Chapter 4 #2
So much for Yasmin running back without this Ravi, whoever he was. She couldn’t ignore those charges. Yasmin couldn’t talk to the children and get them prepared to meet her somewhere either.
“Do you accept?” Durga pressed.
What choice did she have? Spending forever in a cell if Durga informed the Conclave about the children would break her mentally and emotionally. Or she could face her past and certain death. At least there was a chance at freedom by taking Ravi to Shaldorn. “I accept.”
“I want your word, Yasmin.”
She drew in a deep breath and then slowly released it. Yasmin never gave her word without meaning it. As Durga had said, it was the only thing no one could take away from her but herself. The only thing she truly had. “And if your agent leaves me behind?”
“He won’t.”
“Neither of you understand Shaldorn and its dangers.”
“It doesn’t matter. You know why I’m sending you.
There is always a chance of things going awry during a mission.
You two will need to learn to rely on each other.
I fully expect both of you to watch each other’s backs and help each other out.
He won’t leave you, and you won’t leave him. Do I have your word?”
Yasmin nodded. “You have my word.”
“Good. Now that that’s settled, is there anything else?”
“My bag…was it delivered?”
The woman’s hazel eyes were direct as she nodded. “It was.”
Yasmin held her breath as she waited to hear news about the children, but the woman said nothing. Still, she had to know. “Was the medicine administered?”
“The child is on the mend.”
Tears burned Yasmin’s eyes. She wished she was there to hold Jaya, but she would when she returned. The children were what she had to keep thinking about. They were the ones who would get her home.
“There is food in the kitchen, a bath ready for you in the chamber down the hall, and some new clothes for the mountains. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“You should send more than one agent.”
The Wood Elf’s gaze slid past her toward the hallway. “Get some rest while you can.”
Yasmin watched her rise and walk to the hall.
A moment later, she heard the sound of a door closing.
Then, she was alone. Well, as alone as someone with two other people in the house could be.
She went to the kitchen and found so much food she could only stare in wonder.
It would feed her and the kids for a week.
If only she could get some to them. She loaded her plate and then headed to the hallway.
There were three doors. Two were shut. She went to the open middle door and looked in.
A tub filled with water still hot enough that ribbons of steam rose from it was inside. There was a braided oval rug in bright colors between it and the large bed. An actual bed. It had been some time since she had slept on anything but a blanket.
She walked over, shutting the door softly and setting the plate of food on a table. Then she fingered the clothes on the bed. They were similar in color and style to what she already had, but without the holes and mended areas. There were even boots and thick socks to keep her feet warm.
Yasmin stripped and sank into the water.
She sighed, enjoying it more than she should.
She stayed until the water began to cool.
The soap was unused, and beneath it was a drying cloth.
She brought the bar to her nose and inhaled the warm, earthy, woodsy scent of sandalwood.
She lathered it over her body twice and her hair three times.
She stood and began to dry with a cloth softer than anything she had felt in a long time. Yasmin wrapped it around herself and expected to finger-comb her hair as usual, but she saw a brush on the bedside table. She grabbed it and sat on the rug to detangle her locks as she nibbled on the food.
There were more items to be found. A new bag sat on a chair. Beneath it were new underthings and strips of leather to tie back her hair. Inside the bag was a coat, gloves, a scarf, a cap, a rolled blanket, food, and a water flask—everything she would need for a trip to the mountains.
Yasmin packed it all back into the bag and crawled into the bed. She lay within its plush covers and attempted to sleep.
Durga found Ravi standing outside. It was still several hours before dawn, but she never slept before a mission. She might not be going on this one, but that didn’t matter when so much rested on its success. “Spit it out,” she said.
He stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he stared in the direction of the mountains. At just the right angle, the very tips of the peaks could be seen through the tops of the trees. “What?”
“You know what.”
“She’s a fucking civilian, Durga. And a dissenter. And is being forced. It won’t end well.”
“You’ll make it work.”
He blew out a breath and turned his head to her. “I can’t trust her.”
“We have one chance to get the explosive, Ravi. One. It’s being sold at Shaldorn during its once-a-month gathering next week. Would you rather try to track it through the mountains or the jungles of Shecrish before it reaches the border?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Nay.”
“Then what’s your real problem? Is it Yasmin? Or is it the fact that Dain brought this information to me?”
“It’s both,” he muttered.
“Get over it.”
Ravi glanced at her. “The human isn’t an agent.”
“You’ve worked with other humans.”
“They were trained. A few of them actually do well in our line of work. She isn’t one of them.”
Durga had mentored Ravi for years, but there were times she could cheerfully knock his head off.
“She has a name. Use it.” Durga sighed loudly.
“Dain risked his life bringing this intel to me. His superiors have no idea what he did or that he’s been working with us.
Our two agencies have never gotten along, and you know it.
Dain is walking a tightrope. I don’t blame him for getting called back before he could take you and Yasmin to the mountains. ”
“Now, we get to trek through the peaks.”
“You’ve never turned away from a mission before, no matter how risky or treacherous.”
Ravi’s copper eyes met hers. “I’m not now.”
“Is this where you tell me again that I should be questioning her?”
“You know the more information we have, the better the mission.”
Durga shrugged. “If the original plan still stood, I would be interrogating her right now. But it doesn’t. She’s angry and defensive because I’ve put her in an impossible situation. You have days with her to get all the information you need. Get over your anger and do your job.”
“She’s a dissenter.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. It doesn’t matter. We all have a job to do to save lives. That’s what matters at the end of the day.”
“Aye,” he said and turned his head away.
“Then I suggest you get yourself ready. Everything rests on your shoulders, just the way you like it.”
He smiled for the first time since she’d seen him at the tavern. “Aye, I do.”
Yasmin hadn’t realized she’d dozed off until sounds from within the house woke her. She glanced outside to see the sky lightening from black to gray. Dawn approached. And with it, her past.
She rose and dressed with care. She took her time combing her hair before braiding it. Habit had her checking the bag and its contents. Yasmin tucked the small knife she always carried with her into her boot, then downed the last of the food from the night before.
That’s when she found herself staring out the window.
She wished she knew what she had done to the gods that they would put her in this predicament.
She tried to live a good life. She only stole when she had to—which seemed to be all the time.
Why hadn’t she left Shecrish? She’d had four years to leave, yet she remained.
There was no getting out of what she had to do. She had given her word. Yasmin slung the strap of the bag over her shoulder and walked from the room. She followed the sound of voices to the kitchen and found Durga with the Sun Elf. More food was set out.
“Ah, there you are,” Durga said. “The clothes fit well. That’s good. Grab some food while you can.”
Yasmin set down her bag and got a napkin to put several items in. She wrapped it up and carefully placed it in her pack, all while the Sun Elf stared at her. She noted his boots were the same as hers. She really hoped he wasn’t Ravi.