by Arthur Slade
There were already merchants and other travellers lining up to go into the city. I joined a crowd, each of them speaking in the same tongue as me but with an Avenian accent. I chose not to converse with anyone. Even the patch over my eye was too memorable. If I’d had time and enough material, I’d have made a mask.
Soldiers guarded the gates. They were clad in bronze armour designed to make it look like they were really well muscled. None of them stopped me. Soon I was walking along perfectly laid cobblestone streets. The houses and other buildings were made with white sandstone bricks and had tiny gardens out front. Everything looked neat, not the same as in Myra. That city had slums. Perhaps Avenus had slums too, but I bet even the refuse was piled in a tidy manner.
The scroll had said Megan was on a street called Thespian Way. I knew thespians were the actors who entertained the people of Avenus. I’d expected to find a stage with some rooms attached. Maybe she’d even become an actress herself! Though that seemed an odd way to hide.
Instead Thespian Way was an inn. And it was the oldest, most unkempt building I’d seen so far — a grey-stoned two-storey structure that leaned to one side as if it were a little drunk. The garden outside was long dead — a collection of vines and stalks of plants that stunk like pee. My guess was that those inside the inn didn’t stumble very far when their bladders were full.
I pulled up my hood and stepped inside. It took a moment for my eye to adjust to the darkness. If my dragon eye hadn’t been behind a patch, it would have been instant. All I could see at first were shadows, and all I could smell was the stink of burnt food. And with it came that stench of belching, which made my stomach turn a little. It reminded me of how Corwin would often belch in my face as a child.
Just another reason to kill him.
There were about twenty patrons sitting around tables and benches. I’d arrived early enough that several travellers were having their breakfasts. The nearest man was using his hands to scoop food from a metal plate covered in hard-boiled eggs, burnt ham, and pickles. All I’d had in the last few days was a handful of hard crackers. I wanted to steal his food.
I marched up to the counter. The innkeeper looked like he’d spilled half the morning’s meal on his apron. He ignored me as he regaled a few of his guests with a tale about his champion fighting dog. When he was done his gruesome story, he quaffed a beer and came over.
“What can I get you for?” he asked. His beard was grey and flecked with foam.
“I’m looking for a young woman,” I said. “I believe she’s staying here.”
“My clientele are the private type,” he said. “Who might you be to her?”
“I’m— I’m her cousin,” I said. “I haven’t seen her for two years. She wrote a letter to my mom and said I could find her here.”
Maestru Alesius had taught us that mentioning a mother would often disguise a lie. Even the most bitter man likely had fond thoughts about his mother.
“And what is your cousin’s name?” the innkeeper asked.
“That’s the thing. She changed it and I’ve forgotten the new one. She has red hair and may go by Megan or Mary or Mandra.”
He nodded, and it looked like he was about to say something, then he reached for a goblet on a shelf behind him.
I noted that he also pulled a string attached to the wall. Curious.
“Do you know her?” I asked.
“Know who?” His grin revealed brownish teeth. He tapped the counter with one finger.
I retrieved two coins from my cloak and softly set them on the counter so they didn’t clink.
His smile widened. Then he looked at the ceiling. He looked at me, then at the ceiling again. Clearly he didn’t want his patrons to know he was giving up the location of one of his clients. Being a snitch was not a good characteristic in an innkeeper.
“Thank you,” I said.
I soon reached the top of the stairs. There were two doors in the hallway ahead of me, but the innkeeper had gestured directly above him. So I went down the hall to the room at the end.
I listened. There wasn’t a noise.
“Megan,” I whispered. I knocked lightly. “Megan?”
There was no response.
Then I remembered the innkeeper had pulled a string. I thought it led to a bell in the kitchen, but perhaps it went directly up to this room and sent a warning to Megan. She might be fleeing at this moment. He likely charged her extra to keep an eye out for any pursuers, and now he would pocket both of our coins.
I said the word Enderos and made a motion. The door unlocked, too loudly. But I pushed it open, not foolish enough to step right in. It revealed a small room; the covers on the cot were thrown off and the window was open. She had fled!
I dashed through the doorway, intending to run to the window and see if I could spot her.
But when I’d crossed the threshold, I knew I’d made a mistake.
Because something heavy — very heavy — smashed into my back and slammed me to the floor.
Chapter 7
Meeting a Traitor
How stupid! was my first thought. The room had been set up to lure me in, and someone had been hiding above the door. That someone had knocked every last bit of wind out of my lungs and was squishing me into the floor. I slid to the side just as a dagger was jabbed next to my face, cutting off a chunk of my hair.
My hair! I’d never been that fond of it, but I preferred to have it on my head.
I rolled away, making the next stab miss me, and jumped to my feet, daggers out. My right hand barely had the strength to hold tight.
Facing me was a woman with short dark hair and such anger on her face it distorted her eyes and nose. “You!” she said. “You. He sends you to kill me!”
I deflected the next blow, and my mind caught up with what I was seeing. It was Megan. She’d cut her hair and dyed it black. Her eyes were tinged with rabid madness. “You betrayed us.” She lunged, and I dodged, but as she brought the blade back, it cut along my ribs.
“Oww!” I said. “I didn’t betray anyone.”
“Liar!” This time she feinted to the left, then came in from the right — my blind side. I still had the patch on and didn’t have an extra moment to remove it. I only guessed at the angle and was able to guide her arm away with a punch. “All of our friends! You helped Corwin kill them, you witch.”
She took a moment to slap the hilt of her dagger against the wall. “Get up!” she shouted.
I was standing, so I didn’t know why she’d yell that. Perhaps she was going insane.
“I didn’t kill anyone!” I shouted again.
I blocked her next diving attack, but she surprised me with a kick that jarred my innards and knocked me into the middle of the room. She had always been good with her legs. I was better with blades if I had both eyes, but when I reached for my patch, she saw that as an opening and drove me backwards.
“I’m going to pay you back for their deaths,” she seethed. “I’ve made a list. Every friend dead. Every maestru. You will suffer.”
With each word she was forcing me to retreat, and it was all I could do to deflect the blows. I tried a disarming move with my right hand, but when our blades collided mine went flying. My wounded hand was just too weak to hold it.
That got a chilling smile out of her.
“For Maestru Arvid,” she said. The blade sliced my ear, leaving a small cut. “For Maxen!” This stab missed my face. He was one of the fifth years. I’d seen his body.
Megan had forced me to stumble back against the wall, and she hit it with her hilt. On purpose. Then redoubled her attacks.
My only choice was to run. And so I made a feint, which she reacted to, and I then slipped past her and charged toward the hallway. The patch over my eye made me misjudge and I slammed into the doorway, spun around, and hit the opposite wall. I was up in a heartbeat, but Megan was on me and swinging her blades, driving me back.
Two things happened. The first was the door beside me opened and
Thord stepped out. We both had the same look of shock on our faces. He swung out with his sword and blocked Megan’s blow, saving me.
“Thanks,” I said. “I can’t believe—”
Thord punched me square in the side of the head.
All went dark.
Chapter 8
A Step Behind
The light eventually returned. I opened my right eye. Two foggy but familiar faces were floating in front of me. The walls swirled behind them. They’d left my eye patch on, and when I tried to move I discovered they’d bound me tight enough to pinch the skin on my arms.
“I’m not a traitor,” I whispered.
Megan was a step behind Thord and aiming a one-handed crossbow at me. The bolt had a very glittery and sharp point. They weren’t powerful enough to go through armour, but would put a hole in flesh.
Or my forehead.
“Ha! Lies! Lies! Lies!” Megan shouted. I expected the bolt to be loosed with every word. “We discovered your list of kills in your cloak.” She shook the scroll at me with her other hand. “You’re a murderer.”
“I’m not!” My thoughts were coming together far too slowly. “I stole that from Gregum.”
“More like you work with him,” she said. “Is he soon to arrive?”
“I’m here to warn you.” I looked at Thord. His face was unreadable, though if I were to venture a guess I’d say he was angry. “And what do you believe, Thord?” I asked.
“You survived graduation night.” He spoke as though thinking about each word. “You being in league with your brother is the most likely explanation for that.”
“I’d never join him. He’s evil.”
“You had me fooled.” Megan was aiming at my head now. “All those years of being standoffish and arrogant. I thought it was just the whole I’m missing an eye thing. But you and your brother were planning to betray and kill everyone.”
“Look at that doll,” I said. They’d plucked the doll from my cloak and left it on the floor. It had red hair. “That doll was you, Megan. Gregum had dolls as trophies for all his kills.”
“More like you collected them,” Megan said. “Or you made them while you were locked away in your room planning all this.”
“I’d never collect dolls!” I shouted.
“Poking holes in dolls does seem like Gregum,” Thord said. He was holding the doll now and his big hand made it look small.
“Don’t you take her side.” Megan pointed the scroll his way but kept the bow aimed at me.
“I’m not. I don’t mean she’s not working with him.”
“Did you learn nothing of me in all the years we studied together?” I asked.
“I thought I knew you,” Thord said. “But you are a lone wolf. Plus, you aren’t the friendliest girl in the world.”
“I— I …” My thoughts were caught in molasses. I must have been friendly once in all those years.
“Why are we even discussing this?” Megan asked. “We should stab her through the heart and flee. Her helpers could be along at any moment.”
“Stabbing me would be a mistake,” I said. “I can prove that I’m on your side. I really can.” Though the moment I said it, I’d no idea what proof I could offer.
“How?” Thord asked.
“With logic. Just like Maestru Alesius taught us.”
“Oh, this I have to hear.” Megan looked tougher with her hair short. “Impress us with your logic, Cyclops.”
I ignored the fact she used that name. I breathed in and said, “First, I am here on my own. No Immortals at my side. No Gregum or Scyllia or Corwin.” I spat each of their names. “Why would I attempt to kill you without help?”
“You like to work alone,” Thord said. “So that’s not surprising.”
“Yes, but look at that list of dead assassins. Do you recognize any of them?”
“Some are familiar,” Megan said.
“They were seasoned men and women.” I wasn’t certain where I was leading them. My logic was failing me. I closed my right eye, hoping to block the pain of my headache and to clear my thoughts. With that eye closed and the patch over the other, I couldn’t see a thing. But doing that gave me an idea. “It is Corwin’s great plan to kill the rest of the assassins and win favour with the emperor. Do you honestly think he’d trust me with that work? His sister. The girl with one eye. I can’t even aim straight. He teased me mercilessly about my missing eye.” I wanted to shout and you too at Megan, but held back. “And furthermore, do you believe I could work with him? He’s the one who cut my eye out of my head.”
Thord’s face had changed — it didn’t appear so set in stone. When I looked to Megan, I was surprised. There was a hint of remorse in her eyes.
“Explain something.” She continued to point the bow at me. “How did you escape?”
“My brother gave me a paralysis tincture that night. He wanted to save me. He didn’t see me as a threat, in fact said I could retire on a pig farm. That potion was why I couldn’t answer either of you when you came to my door to warn me. I thank you for that.” I meant those words. Then I told them about my escape, including seeing Maestru Alesius and facing my brother. I skipped the part about falling down the mountainside because that would let them know my daggers were enchanted. And I certainly didn’t mention Brax. “Once I’d dodged the Immortals, I used the tunnels Alesius had shown me and escaped through an unguarded gate. Then I hid in a cave for three days and walked to Bekon, and then took a wagon to Myra to hunt Gregum.”
They both stared at me. After looking me up and down, Megan lowered the bow. Her gaze lingered on my eye patch. “I believe you,” she said. “Your brother wants everything to be perfect. And you, missing an eye, are not perfect. He wouldn’t trust you with anything.”
“You don’t have to make it sound like I’m useless,” I said. I tried to keep my tone light but failed.
“Oh, you are far from useless,” she said. “I have great respect for you, Carmen.”
I’d hate to be someone she didn’t respect, I thought. But before I could reply Thord said, “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? That you didn’t believe me?”
“No. We were right to come to that conclusion. And Megan is correct: Corwin wouldn’t trust you because of what you lack. His mistake. I don’t want to repeat it, so I’m willing to trust you.” He rubbed at his chin. “I am sorry I punched you.”
“That was a punch?” I said. “I thought a butterfly had brushed my cheek.”
That got a chuckle out of both of them.
“Besides,” I said. “We wouldn’t be having this lovely conversation now if you hadn’t punched me.”
Megan knelt down beside me and untied the ropes. Then she rubbed a healer’s sap onto my cut earlobe and ribs. Her touch was actually gentle.
Chapter 9
It’s Survival
I shook out the tingling from my limbs. The bandages on my hand flapped in the air but didn’t come off.
“How did you hurt yourself?” Thord grabbed my arm and turned it so he could stare at my palm. His hand was warm.
“Oh, that? I threw acid at Gregum and it spilled onto my hand.”
“When did all this happen again?” Megan asked.
“A day ago,” I said.
“It healed quickly,” Thord noted.
I pulled my hand away and peeled off the last of my bandage to reveal pink skin. There was no sign of a wound.
I hid my hand. “I’m a quick healer, that’s all. Or it was a bad batch of acid.”
Thord frowned and looked like he would pursue that line of questioning, but instead he asked, “Why are you here, Carmen?”
“I saw Megan’s name on the list. I wanted to warn her that my brother is after her.”
“Well, that’s not news,” Megan said somewhat haughtily. “That’s why I’m hiding out in Avenus. We got as far and fast away as possible from the emperor and your snake of a brother.” She was hooking her bow to her belt. “But thanks. I appreciate you t
ravelling all that distance to get here.”
“Of course you knew Corwin is after you,” I said. “What I wanted to warn you of was that Corwin knows exactly where you are. That’s what the scroll means. It lists this inn as your location.”
“But how did he know I was staying here?” Megan asked.
I pointed at the floor. “My guess is the innkeeper sent a message. Perhaps he’s making money from you and from informing the emperor.”
“The innkeeper was to warn us if anyone came looking,” Megan said. She pointed at a small bell in the ceiling. “That’s why I knew you were coming to my room.”
“Yes, he rang that bell,” I said. “I saw him pull the string. But he also took my bribe, so I guess he didn’t care where his money came from. And I’m sure the emperor’s underlings are paying a rather hefty fee.”
“I’ll kill him,” Megan said.
“We can’t just go killing innkeepers,” Thord reminded her. “That’ll draw attention.”
“Well, I’d settle for a good maiming.”
“Just hold your temper for now,” Thord said, as he took the scroll from Megan. She looked like she was on the verge of lashing out at him. “How did you get these papers from Gregum?”
“I walked into his family’s mansion, evaded his guards, fought with Gregum, and stole the scrolls.”
“You did that on your own?” Megan said. “With … with one eye?”
“Unlike you, I paid attention in class. I only needed one eye for that.” I was tempted to whip my patch off and reveal my dragon eye. I imagined that would make them stagger back. But it was better to keep as many secrets as possible.
“And you didn’t kill Gregum,” Thord said. Why did everyone ask me that?
“No. I intended to use the corporthium pill and wipe out all his memories. But failed.”
“You aren’t like your brother at all, are you?” Megan sounded a little disappointed. “I’m surprised the same mother birthed you two.”
