She swallows, makes a decision. There is a chance she is wrong, but…
She jumps, grabbing the taut chain on the way down. Slime and grease coats her fingers and arms. She reaches the creature and is able to comprehend only enough to grab the chain and hold tight. For a moment, she has the sudden flash of memory of a man taking her hand and kissing it before he draws back to invite her to dance. Music, an orchestra, plays in the background.
Her mind turns blank.
Chapter Nine
Enosh pulled away from his books to open the windows and breathe in the cold night air. It was actually early morning—he had yet to sleep—but he wasn’t about to let the technicalities get in the way. Crickets still chirped outside. The women were in their respective rooms and Basing would open the shop in another hour or so.
Although he had been tallying the store’s earnings so he could best figure out their next move—a tedious task, even for someone who enjoyed the work as he did—a feeling of harmony had settled around him, thick enough that he could almost feel it with his fingers. It was not something he was familiar with. It carried with it a sense of belonging, something that he pinpointed to Rosha’s presence in the house the past few days.
Enosh did not know what to make of it.
Ambition, he knew. He had breathed ambition in all his years with Yn Garr, learning the mechanics of the business to the best of his abilities. He had been good at it, too, had revelled in watching his money grow day by day and all the luxuries that came with having that amount to play with. The next logical step had been to proceed with fulfilling his father’s dreams, one which Yn Garr assured him was well within reach as long as they could take Naijwa’s beast to Dageis.
Big dreams, a lifetime ago. As he thought of them and how they had been undone by Reema of Barun’s plot and Yn Garr’s betrayal, that predictable thread of anger returned. It unwound inside his heart, overriding the joy as he thought about how close he had been before he landed in the Gasparian royal dungeons. Things were changing, he knew, but how could he entertain the thought of happiness with that hanging over his head?
Enosh shook his head, trying to put his thoughts back in order. His feelings aside, there was nothing he could do but proceed forward. He at least had an inkling of what needed to be done, even if he lacked the resources now to do them. I married a princess and I couldn’t even reap the benefits. You’ve done a lot of smart things in your life, Enosh Tar’elian, but that was clearly not one of them.
He rubbed his head, feeling the first signs of exhaustion overcoming him, and debated going back to bed. But there was still a book’s worth of records he wanted to look into, and since he had already started he figured he might as well finish before daylight. He picked up his mug and made his way down to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee.
The jar containing the finest brew from Kiel was empty. Enosh grumbled under his breath, left the mug in the sink, and walked back to the hall and towards the store. He knew they had a supply—Jinseins preferred rice coffee, which they toasted themselves in a clay pot. There was a whole ritual over it, too. He really ought to pay more attention to these things—they seemed important to Sume, and he preferred not to get accused of insensitive behaviour.
He noticed the door to the store was unlocked. Basing must have decided to set up early, which he did on occasion, or at least for a few days after Enosh’s lectures on the importance of being available before customers themselves get up for the day. Jinsein workdays started early, often before sunrise, and many were starting to prefer Kag-style bread rolls, stuffed with liver paste, to take with them for lunch. A bakery from down the docks would deliver the rolls to them at night—Basing was supposed to heat them up in their stove and have them ready to go as soon as the store opened.
“Well, I’m glad to see you finally decided to listen to—” Enosh stopped. Basing was slumped in the corner with his face on the wooden counter, his body twisted into an unnatural position. Even without checking further, Enosh knew he was dead.
He didn’t have time to ask why. The answer came before he could form his next coherent thought, barreling through the open window and towards him. He had left his sword in his room, but he held his elbow out, conjuring a barely adequate agan-shield that at least stopped the assassin’s dagger from hitting his throat. The blade smashed against the shield, breaking it as it slid up. He took advantage of the opening to grab the assassin’s wrist, twisting it as he clung to a weak fire spell.
Nothing happened, but the attempt must’ve produced a slight change of temperature that made the assassin drop the dagger in surprise. Enosh made a grab for the blade before she realized that he wasn’t that kind of mage and stuck it as far as he could into the woman’s shoulder.
Her hand reached back under her belt, as if to grab another weapon she must’ve hidden there, but Enosh pulled the dagger out and stabbed her again. Her muscles slackened. He stabbed her a second time, up the throat, and pulled away, watching the blood drip from her neck and pool onto the floor.
Enosh stood up, remembering Rosha and Sume. He began to run back into the house.
The next attack happened in the hallway. Two assassins smashed through the main door. Because he was prepared for them, and because they were in a narrow hallway, he caught one by surprise, sticking his dagger into the assassin’s heart and then across the throat. The other man lunged at him, but he threw another shield up, which allowed Enosh to cut him across the belly.
Panting, he dragged himself up the stairs. Two shield spells in quick succession had exhausted him. He wasn’t sure if he could produce another one, which meant that the next attack might kill him. He kicked the door to his room open, grabbed his sword, and ran for Sume’s room.
Arn greeted him with a smile as he entered. He had pinned Sume to the wall, one hand squeezing her neck. “I’m wondering how you’ll take it if I kill her,” Arn said.
“Not very well, I’ll admit,” Enosh replied. “But not half as well as you will, once I’m done with you.” He glanced across the room to see if Rosha was unharmed. She was standing in the far corner near the bed, a blank expression on her face.
“Oh, I don’t know much about that. You’ll be surprised at how little I value myself, Ylir. Or do I call you Enosh, now? I tend not to keep up with these things.” Arn pushed, tightening his fingers around Sume, who seemed to be trying to remain as quiet as she could in an attempt to take in as much air as possible. Her own hands remain wrapped around his wrist. Enosh glanced down, noticing that Arn was holding a dagger in his other hand. The tip of it was pressed against her belly.
“Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?” Enosh asked, forcing himself to smile. “What do you want? I’m sure we can come to some agreement. The three assassins you sent after me are all dead, so we have time.”
“I’m just here for the girl,” Arn said, inclining his head towards Rosha.
“That much is clear. Must you also hurt her mother as well? You’ve already got Naijwa’s beast in your possession.” A though occurred to him. “Orsalian’s in the next room, too. Wouldn’t you rather ahh…be speaking with her? She killed your father, didn’t she?”
A flicker came over Arn’s face. “She’s not there,” he said. “I checked.”
“I see.” Enosh took a step forward. “It looks like killing Sume isn’t one of your goals. Otherwise, she would be dead by now. Is causing her distress in front of the child so necessary?”
Arn didn’t respond for a few moments, which made Enosh think he was going to either slide the dagger in or finish strangling her. But eventually, he pulled away, letting Sume fall to the ground. “I was only—”
Enosh didn’t give him a chance to finish speaking. He rushed at him. Arn, realizing his mistake, launched himself through the window. The griffon emerged a moment later, catching him in mid-air.
Enosh slammed the windows shut before he turned to check on Sume. She was already pushing herself up, though her feet seemed u
nsteady. “He enjoys toying with me for some reason,” she murmured.
“Never mind that,” Enosh said. “We need to leave.” He looked at Rosha. “You follow closely, all right? We can’t afford you slowing us down.”
“Enosh…” Sume started.
“I don’t have time for this. Both of you, move. Now!”
Two more assassins came at them from the alleys. Enosh made short work of them, noting their lack of skill. Out of curiosity—and because the narrow streets and overlapping rooftops made it impossible for the griffon to swoop down on them—he pulled off one’s mask. Even in the dark, the mixture of Kag and Jinsein ancestry stood out in his features.
“Boarshind,” Enosh said, spitting. “As I suspected.”
Sume appeared behind him. “Kefier sent them?” There was a lot more than apprehension in her voice.
Enosh looked at her, not knowing how to answer that. For the longest time, he had believed his brother a harmless man, one whose compassionate nature served as both his weakness and his strength. But after what he had almost done to Sapphire in Shi-uin, he didn’t know anymore. Could he actually have ordered men to attack them? Why just now, and not in the years before that?
Rosha, he realized. He’ll want her back, too. A pity she isn’t his daughter and that this really isn’t up to him. “I think we should just keep going. Perhaps if we…”
A shadow appeared above him. He lashed out with his sword. A small fireball appeared, skimming past his blade, and he stopped.
Sapphire was standing at the edge of a roof. She was not wearing the blue, cloth hat she normally wouldn’t go outside without and there was a bleeding gash across her face. “Couldn’t sleep, so I took a walk. Lucky enough. I saw you leave the house and tried to follow, but got attacked along the way.” She took a deep breath.
“Easy,” Enosh murmured. “You’re rattled.”
“I am not. I’ve been running.” She clambered to the ground, pushing away his attempt to help her. With unsteady feet, she made her way towards Sume and Rosha. “I’m glad to see everyone’s in one piece.”
“Basing’s not,” Enosh said.
Sapphire’s face flickered. “I see. I’m sorry to hear that. What do you intend to do?”
“I was hoping you have a brilliant idea up your sleeve, as always.”
“Your tongue’s none the worse for wear, at least. We can’t return home, that much is certain. This town wouldn’t be safe, either.” She crossed her arms, thinking.
Enosh flicked the last of the blood off his sword. “Please, take your time.”
“I’d appreciate less sarcasm.”
“What are you talking about? You’ve always loved my sarcasm. Between that and my roguishly good looks—well, let’s just say I don’t blame you for having put up with me all these years.” He turned to flash Sume a smile. Sume gave a pity smirk, which was better than nothing.
“We’ll go to the docks,” Sapphire said. “He’ll be waiting for us out on the road if we try to leave the city, and I don’t know where else we can shelter without putting someone else at risk.”
“I wouldn’t mind getting Eshro killed. Why don’t we pay his pawn shop a visit?”
“Aret-ni,” Sapphire continued, ignoring him, “is our best chance. I know people there who can keep us safe for a time.”
“I knew it. You have mandraagar friends, don’t you?”
“Aret-ni isn’t on the route of most ships,” Sume pointed out.
“We’ll have to find a private boat that will take us there.” Sapphire looked up at the sky and then began to walk, with some difficulty, down the alley. They followed her.
“I don’t know what else to say,” Enosh said, as they pressed around a tight corner. “I was hoping I would never have to go to Gaspar again.”
“Maybe if you could stop making enemies in every kingdom and nation in the continent…” Sapphire said through gritted teeth.
“My dearest Sapphire, not everyone responds to my charm like you do. I can hardly be blamed for that.”
They reached the docks, just as the first rays of sunlight crept along the horizon. Enosh took one last look overhead before straightening himself up and walking out into the open. Arn wouldn’t risk attacking them here now, not when the griffon could be seen. After so many years, he had become predictable—at least as far as he and the griffon were concerned. The Boarshind men were a new touch, but Enosh didn’t think they’d try anything out in broad daylight, either.
Enosh left the women in a public house for a hearty breakfast of fried pork jerky, garlic rice, and pickled papaya, telling them he was going to see if he could find transportation. He didn’t tell them that he was going back to the house first. He made his way through the alleys and up to the district they had been living in the past three years. Instead of going straight to the house, he went to the guards and reported a robbery.
Five guards accompanied Enosh back to the store. He pointed out the ones he had killed, and then Basing’s body, lamenting that he couldn’t be saved. He reported missing coin, a handful of jewels, and several items from the store. The guards wrote down his account of the events and then set to work removing the bodies from the house. While they were doing this, Enosh went back upstairs to empty the coffers and grab whatever he thought the others might need. He even took Sapphire’s hat from her bedpost.
After he had secured everything, he snuck around the back door and deposited the items in a barrel out in the garden where the guards wouldn’t see them. He returned to them, offered them beverages from the store, and lamented the sorry state of the world these days. They were friendly, but not too friendly—to their eyes, he was still a Kag, after all. Afterwards, they left, and he withdrew, grabbed the items from the barrel, and fled before anyone else came visiting.
He returned to the docks and set to work finding a ship. As Sume had said, there were no planned routes going to Aret-ni or even Dageis—Jin-Sayeng ships only ran as far as Ni’in or Eirhing in Xiaro. Eventually, he found a fisherman who found the bag of coin he offered—worth three hundred aekich—as sufficient compensation.
Enosh returned to the public house. It was already mid-afternoon and the women, as he suspected, were no longer there. As he came around the corner, he stumbled upon a boy who placed a finger on his lips and led him around the back and up a long flight of steps.
On the balcony, he caught sight of Sume standing underneath a row of clotheslines. She thanked the boy, putting a hand on his head as she handed him a coin. He scampered away.
“I thought you left us again,” she murmured as he walked up to her.
“Left you?” Enosh asked. “When did I ever leave you?”
“It’s not important. We got a room, wasn’t sure where else we could go.”
“I found a fisherman willing to bring us to Aret-ni. He wasn’t too happy about the idea, but money always changes minds. He said he’ll leave any time we’re ready.”
“I’ll go get the others,” Sume said. She started to step away. He grabbed her arm.
“I wouldn’t leave you.”
“You’ve got to stop saying things like that,” she breathed. He pulled her towards him, placing her hand on his chest.
“I am not,” Enosh said, “the sort of man you think I am.”
Sume didn’t meet his eyes. He swallowed and wondered why she wasn’t looking at him. What had changed between them? It wasn’t a problem for her before. “We’ve got more important things to do right now.”
“I just needed you to hear this. I need you to understand that even though things are not as simple as I’d like them to be, I am not a monster.”
“Of course not,” she murmured, her fingers curling near his heart. “But then again, it’s always about you, isn’t it?”
Enosh opened his mouth to argue, but Sume didn’t give him a chance. She slipped away from his grasp. As he watched her retreat, he couldn’t help but get the feeling that this had been a long time coming.
Chapter Ten
“I warned you, Kefier,” Caiso apn Willen snarled, slamming his hands on the table and sending the little tokens they used to mark the map flying across the room. “This sympathy of yours—this willingness to ignore common sense because you felt sorry for somebody—will kill us all. If I knew that little imp was part of that retinue I would’ve stuck this dagger into him myself!”
“It’s done, Captain,” Kefier murmured. “I couldn’t have killed him without a reason, and if I had sent him all the way back here, he would’ve tried to sell us out to the Dageians, anyway. For all you know, he would’ve led them back to the camp.”
“He’s right,” Eswenna said. “It’s not the worst thing in the world, considering.”
“The fuckwit alerted Fort Oras that they’re going to be under attack soon! If the Dageian military sends reinforcements, we might as well kiss this operation goodbye.”
“As it goes, Captain, the best thing we could do is…” Kefier stopped as the pavilion flap shifted. Sthura entered. She looked more irritated than usual.
“Lord Tarron Beeching and Lady Isobel Dahrias are riding an hour apart from each other towards us.”
“Fuck me bloody with a spoon,” Caiso groaned.
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Eswenna broke in, “but these two are not exactly on the best of terms, are they?”
“That’s putting it lightly,” Kefier said, crossing his arms. “Lady Isobel’s been begging me for months to let her borrow some of our men so she could launch an assault against Tarron Beeching and his father, Rohn. A private land dispute. King Elrend must have told them to declare a truce for now.”
“The scout said they’re an hour away from each other,” Sthura repeated, her face turning red. “They don’t know. No one who hates each other, truce or not, would dare travel so close otherwise.”
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