Unleashed Fury (BloodRunes: Book 1) (16 page)

He released his grip on her. She rubbed her
wrist with her other hand, staring at him with haughty disbelief.
He gave her a stiff bow before turning his back on her.
The
stupid woman obviously thinks she should be privy to knowledge that
is beyond her. I wonder if it is wise of Master to let her continue
in this manner. Surely soon he too will realize the snake she
really is, and will do what's appropriate.

The King had accepted the entire procession
of subjects and was exiting the room, signaling the start of the
celebratory ball. Jonathan was now able to leave, as the doors
would be unbarred upon His Excellency’s departure. He filed out
with some of the older nobility who had had their share of balls
and those who needed to start long journeys home.

He crept through the palace halls to a
secluded room in back. There, he whispered a word of power to the
tapestry hanging on the wall, and the woven picture rippled like
water before re-solidifying into a very real door. He quickly
opened it and ducked inside. The door shimmered behind him,
becoming a solid stone wall on the other side of the tapestry once
more. He took the torch that was hanging on the wall in front of
him and lit it with a wave of his hand. The torch burst into flame
and illuminated the long, dreary passageway ending in darkness
where the torchlight couldn't reach.

He slunk through the passage, curiously
glancing at the paintings that lined the stone walls. Many of them
looked to be picture histories, but they were too cryptic for
Jonathan's limited knowledge of art to make any sense of. He made
several turns, following the map that had been ingrained in his
memory. The hallways were far too similar and numerous to ever
transverse without knowing the way, and Jonathan felt privileged to
hold such information. He finally came upon a wooden door. He
raised his hand to knock, but the door opened before he touched
it.

“Enter,” invited Master from a chair across
the room.

The small chamber was lit with candles whose
light danced across the black mask covering Master's face. Jonathan
moved forward and knelt before him, waiting until Master gestured
for him to stand. Jonathan did so and reported, “He gave her the
support, Master. She claims to have a list of names for me to pick
up tonight at eleven.”

“You let her choose the time?” There was a
hint of laughter underneath the words.

“She is not very rational when it comes to
trying to get her to do something any way but her own, Master. I
figured it was better to get the list than to bother with
details.”

Master chuckled. “Yes, yes she does seem to
be like that.”

Jonathan took a seat across from the man,
sitting on the very edge of the chair and asked, “Is it wise to let
her gain too much power, Master? She is, after all, a potential
liability.”

Master spoke with a sterner tone, answering,
“I have my reasons, Jonathan. Just as it is not her place to
question your orders, neither is it yours to question mine.”

Jonathan bowed his head humbly and responded
respectfully, “Of course, Master, I didn't mean to question you,
only to make sure that you realized her abilities. She is quite
adept at making people think she is something that she is not. She
lies even when there is nothing wrong with the truth.”

“I appreciate your concern, but my sources
are far greater than just you, and I am well aware of her
instability.” They sat in silence for a moment before Master chose
to speak again. “I have noticed a flux in the power recently,” he
commented, “have any of the ones you've cataloged shown evidence of
having caused this?”

“Possibly, Master, although it is hard to
tell. I doubt that any of them would have been able to cause a flux
in the degree that it would take for you to notice, but it is
possible.”

“Hmm.” Master showed no other inclination to
explain, but rather sat drumming his fingers on the table, so
Jonathan showed himself out.

CHAPTER 11

Layna was busy scrubbing away at a
particularly stubborn stain when she heard the front door open. The
sound of Jezebel's voice filled the previously peaceful air. “You
could have at least had the decency to dance with me.”

She was presumably complaining to Gryffon
since he answered, “I didn't want to dance with you. Besides which,
as I said, I don't dance.”

“You are such an insufferable pig!” she shot
at him.

Jezebel began to rant incessantly about how
inconsiderate and heartless he was. As they came towards Layna, she
tried to blend in with the ornaments along the walls so as not to
draw attention to herself. She discretely snuck Gryffon a pitying
look, but he just shrugged, rolling his eyes at Jezebel's stream of
abuse as she stomped down the hall in front of him. Jezebel turned
into the library and slammed the door behind her, leaving a sudden
silence in the hall.

“Well,” Layna said to break the silence,
“sounds like you two had a blast.”

“I did,” Gryffon responded cheerfully. “I
thought it was actually quite fun. I got some tips on a great new
hunting ground from Lord Rubin and got to spend some luxury time at
the palace. There's just no pleasing some people.” He grinned at
her, jerking his head in the direction of the library. “And you?”
he asked, joking, “Did you miss me?”

“I could hardly contain myself,” she answered
gamely, playing into the teasing.

Just then, Jezebel opened the library door
and said calmly, “Gryffon, dear, would you like to join me for
dinner in the library?”

Gryffon exchanged a puzzled look with Layna
before answering, “No, thank you.”

Jezebel followed his gaze, and her eyes
narrowed as she noticed Layna for the first time. She didn't
comment, but slammed the door shut again behind her. They could
hear her muttering to herself on the other side.

“What was that?” asked Layna.

Gryffon simply shrugged again. “She's an odd
one.”

Layna waved him further down the hall and
moved closer so she could whisper in his ear. Her cheek brushed
against his and it sent a shiver down her back. “I have something
to tell you,” she murmured, “but we need privacy. Think you can
spare a moment later and visit in my room?” She glanced down the
hall towards the library door. “Discretely?”

Gryffon whispered back, his breath hot
against her neck, “I can make time for you. I'll be there.”

Layna stepped back and nodded to him, then
hurried along down the hall, hoping that he didn't see the flush
that was threatening to extend all the way down to her toes. She
sped through the rest of her chores, relieved that she would
finally be able to tell someone her terrible secret. She had almost
told Katrina, but she was so wrapped up in her own happiness that
Layna hated to burden her with it.

She still couldn't quite believe it herself
and had been pinching herself periodically ever since to make sure
it hadn't been a dream. She was desperate for Gryffon’s advice, and
fervently hoped that he wouldn't be angry with her, or worse yet,
turn her in. It all seemed so surreal. It was one thing for Gryffon
to do magic – he was a noble – but quite another to imagine that
she had real talent. She still couldn't quite grasp the real
meaning of it. She had debated the intelligence of telling anyone,
but had to get it off her chest.
And I know it's stupid, but I'm
intrigued by the possibility of him training me! Not that I'd ever
be able to do it in front of anyone else. It would just be our
little secret, and a reason to see one another again.
The
thought gave her a pleasant tingle.

She made it through her chores in record time
and sprinted back to her room to clean up. Just as she pulled a
fresh tunic over her head, a soft knock sounded at the door. She
ran her hands through her hair quickly before calling for Gryffon
to come in. He opened the door and slipped inside, greeting her
with his usual smile.

“So, what is it you have to tell me?” he
asked, his tone hinting at impatience. “It's been driving me mad
all day. I don't think that it was very nice of you to imply you
had something interesting to tell me without then telling me what
it was,” he accused, still wearing the smile.

“Sorry. I just wanted to wait until we were
alone and could talk about it.” She drew a deep breath to steady
her nerves. She had been unable to think of any better way to break
the news, so she decided to simply spit it out, plain and simple.
“I have talent. And I haven't told the priests.”

He stared at her unspeaking for so long she
began to wonder if he was going to drag her to the temple after
all. She bit her lip in an effort to fight back the tears that
threatened to start pouring out.
Oh no! He isn't going to help
me! He's going to turn me in to the priests – and then I'll be in
real trouble for not having gone myself. I wonder if they'll still
kill me if someone else made me go? Maybe I can convince him to let
me turn myself in.

“I suspected you might.”

Layna was ready to unleash the torrent of
tears and beg him to not let them kill her, but his unexpected
response stopped her short. She stumbled over her words. “W-what do
you mean?”

“I couldn't be sure; talent is only really
evident after it's been discovered by the user. But I thought I
detected it in you. And very strongly too.” His eyes unfocused for
a moment. “You have a lot of potential. How did you find out?”

Layna looked down guiltily, “I was really
cold the other morning, and you know how you always heat up rocks
for me? Well, I was lamenting the fact that you weren’t there to do
it for me…and I just sort-of tried it myself. The water in my wash
bowl had frozen so I tried reaching for the ‘river’ you explained
to heat it.” She hurriedly added, “I didn’t think there was any
chance that it would actually work! But it did. Even burned my
hand,” she held it out for him so he could see the rapidly healing
scar on her palm. He took her hand in his and she inhaled
sharply.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked, concern plainly
written on his face.

Layna’s face flushed and she looked down,
saying vaguely, “It’s fine.” It was more than fine, she’d missed
his touch.

“Does anyone else know?”

“A healer in town. I think her name is Mila.
I didn’t tell her…she just knew somehow.”

“Mila.” Gryffon echoed absently, trying to
place the name. “Charles – that's the woodsman – has mentioned her.
He swears by her herbal remedies. What did she say?”

“That she wouldn't waste any talent on the
priests and that I shouldn't go to them. She also said that maybe
you would be able to teach me?” She looked up at him with wide
eyes, hope creeping back.

“Teaching you wouldn't be the problem,” he
said slowly, “it would be keeping it a secret that would cause us
difficultly. When it's dormant, talent is hard to see unless you
are specifically looking for it, but once you start disrupting the
power...”

“Someone is bound to notice the ripples,”
Layna finished for him. She tasted blood in her mouth, and realized
that she had bitten straight through her lip. “Do you think I did
the right thing not going to the priests?”

“Yes,” he replied without hesitation. “Mila's
right, enough talent has been wasted on them. We need to figure out
what to do.”

“We?”

“We,” Gryffon repeated firmly. He put a hand
on her shoulder and gave her an intense look. Layna was touched by
the conviction in his voice, and she gave him a small smile.

“What are we going to do? Run off into the
wilderness together?” She said it jokingly, though the idea
actually did sound appealing.

Gryffon grinned. “Maybe something like that,
though hopefully we won’t have to resort to something quite so
drastic. It certainly would be smarter to get a little farther away
from the temples.” He paused a minute. “I have something that I
need to take care of, but we really need to talk about this and
decide what to do.” He must have seen the concern on her face. “Try
not to worry too much in the meantime. As long as you don't try
doing any more magic-” his brow furrowed, “-you haven't, have
you?”

“No.”

His forehead smoothed. “Good. As long as you
don't, you shouldn't attract any attention and we'll have some time
to figure this out.”

He gave her shoulder a reassuring pat, and
left her to her thoughts. She found her thoughts much too confusing
to deal with, however, and reached for her book to distract her.
The bookmark was only a few pages from the end. She sighed and
cracked it open.
Well, at least I'll have a minute or two of
distraction.

*

Jezebel called Devon into the library after
catching Gryffon consorting with that little snippet of a girl. She
raged to him for the better part of the afternoon.

“How dare he?” she sputtered. “How dare he
talk to that whore right underneath my nose! After everything I
have done for him!” She paced the room, her skirts swinging wildly
about as she turned. “And the damned ball. He didn't even dance
with me. In front of all those people. And then there was
him
.” Jezebel felt the heat within her rising at the thought
of her confrontation with Jonathan.
Who does he think he is
being so rough with me and acting as though he's more important
than me? Me! I can hardly believe it! How can that fat little slug
of a man dare to presume such a ridiculous thing? I deserve to be
at the palace and have little puppets like him at my beck and call,
not have them running around acting like they're worth
something
. This thought train reminded her of Lord Carlon and
his support, distracting her from her rage. She paused in her
pacing. Although she had been embarrassed by failing to realize
that the support was a result of the Order's influence, it didn't
change the fact that she had the support for a Council seat! She
felt her anger dissipating slightly and she dismissed Devon.