Chapter One hundred ninety-two – Cryptic Relations

Idomoros was always Pandy’s favorite day of the Fall Festival, and not just because it was the day Clara spent with Edgar.

In the game, of course, it skipped straight to the evening, when Edgar and Clara walked the candlelit streets together in complete silence – other than the eerily beautiful instrumental background music.

In real life, people flocked to cemeteries and churches to pray for their lost loved ones, and care for their graves, headstones, and crypts. Lord Reedsley’s family cemetery was on the Reedsley estate, while Lady Reedsley’s was in her home, somewhere to the southeast. They did go to a church nearby, but none of the children chose to accompany them. Geraldine and Clara were forced to go, though neither girl looked particularly enthusiastic about it. Augustus went with them, too, almost certainly so he could observe Clara in the theoretical presence of divinity. Theoretical, because if it was that easy to find Ismara, Pandy wouldn’t be nearly so stressed out.

Someone came by early in the morning to pick up Eleanor and Lord Winston, which left Thaniel, Pandy, Abbington, Brook, and – somewhat to Pandy’s surprise – Isidor and Tempest. Presumably Eleanor had enough protection wherever she was going, so her in-house bodyguard wasn’t needed, and Isidor looked even grumpier than usual about this.

In fact, all three boys were quieter and rather glum. Pandy gave Thaniel extra snuggles, which he gratefully accepted, but he didn’t cheer up. Pandy could understand, since this was the first year he’d spent this day without any of his family around him, even his abstracted and possibly evil father.

Finally, shortly after lunch, the three boys parted ways, with Isidor simply standing up in the middle of a card game to announce he was going to the library. Alone. Abbington asked Thaniel if he’d like to go visit Brook, but to Pandy’s surprise, he shook his head. “I think I’ll go take a nap,” Thaniel said. Pandy nearly fell over. Thaniel didn’t nap.

Abbington was obviously startled, but nodded his understanding and left the dining hall. Thaniel started gathering up the cards, and Pandy hopped up onto Abbington’s chair, then onto the table. She used her nose to push a few cards closer to Thaniel, and he accepted them with a wan smile. Then someone cleared her throat behind them, drawing Thaniel’s attention. He turned, then dropped the cards as he saw Lian, standing in between Ms. Davenport and a strange man who bore a noticeable resemblance to Lord Bryan Conroy, Thaniel and Lian’s father.

Thaniel threw himself at Lian, and for once the older boy simply hugged the younger one, even going so far as to rest his cheek on Thaniel’s curls. Normally, Pandy would have wondered if he’d been getting some hug-practice somewhere, but she was too preoccupied with staring at the man accompanying Lian.

Like The Father, this man had black hair and blue eyes, but his form was, if anything, slightly overfilled, rather than drawn out and hollow. His vest buttons strained, making Pandy eye them cautiously, wondering if button or fabric would give way first. It had been quite a while since Keros’s magic had tried to kill Thaniel, and it would be true to form if a button attacked the boy with all the force of a belly full of potential energy.

Unlike Lord Conroy, the man smiled genially, waiting patiently until the brothers separated, before offering Thaniel a hand to shake. “Lord Andres Forrest,” he said heartily, “but you can call me Uncle Andres. More like a cousin, don’t you know, but I feel like an uncle, so an uncle I shall be.”

Neither Lian nor Thaniel looked entirely convinced by this bluff confidence, but after a glance at the older boy, Thaniel shook the proffered hand and said, “I’m Thaniel.”

Not seeming to notice the lack of any honorifics, Lord Andres nodded and said, “Yes, you are, and I would have known it if the room was full of people.” He glanced around, as if surprised to find that the dining hall was actually empty, other than them. “Have your mother’s hair, and her look about you, just like Killian here. Y’both got the Conroy eyes, though. Blue as the sky.” He smiled again, his own blue eyes squinching at the corners.

When neither boy responded, the man cleared his throat, then turned to Ms. Davenport. “I’ll take them, then, and thank you, dear lady.” He extended his hand, taking Ms. Davenport’s thin one, and brushed a kiss across the back. The lady’s cheeks turned pink, though she still didn’t look entirely happy.

“I still think we should wait until Mr. Blackwood gets back, Lord Forrest,” she said, absently rubbing the back of her hand when he returned it to her.

“Nonsense,” he said, waving her doubts away. “I’m family. About all they have left, eh? And today is a day for family.”

The hall supervisor frowned. “You’ll have them back by dinner?”

Lord Forrest flapped his hand again. “It’s Idomoros, my dear woman! I went to Falconet myself, you know. Unless things have changed significantly under new management, as it were, you won’t allow a bunch of children to go wandering about with open flames after dark. I’ll make sure they get the full experience, then bring them home. There’s a breeze, so I doubt it’ll take long for our candles to go out.”

Ms. Davenport’s shoulders slumped in defeat, then stiffened again. “And where should I tell the chancellor you’ll be taking them?”

A brief flicker of irritation crossed the broad, genial face. “The Forrest family mausoleum is at Everbloom Memorial. I’m sure he can figure it out from there.”

The teacher nodded, then turned to Thaniel. “Thaniel, you should take a warm coat, hat, and gloves. Perhaps Killian can give you some suggestions.”

Thaniel lit up. “I can show Lian my room?”

Ms. Davenport unbent enough to smile slightly. “You may, though of course you shouldn’t keep your cousin waiting any longer than necessary.”

She gave Lian a speaking glance, and he raised a brow before focusing on Thaniel. “Which room do you have? Mine was on the end.”

Thaniel clasped his brother’s hand, leading him away, and Pandy hopped down, following after them. “I got the corner room! It’s a little bigger, but there’s no windows, so I can’t even tell what the weather’s like ‘til we get to class.”

For the first time that day Thaniel looked like himself, chattering excitedly as he pointed to various things Lian was no doubt already familiar with. Lian nodded along though, his gaze skimming over the magical plaques on the doors, and examining the artwork and carpets as if they were completely new to him.

When they reached Thaniel and Isidor’s room, Lian paused, reading the names on the plaque. “Isidor? That’s not a name I recognize.”

Thaniel frowned. “You met him when I was,” he paused, rubbing the black stone hidden beneath his shirt, “sick.”

Lian grimaced. “I was not at my best then,” he admitted. “I know your friends came in, but I didn’t really pay much attention to them.” Or to anyone, as far as Pandy could tell. Until Edgar and Dorian showed up, Lian had been uninterested in anyone and anything other than Thaniel. Which honestly wasn’t really new, since Killian’s whole schtick had been not caring about anyone except his deceased brother.

Thaniel just nodded. “I’d be really worried if something happened to you, too,” he said, edging closer as if he’d really like to give Lian another hug, but wasn’t sure it would be allowed.

Lian hesitated, then opened his arms, and Thaniel almost leapt into them. “You know what today is all about, don’t you?” Lian asked after a moment, and Thaniel nodded without lifting his face from Lian’s chest.

“We’re supposed to tell Mama and Daddy that we miss ‘em,” Thaniel said, his voice muffled. “But I tell them that every day. I don’t really understand why today is different.”

Lian flinched. “I… wasn’t sure either,” he admitted. “But I talked to one of my friends recently. You know, one of the ones you told me I should be more grateful for.”

Now Thaniel did lean back, eyes wide. “I said that?”

Lian actually chuckled. “Not in so many words, but yes. Anyway, this friend said Idomoros isn’t about being sad, but about being glad we ever had those people in our lives at all. So I’ll start. I’m glad Mother told us stories every night. And Father… Father taught me how to draw. Did you know he loved art?”

“Daddy did?” Thaniel asked, eyes growing even wider.

Lian nodded. “He sketched all the time. He even painted portraits of us and Mother.” His expression soured. “He took them down after she died. I don’t know what he did with them.”

“I don’t remember that,” Thaniel said, face falling before growing determined. “I bet he hid ‘em somewhere. Like a treasure. Next time I go home, I’m going to find them!” He became even more excited. “I wonder if there’s a map, or clues, just like in a Pirate Pete story!”

Lian hesitated, then sat down on Thaniel’s bed, drawing the smaller boy after him. “Do you know who wrote Pirate Pete?”

Thaniel nodded and crossed to his wardrobe. Opening the doors, he took out the books Eleanor had given him. “G. B. Roy. We learned about all the parts of a book in class. The index, and the glossary, and-”

“Mother and Father,” Lian said, then laid his finger over his lips. “The ‘G’ is for Grace, and the ‘B’ is for Bryan. Mother wrote the story, and Father illustrated it. They wrote it for me… for us. You’d eat almost anything when you were little, but I hated vegetables, so Mother made up a story about a pirate boy who always-”

“Says please and thank you and eats his vegetables,” they said together, before Thaniel went on, “Why doesn’t it say Grace, then?” He pointed to the author’s name printed across the cover of the books.

Lian shook his head. “Mother said they were just stories, but Father wrote them down, then drew the pictures and sent them to a publisher. He didn’t mean for them to print it like a regular book. He just wanted a copy for each of us. But he wasn’t really good at things like that, and it got mixed up with all of the other books people sent in, hoping the publisher would want to buy them. When Mother found out, she decided to let them print it, but only if they didn’t use their real names. And then they just kept making more of them, because we always asked for more Pirate Pete stories, and then-”

He stopped. Shook his head. Said, “I’m glad we had a Mother and a Father who would create something like that for us.” He touched the book, tracing the round face of the little boy on the cover, who did indeed look rather a lot like Thaniel did now, and Lian probably had when the books were written.

Thaniel stared at the book, and tears welled up in his eyes before he hastily wiped them away. Pandy was sitting on the bed nearby, and when he reached over and picked her up, notifications flashed in front of her eyes.

+1 Corruption Points for Bathing in the Tears of an Innocent

+1 Corruption Points for Bathing in the Tears of an Innocent

“I’m really glad we had a Mama and a Daddy like that, too,” Thaniel finally managed, not without much sniffling and moisture falling onto Pandy. “And I’m really glad I have a brother like you. I wanted to tell you yesterday, but I didn’t get a chance.”

There was no accusation in his voice, but Lian stiffened. “I’m sorry,” the older boy said, voice low. “I’m very glad to have a brother like you, too.”

Once again, Pandy got to experience being hugged by the villain of Gacha Love, though he looked like he was trying very hard not to think about the fact that she was involved in the embrace at all. When Lian released Thaniel, he managed a stiff smile and said, “You can’t tell anyone Mother and Father wrote Pirate Pete,” he told Thaniel. “Mother made me promise, and I’m sure she would have done the same for you.”

Thaniel looked disappointed and confused. “Why?”

Lian shook his head. “Mother and Father were private people. They liked their quiet life, and they didn’t want anyone to come find them. Plus, Father was-”

“A Dark elementalist,” Thaniel said, understanding.

Lian sighed. “Yes. And people have certain ideas of what a Dark elementalist is. Father didn’t want that to spoil Pirate Pete.”

Thaniel’s fingers dug into Pandy’s fur. “Is it so bad?” he whispered. “Bein’ a Dark mage?”

“No!” Lian said, leaning forward. “Mother said being a Dark mage, or even a Dark elementalist, is no different from being any other kind of mage. Some people are just afraid of the things they could do, and never stop to ask if they would. But Air elementalists can cause terrible storms, and Earth elementalists can knock down buildings. It’s about the person, not their magic. She loved and trusted Father, even though he was a Dark elementalist.”

Thaniel nodded, then looked up. “D’you know why they argued? When Mama… left?”

Lian opened his mouth, then closed it. Finally, he nodded. “I do, and I’ll tell you, but not today. Today is about happy memories.” He stood, tugging at his clothes as the stern, emotionless mien of Killian the Villian fell back over him, concealing the loving brother and grieving son. “Right now, we need to find you a coat and meet our ‘uncle’ out front.”

Thaniel stood as well, reluctantly pulling a coat and hat from his wardrobe. “Who is that man?”

Lian’s mouth flattened. “Lord Andres is Father’s sister’s son. He’s also one of the two people the Queen is considering to serve as our guardian until I turn eighteen. The other being, of course, Augustus Blackwood.”