The Silent Tempest (Book 2) (33 page)

“No!” said Mona softly, her mouth forming
an ‘o’ as her eyes widened. Her voice rose gradually in pitch as she spoke,
“That’s not true. Tell me it’s a lie. He’s fine. You said you would protect
them.”

He could tell she was on the verge of
hysteria, but he didn’t know what else to say. “He died protecting his
sister,” he told her.
And she died protecting her sister.

Her knees buckled, and Mona started to
fall, but he caught her. Crying, she pushed his hands away. “No, don’t touch
me! Murderer! My poor Gabriel, you’ve killed him.” Regaining her balance,
she backed away.

Tyrion let her go, but he followed her to
the door. His magesight had already shown him the gathering crowd in the
street. It was a small group of people, mainly the parents of the other
children. Stepping onto the porch, he spotted Greta Baker among them.

Raising his voice he addressed them before
the muttering could become shouts, “Your children are fine. They are eating
and surviving.” His eyes fell on Greta. “You should come inside Mrs. Baker, I
have terrible news for you.”

The others moved back from her, as though
she might have an illness they could catch, although their eyes were filled
with pity.

She took the news with more grace than
Mona had, but she still left weeping.

A few hours later the wagon was loaded
with the small sundries that the store had been able to provide. Tom had
promised regular deliveries to be met at the edge of the foothills every two
weeks. The place they had arranged to meet was only a few miles from Albamarl.

Alice put her hand on Tyrion’s arm before
he climbed into the seat, and he looked at her in surprise. Few people in
Colne were willing to risk such a gesture.

“Take care of Tad, please,” she implored
him.

“You can come with your husband,” said
Tyrion, “when he makes the delivery. Tad will be there, but I can’t promise
anything for the future. Life among the She’Har is deadly.”

Alice blinked, nodded, and then looked
away.

“Tell the others too,” added Tyrion.
“I’ll make sure they can see them, briefly at least. Either that or I can give
them the news if…”

Tom interrupted, “Don’t say it. I’m going
to assume they’re fine. If something happens, we’ll deal with the news then.”

“Don’t forget about Mona and Greta…,”
began Tyrion.

“I won’t,” said Tom, cutting him off.
“They’ll be taken care of.” Tyrion had arranged to have some of the credit for
their trade agreement set aside for the families of the children he had taken.

There was no more to say after that, so he
climbed up and began driving the wagon back toward Seth Tolburn’s house. The
sun was low in the sky, but he had no intention of spending the night in
Colne.
Or at Seth’s house either,
he thought.

Kate was sitting on the porch with her son
when he pulled up in the front yard of the Tolburn house. She hugged Aaron
once more and kissed him on the head before walking down the steps and
rejoining Tyrion at the wagon. The two of them waved incessantly until the
wagon had gone far enough down the trail that they lost sight of the house.

They rode in silence while Kate wiped away
tears.

“You didn’t have to…”

“Stop, Daniel, just stop. I don’t need
your constant reminders.”

He shrugged hopelessly, “But Seth…”

“Is half the reason I left,” she finished
for him.

He glanced her way, “I thought you left
because of Brigid.”

“That was half of it too,” she agreed,
“and you were the other half.”

“That’s three halves,” he pointed out.

“You know what I mean,” she growled,
wiping again at her red eyes. “Don’t be difficult.”

Tyrion didn’t say anything for a while
after that. Kate dried her eyes and seemed better, but as the sun dropped
farther in the sky she began to weep quietly. Reaching out with one arm, he
pulled her closer.

“I’m a terrible woman,” said Kate.

Having learned his lesson, Tyrion held his
tongue.

“What kind of mother leaves her twelve
year old son?”

He certainly had no answer for that.

“A bad one,” added Kate. “That’s the sort
of mother who abandons her child. I’m the worst mother in the world.”

Tyrion let out a low laugh.

“That isn’t a joke,” she told him
emphatically. “I’m serious.”

“I wasn’t laughing at you,” he explained.
“I was just thinking that I’ve got you beat when it comes to bad parenting.
You aren’t even close.”

“That’s true,” she agreed. “But I’m the
worst
mother
.”

“I’d argue against that,” he told her. “I
can think of at least one who was far worse.”

“Oh,” said Kate, realizing he meant her
mother. “I guess I come by it honestly then.”

“You are
nothing
like her,” replied
Tyrion.

“If anyone could judge that, it would be
you,” she said with a wan smile.

He gave her a sour look, “That was low.”

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I’m feeling
mean right now. I’m not myself.”

“You’ve been keeping bad company,” he said,
and then he squeezed her shoulders again.

The deepening dusk had cast everything in
a gloom as he stared at his old home. The lighting matched his mood.

Kate poked him. “Staring at the house
won’t help.”

“I don’t want to tell them.”

“It won’t get any easier if you wait,” she
observed.

“I’ve taken everything from them,” he said
sadly.

Kate climbed down, urging him to do the
same. “That isn’t true. They never would have had Haley to begin with if you
hadn’t made so many mistakes, or if you hadn’t taken her away from her
grandfather.”

“Or if her mother hadn’t committed suicide
because of me,” he added.

“Life is hard, Daniel,” said Kate, taking
his head between her two hands. “But it would be hard, even if you weren’t in
it. People die, sooner or later. People get sick, bad things happen. You
aren’t to blame for all of it.”

He nodded, and together they walked to the
door. His father answered it after the first knock. He glanced back and forth
between the two of them before asking, “What do you want?”

“Alan,” said Helen’s voice from the
interior, “Who is it?”

“It’s our son,” said Alan. He stepped
back to allow them to enter, but there was no joy in his face.

Tyrion motioned for Kate to step inside and
then ducked through the low doorway, following her. His mother was already
embracing Kate, but she hurried to wrap her arms around him as well.

“Something smells good,” mentioned Kate,
sniffing the air.

Helen rubbed her hands on her apron.
“It’s just a mutton stew,” she said humbly.

“We get very little meat, other than wild
game,” said Kate with mild enthusiasm. “There are no sheep among the She’Har.”

“There isn’t much left,” said Helen
nervously, glancing at her husband. “I wasn’t expecting company.”

“They can have mine,” said Alan sullenly.
“I’ve lost my appetite anyway.” His eyes never left his son.

“We aren’t staying,” said Tyrion. “We
came to deliver bad news.”

“There’s a surprise,” said his father.

“It’s Haley isn’t it?” said Helen quietly.
She had one hand on the back of one of the wooden kitchen chairs. Pulling it
out, she sat down as though she worried her legs might fail her.

Kate nodded, a look of sympathy on her
face.

“She’s dead,” said Tyrion. “The She’Har
forced her to fight in the arena, just as I did.”

“Who killed her?” said Alan, an angry
intensity in his voice.

He had debated with himself for some time
already, how to answer that question. “She fought several times and won, but
they matched her against Brigid, and she took her own life rather than hurt her
sister,” he said. “She died to protect her.”

“Sick bastards!” exclaimed Alan,
outraged. “They’re a plague on this earth.”

Helen glared at him, her eyes questioning
his meaning.

“The forest gods,” he declared. “They’re
a pox. They’ve ruined my son, and now they’ve taken the only daughter we’ll
ever have.”

“I hate the She’Har as much or more than
any man alive, but you do have thirteen other grandchildren still there,”
Tyrion informed him. “I’m trying to keep them alive as best I can.”

“
Grandchildren?
” spat Allen. “Is
that what I’m supposed to call them? I barely know those kids, and most of ‘em
hate me for being
your
father! Haley was my daughter, because Helen and
I raised her,
despite
what you did to her mother. I loved that girl,
and now she’s gone. Do you honestly think of yourself as a father to those
children?”

He stared at his father. His face, his
skin, no, his entire body had gone cold.

Allen Tennick’s face showed undisguised
disgust. “You’re
nothing
to them. They don’t even have a name for what
you are, and if they did, it would be something too shameful to use in decent
conversation.”

“Allen!” cried Helen, shocked at her
husband’s tirade.

Tyrion stood in mute shock, but Kate
stepped forward, and her right arm swung out, slapping his father across the
cheek,
hard.
The sound of it echoed in the silence that followed.

Kate’s hands were balled into fists, and
she was so angry her body shook, as though it could barely contain her
emotion. “
You
, don’t get to say such things to
him
. You weren’t
there. You haven’t lived through what he has. You haven’t seen the things
he’s seen. Your son has suffered in ways you can’t even understand. I’ve seen
him, crying over their bodies. I’ve seen him caring for them when they were
hurt. He may not be the kind of father you were, but I’ve seen his heart, and
you have no right to judge it!”

“Get out,” said Allen. “I don’t want to
see your cursed face on my property again.”

Kate inhaled sharply, preparing to tear
into the old man once more, but Tyrion put his hand on her shoulder. “Leave
it, Cat.” He took a step back, pulling her with him.

There was a scuffle behind them as Helen
shoved her husband out of the doorway. “Move you drunken fool!” she swore at
Allen. Once she was past him, she ran to the wagon, throwing her arms around
Tyrion before he could climb up. “Don’t hate him, Daniel,” she said. “He’s
been like that since they took Haley. He can’t forgive himself, and he’s
taking it out on everyone around him. He drinks every day.”

“Drunk or not, his words are still true,”
said Tyrion, returning the hug. “I’m sorry Mother.”

“None of it is as simple as…,” started
Kate, but Helen held up a hand, shushing her.

“I know, dear, and he knows it too. We’ll
get past this, one way or another. He just needs time,” said Helen.

“Take care of him,” said Tyrion.

“One way or another…,” Helen answered, her
eyes narrowing as she looked back toward the house, “…I’ll fix him.” She gave
Kate a stern look then, “And
you
, I can’t say I understand what you’re
doing, but I’m glad of it. Take care of my son for me.”

***

The next week brought another round of
arena battles, but once again Tyrion’s children dominated their matches. Their
continued practice, and training with one another made them far more capable
than their opponents, even when dealing with the special advantages that their
enemies had.

Ryan’s plans to expand the buildings
around Albamarl were proceeding faster than anyone had expected. The fact that
all of them were now capable mages was a large part of that, for it greatly
simplified many of the most laborious tasks, such as quarrying and moving the
stone he required for his projects.

Tom Hayes arrived in the week after that,
bringing with him five wagon loads of special goods, food, and other supplies.
Among those things were twenty chickens, two goats, five pigs, and even a few
sheep. It wasn’t enough to allow them to start butchering for meat, but they
would have eggs and some milk.

Many of the parents of Tyrion’s children
came as well, bringing with them gifts for their sons and daughters. Much of what
they brought was useless—clothing, coats, shoes, and other wearables, but amid
the tears and bittersweet reunions, no one made a point to mention that to
them.

There was a new feeling in the air,
something that went beyond the fresh scent of new leaves and spring flowers.
Tyrion’s children had found new hope. Their lives had changed dramatically,
something that each week’s combat reminded them of, but it was not all bad.
They slept in beds now, in private rooms, and they came together daily for
practice and to build and expand their new home. Regular shipments of goods
from Colne had improved the taste of their daily meals, which might have
produced the biggest lift in their spirits, but Tyrion believed it was
something more than that.

It was contact with their parents, with
the outside world in general.

Just the prospect of seeing their families
occasionally had changed their outlook. Kate’s son, Aaron, had ridden with the
second load of goods and seeing him had brightened her mood for the rest of the
week that followed.

Tyrion sat in the kitchen brooding about
it one morning, watching them practice through the window. Breakfast was done,
but he had stayed indoors. He was no longer needed. Looking down at the soggy
tea leaves in the bottom of his teacup, he felt almost as empty as the vessel
in his hand.

“Why are you so glum this morning?” asked
Kate, stepping up behind him and putting her hands on his shoulders.

“I honestly don’t know,” he replied,
turning his head to kiss her hand.

“Things are far better than you ever led
me to expect they could be,” she told him.

Tyrion sighed, “That might be it. I’m not
used to good things.”

“You said things were good for you after
they let you stop fighting in the arena. Didn’t you get comfortable with peace
during those years?”

“Not really,” he admitted. “It was quiet,
but I felt as though I was living in a gilded cage, a somber imprisonment.
Things were peaceful, but I had nothing. Now…,” he gestured toward the window.

“…Now you have something to lose,” she
finished for him. Leaning over, she kissed his cheek, “That’s the best part of
living. You deserve to have something to lose. Worrying over it is the best
sign that something good has happened to you.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, but he couldn’t shake
the feeling of impending doom.

“What about your girlfriend,” she teased.
“Lyrall…,” she paused, struggling to remember the name properly.

“Lyralliantha, she wasn’t my
girlfriend
,”
corrected Tyrion. “She was my owner, and yes, my lover as well, but there was
never any doubt about who owned who.” Yet again he found his hand at his
throat, feeling for a collar that was no longer there.

“You told me that she was responsible for
you being allowed to live without the collar,” pointed out Kate. “That she’s
part of some movement to change the way the She’Har treat our kind.”

“You can’t weigh their actions the same
way you do a person’s,” said Tyrion. “They don’t think like we do. You’ve met
Byovar and Thillmarius. You should have some notion now of how alien they
are.”

Kate nodded, “I don’t understand them at
all, but I do know something about women.”

He laughed, “It always comes back to that
doesn’t it?”

“Whatever else she is, or what she thinks,
she’s in love with you,” declared Kate with a certain amount of iron in her
voice.

“And that makes you jealous,” added
Tyrion.

“No,” she said, but then she corrected
herself, “well maybe, but it’s more than that.”

He raised one eyebrow.

“When you had sex with Layla,” continued
Kate, “It made me angry, but I wasn’t really jealous.”

“Why not?”

“I knew you didn’t love her. You were
trying to punish me. It was all about you and me. I care about your heart
more than any of the rest of it,” she explained.

“You’re saying I’m in love with her?” he
asked. His stomach tensed as he said the words. He knew it was a sensitive
topic for Kate, and he didn’t know how to untangle his own feelings on the
subject.

“Aren’t you?”

“I hate the She’Har with a passion I can’t
even find the words to express.”

Kate nodded, “Yes, but we aren’t talking
about the She’Har. We’re talking about Lyralliantha.”

Tyrion took a deep breath. “I didn’t
really understand her when I came here. I was young and stupid, and she was
beautiful. Later I understood that she was my owner, and I thought her motives
toward me were more like those of someone toward their prized pet, but what I
didn’t understand was the risk she had taken.”

“Risk?”

“Her grove, the Illeniel She’Har, they
never took slaves. Whether or not they believed we were animals or people,
they didn’t believe in unnecessary suffering. She risked her future when she
broke their rule and put the collar on me, but she did it to save my life.
Since then, I’m not sure I would have stayed sane without her. I was alone,
and the people of Ellentrea were more alien to me than even she was.”

Kate thought of Layla and nodded.
And
she’s one of the most normal ones probably,
she thought. Watching Daniel
struggling to express himself, she braced herself before speaking again,
“Daniel, just be honest. I won’t hate you for having feelings for her. It
won’t be easy, but I’m not a girl anymore.”

“It’s different,” he said at last. “She
wants to learn. She has a heart, but she doesn’t understand herself. More
than anything, though, she’s family. I think that…” He stopped, unsure how to
go on.

“Just say it, Daniel.”

“It isn’t easy to tell the girl you’ve
loved your entire life, that you’ve fallen in love with another woman,” he
answered, his stomach turning as the words passed his lips. “Especially when
you still love that girl.”