Chapter 13 Hakara #2
I didn’t move until I heard his footsteps creaking above me.
And then I was rushing down the stairs toward the basement, feeling like I was trying to escape from my own life.
Nioanen. Nioanen. Nioanen. It was a litany in my mind as I lit the lantern at the bottom of the stairs.
The basement flared to life. The cage where Buzhi had once kept me.
The crates. The reliefs of the elder gods.
I couldn’t help myself; I lingered on the one of Nioanen.
It wasn’t a good representation of him, but I still traced a finger across one of the wings before my fingers curled into a fist. I pounded my hand against the stone face until my bones ached.
He’d saved me, and he was offering to find Lithuas, and gods help me, I felt backed into a cave, all my choices narrowing into this one clear path.
I needed to use him and his power in whatever ways he’d allow me to.
I found the heavy box of coin exactly where Alifra had seen it. Part of me was relieved, and part of me concerned that Lithuas hadn’t deemed this important enough to retrieve.
Thassir was already at the door when I made my way back upstairs, a basket beneath one arm. He wouldn’t look at me, though he lifted the basket a little. “Less conspicuous than a lockbox.”
We nearly ran into Alifra as we went to the door. Dashu was behind her, swaying before he leaned an arm against the door frame to steady himself.
Alifra grabbed the front of my tunic. “He’s off again. The noble.”
I squeezed my eyes tight. “Again?”
Dashu ran a hand over his nose and mouth. “He put that filter over my face. It must have still had aether clinging to the inside.” He shook his head, cocked it to the side. “Concentrated aether. He slipped from my grasp. I couldn’t see what direction he went in.”
Alifra lent him a steadying hand. “He went that way.” She pointed eastward.
Resourceful little shit. Should have taken his entire pack off him instead of just his papers.
Where would I go, if I were a wayward clan noble?
Back to my family, most like. No. I’d seen the look in Mullayne’s eye.
I knew that look, because I’d felt that way every day for ten years – filled with a singular purpose.
“He wants to get into that den. He wants to get to the tomb. He said he needed to go to his workshop first.” The sun was low in the sky, which meant our presence in the inner city would be tolerated for only a moment longer.
But if we lingered past dark, we’d find ourselves packed up into one of the enforcers’ carts. “Hurry.”
We rushed past people carrying out their last business of the day: street vendors packing up their wares, a woman brushing dust from her stoop.
The stink of unwashed bodies mingled with the smell of hot oil and sautéed greens.
Nothing smelled particularly good, but my mouth watered regardless.
I’d been surviving on various forms of porridge – amaranth and millet, mixed with whatever else we could find.
The gates to the inner city were still open, and we passed into a district of fine buildings, the breeze marginally cooler, bringing with it a faint scent of smoke from the dried-up lakebed, where bodies were burned daily.
Thassir kept his wings tight by his sides, his head low, that stupid basket still tucked beneath an arm.
I fell back to walk beside him, my steps quick. “Where is she? Do you know?”
His gaze wandered over the buildings, finally settling on one. I followed his gaze, and then swore, hoping I was wrong, or that he was. “Really? The castle?”
He grimaced, but nodded.
“What in all the depths could she be doing in there?”
“Hiding, possibly,” Dashu said.
I stopped. “Which of you knows where the Reisun family’s workshop is?”
Thassir ruffled his wings. “I do.”
Was this how I would have to manage things from now on?
Splitting our group into smaller and smaller pieces to handle problems that were too large for us all?
Nothing for it. I handed the box of coins to Alifra.
“Alifra. Dashu. Find some of our informants in the city and give them the money to pay Guarin. Then go to the castle. Watch it for anything unusual. We’ll have to hope Lithuas holes up in there for a bit.
Thassir will take me to the workshop. Dashu, you can take the god gems.”
Thassir’s arm tightened around the basket, his voice stiff. “I would prefer to keep them with me. You might need them.”
I didn’t have time to argue; I just waved Dashu and Alifra away.
They nodded and disappeared down an alley.
The longer we spent here, the more likely it was that Mullayne would get away.
And we needed more of those filters – the possibilities they opened for the Unanointed were vast. We could cross barriers more easily, we could retrieve gems from mines ourselves, we could access the deeper tunnels of dens.
And dammit, he knew too much about us, about Thassir. I couldn’t let him go free without guarantees.
I followed Thassir past whitewashed plaster buildings, their facades regularly cleaned of dust. Even the cobblestones beneath my feet were cleaner than they were in the outskirts.
Clay roof tiles in red, blue, and green shone bright by the setting sun, so much that I had to squint against the glare when I looked at them.
Here, the people about their business were mostly servants, bearing embroidered patches from each of the clans. I spotted several with the Sovereign’s cherry-blossom emblem. They carried messages and goods, arms laden with cloth or produce.
Still, the bustle of the day was fading as people returned home for their evening meals, which meant the streets were quickly emptying. Which meant we were soon going to stand out.
“There.” Without seeming to think about it, Thassir grabbed my wrist with his free hand, tugging gently to pull me abreast of him. The dry, soft scratch of a claw at a tendon, the roughness of a callused palm against sensitive skin.
I swallowed, my belly lurching. I opened my mouth to say something, anything. But his hand came away and I saw the workshop in front of us, the door painted with the Reisun dragonfly emblem. We exchanged glances and approached slowly, quietly.
The workshop itself was closed, the workers gone for the day. But a small scratching sound emanated from nearby. It took me only a moment to pinpoint it. Down the narrow alley on the south side of the building, someone crouched by a window.
He’d escaped twice and had let himself be caught twice. I took a step into the alley, beckoning for Thassir to cut him off on the other side. Mullayne didn’t seem to notice, his focus on the window, his lip caught between his teeth as he wedged the nib of a pen into the gap between the shutters.
As soon as I saw the shadow of Thassir’s wing on the other side of the building, I spoke. “You’re a pretty sorry thief, you know that?”
He dropped the pen, his gaze darting around for an escape.
There were no easy handholds here, no gaps to squeeze through – only two solid walls and the narrow strip of street between.
“I need to get inside. You want more filters? My materials to build them are here. And I have notes. Papers. Books. You can’t expect me to help you if I don’t have any resources.
You think what I want is selfish? Foolish?
Somewhere in that den, in that tomb, is the truth.
Tolemne wrote the truth there. You didn’t think to make filters against aether.
I did. Imagine what else I could do with more of the truth – about the god pact and restoration. ”
I opened my mouth.
The window burst open. A familiar face peered out into the alley, glancing with a frown at me and then Thassir, before finally settling on Mullayne. The eyes of Mitoran’s informant widened.
“Cousin?”