumper has many advantages, yes, but it can accomplish nothing that a large group of powerful wizards could not.”

“Perhaps.”

“And your tone says you believe otherwise.”

She smiled, a shading of amusement that he called her out. “I don’t trust magic, so I’m always asking
what if
. The Realm Jumper can access all nine of the other Realms, but
what if
, just maybe, it can access more?”

“The Tenth Realm? That’s a fable.”

Her smile widened, and she inclined her head an inch. “More likely I’m pissed the best I can claim is a draw with the Corpse Bloom Queen.”

He stepped closer, keeping a respectful distance but placing himself behind his desk and into the center of authority. “Ah yes, the Pale Lady. Unexpected, that.”

Fallon put her hands in her pockets and leaned back against the wall, one knee bent and the sole of her foot propped against the vertical surface in a false façade of casual repose. “Was it unexpected for you as well?”

“Of course. When it comes to the necromancers, I would not leave unmentioned even a suspicion of their workings.” There was a globe on his desk, done in browns and gold with very little primary color. His index finger stroked with lazy ease over a section changed more than any other because of the Great Collision, an area where necromancers ruled. “We now have in-fighting amongst the necromancers to consider in our future plans. Reign and the Pale Lady have ever been at odds, but this display means that she, at least, has decided no longer to keep it hidden from us. Open warfare has been declared in their ranks, and we will be drawn in.”

“Necromancers not able to make friends with one another? Shocking,” Fallon said with deadpan delivery.

“I would not take this so lightly. Of all in our alliance, she has an especial hatred for you.”

“Let me lose sleep that yet another necromancer wants me dead, or undead, or whatever.”

“Oh, she wants you dead. She wants you obliterated down to the mention of your name. She would not keep you around even as a trophy to display.” The handsome lines of his face
sharpened,
and the predator flickered over his features for the briefest moment. “But it’s not as if that is what all of them wish, is it?”

Fallon met his gaze straight on. “Beware taking that path, Phoenix Lord. I am not yours to poke and prod.” She straightened, hands still in pockets but body more visibly ready for battle, Tenro glinting behind her shoulder.

The barest tilt of his head signaled the acceptance of her words, and he continued. “Do you have any word why Reign did not try harder to reclaim the Realm Jumper? Using only the Skin Dweller in such circumstances is almost pathetic.”

“We came up with the same reason I’m sure you did – something better is out there that he wants and his efforts are focused elsewhere. We have Tec working on it, but…” Her words trailed off.

“With the theft of the items in the vault, too many variables.”

“Too many variables,” she agreed, her attention locked onto a ten-foot tapestry of a phoenix in full glory, its wings and its neck straining upwards. “Esh will come to you soon. He’s still holding onto anger, but even if he wanted to leave his heritage alone, Nalah is too curious to let information go unclaimed.”

“Of course he’ll return. From the moment his fire awoke, that conclusion became inevitable. He is of phoenix blood. When the blood calls, he will answer, and he will stand beside us in all battles.”

“Such good luck one so strong and talented came into his power in these tense times, when war is edging ever closer.” Fallon’s voice held a weary, far away note, her vision fixed on the phoenix.

“War is always close. Our existence is to hold it at bay.” For those few words, the false pleasantness was gone, and pure determination and fierce purpose were all that existed. With a deep breath, he became again bland politeness. “Please thank Lord Kyo for his assistance in returning one of ours to us.”

Fallon took her attention away from the tapestry and once again faced him, her face as devoid of true feelings as the Phoenix Lord. “Lord Kyo needs no thanks and is always ready to help his allies. He does ask that you share a financial burden that came out of this mission. It seems the Blackguards accuse us of not informing them of the true danger of this mission, which caused their man to get caught and killed. To smooth over relations, Lord Kyo has offered monetary compensation, which they have accepted.”