She had some sort of purpose for this conversation, but for the life of him, William couldn't figure out what it was.
"My father was a great swordsman. I told you that. My husband ..." Grandmother Az moved her wizened hand from side to side.
"Not so much?" William guessed.
"No." The old woman smiled. "He was from the Broken, from a place called France. Very handsome. Very valiant. But not that good with his sword. My father didn't want me to marry him, so he told Henri they had to fight."
"Did Henri win?"
She shook her head. "No. But when my father put his blade against Henri's heart, I put mine against my father's throat. I told him that I only lived once and I wanted to be happy. Do you understand what I am saying to you, child?"
"No."
"That's all right. You will. Think on it."
He had no idea what she was talking about. "Tell me about the monster."
Her face fell. "Stay away from him. He is a terrible thing. Terrible, terrible thing."
"Who is he? Why is he here?"
"He senses trouble. It will all be over soon. Things are coming to an end."
William hid a growl. She would tell him nothing.
"What happened to Lark?"
Grandmother Az shook her head, that same serene smile plastered on her face. William exhaled frustration.
"Tell me about Lagar Sheerile."
"He is handsome. Rich. Strong in the old way."
Great. "He can stretch his flash on his sword like Cerise?"
"Our feud is old, child. Do you think the Sheeriles would've lasted this long if they didn't hold on to the Old Way?" The old woman heaved a heavy sigh. "But there is trouble in Lagar's house. Good blood has gone to bad. The tradition will die soon."
"What do you mean?"
"Kaitlin." She spat the word like it was a poisonous fruit. "She came from a good family. We were friends once, back then, before she married the Sheerile. Her father was a hard man. Once her mother passed away, he never remarried. Kaitlin was his only child, his legacy. He had an iron grip on her, and nothing, not even his death, could break it."
She flicked her hand in disgust. "Kaitlin's done the same to her children. She drives them, steers them at every turn, like they are horses pulling her carriage." The old woman snorted. "Lagar . . . He had promise, that one, but she killed it, smothered his will with hers. Kaitlin doesn't understand - a swordsman must be free to carve his own path in the world, however long it takes him. Her husband understood."
Her voice turned bitter. "Such good blood. They've stood against us for four generations and survived. And she spoiled it all, the old half-wit. Not even her magic will save her now."
A vicious blaze flashed in the old woman's eyes. Her fingers curled into claws. Her lips wrinkled, baring her teeth, and a specter of magic, dark and frightening, flared behind her. Alarm shot through William.
Grandmother Az stared through him, raised her chin high, her eyes afire. Her voice rolled, deep, frightening. "Gone will be Kaitlin, gone will be her children and her house. We'll purge the memory of the Sheeriles from the world. Ten years from now nobody will recall their name, but we will still be here, watching trees grow from the ground watered with the Sheerile blood we spilled."
William struggled to draw a breath. All around him the air hung thick with the odorous stillness peculiar to the swamp, fecund, violent, and primal. Rotting mud, the pungent scents of night flowers, the stench of wet dogs from the kennel . . .
A door bumped to the left, and a woman's laughter, incongruously normal, sounded through the house.
The savage fury died in Grandmother Az's eyes, and she patted his hand gently, her face wrinkled by a smile. "Well, look at me, rambling on and on, showing my age. Time to go to bed, I think."
She rose. "I have a favor to ask of you. I need to borrow Urow's youngest from you for tomorrow."
"You can have him, if you don't put him in harm's way."
Grandmother Az's face split in a smile. "Silly child. He's my own grandson. I wouldn't harm my family." She turned and went inside.
William slumped in the chair.
Insane woman.
Insane family.
And he was mad to think he could lure Cerise away from them. They would never let her go.
Lark climbed over the balcony rail and sat in one of the chairs. Her hair was filthy again.
"Are you going to chase me off to bed?" she asked.
He shook his head.
"I can't sleep." Lark gathered her knees to her. "I'm scared about tomorrow. Do you think Cerise will die?"
William crossed his arms. "Anything is possible, but no, I think she will live. I'll be there and I'll do my best to keep her safe."
They looked at each other.
"What do you know about Tobias?" he asked. Maybe she would answer his questions. Nobody else would.
"It was a long time ago," Lark said. "Like three years or more. I don't know very much. Him and Cerise were engaged. He was very nice. And pretty."
Figured. "Why did he leave?"
"I don't remember it very well." She frowned. "I think Mom was doing my hair. And Grandma was there. Then Cerise came. She was really upset about some sort of money missing. I think she thought Tobias took it. And then Mom told her to keep calm and not do something she would regret for the rest of her life and that sometimes you had to let things go and give the person another chance. And Grandma said that in the Legion times death was not an improper punishment for stealing from the family. Cerise got this really crazy look on her face. And then Mom said that the Legion times were long over. And Grandma said that that was exactly what was wrong with the Mire, and if it wasn't for the exiles, it would still be a proper place and that Cerise knew what had to be done. And then Cerise took off, and Mom sent me out because her and Grandma needed to have an adult conversation. I didn't see Tobias after that."
A hell of a story. "Do you think she killed him?" William asked.
Lark bit her lip. "I don't know. I don't think so. Cerise gets really calm before she kills somebody. Icy. I think she was too mad that time."
They sat together and looked at the moon for a while.
Lark turned to him. "I'm coming to fight tomorrow. For my mom."
William wanted to tell her that she was too small, but he'd seen his first fight by her age. "Watch yourself and don't do anything stupid."
"I won't," she told him.
Chapter Twenty-One