by Kalyn Crowe
They moved with a breath.
As I jerked back my hand, I awoke.
Kepi stared, unsurprised, even with a hint of studiousness.
Was it her in the dream? No, that didn't make sense.
A little content snore came from Leyla.
I pushed back my hair and sat with my arms around my legs.
Kepi walked toward the door.
I nodded and slipped out from the makeshift bed. Conrad's door across the hall looked closed tight. I tiptoed downstairs and collected my boots from the front door. With them tucked under my arm, I went out the back.
My black jacket aired out on a hanger. It felt dry enough to wear, so I slipped it on.
Kepi kept to the shadows and sniffed around.
I shivered a little but admired the silence of the night.
That was until a rustle from above caught my attention. A bird stretched its wings on a rooftop.
Typically, things like birds didn't strike me one way or another, but this one put me on edge. Probably just my dream.
Another noise, a soft song, whispered from around the corner on the street. I peeked around the last house.
A young man stood in plain sight, Gunnar's apprentice.
He hummed a quiet, eerie tune. Almost hypnotic.
The bird fluttered away and caused the apprentice to look my way. I pressed against the building and waited for his hum to start again.
Gunnar either didn't listen about the need for guards, or he had something up his sleeve.
I didn't know this guy's name, but I didn't intend to speak to him. Even my young years in an Order orphanage trained me well. My steps made no sound in my soft sole boots. They were cheap, sure, but silent meant safe.
He also wore soft boots.
Every other templar I ever met wore hard, thick soles. Confident, loud. He didn't wear Order clothes either, at least not visible. A long dark jacket hung over him, and not a hunter one, a regular coat.
I might have mistaken his identity. Stupidly, distracted, I stepped on a small patch of ice and cracked it.
He turned and reached into his coat, but then froze. "Oh, hello."
He stood at least seven arm lengths away.
I tensed my fingers, ready to spring. I slipped my hands into my pockets.
Kepi tucked away behind a crate, with her tail wrapped around her and dipped her head twice.
"Sorry to startle you, but what are you doing out here?" I said. I dreaded this conversation and, at the same time, hoped my jacket hid my pajamas well.
"You're the one skulking around an alley," he said with a grin.
"Skulking? I was getting my laundry."
He sidestepped and looked over my shoulder. "At this hour?"
I matched him and blocked his view.
He ran his fingers through his fluffy brown hair.
We entered a wordless but mutually understood standoff.
He looked like a mix of mountain-born and midland — not as exotic as Leyla, and not vanilla like me.
He raised both his hands head high. "Sorry, let me explain," he said in a gentle yet urgent voice.
"All right." I crossed my arms.
"I'm looking for someone."
"Who?"
"I don't know. I was only told 'a man.'"
"The High Templar?" Something showed under his coat. Near his waist. A weapon.
"I would know then. No, my Master worries about some skinny fellow."
"Being here?" Damn, I should have played stupid to the 'Master' part of what he said.
"Yeah." He lowered his hands. "Do you mind coming a little closer, it's hard to hear you, and I don't think I'm welcome in your alley."
I gave him a stiff nod and stepped forward. "Keep your hands where I can see them, though."
He smirked, and his cheeks turned pink.
"I mean off whatever you're hiding in your coat." I pointed at the lump.
"It's my sword." His mouth twitched with a stifled giggle.
When I figured out what he found funny, I almost laughed. He might have tried to disarm my suspicions with humor.
"What did you think I was doing here?" he said.
"Snooping."
"Oh? In the middle of the street?" He let one of his cheeks rise with a half-grin.
I forced a scowl and crossed my arms.
"Look, I'm Rhys Fortier, templar apprentice of the Order." He slowly lifted the side of his coat and motioned toward a hilt. "Hence, the sword."
We stood under an orb lamp's light pink and green glow. "I'm Nancy Nardovino."
"I know. The High Hunter's niece, it's nice to meet you."
I tightened my arms in their knot. "You've seen me before."
He shifted his weight. "But I didn't meet you."
"So, you admit to being creepy when I first got to town."
"No way, I was not trying to… What I mean is we were not," he said and twisted up his mouth. He deflated. "All right, fine, yes, we were creeps. Master Armistead wanted to watch your arrival. He and Lady Katonga have this thing and concern for safety and all that."
"Is that it?"
He hid his hands in his pockets and said, "Yes?"
"You're very bad at this."
"Oh, come on, you're going to be a hunter; it's in your blood to be scary."
"Me? You templars strut around in your shiny armor, all full of yourselves. I've been here not even two days, and I've had my fill."
He took his hands out and straightened his coat. "I'm not in shiny armor."
"No, you look like a person trying to be a hunter, or just plain sneaky."
"I'll take that as a compliment. You don't know how much I envy your position. I'd love to be a hunter over a templar."
"Do you not like your Master?"
"It's not that at all. I'm lucky to have the Order's Stable Master as my mentor."
"Is that right?"
He shrugged. "He's more independent than most templars. Also, I get to work with animals. I'm from a farm originally." He scratched through his hair again. "I don't know. It feels more like home there than around here." He motioned at the buildings.
I wanted to believe him. "What did your family raise?"
"Grapes."
"I thought you liked the animals?"
"They are better than grapes." He smiled.
I chuckled and released my arms. Rhys either knew how to lie or told the truth. "Anyway, why would this skinny person be an issue? Why here?"
He nudged a pebble with his toe. "All right, all right. Gunnar sent me to check on the Voclains."
"So, you are lying." I felt the rope of hypocrisy tighten.
"Only sort of, I swear. Gunnar told me not to tell anyone what I was doing, and he did say to keep an eye out for anyone odd."
"Like who? Being skinny doesn't make you a criminal."
"Of course not, but you must have heard about the reports of odd folks who look off around the city. Always thin. Maybe sick."
Like the man at school, sunken and spell sick, dead. "This is the first I've heard about any reports."
He scraped some frost from a street paver with his boot. "The Order isn't taking it seriously, but I'm worried."
"That it's related to the attacks?"
He still looked at the street. "Sure, of course, that's a concern, but mostly I don't want people to blame the Chimeras."
Of course, the stables. "Do you work with them?"
"As much as I can. All twelve are incredible, although one's a bit weird." He chuckled.
So there are twelve of them. "How is one weirder than the others?"
"She's the smallest, hardly ever lays. Even has a stripe on her head." He pointed to the top of his. "And she's a real character compared to the others. Master Armistead says she's the last one made, well half of the last pair."
"He was around when they developed the Chimeras?"
"As an apprentice to the then Stable Master. He got to see the Tempest and still cares for the other Apexial, Flo
wers."
"Flowers?"
"Lord Odion is his name, but like how Kepi means Tempest, his name is something about flowers. I think it's pretty." He laughed.
I couldn't help but join him.
"I'm just sad he doesn't let anyone ride him anymore."
"I wouldn't mind meeting him."
"I'm sure you could come by and try."
"What about the Chimeras?"
"Only a few stable hands, and me, of course, get to see them. Gunnar told me even as an apprentice, he wasn't involved much with the Chimeras. Now, he tries to handle them as little as possible."
"Because they are partly Abyssite?"
Rhys came a little closer and looked down the street and back. "It's not that. He thinks they're cursed."
"Curses aren't a real thing."
"I don't mean in some magical sense, but historically everyone who worked on the Chimeras died. Three invokers, all with heresy charges."
I fidgeted but tried to stand still, probably unnaturally so. "I see. Still, why would people blame the Chimeras for these ill people all of a sudden?"
"You wondered if Gunnar stayed away from the Chimeras because they're part Abyssite." He crossed his arms.
"Not because I thought he should."
He relaxed a little. "They are easy scapegoats, in any case. What if this illness relates to the Abyss activity, spell sick Abyssists, you know? How could we prove it's not people eating too many eggs?"
Another, or the same, bird sat on a rooftop nearby.
Rhys said, "I think with the attack today, Gunnar wanted to make sure everyone was safe and sent me here."
"But why not tell us?"
"Your uncle doesn't seem to like him much."
I rolled my eyes but saw his point. Conrad turned Gunnar down for guards here without any given reason. "This sort of thing is likely why. They both are nosy and secretive." As if I could complain, I didn't think I'd mind being Nancy, but the fake shell this jacket made started to suffocate me.
I said, "Look, I'm sorry for being so, well, paranoid. You were in plain enough sight, and I noticed you walking because you were humming."
"See? I'm not sneaky."
"No, I guess not, but you are wearing soft boots."
"You would notice." He pointed at my feet.
I sighed. "The song, though, what was it?"
"Not a song. At dusk, the Chimeras sing, kind of the opposite of a rooster."
I wanted to hear the real thing. Surprisingly my heart ached for it when a day ago, I didn't know they existed. I looked down the street. Who waited for me in my dream?
"So, uh, I should get going, but, Nancy?"
It took me a moment to realize Rhys spoke. "Sorry, yes?"
"Let me know if you or your uncle need something? Even Eda or Leyla?"
"You know their first names?"
His lips tightened. "Everyone knows Eda and Leyla's names."
I cocked my head.
He wiggled his weight side to side again. "Damn, all right, don't tell Conrad."
"Don't tell him what?"
"No, don't be tricky; promise me."
"Is it that bad?"
He sighed. "No. Abyss, he probably already knows. Look, Eda helps Gunnar with research related to the stables."
"Stable research?" I said and paused. "About the Chimeras?"
"I never said anything." He nodded. "Eda helps him, and sometimes, she brings Leyla along." He shrugged and tried not to have any inflection at all in his voice.
I shot him a sly grin.
"What?"
"You like her, don't you?"
He smiled wide, leaned away, and looked over his shoulder and back. "What am I supposed to say here? I'm twenty. I like most girls." He looked down and laughed at his boots, but doubt colored his smile. "I'll see you around?"
"Maybe."
He smiled again, this time genuine, and walked down the street.
Once he rounded the corner, I retreated into the alley.
Kepi poked her ear around a crate's edge.
I squatted beside it and whispered, "Did you hear all that?"
She cooed crisp and quiet and climbed up into my arms.
I held her inside my jacket.
"I hope I'm not getting distracted. I feel like, well, the answer is in more than the office."
She popped her head out and preened at her necklace.
"I guess we'll see tomorrow."
13 - Hubris
In the morning, Eda, Leyla, and I sat at the table with coffee.
I rotated my cup and checked the front window. Conrad's thin line of smoke still rose. I leaned toward Eda and Leyla. "Do you two know a Rhys Fortier?"
Leyla looked at Eda and drew her mouth into a tiny curious curl.
Eda wasn't nearly as amused. "What brings his name to your attention?"
"I found him outside last night. He said Gunnar asked him to check on us."
"I take it the young man explained how he knew us?"
"He did."
She sipped her drink.
Conrad came inside and sat down. "What am I interrupting this time?"
I filled him in and told them about my conversation with Rhys.
He ruffled his brow. "I see Gunnar didn't listen."
I added, "Rhys also told me about these sick looking people."
"Public health is an invoker issue. Gunnar likely reported it. That's all he could do."
"Well, still, he said the Order isn't doing anything. These people might have spell sickness. The man at my school died of it."
He tapped the table. "I see what you mean. But if someone were visibly spell drained, it would require immediate care to save them, if we could at all. We don't find random dead in the streets."
"So, if it's not Anima sickness, why did Gunnar tell Rhys to look for a sick person around here after the attack?" I gave Kepi a sugar cube.
"I don't know." Conrad stood and got himself a cup of coffee and topped us all off. "I'll admit I was suspicious at Gunnar's arrival after the attack. The lad's a fast rider. Maybe he was out already following up on something and saw the beacon." He didn't sit back down but slurped his coffee. "I should have asked. If he'd even tell me."
I said, "Gunnar seemed worried about the Faragos having the disk."
"She does have a lot to gain with Ansgar's disappearance. The Arm is hers for now." He sat.
Eda held her mug. "She would not orchestrate such a thing."
He frowned into his cup and pushed a stray rope of hair over his shoulder.
Eda looked at him. "She would not."
"Even if Bora isn't behind this, she'll try to get out in front of us. I need to get the Formist's report on where Ansgar went missing. Once I do, I can launch a full investigation. Bora will have even more grounds to levee a complaint of incompetence against me if I don't do it fast."
"Incompetence for what?" I said.
"For losing the High Templar. The longer Ansgar is missing, the worse, for him, for us. More eyes fall our way now because of this, and all the harder it will be to keep you safe."
Eda adjusted her sleeve. "Would Bora be so brash to file a complaint at a time such as this? Better spent is energy finding Ansgar, not ruffling hunter feathers over the matter."
"Ansgar may have impeded her before, and whoever inciting this violence could know as much." Conrad picked up a sugar cube and rolled it in his fingers above his drink. "On the rare occasion when he's hesitated, she's jumped."
"You speak of the arrest." Eda leaned back in her chair and looked my way.
Leyla and I exchanged glances.
I said, "My mother's?"
"Bora signed Philomena's arrest warrant, not Ansgar, as would be usual." Conrad studied his sugar cube. "He never told me why."
"He seemed worried before the attack about the strike at my school." I rotated my mug. "And about my transfer."
"I teased him about talking to Kat, but he wanted a first-hand account, someone who saw you, who sp
oke to Sybil." He crushed the sugar into his drink. "I shouldn't have delayed his question. I should have told Kat to stay even if she didn't have the right paperwork." His eyes narrowed.
Eda touched his forearm. "What is it?"
"Paperwork, arrest file, never told me. Ansgar, he knew something." He sat up, face tight with determination. "We could get the warrant, or at least see it for ourselves."
"The Arms are not allowed into other's archives without supervision for good reasons. Tampering not small among them," said Eda. "Bora will never agree to let you in or release information."
He smoothed his beard. "But Ansgar could have, and now he's gone." He turned his hardened expression into a mischievous grin. "A shame no else could at least give a tour."
Eda's eyes lit up. "A representative could give a young inductee a tour of other parts of the templar wing."
All eyes turned on me. "A templar representative? Rhys?"
"Yes. The council expects me to give my report on our HQ at the High Hall. It makes sense my niece would come along for the day, but not attend the meeting."
"So, now I'm not only to break into my mother's office but the templar archives?"
Kepi cooed short and sharp.
"What am I looking for?" I said.
"The warrant. Anything to help piece this together. Ansgar's logs are in his office, but the council has it locked and guarded, as is the procedure for a missing Arm leader. More importantly, I've no excuse that could pass Bora's nose to be there." He took a breath. "Eda, should we look for anything else in the archives?"
She let out a deep sigh. "If Leyla wishes. I have covered my family's activities and the Chimeras, the later with Gunnar's aid mind you." Eda polished one of the thicker monocles with her frilled shawl. "Given our circumstances, I will expedite my pursuit within the Reliquary."
Conrad handed her a clean pocket square.
She took and used it instead.
He pushed his cup toward Kepi. "It's too sweet now."
She sniffed it and stuck in her head.
Leyla grinned. "I'll come as your aid. Remember, you'll have to do the talking today, Mere."
I only nodded and gulped.
"You don't seem too sure." She nudged me.
"Well, I'm not used to asking so much from people I just met. It seems like that's all I've done in the last few days. Also, this is putting a great deal of trust in him."
