Voice Of The Demon (Book 2) (49 page)

‘Your mother gave it to me. She wanted you to have it back.’

Finnlay took the ring and held it up to the light. It was like having an old, familiar friend return from a long absence. With a grin, he slipped it on his finger, polished it against his fine shirt.

‘Oh, that’s a good idea, Finnlay,’ Martha smiled. ‘Ruin your shirt with that filthy old thing.’

‘Why is everyone being so horrible to me today?’ Finnlay asked in an aggrieved tone. Then he looked up at Patric.
‘Thank you. You don’t know what it was like losing this thing. I thought I’d never see it again.’

Patric tossed back the last of his wine. ‘Your mother insisted I warn you not to go losing it again. She said that you might not be so lucky next time.’

‘How is she?’

‘She’s in the pink of health, my friend.’ Patric glanced up as Arlie returned and whisked around the room refilling their wine, sharing out a wedge of hard cheese and steaming brown rolls. ‘She’s an incredible woman, your mother. I swear, everyone in Dunlorn is terrified of her. They daren’t contradict her. She issues an order and they jump. All except Owen. He frowns continually, shakes his head a lot – and still does as she tells him. I’ll bet the place never ran so well when you were in charge.’

There was something about Patric that Finnlay couldn’t quite put a finger on. Something different. Sure, he still moved like a darting rabbit, still spoke rapidly and waved his hands around left and right. His hair still fell across his face and he still brushed it away without thinking – but there was something very different about him. Something inside.

‘You’ve changed, Patric.’

‘That’s what I’ve just been thinking,’ Martha murmured, lifting the baby up so Arlie could take her. Martha then came to her feet and joined Arlie by the door. ‘I like it. I think you should have gone outside long before now. What’s more, I think you should go out again when the weather clears. We’ll see you downstairs at supper.’

As they left, Finnlay sank back into his chair and let the warm room, the fire and toasty wine filter into his battered body. He was just getting a little drowsy when Patric moved and startled him awake.

‘Why don’t you just go to bed?’

‘I will, but not yet. It’s too early.’

Patric nodded and pulled up a chair to sit opposite, the fire between them. ‘You got my last letter, then?’

‘A few weeks ago now.’

‘Well, the last letter I got from Micah arrived just before I
left Dunlorn. He’s not happy with the situation, but that’s only to be expected.’

‘And Eachern? Is he still causing trouble?’

‘You can decide for yourself. I’ll get the letter out later and you can read it. It’s hard to know, really, between what Micah says and what he doesn’t say. Not that I know Eachern, but I’d say at a guess that he doesn’t much like having Micah around. He probably thinks Micah is too loyal to Jenn – but that’s only my opinion. He warned that we wouldn’t hear anything from them for a while. Jenn doesn’t want to risk too much communication, even with a coded letter. It doesn’t matter. I plan to return to Dunlorn in late summer and I’ll get some news then. If not, I might just go to Ayr myself and see how she is.’

Finnlay nodded, his eyes dropping to the rich wine in his cup. The scent of spices was heady after his exertions and every moment that passed made him even more tired. Perhaps he would have to go and have a nap.

‘Then you haven’t had word of Robert either.’

Finnlay’s eyes snapped open. Patric was staring at him, expecting the worst answer.

‘No.’ Finnlay struggled to his feet, his tired muscles objecting at every turn. ‘Did you expect otherwise?’

‘Finn,’ Patric murmured, his gaze unbroken, ‘have you wondered if Robert might not just be gone . . . but dead?’

‘He’s not dead.’

‘But he might be . . .’

‘He’s not dead, Patric. Robert’s my brother. I’d know if something happened to him.’

‘But you thought he was dead after he fell from the cliff at Kilphedir. You said so yourself.’

‘No.’ Finnlay held up his hands. He didn’t even want to have this conversation. ‘I assumed he had to be dead because I couldn’t Seek him – and after I lost my
ayarn
I couldn’t keep trying. This is entirely different – and I know what you’re going to say next. No, I don’t think the Angel of Darkness found out that Robert is the Enemy and not me, and I don’t think Robert fought him and lost.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because Robert wouldn’t lose.’

Patric nodded slowly and advanced around the table, for the moment sombre and restrained. ‘I can see you really believe that, Finn. But perhaps you can tell me in that case why your sleep has been so disturbed of late.’

Finnlay grimaced. ‘Martha’s been talking, hasn’t she?’

‘Is it a recurrence of the nightmares after your brush with Carlan?’

‘No.’ Finnlay shook his head and ran his hands through his almost dry hair. ‘It’s nothing like that. Look, my not sleeping and my brother’s disappearance are not connected.’

He turned and headed for the door, pausing to add, ‘I think I will go and have a nap. I believe there’s a supper for my birthday this evening, so I’ll see you there. Welcome home.’

*

The refectory was decorated for the event, but Fiona would rather Finnlay’s birthday had been celebrated quietly than this public display. Finnlay, of course, revelled in the attention he received, both from his friends and his students. Word had already reached them of his extraordinary attempt on the Goleth peak that day. Astonishment had been the general reaction.

Fiona had been horrified but unsurprised.

All through the supper she watched him move about the room. Every now and then he would glance back with a smile just for her, making her cheeks burn. Surely everybody would notice such a look. They would wonder why he would give her so much attention, why he had chosen her: Fiona, gruff and determined. Unpopular. So very different to the charming and entertaining Finnlay, who no doubt had learned a lot from his brother.

But Fiona didn’t care what the others thought of her. She knew they respected her abilities, but she also knew that they didn’t really like her. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that Finnlay loved her and she’d waited a long time for him to realize she loved him in return – and as long as he did love her, the opinions of others were unimportant.

However, Patric’s arrival and the absence of news about
Robert had disturbed her more than she cared to admit openly. She remained quiet throughout the evening’s festivities, determined not to worry Finnlay on this day. She tried hard to hide her concern, but he noticed and as he walked her back to her rooms after the party, he broached the subject.

‘You shouldn’t take what Patric says to heart. You know he always looks on the dark side.’

Fiona glanced at him. ‘He should keep his opinions about Robert’s fate to himself. He should know he’ll only upset people with talk about Robert’s death – especially when the whole idea is pure speculation.’

Finnlay gave her a half-smile. ‘Yes, I heard you telling him off. I was touched that you’d go so far to protect my feelings.’

He tucked his arm about her waist and turned her into the corridor leading to her rooms. When they reached the door, Fiona paused, glancing up and down the passage. They were alone.

‘Finn, I understand you want to find Robert. I know he’s your brother and you’re worried about him. We all are.’

‘But?’

‘But what if he doesn’t come back?’ Fiona took a breath and continued before Finnlay could reply. ‘I know I’m being very selfish about this – but what if he doesn’t return? And if he does, what if he . . . if he won’t. . .’

She couldn’t finish. It was too hard to voice aloud. She’d worried about this for so many months now that it had become like a seething parasite inside her imagination, running around and around so fast it made her dizzy.

Finnlay put his arms around her and pulled her close. He kissed her gently on the forehead. Then he watched her gravely with those dark eyes, patiently waiting for her to go on.

‘I know he’s your brother, Finnlay, but do you really need his permission to marry?’ Fiona said this so fast she almost lost her breath. She gulped in air and continued before she could lose her courage, ‘You’re a grown man. An adult. You’ve run Dunlorn alone for years. You’ve been a successful Seeker for years. You’ve established and developed our Combat
School here almost entirely on your own. You studied hard to be able to teach skills you could never perform yourself because you believed we would need them – and you did so against the advice of people like Henry. I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand why you need Robert’s permission to marry.’

Finnlay gazed at her a long time before answering. Then he took her hands between his own. ‘Robert is my brother, but he is also the Douglas, the head of my House. I know you tend to forget things like that now that I’m living here permanently, but nevertheless, they’re still real to me. Unless something happens in the meantime, I am Robert’s heir. I know he’ll never marry again and he’ll never have a son of his own to inherit . . .’

‘How do you know that?’

‘I just do, my love. The point is, that although I can’t go back home at the moment, some day I may. Our children will inherit Dunlorn and all that goes with it. Yes, I admit, it’s tradition that I have Robert’s permission to marry – but I also want his blessing. I’m sorry if that means we’ll have to wait, but he means too much to me to discard him merely because he’s not conveniently around when I need him. His life doesn’t revolve around my needs.’

Fiona dropped her eyes to their hands while her heart leaped into her throat. ‘And what if. . . he says no?’

A rumble of laughter erupted from Finnlay. ‘So that’s what you’re worried about! Why on earth would he say no? And even if he did – do you think I’d leave him alone until he consented? Do you really think I’d let him get away with ruining my future happiness? By the gods,’ Finnlay gathered her up again in his arms, ‘I would hound him to the ends of the earth – and he knows it. Don’t worry, my love, we will be married and soon.’

He gave her no more opportunity to argue, kissing her long and deep before opening her door and ushering her inside. He blew her a goodnight kiss and disappeared down the passage, leaving Fiona praying that he was right.

*

The darkness reached out from the bed to the highest and furthest corners of his room. The only light he could see was imagined, his eyes keeping the memory of the candlelit refectory and the oil lamps in the corridor outside. He was alone and it was blissfully quiet, but still he couldn’t sleep.

Finnlay rolled from his side on to his back and tried to restructure in his mind the shape of the ceiling above without using his other senses to fill in the detail. He tried going over the combat exercises he would teach tomorrow, completing each one in his imagination with careful precision. He even attempted to plan the next year’s worth of classes, but none of it made any difference. The moment he started to drift off to sleep, he was startled awake by the same rush of energy, as though he needed to be alert and ready to defend himself.

Could it be Carlan trying to reach him by some means, trying to get hold of him through his sleep?

No. Carlan had been looking not just for the Enemy but also for the Key. If there was any way he could have found Finnlay, he would have been here by now. Not only that, but he would have been making the attempt every night since Finnlay had escaped, so many months ago, rather than just over the last few weeks.

Then perhaps it was as Patric had suggested, some deeper worry about Robert.

Finnlay sighed and closed his eyes again, focusing this time not on the mystery of Robert’s disappearance, but on the man himself. Strong, stubborn, sensitive, clever, demanding, uncompromising. So much in one person – and so much of it Finnlay missed. He breathed deeply, just as he would before going into a deep Seeking, and conjured up the face of his missing brother—

Finnlay?

Startled awake again! This time, he sat up, his heart pounding and his mouth suddenly dry.

Had he really heard something, or was his imagination really playing serious tricks on him?

Frantic now, he tried again to breathe deeply and settled himself back down, resting his head on the pillow. He closed his eyes and thought of Robert again.

Finnlay? Can you hear me?

By the gods!

Damn it, Finn, I know you can hear me! Just answer. I know you can do it. You have to be able to.

Answer? How? He didn’t have the gift of mindspeech. How could he make any kind of reply.

By the gods, Finnlay, if you don’t answer me I’ll have your hide!

That voice . . . he could hear it clearer and clearer now . . . but it wasn’t Robert, it was . . .

Jenn?

That’s it, but push harder, Finn. I can keep the connection open from this end. Focus on me like you would with a Seeking. Concentrate. You just have to respond with a little more volume.

JENN?

Okay, perhaps not that much volume. Well done!

I can’t believe I’m doing this! How did you manage it?

Practice. I’ve been trying for weeks to get through to you. I had to wait until you were almost asleep before you’d be receptive. Micah kept telling me off, saying it was too exhausting for me . . . but I knew I’d get through eventually.

I’m afraid to move in case I break something.

Oh, you can move now that I’ve got you. It was making the initial connection that was hard. Fun, isn’t it?

Fun?

Now that you mention it, yes.

So how are things? I understand you and Fiona are to be congratulated.

Don’t start, please. I don’t ever want to hear you say. . .

I told you so? Okay, I won’t. Listen Finn, I can’t keep this up indefinitely. Despite what I told Micah, it is quite draining after a while. He watches me like a hawk now with . . . Anyway, I have some news you need to know. I only found out a few days ago.

What news?
What was it she was hiding? Why did she keep starting to say something and then change the subject?