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lined up in front of the council table, this time with Brenna at the head of the line. They held their weapons out in front, blades pointed to the cavern ceiling.

  Brenna took a step forward and bowed to the council table. Then she turned to Martyn. She reached for her knife and let it shine with a clear white light. She focused on Martyn’s knife. Soon, it too shone. Brenna gritted her teeth against the pounding of her head. She wanted this over, and soon. She felt drained from being so close to so much old steel.

  “We praise Ush for health and plenty,” Martyn said. She stepped past him and stopped in front of Jemma.

  “We praise Jik for order and balance,” Jemma said after Brenna lit her knife. Then it was on to Carolie and her praise to Anu for the comforts and family and community. As Brenna stopped in front of each of her drill mates and lit their blade, it was harder for her to control them. The crowd became louder and louder as each weapon was lit. Finally she was almost done. The praises to the old gods were complete and there was only one more weapon to light. She stopped in front of Gram and lit his sword. The noise from the crowd increased and Gram shifted a half step forward and cleared his throat.

  “When the blood of Wolde is weakened,” Gram began. His deep voice carried out across the crowd. “And the line of kings is broken one will come who reunites Wolde’s blood.”

  Gram stepped back and Brenna moved forward, her palm slick on her knife hilt as she held it aloft. She looked down the line, where all six weapons blazed, and licked her lips.

  “Brothers by the throne, look to me to save the line.” Her words echoed in the now quiet hall and nervously Brenna took half a step back.

  “Brotherhood,” Feiren said from the dais behind her. “I give you Brenna Lightfingers, your Caller.”

  The crowd shouted and whistled and stamped their feet on the cavern floor. Brenna turned and held her knife up to the drill team. She managed to let the weapons flare even brighter for just a second, and the crowd grew even louder. Then she nodded to her drill mates and as a group they sheathed their weapons. Once the weapons were safely sheathed, Brenna let them go dark.

  She wiped a sleeve across her brow then bowed first to the crowd, then to her drill mates. She made her way to the stairs and joined Feiren and Kane. She met Kane’s gaze and he nodded and faced forward. Brenna tugged her shirt down, pushed her shoulders back and looked out into a sea of faces.

  “Brothers! Quiet, please. Quiet!” Feiren shouted. Brenna unsheathed her knife and let it shine brighter than ever as she fought the undercurrent of hundreds of pieces of old steel. The room went silent as all eyes turned to her. With a nod to Feiren she sheathed her knife.

  “This slip of a girl is the Caller?” asked a large, blunt faced man. He stood at the front of the crowd and from the way he was dressed Brenna guessed he was a farmer.

  “Yes the Caller is a woman,” Feiren said. “My nephew and Kingsguard Andel have sworn to the council that they heard her voice the Call. She has abilities tied to old steel, as has been demonstrated tonight.”

  “So the Kingsguard and the council have met her,” the farmer said. “What about regular folk, have any been part of this or have you been hidin’ her among the nobles?” Some in the crowd shouted their agreement and Brenna saw more than a few men nod their heads.

  “What do you mean by regular folk?” asked a familiar voice. Brenna searched for the speaker and finally found him. She smiled as Pater worked his way up to the front. “Name of Pater and I have a fruit stand in Thieves Quarter,” he said. “Am I regular enough folk for ye?”

  There were general sounds of agreement and the original speaker nodded.

  “Well, that’s my nephew there. The small one on the end.” Pater pointed to Martyn. “He’s been training with the Caller for a few weeks now. Martyn, tell the lads here what Brenna can do.”

  Brenna watched as Martyn swallowed, then squared his shoulders and took a step forward.

  “Well,” Martyn said. “Mistress Brenna, she can make the old steel light up and hum, too.” Martyn paused for a second. “Mistress Brenna says that each one of us has a song we make when we’re holding old steel. Well, the old steel that belongs to us leastways. She can tell if you and the old steel don’t come from the same family.”

  “That’s true.” A large well-dressed man spoke. “Many of you here know me. I’m Guild Master Brunger and my daughter has also been training with the Caller. Carolie, take a step forward would you?” Brenna couldn’t see the girl’s face but from the way she flounced forward a step there was no doubt she was enjoying being the centre of attention.

  “The Caller,” said the Guildmaster. “Sent my daughter home saying that the knife Carolie had was not original to our family. You can imagine my surprise when I looked back over our family records and discovered this was indeed the truth. The knife had come into the family more than 700 hundreds years ago. The Caller knew even though my family had forgotten.”

  “But she’s a woman! Never heard that the Caller’d be a woman,” someone from the back of the crowd shouted. The cavern filled with muttered agreement and Brenna lifted her chin and gazed steadily out over the crowd. She could feel the agitation of the crowd through the old steel they bore. The more unsettled the crowd became the more her head throbbed.

  The crowd shifted towards the back of the cavern and Brenna saw a solid line Kingsguard dark blue along the back wall. She wasn’t surprised that a group called the Brotherhood had been expecting a man, no matter what Feiren had said. Angrily she let go of her control and all at once hundreds of old steel weapons flared to light. Brenna stepped forward to the edge of the dais and glared at the crowd. The weapons shone so brightly that the torches barely registered in the white glare.

  Those at the front of the crowd edged back from her and a space opened up in front of the dais. Her drill team remained, at least. Exhausted, she rubbed a hand against her aching temple.

  “Order!” Feiren shouted. “Brothers! Remain calm, please.”

  Brenna reached out to the old steel and the light slowly faded from hundreds of weapons. Then the room started to fade and she felt her legs crumple.

  “Brenna, are you all right?”

  “No.” She opened her eyes to find Kane bent over her, his face grim. “My head hurts.” She shifted until the arm of the settee no longer dug into her back. She squinted against the dim light of Feiren’s sitting room. “And I’m tired.” She rubbed her temples. “What happened? I remember the old steel. There was so much of it that I couldn’t control it. I fainted, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, and it was quite spectacular,” Kane said. “It certainly got everyone’s attention.” He placed a damp cloth on her brow and she groaned at the cool relief.

  “That’s it then,” she said. “They’ll never accept me now. Not only a woman but a weak one at that.” She was relieved. This could all be over and she could go on with her life.

  “Oh they don’t think that at all,” Kane said with a smile. “Once we knew you were still alive a good number of Brothers blamed your faint on the doubters. Some think that the Caller would be affected by disagreement amongst the Brotherhood. The Kingsguard had to knock some heads together to break up a few scuffles.”

  “How long was I out?” Brenna asked. She was still stuck with the Brotherhood, then. She leaned back against the settee and let the coolness of the cloth soothe her headache.

  “Just a few minutes,” Kane said. “I got you out as fast as I could. Dasid and Uncle Feiren will be up when things have calmed down.” He took the cloth from her and stood up. “It will take a while, so we should get you up to your room. Can I get you anything?”

  “No, I’m fine,” Brenna said. She felt her head for any lumps or tender areas. “There doesn’t seem to be any real damage. I’m just tired and, well, drained from all the old steel.” She slid her legs over the edge of the settee and paused in case there was any lingering dizziness. “Rather than go to my room, I’ll head for the kitchen.�
� She stood up and stretched. “I’m sure you want to get back downstairs but me, I’m suddenly starving.”

  “You’re sure you’re fine?” Kane asked.

  “I’m sure.”

  “You’d tell me if you weren’t?” He reached a hand out and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and Brenna looked away, suddenly warm.

  “Yes. But I’m fine,” she said. “Really. Now go.”

  “I’ll let them know you’ll be all right,” Kane said and turned to go.

  As he left, Brenna flushed at the thought of Kane carrying her up here while she was unconscious.

  Kane rubbed his eyes wearily as he walked down the hall towards his uncle’s study. Finally everyone was out or bedded down in the caverns. Because of the trouble earlier he’d let over four hundred guests leave through the front door. It was a risk, he knew. That was over one hundred people more than had entered. But it was late and dark. He’d had each party add one extra person when they left. Besides the fifty or sixty Brothers who had left by the secret passages, there were still over one hundred men bedded down in the caverns. They would leave in the morning.

  Kane reached his uncle’s study and stopped. Uncle Feiren sat slouched at his desk. A half full glass of wine sat beside him and his head was propped up in one hand as he stared at the chair in front of him. Kane leaned