by Caitlin Seal
Jalance went pale. “If Talmir could convince the rest of the Congress that King Allence ordered kidnappings for necromantic experimentation, it would doom us. The other Powers would turn their backs on us. It would give Talmir the freedom to call for another purge.”
Naya’s thumb rubbed a slow circle over the bird on her pendant. If they could prove something like that, it would make everyone think King Allence had violated the treaty. Any chance to pass a vote lifting the restrictions on necromancy would die. It would force the leaders of Banen and Silmar to admit the Talmirans had been right in their suspicions.
Could her father push it even further than that? They might execute the king under the same laws she’d feared when Corten discovered she was a reaper. King Allence didn’t have any children, and she doubted the Congress would let Ceramor decide the path of succession on its own. If such things came to pass, it would weaken Ceramor’s position, but it wouldn’t necessarily mean war. Maybe Lucia had been wrong.
“But Hal Garth can’t prove anything,” Corten said. “If Blue—sorry, Naya—comes forward and tells them who she is, then it all falls apart.”
“My father might not know I’m still alive,” Naya said slowly. A wave of exhaustion hit her as she realized it’d been less than a day since Lucia’s arrest. It felt more like a lifetime. “Valn probably only found out a little while ago that his assassin failed. What if he hasn’t told my father yet? He might be hoping he can still finish me off before I can do anything.” Could it be that simple? All she would have to do to stop her father was come forward with the truth. Naya’s fingers wrapped tight around the necklace, making the metal bite into her hand. Tell the truth and sign over her life and Lucia’s in the process.
Jalance stood up. “I cannot say. But I for one am certainly not going to make any decisions based on these speculations.” He took a step toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Naya asked. She stood up, then had to grip the edge of her chair to keep from falling back down.
“A few key members of the Council are meeting to discuss Captain Garth’s accusations. As absurd as they sound, they aren’t something we can ignore. I intend to figure out what’s really going on here.”
“Wait, her bond—” Corten began.
“Has not worsened since she arrived here and is not likely to fade in the time it will take me to meet with the Council. I am sure I can leave her in your competent care.” There was an undertone to those words that Naya didn’t think she was meant to hear.
Corten stood for a moment, staring at Jalance. Then he nodded and, with maddening calmness, sat back down. “Of course.”
“Are you going to tell them about me?” Naya asked. Jalance was already halfway to the door.
“I don’t know yet,” Jalance answered, surprising her. “That will depend, I think, on what I learn from the others. Regardless, we will discuss this further when I return.”
After Jalance left, Naya heard the soft click of a key turning in the lock. She cursed and jumped to her feet. When she tried the knob, the door wouldn’t budge. She squinted, examining the keyhole, then felt in her pocket for the set of picks Celia had given her.
“What are you doing?” Corten asked.
“He locked us in.”
“So?”
“So why would he do that if he intends to help us?”
Corten’s eyebrows rose. “You just admitted to helping kidnap Delence, and you’re surprised someone locked you up? What did you think would happen? Jalance isn’t going to act on your word alone, or even mine for that matter.”
Naya glared at Corten. What was wrong with him? How could he be so calm?
“If you could unlock that door, where would you even try to go?” Corten asked.
Naya opened her mouth, then shut it again. She didn’t have any idea where she intended to go, only that the thought of being locked up was unbearable. The room spun a little, and she had to grab the door frame to keep from stumbling. “I have to do something.”
“I think you’ve done enough,” Corten muttered.
Silence fell between them. Naya pressed her forehead against the door. Her eyes burned with the memory of tears. “I know. I’m sorry I got you stuck in all this.”
“It isn’t your fault,” Corten said. But he didn’t sound like he meant it. “Lucia’s the one who sent you to me. And I’m the fool who fell for everything you told me.”
Naya turned. “You’re not a fool. Please, Corten. You were the one who…” The ache in her throat swallowed the words before she could say them.
Corten’s shoulders drooped. He turned away from her and snatched a book off the desk. “Can we please not talk about this?”
Naya stared at his back. If he felt her watching, he ignored it. Eventually her dizziness got the better of her and she slumped down in one of the chairs.
Time seemed to thicken in the little room as they waited for Jalance to return. Waiting, with nothing to do and only the pain of her bond to distract her, was torment. But when Naya finally heard Jalance’s key turning in the lock, she found herself dreading the answers he might bring almost as much as she’d hated the delay. Jalance glanced at her, then at Corten, as he walked into the room. His suit was as neat as it had been when he left, his hair still brushed back with the same immaculate precision. Yet something in the way his eyes fell on her, and the hesitant motions of his hands as he shut the door, gave the impression of a man badly rumpled by his experiences.
“What happened?” Corten asked. He abandoned the book and sprang to his feet.
“It would seem you were telling the truth, or at least one version of it,” Jalance said. “No one has heard from Lucia since her last resurrection, and several of her neighbors saw the city guard break into the shop. There’s been no official announcement of her arrest, though, and I didn’t want to make myself too conspicuous by asking around the guard. We have allies there, but it will take time to contact them discreetly.”
He pressed his knuckles into the small of his back and winced. “I did, however, manage to talk to a couple of other members of the Council who were close to Lucia. Alejandra’s in a fury. I think she was half-ready to march on the palace herself and demand Lucia’s release. She confirmed some of your claims. She’s apparently been helping Lucia investigate the recent disappearances, and she’s convinced the Talmiran Embassy means to frame Lucia for your disappearance, and possibly for the others who’ve gone missing as well.”
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Corten said. “Naya’s been living with Lucia for weeks. Everyone in the neighborhood knows she’s Talmiran. She hasn’t exactly been acting like she was kidnapped. Anyone with half a brain will be able to see they’re lying.”
“Valn has documents to support my fake identity,” Naya said. “He could deny anything I say and claim the real Naya died in Lucia’s experiments.” No one here had known her before her death. Why would anyone believe her over Valn and her father? “Besides,” she added, “if they find out about my bond, they probably won’t care who I am.”
“What do you mean?” Jalance asked.
Naya gripped the edge of the desk. So far she’d kept quiet about the illegal runes. The secret felt even more dangerous than her work with Valn. But if Jalance was to help fix her fractured bone, he’d need to know the truth. “Lucia resurrected me using the old war runes. She claimed Valn gave them to her, but I’m still not sure if that’s true.”
Jalance’s eyebrows rose. He looked to Corten, who nodded. “That,” the necromancer said slowly, “was a rather critical detail to omit.”
“I wasn’t sure you’d help us if we told you right away,” Naya said.
Jalance’s expression grew thoughtful. “I thought all the copies were destroyed in the purge. If Talmir kept them…Corten, are you sure we’re dealing with the war runes?”
Corten nodded. “Either tha
t or Lucia figured out how to make a copy. The things Naya is capable of fit all the stories I’ve heard.”
Jalance rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Lucia, you fool,” he muttered under his breath. “Who else knows about this?”
“I don’t know,” Naya said. “Valn and his people never mentioned it to me. If he knew, I would have thought he’d try to use the extra power.” A new realization dawned on her, and cold settled in the pit of her stomach. “When the guards came for me and Lucia, I burned one of them. I’m not sure if anyone else saw, but they might have figured out what it means.”
“Then we should assume Valn knows. Are there records?” Jalance asked.
Corten shook his head. “I think I found all the diagrams when I took Naya’s bones.”
“Good, well at least we have that. I can’t imagine she would have been foolish enough to keep more copies,” Jalance said, but his distant tone and the sour-worry taste of his aether didn’t match the words. “Let me see your bond, girl.”
From his case he extracted a slender metal rod with a rune-covered handle, similar to the one Lucia had used to examine Naya’s bones. Lucia had said once it was called a reader. When it touched the back of Naya’s hand, the aether around her bones thinned. The bones looked almost as they had before, the smooth curves shining blue from the glowing runes. Now that Naya knew more about rune bindings, she could appreciate the complexity of what Lucia had created. Every inch of the bones was carved in flowing runes, their shapes overlapping in patterns that seemed to shift the longer she stared at them. She could also tell there was something very wrong. The runes flicked, fading in one spot only to flash too brightly somewhere else. And along the bone in her thumb, she could just make out a faint line. The crack was so fine she might not have noticed it had the runes around it not been far darker than their fellows.
Jalance stared at the runes for an uncomfortably long time, then leaned back. “It’s true,” he muttered. “This changes things. Your bond is proof of Lucia’s treason.”
“If the ambassador forced her to use those runes, then it’s the Talmirans who broke the treaty, not her,” Corten said.
“Perhaps.” Jalance was staring at Naya’s hand, but now there was a hungry gleam in his eyes, and a thread of eagerness leaking out into the aether. “The war runes were the pinnacle of our field. To see them restored…” He shook his head as though to clear it.
“Those runes were banned for a reason,” Corten said.
“Of course,” Jalance said, though there was still something hungry in the way he looked at Naya. He turned to Corten. “You say you recovered her notes, and the spare bones?”
“Yes,” Corten said.
“Good. I’ll need to see them if I’m going to work on the bond. I never had the opportunity to work with any reapers before the ban, but I imagine it won’t be too hard to sort out Lucia’s diagrams.”
“What about my father?” Naya asked.
Jalance tapped the reader against the edge of his desk. “I’m not sure yet. You’ve given us an advantage by coming here. If we can find a way to expose his lies, then perhaps we can unravel this mess before it gains further momentum.” He slipped the reader back into its case. “Regardless, we’ll need more information before we can act. I’ll request a general meeting of the Council. With all of us together, we should have enough eyes and ears to sort this out. In the meantime I think it’s best you two stay here.”
“What—why?” Corten asked.
Jalance smiled apologetically. “Ambassador Valn’s agents will no doubt be searching for anyone who might be harboring our young friend here. It shouldn’t take them long to learn of your connection, if they haven’t already.”
“Won’t it draw attention if I suddenly vanish?” Corten asked.
“We can use that to our advantage. You’re Matius’s apprentice, correct? I’ll get someone to send word to him. He can spread the news that you left in the company of a young woman. With any luck Valn will think the two of you have fled together.”
“And what if Valn doesn’t believe it?” Naya asked.
“Matius and I aren’t part of your Council,” Corten said. “You don’t have the right to use him like that.”
Jalance’s expression hardened. “Miss Garth obviously seems to be involved in the ambassador’s plans. From what you’ve told me, those plans put all of us—necromancers and undead—at risk. If that risk is as great as Lucia guessed, then we all need to do our part. That means Matius will say whatever the Council tells him, and you two will stay here until we decide what to do next.”
Corten continued to scowl but didn’t argue further. Jalance gave him a thin smile as though that settled the matter. He turned to Naya. “Follow me. I have a place where you can rest safely until we know how best to fix this mess.”
Naya was surprised when Jalance led them out to a small back garden. The garden was overgrown with late-summer flowers. A tall hedge surrounded it, and a heavy gate was set in one corner. Two big trees stood at opposite ends of the hedge, their leafy boughs casting dappled shade and obscuring the view of the nearby houses.
“You want us to hide in your garden?” Corten asked.
Jalance offered him a conspiratorial smile and motioned to a cluster of paving stones near the base of one of the trees. He knelt, pressing his palms against two of the smaller stones and rotating them an inch to the right. Something below clicked, and a large flat stone popped free of its mortar a few paces in front of them. Jalance lifted the stone, and it swung up like a trapdoor, revealing a set of hidden stairs.
“If you’ll come this way.” Jalance started down the stairs. Naya exchanged a wide-eyed look with Corten, then followed. The stairs were steep, descending about fifteen feet before stopping at a heavy wooden door. Jalance unlocked it with a small silver key he extracted from a chain around his neck. “I haven’t had any trouble with the guard yet. But if they do come looking, they won’t find you here.”
The room beyond the door wasn’t large, perhaps ten feet deep and a little more across. The walls were almost entirely lined with bookshelves. A single chair and desk like the ones in Jalance’s office had been wedged into the corner, and a thin bedroll lay on the ground beside them. Jalance crossed the room, activating aether lamps set between the shelves.
“What is this place?” Naya asked.
“My vault. I own several rare books that others find controversial. I keep them here where I can enjoy them without sparking any uncomfortable questions.”
“What kind of books?” Naya asked, remembering the hunger in Jalance’s eyes when he’d examined her bones.
“History, poetry, a few theoretical texts on necromancy. After the first purge many Ceramorans were bitter about how the war ended. The treaty stripped our army, limited trade, and gave Talmir a dozen tools for tampering with our affairs. Delence convinced young King Allence and several other powerful members of the court that it would be best to quietly censor the loudest dissent so as not to give Talmir an excuse to push for even tighter restrictions.”
“And you think he was wrong?” Naya asked.
“I do. Every concession we make willingly only weakens us. Delence was naive to think he could convince the Congress of Powers to treat us as equals. What your ambassador did is proof of that. Maybe if Delence and the king hadn’t been so eager to roll over, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Naya’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure that’s true.” Valn had said the other Powers believed Ceramor’s show of good faith and that they would soon give in and lift the restrictions. Had that been another lie? If so, then why had they kidnapped Delence?
“How long do you intend to keep us down here?” Corten asked, snapping Naya out of her thoughts.
“Hopefully not long,” Jalance said as he headed for the door. “It will take a day or two for me to sort through Lucia’s notes. I’ll update you o
n anything I learn from the rest of the Council regarding Valn.”
The door’s hinges squeaked as it closed behind him. The sound made Naya think of a prison cell creaking shut. She glanced at Corten and saw her own uncertainty mirrored in his eyes.
Naya hugged her shoulders, staring at the closed door. Had they done the right thing coming here? Corten seemed to trust Jalance, but she couldn’t make herself feel the same. She turned and saw Corten leaning against the bookshelf opposite her. He stared back warily.
“What is it?” Naya asked, if only to break the silence.
“Nothing.” Corten glanced at the door, then back at her.
Naya let her arms fall to her sides. “Then stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
Like I’m a monster. “Like I’m going to run. I’m not.”
Corten pushed away from the bookshelf and took a step toward her. “You seemed ready to earlier. And you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t exactly trust everything you say. Everything you told me before today was apparently a lie. Maybe you’re still lying. Or maybe you’re just having second thoughts.”
“I’m not!”
Corten looked away. Naya didn’t need to feel his aether to see the bitter anger and hurt written in his expression. Hurt she’d caused. Still, it was a struggle to keep her own anger down. “You don’t know what it was like to wake up in that room and realize I was dead. Valn gave me a chance to help the people I cared about. I thought that if I protected the treaty, I’d be helping keep the peace. I swear I didn’t know Valn was involved in anything else.”
“That doesn’t excuse what you were doing. You used me and Matius and Lucia. You put us all in danger just so you could keep protecting your stupid treaty. Did it ever occur to you how many people here have been hurt by Talmir? Didn’t you ever wonder if maybe there was a better way of doing things? All those times you came by the shop and I thought…” He gritted his teeth. “I should have trusted Lucia. It never made sense that she’d take on an indentured servant like that.” He paused, one lip curling in a grimace. “You must have thought it was hilarious, twisting all of us around like that.”
