17. Chapter Seventeen #2
“You said he’s on floor seven?” William peered up the steep stairwell that made him dizzy. There were no lanterns to light their path, only the windows that cut harsh shadows across the stairwell.
“Indeed.” The boy smiled like walking seven flights wouldn’t be a pain. He settled on the stairs, then pulled out a key. He realized William wasn’t on the steps and grabbed his arm. “Please, step behind me, sir.”
William did so, then gripped the railing after the boy put a key into a hole in the wall.
With a turn, the stairs creaked and moved.
They swung around, up and up, slowly but not as slowly as he needed.
He pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, willing his breakfast to remain in his stomach.
Then the stairs stopped. He’d have fallen if he weren’t gripping the railing like his life depended on it.
“This way,” the boy said with the nonchalance of one who had done that a thousand times.
The upstairs varied little from downstairs, save the many red oak doors. The names of mages scrawled across each one caught the chandelier light, glistening in gold. At Henry’s door, the boy bowed and excused himself. That left William alone.
Henry wouldn’t only have answers. There would be questions, too.
Out of all his brothers, Henry was the last one he could ever possibly deceive.
Arthur was the most gullible around his family because he couldn’t fathom any of them having ill will.
Richard could be deceived if one knew how to turn a phrase.
Henry could sit in front of the best poker players in the land and call their bluffs.
William wouldn’t bluff. He knocked.
“Come in.”
He entered an office unlike their father’s.
Where Robert’s office was meticulously clean, Henry’s may have done better if a tornado ripped through.
Papers covered the walls with crooked handwriting.
Books piled high in every corner, some laid open, forgotten on the floor.
A pair of large windows illuminated the office rather than the chandelier that hung unlit from a long chain.
Henry sat on his desk, legs crossed, with a book in his lap and four more hovering around his head.
Those four dropped with loud ‘thunks’ followed by Henry’s surprised voice; “William? What are you doing here?”
He carefully maneuvered around Henry’s chaos.
He didn’t know what half the items scattered about were, from crystals in the shapes of animals to items resembling jewels and ornaments teetering on the edge of shelves.
Henry apparently thrived in an environment that could fall to pieces from the slightest breeze.
“I need to discuss a few things with you.” He swatted at a piece of paper in the shape of a butterfly passing by his nose. “How do you work in this mess?”
Henry called upon the wind whenever he pleased after he discovered he had the Sight.
Making objects float had been a favorite pastime, and an easy way to frighten his brothers in the middle of the night.
Though they knew the curtains fluttering or a window open could have been Henry, in the silent dark, they often ran screaming anyway.
Henry laughed. “I work perfectly well in my mess, thank you very much. Now, what do you want to discuss? You never come to visit me at work.”
Visiting was never on his agenda. Members of Heign’s Magical Society spoke to him not long after he returned home.
They had questions about his arm, how he survived, and what he witnessed, particularly with Nicholas and Fearworn.
They hoped he had better knowledge of what happened, but he proved disappointing, and frankly, he wouldn’t have shared.
The questions were invasive. They saw him as an object in the same way the king did, a specimen to study and believed he would understand because it was for science.
He didn’t fault Henry for that, but it made him hesitant to risk a visit, considering who else he may run into.
He didn’t know how to tell Henry he was leaving. He hadn’t determined how to tell their parents, either.
“It seems this discussion will not be a pleasant one, either.” Henry pushed himself off the desk where papers crunched beneath his boots.
“My missing patients are being taken to Faerie,” William said, because being blunt was the only option he could think of.
Based on his darkened expression, Henry caught on quickly. “Meaning you will follow them, and their captors, to Faerie.”
“Yes.”
“Do our parents know about this?”
He wished not to tell them at all. All he could do was give a lie that would make his departure easier.
Should Matilda know he might have to battle shadowed disciples again, that Fearworn could be involved, and he’d be in Faerie, land that all of Terra feared, she would be beyond distraught. Henry knew that too.
“Not yet,” he muttered.
“So you have come to your dear older brother because he has more experience with Faerie.”
“I hoped you would have information that may help us. Shadowed disciples took them, Henry. Something is going on and I fear what it may be.”
“How did shadowed disciples make it into Alogan? My colleagues set up protection. We should know if they cross our borders,” said Henry urgently.
“Nicholas said there is a shimmer in the sewer, one we never knew of.”
Henry stroked his chin. “Strange. You must have Nicholas tell me where. It will have to be monitored. Now, what is it you wish to learn from me?”
“That’s it?” He hardly resisted the urge to twiddle his thumbs. “You are not upset that I’m leaving? No lecture or attempts to convince me otherwise?”
“Upset that you are risking your life for your patients?” Henry replied around a laugh that rumbled in the back of his throat.
“That is so very like you. I couldn’t possibly be upset.
Besides, there is no point telling you no.
Once you set your mind to something, you will see it through, and my best bet is to help in every way I can to ensure your quick and safe return. ”
William appreciated that. It would be one less person to be upset with him. “You’ve been in contact with fae even after the end of the treaty. If you know anything concerning peculiar magic, even if they are rumors, I would appreciate it.”
Henry laid his hands on the desk behind him, leaning slightly.
“That is a tough question. There is much more magic in this world than most believe, particularly from Faerie. Their magic is wild and dangerous in ways they don’t even fathom, more likely because they aren’t so inquisitive about it.
They accept everything as it is while we mortals want to pick everything apart. ”
“To be more specific, then, have you seen or heard anything of magic requiring people? Sacrifices perhaps?” he asked. “I can’t imagine why else they would take my patients to Faerie.”
Henry’s frown spoke before he did. “Yes, there are many acts in Faerie requiring a life, blood rituals of sort. Most have to do with empowering oneself or their land, but if shadowed disciples are involved, this likely has to do with Fearworn.” Henry stepped past him to inspect the hall.
He shut the door and came to William’s side.
“You cannot speak of this outside of my office. Do you understand?”
He nodded tensely.
“There is an entire team dedicated to studying shimmers. We know so little about them. They can be volatile, but some believe a powerful surge of energy, like magic or souls, however we wish to describe it, could open further pathways. It could have been how Fearworn achieved it, sacrificing his disciples, beasts, or both. These disciples very well may continue their master’s work, attempting to open more after his demise. ”
Bile rose in his throat. He forced it down with a hard gulp. “Does the king know of this?”
Henry laughed, distant and cold. “His Majesty remains updated on all we learn here. Trust that he is aware and trust that he does not want to consider the possibility of disciples continuing their master’s work, especially after the war was declared over.
Imagine how the public might react? There would be riots and fear.
The fae lords don’t want it, either. They rather remain ignorant until there is proof they cannot ignore. ”
“Meaning I have to go to Faerie and find that proof myself.”
“Unfortunately.” Henry scurried around his desk in search of something. “When are you leaving, and who is going with you?”
“Charmaine roped herself into it.”
Henry snickered, sounding far too proud of her.
“Evera Bloodbane and Nicholas Darkmoon, as well. He knows of a shimmer we can pass through without being caught. We leave in two days.”
“Darkmoon,” Henry repeated while tearing through his desk. “The one I met and who slayed Fearworn?”
His cheeks warmed. He internally cursed them for doing so. “Yes.”
“You have a valuable ally.” Henry retrieved a green crystal little bigger than his thumb and threw it. William narrowly caught the gem. “Take that with you.”
He examined the crystal. “Why? What is it?”
“A mage of far higher caliber than I made that with the help of a fae,” Henry explained. “So long as you have that on you, I can find you, so if you’re gone too long, I will drag you back.”
William dropped the crystal in his pocket, swearing that Henry wouldn’t make use of it. “How sweet of you.”
“Aren’t I always?”
A knock rapped at the door. Henry’s eyes brightened, delighted.
“Oh, that must be my delivery.” He skipped around his mess without causing an avalanche. William found that in itself magical.
Throwing open the door, a young woman smiled jovially on the other side. She wore a plain blue dress with a fresh coat of pale pink lipstick that matched the dusting of color beneath her cheeks. In her arms, she held a package of books, based on the shape.
“Good afternoon, Lord Vandervult.” She stuck a lock of auburn hair behind her ear.
“Good afternoon, Miss Thomson.” Henry took a package from her grasp. Her hand stroked his. Henry signed a paper, signaling he retrieved his package before returning the paper to her. “Thank you once again for such a speedy delivery. I hardly have to wait at all when you’re in charge.”
“Oh, it isn’t a problem.” Miss Thomson giggled, her pink cheeks darkening red.
“Good day, then.” Henry smiled and Miss Thomson nearly swooned, but he shut the door and ripped into his package of books.
William tried not to grin. “Who was that?”
Henry proudly added four new books to his desk, somehow not toppling anything over. “Miss Thomson? She’s a clerk employed by the society. When we need something specific, we can go to her. She’s as speedy as they come.”
“Yes, she seems exceptionally dedicated to getting your packages to you.”
“I suppose so. It is her job.”
“Henry.” He gestured toward the door. “Did you not see how she looked at you?”
Henry glanced between the door and his younger brother. “She looked no different from usual.”
“She was red in the face.”
Henry looked at the teapot on his desk beside a half-empty cup of the beverage. “Ah, the poor girl must be in a rush. I should have offered her tea.”
William mirrored his brother’s expression. “Blushing, Henry, she was blushing. She likes you.”
“Excuse you?” Henry checked the books individually, then took two to put on the shelves.
“Anyone could see it. She seems rather keen on you.”
“Oh.” The bridge of Henry’s nose wrinkled. He glanced between the door and William before asking, “Whatever for? We hardly talk.”
“But she must want to. You should invite her to tea outside of the tower.”
“I’d rather not.”
William didn’t expect his brother to be so blunt. He didn’t know what to say.
“Romance and the like. I have no interest in it, truthfully.” Henry shrugged nonchalantly. “The future I see for myself is one of science and discovery. I suppose you and I have that in common, our futures differing from what our parents might expect.”
Henry wasn’t looking at him. He inspected one of his books as if he hadn’t knocked the breath from William’s lungs. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t look away from Henry, who read him as easily as the book in his grasp.
“Whatever do you mean?” William whispered, sounding like a child again, frightened and paranoid.
The corner of Henry’s lips curled. “You don’t need to hide the truth from me.
I know if Miss Thomson was after you, you wouldn’t be that interested, either.
I don’t mean to alarm you by bringing it up, but what I’m trying to say is, I get it.
We’re not exactly the same, but we want different things and that makes us stand out. ”
He didn’t expect that and wondered if it was alright that he loved to hear it. He felt like the odd one out, but maybe he wasn’t so odd anymore, and maybe it was okay to want that.
“Then you don’t want marriage or children, either?” he asked.
“By the Souls, no. I adore Alice and I am excited to meet Eleanor and Richard’s child, but I do not want any of my own, nor do I want to walk down the aisle.
I’m not entirely closed off to the prospect of a relationship, something of mutual trust and understanding, but I can’t see myself as infatuated with someone as the rest.” Henry shuffled his weight from one foot to the other.
“Do not tell anyone about that. You are the first person I’ve ever said anything about it to. ”
“Because I would get it?”
“I hoped you would,” Henry muttered, sounding timid for once.
“I do.”
“Good.” Henry cleared his throat. “Sorry for holding you up. I imagine you have a lot of work to attend to.”
“Not as much as I normally would. The king was ever so kind to hire another doctor for the clinic. I won’t have to worry as much about leaving.”
“That’s relieving.” Henry caught him by the shoulders to give a fierce hug.
That time felt different in the best of ways.
He wanted to tell his family one day about who he loved, but that had always been such a distant prospect, something that felt out of reach no matter what he did.
But now Henry knew and accepted him and was a little different, too.
It brought about a light in his darkened days that he never expected.
“Stay out of trouble,” said Henry.
“I will do my best.”