Consorting with Enemies

[Jay Carpenter]

Jai

Jai was pulled into the unknown, chased on the heels of the nobleman’s declaration. He looked back over his shoulder, but they were half down the hall by that point. The library was a distant glowing door by then. Jai frowned, uncomfortable by the echoing sentiment.

He licked his lips and looked aside at Nythadri, but her face remained encased in ice. His own softened as he followed. How many times had he wanted to talk to her in the past few weeks? How much had he needed to see her? Now she was so close. His head swam with so many things to say it was impossible to pluck one from the chaos. The longer the silence stretched, the tighter the knot in his chest closed.

He thought of Daniel. What was left behind. The Black Tower and brotherhood betrayed for reasons unknown. The ghost haunted him all the way to an unmarked door. Nythadri led him inside a guest room, and he simply stood there, still abuzz with shock and a million unanswered questions, while she dealt with whatever needed dealing.

A swallow and the drag of his shoulders eventually led to their parting of hands. He realized then that the blood on his must have darkened Nythadri’s, who deserved far better treatment than drenched with the blood of a murder victim. Jai hovered over a water basin. An old mirror hanging askew on the wall showed him the face of a man he did not want to see. So he focused on scrubbing the blood from his hands until the basin was a pink pool. The rags fared no better after dredging them through the water and wiping down his face.

It was something of an improvement when he checked the mirror a second time. The redness in his eyes were bright. Cheeks flat. Mouth drawn. And as he stared into his own eyes, all he saw was disappointment and fog and emptiness. And the pins. The pins. Everything coiled tight inside until he thought he would burst. Suddenly he did. He couldn't pull apart the buttons on his coat fast enough. Afterward, it was balled up, and he threw it to the floor.

He just stared at the black lump, only to leave it behind and sink into a nearby seat, arms on his knees.

He didn't look up when he spoke. His hands were still pink around the nails.
"I tried to find you... days ago. I came to the White Tower.... after I received.. your letter. They said you were gone."