Free Bloodkin (Jaseth of Jaelshead) by Cathy Ashford Page B

him?”
    Though I figured this was who Rudi had told us about I had to shake my head. I really knew no one my own age from home.
    “Oh well, it’s lucky old Toѫen has him, he’s quite a handful… Look, you guys should go up, Yұieӣấ is putting some dinner out for you. I’ll go get the others, they’ll be dying to meet you, you’re the last to arrive you know!”
    “Yeah, so we were told. Come on Jas, we’ll see you in a bit Jyѫ.”
    “You sure will!” Jimmy bounded off down the hall and we made our escape up the stairs.
    “Jyѫ was a couple of years ahead of me in the Guild of Education. We spent some time here together when we were Journeymen,” Charlie explained as we climbed.
    The common room was appointed rather like our private quarters but on a much larger scale. It must have taken up most of the third floor of the hall. Two big fires burned at either end ofthe room, surrounded by couches and chairs. The floor and walls were covered with plush tapestries and dining tables were laid out down the middle. Along one wall stood a number of bookcases, stuffed full with texts, and the opposite wall had windows looking out over the lake. We sat at one of the tables that had been set for a meal and Eve bustled out through a swinging door from what must have been the kitchen, carrying two plates of food and a bottle of wine.
    “Here you go boys.” She looked at me sternly. “Now, we don’t have wine every night, mind, but this is a special occasion – your first night in Lille!” Without waiting for a response she put the plates down in front of us and poured the wine. “Did you see Jyѫaжa on your way up?” She rolled her eyes. “He was
so
excited you were coming Ϛaioћ. Honestly, the energy of that boy!” She sighed, as if thoroughly wearied. “Well, best eat up before the horde arrives, you’ll get no peace when they do!” And she was off, back into the kitchen to leave us to our meal.
    Turns out I was starving, the light lunch at the temple seemed a million years ago, and I wolfed my food, hardly tasting it. When we finished, Charlie disappeared into the kitchen with our scraped plates, and when he returned he refilled our glasses and we went and sat on a couch by one of the fires. We had hardly made ourselves comfortable when the sounds of loud conversation reached us, and suddenly people started pouring into the room, Jimmy in the lead.
    “Everyone, this is Ϛaioћлeжa – Charlie – and Jaseth. Jaseth and Ϛaioћ, this is, well, everyone!”
    We stood to greet the newcomers but Jimmy pushed us down and came and squished between us on the couch. “None of that! Now, proper introductions.”
    I counted fourteen people in the room, seven Humans and seven Nea’thi, and they pulled up chairs around us and began to introduce themselves. Jimmy’s Bloodkin was a small, dark girl named Lolitha, her black hair bobbed neatly just below her ears, who would barely even look me in the eye and seemed distinctly uncomfortable as Jimmy bade her sit in a chair next to me. The three tall youths who grouped together wereDunkerle, Sammoch and Donnick and their Mentors were introduced to us as Richard, James and Adam. The other two girls settled on the other couch. One was plump and pretty, her long auburn hair bound in a sophisticated knot, and she smiled at me dreamily, introducing herself as Mantilly; her Mentor Sarah was whippet-thin and grinning wickedly. The other girl shifted her fashionable skirts and looked around haughtily, her blonde hair falling in graceful curls around a perfect face. Her Mentor Emma introduced her as Sallagh and she raised her sculpted eyebrows at me and I realised I was staring. I blushed and looked down but was startled by a loud voice.
    “Oi, he’s from old J-town you reckon? Give us a look then!” I looked up at a giant of a boy, lounging casually in front of the fire. His Mentor Toѫeneж – Thomas – smiled gently.
    “Jaseth, this is Telgeth, from your district I