The Draykon Series (1-3)

Orlind: Chapter Twenty-Seven

Indren's eyes lit up with that scholarly fervour that Tren sometimes displayed. 'You have some interesting points there. I'll search the libraries.'

Indren began to get out of her seat, but Eva stopped her. 'I wouldn't bother. Organisations like Krays's have made a habit of raiding our libraries before, and extracting any books they considered... inconvenient. And I've reason to believe they're hiding something about Orlind.'

Indren's eyes widened. 'Is that true? But what knowledge we must have lost!'

'Quite a lot of it, yes,' Eva said grimly. 'Look on the bright side, though. Someday there'll be a great deal of "lost" knowledge to be rediscovered, by enquiring minds such as yours.'

That notion brought a smile to Indren's rather harsh face. 'I will look forward to it.'

Eva rose. 'I ought to be going. Thank you for seeing me.'

'Not at all, m'lady,' Indren murmured. 'Wait,' she added in a sharper tone.

Eva waited, one eyebrow raised.

'Have you... that is, do you know what's become of Dev? Is he with you?'

'He is not with me, and has not been for some time. The last report I received indicated that he had travelled to Irbel with Ynara Sanfaer, with the intention of seeking aid in the conflict.'

Indren's face fell, and she stared at the desk. 'Ynara Sanfaer... of course.'

'They were successful in that endeavour, by the way.'

'Well,' sighed Indren, looking up with a forced smile. 'I'm pleased to hear that.'

The woman's obvious dismay touched Eva's heart. Only imagine if Tren had showed no lasting interest in her! That would be painful indeed. 'If I see him, I will tell him you asked after him,' she said.

Indren managed a smile. 'Better not. Men don't like to think they're being nagged, you know. Or pursued. Or even... cared about.'

'Do they not?'

'Well. Men like Dev, anyway. They prefer the excitement, and the exquisite misery, of adoring the unattainable. The merely attainable holds little interest for them at all. I'm convinced he would view such a comment as an attempt on my part to catch at him.'

Eva shook her head. 'I could tell a few tales of male idiocy myself, but I must go and ensure that my particular idiot male has survived his latest ... escapade.'

Indren inclined her head. 'Luck with that, m'lady. Come and see me again someday, if I may impose so far upon you.'

'I will be sure to visit with the news, once all of this is over,' Eva promised. A further exchange of civil farewells being completed, she made her speedy way back to the Library.

The infirmary was much quieter when Eva returned to it. Many of the beds were empty, and fewer Lokant healers were on duty. The calmer environment pleased her, until she realised that the bed Tren had occupied was also deserted.

Heart pounding with apprehension, Eva approached the first medic she saw. 'Could I perhaps enquire about a patient?' she asked with studied calm. 'Tren Warvel, a human sorcerer. He came in with torture wounds. Is he...? I mean, did he...'

She couldn't finish the sentence, but the man smiled and led her out of the infirmary into a small office. He sat at a desk that had one of those interactive glass displays embedded in the centre, and proceeded to do incomprehensible things with it.

'Discharged,' he reported. 'Though he has further treatments scheduled.'

Eva felt dizzy with relief. Seeing that empty bed had been a horrible experience, and it took some minutes for her heart rate to return to normal. Thanking the helpful Lokant, she hastened to Tren's room on the upper floors.