“It’s one of our secrets in this building,” Laeren explained, his soft voice echoing off the walls. He shone his torch into a corner and Andie saw a spiral metal staircase leading up into the gloom. “The stairs are a bit steep but you should be able to manage them easily, even in the dark.” He led her to the stairs, switched off his torch and started to climb. Andie followed carefully. There was a bit of light filtering down from somewhere, but it was only enough to allow her to see a dim outline of the railing she was clinging to.
In the dark, the climb seemed interminable. In reality, it probably only took a few minutes. When at last they reached the top, Laeren switched on his torch again and swept around. They were standing on a metal grate with a door in front of them. The sides had railings about five feet tall, but beyond them there was nothing but darkness, deepening into the stories below. Andie shuddered. This was not a place to go astray in the dark.
“This door has to be unlocked with a key,” Laeren explained, reaching up to the door frame. “We’ve kept it up here but I didn’t think that would work for you.” Andie followed the torch beam. The top of the door was at least eight feet high.
“Not unless there’s a ladder around here,” she responded ruefully. Laeren laughed softly as he slid his fingers along the top edge of the door frame.
“It’s still there should anyone need it,” Laeren explained, “but I got you your own key.” He brought something out of his pocket and pressed it into her palm. The cold metal glinted in the torchlight.
“Go on,” he encouraged. “Open the door.”
Her brow furrowed, Andie took the large brass key and fumbled around with it, finally sliding it into the lock and turning it with a soft snick. She had to force the door open; it had swollen against the jamb and the hinges were stiff with disuse. But with a final heave it jolted open and Andie stumbled through.
Right into the crisp night air.
They were standing on the roof. Andie drew in deep draughts of the cold fresh air. Without warning her eyes filled with tears as she turned slowly in a circle, taking in the smattering of city lights that surrounded them. They were on the highest building in the area. Gazing out over the buildings she could even catch a glimpse of water glimmering in the distance. A slight breeze ruffled her hair.
“Oh!” she choked. Laeren came up beside her.
“I knew you must long to get outside,” he explained softly. “It was the only gift I could think to give you. You can come up every night if you like.”
Impulsively, Andie threw her arms around Laeren. “It’s the best gift anyone’s ever given me!” she exclaimed. “Thank you so much!” Laeren’s eyes glimmered in the moonlight but she couldn’t read his expression. He just stood silently, staring down at her. Suddenly Andie was embarrassed at her sudden exuberance. She dropped her arms and stepped back, heat flooding her cheeks. Probably she had just violated some taboo she didn’t know about. Or maybe he was just taken by surprise? Why had she done it anyway?
To cover her embarrassment she turned and started to explore the area of the roof she had access to. It wasn’t very large. To the right she could see the edge of the roof. To her left a brick wall loomed straight up, at least ten more feet. It looked like the majority of the roof wasn’t accessible from this corner. Altogether she had a section ten feet wide that stretched the length of the building. It wasn’t much, but still she felt like she had been given unparalleled freedom. She wandered back to the edge, which was rimmed by a low parapet. Glancing over, she could see a narrow, cluttered alleyway, sharp with shadows thrown by the moonlight.
“Come, sit with me,” Laeren invited. She turned to see that he had settled himself facing out over the city with his back against the wall. She joined him, still a bit self-conscious. But he immediately took her hand again and she relaxed. Obviously she hadn’t offended him.
“You can see the River Vanye from here,” Laeren observed, pointing at the distant shimmer. “Croask is a great port city. Over by the docks it is busy night and day. Fortunately, over on this side of town it is more peaceful.” Andie sighed happily. Looking up at the sky, she could almost pretend she was back in Omphalos. But if she had never come to Corizen she would never have met Laeren. And her life without Laeren would be poorer indeed.
“Docked over there somewhere are some of the ships that once belonged to my family’s company. Even a warehouse where we used to store goods,” Laeren commented, his voice suddenly somber.
Andie caught the past tense of the statement.
“Used to?” she asked. “What happened?” Laeren exhaled heavily.
“The King has confiscated them,” he explained morosely. “He took everything we had. Oh, we still managed to keep a ship, along with a few other things we had hidden away. But my grandfather’s pride and joy and my father’s lifetime of work . . . all gone.”
“What?” Andie exclaimed. “Why?” She knew the King was supposedly unjust and horrible but why would he seize a trading company?
“All my life I have believed in reforming our government. My parents taught me from my earliest days how unjust the caste system is, and I’ve had plenty of opportunities to see that verified over the years.” He stroked her hand absently as he stared out over the city. “Of course I’ve been involved in the Resistance from the very beginning. After my father died and I became responsible for the company, Morek-Li asked me to use my contacts with other traders to accomplish specific goals, as well as to recruit anyone I could. I’ve spent the last two years very busy with both tasks, and I had organized quite a strong network for Morek-Li in Roma. Eventually, I even recruited a smuggler who was essential to any off-planet communication we needed. His name was Othar Eshude.”
“In a way, Othar and I had a good relationship,” he continued. “He was not exactly a friend but we spent quite a bit of time together. He seemed extremely devoted to the Resistance. I think he was mostly interested in getting the King out of his smuggling affairs, but still he was a faithful ally.”
“But then I started to notice some—disturbing—things about Othar.” He grimaced.
“Disturbing?” prodded Andie. Laeren turned to face her and shook his head.
“The kind of things you don’t want to hear about, trust me.”
“I’m a big, tough girl, Laeren. I can handle it,” Andie insisted. Did he think she was just a child who needed to be protected? After everything she had been through?
“Let’s just say Othar had a fascination with torture,” Laeren admitted shortly. Andie blanched. Like Oanni? Her mind went unwillingly back to that nightmarish night on Jaory’s estate. Laeren must have noticed her expression; he gently pressed her hand. “I recommended to Morek-Li that we find another smuggling contact and terminate our connection to Othar,” he continued. “Morek-Li took my word for it.” Laeren’s eyes were hard. Obviously he did not regret his decision. Then he sighed heavily.
“Well anyway, Othar was so humiliated and enraged by this that he swore a blood feud against me.” He stopped and studied Andie thoughtfully for a moment.
“I’ve never heard of a blood feud before,” she replied a bit hesitantly.
“It’s a highly formal kind of revenge, publicly declared. Anyway, as part of that revenge, Othar exposed my alliance with the Resistance, endangering my mother as well. The King outlawed the Resistance years ago, of course. To belong to it is high treason against the King. If the Royal Guard caught me I would probably be executed. As it was, the King confiscated everything he could get his hands on. His troops even raided our home in Roma.” Andie’s jaw dropped in horror. Poor Randa. She never said she had lost her home. “Morek-Li sent us both back here, my mother for good. I was going to stay just until the excitement died down.” Andie’s hopes rose at those words. She really didn’t want to see Laeren go. Most likely it would take awhile before it was safe for him to venture back to the capital city.
> Laeren continued with his narrative. “At the time, I was anxious to get back to Roma as quickly as possible since I had a lot of critical projects going on.” He took a deep breath.
“But then something happened to change my mind.” The change in his tone surprised Andie and she glanced at him quickly. He was staring out over the city again. She waited impatiently but he didn’t say what had changed his mind.
“Andie, I’m leaving for Roma tomorrow,” Laeren stated abruptly.
“What?” exclaimed Andie. “You are going back already?” Her voice cracked and tears actually filled her eyes, blurring her vision. How was she going to stand it here without her visit with Laeren to look forward to every night?
“Morek-Li sent word. He needs my help. I’ll have to stay well-hidden but I should be all right.”
“So why don’t you want to go back?” asked Andie, a tremor in her voice. If he was worried she would worry even more. And the thought of him leaving at all was unbearable.
“Well, my second day here I happened to catch a glimpse of the most beautiful woman I had ever seen,” Laeren explained softly. “I happened to see her several more times through the next week, although we were never introduced. Not until she walked in on me one night in the lounge.” Andie caught her breath. He was talking about her? Was she hearing him right? Her eyes shot to his face but he continued to talk with his eyes on the city skyline.
“I knew who she was of course, and to my great pleasure she was everything that I had heard—intelligent, passionate, and fun to be around. The next night I had my own room finally, but I still went to the lounge, hoping that she would wander in again, but she did not.” All through his story, Andie’s heart was pounding. Was it really possible that Laeren was interested in her?
He stopped and finally looked at her. “Do you want me to continue? I will stop if this is not what you want to hear.”
She could do nothing but simply sit in silence. Her face seemed to be frozen in stunned disbelief.
“Andie, what I am feeling is stronger than simple friendship. More than anything I would love to stay here and enjoy being near you. However, I can’t sacrifice my duty to the Resistance,” he told her passionately. “But the thought of leaving you is agonizing.”
The happiness bubbling up through Andie’s veins warmed her skin, warding off the chill of the night air. Laeren cared about her! What a wonderful feeling it was—and she knew that she returned his feelings. It was both joy and anguish at the same time.
“Laeren, I don’t know what to say,” Andie finally managed. “On one side I’m so happy to know that you feel the same way about me as I feel about you. On the other hand, to think of you leaving tomorrow . . . how can I bear it?”
“I know just what you mean,” he said softly. “But I promise I will come back to visit as often as I can.”
Andie impulsively kissed his cheek. “I’ll miss you every minute you’re away,” she said. He pressed her hand, and they looked out over the city.
13. The Raid
Months passed without any word from Laeren. Andie wondered about him every day and occasionally fretted over his safety. No news was reassuring in that sense; if anything did happen, Randa was sure to hear about it. However, there were plenty of other things to worry about in the meantime. What if Laeren had forgotten about her? The thought made her jealous of any possible women who got to see Laeren all the time, until she was forced to rebuke herself for disliking her imaginary rivals for Laeren’s affection. That was going too far and she had to laugh at herself. After all, they hadn’t known each other very long. If Laeren had moved on it wouldn’t exactly be the end of the world. Still, she missed him so much it hurt. Though she fought against it, she began face each day with ebbing spirits.
Every night she returned to the rooftop, making good use of Laeren’s parting gift. Sometimes Jerrapo would join her. They would sit on the roof for several hours until Andie tired of it. Jerrapo remained her only close friend (beside Randa) in the Resistance. Andie was simply too foreign and intimidating for many of the peasants, and her fear of betraying herself through rumors to Jaory made her stiff and awkward with the others she met.
More than anything, Andie desperately held onto the hope that Laeren would return. After all, he had said that he would come and visit. Surely it must be possible for him to get away from Roma once in awhile. Wouldn’t he want to visit his mother, at the very least?
One day Randa approached Andie after her class to explain that she was leaving on another teaching mission. “There has been enough time for recognition of me to die down,” Randa told her gently. “I will join another household under a new disguise. I could be gone for close to a year or so. It depends on how well it goes.”
“But Randa,” Andie gasped in horror. “Jaory has probably warned everyone about you.”
“Oh, I can handle that,” she crooned in the singsong accent of a Pakara peasant. “Not hard to fool people.”
“Not hard for you maybe,” Andie muttered. Just because Randa was one of the best actresses Andie had ever seen.
Randa turned her neck. “See, I’ve got my fake tattoo back and everything,” she said lightly. Andie frowned at the elaborate S shape.
“A year?” she asked sadly, resigned.
“Oh, you worry too much, Andie dear,” Randa continued in her normal voice. “It will fly by. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“I can’t help worrying, Randa. Anyway, it will be lonely without you,” Andie reminded, her tone remorseful. Randa studied Andie seriously for a moment.
“You’ve hardly spoken to me lately, Andie,” she remarked, her tone still gentle to take the sting out of the words. Andie knew it was true. Her own fear of confessing her fixation on Laeren had made it hard for her to feel easy in Randa’s company.
“Before I go, I wish you’d tell me what it is that is bothering you. I haven’t said anything because I didn’t want to press you, but I would hate to leave on less than friendly terms. Have I offended you somehow?” Randa asked gravely.
“Oh no, of course not!” Andie hastily reassured, horrified. “No, you’ve always been an angel to me.”
“Then what is the matter? You have been so listless and sad, and you hardly sit still in my presence.” Randa frowned. Andie wavered for a moment, unsure of what to say. She could hardly tell Randa that she was in a relationship with Laeren because that would be a wild exaggeration. Telling Randa that she was obsessing constantly over her son didn’t seem quite right either. Randa was watching her closely, obviously unwilling to let the subject drop without an answer. So Andie exhaled and took the plunge.
“It’s Laeren,” Andie admitted.
Randa’s mouth dropped open in shock. Andie had never seen her quite so transparently surprised.
“Laeren?” she repeated blankly. “I thought you two had become such good friends. Whatever did he do?”
“Nothing, nothing wrong,” Andie hurried to explain. “It’s just that . . . when he was here . . . we were spending so much time together . . . and I guess we really did become so close that . . .” Andie trailed off.
Suddenly, Randa’s concerned eyes cleared and she chuckled aloud. “I can’t believe I did not see it before!” she exclaimed. She laughed again. “My dear girl, are you trying to tell me that you fell in love with my son?” Andie nodded sheepishly.
“Well, that explains a lot,” Randa smiled. “Here I was worried that I had committed some truly heinous offense against you, maybe violated some cultural taboo I did not know about. Now I understand my son’s puzzling behavior better as well.” She strode forward and pulled Andie into a tight hug.
“I don’t know how things stand between you and Laeren but my dear girl, all I want is to see you happy,” she whispered into her ear. “Laeren will be back soon enough, and if it works out, you will both have my blessing.”
“But until then, what am I going to do?” Andie pleaded. “Are you sure you have to leave?”
“Jerrapo will keep you company. How is your class coming?” asked Randa in a normal voice as one of their fellow Resistance members walked into the room and plunked a box down on the table.
Andie perked up a little. “I think I’m finally figuring out teaching. At least they’re finally beginning to understand. Most of my class has some understanding of Basic, although they aren’t too good at speaking it. My example is terrible since I’ve been speaking Denicorizen so long.”
“What about the cultural part?”
“Well . . .” Andie hesitated.
“Well, what?”
“They don’t believe most of what I’m telling them. They seem to think I’m telling them stories or fables or something. I don’t know what to do,” she confessed. In her mind she could even see the looks of utter disbelief she often got from her class.
“Keep teaching it to them. They will still have the background when the Union gets in.”
“Is the Union going to get in soon?” Andie questioned, thinking of her family.
“Not for a while. We have made contact with the woman you named through the smugglers, but it was very difficult, and all we have been so far able to do is express our support, or rather our strong desire that they talk to the King.”
“Will they do it?”
“Oh, they already have. The King believes that it is nonsense to let the Union in. But if we have a few more years of starving people, he will let them in just to appease his subjects. We just need the Union to keep reminding him that official trade is possible.” She rubbed her nose thoughtfully. “The smugglers will also help us, I think.”
“The smugglers?” Andie shuddered and thought of the pirates who had kidnapped her. “Are they our allies now?”
“If the King opens trade, the smuggling traffic will largely be over. The King wants Citizen trappings just like the rest of the upper castes, but he does not like being subject to the smugglers in any way. They might just push him into opening the trade,” she explained, leaning against the wall, her eyes above Andie’s head.
The Legend of Sirra Bruche (Roran Curse Book 1) Page 18
