The Inner Circle: Holy Spirit (8 page)

‘
That’s a . . .’
Seteal trailed off, her eyes widening in horror. ‘Seeol!’ she
cried, spinning around as the black feline pounced.

In that frozen moment, several things
happened in quick succession. Seteal put too much weight on her
injured foot, stumbled against the wall, and toppled into the
gatekeeper’s chair. With her weight distributed unevenly, the chair
tilted forward and one of the legs pressed down into a loose paver.
The paver broke and a shard sailed through the air just as the
cat’s jaws were about to close around Seeol’s miniscule form. The
shard cracked against the side of the animal’s head, either
knocking it out or killing it. Seteal put a hand to her mouth in
disbelief.

‘
That’s . . . not
possible,’ Ilgrin murmured.

‘
Is mean.’ Seeol
fluttered onto Seteal’s arm and dug in his toes. ‘I nearly got
eatted.’

‘
Somehow, I don’t
think so.’ Seteal bit her lip, suspecting that the cat’s fate was
in accordance to something more than coincidence. ‘Let’s just find
the inn. What was it called?’

‘
The Dark Water Inn,’
El-i-miir replied, squinting at the crumpled bit of paper. ‘I think
it’s this way,’ she whispered, analysing thin air where she was
undoubtedly reading the Ways.

As she followed El-i-miir through
the city square, Seteal made a point of memorising her surroundings
in case of getting separated. The buildings came in varieties of
black and grey. All of them were run down or dilapidated. Not a
single soul moved about the cobblestone streets despite the evening
being young.

‘
Where is everyone?’
Seteal mused aloud.

‘
Perhaps our luck has
changed,’ Ilgrin murmured hopefully.

‘
This place is
horrid,’ Seeol intoned. ‘Ugly. Bad place. We should fly away
quickly.’

‘
It’s ok, Seeol,’
Seteal reassured the animal even as her own feelings of anxiety
increased.

A strong breeze tore through the square
and Ilgrin’s cloak fluttered open for only a second before he was
able to yank it back into place. A door slammed across the street
and a piercing scream tore through the night. The scream was a
child’s and it was repeated over and over again. A man shouted
something indistinct.

‘
We have to get out
of here,’ Ilgrin hissed at Seteal as they followed El-i-miir down
an alley. ‘Is it much farther?’ he addressed El-i-miir.

‘
I’m not sure,’ she
replied. ‘Just hurry.’ Dogs barking echoed though the square and
bounced around the ally. El-i-miir picked up her pace to a run.
‘Down here.’ She turned abruptly.

A window swung open above, hitting a
vase that’d been balanced precariously on the ledge outside. The
vase fell and shattered atop El-i-miir’s head. She hit the ground
and didn’t get back up. ‘El-i-miir,’ Ilgrin gasped, releasing his
cloak and gathering her into his arms.

‘
Demon!’ a woman
wailed from the window above, a cigarette flying from her lips and
singeing Seteal’s arm. ‘That’s a demon!’ she cried out a second
time before slamming the window so hard that the glass
shattered.

‘
Torrid.’ Ilgrin
turned to Seteal, his large purple eyes wide with fear. ‘What
now?’

‘
I don’t know.’
Seteal raised her voice as the barking grew louder. ‘Come on.’ She
sprinted along the alley in the same direction in which El-i-miir
had been leading them. Ilgrin raced along beside her, while Seeol
flittered from windowsill to windowsill. As he did, items started
falling mysteriously at the barest hint of a breeze or the smallest
bump in the night.

A rake hit the ground not far from
Seteal’s bad foot. Ilgrin got caught in a mass of clothing when the
line unexpectedly snapped. Vases and pot plants rained down around
them to shatter and explode as projectiles of soil and shards of
ceramics.

Seteal cast a glance at Ilgrin as he
clung to El-i-miir’s unconscious form. Their eyes connected
briefly, his reflecting the same fear that undoubtedly showed in
hers. The Ways had turned against them, but together they ran,
united in saving someone they loved. Then Seteal realised the
truth--no matter how unusual the timing might’ve been. For a long
time she’d been consumed by hatred and prejudice. She’d missed what
was right in front of her. El-i-miir’s head bounced about in
Ilgrin’s arms, blood trickling from her scalp. A lump of anxiety
formed in Seteal’s chest at the thought that the woman might
already be dead.

‘
Ilgrin, wait,’
Seteal grabbed the silt’s arm and they came to an abrupt
stop.

Ahead of them, a large black dog
growled menacingly. Ilgrin took a step toward it, waiting for the
inevitability of an attack. A glance back the way they’d come
revealed at least ten more of the animals in pursuit.

‘
It’s no use,’ Seteal
panted.

‘
To torrid with it.’
Ilgrin leapt forward, picked up the black dog and threw it yelping
into some bushes. In the same streamlined motion, he leapt into the
air, snatched onto a balcony railing and lowered El-i-miir onto the
landing. ‘Seteal, take my hand!’

Seteal’s heart rate increased.
The pack of dogs enveloped her and several began to pounce. Her
mouth was dry. The wind moved uncomfortably against her skin. Her
dress swished about her ankles. With a scream lodged firmly in her
throat, Seteal thrust out her hands. A pulse of intense heat surged
through her arms, not to be released until it burst away from her
palms. An invisible force struck the dogs and blasted them backward
through the air in a frenzy of snarls and yelps. Seteal panted
rapidly, examining her hands fearfully. ‘What was that?’

‘
That . . . was you.’
Ilgrin stared at her. ‘Are you ok?’

‘
I think so,’ Seteal
replied as she reached for Ilgrin’s hand and he lifted her onto the
balcony.

‘
We need to get her
inside,’ Ilgrin said, shattering a window with his elbow before
reaching in to unlock the adjacent door. An old man gasped and
without hesitation Ilgrin pounced, firmly covering his mouth with
one hand. ‘Bring her inside,’ he hissed at Seteal. ‘Quickly,’ he
urged, restraining the old man against the far wall.

After doing as the silt had demanded,
Seteal shut the door and turned to witness a scene that she hadn’t
expected. ‘That’s him,’ Seteal stared at Gez-reil in disbelief.
‘Ilgrin, that’s him.’

Of course, by the time Seteal had
spoken, it was already too late. Having regained his senses, the
Elglair Elder seized the Ways and sent Ilgrin racing across the
room like a fearful child.

‘
Miss Eltari.’
Gez-reil straightened out his gowns and released Ilgrin’s aura.
‘And Mister . . .’ He trailed off, blushing. ‘I’m sorry, it would
seem we haven’t been properly introduced.’ Gez-reil smiled at
Ilgrin and offered his hand.

‘
I’m a silt,’ Ilgrin
said slowly, his expression one of distrust.

‘
I know what you are,
my boy.’ Gez-reil frowned. ‘My question was as to who you
are.’

‘
Ilgrin. Ilgrin
Geld.’ The silt took a step back, staring suspiciously.

‘
Well, Mister Geld.’
Gez-reil twittered as he looked over the innumerable cuts and
scrapes on Ilgrin’s arms. ‘I can see our dear Far-a-mael has
introduced you to the somewhat unique levels hospitality all too
frequently demonstrated by the Elglair. On behalf of him, I must
apologise for your terrible misfortune. Now, I must ask the pair of
you, what have you done to our sweet El-i-miir?’

‘
She was struck on
the head.’ Seteal knelt to push aside El-i-miir’s hair.

‘
I’ll check nothing
has been too badly damaged, shall I?' Gez-reil strode over to stare
into El-i-miir’s aura. ‘She’ll be fine,’ he chuckled. ‘In fact,
she’s going to wake up around about . . . now.’

‘
You found him,’
El-i-miir said softly, her eyes opening. ‘How?’

‘
Never mind that,’
Gez-reil said warmly. ‘We have matters of much greater importance
to discuss.’

‘
High Elder
Gez-reil.’ El-i-miir became very flustered and tried to get
up.

‘
Don’t be a fool,
child.’ Gez-reil put his wrinkly old hand on her shoulder and
pushed her back to the ground. ‘Just lie still for a
bit.’

‘
If I may.’ Ilgrin
stepped forward. ‘I’m a little confused.’

‘
About what?’
Gez-reil raised his eyebrows.

‘
Your reaction to my
presence isn’t like that with which I’m accustomed.’

‘
What reaction is
that exactly?’ Gez-reil scratched at his beard.

‘
Well . . . fear.’
Ilgrin frowned.

‘
Fear?’ Gez-reil
chuckled. ‘My boy, I’m a little shy of two hundred years old. I was
a trained gil before your grandparents were born. I needn’t fear
you. I could snap you like a twig.’ He chuckled and gave a little
wink. ‘But rest assured, Mister Geld, you needn’t be concerned. I’m
not all twisted up with hatred like a certain other gil with whom
you’ve spent much time. Some of us are able to see
reason.’

‘
What do you mean?’
Ilgrin asked suspiciously.

‘
You were raised by
outlanders in Abnatol, correct?’

‘
Yes.’ Ilgrin’s face
lit up. ‘You believe me.’

‘
I know how ruthless
the inquisitors can be.’ Gez-reil shrugged. ‘You’d have caved had
you actually known anything. Far-a-mael . . . is a changed man.
He’s no longer the compassionate boy I knew in my youth. Anyone not
completely blinded by hatred can see that you’re a simple farmer’s
boy. And that brings me to the reason I’ve asked you all to come
here.’

‘
And why is that?’
Seteal asked with renewed interest.

‘
This is for you,’ he
answered, handing Seteal a thick black book.

‘
The Holy Tome?’ She
recoiled. ‘My father already has one of these.’

‘
It was your
mother’s,’ Gez-reil stated.

‘
Thank you.’ Seteal
clung to the old book, it having instantly become
precious.

‘
Read it,’ Gez-reil
advised. ‘It may be of more use to you than you think.’

‘
I doubt that.’
Seteal frowned. She didn’t appreciate the sermon.

‘
Seteal doesn’t
believe in the Tome,’ El-i-miir explained apologetically, her eyes
averted.

‘
How ironic.’ The
elder chuckled more to himself than anyone else. ‘Well . . . keep
it all the same.’

‘
I will,’ Seteal
replied. ‘How did you come to find it?’

‘
Your mother used to
stay at my house on the odd occasion when Far-a-mael was away on
business,’ Gez-reil intoned.

‘
How peculiar.’
Seteal frowned, unable to make out the connection between her
mother and the old man standing before her.

‘
You ought to know
the truth,’ Gez-reil murmured. ‘Far-a-mael married my sister,
Sar-ni, who is sadly no longer with us.’ Gez-reil rubbed his eyes
tiredly. ‘The truth is, had she been alive today, Sar-ni would’ve
been your grandmother.’

‘
That doesn’t make
any sense.’ Seteal felt sick. ‘That would mean Far-a-mael is my
grandfather.’

‘
He is,’ Gez-reil
replied apologetically. ‘Don’t let it bother you. He was a good man
once. Life dealt him an unfair hand and he’s never quite
recovered.’

‘
That’s why he hates
silts so much?’ Seteal murmured. ‘Because of the way my mother
died?’

‘
Oh, dear, no,’
Gez-reil said gravely. ‘The story goes back much further than that.
Much like Jil-e-an, Sar-ni, too, was killed by a whisp. And many
years earlier, when Far-a-mael was just a boy, his parents were
murdered at a negotiation for peace talks in Old World.’

‘
That explains a
lot.’ Seteal moved toward the only chair in the room and sat down
unsteadily. ‘He’s lost everything.’

‘
As for you,
El-i-miir,’ Gez-reil began solemnly, ‘I’m afraid that for now not
much can be done. Maker knows I didn’t want to see you meet a fate
such as condemnation to Vish’el’Tei, but considering the
accusations rallied against you, there was very little I could do.
Standing here now, I can see that the accusations were based in
truth.’ He looked at Ilgrin very seriously. ‘You are in love with
him.’

‘
I am.’ El-i-miir
looked at the ground.

‘
And you think you
love her?’ Gez-reil asked Ilgrin.

‘
Yes,’ the silt said
proudly.

‘
Well, then . . .
this is going to be a great deal more difficult for the pair of you
than I’d first anticipated. You will destroy each other,’ Gez-reil
murmured. ‘There is no peaceful hiding place for you to cohabitate.
There is nowhere for you in New World, nor Old World. You,’ he
turned to El-i-miir, ‘must settle down in a small town somewhere
far away from the Frozen Lands like Seteal’s mother once did. And
you.’ He turned to Ilgrin. ‘You’re long overdue to go home, don’t
you think?’

‘
I can’t go back,’
Ilgrin replied. ‘My parents are dead.’

‘
That’s not the home
I was referring to.’ Gez-reil stared at Ilgrin beneath a furrowed
brow. ‘You need to return to your true home.’

‘
I intend to.’ Ilgrin
shrugged. ‘El-i-miir has agreed to come with me.’