Chapter Four

Lord Meratha

~*~

 

In the hallway outside the drawing room, a man stood peering attentively at Mistress Amelys, waiting for her to invite him into the room.

One to stand on propriety, Kazia noted.

He was roughly her own age or perhaps slightly older and very handsome, with glowering, dark eyes and pale, sharply defined features set in a hard expression.

Beneath a low top hat, dark hair fell in waves to curl below his shoulders. He was dressed in the most formal traveling attire one could manage. His linen frock coat, waistcoat, and trousers were all of the Alchemists' favorite black, forming a tall and thin severe line broken only with a gray silk cravat and the white of a shirt collar above it.

He removed his hat as she watched and handed it off to a man standing behind him.

Kazia realized that she was staring, intrigued by both his comely appearance and that curious air of deep mourning that pulled at her heart.

As she tried to avert her gaze in sudden embarrassment, his dark eyes fell upon her, and through his whirlpool of grief came a sense of animosity and contempt unmistakably meant for her.

Kazia sat back quickly in shock as this assortment of distressing feelings became painful and overwhelming. Her head began to spin a bit and she felt as if a weight were pushing her down into her chair. Her skin felt cold.

"Kazia, my darling, are you quite well?" Brandra's voice came like an echo through the fog.

"Kazia."

From Amelys, her own name cut through sharply, and Kazia turned to her mentor. Amelys held a palm toward the door, signaling the man to wait. In her other hand she held a vial toward Kazia, retrieved from a satchel slung on the back of her chair.

"Take this," Amelys said quietly. "Just one drop though."

As Kazia opened the vial and squeezed a drop of its contents under her tongue, Amelys waved the man in.

He strode to the table and sat stiffly. His eyes made a round of the parts of Kazia visible above the table, surely taking in her workday state, her gray homespun dress stained with machine oil, and he sniffed derisively.

Kazia did feel a bit of embarrassment from him then, as if he hadn't meant to do that so obviously, and she almost laughed. Her mood eased slightly as the tincture Amelys had given her began to take effect.

"Kazia, I am sure you remember Lord Kelvaran Meratha?" Amelys asked.

Kazia leaned forward in surprise.

Another member of Valeskan nobility, here in Caedra.

She studied his face, the statuesque features, deep Valeskan eyes of variegated green and brown, straight brows, but found no memory of him.

"I am sorry, Lord Meratha," she said. "I know your name of course, but I don't remember if we've ever met."

"We were children," he said tersely.

His voice was low and rich, and laden with the melancholy that surrounded him, although edged with steel - to hide the vulnerability of that sadness Kazia was sure. Now much became clear to her.

In Valesk, the succession of the Monarchy did not pass from parent to child, but rotated among the household heads of six noble families. When the last King of Valesk died, Kelvaran Meratha's father stood next in line to the throne, but both of his parents and his older sister perished when their manor house burned.

Kelvaran had already committed to Alchemy, and an Alchemist could not take the throne, and so the Kingship passed to another noble family, and the Principality of Meratha to a trust until a young cousin would come of age.

There were many who suspected the fire to have been deliberate and also suspected the current King, Halany Goskatha. Now Kazia understood at least some of his hostility toward her. For any defector from Valesk, it was hard to know who could be trusted, and Kazia's own father stood at Halany's right hand.

"I see," she replied. "My apologies. I don't remember very much of my childhood. At least I try not to."

This seemed only to elicit a ripple of suspicion from him, as if she were trying to trick him with sympathy.

He wasn't affecting her as dramatically now, though. A sort of hazy warmth had settled over her, an ever-growing psychic buffer between her and those around her. How fortunate that Amelys had a vial of the suppressant tincture about her.

"Kelvaran has been here with us for five years now," Amelys said. "He understands, as I hope you will, that any insights into the inner workings of Valesk might prove invaluable in the days ahead."

Kazia considered this.

"So, I am to be an informant?" she said.

Kelvaran produced a strangled sound from deep in his throat. Whatever feeling lay behind it was becoming hazier.

"Kel," Amelys said in a tone of admonishment.

“I don't really know much,” Kazia told her.

“One never knows what knowledge may hold value,” Amelys replied.

“Well, I'm happy to offer whatever information I do have.”

"Would your information be honest, Lady Devratha?" Kelvaran asked coldly.

"Kel," Amelys said again, now in warning.

"Because," Kelvaran continued, "you will find that a Valeskan is not met with an abundance of trust in the castle. I should not expect a warm welcome from the Queen's Alchemists were I you."

"Ah!" Madame Brandra broke in. "That won't bother her. Lady Kazia is quite the recluse anyway. I doubt she'll pay any mind to whisperings." She fixed Kelvaran with an icy glare. "No matter who is doing the whispering."

At that moment, Kelvaran startled as Neiphi's house cat leaped into his lap.

He regarded the animal with surprise for a moment then smiled, his hard expression softening in an instant, and began to scratch it behind one ear. The cat sat its haunches down and lifted a hind leg to join in the scratching.

Kazia laughed aloud, then clapped a hand over her mouth.

Everyone looked at her.

A short mirthful breath escaped her nose.

Kelvaran scowled at Kazia as he lowered the cat to the floor.

"Well!" Brandra exclaimed with a broad smile, "if you can make this glum child laugh, Lord Meratha, you're certainly earning your keep!"

"Brandra!" Amelys said sharply. Then more softly to Kazia she said, "Are you well?"

"It's just so funny," Kazia said, laughing again. "Don't you think?"

"Oh, Kazia, your face, dear," Brandra said. "You've gone all flush."

Kazia looked from Amelys to Brandra, to Kelvaran.

They seemed so quiet. So still. She couldn't feel anything from them.

They seemed to her to have been emptied of all life, three corpses made into marionettes sitting about a table having tea.

The world seemed to slant sideways. She turned to Amelys in fright.

"Amelys," she said, "There's nothing... something's wrong. What is this?"

Amelys began to rise on her cane.

"Let's adjourn," she said to the others.

Kazia was gasping for breath now as panic spread through her.

"Brandra, Kel, please wait for me in the carriage,” Amelys ordered. “We'll retire to the inn to dress for dinner, but allow me to see to Kazia first."

Brandra began to object, but Amelys made a motion to Kelvaran, who took Brandra's arm and firmly rushed her away.

"It's alright, Kazia," Amelys said quietly. "Just breathe deeply. This formula is much stronger than usual. Has it removed your ability completely?"

Kazia nodded, still pulling in slow, deep breaths.

Amelys took a packet from her satchel and tapped a powder from it into Kazia's teacup.

"It's not right," Kazia said. "I'm lost."

"It will pass," Amelys assured her, adding a bit more hot tea to Kazia's cup and giving it a stir. "It may take longer than the usual formula, but it will pass. Here, drink this. It might provide some counteraction. I am sorry to have tested it without warning like that, but I foresaw that Kelvaran might require some extra defense."

"He is-" Kazia heaved another deep breath, "-quite unpleasant."

Amelys laughed. "If he had your ability," she said, "what do you think he might feel from you?."

"He doesn't know, does he?" Kazia asked, the panic rising in her voice again.

"Of course not," Amelys answered. "I would never divulge your secrets. How are you feeling now?"

"Better. I don't like it," Kazia breathed. "This is nothing like Seamist. It's more like an off switch. I don't feel... real."

"It will pass, and I will rethink this formula. You should rest at home tonight. Have you any chamomile there?"

"I think so," Kazia said.

"Have that tonight until you feel yourself again. We'll drive you if you think can stand a few more minutes of us."

"But, dinner-"

"I'll make your excuses to Mrs. Gewalt. But I will collect you for the fair in the morning, agreed?"

Perhaps Kazia agreed, or perhaps she protested.

She really could think of nothing now but the quiet of her own cottage and the comfort of her bed.

~~~*~~~

"Do you think she will come?" Brandra asked.

She and Amelys had gotten Kazia safely tucked into bed, and the company in their carriage now made their way back to their lodgings in the village square.

"She will," Amelys answered. "She will deny a bit longer, but she knows she must."

"You could be a bit more helpful, Lord Meratha," Brandra scolded.

"You know my feelings on the subject," he answered.

"And you know mine," Amelys reprimanded. Then she softened and took his hand. "I have no children of my own. My students were my only children, but of all of them, you and Kazia are the most dear to me. I need her safe, for my own peace of mind."

Kelvaran settled back into his seat and stared out the window.

He knew very well how deep Amelys' loyalty ran to those she cared for. After his parents died, she had taken him as her foster, given him a home with her, and ensured that his training in Alchemy would continue. He loved her as a mother.

But this Kazia was the daughter of Prince Gorvan Devratha, one of King Halany's closest allies.

Kelvaran had spent the past several years nurturing a Valeskan resistance with the aid of Mistress Amelys and Queen Inaissa of Caedra. He just couldn't fathom bringing anyone so close to the corrupt usurpers right into the heart of their operation.

There were tools needed for the plans they had laid, though, and Amelys insisted that Kazia Devratha was the best with Alchemical Artifacts.

He wanted to trust Amelys, but in the back of his heart, he fully expected any Artifact, and any plan, given to this woman to land in the hands of the Valeskan Crown before too long.

 

~~~*~~~

 

Kelvaran