Guardian of Honor (44 page)

Swordmarshall Mace carefully laid the felt case on the pavement
with the faintest of clinks. Bastien's stomach squeezed at the thought of the
powerful wands inside—marble and wood and metal and glass and gemstone...which
was right for him?

He felt the comforting touch of Alexa's mind, and glanced up to
see her reassuring smile. She looked small and fragile. And carried the Jade
Baton. Her spirit was great and her Power fantastic. But she was proud of him
and had faith in him like no other, not even his brother Luthan. Bastien sucked
in a breath. Of course he would Choose correctly. How could he not, with her support?

Mace opened the flap, and Bastien saw the four rows of ten batons.
All were there save the ones the Marshalls carried. Near the end of one of the
rows, two batons appeared dull and dim. His stomach tightened as he understood
that those belonged to Defau Disparu, whom Alexa had killed in self-defense,
and Disparu's wife. He choked, shook the thought from his head. Being a
Marshall was a risky business. Summoning an Exotique chancy also, but Defau had
attacked Alexa to kill, and she'd reacted. He looked at her again and her smile
faded; he felt her Song insinuate deeper into his mind. Not wanting her to
recall the event, he scanned the rods at his feet. Nothing sang to him on first
glance. He opened his mind to his Power, and heard the tone of each one. Different,
mingling, whispering, but none that resonated with him.

A tendril of dismay uncurled inside him. Keeping his face
impassive, he squatted, resting back on his haunches. He held out a hand and
passed it over the wands quickly. Once. Used both hands to test the strength of
their pull, more slowly, twice.

He gritted his teeth, felt the touch of Alexa's comfort again. But
he was deeply glad his father wasn't here to comment.

Bastien settled into his balance and opened all his senses. He
frowned, put his hands on his knees. Something wasn't right. Reaching,
stretching his Power to the limit, he called a tiny kernel of wild magic he
found tucked away inside him...and probed. Two pure notes rang in response.

Narrowing his eyes, he studied the batons. They weren't for him—none
of those in the pockets...but...but... He closed his eyes and instinctively
reached. His fingers scrabbled at the fabric that folded over the batons, found
a hard lump.

"What's that you're doing, boy?" Mace barked.

Since Bastien didn't know, he didn't answer. Opening his eyes, he
examined the fabric he held, noticed a tiny gap. With steady fingers, he opened
the folds of the secret pocket, slipped his hand inside, curled his fingers
around a sturdy cylinder, smooth and rough. He drew out an obsidian baton, with
a cord of engraved silver spiraling from silver bottom to silver top.

The Marshalls gasped as one.

"I don't think I've ever seen that baton," Mace said in
a constricted voice.

Faith pulled forward, but was held back by the linked hands.
"I don't know if I've read of it in the Lorebooks. A black-and-silver
wand, for a black-and-white man."

"Well done!" Ivrog shouted. "Viva Shieldmarshall
Bastien."

An instant's silence, then the rest cried. "Viva
Shieldmarshall Bastien!"

Bastien strode over to take Alexa's hand. A wave of sheer Power
rolled through him, the combined natural resting magic of the Marshalls. For an
instant he was awed. Alexa looked up at him and grinned, her eyes brimming with
pride. He squeezed her hand.

Bastien's touch energized her. Connected, mind, body and heart
with Bastien on her right and all the rest of the Marshalls on her left, Alexa
felt as if she'd finally found her place in the world.

The rainbow lamps on the altar chimed; the big gong vibrated
softly, almost under her hearing range; the large crystals embedded in the
beams and at the ends of the rafters brightened and dimmed, like a lightbulb
about ready to die. Huh, they hadn't done that when she'd gotten her baton. Had
they? Her memory wasn't clear.

But a fine tension hummed through the Marshalls. Something
was going on that she didn't know about, as usual.
Bastien's fingers tightened on hers near pain. Flames danced under the surface
of her baton; the silver on Bastien's blazed.

"I've heard tales—" Bastien breathed.

Bells sounded, tinkling, sparkling, like sleigh bells in Christmas
commercials. Another quiver ran down the line of Marshalls, with rising
excitement. The circle broke and they surged to the door.

They flowed through the door and out into the Temple courtyard.

"Look," Bastien said, angling his chin.

The bells were attached to a volaran harness. Two pure white
volarans, manes ruffling in the night breeze, looking like a fantasy had flown
in. Between them they carried a little, much-decorated wooden...something. A
tiny carriage? Yeah, it had wheels. A little Cinderella coach, but with the
horses on either side. Weird. Fabulous. Something
big
was happening.

"The Singer," Bastien whispered.

Uh-oh. The most powerful person on Lladrana, the one who listened
to God—the Song. The one who did those oracle things. Alexa wanted to run away,
fast and far. But Bastien stood solid, holding her hand. Everyone in and near
the Castle tumbled into the ward, to see, to watch. No sneaking away. Probably
didn't have anything to do with her anyway. Yeah, right. This was the seer
who'd told the Marshalls to Summon her. Shi—Shoot.

All around her, breaths were held and eyes were on the coach as if
Santa were coming, but no one knew if he was bringing coal and switches or
presents containing heart's desires. Alexa tugged on her hand, but Bastien, the
big lunk, wasn't moving. Nope, had to stay and wait to be engulfed in an
avalanche.

She heard Thealia inhale, then the Swordmarshall wiped her palm on
her fancy malachite robe and strode forward to press down the intricate gold
handle of the coach and help out the occupant.

A tiny old woman emerged. Smaller than Alexa. Her face was a mass
of lines, her bones birdlike. A shock of white hair fuzzed around her head,
lifting and falling with the ripple of the night breeze. More like a fairy
godmother than Santa.

She wore a gold-colored gown, made of the same fabric as Alexa's
own. Alexa looked down—not the same cut, thank goodness. A minor thing, but
significant, she hoped. She was not going to become this "Song." She
was a Marshall. A Swordmarshall, heaven help her. A fighter. She grounded
herself and shifted her balance, keeping a tight grip on Bastien.

As the lady scanned the courtyard, many shrank back, some stepped
into the moonlight. Luthan strode across the ward. When he reached the woman,
Thealia stepped aside, relief showing on her face. Luthan bowed, braced himself
and took the tiny hand to place it on his arm. Alexa saw a tremor run through
him. Bastien and Alexa took a step back, and Alexa noticed all the Marshalls
did too.

"Forgive me for not giving you notice, my liegeman," the
Singer said.

Alexa had never heard a voice like it. More than musical, like it
carried in it the ancient answers of the stars. She'd never felt a voice like
that, but it plucked chords of her inner being. She strained to hear every
cadence, every syllable, every note.

"The Singer knows best," Luthan said, and took one small
step to her two.

"Thealia, Partis, Johnsa, Faith..." The Singer greeted
every Marshall by name. Alexa suppressed a smile. Well, if they didn't want to
be famous, they shouldn't be the head honchos.

The Singer glided slowly toward Bastien and Alexa. Her head tilted
back and her face lit as she saw Bastien. "Ah, my black-and-white,
Bastien." She lilted "black-and-white" as if it was an honor.

Bastien bowed deep beside Alexa. She'd never seen any guy bow like
that—elegant, reverent.

"And Alexa Marie Fitzwalter."

Shock stunned Alexa. No one had asked her middle and surname. No
one. She'd told them to no one. Bastien glanced down at her, eyebrows raised.

Sinafin yipped, pranced around the lady's gently moving hem. A
sweet chuckle poured from the Singer. Alexa sighed with wonder.

"Good evening to you, feycoocu," the Singer said.

Sinafin sat and lifted a paw.

The Singer had made Luthan, bigger than Bastien, tremble at her
powerful touch. Would she blow Sinafin away?

The little lady bent down. She didn't have to stoop very far. She
took Sinafin's paw in her hand. Sinafin sat rock solid. Alexa sensed the Singer
hadn't modulated her Power at all; Sinafin's just met and equaled it. Sheee—Shoot.
Wow.

Power—communication?—passed between the little magical being and
the Singer. Then the Singer released Sinafin's paw and the greyhound came to
sit proudly by Alexa, who was still gathering her wits.

The Singer stopped in front of Alexa. She was not much shorter
after all, an inch or two. Her face lifted slightly so Alexa could meet her
eyes. They were deep and brown with a small slant. Her features weren't Asian
or Amer-Asian, they were Lladranan. For a moment Alexa had thought she would be
an Exotique too.

"Hello, Alexa," the Singer said in English.

Alexa gulped. Thankfully, the woman hadn't offered her hand.
"Hello, Singer."

The oracle's head tilted a fraction. "You are from
Co-lo-ra-do?"

Alexa's tongue felt thick. "Yeah. Yes. From Denver."

The Singer's eyes closed briefly, opened. "As will be the
next. All but one."

Alexa didn't want to hear that, didn't want to go there. "You
speak English."

"Yes, I had an Exotique who taught me many years ago. He came
from Mass-a-chu-setts."

That accounted for the Boston twang. So the most powerful human in
the world of Amee spoke with a Bostonian accent. Too much.

The Singer slanted a look at the Marshalls. "The Marshalls of
the time were perturbed that he didn't stay—we had problems even then and
Exotiques are always powerful. But he didn't love Lladrana or me enough to stay
when the Snap came."

Oh boy. Too much information. Way too much. Alexa thought the
trembling inside her would show soon. She wasn't sure she could stop it.

Bastien's arm circled her, giving her sturdy comfort. "Alexa
will stay. We need her."

The Singer raised her brows and replied in Lladranan. "You
have a blood-bond from the spilling of the dreeth's ichor, and a Paired bond,
but you have not completed the formal Pairing ritual." She switched to
English. "Wedding."

Bastien tensed.

Oh yeah. Mention marriage to a commitment-shy man. That was good.
Huh! The idea scared the crap out of Bastien, and it made Alexa a little queasy
herself.

Then the woman smiled, slowly, beautifully, enveloping Alexa in an
aura of bright golden warmth. "I've come for your Marshall Song Quests,
Alexa and Bastien."

Oh shit.

23

“L
et's go into the Temple to conduct your Song Quests." The
Singer glanced over her shoulder at the range of Marshalls behind her. "I
would like to use the Castle Temple privately with Bastien and Alexa, with your
permission."

"Of course," Thealia croaked. She bowed deeply. "We
will have refreshments for all of you in the small formal Marshalls' Dining
Room."

Well, that left out a lot of people. The Marshalls were keeping
the lady to themselves. Huh. The minor irritation helped Alexa beat back her
fear. She'd never been a person who cared to know the future. The future was
what you made it.

It was a little demoralizing to cling to Bastien, but the day had
been one unbelievable event after another that sent her reeling. She supposed
she shouldn't put listening to a Song Quest in the same category as killing a
huge, rabid pterodactyl, but she did.

Equally unimaginable, equally new, equally something she didn't
want to do.

She guessed a Marshall didn't whine. Too darn bad.

She couldn't even drag her feet. Since the Singer was as small as
she was, both Luthan and Bastien kept their own steps tiny. They walked at a
brisk pace—the Singer's and Alexa's pace.

She shivered.

"Are you cold?" asked Bastien.

"Very."

He gestured to Urvey, who lingered in the background. "Please
fetch Swordmarshall Alexa's cloak."

The title jolted her.
Swordmarshall.
She grimaced. Sounded
like she'd be swinging one often.

She wanted to know the exact procedure of a Song Quest. Another
experience that everyone knew about except her, and no one had given her
specifics. Would the Song Quest take place in the pentacle, near the altar?
She'd skirted that part of the Temple every time she'd been in it. What else
would happen?

"Will there be drugs?" she asked.

The other three stared at her. "Drugs?" Luthan asked.

Alexa sipped in shallow breaths. "Will you drug me like the
Marshalls before that miserable Choosing and Bonding Ceremony?"

Bastien let go of her hand to wrap an arm around her waist.
"No."