Chapter Twenty-Seven

Kiram had never been in a brothel and he did not want to be in one now.

Still, he stared around with anxious curiosity. Just past the dark narrow entry, the building opened into a large foyer. Throughout the room, small clusters of candles protruded from silver and brass plates hung on the walls. They added the scent of tallow to the thick perfume that hung in the air. Dark wisps of smoke rose from the dull yellow flames. Through the luminous haze, the gathered figures took on a soft glow.

Large-breasted Cadeleonian women lounged on dark red divans and sat around small, circular tables talking with the well-dressed Cadeleonian men. Some of the women wore outlandish gowns, cut far too short at the thighs or made only from strips of cloth and glittering beads. All of them wore their hair loose, though some had obviously powdered their tresses black.

Women and men alike glanced up when the Hellions arrived. Men averted their attention, but the women's gazes lingered. Though many of them smiled at Atreau, none would meet Javier's cold gaze. When two women caught sight of Kiram their seductive and coy expressions failed utterly. One woman's jaw dropped; another choked on her wine. He wanted to tell them that he was no more pleased about the situation than any of them were, but that would have defeated the entire point of him being here.

Master gnacio laughed and, for the first time, his reserve towards Kiram dissipated. He clapped Kiram on the back as though they were sharing a joke at the women's expenses. "Too much for that one to swallow, aren't you, Kiram?"

"Apparently so," Kiram agreed.

A tall woman in her mid-forties rose from one of the red chairs. Scarlet flowers bloomed across the short expanse of her white bodice. Both hips and breasts flashed briefly as she walked towards them. She lifted a dainty liqueur glass to Master Ignacio.

"The Sagrada champions. We had hoped we could celebrate your victories with you." She smiled at the Hellions in an almost maternal manner; though, like the younger women, her gaze lingered a little too long on Atreau and moved too quickly past Javier. Her smile did not falter as she met Kiram's gaze. Nervous dread spread through Kiram as she stepped closer to him.

"Ybu must be Lord Tornesal's underclassman." She caught hold of a ringlet of Kiram's hair. "They say you impressed even Prince Sevanyo." As she pulled her hand back she stroked Kiram's cheek. Her fingers felt warm and slightly moist.

"I'm Kiram Kir-Zaki, madam." Kiram bowed to her just as he would have bowed to any Cadleonian woman. She laughed and Master Ignacio seemed amused. The other Hellions snickered at the misstep, except for Javier, who looked annoyed.

"Such a gentleman," the woman said softly. Then she turned to Master Ignacio. "Padme and Ania would be happy to entertain you privately, good master. And the grand chamber is free for your boys. How many of my young fillies for your Sagrada stallions?"

"Eighteen of your best." Master gnacio paused, surveying the Hellions. "And a few bottles of white ruin as well. They've done well this year."

With that Master Ignacio strode up the staircase as if the Goldenrod was his own home, calling over his shoulder. "Send Padme and Ania up to the pearl room directly."

"As you wish." The woman bowed to Master Ignacio's back. Then she turned to the remaining Hellions. "Well, you know where the grand chamber is. Make yourselves comfortable. Your entertainment won't keep you waiting long."

As a mass, Hellions tromped and bounded up the stairs, Atreau at the lead and Elezar taking up the rear. Kiram stumbled along, trapped between Javier's even strides and Morisio's impatient push.

Eighteen. That meant two women for every Hellion. A clammy sick feeling spread through Kiram. He couldn't do this but also could not find a way to escape.

They surged through the narrow hall and poured into a humid room. The only source of illumination blazed from the flames of a large fireplace. Light glinted across the silk tassels and strings of glass beads that cascaded down the posts of an immense bed at the center of the room. Scarlet pillows spilled off the huge mattress and lay scattered across the floor. Through the heavy scents of perfume and spices, Kiram still picked up the smell of spent semen and sweat.

Atreau tore off his boots and threw aside his coat. Javier, too, removed his shoes, but with far less enthusiasm. The rest of the Hellions also stripped down to their trousers and undershirts. Kiram followed suit, laying his coat and vest beside Javier's.

Atreau scooped up one of the pillows, sniffed it appreciatively and then he hurled it to Elezar.

"She was a wet one," Atreau called. And suddenly the reality of what they were here for sank through Kiram. He swallowed hard. If he fled now he'd never live it down. Worse, he would probably confirm Master Ignacio's suspicions about him. After the women came in, he thought, the other Hellions would be distracted, then he could slip out.

Elezar hurled the pillow to Atreau and Atreau flopped back on the bed laughing. Other Hellions joined him on the bed. They passed the pillow between them and snickered at its lingering odor.

"Ybu look like a bunch of benders," Elezar told them. Morisio waved his ass at Elezar and Elezar bounded onto the bed and wrestled Morisio into a headlock. Atreau drove Elezar back, playfully smacking him with the pillow.

Javier strode past the bed and picked up a liquor bottle from the mantle over the fireplace. He uncorked it and took a deep drink.

"Hey, what have you got there?" Morisio demanded.

"White ruin," Javier replied after a second drink. He strode to Morisio and pushed the mouth of the bottle between his lips. Morisio swallowed as Javier tipped the bottle back.

"A gift from the previous occupants, no doubt." Javier pulled the bottle back.

"Javier, give some here," Elezar demanded. He leaned forward, allowing Javier to catch his jaw and tip the bottle between his lips.

Kiram wasn't sure if it was just a play of the light but for an instant Elezar's expression seemed to soften, becoming almost tender as he gazed up at Javier. Then Javier pulled the bottle from Elezar and turned on Kiram.

"Come here," Javier ordered. His tone was so harsh that Kiram balked. He didn't want to move away from the door and its implicit promise of escape.

"Come," Javier growled.

Kiram cautiously walked to Javier's side. Though heat poured from the fire, Kiram felt clammy. Javier shoved him onto the bed where he fell half across Elezar.

"To a Hellion's life." Javier held out the bottle.

Kiram started to reach for it but Elezar pulled his arm back. Javier caught Kiram's jaw as he had held Elezar's earlier. He tipped the bottle and a harsh antiseptic tang of alcohol filled Kiram's lungs. Javier pushed the bottle into his mouth none too gently. Scorching liquor spilled across Kiram's mouth. He swallowed to keep from choking, taking deep gulps of the liquor. His stomach rolled and burned. His throat tightened. Just as Kiram started to choke, Javier lifted the bottle.

Elezar clapped Kiram on the back.

"Taken like a man," Elezar congratulated him.

At first Kiram felt nothing but relief, then a wave of disorienting heat rolled over him. His tongue felt numb.

Javier took a quick swig himself and then handed the bottle to Atreau, who drank deeply and let out a whoop. He passed the bottle to the man beside him. Moments later young women, clothed in nothing but gold powder paraded into the room. Several carried bottles like the one Javier had forced into Kiram's mouth. The Hellions howled and hooted as the women ran their hands over each other's breasts and slid their fingers between their thighs and lips.

"White ruin!" Javier shouted. A young girl pranced to the bedside holding a bottle at a provocative angle in front of her groin. Javier snatched the bottle from her hands, nearly pulling her off her feet. The girl fell half on Elezar and half on Kiram. Javier wrenched the cork free and drank more.

More women tumbled and bounded onto the bed. They giggled and squealed as Hellions grabbed their bodies. Kiram evaded jiggling breasts, jutting nipples and closely cropped pubic hair as girls wiggled past him. A strong smell of alcohol and sweat rolled off the girl lying across him. He felt one of her hands grope at his hip. Kiram shifted quickly, rolling her onto Elezar.

"May I have a kiss?" Atreau purred from across the bed. Some dark-haired woman smiled at him and spread her legs wide. Atreau shoved his face into her glistening crotch. A wave of nauseous dread rose through Kiram. He could not do that. No matter how much he wanted to impress Master Ignacio, he just couldn't.

Next to him, the young girl crouched over Elezar's newly bare hips, but leaned forward to where Javier stood beside the bed. She grasped the front of Javier's trousers and opened them with agile hands.

Someone's bare thigh brushed the side of Kiram's face. He rolled closer to Elezar to avoid the contact. Gasps and breathless moans mingled with whispered obscenities. The bed rocked and jerked with so many writhing bodies. Kiram eluded another leg, though his hand came away wet.

And then he realized that Javier was staring straight at him as the girl took him into her mouth. His gaze seemed unbearably intense and Kiram didn't know if it was desire or shame that colored his cheeks. Kiram couldn't help but remember the taste of Javier and the heat of him in his own mouth and yet he hated the sight of this girl taking what should have been his own. He despised the fact that Javier just stood there, looking beautiful and aloof, and allowed it to happen.

Arousal, repulsion, and jealous anger crashed through Kiram. He didn't want to see this. He didn't care if this was what it took to be a Hellion-to impress Master Ignacio or Prince Sevanyo or to convince all these Cadeleonian men that he was worthy of their company-he didn't want any part of it.

Beside him, Elezar's hips flexed and pumped, bouncing the girl's splayed legs against Kiram's thigh. Javier clenched his eyes closed. Elezar pulled himself almost upright, driving deep into the girl but reaching out and grasping Javier's hand. Javier returned his grip but didn't open his eyes.

Some woman slid her hand down along Kiram's chest and dug her nails hard into his shoulder.

"Do you want to fuck me?" The woman's hot breath fluttered across Kiram's ear.

"I." Kiram could feel the blood draining from his face. No doubt, Javier would have taken the woman. Maybe he still would. The thought tore into Kiram.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Kiram said quietly and instantly the woman's hand retracted. Kiram slipped off the edge of the bed and fled the grand chamber.

He took the stairs in a fast dash, raced through the entryway, and was out the door. Cold night air washed over him on the street. Kiram shuddered. He had taken his shoes but left his borrowed vest and jacket in the Goldenrod.

As he gazed around him he realized that he had no idea of how far he was from either the Grunito house or the Tornesal townhouse. During the carriage ride to the Goldenrod he had been packed between Javier and Elezar and had seen nothing of the streets they traversed.

The black masses of buildings that rose up against the dark skyline offered him no hint of even their architecture. Yellow firelight illuminated many of the windows. He could make out the figures of women coming and going. Just across the street, a door opened and lamp light flared out. Kiram saw the silhouettes of men, staggering and laughing as they entered another brothel. Their merriment augmented his sick misery.

Only a day ago Rafie had warned that he might come to regret staying with Javier, and already Kiram suspected that his uncle had been right. His thoughts slurred with the white ruin and suddenly Kiram found himself reminiscing about Musni. He'd be married by now. Would it have been any easier to see Musni wed than to watch Javier with some drunk whore?

Hot nausea welled up in Kiram. Sick sweat rose and his stomach clenched. He crouched on the curb and vomited.

"Pathetic." Lamplight from a nearby window illuminated the smirk of a passing man and his big-breasted companion. The woman giggled and led the man into an alley.

Kiram spat the sick sour taste out of his mouth and straightened. He half wanted to follow the man into the alley and beat the life out of him. But then his common sense returned. He was far from certain that he would win any fight he picked. He just needed to wash and go to bed.

The sooner he put this night behind him the better.

Night bells rang from far across town. Kiram clumsily navigated toward the sound. The bells would lead him to the church in the town square and from there he would be able to stumble onward to the Tornesal townhouse.

As he wandered beyond the brightly-lit brothels and common houses, the street grew darker and Kiram encountered fewer men. Occasionally a carriage rolled past him, and once an older man with a lamp stopped on the walkway to watch Kiram pass. He scowled at Kiram and placed a protective hand over his coin purse.

"None of your begging here, Haldiim," the old man muttered.

Kiram rolled his eyes and made an obscene gesture.

The old man hurried away and Kiram continued on, grumbling and trying to count the number of things that he hated about Cadeleonian society.

More than once in the darkness he lost his way but then the church bells would sound again and he'd correct himself. By the time he reached the Tornesal townhouse, his bitterness had turned to numb fatigue. Lamps glowed at the entry and yellow light streamed between the heavy curtains of several windows. He wondered suddenly if the staff spent as much of the night as the day cleaning the spotless house. He reached the doors, leaned heavily against the frame, and knocked lightly. A door opened immediately. A footman took a single look at him and smiled as if Kiram were his long lost nephew.

"It is so good to see that you've returned, Master Kir- Zaki. His Lordship was very worried."

"His Lordship?" Kiram had thought that Javier would still be at the Goldenrod, but then he realized his mistake. Javier might have sex there but he couldn't sleep anywhere that wasn't protected with spells.

"Could you inform him that I'm fine and that I'm going directly to bed?" Kiram stepped past the footman and headed toward the green room.

"He will be informed at once, sir."

Compared to the cavernous entryway the green room was comfortingly small, warm, and dark. Only embers burned in the fireplace. The bed looked appealingly clean and empty. Kiram pulled off one shoe. As he worked the laces of the second the door flew open.

"Kiram!" Javier rushed in. "Where in God's name have you been?"

"Walking." Kiram thought that sounded better than saying he'd been lost. "I needed to get out of the Goldenrod and clear my head." He dropped his second shoe beside the first.

Javier gave him a sympathetic smile. "It was a little much all at once, wasn't it?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," Kiram replied. "I just want to go to bed."

"Why don't you come to my room?"

"Because I'd rather sleep here," Kiram snapped and he knew too much anger carried in his tone.

"Look, you've got nothing to be ashamed of." Javier stepped a little closer. Kiram could smell the white ruin wafting off his clothes and body. He offered Kiram a pointlessly reassuring smile.

"The first time Elezar went to the Goldenrod he was so nervous he threw up. There's no shame in running away. No one noticed but me-"

"I'm not embarrassed, I'm disgusted. And I'm angry at you." Kiram cut himself off short. His feelings were still too raw and too tangled with memories of Musni. He wasn't ready for this argument.

"What did I do?" Javier demanded with an arched brow.

"Nothing. Never mind. I'm just really tired," Kiram finished lamely.

Javier gave him a hard look and Kiram knew he wasn't going to let the subject drop.

"If you're just tired then come to my bed." Javier gripped his arm and pulled him closer. Kiram resisted him, but Javier was strong and insistent. "What the hell is wrong with you? A few hours ago you couldn't wait to be with me."

"Well, a few hours ago I hadn't watched some drunk whore suck your cock."

Javier suddenly released his grip, and an expression like pain flickered across Javier's face. Then it was gone. "She was nothing. What she did was nothing."

"It wasn't nothing," Kiram replied. "It was exactly what you and I did. More. You probably had sex with her."

"Of course I did. What else was I supposed to do?" Javier asked. "Decline on the grounds that I'd prefer to bend you? That would have gone over well with the rest of the Hellions and let me assure you Master Ignacio would have been delighted to hear of it as well."

Kiram said nothing, because he knew there was nothing to say. Nothing could have been different. Javier had done exactly what he should have. His position in Cadeleonian society, his very freedom depended on it. This was exactly what Rafie had warned him about and what Kiram had cursed and sworn against on his long walk. It was exactly what he didn't want to think about because he knew where it led.

Some woman-a whore, a mistress, eventually a wife- would always be there between them. She would have to be there to shield them from prosecution. It wasn't Javier's fault but it wasn't something Kiram wanted to accept either.

"Well, tell me," Javier demanded. "Tell me what I should have done differently."

"You should have left me out of it." Kiram had no anger left, only a terrible defeat. Even this argument seemed futile now.

"I tried to send you home." Javier's tone softened a little. "But Atreau and Morisio made that impossible. So you came along and saw what goes on. I'm sorry, but that's the way things are, Kiram. Duke or not, I wouldn't survive if anyone thought I was-" Javier couldn't seem to find the words to define himself and instead pressed on, "And where would that leave you? Your safety at the Sagrada Academy is dependant upon me. If anyone knew what was between us, you know what they'd do to you."

"Yfes, I know. This is how things have to be." Kiram couldn't bring himself to look at Javier. "It's the way things will always be, because you're a Cadeleonian and a nobleman. You'll never be able to dance with me or share a house with me or call me your lover."

At first, Javier didn't seem to know how to respond to Kiram's acknowledgement, then confidence flickered over his features and Kiram guessed that he was hoping that he'd made his point and won. Kiram supposed that if he, too, had been a Cadeleonian and had known of no other way for two men to be together he might have accepted the situation. Perhaps he could have been satisfied with what little he could get.

All at once, Kiram understood the longing in Elezar's expression when he had gazed up at Javier. For a Cadeleonian a few stolen hours together would be enough.

But he wasn't Cadeleonian. He'd seen his uncle and Alizadeh dancing in each other's arms. He'd flirted openly and had been courted by charming men who offered their whole lives to him. He could have so much more than the pittance Javier offered him.

"I don't know…" Kiram's heart ached but he went on. "I don't know if this can work between us."

A bewilderment came over Javier. "What? Why? Because of one whore at the Goldenrod?"

"No, it's because it can't just be one. There will be others."

"But you've known about the Goldenrod since early summer," Javier objected.

"I knew," Kiram admitted, but that was so different from being there and realizing that this could be the rest of his life. "But being there tonight made it different. Before it was just some kind of vague joke but now…it's not funny. It's sickening." He could vividly picture the whore's mouth sliding over Javier's erection, her hands clutching his hips. All the while Javier's friends and peers reveled in the same debauchery with unbridled enthusiasm.

Alienation, as much as jealousy, swept through him. He turned from Javier and stared at the embers of the fire. They looked as if they were dying before his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I just can't."

"No!" Javier spun him back around. "You will not just turn your back on me! I'm not some mechanism that you can toy with at your leisure. First you tell me that you find me attractive but you won't let me touch you. Then you give me one night and you say you want to stay with me and now you change your mind again? No! I do not accept it. I know you want me. You fought to stay with me." His hands dug into Kiram's arms.

"I fought to stay in the Sagrada Academy."

"You could give a shit about the academy." Javier pulled Kiram closer to him, his expression both angry and strained. "You wanted to be with me. Admit it!"

"I don't want to be with you now!" Kiram tried to jerk free but Javier wouldn't let him go.

"Yfes, you do." Javier leaned so close that Kiram could almost taste the white ruin on his lips. The thick perfumes of the Goldenrod still clung to his skin.

"Release me," Kiram ordered.

Javier's grip tightened, turning painful, and then he shoved Kiram away. Kiram stumbled back.

"Fine," Javier ground the word out. "You want to sleep alone? Then sleep alone. But when you change your mind again you're going to have to get down on your knees and beg to come to my bed."

Javier strode out of the room, slamming the door closed behind him. Kiram dropped limply to the floor. He sat there for a long while, watching the last embers of the fire dim to darkness. End of Part One List of Characters Alizadeh Lif-Moussu: Bahiim holy man, husband of Kiram's uncle Rafie. Atreau Vediya: Third-year student, Hellion, Nestor's upperclassman. Blasio Urracon: Scholar of mathematics. Calixto Tornesal: Tornesal ancestor who opened the white hell. Chebli: Dauhd's friend and member of Haldiim Civil Guard. Chilla Urvano: Second-year Sagrada student. Cocuyo Helio: Fourth-year Sagrada student. Dauhd Kir-Zaki: Kiram's sister, second daughter of Mother Kir- Zaki. Donamillo Urracon: Scholar of natural law. Elezar Grunito: Third-year student and Hellion. Enevir Helio: Fourth-year student Fedeles Quemanor: Javier's cousin, heir to the dukedom. Fiez Lif-Worijd: Kiram's mother's secretary. Genimo Plunado: Future Count of Verida and third-year student. Hashiem Kir-Naham: Haldiim son of a respected pharmacist. Hierro Fueres: Fourth-year Yillar student, future Duke of Gavado. Hikmat Kir-Zaki: Kiram's mother, a wealthy Haldiim business woman. Holy Father Habalan: Sagrada clergy and history teacher. Ignacio Nubaran: Sagrada master of war arts. Javier Tornesal: Third-year student, Duke of Rauma. Kiram Kir-Zaki: First full-blooded Haldiim admitted to the Sagrada Academy. Ladislo Bayezar: Second-year student. Majdi Kir-Zaki: Kiram's brother, Captain of the Red Witch. Morisio Cavada: Third-year student from a scholarly family, Hellion. Musni Rid-Asira: Haldiim friend of Kiram Kir-Zaki's. Nakiesh: Irabiim Bahiim. Liahn: Irabiim Bahiim. Nazario Sagrada: Historic king, committed atrocities against the Haldiim. Nestor Grunito: Second-year student, Kiram's friend, Elezar's brother. Nugalo Sagrada: Royal bishop and second son of the king. Ollivar Falario: Second-year student, Elezar's underclassman. Rafie Kir-Zaki: Kiram's uncle on his mother's side. Riossa Arevillo: Common Cadeleonian girl, daughter of a judge. Sevanyo Sagrada: Heir to the Cadeleonian throne. Shukri Kir-Zaki: Kiram's inventor father Siamak Kir-Zaki: Kiram's eldest sister Timoteo Grunito: Eldest of the Grunito sons, recently taken clergy vows. Vashir: Haldiim Bahiim, distant cousin of Alizadeh Yassin Lif-Harun: Historic half-Haldiim scholar. Places and Peoples Anacleto: Costal trade city, home to the oldest and largest Haldiim district of Cadeleon. Bahiim: Ancient Haldiim holy order that traces its history back to the original Jhahiim. Cieloalta: Cadelonian capitol. Circle of Red Oaks: Holy Grove in Haldiim district of Anacleto. Circle of the Crooked Pines: Irabiim Holy Grove. Haldiim: Naturalized minority descended from Jhahiim. Irabiim: Nomadic tribe descended from Jhahiim. Jhahiim: Tribe from which both Haldiim and Irabiin descend. Mirogoths: Cadeleonian name for a vast number of northern tribes, the majority of whom are led by witches and shapeshifters. White Tree of the Red Oaks: The center of the Red Oaks Holy Grove and a symbol of the Bahiim power; oaths and spells are bound by its light. Yuan: An exotic kingdom far across the South Sea. Days amp; Hours Primiday: First day of the week. Dosiday: Second day of the week. Mediday: Third day of the week. Levaniday: Fourth day of the week. Traviday: Fifth day of the week. Auguiday: Sixth day of the week. Sacreday: Seventh day of the week. Bells: A system of time keeping by sounding off loud or softer bells, which divide summer days into fourteen brassy day bells and ten wooden night bells. Winter days consist of only ten day bells and fourteen night bells. Brief Cadeleonian History 1000: The Sagrada fortress is built to stand against the first waves of Mirogoths. 1090-1105: King Nazario purges Haldiim from all of northern Cadeleon but dies before his forces can break the defenses of Anecleto and other southern cities. 1150: Civil war sends the Sagrada King into hiding in Rauma. 1190: The Restoration of the Sagrada rulership. 1200: Sagrada Academy is founded on the grounds of the old fortress. The school is dedicated to training the brightest nobles. Thirty years later the sons of merchants and scholars are granted admittance. 1226: The Yillar Academy is founded. Admittance is limited to Cadeleonian nobles and members of the high clergy. 1242: Second Mirogoth invasion begins in north. 1250: Calixto Tornesal opens the white hell and defeats the invading Mirogoth forces at the Sagrada Academy. 1253: Bishop Seferino pens his legal rulings on ethics, conduct and conversion. 1350: Kiram Kir-Zaki is the first full-blooded Haldiim to attend the Sagrada Academy. Acknowledgements First and foremost, huge thanks to Nicole Kimberling and Melissa Miller. I could not have written these books-or any books, honestly-without you.

I'd also like to thank Jemma EveryHope for wielding the Chicago Manual of Style so very tirelessly, and also for making the best tasting yoghurt I have ever eaten in my life.

I'm deeply indebted to Alex, ten, James, Josh and Sam, all of whom kindly informed and inspired so many of the characters in these books. I could not have hoped for any better examples of men of charm, strength, humor, artistry and honesty. My writing couldn't possibly do you all justice.

And last, but far from least, I have to thank all the readers and authors who have been so kind in their reviews, advice and insights. The fact that there are far too many of you to list on a single page reflects the deep generosity of our literary communities.

Thank you all. Excerpt from Lord of the White Hell Book Two Kiram ran hard and the curse rushed after him. He felt its pursuit, like hot breath and sharp teeth snapping at his back. Something sliced through his pant leg and slashed open his calf. The pain flooded him with an animal desperation and his body responded with a rush of speed.

In the back of his mind he knew he should return to the security of the dormitory, but the curse spread between him and the school, so Kiram wasn't going to turn around.

He abandoned the thought of reaching any destination; nowhere could be safe. All that mattered was escape. He had to keep moving. His muscles burned and his lungs ached as he threw himself ahead too fast to even see where he was going.

Flows of snow dragged at him. He fought through them. He tore across the grounds and raced through the orchard. Twilight shadows engulfed him as he crossed the bridge and sprinted between rows of bare apple trees.

Sweat soaked his shirt. His rapid breath pumped out like steam from one of his engines. At some point he lost the orchard path and found himself stumbling through deeper drifts of snow and surrounded by wild, old trees.

He tripped over a fallen branch and crashed into the snow. As he scrambled back to his feet, he caught a glimpse of the roiling black mass rushing through the twilight shadows towards him. He heard whispers like distant screams. Overhanging tree branches splintered apart the instant the shadow curse fell across them-ripped to shreds just as the groom, Victaro, had been.

Raw panic electrified Kiram's trembling muscles. He fought through the snow and raced into the darkness of the dense woods. From overhead came the cry of a bird. A crow. First one then another and another.

"Help me!" Kiram shouted, praying that this once Bahiim mysticism would serve him. "Please, sisters, help me!"

He didn't have the strength to waste waiting for a response. He kept moving; then suddenly black wings swept past his head. A crow circled him and then flew between the big pines on Kiram's left. Desperate for any hope, Kiram plunged through the undergrowth after the bird. Other crows swept down from the branches, leading Kiram and calling him, their harsh voices challenging the terrible growls and shrieks of the curse behind him.

Hard cramps bit through Kiram's legs. His lungs felt raw. He staggered blindly after the crows, running between towering trees and snow-covered brambles. Then one of the crows alighted in the bare branches of a huge oak. Kiram fell against the rough trunk of the old tree. His legs buckled beneath him.

The black mass of the curse came up fast, rushing after Kiram. It arched up over the snow like a cresting wave. As its shadow neared Kiram a sick pain punched into his body. Something twisted through his intestines.

It must have blood, Kiram. Alizadeh's voice moved over him like a chill wind.

Then the crows dived from their perches, sweeping down over Kiram and the curse crashed across their backs. Burning feathers and blood spattered the snow and pelted Kiram. Crow carcasses fell, smoking, to the ground. The curse rose like a black steam from the mutilated birds. Kiram pressed himself back against the oak, not wanting even a wisp to touch him. The curse hung like smoke in the air.

Kiram held his breath, afraid on some primal level that the curse might somehow hear him gasp or feel him exhale. He stared intently as the black wisps slowly coalesced into the dark silhouette of a man.

Kiram recognized the long body with its broad shoulders and slim hips. The curse could have been either Javier's or Fedeles' shadow, suspended in the air before his eyes. It took a step closer to Kiram, one hand extending, but then stopped. Suddenly its featureless head turned back as if hearing a call. Its mass dropped to the snow and slithered back across Kiram's tracks. In an instant it was gone.

Kiram dragged in a breath of the frigid air. His entire body shuddered from both cold and shock. The blood streaming down his calf felt alarmingly hot and suddenly he felt aware of the scratches where the crows' bones had grazed his skin. Black feathers matted with blood spattered his arms and face. Pieces of skulls and bodies pitted the snow all around him. His own blood smeared out from his right leg in a rapidly cooling pool.

Impending sobs tightened his throat and tears welled in his eyes. He wanted to curl into a ball and have his mother tell him that everything would be all right. He wanted to be back home and feel his father's strong embrace and know he was safe. Kiram wiped furiously at his face, knowing that he only succeeded in smearing crows' blood across his cheeks.

He couldn't act like a child, damn it.

He watched his breath rise in white clouds and dissipate into the dark. No one was going to come rescue him-certainly not his parents-and if he didn't get back to the academy he was going to freeze to death.

Kiram pushed himself back from the old oak. A pang flared through his calf but the leg still took his weight. He followed his own tracks back towards the academy. Every time he heard a sound or saw a motion in the branches above him he froze in fear. An owl swooped past him. Some small creature shrieked and skittered over a tree limb. Clusters of blue jays watched him in eerie silence.

Snow began to fall in light streams at first, but then it grew heavy. Kiram's old footprints became shallow impressions. He struggled to follow his path back through the forest.

Huge flakes of snow settled in his hair and melted against his skin. Kiram shoved his hands into his coat pockets. At first his feet ached, almost burned from the cold, but now they were numb weights. He couldn't stop shivering.

It couldn't be much further. Kiram thought he could smell oven smoke in the air. Just a little farther, he promised himself, but his steps were unsteady and he wasn't even sure of where he was anymore. Suddenly his boot caught on a buried stump and he tumbled down an incline, slamming into the trunk of a tree.

He struggled up to his feet, but the snow slipped beneath him, and he slid farther down the incline, this time only coming to a stop when his back and shoulder pummeled into the ragged stones of a crumbling wall.

Kiram lay still, too cold to care about his scrapes and bruises. Snow drifted down onto him. He was so tired and this fucking day just wouldn't let up. He tried to roll over but his arm wouldn't move; instead a terrible dislocated feeling shot through his shoulder. His calf seemed dead and he didn't have the strength to force himself up to his feet again.

He had to rest. Just for a few minutes, then he'd go on. Kiram closed his eyes. He imagined how he would brace himself with his left leg and use the wall to support his weight. He'd get up; it wouldn't be all that difficult. If he couldn't climb the slippery incline, then he'd follow the wall. It had to have been part of the academy grounds at one time. Doubtless it would lead him close enough that he could catch a glimpse of the dormitory. He'd probably be back in less than an hour.

With that thought a delirious calm settled over Kiram. He felt a little warmer, almost comfortable, now. Perhaps the snow was letting up. His muscles relaxed and he slept as blankets of snow settled over his body.

The hands that gripped him felt like heated brands. Kiram opened his eyes and for a moment saw nothing but brilliant light, then felt the sensual heat of the white hell.

Javier's black hair and dark eyes came into focus and slowly Kiram made out the rest of his features. He leaned over Kiram. Dark sky spread out behind him. High in the sky a crow circled.

What kind of crow flew when it was so dark? And when had it stopped snowing?

"Kiram." Javier's voice seemed strangely distant and his expression was strained. "Can you hear me?"

Kiram tried to respond but found himself producing only a weak groan. Javier's hand felt blazing hot as it stroked his cheek.

"Just stay awake, Kiram. Stay with me," Javier said. Then he straightened and looked back over his shoulder, shouting, "I found him!"

Kiram was aware of being lifted up against Javier's chest and the sparks from the white hell crackling around him. He thought he heard Nestor's voice and Elezar's as well, but he wasn't sure. Only the heat and light of Javier's presence felt real to him. Slowly the range of his awareness grew. His shoulder and calf hurt. His hands and feet ached. A strange bouncing motion sent pangs through his shoulder. They were riding, he realized. He was on Lunaluz, leaning against Javier, and still high above them the crow circled, calling.

"The curse." Kiram tried to get the words out but his lips felt leaden. "It's in Fedeles. That's where it hides."

"I know." Javier's voice was rough.

Of course Javier knew. Kiram leaned back against Javier's chest.

"Fedeles destroyed my engine." It alarmed him that he couldn't get more than a whisper out and his words sounded slurred. "He didn't want to do it. He was crying the whole time. I think the curse in him drove him to it."

Suddenly Kiram realized what that would mean. The man who controlled the curse must have found out that Scholar Donamillo planned to use Kiram's engine to free Fedeles. How had he found out? Only a few people knew anything about it, aside from himself, Javier, and Scholar Donamillo. Genimo knew apparently and perhaps Morisio had guessed at the truth. One of them must have let some vital detail slip to the man controlling the curse.

"Fedeles tried to tell me about the man who put the curse in him but that's when it came out of him and attacked me." Speaking just a few words felt exhausting. Kiram drew in a deep breath. Javier said nothing, but for a moment he dropped the reins from his right hand and gently touched Kiram's chest.

The shadows of apple trees danced and jumped as he and Javier rode past. Behind them Kiram could hear other riders. He closed his eyes for just a moment and then immediately opened them again when a blaze of white light surged over him.

"Don't sleep, Kiram. Stay with me." Javier gripped him hard and a searing heat flared through Kiram's chest as Javier opened the white hell again…

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