Page 42 of Monster Married
“The dena is your boss?” I asked. It was beginning to make sense.
Hove beamed. “Also yes. A good boss.”
We walked along hallways made of stone the same color as the city wall. There was no whitewash here like there had been in the other building. This could’ve been a boring, cold castle, but it wasn’t, and not just because small groups of students passed us by.
There were inlays in the walls, like grout, but instead of dull grayish white, these were shiny like colored glass. They formed patterns that cut across the walls in curves and swirls and flowery shapes.
“Hey, where are Lissir and Nokim? And where’s Vergis run off to?” I asked.
“They weren’t back at the hotel, so probably out at the honkora. Or shopping,” Fellisse said.
Hove opened a door, and we were finally done hiking through the building. His room was surprisingly normal—a low table with a pile of floor cushions next to it to the right, a cabinet with a flurry of papers sticking out every which way to the left. The cabinet was similar to old bureaus, but bigger, and the state of chaos it was in said a lot about the amount of work Hove had to do and how he did it.
Tall windows on the third wall made the room light and friendly, pale yellow curtains adding softness and warmth. To the right, stairs led up to a loft, which I hadn’t expected in an old castle.
Hove closed the door behind us. “We sent Raikengana to find them. Vergis is finish the ko for the wall.”
Fellisse turned to me. “Ko means the magic for the wall.”
Shouting from outside made both Hove and Fellisse head for the windows and look out. I trailed behind, not sure what I was supposed to do.
Hove said something in Lugarra, and he didn’t sound happy.
“What? What’s happening?”
“Fire,” Fellisse said. “Across the bridge.”
Hove said a few clipped words to Fellisse before heading out with a nod in my direction.
I looked out the window, where black smoke was curling against a cloudless blue sky. “What happened? Where’s he going?”
“He has to assess the situation.” Fellisse walked over to the table and pulled two cushions out, then he sat and patted the cushion next to him, froze, tilted his head, and added two more to that pile before patting it again. “Come sit, Rory.”
Huh. Perhaps he’d read about the princess and the pea.
“Shouldn’t we… I mean, there are so many wooden buildings. Shouldn’t we go help?”
Fellisse shook his head. “Many, if not most, will be guarded by magic against fire for that reason. We can do nothing right now that others can’t do better, so we wait. Rory, you are Raikenga now, maybe not raised, but through Inki. Raikengana don’t flinch at the task put before them. They accept it. Our task now is waiting.”
He patted the small cushion pile next to him again. I sat, and we waited together.
Chapter 13
The noises outside grew in volume, and Fellisse, for all his talk about waiting, ended up leaning against the wall right by the window so he could watch, and whatever he was seeing, he seemed none too happy about it.
I shifted on my cushions. “What’s happening out there? Is all of this my fault?”
“Your fault?” He growled. “How is any of it your fault, Rory? You and your mate were taking a stroll, and you got attacked by Koa Esher agents. There is nothing there for which you could be held responsible.”
“But…they wanted me, and?—”
“Stop.” Fellisse turned to face me. “The Koa Esher want many things, but if it were up to me, they wouldn’t get one of them. They do not get you, most definitely. Do not blame yourself for their misguided desires.”
I looked down at the cushions I was sitting on. They were a cream color to match the stone and the curtains both. I could see the stitches that held the fabric together. They sat evenly, one next to the other, making the seam strong. I wanted that seam to be a metaphor for the Raiken and my guys, a kind of sign that confirmed that all would be well. But in the end, it was just a seam.
A knock on the door had Fellisse across the room in moments. He pulled the door open.
A small bagu was on the other side, and recognition hit when he looked at me. “Sonyo,” I said, and the kid’s smile widened.
