Earth & Sky (24 page)

I took his hand.  “You could say the same of me and my
people.”

He took a deep breath.  “I’ve wondered,” he admitted.  “Would
they be angry with me?  Would my mother and father, and Henrik be disappointed
that I’ve betrayed my people?”  He squeezed my hand.  “But I think all of them-
mom especially-would understand.  And they wouldn’t want me to be alone.”

I considered this.  Surely, his mother and father would
want him to be loved.  And it just wasn’t possible that anyone else on this
planet could love him more fiercely than I did.  Of course, if our roles were
switched, my Dad would be up there in the heavens cursing my flea-ridden red
hide.

Ville brushed the wayward hair back from my eyes and
gifted me with a look of adoration that I didn’t deserve.  I didn’t get it, but
I knew how he felt.  He was my world.  I sat close to Ville, glaring at the
hostile Humans and Shifters, and throwing my dominance around, until we crossed
into more neutral territory.

Ville took it all with a quiet grace that I hadn’t managed
when our places had been reversed.  But his eyes looked a bit pinched. 

It was strange to experience, first hand, how divided our
country was.  We each went from total acceptance to complete loathing and back
again as we traveled.  As time passed, I noticed that I was guarding him less. 
That’s about the time I saw the first Fallen board the train, right behind a
Shifter and a group of humans.  None of them looked particularly happy, but
there was no hostility among them.  And they didn’t even glance our way.

The conductor’s voice crackled over the speaker,
announcing our next stop.  “Ansil, one hour.”

*****

The train station at Ansil was quite a shock.  I expected
a run-down place, populated by outlaws and degenerates.  After all, you weren’t
exiled for jaywalking.  But we stepped off the train onto a pretty little
wooden platform, white with green gables on its roof.  I braced myself for the
hostility we had each felt along the way, but we garnered nothing more than a
few curious looks.  There were quite a few people-of all kinds- waiting to
board, but very few people disembarking. 

“Come on,” Ville took my hand and led me toward the
luggage pick-up where he grabbed his duffel bag.  I knew he must own something
classier.  His choice of well-worn, standard issue army tote was a clear
declaration that he was leaving his role as emperor far behind him- not that he
had ever been much for flashy demonstrations of wealth.

We left the little platform, descending the wooden stairs
onto the tidy sidewalk.  I turned my head this way and that, gawking at what
might be our new home.  The railroad ran through the center of town, so we had
a good view.  Ansil looked a lot like the towns in Shifter or Fallen
territory.  The buildings were mostly built in the Victorian style, with steep
pitched roofs, colorful trim, and hints of gothic revival.  The streets were
wide and clean, and lined with small trees and clusters of daylilies and late
summer plants that could tolerate the hot, dry southern air.  Cars steamed
along, and people of all clans went about their business without any signs of
hostility toward each other. 

“I think we should start there,” Ville gestured toward a red
brick building with a white domed roof and big white pillars along the front
entrance, which could only be a courthouse. 

 “Do you think we’ll be able to find him?”  It was a small
place, but as Ville had said, Cai could have left here years ago.  The Fallen
would have made sure he got here, but they wouldn’t spend too much effort
making sure he stayed.  Once you’ve been exiled, the stigma stays with you no
matter where you go.

He lifted a shoulder in an elegant shrug.  “Only one way
to find out.”

We made our way toward the courthouse, if his guess was
right, taking our time to survey our surroundings.  I noticed some differences
between the people here and elsewhere.  First off, we strolled through town holding
hands, a move which should have garnered us looks of disgust.  No one seemed to
notice. 

Several passersby met my eyes and smiled, but I could tell
they were on guard.  This was the kind of place where everyone knew everything
about everyone else- and if they didn’t, you were suspect.  It wasn’t our
traveling together that was getting the looks, but our status as strangers.

We passed normal, run of the mill businesses along the
way- general store, post office, clothing stores.  I thought the governments of
both Earth Clan and Sky Clan would be a bit upset if they knew about the
thriving arms shop. 

We had almost reached the courthouse when a boisterous
male voice rose up over the din of a passing car.  “Ville!  God’s eyes, Ville,
is that you?”

I craned my head, searching for the source of the
exuberant baritone.  A stocky, blond-haired man with tawny colored wings was
waving from the stoop of an antiques shop.  Ville raised his hand in
acknowledgement.  His clear blue eyes met mine with a mixture of joy and anxiety
and we altered course to meet him.

“It is you!”  The man was nearly jumping up and down.  He
had a square jaw and a good-natured face, which was currently lit up with
happiness.  The dark brand of an exile, burned into his cheek, did nothing to
detract from his good humor.

Ville let go of my hand as the shorter man pulled him into
a bear hug.  After a good deal of back thumping, he stepped back and gestured
to me.  “Cai, this is Wren.  We were just on our way to look for you.”

Cai nodded at me and gave me a warm smile of greeting.  I
felt myself grin back in automatic response to his charisma.  I couldn’t have
kept from smiling if I wanted to.

He stuck out his left hand, and I hesitated a moment
before I took it, shaking awkwardly with my non-dominant hand.  He wasn’t left–handed
by nature.  His right arm from the elbow down was mechanical.  I had seen this
before, but it never ceased to amaze me.  Fast healers the supernatural
creatures might be, but an amputation was tricky, and healing was impossible if
the limb wasn’t re-attached almost immediately.  That’s why we fought with
blades.  A gunshot or a blast could heal unless it hit the heart or brain.  But
blades could dismember and decapitate.

Ville regarded his friend with amazement.  He didn’t
comment on the arm, but Cai must have felt our eyes on him.  He lifted the
mechanical hand and turned it to and fro with amazing dexterity.  There was a
faint buzz, and I realized that it was drawing on Cai’s own magic to function. 
“Lost it in an attack,” he said ruefully.  He lifted his eyes to Ville’s.  “But
what are you doing here?”

Ville took my hand again and Cai raised an eyebrow.  “Oh,
I see, I see.”  I cleared my throat nervously and he smiled at me.  “Don’t
worry.  No one will judge you here.”  He gestured back at the shop.  “I was
just about to go home for lunch.  Let me give Joe his instructions and I’ll
introduce you to my wife.”

We entered the shop and he hustled off to give some
hurried instructions to his employee.  I drifted around the store, perusing at
the items on display.  There were some very nice things here, and I was
surprised at the quality.  One section was all re-furbished pieces.  I drew a
finger over the glossy surface of a big oak dining table, admiring the wood grain. 

“Turned out nice, didn’t it?” Cai had joined us again. 

I glanced at him.  “You did this yourself?”

He nodded.  “When I have spare time, I take some of the
stuff that’s too damaged to be sold as an antique and fix it up.”  He grinned
at me.  “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure and all.”  I got the feeling
he wasn’t just talking about furniture.

Ville clapped him on the shoulder.  “I can’t believe you
own your own shop!”

Cai laughed and rolled his eyes.  “This coming from an
emperor,” he said in an aside to me.

My eyes darted around the room, but no one was close
enough to hear.  “I would rather that be our secret,” Ville said softly.  “Besides,
I’m not the emperor anymore.”

Cai nodded.  “I see.”

We followed Cai to the outskirts of town.  While he and
Ville reminisced about old times, my attention wandered and I wondered just
what we would do from here.  Ville’s laugh brought me back to the here and
now.  “I thought Ibbe would kill me,” Cai was saying.

Ville raised a dark eyebrow.  “She tried.  But mom told
her that it was just a dress and she should save the killing for when you did
something a bit more serious.”  I snorted, thinking this sounded like Ibbe. 

“Your mom sounds like she had a great sense of humor.”  I
wished that I could have met the woman who gave birth to Ville.  She had shaped
his early years and planted the seed that turned into the glorious man before
me. 

He nodded, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes.  “She
was like a den mother to all the kids around the mansion.  Many of them were
distant relatives who had been orphaned, like Marshall and Ibbe.”  His
expression grew fond.  “She would have adored you.”

Cai smiled softly in remembrance.  “She had the patience
of a saint.  And I think Ville inherited her heart and soul- she always wanted
to help people.”  He stopped in front of a low, sprawling stone house.  “Here
we are.”

We followed Cai up the stone walkway to the front door,
and I fought a surge of anxiety.  What if his wife wasn’t as accepting of Shifters
as Cai was?

Cai entered and gestured for us to come inside.  “Bahati,”
he called over his shoulder.  “We have visitors!”

A small, slender woman came from the back of the house. 
Her warm smile of greeting never wavered as she took in the strangers in her
living room.  My eyes widened and I met Ville’s equally startled gaze.  Judging
by her hair color, Cai’s wife should have strawberry blond wings.  But she
didn’t.  Bahati was a Shifter.

Cai glanced at us and his mouth quirked.  “I told you no
one would judge you,” he said quietly.  Then to Bahati, “Sweetheart, this is
Ville.”

 She held out a small hand and gave Ville a brilliant
smile.  “I’ve heard so much about you.”  Her eyes traveled upward.  “Gods,
you’re tall.”

Ville smiled in return.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”  He
pulled me stumbling forward.  “This is Wren.”

I gave a little wave and smiled reflexively, feeling
dizzy.  

C
ai’s
home was a sprawling, low-slung structure that looked as if it had simply
sprung from the dry, orangeish earth around it.  The lush courtyard behind the
house was a surprise.  We sat at the round table drinking cold lemonade and
listening to the night bugs singing a harsh song amid Bahati’s potted plants.

Cai’s wife was kind and welcoming to the two strangers Cai
had brought home unannounced.  “Ville, I’ve heard so much about you,” she said
again, a sincere smile lighting up her face. 

Cai snorted.  “What she’s heard is a lot of complaining
about how stupid you were to get caught sneaking out and get your best friend
exiled.”

Ville leveled an icy gaze at his friend.  “The one who got
himself exiled was you.  If you had, for just one moment in your life, kept your
mouth shut, my father would’ve simply punished you and sent you on your way. 
But nooo,” he rolled his eyes dramatically, “this moron insults the king to his
face.”

Cai laughed.  “Well, I suppose you’ve got a small point.”

Bahati just shook her head, obviously used to her
husband’s mouth getting him into trouble.  “Honestly though,” Cai admitted. 
“I’m glad I left that place.  I don’t have to live in a world of lies- and I
never would have met Bahati.”

I lifted an eyebrow at him.  “Um…how exactly did you end
up together?”  Cai was certainly a Fallen.  And Bahati certainly wasn’t. 

She re-filled our glasses and went to the little grill,
where she piled skewers of grilled meat and vegetables onto two plates.  Then
she paced back to the table, her movements light and agile.  She slipped one of
the plates in front of me with a wink before settling across from me with her
own plate. 

Cai laughed at my question.  “You mean, you thought the
two of you were the only ones sick enough to fall for each other?” 

Ville cleared his throat uncomfortably and I spoke up. 
“Well, yeah.  I kind of assumed we were perverts…I think everyone else we know
would agree.”  Bahati laughed, nearly choking on her drink.

Cai shook his head.  “Don’t worry, dove.  No one in this
town will treat you that way.”

My eyes followed Bahati’s movements as she picked up a skewer
and delicately pulled off all the bits of meat with her teeth.  “Fox?”  I
suppose it was rude, but I was tired.

She nodded.  “Fennec fox.”  She left the vegetables where
they were and picked up another skewer.  “And you?”

I sighed.  “Wolf.”

Her dark eyebrows almost met her hairline.  “A red wolf? 
I thought you smelled odd for a fox.”

Cai looked at us in confusion.  “What’s the big deal about
being a wolf?”

Ville shrugged and leaned back in his chair, as if to say
it was no good asking him.  I put my elbows on the table as I grasped a bit of
meat on the end of my skewer and pulled the whole lot into my mouth.  The meat
and vegetables were perfectly seasoned and I closed my eyes in bliss. 
Realizing the others were still waiting for an answer, I spoke around my food. 
“Bad omen.”

Bahati shook her head.  “That’s what the wolves say. 
Really all it symbolizes is change- but they used to kill red wolves at birth.” 
She glanced at Cai, who looked scandalized.  “Pack animals fear change.  So
they hate red wolves.”

Ville leaned forward to comb his fingers through my hair. 
“I still think it’s a beautiful color.”

Cai exchanged a look with Bahati, and I narrowed my eyes. 
They probably thought it was cute.  “So, mixed couples aren’t shunned here?”