Fate’s Edge (The Edge #3)(14)
Author: Ilona Andrews

Jack kept pacing. "And then the banquet was over, and I had to go to Declan’s office. He was really mad. I said, ‘I was defending my family! He was a bad guy.’ Declan said that he knew the guy was bad. I asked him why he invited him, and Declan said that he wanted to see who was friendly with this guy, so Declan could learn who his enemies are, and that I pretty much stabbed that plan through the heart. He said that he didn’t expect me to be perfect, but we can’t keep having these catastrophes every time I show my face in public. He said it’s causing problems between him and Rose, and he doesn’t want those kinds of problems, so we couldn’t keep going on like this, and something had to change. He also said that I needed more supervision and that I left him no choice. And then he told me I could go."

Jack took a deep breath. "I know what this means. He doesn’t have to spell it out. He’s sending me to Hawk’s! For supervision!"

"Sit down!" William barked, his eyes glowing with green.

Jack landed on the floor and shut up.

"The animal thing inside you, the Wild. Has it ever taken over?"

Jack shook his head.

"You ever see red?"

Jack nodded.

William glanced at Cerise. "He needs to rend and soon, and we don’t have time. The first time is always the hardest." He turned back to Jack. "Listen to me. We have a thing inside us, the Wild. The Wild sleeps in a den deep in you. When you get angry, or worried, or excited, the Wild wakes up, and if you let it, it will break out. When the Wild takes over, you forget that there are rules. If it ever happens, you will kill in a frenzy, and you won’t stop until you’re dead or exhausted. It will take you to a place without gods. This is called rending. We all do this from time to time. There is the right way to rend and the wrong way. Rending in the middle of dinner filled with civilians is the wrong way. Do you understand?"

Jack nodded. "Yes."

"You must keep the Wild in check until you and I can find a way to release it safely."

"How?" Jack asked.

"I told you, the Wild sleeps in its den. When you see red, it’s about to escape. That’s when you push it back into its den and make it stay there. If the red ever goes black, you’re gone. Don’t let it drag you under, Jack. You get me?"

Jack nodded again.

"Next, Declan won’t send you to Hawk’s. That’s not the kind of man he is. Even if he did, they probably wouldn’t take you. You’re too old. You wouldn’t survive – they would have to crush your spirit completely, which would make you a lousy soldier and useless to them."

Yeah, yeah. They would take him if Declan asked, but now didn’t seem like the best time to mention that.

"But the Camarine Castle might not be the best place for you for the next few years, no matter how much Declan and Rose love you. Their house is the house of the Marshal. Cerise and I are leaving tomorrow morning. We have a mission for the Mirror. When we come back, I’ll speak to Declan about it."

The full enormity of the statement crashed on Jack. William was leaving. There would be no help. "Where are you going?" Jack asked in a small voice.

"You know I can’t tell you where or how long we’ll be gone." William leaned forward.

A weak hope flared in Jack’s mind. "Can you talk to Declan tonight?"

"No. It’s a long and complicated conversation."

The hope died. A mission for the Mirror could take a week or a month or half a year. He needed help now.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Jack asked. His voice sounded defeated even to him.

"Keep your head down, and don’t do anything stupid," William said. "Stay out of trouble until I come back."

"Not going to happen," Jack said. He couldn’t stay out of trouble because he had no idea where normal ended and trouble began. "I can’t do that. I don’t know how."

"Yes, you can," Cerise told him.

A faint noise tugged on Jack, the dull hum coming from above. William rose and walked out of the kitchen. Jack followed. Outside, the hum grew louder. Jack squinted at the sky. A small dot darkened the clear blue, growing in size.

Cerise stepped out behind them. "A wyvern."

"Mhhhm. Air Force." William growled under his breath, and he and Cerise strode across the inner yard to the gate. Jack trailed after them. They passed through the dark gateway and out into the light again.

The wyvern dropped lower, a huge, scaled creature with massive leathery wings that spread so wide, their shadow covered the entire clearing. Its two muscled legs were bent close to its scaled belly, pale purple, like the sky at dusk. The beast circled the house, tilting as it turned, and Jack caught a glimpse of green scales on its back and the tightly woven wicker shelter of the cabin. The air had a dry, bitter wyvern scent. It made Jack’s nostrils itch, and he sneezed.

The wyvern banked, flew over their heads, and landed in the wide field in front of the house, its wings spread, its two legs digging into the soft soil. It shifted in place, settling down, spread its wings, dipping them down to rest on the grass, and lowered its head to the ground. The door of the cabin swung open. A dark-haired man emerged and slid down the wyvern’s side to the ground, like it was a playground slide. The wyvern stirred, sending a gust of air their way, and Jack caught a familiar scent. "Kaldar."

William growled under his breath, looking as if he had bitten something sour.

"Cousin!" Cerise waved. "Long time no see!"

Lean and light on his feet, Kaldar landed in the grass and strode to them with a big smile on his face. He wore jeans and a blue T-shirt that said WORLD’S BEST UNCLE on it in black letters written in the Broken’s English.

Kaldar was Cerise’s cousin. The last time they had met, Jack and Lark were still friends, and she told him to watch Kaldar at dinner. While people ate and mingled, Kaldar stole things from their pockets, then put them back.

"Hello, hello!" Kaldar grinned wider, showing white teeth. Cerise hugged him; he laughed and held his hand out to William. William unclenched his teeth and clapped Kaldar’s hand and made some sort of quiet snarl that could’ve been hello or could’ve been I’ll kill you, Jack wasn’t sure.

Kaldar pumped William’s hand and turned to him, palm out. "Jack!"

Jack took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

Kaldar’s eyebrows crept up. "Easy now. Don’t break my fingers."

Jack hid a smile. Heh-heh.

"I’ve come to beg for help," Kaldar said. "Professional, not personal."

"What is it?" Cerise asked.

"I’m tracking the theft of an item for the Mirror. The trail led into the Edge, so I ran some evidence I had by a buddy of mine in Baton Rouge PD."