Goldenfire

by A. F. E. Smith

  She shrugged. ‘They searched me before they let me in, so you needn’t think I’m here to break you out or anything.’

  In response, the shadow of a smile touched his eyes. ‘Wouldn’t dream of it. You’re far too law-abiding.’

  ‘That makes one of us,’ she retorted.

  Zander got to his feet and came towards her, stopping within arm’s reach to look at her appealingly. ‘It’s all a lie, Ree. I swear to you –’

  She shook her head. ‘I don’t believe you. Because it makes perfect sense.’

  ‘That I’m an assassin?’ The hurt note in his voice sounded genuine, but it was hard to tell. It had always been hard to tell.

  ‘No,’ she said slowly. ‘Not that. If anything you’ve ever said to me was sincere, it was all that stuff about not putting principles above people. But the secret identity … I can believe that.’

  ‘Really?’ For some reason, Zander’s smile was back. ‘And I thought I was being so careful.’

  She shook her head. ‘You never talk about your home town. The rest of us talk about our families all the time. And for someone who’s meant to be Mirrorvalese, you refer to gods an awful lot.’

  ‘Clever,’ he murmured. ‘I always knew you were clever.’

  She tapped impatient fingers against the bars. ‘So? Who are you really?’

  ‘Alezzandro Lepont.’ He gave her a bow with a little flourish in it, incongruous in the dingy cell. ‘My father is a councillor in the Kardise government.’

  For a moment she didn’t react. Then she reached through the bars and hit him as hard as she could.

  ‘Ow!’ He rubbed his upper arm and looked wounded. ‘What –’

  ‘That’s for lying to me,’ Ree said. ‘And I’m still not sure I’ve got the whole truth. Those papers that were in your box – Weaponmaster Bryan said they showed you weren’t who you said you were, and confirmed your plan to assassinate Lady Ayla. And with the pistol as well –’

  ‘Partly true,’ Zander interrupted. ‘I pretended to be Mirrorvalese because I knew I wouldn’t be allowed to train otherwise, and I used a different name because I didn’t want my father to find out where I was. That’s all. The rest of it – the pistol, and the letters …’ He gestured helplessly. ‘I don’t know where they came from. But I assume that if you find out, you’ll find the real assassin in the process.’

  ‘What about the ring? The one showing you were sanctioned by the Kardise government?’

  For the first time, he looked embarrassed. ‘I stole it from my father. I had to have something to convince them to let me out of the country. The children of councillors aren’t usually allowed to go anywhere unattended.’ A sardonic expression touched his face. ‘Too much of an assassination risk.’

  Ree regarded him without speaking. She wanted to believe him. She almost thought she did. But she wasn’t sure how much of that was genuine instinct that he was telling the truth, and how much was her own desire not to have been so thoroughly fooled.

  As the silence stretched out, Zander began to smile again, though this time it had a plaintive twist to it.

  ‘Honestly, Ree,’ he said. ‘Do you really think they’d send a councillor’s son to assassinate the overlord of Darkhaven? Assassins are trained not to leave a trail, so that if they’re captured there’s nothing to tie them back to their masters.’

  She thought about that. ‘But if you’d never been caught, it wouldn’t have mattered who you were. So maybe they sent you for the very reason that if you did get caught, you’d be able to throw doubt on the situation by asking that question.’ She raised her eyebrows at him. ‘I could also add that you seem to know an awful lot about what assassins do.’

  The plaintive smile became a fully-fledged grin. ‘Fair point. I don’t see that it’s worth arguing about further. You’ll soon find out I’m telling the truth when the real assassin goes after Lady Ayla. But, Ree –’ and here he was solemn – ‘be careful, all right? I wouldn’t like to think of you getting caught in the middle of it all.’

  Ugh. How many times? Ree punched him again. ‘I can take care of myself.’

  ‘I know you can,’ Zander said. ‘But the real assassin must still have a pistol of his own, don’t forget. Even you can’t fight a bullet.’

  His hand reached through the bars, and she took it. The tension in the fingers clinging to hers told her that he was far more worried than he’d let on. If he was telling the truth, both their lives were in danger. Ayla’s too. Everyone’s.

  If he was telling the truth.

  ‘Why’d you have to make my life so difficult, Zander?’ she muttered – and barely realised she’d spoken aloud until he replied.

  ‘I’ve never lied to you about anything important, Ree. I swear.’

  Except your name, and where you come from, and who your father is … But even as she thought it, she dismissed it. Because it was entirely likely that those things weren’t important to Zander.

  ‘I have to go,’ she muttered, unable to stand the confusion any longer, and turned away. He held onto her hand an instant longer before releasing it.

  ‘Will you come back sometime?’ He was trying to be cheerful, but she heard the note of misery beneath it. ‘In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s kind of boring in here.’

  ‘I’ll try. It’s the Helm aptitude testing in a few days’ time, and –’ But she stopped, because she was only flaunting his lack of freedom in his face. Yet she didn’t know what to think, or whether she should come back, or …

  ‘I’ll try,’ she said again, and fled.

  As she headed for the way out, someone touched her shoulder. The conversation with Zander had set her on edge; she spun, drawing a knife. But the man was already backing away, hands raised.

  It was Captain Caraway.

  ‘Can I speak to you for a moment?’ he asked.

  Unable to force words out through the pounding of her heart, Ree nodded.

  ‘Er … maybe better in private?’

  She nodded again.

  They walked in silence to Weaponmaster Bryan’s small office, and all the while her heart kept racing – despite the lack of threat. She hadn’t spoken to the captain properly since the night she and Penn had overheard his conversation with Bryan in that very same office. She’d been worried she wouldn’t know how to act around him – that somehow, despite her best intentions, her opinion of him would have changed for the worse. Yet now she was face to face with him, it turned out that if anything, she admired him more than ever. Even she found that a little bit ridiculous, but it was true all the same.

  When they finally reached the office, Caraway turned to face her.

  ‘I need to apologise to you, Ree,’ he said. ‘I came to the cells to question Zander, but you were already doing a perfectly good job of it when I got there, so …’

  ‘You listened to our conversation?’

  ‘Yes.’ He gave her a shamefaced smile. ‘Sorry.’

  I probably should be angry about that. He doesn’t have any right –

  But even as she was thinking that, the rest of her said bashfully, ‘It’s fine.’

  ‘The thing is,’ Caraway said, ‘this is why I asked Art – er, Weaponmaster Bryan to tell you all the details of our evidence against Zander. Just in case …’ His voice tailed off.

  ‘In case what?’ Ree prompted him, and his gaze refocused on her as though he’d momentarily forgotten her existence.

  ‘In case it brought any worms out of the woodwork.’

  ‘You’re not sure he’s the assassin either,’ she said in sudden understanding, and Caraway shrugged.

  ‘I don’t know yet. But you’ve spent a lot of time with him. Did you believe what he said just now?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’ She closed her eyes, letting her memory of the conversation flow back to the forefront of her mind, and found the answer waiting for her. ‘Yes. I think I did.’

  ‘Mmm.’ He frowned at her – no, not at her. Through her. As though he were trying to
make a decision. Then his face cleared, and with a wry twist to his lips he reached into the bag on his shoulder.

  ‘This is probably misuse of evidence or something, but … read these.’ He passed her a handful of letters. ‘It’s possible he still intended to send them, once he found a safe way to get them out of the city.’

  She scanned through them quickly, then looked up. ‘These are what proved Zander’s intention to assassinate Lady Ayla?’

  Caraway nodded, watching her face intently.

  ‘But that doesn’t make any sense!’ she said. ‘Writing this stuff and keeping hold of it when you were going to murder someone would be … well, it’s just idiotic. Zander isn’t stupid, Captain Caraway.’

  He sighed. ‘That’s what I thought. But Ayla …’

  He didn’t finish the sentence, but his expression was troubled. Ree bit her lip and looked at the papers again.

  ‘You know, Captain Caraway, whoever wrote these letters revealed more and more details as he went along,’ she said. ‘To start with it’s all vague: the threat, its source, my goal. Doesn’t tell you much. If you’d found just that one, you wouldn’t have thought anything of it. But by the end, he’s writing shoot Ayla Nightshade between the eyes. Um. Sorry.’

  ‘Yes,’ Caraway said. ‘What’s your point?’

  ‘Only that it’s consistent with the idea of a plant. The real assassin writes the letters over the weeks, never planning to send them, but including authentic details so they’ll seem realistic. But he only includes the really incriminating statements on the day he plants the letters in Zander’s room. That way, he can never be caught with anything too bad himself.’

  ‘Except the pistol,’ Caraway said. ‘That’s pretty undeniable.’

  ‘Yes …’ Ree thought about that, then added slowly, ‘Though if Zander is innocent, the real assassin must have another pistol. He wouldn’t have used his only weapon as a plant. Which means he must have somewhere to hide them where he knows they won’t be found.’

  Caraway sighed. ‘This is the problem, isn’t it? We have Zander. We have the evidence. So on the face of it, Ayla is right. Certainly, as soon as she learns who Zander really is, she’ll consider the case closed. Because to believe we don’t have the right man, we have to assume the existence of a second pistol, an unassailable hiding place, an assassin who knew exactly when I’d arrest Zander in order to plant the papers on him at just the right time … it’s a lot to put our faith in, based solely on a feeling and an accused man’s protestations.’

  Dazed by his repeated use of the word we, Ree didn’t reply straight away. But he was looking at her as though he hoped she could enlighten him – and suddenly, she knew just what to say.

  ‘If the stories are true, sir, it’s no greater a leap of faith than the one you made three years ago. You accepted Lady Ayla’s innocence despite all evidence to the contrary, because you didn’t believe she could be a murderer. So now –’

  ‘You think I should extend the same belief to Zander? But I knew Ayla, Ree. I don’t know Zander, not really.’

  She shook her head. ‘All I’m saying is that you should trust your instincts.’

  He studied her face a moment longer, then smiled. It was a singularly sweet smile, and it set her heart pounding again. She dropped her gaze, trying and failing to prevent a blush. He must think she was a fool. He must think –

  ‘Thank you, Ree.’ His voice sounded so normal that it gave her the courage to peek upwards again. He was still smiling, as though he hadn’t noticed her embarrassment. ‘You’ve been a lot of help. And I appreciate it, I really do.’ He touched her arm casually – something she had no doubt she was far more aware of than he was – before taking the papers from her loosened grip and packing them away again.

  ‘We’d better carry on as normal, I suppose,’ he said as he was doing it. ‘Do keep an eye on your fellow trainees, won’t you? And I’ll expect to see you up at the tower in five days’ time.’

  ‘But – I haven’t been tested yet –’ Suddenly she was grinning wide enough to make her jaw muscles ache. ‘You mean –’

  ‘I hope so,’ Caraway said. ‘You’re one of the best we have.’

  ‘Even though I’m still useless at archery?’ As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to call them back. What was she doing? Trying to convince him to revoke his high opinion of her? But he only laughed.

  ‘I won’t lie to you, Ree. Archery is important. Every discipline you’ll learn here is important. But I would never exclude a promising Helmsman just because her aim was bad.’ Opening the office door for her, he gave her a friendly nod. ‘Just don’t shoot me during the testing, and you’ll be fine.’

  ‘Thank you, sir!’ She wanted to dance, or sing, or something, but she forced herself to walk out of the office at a sedate pace and head for the barracks as though her heart wasn’t skipping about all over the place. Just wait ’til I tell Zander –

  Reality slapped her in the face, and her stomach plunged. She kept walking, but now she wasn’t sure whether to feel elation or guilt. And then the solution hit her.

  Keep an eye on my fellow trainees, Captain Caraway said. The real assassin must be one of them. She lifted her chin as new resolve flowed through her. I’ll find him, and then the Helm will have to release Zander, and everything will be all right.

  TWENTY

  The day before their trainees were due to undergo final testing, Caraway and Bryan met for a spot of decision-making. In the past they would have had a long, cheerful, rambling discussion about the current cohort: who had improved, who was likely to pass the test, who would have to pull something spectacular out of the bag to be in with a chance. Yet this time, after Caraway had related the conversation he’d overheard between Ree and Zander, and his subsequent exchange with Ree, the discussion had inevitably turned back to whether or not there might still be an assassin on the loose.

  ‘All right,’ Caraway said finally. ‘If Zander is innocent, the real assassin must have planted the evidence. And he must have some hold over Klaus the gun-seller, to convince him to give me such a detailed lie …’

  Bryan nodded. ‘So speak to Klaus again. Put pressure on his story, see if he breaks.’

  ‘I tried,’ Caraway said. ‘But he’s made himself scarce. None of his associates in the first ring have seen him for days.’ He sighed. ‘Which could be highly suspicious, or could just mean he’s worried about being arrested for supplying firearms to an assassin. I have no way of knowing which.’

  ‘Still,’ Bryan said. ‘If Zander is innocent, there are only so many people who could possibly have framed him.’

  ‘It must be someone who would have a legitimate excuse for entering the barracks,’ Caraway agreed. ‘Since the assassin has presumably set himself up with a current or potential route into Darkhaven, that leaves … well, since none of the other weaponmasters or assistants have reason to believe they’ll be given access to the tower, that leaves only the other trainees, pretty much.’

  ‘Or you or me,’ Bryan said, and Caraway nodded.

  ‘Or you or me.’ Or Miles, he didn’t add – because ever since Miles had become the unofficial assistant weaponmaster for firearms, no-one would be surprised to find him in the barracks either. But there was no point saying that to Bryan. ‘So, given that … and given that unless the assassin is stupidly sure of himself, he must at least wonder if we still suspect him … how do we proceed with the selection process? Bearing in mind that the successful recruits are still expecting to be taken up to Darkhaven tomorrow.’

  Bryan ran a hand over his face. ‘Seems to me you have two choices. Call it off: that would nullify the immediate threat, but alert the assassin to your suspicions and leave him to find a way in that you haven’t thought of. I’d say that was a short-term gain at the expense of a long-term problem. Or use the occasion to set a trap. There’s risk in that, of course, but it would at least flush him out. And if you warn Ayla and have her properly guarded on the day –�
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  ‘Ayla is convinced that Zander is guilty,’ Caraway muttered. ‘She’s insistent upon going about her life as normal.’

  ‘Is she still expecting to address the chosen recruits up at the tower?’

  ‘No.’ They’d argued about it when he’d told her he didn’t think it was a good idea, but he’d managed to prevail. Still, it was one more thing driving them apart. One more way in which she’d tried to assert her authority over his, leaving him doubting whether he would ever truly be her equal. Frowning, he changed the subject.

  ‘What I can’t work out is how the assassin intends to get his pistol into Darkhaven. It’s not as if we’re going to let the recruits walk through the Gate of Death without being searched. And the assassin must know that …’ Caraway hesitated, then asked the question he’d been tiptoeing around for a while. ‘Art, don’t take this the wrong way, but does Miles carry a lot of equipment to and from the tower?’

  As he’d expected, Bryan bristled at the implication. ‘You’d better not be suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, boyo.’

  ‘It’s just that a pistol would be more easily concealed amongst an alchemist’s trappings than on a person. And since Miles goes back and forth …’ He shrugged, then completed the lie that would make his question more palatable to the weaponmaster. ‘I thought perhaps the assassin might be planning to slip something into one of his crates.’

  ‘No.’ Bryan’s voice lowered again, though his expression was still wary. ‘He took everything up to the tower that first time, and your men searched it all.’

  ‘Right. That’s that, then.’ Caraway sighed. ‘The whole thing is a mystery.’

  ‘Then do you want to call off tomorrow?’ Bryan asked, still gruff. Caraway hesitated, then shook his head.

  ‘I think we have to go through with it. If there’s a chance we can flush the assassin out and get this whole thing over with –’ He scrubbed his hands through his hair. ‘So now I just have to decide who should go on the list.’

  ‘I think we have to assume the assassin is good enough that you’d have picked him for advanced training anyway,’ Bryan said. ‘If not, then he won’t gain access to Darkhaven tomorrow and the whole question becomes irrelevant. So I’d advise you to choose whoever you would have chosen if you didn’t suspect that one of them was an assassin.’