Ephemeral and Fleeting

Reigna leaned in. “As you know,” she said, “we left, in the City of Light, most of the Oathtakers and Select who went there—to the gathering you all called for while Eden and I were in The Tearless. We asked around about who might be the best person to leave in charge of the training there. The name we kept hearing was ‘Galen Dax’—although I understand he prefers to be called simply ‘Dax.’ Anyway, Eden and I spoke to Lucy about him, and we all agreed that he should be in charge there. Fortunately, he agreed to the plan.” She lowered her brow. “Oh yes, and his first assistant is . . .” She glanced down at her notes. “Aliza . . . Kensey.”

“Aliza? Oh, that was a great choice,” Velia said.

“You know her?”

“We did our Oathtaker training together.”

“Who was her charge?” Lucy asked.

“Ahhhh, let me think.” Velia tapped her finger to her chin. “Oh, yes!” Her eyes lit up. “Kimber . . . ahhh . . .” Her brow dropped. “Colder? No, that’s not right. Kimber . . . Calder. Yes, that’s it!”

“Rowena’s cousin—of sorts.”

“Oh, is that right?”

“She was one of her grandmother’s oldest sister’s children.” Lucy paused, frowning. Then she reached for the tea and filled her cup. “But Aliza couldn’t have been Kimber’s first Oathtaker.” She passed the teapot to Jerrett at her left.

“Yes, that’s right,” Velia agreed. “Aliza was Kimber’s second Oathtaker after her first died while in her service. Aliza swore to Kimber’s safety shortly after we completed our training, and then served her until she died.”

“Kimber was a fifth-born, I believe,” Lucy said.

“That’s right.”

“Any idea of Aliza’s powers?” Lucy asked Reigna. “I suppose I should have thought to ask her myself,” she added apologetically.

“No,” Reigna said, “I don’t know.”

Velia tapped on the table. “She’s able to take on different forms,” she said.

“Goodness! You mean, like the form of an animal? Something like that?” Eden asked.

“No, not animals—people.” Velia grinned. “It really is quite amazing. She can take on the persona of man or woman.” She looked Lucy in the eye. “She can make herself look like someone else. Honestly, you wouldn’t recognize her when she does so. The resemblances she’s able to re-create are . . . uncanny.”

“What of her clothing? Her voice?”

“That’s just it. Everything about her changes—even her clothing. Well, in truth, as she tells it, she doesn’t actually change anything about herself. Rather, she’s able to make others see and hear her as she wants them to see and hear her.”

“Hmmm,” Dixon said, “that’s interesting. It’s a power I don’t recall ever having heard of before.”

“Yes, it’s quite unusual,” Lucy agreed.