Her prickly reception as maven hadn’t occurred to me. “How can you stand living here?”
“Each dawn I pray the gods give me strength to be the maven our people need, then I turn to face my husband and know all my trials are worth enduring if they mean I can wake in his arms.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Exactly how long have you been wed?”
She tugged my hair playfully. “One day you’ll marry, and then I’ll laugh at your expense.”
“I don’t plan to.” What prospects did I have? I was poor and outcast, not exactly a catch.
The scrubbing of my hair slowed. “Does Hishima realize that?”
“He is aware of my reservations.” I smoothed the stump where my ring finger should be.
Her easy rhythm faltered at the sight of my hand. “Why did you run from him?”
“Does it matter?” I hid the ugly reminder of his cruelty under a cluster of bubbles.
She sighed. “If you’re asking if I can change Vaughn’s mind, then no, I can’t.”
“Then it doesn’t matter.” I slid lower in the tub. “Why talk about what we can’t change?”
“Fine.” She shoved my head below the suds. “Keep your secrets.”
I shot upright spitting mad, scooped up bathwater with the bucket and hurled its contents at Mana. Water splashed down the front of her dress and pooled at her feet. Her mouth dropped open, arms lifting to shield her face.
“Put that down.” She peeked at me through her fingers. “Before someone hears.”
I slowly lowered my weapon under the bubbles, refilling it to the brim as I went to my knees.
“Kaidi.” She used her sternest I am maven voice. “Put the bucket down.”
I took aim. “No. I don’t think I will.”
“Maven?” Murdoch’s bellow through the door made me pause. “Are you all right?”
While I was distracted, Mana dove at me, knocking me underwater. Suds plugged my ears. I still heard her winded laughter. When I surfaced, she hurled a cloth at my head, which I caught. I mopped my face and rested my cheek against the tub’s curved rim. The ache in my chest was so stark, I pressed a hand over my heart and rubbed until the skin was tender and Mana was staring.
My sisters and I had done this, laughed this way. We made our kitchen floor slick with soap and squealed while slipping and sliding over the tiles. I’d give anything to be that carefree again.
“We’re fine,” Mana called, patting her face dry. “We’ll be out in a minute.”
The knob rattled. “Are you sure?”
She scowled. “Twist that knob again and you’ll be dining at my table come suppertime.”
Sudden silence made my waterlogged ears ring. “What’s wrong with sitting at your table?”
“No meat.” She rubbed at her gown, then seemed to accept the need for a change. “For days after the plague passed, we ate vegetable soup. There was no safe game to eat. No stores of food that hadn’t been consumed. You’d think I was trying to kill them, when they’re perfectly capable of eating vegetables.” At my doubtful look, she sighed. “They don’t eat people. Well, not as food at least. Cannibalism is a spiritual act to them. They’re consuming the strength of their enemies.”
I waved my hand. “I don’t want to know.” A thought occurred to me. “The paladin said your clan lost the majority of its females, but there is an abundance of males who seem…unaffected.”
Though popular opinion was that the plague only infected females, I knew better. I had seen males infected as well. The weak ones vanished from their homes, never to be heard from again. The strong ones were found with their necks broken. Why more people didn’t ask how a plague snapped a neck was beyond me. I suppose they slept easier blaming rival clans for those deaths. I envied them their blissful ignorance. I wish I could rest without hearing the rustle of wings in my nightmares, without hearing that low droning hum that signaled death itself had taken to the air.
Her lips pursed. “Cathis was fortunate.”
Casting back on old rumors, I dredged up a memory. “Beltania was likewise blessed.” Beltania was the Salticidae clan home. What were the odds two cities connected by a walker would weather the plague so well compared to other clans? “You’re hiding something from me.”
She gave me a meaningful glance. “We all have our secrets.”
If the cost of hers was learning one of mine, then a trade held no appeal. “Yes. We do.”
“Vaughn has granted permission for you to move freely through Cathis.” She headed toward a slender cabinet inset near the door and began riffling through shelves. “There are conditions of course.” She paused with a hand on a pile of black pants and lifted the topmost pair. She selected a shirt and set the clothing on the stool Murdoch had used. After dropping a pair of worn and dusty boots onto the floor, Mana rinsed her hands and approached me with a large bristle brush.
Bending down, she applied some type of salve then battled the tangles from my hair.
“Of course.” My fingers tightened painfully on the tub’s lip with each stroke. “Such as?”
“You’ll have a personal guard.” She set her brush aside and began plaiting my hair down my back in two rows. When she finished, she spun a silken thread from a fingertip and tied the ends.
“Personal guard?” She meant one of the paladin’s lapdogs. “Who?”
“Murdoch.” She stood back to admire her work. “Unless you’d rather have Lleu?”
Recalling his earlier kiss and smug grin, I curled my lip. “No, thank you.”
Seeming pleased with her morning’s work, she shrugged. “Then Murdoch it is.”
“He must be busy.” Doing whatever it was he did for the paladin. “I hate to be a bother.”
“Vaughn gave the order.” Mana dusted her hands. “That’s as good as law to Murdoch.”
Those who followed orders were sadly adverse to breaking rules, which meant I might have spoken too soon. Lleu indulged in harmless flirtations. How else might I tempt him to assist me?
“Is there a third option?” A low-ranking guard with wit to match? “Murdoch must hate me.”
“You mean because you stabbed him?” A smile played about her lips.
“Yes.” I cringed to recall it. “Most males take that sort of personal injury, well, personally.”
“Mimetidae aren’t like most males.” She gave the impression of considering her next words with care. “What you did to him would be an indication of interest under kinder circumstances.”
My jaw dropped. “I could have killed him.”
“But you didn’t.”
I threw up my hands. “But I could have.”
Wiping droplets from her face, Mana shivered. “Your water is cold.”
“Is it?” I hadn’t noticed. A quick glance down confirmed I had chill bumps.
Her brow creased. “Can’t you feel it?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “I don’t feel much of anything anymore.”
Chapter 4
Left to fend for myself after a summons sent Mana in search of her husband, I crept into the hall with the utmost care. I made it several giddy steps before the hairs on my nape stood on end.
“Going somewhere?” Murdoch’s voice rose over my shoulder.
“I was…” think of a convenient lie, “…looking for you.” I smiled. “And there you are.”
He managed not to roll his eyes, but they did drift a bit skyward. “Where are you headed?”
“Mana said I’m free to do as I like.” She had said something along those lines.
“The paladin granted you permission to move freely through Cathis,” Murdoch corrected.
I narrowed my eyes. “Were you listening at the door?”
“Yes.” The fact didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. “But Vaughn told me as much.”
“Ah.” I seized on his slip. “So now he’s Vaughn, is he?”
“Paladin Vaughn.” He walked around me. “There. Is that better?”
> “Do you know one another well?” He said Vaughn’s name so easily. “Are you friends?”
Perhaps choosing Murdoch was its own reward after all.
He absently rubbed a scar running the length of his forearm. “No.”
“I don’t believe you.” His friend, Lleu, hadn’t pretended formality at all.
“Then we’re even.” He stared at my mouth. “I don’t believe anything you say.”
I whirled past Murdoch and stalked off in the opposite direction. Heavy footfalls announced his intention to follow me, ruining any chance I had for exploring this place, wherever we were. I had never seen turns in a hallway cut so sharp. I feared touching the walls might slice my hands.
“Is this the paladin’s home?” I wondered aloud.
“It is.” We continued in silence until passing yet another razor corner. “It’s called the Tower Square for a reason,” he said, as if noticing my interest. “Avoid all but the south tower. The other towers are forbidden except for the ruling family and their guards. There is a garden in the heart of the Towers. The maven alone dares tread there. You would do best to keep a wide berth of it.”
“Why is that?” I didn’t expect an answer, so his surprised me.
“The north tower is now a recovery ward for infected females.” Regret sharpened his voice. “The garden was a tomb. Until Mana arrived, corpses were stored there. Too many died too fast. There was no one to care for the dead.” He must have caught the horrified expression on my face since his tightened. “The bodies have been removed to the field, as you know from this morning. The maven is attempting to clean the area of negative spiritual energy. She’s blessing the space.”
“You think that helps?” Nothing short of a sword or a spade gave me comfort.
He appeared to give my question real consideration. “It can’t hurt.”
“Did any…?” How to phrase it delicately? “Did any bodies from the garden go missing?”
His head whipped toward me. “Why do you ask?”
So, yes, they had. “No reason.” I walked on, eager to avoid glimpsing the morbid garden.
Murdoch fisted my braid and held me in place with it. “What do you know of such things?”
Telling him they had gotten up and walked off seemed unwise. Besides, no one believed me.
“I thought plague…Mimetidae…” I let him connect the dots.
The tic beneath his eye fluttered. “You’re asking if we ate our dead.”
“You told me yourself you’re capable of it.” Though eating a neighbor was in poor taste.
“If you’re hungry enough, you’re capable of anything.” His words came gruff. “You must be tired. Would you like me to escort you to your room? You can retire until dinner, which the paladin expects you to attend.”
“No, I—” On second thought… “I have my own room?”
“You are, apparently, a guest in Cathis.” His flat delivery told me what he thought of that.
“Don’t worry.” I patted his good cheek. “I won’t be for long.”
He grasped my wrist, holding my palm against the handsome side of his face. “Seven days.”
I swallowed hard. “Is that all?”
“Unless you give the paladin a reason not to alert Hishima to your arrival, then yes, it is.”
“I have no gold to buy his silence or clan to aid in forging the alliance he desires.” I slid my hand from his. “I have nothing of value, except for myself.” And information Hishima would kill to keep concealed, which was laughable considering no one believed my tall tales were the truth.
His stark gaze trapped me. “Why did you run?”
“What does it matter?” I broke away before he answered.
“When I first found you, I thought you were mad or desperate. You’re neither.”
“We have vastly different definitions of desperation.” I clung to sanity by a silken thread.
“I think you know something or saw something,” he continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “I think you knew it was too dangerous to remain in Titania with that knowledge. By virtue of you being here, you’re bringing that danger to Cathis.” He leaned closer, inhaling my panic. “Confide your secrets in Paladin Vaughn. Give him incentive to protect you against his fellow paladin’s wrath.”
My laughter rang brittle. “What makes you think I know anything of value?”
His expression turned so amicable, I knew whatever he said next I would not like.
“Did you know that spirit walkers can detect lies based on fluctuations in your aura?”
I flinched. “Can they?”
How had I forgotten that gem? Perhaps because I never had reason to lie to Mana until now.
“I can tell from your scent you know it’s true, and that frightens you.” His nose trailed along the curve of my neck until his lips brushed my ear. “The maven is protecting you as best she can. That tells me she believes what you told her.” He exhaled. “And some things you haven’t yet.”
I put my hands on his chest and shoved. “I liked you better when you thought I was mad.”
“I liked you better gagged.” He straightened his shirt. “You made more sense to me then.”
“Take me to my room.” I almost stomped my foot for emphasis. He would have loved that.
“Follow me.” He set off at a brisk pace.
I was winded after we rounded the third corner. “Somewhere else you’d rather be?”
“Don’t sound so hopeful.” He slowed a bit. “You are my new priority.”
How dismal he made me sound. “What was your priority before?”
“Nothing that won’t keep.”
“You wanted my help.” It seemed a lifetime ago. “What did you have in mind?”
He stopped at a door that looked familiar to me. When he shoved it open, I was treated to the view of Murdoch’s room. The bed had been made, the area tidied, but it was not my own space.
I planted my feet and refused to budge. “You said I had my own room.”
“No.” A twinkle in his eye made my blood simmer. “I said you were a guest of Cathis. What you took that to mean is no problem of mine. As you are so fond of pointing out—our clans have little in common.” He made a helpless gesture. “I do apologize you misunderstood my meaning.”
“As do I.” Sharing a room made escaping it that much more difficult. He swept out his arm, and I took his invitation. “You were saying? About your priorities?”
He checked the hall before locking the door. “During the first nights after the plague struck, several males left their posts. They never made their rounds, never went home, never contacted a single family member.” His conviction filled me with sympathy. “We have not seen them since.”
I pulled a hand through my hair to hide its trembling. “In desperate times—”
“I knew those men, grew up with most of them. They didn’t abandon their families.”
“That’s the task the paladin gave you. He wants you to locate the missing guards.” Meaning he didn’t believe the males were deserters either. Learning of Vaughn’s quest for answers ignited a dangerous spark in my chest. Could Vaughn be the ally I needed? Dare I tell him what I knew?
The risk might be worth the reward, or it might cost me what little freedom I had won.
Murdoch nodded. “The trail grows colder the longer I wait.”
“So why not let me entertain myself?” I smiled. “You could get in a few hours’ work.”
His focus on my lips made them tingle. “In a few hours it would be your trail getting cold.”
I folded my arms. “Do you always do what Vaughn tells you?”
He countered, “Do you ever do what you’re told?”
I scrunched up my face. “Is that a trick question?”
He palmed the doorknob with a sigh. “I’ll be outside if you need anything.”
The door closed with a sharp thud. After checking to see that the knob turned, to be sure the surly guard wasn’t poised to spring at th
e first whiff of rebellion, I inspected my surroundings as I hadn’t had the luxury to do so earlier. What caught my eye first was a pink glow seeping under a tapestry hung above a stubby table strewn with papers Murdoch used as a desk. Oh so gingerly I peeled back the fabric, nudged the shutters gently open, and I was treated with a welcome view.
Warm air hit my face and blew hairs free of my braid.
“Hello, freedom.” I patted the arch of a narrow, paneless window.
It was slender, but I was skin and bones. Squeezing through it would present me no problem. Careful not to make a sound, I unhooked the fabric panel from the heavy metal rod that hung it.
Without a rope, I turned to the next best thing—the closet full of Murdoch’s clothes. He was so tall his pants were long and easy to tie into knots. They were made of thick cloth I was unfamiliar with, but it was tougher than the sheets or his shirts would have been. Once I had coiled several lengths of makeshift rope, I worked up the nerve to peer past the ledge, all the way to the ground.
The view made me swallow convulsively. Despite the fact I climbed well, a skill all Segestriidae honed in order to harvest the finest crystals for our crafts, such great heights terrified me. I even avoided my family’s niche in the crystal cavern until necessity forced a visit.
But if my choice was dare the fall or accept defeat, I chose the risk.
Using the tapestry rod, which reminded me of an old banner pole on closer inspection, I tied the ends of the pants in the center of the rod and balanced the thing on the lip of the window. My stomach bottomed out when I climbed up and dangled my legs. It was a long way down. Rope in hand, I shut my eyes and eased over the side. I could do this. Eyes shut. That was the key. Bit by bit, hand over hand, I would lower myself nearer the blessed ground. I gulped and slinked down.
Hands grasped my shirt collar and yanked upward. I screamed bloody murder and thrashed.
What wits I had scattered as crushed leaves on a breeze. Hishima. I was found.
I could not bear to go willingly. I would rather fall first.
Araneae Nation: The Complete Collection Page 64
