The Howling Delve - Jaleigh Johnson [10]
His room-he was home, in Morel house. Aazen listened intently for the sounds of battle, for wounded cries, but he heard nothing. What had become of Kali and the assassins?
Footsteps echoed on the stairs-the familiar, purposeful tread of his father. Aazen pulled the quilt up to cover his healed wound, realizing immediately it was a useless gesture. Someone-Haig?-had brought him home-washed the blood from his skin. Likely his father had already seen the evidence of the magical potion.
"He cannot fault me," Aazen murmured. "I was unconscious. I was not responsible for what was done to me." He repeated the words like a protective charm. "He cannot blame me."
"You're awake." His father entered the room and perched on the edge of the bed. "Much has happened that we must discuss."
Aazen immediately sat up straighter. His father issued commands. He rarely offered to discuss anything with him, as one man would to another. "Kali and I were attacked at the lake," Aazen said, "by Dencer and men of Morel."
"I know," his father said calmly. "I orchestrated the attack."
Aazen opened his mouth, but no sound issued. He thought his father must be jesting, but by the look in Balram's eyes, Aazen knew he was not. Fear uncurled in his belly like an oily serpent. He swallowed and asked, "Why?"
"To slay Lord Morel and his son, to show out strength to the Shadow Thieves, that we might eventually gain a place among them," Balram explained. When Aazen only gaped, he went on, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I intended. I realize Kali is your friend. Dhairr was mine. Nothing about this decision was simple, Aazen, but I am trying to secure our future-your future. My actions were justified."
Aazen nodded automatically. He had heard such reasoning from his father before. When he awoke facedown on the floor, of his room with a loose tooth or swollen lips, or when his belly burned from lack of food two days after some transgression, the actions were always justified. "Is Kail… are they dead?" he asked, striving to keep emotion out of the question. "Haig was with us-"
"Haig is dead," confirmed Balram, "but not by my hand. Dhairr killed him."
"Why?" Aazen hid his horror beneath confusion, which wasn't difficult. Morel, kill an ally? It made no sense.
"Haig was a Hatper," his father explained. "Morel has reason not to care for them. Dhairr still lives, but he is no longer a concern. He is under my control and believes his son to be a traitor. Kali, however, escaped. I do not know where."
Relief nearly caused Aazen to swoon. His friend was safe. * "Men loyal to me are searching for him right now," Balram continued. "The boy has seen too much to live." His gaze fixed intently on his son's face. "That's why I need your help, Aazen."
Aazen's fear intensified. "What can I do?"
"Nearly all of your time is spent with Kali. You must have secret places, hidden grounds for whatever foolishness the two of you concoct. Do not deny it," he warned softly as Aazen started to shake his head. "Kali has no other family, nowhere to run except such a place. If we do not find and silence him, if he manages to reach the authorities in Esmeltaran, they will learn what I have done.
"Think, boy," he said, mistaking Aazen's hesitation for a ¦ lapse of memory. "You must know a place. We have to hurry. If I am caught, I will be killed."
Aazen frantically searched for a way out of his father's trap. His heart thudded wildly against his ribs. Betray Kail? It was unthinkable. Yet if he didn't, his father would be taken away, and it would be Aazen's fault. "I… I know of a place," he stammered.
Balram's face lit with an ugly smile. "Where?"
He would have to tread very carefully, Aazen thought, or his father would sense the ruse. The serpent in his belly threatened to rise up and choke him, but Aazen forced down the fear and guilt. "Near the lake-the Veshpel estate." He named a house that had burned in mid-Tarsakh. He waited a breath and added, as if it were of no consequence, "Many of us go there to explore