Chapter 6
Emle watched Sennet until she vanished in the trees. She liked the Healer; but then again, she'd only once met a Healer she did not like. Sennet's personality seemed to combine all the endearing qualities of humans--compassion, kindness, and seriousness--with a willing to use her talent to serve others.
Not that Healers had much of a choice, in truth.
If current events were a bit different, Emle wouldn't have minded to befriend her, just to have someone else to talk to. She turned away from the broken window, expecting to see Malachi behind her, but no one stood under the archway that led into what had once been a lavish room.
She found him in the parlor, sitting in the middle of the floor in a pool of sunshine, surrounded by broken glass from the shattered windows that spanned the room. His eyes were closed; his face turned up towards the sun.
"Can he hear us?"
Without opening his eyes, Malachi shook his head. "He closed the bond as soon as we arrived. He hasn't done that since--" He glanced at her, as if trying to decide how much he should say.
"Since Josiah vanished ten years ago?" Emle perched on the edge of a wobbly chair and let the heat of the sun seep into her bones. "Gabriel told me that much, but I have a feeling he left some of it out."
"He--He did." Malachi stared at her, considering.
"Will you tell me?" She had to ask, despite the fact that she knew he would refuse.
"I--I don't know if my Master wants me to tell you," Malachi said. He opened his eyes and scrambled up, ignoring the glass beneath his feet. "I apologize, milady. I'll take you back now."
"You can call me Emle. And if you'd like to stay here for a little while, I think that will be okay." She could not deny him a moment of peace.
Malachi shook his head. "The longer we stay, the greater the chance for discovery. We should go back." But he made no move to leave.
Emle hesitated. "If he closed the bond, does that mean he won't know what happened here?"
"He can tear it from my mind if he wants to," Malachi said, his gaze hooded now. "And have no doubt he will do just that." He started past her, only stopping when she touched his arm.
"You are part of our family, and you should be allowed to shift shape," she said. "Will he deny you again?"
Malachi bit his lip and glanced down at the floor before replying. "Our Master had his reasons for not allowing us to shift." This time, his hesitation was longer. "As Hounds, we must obey," he whispered. "We have--We have no choice."
"Tell me about Josiah," Emle begged. "Help me understand."
"I can't," Malachi whispered, shaking his head. "Not without our Master's permission." He closed his eyes, then, as if bracing himself for Emle's protest, but she did not pursue it.
"Then let's go home," she said, trying to allay the tension in the room. "And I'll ask Gabriel. I don't want to put you in a position to be punished."
Malachi nodded, a single jerk of his head, and opened his eyes. He stared at the room around him for a moment, then took a shaky breath. "Thank you."
"I should thank you for your company," Emle said. "Gabriel trusts you--"
"No!" Malachi spun around with both hands pressed across his mouth, as if holding back the words that wanted to be spoken.
"He let you come with me," Emle said, confused. "Why--"
Malachi lowered his arms, still facing the wall. "He cannot trust me. I betrayed him." He said this last in a whisper, his voice cracked and broken. "I disobeyed."
"I thought you said you couldn't disobey." Emle glanced outside at the sun, relieved to find that it was still the afternoon and not dusk quite yet. "Surely if he wanted to punish you, he would have already--"
"He promised Lucas I would live," Malachi whispered. "But--but what happens when the Council's binding no longer holds the Master of the Wild Hunt?" He struck the wall with one closed fist, and a shower of plaster fell down from the ceiling.
Emle grabbed his wrist before he could cause an avalanche. "Perhaps it would be wise not to do that again."
Malachi stared at her. There were tears in his eyes--along with a raging storm of emotion that clouded both his judgement and his common sense. If he were any calmer, she wouldn't have been worried, but his arm trembled in her grasp.
"You will not die by Gabriel's hands," Emle said firmly. "If he wanted to kill you, he would have done so, despite his promise to Lucas."
She saw disbelief in his gaze now, as if he couldn't quite bring himself to believe that Gabriel could be so merciful.
"I will fight him for your life if I have to," she said, and realized she meant it.
"You can't mean that," Malachi whispered. "We are his Hounds." He shook his head. "You don't understand."
Emle did not release his arm. "You're right," she said. "I don't understand. But even despite that; you are a member of our family, Malachi. And he will not kill you."
He had regained some of his hard-won calm, but it was a fragile, tenuous thing. "I will try to believe you, milady." He tried to smile, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "Are you ready to leave?"
Their conversation was not over; only postponed, and Emle knew the subject would come up again. But now--now, they had to return home before Gabriel sent the Hunt out to find them.
"I'm ready," she said, taking one last look around the parlor. "Let's go home."
Malachi made her stay inside the house as he scanned the forest for any sign of trouble. At his signal, she joined him on the porch.
"We're not that far from Darkbrook here. Or the road. Did you see anyone?"
The forest outside was quiet and serene. Birds hunted for grasshoppers in the tall grass, and a hawk flew overhead. It was every bit the epitome of a midsummer afternoon.
"Not a soul. I don't think anyone has been in this house for years." Emle hesitated, wondering if she would open yet another can of worms with this admission. "I--I explored a bit while you were gone."
Malachi choked on a breath and whirled around to face her. "You did what?" He tensed as soon as he spoke. "I apologize. Milady. But Our Master will hold me responsible if you come to harm."
"I walked around," Emle said, embarrassed since he truly did not need to apologize. Gabriel had made him responsible for her safety, and if she had done something stupid, he would have been punished. "I'm fine, Malachi. He said for you to leave me here. Did you think I would content myself to stand in one place and not move a muscle until you returned?"
He flushed. "No, of course not. Did you--did you find anything interesting?"
"Just an echo of old magic," Emle said, glancing back over her shoulder at the house as Malachi led her down the steps. His gallantry was touching, if a bit annoying. Even pregnant, she was not a helpless idiot. "It--" In one of the upstairs windows, a curtain shifted, as if someone on the other side had moved it a little so they could see out. Her voice caught in her throat. "It was a beautiful house in its prime."
"The man who owned it was not a beautiful man," Malachi said, not noticing her lapse. "But you're right. It was a beautiful house."
Emle dared not take her gaze away from the window. As Malachi led her away from the house, the curtain moved away entirely and a figure appeared in the dusty window. A child. She could see that even from here. A human child.
"What are you--" Malachi turned to look and the child froze, his mouth a perfect 'o'. And then, in a rush, the boy vanished from the window, leaving the curtain rocking against the glass.
"Malachi, it's only a child," Emle said, somehow convinced that he would rush back to the house and attack the boy to escape Gabriel's punishment.
He was immobile beside her, his body frozen in place as if he could not quite believe what he had seen. As far as she could tell, he wasn't even breathing.
"Malachi?" She took his arm.
There were tears in his eyes when he turned to look at her. "I did not come here to die," he whispered. "But our Master will murder me if we were seen."
Before she could stop him, he abandoned her and fled into the house.
"Malachi, wait!" Emle started after him, clutching the folds of her skirt in one hand. Peversely, she envied Sennet and her comfortable pants. Her skirt snagged on a nail on the steps, and the heavy fabric tore when she pulled it free.
The baby enjoyed this exercise--she kicked right under Emle's cushioning hand as she hurried through the front door again and looked for Malachi. Something crashed above her on the second floor. Emle ran towards the stairs as chunks of plaster fell from the ceiling. One glanced off her shoulder. Another hit her head hard enough to bring tears to her eyes.
Someone shouted up above, and a horrendous crash threw up even more dust--but from the back of the house. Coughing, Emle hurried down the hallway towards the kitchen, where a door she had noticed in her previous wanderings now stood open.
The boy from the window had just managed to stagger to his feet when she appeared in the doorway. He twirled around, his eyes wide, as Malachi descended the last few steps at a run.
"Wait," Emle said, holding out her hands. "Wait, please. We're not going to hurt you."
Malachi stopped and stared at her, his eyes as wide as the boy's. She could hear his harsh breathing in the dusty air, and see the tracks of tears on his cheeks. "Milady--"
"Malachi, we have no reason to hurt this child." Emle wondered if Gabriel would truly force him to do something so terrible.
The boy had backed away as they spoke, inching towards the kitchen door. He wore an eyepatch over one eye, and his dusky skin was covered with dust. His clothes were worn, but well-mended, his hair in need of a cut.
As far as Emle could tell, he was well and truly human.
"All we need is your promise that you won't tell anyone you saw us here," Emle said to him, keeping her voice low and calm.
"Milady--" Malachi's voice broke. "If he finds out what you have done--what we have done--"
"What did you intend to do, kill him?" Emle asked bluntly.
Malachi flinched. "No. No, of course not. I--" He sank down on the last step and put his head in his hands.
"I won't tell anyone," the boy said quickly.
"If someone comes here after us, looking for us--if someone saw us in the forest, would you be able to withstand them?" Malachi asked. "I have my doubts of that."
The boy stared at him for a long moment. "I won't be here. I have other--I will gather my things and go elsewhere."
"You live here?" Emle stared at him. "But you--how old are you, child?"
"My name is Jordan," the boy whispered. "And I'll be--I'll be eleven next month."
"And the Council allows you to live in the forest by yourself?" Malachi stared at him, shocked. "There are--" He glanced at Emle. "There are those in the forest who would eat you for breakfast, Jordan."
"I'm not afraid of the Wild Hunt," Jordan said.
Emle didn't dare look at Malachi for fear of bursting into helpless laughter. "You are not? Why not? Most people are."
"Lucas told me that they wouldn't hurt me, and that if I saw a Hound, I should just turn around and walk the other way."
It was the strange logic of a child, but Emle could not fault Lucas' recommendation.
"Perhaps he was correct," she said. "But still, you are only a child. Why aren't you with your family?"
Jordan turned away from her and wrapped his arms around his middle. "I don't have a family," he whispered. "And I can't live in town. Lucas told me about this house. He said I'd be safe here."
"I know who you are," Malachi said, breaking his silence. "I remember--I heard someone talking about you. You--You can read minds." His voice cracked.
"Not yours," Jordan said quickly, as if he expected them to flee. "And I can't control it. I--That's why I'm here. The Council can't help me."
He put on a brave face, but Emle sensed a surge of pain through his words. As if he believed the Council had done everything they could, but in the same breath, he thought they had given up far too quickly.
Malachi exhaled. "At least there's that," he said. "Perhaps I won't die today."
"Why should you die at all?" Emle asked. "It's obvious--" She had to stop herself from speaking Gabriel's name. "It's obvious he didn't know Jordan was living here. Or else he would have told us to meet Sennet somewhere else."
"I can't read her thoughts either," Jordan whispered. "But I--I can read the Council's thoughts. That's one of the reasons why--"
"They don't want you around," Malachi said.
"Yes."
Emle smiled at him. "Well, I still think it's not right that you have to live like this," she said. "Malachi, can I speak with you for a moment? Jordan, will you promise not to run away?"
"I promise," Jordan said, and sat down against the wall.
Malachi joined her in the hallway, his face full of foreboding. "I know what you're going to say," he said before she could speak. "And while I think it's a noble thought, I don't believe our Master will allow what you wish to happen."
"It wouldn't hurt to ask," Emle protested. "He's only ten! A child! Living out in the forest by himself!"
"We can't bring him back with us," Malachi said a little wildly. "Not if you don't want to push our Master to fury. You've never angered him, milady. You wouldn't know."
Emle hesitated. His words rang true. And what if Gabriel drove her out--or worse--for wanting to help him? "You're right, of course," she said, suddenly weary. "And you've been a Hound far longer than I've been your Master's lady. I will defer to your judgement on this, Malachi. If you don't think we should proceed, then I all I will request is that you check on Jordan from time to time. A child should not be living in the forest alone."
Malachi closed his eyes, as if he did not want the responsibility of the decision. But instead of denying it, he sighed. "I think--I think if he agrees to your request, then he might--he might just allow us to keep our human forms. Milady."
"Then I will make my request," Emle said. "Will he pull the information from your mind before we return?"
"I have no way of knowing," Malachi said. "If he does, then I will die." He stared at her, his gaze bleak. "You will have to tread carefully when we return."
"Then let's see if Jordan will stay here until we send word," Emle said, trying to push away her apprehension. She did not want to put Malachi at risk, but she had to try. And the Hunt's house in Faerie would be a perfectly secure place for a child to be comfortable. Especially a child as unique as Jordan. He was just a little older than Eri, after all. Surely Gabriel would see that--
When they returned to the kitchen, Jordan was in the process of removing a cache of canned goods from the ancient refridgerator. He turned at their approach and dropped a jar of peanut butter on the floor.
It rolled to a stop at Malachi's feet.
"You shouldn't have to leave because of us," Malachi whispered, bending to pick up the jar.
Jordan shrugged. "I'm used to moving around."
"A resourceful boy such as yourself must have many places to hide in the forest," Emle said, struggling to keep her voice light. "What would you say if I told you we may be able to find you someplace safe to sleep every night?"
"I apologize, ma'am, but I would say that you must be dreaming." Jordan spoke without a single ounce of emotion in his voice. "I have a wild talent. No one wants me around."
Emle's heart ached at his words. They were--undoubtedly--true, but even someone with such a wild talent deserved a bit of friendship. "Will you stay here for a little longer? If I can, I will send Malachi back to tell you of my--my husband's decision."
Husband was as good as a word as any.
"But what if someone saw you in the forest?" Jordan asked, glancing at Malachi. "Are you in trouble?"
The obvious response would be for Malachi to stay here with Jordan, and allow Emle to return on her own, but she knew he would never agree to that.
"What if--"
"No," Malachi said, as if he had read her mind. "I am fairly certain no one saw us. And if they did, I would not have been able to hide us from their presence anyway." He took a deep breath. "Jordan, if you decide to stay and await my return, please don't show yourself to anyone."
"If the person you're so afraid of is a wizard, I might not be able to hide from them," Jordan said with the wisdom of the obvious.
"The person I'm afraid of is my Master," Malachi whispered.
Jordan glanced at Emle. "Your husband?"
"Yes," Emle said, and wondered if they had lost him. She could not force him to go back with them, after all, and what would he say once he realized where they were going? There was no easy way to tell someone that the WIld Hunt had room to spare for a homeless human child.
"I'd rather not, then," Jordan said. "He doesn't sound like he's a very nice person if Malachi's so afraid of him." He smiled at Emle. "Thank you for the offer, though. I'm sure I'll be fine."
Malachi handed him the jar of peanut butter. "I truly don't think he would harm you."
"But he will harm you, if he finds out I saw you here?" Jordan asked quietly. "Even though it wasn't your fault?"
"It would be my fault, despite what you believe," Malachi said. "I apologize for chasing you. I--I overreacted."
"What if I--" Jordan but his lip and glanced at the floor. "Could I come with you and explain that you couldn't have known I would be here?"
It was a very brave offer, but Emle imagined Gabriel's reaction and shook her head. "I will explain and send Malachi back to fetch you. Please?"
"What if he doesn't come?" Jordan asked. "Should I--Should I stay here?"
Malachi glanced out the window. "If I do not return by dawn, then go to one of your safe places." He hesitated, then glanced at Emle. "We should go. Now."
Far too much time had passed. The shadows had lengthened beneath the trees. Gabriel would worry, and every second they remained in the house meant that he could very easily open the bond and know everything that had happened before she had a chance to explain.
"Jordan?"
Jordan hesitated. "Until dawn," he finally agreed. "But after that, I'm leaving."
"Thank you," Emle said, and turned to follow Malachi out the door.
Next Update: August 10th
House St. Clair Home
Read more!
