Being the Suun

by J. A. Culican

  Chapter 15

  The ride back up the tracks was much slower than its descent had been, and Luthair was squeezed into the cart much too close to me for comfort. We passed dozens of empty and abandoned mineshafts and one cave-in. The entrance was barricaded with a pile of blocks, marked unsafe by two rotten wooden boards nailed across it. It made me think of Xalph and his life underground, and how truly lucky I was to be leaving.

  We were the only ones in the entryway at this time of day. Everyone else was already at work. It felt lazy and slothful, but I reminded myself that this was not my job, digging up piles of rocks. I had something else to do.

  But when we exited the mine and made our careful way down the hill, Luthair directed me to his house on the ridge instead of letting me go to Barepost.

  “We still have some things to discuss,” he said.

  “It can’t wait until I’ve cleaned up?” I hesitated at the fork in the path.

  Luthair smiled. “If you want to clean up, I have the perfect place for it.”

  I hesitated. I needed to go to Erik and Estrid. I needed to get them up the mountain and find the entry to the tunnel where Arun would be bringing the miners. Was it worth angering Luthair to insist that I leave now? Would it be suspicious? Would he instead keep me trapped somewhere else? My hand itched for a weapon—killing him now wouldn’t solve much, but it would at least solve this. Then I remembered that he had my ax and my sword, and I nodded once.

  The house on the ridge was no less resplendent in daylight. The veil was thick, the sun overhead a yellow splotch against the white clouds. Still, it reflected off of the glass windows, the dull light blinding in its reflection. I followed Luthair past his sentries and into the massive front doors. Once in the foyer, instead of going up the stairs to the sleeping quarters, we turned left, going down a stone-walled hallway. We passed a kitchen twice as large as the one in the pub. It was quiet. The pots and pans were empty.

  Luthair ushered me past and then opened a door on the right. A narrow stone staircase led down into a dark hallway. He lit a lantern on the wall and led me down. It felt like we were going back into the mine, and I wondered if this was some mean trick that I hadn’t seen coming. But then the air became thick with steam, and the hallway opened up onto a large bathroom. Instead of stone, the walls were lined with wooden planks. In the middle, a claw-foot, porcelain tub was already filled with steaming water, and the mirror hanging over a wash basin was clouded with fog.

  “For your bathing pleasure.” He swept his hand in a grand gesture.

  Well, it sure did beat a wash basin and a dirty cloth, but I would have taken the hot springs over Luthair’s company any day.

  I looked over at him. “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to let me get cleaned up?”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and twisted his lips into a smile. It looked painful on his face. “I’m not stopping you.”

  Onen help me, I was going to kill him with my bare hands. I took a deep breath, then put a hand on the door. “Out.”

  For a moment, I thought he’d argue. “Fine. We’ll continue our discussion over lunch.”

  Lunch, another delay. I slammed the door behind him and flipped the iron latch to keep him out. Even still, when I stripped out of my clothes and lowered myself into the water, I felt eyes on me. Just being under his roof made me uneasy. And it was made worse by my suspicions about why I was there. Luthair was showing off for me. Letting me know that this could all be mine for the low, low price of . . . the rest of my life.

  The hot water relaxed my sore muscles just as the hot springs had done. Thinking of the springs made me think of Arun and our encounter there, and how the chills I got when I was near him were entirely different than the ones that crept up my spine when Luthair’s leg had pressed against mine in the cart.

  I tried to scrub the feeling away, turning my skin a rosy pink in the process. I had never been overly concerned with men. As a young girl in the Western March, I’d been too busy tagging along behind Erik and Estrid to really have much time for boys my age. I’d kissed a couple of them, though, and I’d let Hauk, the miller’s son, go further than that just one time in his father’s mill house, but my experience with physical attraction was limited, and with love, even more so. Not that I thought I loved Arun, though, for the first time, I wondered if I might actually want to love someone. To be with someone who gave me the good kind of chills.

  And if I gave myself to Luthair, if I bound myself to him by marriage, it would be my own kind of life-debt. The kind that could never be broken. I would never have the chance to love or live. But what else was there, if I didn’t get off the island with Arun tonight? It would be the only option left.

  I finished bathing and wrapped myself in the softest towel I’d ever put against my skin, feeling terribly unworthy of its finery. Then I stood in front of the mirror and wiped it clean with my hand, trying to recognize the girl in front of me. She was tall and gaunt, with dark circles beneath grey eyes. Three days in the dark and three years under the veil had turned my skin an almost translucent white. My hair, usually kept short, had gotten too long, brushing the backs of my shoulders, spilling drops of cool water down my bare arms and back.

  There was a knock on the door, but before I could snarl at Luthair to leave me in peace for another few minutes, a rough female voice demanded entry. I opened the door to find Missus, who greeted me with narrowed eyes and an unfriendly grunt, a bundle of clothes in her hands. I took them eagerly—linen trousers and a long tunic, and my own woolen cloak, leather jerkin, and worn, calf-skin boots. The only items missing were my weapons, but I would be sure to get those from Luthair before I left. Missus pulled my wet hair out of my face with a short, tight braid.

  “What is this?” She tapped the star beside my eye and looked up at me in the mirror.

  I put my own hand to the mark. “A blessing from my ancestors.”

  She squinted at me, then let her finger linger a moment longer beside my eye, her touch gentle.

  I thought she might be about to say something. Then she shook her head and stepped away, giving me room to stand. “What is this?” This time, she was pointing at my hand.

  I’d forgotten about the wound there, and its dull ache. After poking at it for a few seconds, she sat me back down without a word and pulled a bone needle and some sort of thick black thread from a drawer. She was not particularly gentle as she stitched the cut back together, but it wasn’t the worst I’d ever experienced. When she was through, she rubbed some sort of ointment on it that took the sting of pain away and then wrapped it in a clean linen bandage.

  She escorted me back up the stone hallway, past the kitchens, through the foyer, and into a large dining room. The entire eastern wall was made of glass and gave the dizzying sensation that we were stepping out onto the very ledge of the cliff itself. Barepost was a mere speck below us. What seemed like the whole of Bruhier stretched out as far as I could see. Mountains ringed with clouds towered over thick jungle below, canopies of rich green that hid horrors beyond my wildest imagination. And beyond even that, the blue-grey ocean sparkled in the midday sun.

  Taken as I was by the view, it took me too long to notice Luthair sitting at the head of the large mahogany table set for two.

  “Magnificent, isn’t it, seen from up here?” He looked out over the landscape, acting as if he owned the entire world.

  I heard what he didn’t say—this view could be mine every day if I agreed to his terms. But I had other cards to play now. And besides, it was easy to look at things from a distance and call them beautiful. It was up close when a thing’s true nature was revealed.

  Instead of rising to his bait, I dropped my eyes to the table, sneering at him.

  Missus grunted, in what I assumed was disapproval at my manners, and excused herself, leaving me alone with him.

  “Please.” He gestured to the chair. “Sit.”

  I did, sitting in the chair beside him, my back to t
he window. Lunch was already on the table—sliced mutton, roasted greens, and some type of grain. We served ourselves in silence, and I was glad for it. The less talking he did, the better, especially when the meat was tender enough that it fell off the bone. I didn’t need him ruining the last good meal I was likely to have for a while.

  After a few bites, though, he spoke up. “I’m surprised that you didn’t follow through with your plan to save the elf.”

  I swallowed. “Why is that?”

  “Well, he’s handsome and wealthy, but I didn’t think that would move you.” Luthair leaned back in his chair, his eyes gleaming. “But he has a good heart. I thought that in itself would compel you. But I see you weren’t swayed. Perhaps you and I are more alike than I originally thought.”

  I nearly choked at the idea.

  “And there’s the fact that my guards haven’t been able to find your brother since you were imprisoned.”

  I dared not lift my eyes to his. I’d told my brother to steer clear of the governor, and my instincts had been right. Thankfully, Erik had, for once, listened to his little sister. “Arun is an idiot. I wasn’t going to put Erik at risk like that, not for him. Not for anyone.”

  “Do you know where your brother is?”

  “How would I? I’ve been underground for three days.” That also wasn’t a lie.

  “There’s something else—something I thought the elf might have told you to try to convince you to help him escape.”

  Done with the main course, I served myself a helping of cool, fresh fruit, a delicacy in Barepost. I thought I knew what he was going to say, but I couldn’t give myself away, so I concentrated on peeling an orange slice.

  “He has an airship. Do you know what that is?”

  “Of course I do,” I answered, though, of course, I hadn’t known until Arun had told me.

  “It’s here, on Bruhier.”

  He was waiting for my reaction, but I didn’t give him one. I just nodded, glad to be chewing so I didn’t have to speak. I took the opportunity instead to turn his words over in my mind. So, Luthair knew about the airship, and he knew where it was. He couldn’t get to it, though, according to Arun. I just hoped Arun was right.

  Luthair, fed up with my nonchalance, leaned forward, planting his hands on the table. “What did he tell you about the ship? If it’s still here, I’m sure it’s because he plans to escape in it.”

  “I already told you,” I said, pushing my chair back. “Arun is an idiot. He didn’t tell me about the ship, but maybe if he had, I wouldn’t be sitting here now.” I couldn’t help taunting him a little.

  Luthair smiled, regaining a bit of his composure as I lashed out at him. We were back in our typical pattern. “Well, I’ll tell you this, in case you’re considering looking for it. I have a surprise waiting for him, something he won’t be prepared for.”

  There was a knock at the door, and Missus entered. In her hands, she carried my weapons belts, and with them, my ax and my sword. My heart soared at the sight.

  Luthair glared at her, but before he could speak to send her away, I stood.

  “That’s good for you, governor. But let’s get this straight. I don’t care what you have planned for Arun Phina or his airship or his dragons.” I put one last grape in my mouth, popping it between my teeth and letting the sweet and sour juice coat my tongue.

  Then, I crossed the room to Missus and stood while she buckled on the belts. When she was done, she patted the ax at my hip and looked up at me, something like approval on her face.

  “Oh, Svand,” Luthair called. I turned. “I didn’t say anything about dragons.”

  My breath caught in my throat when I realized my mistake. He would know I was lying, and if I lied about that, what else would he suspect me of? But I didn’t get a chance to find out, because that was when a horrible scream tore through the room.

  I shoved Missus behind me and put a hand to my weapon, spinning as I searched for the source of the noise.

  Luthair, though, remained calm, and that was when I realized what I was hearing.

  Not a scream.

  An alarm.

  An alarm I’d heard only once before, when the galestone had blown a hole in the mountainside. It was an alarm in the mines. What had Arun done?

  Luthair was watching me, no longer smiling. “Do you have any idea what that’s about?” he shouted over the sound.

  “It’s your mine.” Then I was gone, out the front door before he could even think of a response.

  Chapter 16

  The streets were crammed with people, onlookers stepping out from their homes and their shops to look toward the mountain, shielding their eyes against the glare of the sun as they turned their gazes upward. But there was nothing to be seen. No smoke, no tumbling rocks, no quaking ground.

  I shoved my way through them all, only one thing on my mind. Beating Luthair to Arun.

  First, though, I had to convince my siblings.

  The Gold Mine was empty except for four figures. Savarah, whom I had nearly forgotten about these last few days, leaned against the bar, Gerves behind her. Both of them watched Erik and Estrid, who stood in the middle of the room, squaring off against each other. It was a familiar scene, one I felt I had just witnessed not long ago between a sailor and a miner.

  “You have to let it go,” Estrid shouted in a tone that would make most men back down.

  Not Erik. “Maybe you should have thought of that before you traded my life for my freedom,” he shouted back at her. “I could even now be riding the stars with our mother, but—”

  Estrid’s eyes found mine where I stood in the doorway. She punched Erik sharply in the shoulder.

  I felt like I had been punched, too, hearing them fight about the secret things I’ve stewed over for three years. The guilt and the shame that ate me up every time I watched Erik do Luthair’s bidding. I knew Estrid felt it, too, but we never spoke about it, never acknowledged it. What could have possibly happened for it to bubble to the surface like this? For them to fight about it in public, in front of Savarah and Gerves.

  I decided I didn’t want to know, and even if I did want to throw my hat in the fight, now wasn’t the time. “I thought you were in hiding.”

  “I was laying low.” Erik looked tired, with his shoulders slumped and dark circles under his usually bright eyes. “But I heard the alarm. I had to come make sure you were okay.”

  “I’m fine, but you have to come with me.”

  “Where?” Erik asked. “Does this have anything to do with the elf?”

  “Yes. We need to go, now. Up the cliffs. Arun Phina did something stupid, but we can help him.”

  “That was the alarm,” Estrid said.

  At the same time, Savarah made a small movement out of the corner of my eye, bringing her hand to a chain around her neck that I’d never noticed before.

  When I turned, her face—typically covered with a bland smile—was openly astonished. “You found him?”

  For all of her crowing about the Svands being the best, she had never really expected me to succeed. Not without my siblings, at least.

  “Of course I did.” I sneered, no longer pretending to be nice to her. “But you and your damned Tsarra Trisfina might as well have hired riders to announce your presence and your mission to Governor Luthair. It made things . . .” I paused and sighed for effect, “quite a bit more difficult.”

  Everyone was still for a breath.

  Savarah slipped back behind her mask. She pulled two small throwing knives from her pockets, holding them expertly in her hands and smiled. “Well then, I suppose we’d better get a move on.”

  The alarm had stopped by the time we made it back outside, but the residents of Barepost were still crowded into the streets, gossiping about what could have happened. Some of them—the ones I suspected had family in the mines—looked worried and held each other in consolation. I wanted to stop and tell them not to worry, but we were racing against time now. I’d wasted too much time
with Luthair and the detour to the pub.

  We wove our way through the onlookers, and for once, Erik and Estrid followed me. I wasn’t going in through the main entrance. Instead, I planned to somehow get out of Barepost past the sentries and then up the side of the cliff, where we would meet Arun on the other side of his escape.

  Erik picked up his pace and began to walk beside me. “Frida, I can’t—”

  I gripped his arm. “He would have you spend the rest of your life in the mines. Or he would have me spend the rest of my life in his bed.”

  He looked stricken and didn’t speak, but he kept moving, his eyes dropping to the ground.

  “If we don’t get out with Arun Phina now, it will be one or the other. It’s time to give up your honor, forget the life-debt. Any reasonable man would have released you by now, and you know it.”

  He didn’t have a chance to reply. We’d come to the gate, which was also the command center. It swarmed with Barepost guards in black uniform reporting to duty. We remained hidden behind a crumbling wall that had once belonged to an abandoned building. Most of the residences nearest to the gate had long been left behind by their owners, who’d grown weary of being on the front lines of any attack on the city. A majority of the guards were being dispatched to the inner town, either to the mine’s main entrance or to control crowds downtown.

  It did not seem like it would be too difficult to get past, and I was just turning to the others to debate a plan when there was a roar of commotion from the gate.

  “Drop the bars,” someone shouted over the din. “Man your stations.”

  I was no stranger to what that meant.

  Barepost was under attack.

  “We have to go,” I said, “now.” If we didn’t make it past the gate before the bars that fortified the wall were dropped, we would be trapped. If we got out, though, who knew what Bruhier horror awaited us on the other side, drawn either by the sound of the alarm or by whatever Arun was doing on the other side of the mountain. What could it really be compared to the horror of staying in Barepost, though? It was a risk I, for one, was willing to take.