Blade Singer

by Martha Wells

  But he heard the shadow voice in his head again, the voice from his dream, the one who had tried to help him. It was louder and clearer than ever. You can't let her take all the risks. You have to help her. If Morrigan found her, think of what she would do.

  Manny opened his eyes, grabbed one of their packs, and searched through it. He pulled out a sheathed knife, drew it, and studied the sharp edge. Allowing himself to be guided by his shadow voice, he tested the weapon's balance. Flipping the knife over and catching it by the blade, he threw it at one of the charred beams. The tip sunk into the wood precisely where he had aimed it. Whoa.

  Bouncing to his feet, he pulled the knife out of the wood and sheathed it again, then tucked it into his belt. He knew what his shadow voice wanted him to do, what he had to do. From now on, he was determined to listen to that voice. He realized it had always been there, helping him move past his fear, encouraging him, showing him what his elf body was capable of. And he knew who it was.

  From now on, he was going to listen to Remy.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Being determined to act and having a plan of action, Manny quickly discovered, were not at all the same thing. After leaving the cellar, he wound his way through the streets, sticking to the alleys. He was comfortable in the shadows and knew he had to stay out of sight. His previous encounter with Etienne had happened by chance, although the more he thought about that, the more he became convinced that maybe it wasn't just a coincidence. Etienne looked exactly like father, and that had to mean something. It had to be a kind of magic, and maybe it was somehow drawing them together. But how was he supposed to find the man again?

  In the movies, the Musketeers always had a headquarters of some sort. Why should the King's Chevaliers of this world be any different? He figured it would be a fancy mansion like the one he and Adriana had broken into. But even from the little he'd seen, there were probably hundreds of houses like that in the city.

  Crouched by a stack of vegetable crates, he studied the faces of the passers-by. He could ask someone for directions but he had no guarantee they'd tell him. Maybe they'd sic the city watch on him. A half-goblin asking for directions to the Chevaliers' headquarters would probably seem a little suspicious.

  On the bright side, he discovered by accident that he was more than just good at moving quietly and staying out of sight. He figured it out when he was walking down an alley and two city sentries suddenly turned the corner ahead and started straight toward him. Then some other instinct took over and he stepped back against the dirty stone wall, freezing into place.

  The two men passed him without even a glance. Huh, Manny thought, watching them walk away down the alley. That was almost like magic. Maybe it was magic.

  He started testing it on the street peddlers and other passers-by. If he managed to freeze before they got a good look at him, people simply did not notice him. It helped if he cleared his mind and didn't think about them or anything else.

  Maybe he was turning invisible, like a ghost. After all, wasn't anything possible in this place? In the stories he'd read or seen on TV, lots of faeries had the power to turn invisible. But like everyone else, the Sidhe walked right past him when he was "ghosting," as he started to call it. If it worked on Morrigan and the Redcaps too, it would definitely come in handy.

  Finally Manny spotted two Sidhe Chevaliers, each wearing the same forest green tabard that Etienne had worn, walking along a street. He started to follow them. They had to be Chevaliers and he figured that eventually they would have to go to their headquarters. And if he ghosted, they would have no idea he was following them. At least, he hoped so. He had no idea what special powers or senses some of the Sidhe had, but he still had to take the chance.

  The velvet tabards worn by the Chevaliers were distinctive and made them easy to follow in a crowd. They were shaped like a poncho that had two flaps of fabric where sleeves would normally have been. The tabards were trimmed in gold and bore a gold triskelion on their chests and at each shoulder. Manny thought they looked pretty cool, and the swaggering Chevaliers displayed them to great advantage.

  The two Chevaliers he followed were especially dashing in their tabards. One had aqua hair, webbed hands, and his skin was covered in iridescent scales. Black, unblinking eyes and gill slits at his neck further accentuated his fish-like appearance. That's a merrow, his shadow voice whispered in Manny's head. The merrow's hat, doublet, shirt, pants, and boots were all various shades of blue and green, and gave the impression that the Chevalier's clothes had been spun from the sea itself.

  By contrast, the colorful merrow's companion was a short, bald man whose skin gleamed like polished obsidian. His spiky beard and eyebrows were needle-thin filaments of purple crystal, and his eyes glittered like amethysts. He was dressed entirely in black velvet and leather, making him look like a living silhouette. A gnome, said his shadow voice.

  Manny began following them, sticking to sections of the streets and walkways that provided plenty of cover. Whenever the crowds got too heavy, Manny would ghost until they thinned sufficiently, always being careful to keep his quarry in sight.

  As he passed more Chevaliers, he realized something he hadn't before: all of them were Sidhe. Once he had made this observation, he began actively looking for humans wearing the green tabards, but he saw none. Given the treatment of the Sidhe that he'd witnessed, it surprised him they would occupy such prestigious positions. After all, the Chevaliers seemed to be an elite royal fighting force.

  Then when he stopped to ghost out of sight from a group of city sentries, it finally hit him. The Sidhe all have special abilities. He smiled at the obviousness of it. Any king would want soldiers with those kinds of powers. It'd be like having an army of superheroes.

  He wondered what abilities Etienne possessed. He knew the Chevalier was amazingly fast; his duel had been fairly one-sided. Could he ghost as well? Or was that more an attribute of Manny's goblin nature than his elfish one?

  He wondered what abilities distinguished the two Chevaliers he was following. He figured the merrow could probably breathe underwater and possibly swim really fast. Like Aquaman, he thought, picturing the merrow in the superhero's orange and green costume. Nah, I like his clothes better, he decided. The gnome looked pretty strong. He knew from an old storybook that gnomes had something to do with mining and the earth but wasn't sure exactly what.

  Manny's hopes of being led quickly to the Chevaliers' headquarters were soon dashed. The pair stopped at several shops, once to measure the gnome for new boots, another time for the merrow to pick up a pair of flintlock pistols that were carved into the shape of dolphins. A lunch stop at a tavern resulted in a long wait as the Chevaliers ate their fill of roasted chicken and fresh bread, and drank several bottles of wine. Manny watched them from behind a barrel near a window. At this rate, it might take all day to find Etienne.

  What if Adriana comes back to the cellar and finds me gone? She might be there now. Manny winced as he imagined her getting angry with him. Or she might be afraid that he had been caught by Morrigan. He knew he was taking a big risk. He thought about returning to the cellar, but he had come so far. Just a little while longer, he promised himself. If they didn't go to their headquarters soon, he would give up.

  Manny's stomach growled as he glumly watched the Chevaliers feast. He glanced around at the other tables. Maybe there was something he might be able to liberate... No! No more stealing! The last thing I need is to help goblinate myself. He sank his chin into his hands and sighed. He was in the process of selecting other Chevaliers to follow among the tavern crowd when the bells of the Basilica began tolling.

  His Chevaliers reacted immediately to the bells. They tossed some coins on the table and hurried away down the street. Manny watched them go, staying put. Maybe they're late for work? Or maybe they're off to do more shopping. He sighed and stood up. Oh, what have I got to lose? In for an inch, in for a mile, he thought, recalling what his dad used to say. He hurried after the Cheval
iers and hoped for the best.

  ****

  Manny studied the outside of the Chevaliers’ headquarters from a garden courtyard across the street. He had scrambled up a tree and hid himself in its branches, watching the comings and goings for the last twenty or so minutes. The stone mansion wasn't the most impressive or even the biggest in the neighborhood, but it had a big walled park with trees around it. The entrance was barred with wrought iron gates, but Manny was high up enough to see over the wall and watch the Chevaliers going in and out of the house. The merrow and the gnome had led Manny to the mansion after departing the tavern, but now that he was here, he wasn't sure what his next move should be.

  He doubted that he'd be able to sneak into the walled grounds, not with so many Sidhe around. Given all the abilities he remembered being attributed to faeries, he was pretty sure someone would be able to spot him, even if he was ghosting his heart out. He couldn't risk being seen, or worse caught, by the royal guard.

  And boy were there plenty of Sidhe soldiers. There must have been over a hundred of them, of every size, color, and description he could imagine. Elves seemed the most common, or at least Manny was pretty sure they were elves. Most of them were tall, some fair-skinned and some a dark chestnut brown, and all had flowing manes of hair that shimmered like gold, silver, bronze, or copper, and long, curving ears.

  His shadow voice echoed in his mind and he repeated the names in a whisper: dwarf, selkie, faun, gnome, spriggan, merrow, brownie, trow. All of the Sidhe were humanoid and they ranged in size from giants to kids. The trow towered above their fellows, easily seven or eight feet tall and muscled like titans. The dark-skinned brownies were the smallest, only three feet or so tall, but they were long-limbed with thin, delicate fingers. Manny wasn't sure how effective they'd be as soldiers, then noticed most of them carried slender muskets. They must be really good shots, he mused. Size doesn't matter much if you can shoot somebody through the eye before he gets near you.

  And there was not a single human among them. As far as he could tell, it was an exclusive Sidhe club. That gave Manny no small measure of pride and he allowed himself a smile. I guess I could be a Chevalier. But as he continued to scan the crowds, his smile slowly faded. Along with a lack of humans in their ranks, he also noticed that all of the Sidhe were Seelie. There were no Unseelie among them either.

  But each of them could be, he thought. All Seelie can turn into Unseelie if they... He looked at his ragged clothing, his dirty feet, and thought about the way Remy and Adriana lived. Is that all it takes here? If you live like this you turn into a monster? But he'd seen poor Seelie working in the streets, so there had to be more to it than that. Thinking of the dangerous Unseelie thieves in Morrigan's lair, he recalled their predatory looks, their cruel sneers. They were twisted on the inside as well as on the outside.

  So what's Remy really like? Manny found it hard to believe that the young elf was anything like the Unseelie in those sewers. Someone like Adriana could never be so devoted to a vicious creature, could she? And the fact that she was desperate to get Remy away from Morrigan must mean that she saw something worth saving.

  And then when she looked at him there was her expression of worry and exasperation and affection. Adriana loved Remy like a son. He had no doubt about that. The thought gave him another pang of jealousy. He gritted his teeth. Focus, Manny, you dumbass! You have a job to—

  The crowd near the front doors to the mansion began to stir. Manny flattened himself on the branch for a better look at the cause of the commotion. There! Etienne was walking toward the gates of the house's compound, surrounded by his comrades, many of whom clapped him on back or shoulders. Well, he's definitely a popular guy.

  He slid off the branch, hung on by his hands, then dropped to the ground. Pressing himself against the tree's trunk, he was ready to ghost. The Chevalier had worked his way out of the courtyard and past the gates and now hurried down the street. Perfect, thought Manny, I'll be able to talk to him alone. I'll make him believe my story. I've got to.

  He was about to dash across the street when he got a strange sensation. It was a prickling at the back of his neck, a feathery touch like a spider's web brushing against his skin. Manny twitched and shrugged then shot a glance over his shoulder, goose pimples breaking out all along his arms and shoulders.

  Someone was in the courtyard, hidden by the trees and hedges, watching him. Manny scanned for any movement but saw only doves and squirrels, flying and scampering away from—

  Manny froze, his jaw dropping open. A figure detached itself from a large, gnarled oak tree a few yards away. It seemed to simply materialize into existence. It stared straight at Manny, its yellow eyes wide and unblinking, its sharp teeth flashing in a triumphant sneer.

  The Redcap raised its skeletal fingers and waggled them at Manny, its sneer widening into a hungry smile.

  Chapter Fourteen

  If Manny tried to climb the tree again, the Redcap would be on him before he could get halfway up to the first branch. He could run through the trees at the back of the courtyard, try to reach the alley behind it... The creature was still smiling at him, teeth bared, waiting for him to make the wrong decision.

  A crazy impulse seized Manny and he ran through the open gate of the courtyard and into the street. He heard the Redcap snarl just behind him and ducked barely in time; its clawed fingers grazed his back. He pivoted to the left. The heavier Redcap took another swipe at him, staggering past with a hiss.

  Manny put on a burst of speed and whipped around a parked wagon, grabbing onto the stout wheel to help him make the turn. He spotted an elf woman peddler walking along the street in front of the Chevaliers' mansion. Manny sprinted toward her, trying to ghost, thinking "Don't see me" with all his might. It probably wouldn't work on the Redcap, but he didn't think anyone else on the street had noticed him yet.

  He ducked around the elf woman and crouched down, making himself as invisible as possible. The single-minded Redcap pounded across the street toward him — and toward the elf woman. She saw the creature charging toward her, intent on murder, and screamed, dropping her tray of trinkets.

  And a dozen Chevaliers burst out of the front gate. They saw the Redcap apparently about to attack the helpless peddler, and all of them drew their swords. The Redcap jolted to a halt, staring in dismay. As the Chevaliers charged it, it bolted away toward the garden courtyard.

  Manny bounced to his feet and hurried up the street after Etienne, pleased with his own cleverness.

  He quickly caught up, though he was careful to hang back, taking cover behind some brownies who were carrying baskets to market. He didn't want Etienne to see him right away. The Chevalier seemed to be in a hurry, and being stopped by that crazy goblin kid who kept calling him "dad" probably wouldn't put him in a receptive mood.

  I have to think of a way to get him to listen to me, Manny thought. I can't mess this up.

  He followed Etienne down the street, then around a corner. The neighborhood was all big mansions with courtyards and stables, shaded by a few large trees, but they seemed to be busy places. Manny kept a nervous eye out for more Redcaps or other threats, but everybody on the street was in a hurry to get somewhere, and no one looked twice at him.

  Etienne didn't go far, stopping at a smaller stone house squeezed in between the walls of two larger mansions. It had a little cobbled court in front and vines climbed up to the second story and the steeply pitched roof. Etienne strode through the big open double doors, and after a moment Manny followed him.

  He found himself in a small foyer with barrels stacked up against the walls, but archways led into bigger candlelit rooms where men were sitting at tables, eating and drinking. It was a tavern, though much nicer than the one Manny and Adriana lived at. It smelled of roasting meat, and fresh bread and wood smoke, and Manny's stomach growled. He stepped into the first archway, taking a closer look at the patrons.

  They were a mix of Sidhe and humans, mostly men who looked fairly prosperous
in their velvet clothes and starched lace collars. At a table in one corner, there were even some swordsmen with the black and silver tabards that Etienne's opponent had worn. There he is, Manny thought as he spotted his quarry.

  Etienne sat on the far side of the room from the men in the black tabards. He wasn't alone, but the figure with him had his back toward Manny. Manny could tell it was a burly man with long red hair and a fiery red beard that had been elaborately braided with a golden cord. A pottery jug sat on the table and a plate with a round of bread and some cheese, but neither man was eating. They were both leaning forward, Etienne speaking and his companion listening intently.

  A barrel-chested man in a stained apron strode in through the outer doorway, the wine cask he carried over one shoulder temporarily blocking any view of Manny. Thinking "Don't see me" as hard as he could, Manny slipped into the room, taking cover in the shadows along the walls. Fortunately the room was rather dark; the windows were set high, not letting in much light, probably because of the towering mansions to either side.

  Manny reached the big stone fireplace near Etienne's table and crouched next to the stack of wood near it. Now I just have to think what to say to get him to help me and Adriana.

  From there he had a better view of the other man, whose fancy clothes were embroidered in golden thread to match the braid in his beard. Huh, he's a dwarf, Manny thought. His booted feet didn't quite reach the floor, but his powerful build suggested that he would be a fearsome opponent in any battle. Manny wondered if he was a Chevalier, since he didn't wear a tabard. He was saying to Etienne, "Is Captain Corvus certain, then? I can't believe even Magneric would go against the King's will in such a blatant fashion. It's a disgrace!"