Abaddon's Call

Chapter Forty-Two

Kal knocked hesitantly on Lord Lugh's door.

He had been reading the school's handbook to lull him to sleep when he came across a subclause that advised missing body parts had to be reported to the highest-ranking member of Seven at the school, even if the student thought it was obvious.

The latter part made sense because magic.

He had reported the man without a hand to Trild upon first seeing him, but he hadn't had names or descriptions, just angry, muttered annoyance and threats. He had remembered the symbol, which Alena had said was the Salord symbol, but he had thought if one of them were missing a hand, everyone would know about it.

The night before, he had decided to introduce himself upon finding the man at the school.

The fastest way to get a mage to say who they were was to insult them. Since it appeared that Theon and the man were in some sort of argument over the lack of a hand, Kal went straight to the fastest way to make any man talk. Sex would either make him laugh and complete the introduction, or he'd get angry and demand to know why Kal didn't know Lord Fluffy Bottom the Sixteenth when everyone knew him.

And then he had returned to his room to sleep and pulled out the handbook. His roommate had long fallen asleep when Kal stumbled on the passage.

Hence, the early morning visit to Lord Lugh's study.

The man answered the door with a grunt.

"Yes?" Lord Lugh sighed. "There's a representative you're supposed to see, you know."

Kal had brought the book with him, so he opened it to that page and handed it to Lord Lugh, who glanced at the page and stepped back, motioning into the study even as he read. Kal slipped in, sniffing the man as he passed.

Lord Lugh hesitated, the door halfway closed, and frowned at Kal.

"Did you just sniff me?"

"You smell like you taste good."

The door closed with a thump.

"I thought Trild was giving it to you."

Kal stared back at Lord Lugh. He gasped as he recognized the man and pointed.

"You're the one who brought him to me."

"Yes, I am, this," Lord Lugh said firmly as he set the handbook on the table. "What's this about?"

The lord tapped the passage. Kal understood the conversation had turned serious. He knew then that he had made the right decision, that this was a problem. A very big problem, because he had been warned about Jasor. He didn't know why yet, but he knew Jasor was bad.

"Lord Salord only has one hand," Kal said. "Ah, I feel better already. He smells like terror."

"He's not afraid of you."

"I never said he was."

The pair stared at one another. Lord Lugh's eyes fogged over, causing Kal to flinch, thinking that he had reported something foolish.

"Everyone can see," Kal said for Lord Lugh.

As Lord Lugh began fiddling with things on his desk nervously.

Kal realized he had said something else as he spoke, something he had heard but hadn't understood it for what it was. He tried to recall it so he could repeat it back to Trild. His sword would tell him what he had done. He thought this was obvious. He thought everyone could see these things.