by Caitlin Seal
Outside, the shadow man stood on the threshold of the open doorway. Corten crossed the shop’s floor and peered into the swirling darkness of the creature’s face. Before, he had entered freely into Corten’s memories. But now Corten was the one in control. The shadow man leaned forward, and Corten felt something pushing against his will.
“Sorry,” Corten said. “But we’re done talking. I’ve got work to do.”
Then he slammed the door shut.
The next morning, Naya left her rooms to meet with Mel. She was both nervous and relieved to find Mel waiting for her with a carriage at the palace gates. After what had happened at the Banian salon, she wouldn’t have been surprised if Mel had canceled. Naya caught Mel’s gaze, and the other girl smiled and waved.
“Hello,” Mel said. “I’m glad you made it. I hope you don’t mind that we’ll have company.” She pointed over her shoulder to two soldiers who stood stiffly by the carriage.
“This is Tren and Baz. Apparently my dear mother worries that I’ll die if I go outside without them.”
“The ambassador is rightly concerned,” said Baz, the older of the two soldiers. He was a stocky, bald man with broad shoulders and a sour expression. “It isn’t appropriate for a young lady to travel the city without an escort.”
Mel’s eyes slid past Naya to where two more soldiers stood behind her. They’d followed her from the delegation hall, presumably to keep her safe. “I know poor Baz has nightmares at the prospect of young ladies so much as breathing without a proper escort, but do we really need to take half the Talmiran Army with us? The carriage will be an awfully tight fit with six people.”
The two soldiers exchanged a look and one shrugged. “I know Baz. If he’ll be with them, then there’s no reason we can’t wait here for Miss Garth’s return.”
“Excellent!” Mel clapped her hands. “Then let’s be off. You said you wanted to go see the gardens in Lestor Park, right?”
Naya nodded. “I know they’re not as grand as the palace gardens, but I used to go there all the time as a girl.” That was true, but she’d mostly chosen the spot because the Lestor Park gardens sat just next to the Academy of Magics. It would give her a chance to survey the academy in more detail without drawing attention to her search.
Mel smiled, apparently accepting Naya’s weak excuse. “Well, I’m happy to go anywhere that’s not here.”
Francisco’s warning echoed in Naya’s mind as she got into the carriage. There were no angry crowds waiting outside this time, but still she felt uneasy as the carriage rattled onto the streets of Lith Lor. She hated that the morning sunlight felt like it carried the scalding heat of too many prying eyes. She hated imagining she could hear the angry shouts lurking just under the ordinary noise of market crowds. Most of all, she hated that it made her wonder if even Mel’s kindness was an act intended to draw her out and leave her vulnerable to another attack.
Mel’s guards rode in the carriage with them on the way to the gardens. Though they wore Talmiran uniforms, both had the darker features common among people of Banian descent. Baz stared straight ahead, his thick eyebrows drawn down in a glower that seemed more befitting of a man attending a funeral than one asked to watch over a pair of young women on a trip to the park. Tren was younger than his partner, and handsome in a rough sort of way. He was also more relaxed, often letting his attention wander to the view outside the window.
Mel seemed to pick up on Naya’s unease, and they settled into awkward silence as they rode the short distance to the park. After a few minutes, the carriage came to a halt and Naya followed the two guards out into the bright midmorning sunlight. They weren’t the only ones who’d come to enjoy the park that day. All around, Naya saw families and couples strolling beneath the dappled shade of the trees. Mel hesitated, then smiled and linked her arm with Naya’s. “Well, here we are. What did you want to see?”
Naya tensed. It wasn’t uncommon for friends to walk arm-in-arm in Talmir. But Mel’s simple gesture sparked faded memories of the school friends she’d had back before her mother died and her days became consumed by private tutors. Even after entering the Merchants Academy, she’d struggled to make close friends. In Ceramor she’d found allies in the Necromantic Council, but most of the people there were older than her. Those that were her own age had treated her with a strange mix of awe and caution in the weeks leading up to the delegation’s departure. They didn’t exclude her, but it was clear none of them were sure where she fit into their world. Naya wasn’t sure either, and that feeling of drifting disconnected from everyone around her made her chest ache.
“Or I can pick something if you want?” Mel said, jerking Naya’s thoughts back to the present.
Heat rose in Naya’s cheeks, and she tried to push the feelings of melancholy aside. She had more important things to do than wallow in self-pity. “Sorry.” She glanced around, then nodded to a path that followed the outer edge of the park. To her right, the outer wall of the Academy of Magics loomed. “Let’s go this way. I think I remember there being a fish pond on the other side of the park.”
Mel raised an eyebrow but didn’t object. Naya heard the two soldiers fall into step several paces behind them. After they’d taken only a few steps, Mel said, “I’m sorry about last night.”
Naya hesitated. “What do you mean?”
“All that stuff with Sai,” Mel said with a scowl. “I was in a foul mood having to talk to Jelvi, and when Sai started looking down her nose at us like that, I just wanted to make her leave. I shouldn’t have used you and Francisco to do that. Will you tell him I’m sorry?”
“It’s not your fault Sai said all those things.”
“Oh, I know. Sai didn’t used to be so bad, but she’s become a pompous brat ever since she started working for Lady Elv. Still, I could have been more diplomatic about how I handled it.” Mel sighed. “With my mother being who she is, you would think I’d be better at dealing with people but…” She trailed off and shrugged.
“Why were you talking to Jelvi?” Naya asked.
“My mother wanted me to seek him out,” Mel said. “Jelvi’s uncle is important in the Silmaran senate, and Jelvi’s started working as his aide recently. Mother thought it would be useful if we became friends. I didn’t realize how much of an ass he is until we were already talking. We barely introduced ourselves before he asked me to dinner, and when I said no, he launched into the rant about all these great stories he knows. I guess he was somehow trying to convince me to change my mind about dinner.”
“That does not sound pleasant,” Naya said. “Why didn’t you just walk away?”
“Because even if Jelvi’s an ass, he’s an important ass. My mother’s already angry at me for what I said to Lady Elv at the ball. I was trying to follow her rules and be polite, but in hindsight I think even she would have agreed Jelvi wasn’t worth the effort if she’d realized what he’s like.”
“Sai and Lady Elv aren’t worth it either,” Naya grumbled. “If more people talked to them like you did, maybe they’d stop acting so insufferable.”
Mel laughed. “Sai, maybe, but I doubt Lady Elv will ever change. I can’t remember a time when she wasn’t involved in some scandal or another. It’s one of the great mysteries of the Talmiran court why the trade master keeps her on as his secretary.”
They walked in silence for another minute. Naya kept one eye on the academy wall as she mulled over Mel’s words. The complex was one of the oldest in the city. Supposedly the walls had been built to fend off the bandits who had roamed these lands before the Dawning prophets brought stability back to the world. The walls certainly looked their age. The white stone blocks were streaked with gray, their edges worn down from years of rain and wind. The metal spikes that had once adorned their tops were mostly missing, leaving gaps like broken teeth. Over their tops Naya could see the red tiled roof of a tall building.
The walls wouldn’t be ha
rd to climb, but what then? The university grounds were huge. Without more information, she could probably spend days wandering among the buildings without finding what she needed. And that was assuming she didn’t get caught.
“I’m getting the feeling that the gardens aren’t really what you’re interested in,” Mel said.
Naya tensed and felt a flush spread across her cheeks. She glanced over and found Mel smiling at her. This close, Mel’s aether seemed to wrap around Naya. She was plainly nervous despite her smile, and Naya tasted fear like metal on the back of her tongue. But overshadowing both was a bright current of curiosity that swirled and danced around her. Naya searched for another lie, another casual dismissal that would push Mel away from the truth. But her stomach twisted at the idea. Each new lie she told reminded her of the wall of secrets she’d built between herself and Corten, and the look of disgust on his face when he’d realized what she really was. “Why are you trying so hard to befriend me?” she asked instead.
Mel looked away. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”
“When we first met at the ball, you said you don’t hate the undead. Maybe that’s true, but you also said your mother asked you to make friends with Jelvi. Maybe you’re just doing the same with me.” As Naya spoke, she tried to ignore the pressure of Mel’s arm against hers, the song of the birds above, and the bright smells of plants overlying the less pleasant odors of the city. Instead she concentrated on the subtle flow of energy surrounding them. She didn’t want it to be true, but she needed to know all the same.
The city’s pulse swelled around her, heavier and more deliberate than what she’d sensed in Belavine. Within it she felt Mel’s aether darken with shame, then flash with smoky anger. “All right, it’s true I was talking to Jelvi because my mother asked. But this is different. I’m not her spy. And I certainly didn’t start talking to you for her sake.”
“Then why?”
Mel laughed, though there wasn’t much humor in it. “I guess I thought you might be different from the others.”
“What do you mean?”
Mel glanced at Naya. “I’ve seen the way everyone treats you.”
“I’m undead. It’s not surprising that they’d hate me.” Naya tried to make the words casual, but she could hear the bitterness in her own voice.
“Well, believe it or not, it isn’t so different from how they’d usually treat me.”
“Why?” Naya asked, more than a little surprised. As the daughter of an ambassador, Mel should have had a place among the upper echelons of the court hierarchy.
“Because my father’s from the Islands.”
“That doesn’t seem like much of a reason,” Naya said. True, the people of Banen were unusual, and her father had always regarded them warily because of their refusal to follow Dawning teachings. But even he had admired their skills as shipbuilders and sailors, and the Banians had always been welcome in Lith Lor.
Mel responded to Naya’s frown with a wry smile. “How much do you actually know about Banen?”
“Not very much, I guess.”
“Most Talmirans don’t. Life on the Islands isn’t like it is here. I spent most of my time growing up there with my father. A few people knew who my mother was, but most didn’t care.” She tilted her head back as though savoring the dappled sunlight. “Then my mother decided it was time I came here and learned what it meant to be a proper Talmiran lady. I barely knew anything about court life when I arrived, and I guess I made it pretty clear that all I wanted was to go home…. Add to that the fact that someone found out about my parents, and well…” She shrugged.
“What do you mean they found out about your parents?”
“You mean you haven’t heard yet?” Mel held one hand over her mouth in a look of exaggerated shock. “Even after he found out my mother was pregnant, my father refused to convert and marry her under Talmiran law. He loved her, and he was happy to be with her, but he wouldn’t sacrifice his principles for her. The strangest part of it all was that my dear mother accepted his terms despite her good Talmiran upbringing. It was all a terrible scandal.”
“Ah,” Naya said, remembering her first months at the Merchants Academy. Her father had hired tutors to prepare her, but she’d been slow to master the courtly manners. Even when she had, the others hadn’t forgotten where she’d come from. The Dawning taught that no romance could be pure without the blessing and commitment of a formal marriage. Children born outside that sacred bond were destined to be fickle creatures.
Mel nodded. “I’m not saying it’s the same as being undead. But I do know what it’s like to not be good enough for them. I know what it’s like to be hated for something you can’t change.”
They walked in silence for a moment. Naya thought back to the first night she’d met Mel, factoring in the new information. There had been something scornful in the way Lady Elv had greeted her. Mel had responded with such casual confidence that Naya hadn’t given the interaction a second thought. But it made sense. Mel’s dark features were distinctive enough to make her stand out, and her decision to wear Banian clothes was a statement of defiance given her mother’s position. Mel seemed to identify closely with her father’s people, but here she was stuck in Talmir surrounded by people who expected her to align with her mother’s beliefs without question.
“I’m sorry,” Naya finally said.
“It’s all right. Makes sense that you’d be suspicious. Everyone comes here to play politics. They’re always backstabbing and scheming. It’s one of the things I hate so much.”
“So it’s different in Banen?” Naya asked.
Mel tilted her head to the side. “It is and it isn’t.”
They reached the end of the path and paused. Naya glanced right. The park curved around one side of the academy and from here she could just see the main gates. Guards in uniform stood watch as a few scribes in simple robes traveled in and out. The scribes entering the academy paused by the guards. Naya saw one hold up a silver medallion he wore on a chain around his neck. Metal flashed in the sunlight and the guard nodded the scribe through the gates. Another scribe passed wearing several medallions of various metals over a much finer set of robes. He didn’t even look at the guards, who bowed respectfully as he strode by.
Through the open gates, Naya could see the edge of a cobbled plaza, and beyond that a tall building, the roof of which was visible even above the crumbling walls. Perhaps if she could get her hands on one of those medallions and a robe she could walk right past the guards and the walls. That still wouldn’t help her find Lucia’s journals once she was inside, but it was a place to start. When Naya looked back at Mel, she saw the other girl also staring at the gates. Mel met Naya’s eyes and offered her a weak smile. “What now? Do you still want to look for that fish pond?”
Footsteps crunched on the path behind them as Baz and Tren approached. “Don’t mean to interrupt,” Tren said. “But we should be getting back to the palace. Don’t forget your mother wanted you to join her for lunch.”
Mel gave a dramatic sigh. “Of course, wouldn’t want to keep dear Mother waiting.” She flashed Naya a grin that seemed to defy the unease that still hung in the air between them.
Naya could feel that unease echoed in the aether. But she returned Mel’s grin in spite of it. She still wasn’t sure how far she could trust Mel. But the pain and anger in Mel’s voice when she’d spoken of the other Talmiran nobles had felt too real to be a ruse.
They spoke of inconsequential things on the ride back to the palace. As Mel stepped out of the carriage, Naya caught her hand. “I want to change things,” she said, fear and excitement rising in her. “Talmir and Ceramor don’t have to be enemies. We can be better than we are. I don’t know how yet, but I want to prove to people that it’s true.”
Mel met Naya’s eyes and whatever she saw there made her smile. “Let’s do it.”
Francisco came
knocking at Naya’s door barely a half hour after she had returned to the palace. “I heard you and Miss Jeden went out into the city together.”
“I was careful,” Naya said smugly. “And as you can see, it worked out fine.”
Francisco looked her up and down. “Well, it seems you at least managed to avoid getting attacked by any mobs.”
Naya scowled. Not even Francisco’s grim caution was going to smother the hope Mel’s support had given her. “You know, not all Talmirans form mobs the second they see one of the undead.”
“Right. I guess they usually call them armies. Did you at least learn anything useful?”
“I did. And Mel asked me to apologize to you about last night.”
Surprise flashed across Francisco’s face, and then the mask returned and he shrugged. “Probably just another trick to sucker you in and gather information for her mother.”
“It wasn’t! Mel’s a better person than you give her credit for.”
“I’m sure she’s perfectly decent, but—”
“But what? You saw the way other people were treating her just for talking to us. How much proof do you need before you’re willing to give someone a chance?”
Francisco looked away, and Naya thought she saw a flush of color darkening his cheeks. “Fine. You can tell her I accept her apology.”
He sounded more grudging than sincere, but Naya let the subject drop. “Good. There was one more thing. Mel said some interesting things about Lady Elv. I think we should keep an eye on her. There’s something about that woman that doesn’t make sense to me.”
