Things Not Written 7/12
7.1
After extensively reading over the intelligence reports from his scouts about the security around the vaults, Leigh was just starting to believe it was going to be impossible, or in need of a miracle, to get inside when his door opened and Reagan sauntered inside. She was becoming too familiar with him; he’d have to do something about it and quickly.
“Leigh, we got a problem.” Her tone of voice and the whiteness of her skin underneath her tan had him dropping his pen and almost rising to his feet. Instead, he cocked his eyebrow and motioned for her to continue with a wave of his hand. “You have a visitor. He’s threatening to kill anyone who stands in his way and he looks like he has the means to back up the threat. I think he wants to kill you. What did you do?”
He tapped his bottom lip twice. “I’ve, honestly, no idea.” He hummed in thought. “It looks like I have no choice, but to see him.” Almost on cue, the door opened and Jordan backed in, holding her arms up in front of her as she was followed in by a disgruntled Elf. And not just any Elf.
“Lord Rhydderch!” he said, rising to his feet. “What a pleasant surprise.” Reagan’s dark eyes widened as she stared at him. Please, don’t challenge me right now, he thought while he said, “Leave us,” to Jordan and Reagan. The former squeaked and edged around Rhydderch, while the latter continued to stare at him.
Cathali valued authority and power; if she didn’t get the hell out of his office he was going to lose all credibility with Rhydderch and things could end up going very badly, very quickly. “Reagan.” She exhaled loudly, but exited the room, nearly slamming the door behind her. He debated apologizing for her behavior, but then decided it might be construed as weakness and instead said, “Please have a seat.”
Rhydderch approached the desk, his gray-eyed gaze flickering briefly, disdainfully, over the chair. “Something has happened to Briar.”
Heart clenching painfully, he flattened his palms against the table. “What’s happened?” He had, of course, heard about the seer falling and accidentally killing herself. It could be Briar had been close with her. The seers usually worked in close proximity with each other.
“You do not know,” he stated flatly.
“I don’t,” he said, spreading his arms out in front of himself and hoping that him asking Briar to defect hadn’t done anything to him, if it wasn’t about the fallen seer. Rhydderch’s eyes swept over him and then, pushing his cloak out of his way, he sat down gracefully. Leigh sank into his own chair, moving to clasp his hands in front of himself. “This isn’t about the seer who took her life?” he asked.
His face darkened and he shook his head. “Briar is greatly distressed about her, but he acted strangely before then,” he said slowly, picking each word with care. “It began when he returned from speaking with you.”
Closing his eyes, Leigh exhaled and leaned back in his chair. That explained why he had come to Leigh. “He was fine when he left me.” He paused and Rhydderch didn’t see fit to fill in the silence. “Lord Rhydderch, I can assure you I would never do anything to harm Briar.” He hesitated before continuing. “I care for him.”
Rhydderch stared at him for a moment, before he nodded, shifting his intense gaze from him. “My brother, he, also, sees,” he stated. Leigh nodded, unsurprised. If he had grown up with a seer in the family he wouldn’t have been too thrown off by Briar’s sometimes bizarre behavior. “Briar, he acts strangely now. It is unlike my brother. He is… off.” His frown deepened. “I do not know much of the mages, but something is wrong.”
“Wrong? With his magic?” Leigh asked for clarification, a sliver unease making its way down his back. “Is it gone?”
He shook his head. “Not gone. Lost. He says he finds it, but it slips away again and he does not know where it has gone. He forgets things, often. He is not the same, but still is.” His hand tightened into a fist. “He says he worries the seer-woman was lost also before she died.”
Nodding, Leigh picked his pen back up and started making notes. “Has he told anyone else about his concerns?”
“No.”
“No?”
He looked annoyed to be further questioned. “Not that I have awareness. He only speaks with myself and his persistent girl, but I do not believe he would speak of this with her.”
Frowning at his strange phrasing, Leigh asked, “Girl? Who is she? You know, people will try to use Briar’s abilities for their own use.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he cursed them and he wasn’t in the habit of regretting any of his decisions.
His thin dark eyebrows dipped low over his eyes and he clenched his hands into fist until blood streamed. “Are you to say that I am unable to protect my Briar?” he asked in a low voice.
Leigh carefully set his pen down again. “No, of course not,” he said, thinking quickly. “However, Briar is surprisingly trustful of those who’ve managed to get close,” he said, remembering Reagan’s words to him only a few days prior. “And that hasn’t always worked out well for him.”
Rhydderch gave him a hard stare before relaxing the tiniest bit. He raised his hand to his mouth to lap up the blood, revealing an already healed palm. “He calls her Sylvie.”
“Sylvie?”
“You know her.”
“I do. Not well, of course, but I know enough of her to know she is mostly harmless. I know her mother.” He hesitated. “Briar, he, he hasn’t said anything about her, has he?” he asked, a touch vaguely. If he didn’t know he’d rather not alert him to his relationship with her; he wondered if she knew of her relationship with him.
“Something?”
“Yes, well, I suppose it doesn’t matter,” he said briskly, searching through his desk for the notes he had jotted down after Briar had left. He had recorded every vision Briar had confided in him, though he always made sure to do so out of Briar’s sight. “Briar told you about his vision. Of me?”
“Yes.”
Leigh glanced up, but Rhydderch was reclining against the chair rather casually. “He also told you what he thought had happened to himself?” The Elf’s eyes darkened as he jerked his head once in a nod. “I think it’s related and I think it has something to do with what is happening to Briar now.
“In his vision, Briar said my magic had disappeared and when it returned I, for all intents and purposes, lost control of it and it destroyed me.” Rhydderch nodded in agreement and he continued. “If this is how it begins then I should be alerted and be able to take steps to prevent my untimely demise.”
“Briar can do the same.”
“Agreed. His vision placed us in the vaults, so I believe that’s where our answers lie. Unfortunately, it appears to be impossible to get inside, since it is at the center of the Citadel.” He glanced over his notes about the vaults again, before cautiously sliding the paper across to Rhydderch.
He pulled it to himself and let his eyes scan over the words. “If there is any information about magic failing then they would have that information in there. I’ve read nearly every book they have in the public and private libraries, but I didn’t have clearance for the vaults before I defected.”
Releasing the paper, Rhydderch said, “I will not be drawn into your war with the Royal Mages, but I will assist in this for Briar.” Leigh nodded in agreement. He looked at him with suspicion lurking in his eyes. “Is your human heart as soft as Briar’s?”
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking?” he said with a frown.
“I would kill for my Briar,” he said in a stiff tone, “but his human heart disallows it.”
Nodding, Leigh smiled humorlessly. “You’ve nothing to fear from me in that regard. My human heart broke irreparably a long time ago.”
Standing, Rhydderch pulled his dark cloak around him. “That is good. We will speak later.” And like he arrived, he disappeared.
After extensively reading over the intelligence reports from his scouts about the security around the vaults, Leigh was just starting to believe it was going to be impossible, or in need of a miracle, to get inside when his door opened and Reagan sauntered inside. She was becoming too familiar with him; he’d have to do something about it and quickly.
“Leigh, we got a problem.” Her tone of voice and the whiteness of her skin underneath her tan had him dropping his pen and almost rising to his feet. Instead, he cocked his eyebrow and motioned for her to continue with a wave of his hand. “You have a visitor. He’s threatening to kill anyone who stands in his way and he looks like he has the means to back up the threat. I think he wants to kill you. What did you do?”
He tapped his bottom lip twice. “I’ve, honestly, no idea.” He hummed in thought. “It looks like I have no choice, but to see him.” Almost on cue, the door opened and Jordan backed in, holding her arms up in front of her as she was followed in by a disgruntled Elf. And not just any Elf.
“Lord Rhydderch!” he said, rising to his feet. “What a pleasant surprise.” Reagan’s dark eyes widened as she stared at him. Please, don’t challenge me right now, he thought while he said, “Leave us,” to Jordan and Reagan. The former squeaked and edged around Rhydderch, while the latter continued to stare at him.
Cathali valued authority and power; if she didn’t get the hell out of his office he was going to lose all credibility with Rhydderch and things could end up going very badly, very quickly. “Reagan.” She exhaled loudly, but exited the room, nearly slamming the door behind her. He debated apologizing for her behavior, but then decided it might be construed as weakness and instead said, “Please have a seat.”
Rhydderch approached the desk, his gray-eyed gaze flickering briefly, disdainfully, over the chair. “Something has happened to Briar.”
Heart clenching painfully, he flattened his palms against the table. “What’s happened?” He had, of course, heard about the seer falling and accidentally killing herself. It could be Briar had been close with her. The seers usually worked in close proximity with each other.
“You do not know,” he stated flatly.
“I don’t,” he said, spreading his arms out in front of himself and hoping that him asking Briar to defect hadn’t done anything to him, if it wasn’t about the fallen seer. Rhydderch’s eyes swept over him and then, pushing his cloak out of his way, he sat down gracefully. Leigh sank into his own chair, moving to clasp his hands in front of himself. “This isn’t about the seer who took her life?” he asked.
His face darkened and he shook his head. “Briar is greatly distressed about her, but he acted strangely before then,” he said slowly, picking each word with care. “It began when he returned from speaking with you.”
Closing his eyes, Leigh exhaled and leaned back in his chair. That explained why he had come to Leigh. “He was fine when he left me.” He paused and Rhydderch didn’t see fit to fill in the silence. “Lord Rhydderch, I can assure you I would never do anything to harm Briar.” He hesitated before continuing. “I care for him.”
Rhydderch stared at him for a moment, before he nodded, shifting his intense gaze from him. “My brother, he, also, sees,” he stated. Leigh nodded, unsurprised. If he had grown up with a seer in the family he wouldn’t have been too thrown off by Briar’s sometimes bizarre behavior. “Briar, he acts strangely now. It is unlike my brother. He is… off.” His frown deepened. “I do not know much of the mages, but something is wrong.”
“Wrong? With his magic?” Leigh asked for clarification, a sliver unease making its way down his back. “Is it gone?”
He shook his head. “Not gone. Lost. He says he finds it, but it slips away again and he does not know where it has gone. He forgets things, often. He is not the same, but still is.” His hand tightened into a fist. “He says he worries the seer-woman was lost also before she died.”
Nodding, Leigh picked his pen back up and started making notes. “Has he told anyone else about his concerns?”
“No.”
“No?”
He looked annoyed to be further questioned. “Not that I have awareness. He only speaks with myself and his persistent girl, but I do not believe he would speak of this with her.”
Frowning at his strange phrasing, Leigh asked, “Girl? Who is she? You know, people will try to use Briar’s abilities for their own use.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he cursed them and he wasn’t in the habit of regretting any of his decisions.
His thin dark eyebrows dipped low over his eyes and he clenched his hands into fist until blood streamed. “Are you to say that I am unable to protect my Briar?” he asked in a low voice.
Leigh carefully set his pen down again. “No, of course not,” he said, thinking quickly. “However, Briar is surprisingly trustful of those who’ve managed to get close,” he said, remembering Reagan’s words to him only a few days prior. “And that hasn’t always worked out well for him.”
Rhydderch gave him a hard stare before relaxing the tiniest bit. He raised his hand to his mouth to lap up the blood, revealing an already healed palm. “He calls her Sylvie.”
“Sylvie?”
“You know her.”
“I do. Not well, of course, but I know enough of her to know she is mostly harmless. I know her mother.” He hesitated. “Briar, he, he hasn’t said anything about her, has he?” he asked, a touch vaguely. If he didn’t know he’d rather not alert him to his relationship with her; he wondered if she knew of her relationship with him.
“Something?”
“Yes, well, I suppose it doesn’t matter,” he said briskly, searching through his desk for the notes he had jotted down after Briar had left. He had recorded every vision Briar had confided in him, though he always made sure to do so out of Briar’s sight. “Briar told you about his vision. Of me?”
“Yes.”
Leigh glanced up, but Rhydderch was reclining against the chair rather casually. “He also told you what he thought had happened to himself?” The Elf’s eyes darkened as he jerked his head once in a nod. “I think it’s related and I think it has something to do with what is happening to Briar now.
“In his vision, Briar said my magic had disappeared and when it returned I, for all intents and purposes, lost control of it and it destroyed me.” Rhydderch nodded in agreement and he continued. “If this is how it begins then I should be alerted and be able to take steps to prevent my untimely demise.”
“Briar can do the same.”
“Agreed. His vision placed us in the vaults, so I believe that’s where our answers lie. Unfortunately, it appears to be impossible to get inside, since it is at the center of the Citadel.” He glanced over his notes about the vaults again, before cautiously sliding the paper across to Rhydderch.
He pulled it to himself and let his eyes scan over the words. “If there is any information about magic failing then they would have that information in there. I’ve read nearly every book they have in the public and private libraries, but I didn’t have clearance for the vaults before I defected.”
Releasing the paper, Rhydderch said, “I will not be drawn into your war with the Royal Mages, but I will assist in this for Briar.” Leigh nodded in agreement. He looked at him with suspicion lurking in his eyes. “Is your human heart as soft as Briar’s?”
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking?” he said with a frown.
“I would kill for my Briar,” he said in a stiff tone, “but his human heart disallows it.”
Nodding, Leigh smiled humorlessly. “You’ve nothing to fear from me in that regard. My human heart broke irreparably a long time ago.”
Standing, Rhydderch pulled his dark cloak around him. “That is good. We will speak later.” And like he arrived, he disappeared.