Page 17 of The Silent
“Leo.” Dara rose and motioned to the seat on her right. “Please come and sit with us. Alyah, if you would take hisotherside.”
“Thank you, Watcher,”Leosaid.
“You are very welcome.” She sat and lifted a glass of beer. The others at the table joined her. “Leo of Istanbul, find rest at ourtable.”
“Well met and well greeted, Dara of Bangkok.” Leo lifted his glass and looked down the table. “I find joy and rest with my brothers andsisters.”
The words had not changed in hundreds of years, but the fact that Leo was actually eating with both his brothersandhis Irina sisters delighted him. The scribe houses of Europe could learn much from this model, and Leo was eager to question how Dara had integrated Irina warriors so quickly into her house. They sat and plates of fruit were passed around thetable.
“May I ask,Watcher—”
Dara held up a hand and Leopaused.
“Technically,” she said, “I am not the watcher of this house. I am only standing in place for my mate, who is in council in Vienna at the present time. I apologize for interrupting. You havequestions.”
The servers went around the table, piling heaps of fragrant rice and curries on plates. A whole fish appeared in front of him, and Leo’s mouthwatered.
“I do have questions,” he said, trying to ignore the food for a moment. “I count three Irina warriors at your table. May I ask if they are recent additions to thehouse?”
Leo noticed that Alyah paused, as did Rith. He wondered if they considered the questionimpertinent.
“I ask this sincerely,” Leo said. “And with all respect. Integration of Irina warriors into scribe houses has proceeded very slowly in Europe and the Middle East. Many on the singers’ council in Vienna have been hesitant to press for it, so it has been left up to individual watchers. Unfortunately, not all of them are utilizing the resources available to them. I know of a dozen singers of Mikael’s line in Rekaves alone who are ready and waiting for assignments to scribehouses.”
Dara nodded. “Please eat. I will answer your question, but do not let your stomach continue bellowing,brother.”
A scatter of laughter around the table, and Leo eagerly dug into his food. It was, as he’d suspected, delicious and very spicy. He was glad the beer came in largebottles.
Dara picked up her spoon as she spoke. “I believe your explanation answers your question, Leo. I have overseen this house with Anurak for over fifty years. Because of this, singers have always been welcome here, though prior to the Battle of Vienna, there were only a few who ever fought openlywithus.”
“But they did fight ontheirown?”
Dara’s expression revealed little. “Irina have always fought. In theirownway.”
“And now they fight with you.” Leo used his spoon to taste the curry.Heaven.
“Some do,” Dara said carefully. “Some prefer their independence. This house is unique. The majority of scribe houses are still overseen by Irin watchers. When they are given the chance to recruit warriors, they recruit from their own training houses, which are full of otherscribes.”
Though a few murmured conversations were taking place at the other end of the table, most of the attention focusedonDara.
“What advice would you give me to share with our leaders?” Leo asked. “Many want more Irina participation but do not know what stepstotake.”
“If you want more singers in your scribe houses, you must have more Irina in leadership,” Dara said. “Not watchers, for they are appointed by the Watchers’ Council. But trainers. Weapons masters. Most of our intelligence is gathered by Irinaassets.”
“And watchers’ mates, obviously,” Leo said, smiling. “A mated Irin couple at the head of the house is always morepowerful.”
“Clearly,” Rith said quietly. “But many of us are still wanting for mates. Of the five singers in our house, only one isunmated.”
“And she will likely remain so,” quippedAlyah.
Rith smiled, but his eyes were tired. “We have four unmated warriors,” he said. “Including myself. Our people are still working out of balance. It is contrary to theCreator’swish.”
“I agree,” Leo said. “But in your house I see hope, brother. Scribes and singers together. It isbalanced.”
“Thankyou.”
“Now,” Dara said. “To the present problem. These so-called ‘free’ Grigori. I do not like to admit that I didn’t know of them prior to your watcher’s revelation in Vienna. To know that there have been Grigori among us who might have been trying to change their fate and live a more honorable life is… unsettling. At the same time, I am not sure I am confident of their motives. They could easily be athreat.”
“We cannot ignore that most Grigori still hunt humans,” Leo said. “Even those with no living sire often hunt. While I do hope to build a point of connection between your house and the free Grigori here, Irin protection is very necessary, particularly in a country like Thailand that sees so manyvisitors.”
