Kay’s mind went back to Amos’ tent, his face grim as his fingers traced the map of lines, dark memories surfacing. While you were distracted from what you were certain was the real threat, they had somehow gotten around your lines and were attacking you exactly where you were most vulnerable. “The Winden,” she said. “This is the Winden.”
“There aren’t any Winden in Celest,” Yamar said.
“There are. There’s the Fire Creep for one.” She turned back to the rooms. “Tell me about the dead guards. What did they look like?”
“Just fallen in place, no marks on them. We’re assuming poison darts. We didn’t find any, but the attackers could have recovered them.”
“No, he used his spark.” Kay ignored Yamar’s look of confusion and kept going. “Why do you say attackers? Did anyone see them? Every time I’ve seen the Fire Creep he’s been wearing white robes. Was anyone like that spotted?”
“The only description we got was of a driver. Ordinary looking Gol, unremarkable dress. He had short hair that stuck out in spikes.”
Kay remembered the Renlan House, lying on the floor with her hands bound. Looking up to see the doctor, Reagan, and a man with short, spiky hair. “The third man.” If you see one, you’re under attack by two. “The one who worked with the doctor to plan House Coulet. They could both be Winden agents. That might explain why the doctor didn’t know the Fire Creep. His contact was the third man.”
“And this third man helped plan House Coulet? Was he ever at the Renlan House?”
Kay nodded slowly. “He was there the night of the speech. I’m sure a few times afterwards.”
Yamar strode back inside, Kay following. He spoke quietly to a uniformed Wrang who hustled out of the room. Jios Marin entered as he was leaving. Yamar stopped and straightened, keeping his eyes forward. Kay froze beside him as Jios approached them, his long staff banging against the floor with each step.
“The fetch,” Jios said, looking over Kay. “I trust Yamar has communicated the gravity of our situation. No one has ever done violence to a member of the Dynasty. Let alone a child. There is only one acceptable outcome. The child returned unharmed. Anything less will result in the wrath of the Dynasty descending on everyone in this room.”
Kay nodded stiffly, keeping her eyes forward.
Jios turned to Yamar. “I put the word out amongst the noble families. The consequences have been made clear. I did not find any leads, however. The houses I would have suspected gave me little cause for suspicion in their reaction. What have you learned?”
The guard Yamar had sent away returned, a large sketchbook in hand. Yamar grabbed it from him. “Kay suspects a pair of Winden agents. Here.” He shoved the book at Kay. “We’ve had a sketch artist working, drawing the people who come and go. Look through these. Is one of them the third man?”
Kay turned past just three pages with sketches of men’s faces before she found what she was looking for. “Here. This one.” The likeness was unmistakable. Now that she knew the Fire Creep was a Winden, she could see some subtle similarities with the third man. Something in the droopy eyes, bags under them. Just drop her there. Turn her over, he’d said. “Where did you get these?”
“We’ve been watching House Renlan.”
“You were watching House Renlan and you didn’t happen to see a bound woman being carried away down the alley a few nights ago? Into the back entrance of House Coulet?”
“Focus, Kay. We didn’t start watching them until after Doctor Milo’s speech. It became a priority once it was clear how invested they were in the vote.”
“Kay,” Joah said quietly, drawing all the eyes in the room to him. He was pointing a finger at the sketch she held open in front of her. “That’s him. The one the doctor was talking to about going to the Winden years ago. The night of the fire.”
“So the Winden recruited the doctor.” She was pacing now. “Okay, think. They’ve been planning this, or something like this, for a long time. They definitely know what’s at stake here. They want the Dynasty to react. They may have planned this from the beginning. Everything else was just a distraction. Think. What do you do with a Dynasty child? Why didn’t they just kill him?” She ignored Jios’ expression of fury at the idea of a Dynasty death, Yamar’s pale face. “All we really know about the Fire Creep is that he is a Winden agent. He’s been here a long time. We know where he lives and we should send troops there, but I guarantee he won’t be there.” She paused, turning to look at the balcony. Wishing she could see the Fire Eye from here. “What do we know about the third man? He was here when the doctor committed to the Winden, so we can presume he recruited him. He formulated the plot to pin the House Coulet murders on a mixed-blood. They didn’t hesitate to kill then. Why now?”
She looked over the quiet room, her eyes landing on Jios. The Voice of the Dynasty. “They want to influence the vote. That means they’re going to pin this on the Farrow. They’re headed outside the city. They’re headed to the camps. They’ll kill him out there.”
Jios gave a low rumble, almost a growl. “The vote is already set. The Dynasty had decided to let the refugees in.” He tugged at his beard. “Of course, this has changed everything.”
“What’s changed?” Kay asked. “You know this wasn’t the Farrow. Why let Winden treachery reopen the debate?”
“If Enos dies, it will not matter that it wasn’t the Farrow. It will have been the Winden. How can we vote to open our walls to any outsiders?” Kay fought a wave of panic, visions of her exile looming, as Jios moved in front of her and leaned in close. “I’ll put this simply. Bring him back alive, fetch, or this will be the last time you or any with a drop of foreign blood ever sees your precious Fire Eye. You can watch it close tomorrow night from between the bars of a crowded prison wagon, headed west. The borders will close. What happens on the other side of them will no longer be our concern.”
“And if I do? Bring him back alive? Will you let the mixed-blood and the refugees stay?”
“I make no promises in that regard. There’s been no public declaration of the Dynasty’s intentions and there is still a day of deliberation. The vote could go either way. We can spend our time either discussing the implications of a failed assassination attempt or planning for the exile of all outsiders. I urge you to make it the former.” He leaned back and folded his hands over his staff.
Kay turned to Yamar. “They’re taking him to the camps. And they’ve got a serious headstart.”
“Then let’s not waste any more time.”
Chapter 28. The Orphans
The carriages charged west towards the city gates. A brief argument had erupted between Yamar and Kay before leaving the Palace. Yamar had wanted to bring every Wrang he could find. Kay didn’t want to start a war with the Farrow at the camps. A more subtle approach was needed. She argued for a single carriage with her, Joah, Yamar, and two other guards. They settled on two carriages, eight Wrang in full uniform crammed into the second. In the first, Kay sat staring out the window. Joah sat across from her, uncharacteristically silent and still as before. Yamar was fidgeting, kept leaning out the window.
Yamar made some sort of gesture Kay couldn’t see, then pulled back from the window. Suddenly a new man was hanging on the side. He slid in without needing the carriage to slow from its full gallop and was abruptly seated next to Kay. He was a smallish man, wiry frame, with short hair. He wore all black and had a pinched face. He looked at Yamar, then Kay, and finally pointed to Joah. “And who’s he?”
“He works for Kay,” Yamar replied. “Joah Ralis. Kay, this is Elmer. He is our spymaster for the Farrow camps. Elmer, what have you found?”
“No unusual Gol traffic. Standard deliveries of goods, so there’s a chance something slipped through, but I haven’t heard anything. Are we certain they didn’t go to ground in the city?”
“Yes,” Kay said. “I know where they’re going.”
The spymaster looked at her expectantly. “A pleasure to finally meet you in pe
rson, Keara. And where are they going? Where are we going?”
“They are going around the camps to avoid suspicion. We are going through. With a stop at an orphanage.”
“Your long-awaited reunion with the Lady Garret? Is that the best use of our time?” Elmer asked dryly.
“That’s not why we’re headed there.”
There was a long pause. Neither Yamar nor Elmer chose to press her for more details. Finally Elmer said, “Are there others you would like to join us there? Will your Pathfinder friends be our allies in this?”
“Yes. Get Gillis and Amos there. And Ewan Silas.” The spymaster would know Ewan if he’d been following Kay.
“Any others? The more eyes we have, the better the chances we find the child alive.”
“We need to keep it small enough that we can move quickly. If we invite the whole camp they’ll just start infighting.” And the ones Kay had named were the only ones in the camp who wouldn’t waste time butting heads with the Wrang. And they’d listen to her. The rest would seek to overrule her rather than follow direction from a haught.
Elmer nodded. “I’ll get word to them.” He opened the door and leaned out, had a hurried conversation with a man on a horse pacing them. The rider peeled off and Elmer sat back down. He looked curiously at Kay.
After a long moment, she asked, “How long have you been following me?”
“I first saw you at the fight. I’ve had agents following you since your first meeting in the camps. But my jurisdiction is outside the walls, so I only recently became aware that Yamar was relying on your talents. If I had been properly informed, things may have gone more smoothly.”
Yamar shifted in his seat to stare at the spymaster. “Save it, Elmer. I didn’t know she was that tied in to the Farrow. Plus I don’t remember you filing any reports about a Winden threat, and if we’d been listening closer to the Pathfinders we might have taken them more seriously.”
“The Pathfinders have given us next to nothing. Too distrustful of foreigners.”
Kay asked, “Can you blame them?” The men ignored her.
Yamar was looking at Elmer hard. “If Enos dies outside the walls, it won’t just be my head the Dynasty calls for.”
Elmer gave a grimace. “Fair enough.” He fell back to studying Kay, then looked to Joah. “Don’t talk much, do you?”
“I’ve got a lot on my mind,” Joah said slowly. “And I feel like you’re doing plenty for all of us.”
“He’s a feisty one,” Elmer said to Kay.
“Leave him alone. We’ll need him when we get to the orphanage,” Kay said, then turned to Yamar. “I’m guessing if you’re still interested in Maggie Jordene, Elmer can tell you where she is.”
“Indeed I can,” Elmer said.
“Well,” Kay said, “then get her to the orphanage too. I need to talk with her.”
…
They rolled into the main camp, dust flying everywhere. Farrow guards fell into an escort position, whatever necessary permissions having been cleared by Elmer’s advance team. Kay gritted her teeth, wishing they’d made a more subtle entrance. But time was tight and they flew down the camp’s center lane. Half the tents were watching the carriages race forward. Not often they saw a formal Gol presence outside the walls, let alone one in a hurry.
By the time they turned down a secondary path, it seemed like the whole camp was alert to their presence. Kay noticed every man seemed to have some sort of tool close at hand. Hammers, hatchets, pans. Nothing that could quite be called a weapon but the message was clear. The Farrow had never been comfortable bending their necks to the Gol. The close proximity had not changed that. Kay just had to hope Gillis and his ilk had enough control over the camps to help them find the child. The alternative was likely the death of every person in this camp at the hands of the Winden. No amount of hammers could prevent that from happening if the Dynasty allowed it.
The carriage came to an abrupt halt, kicking up more dust all around it. Elmer and Yamar were looking at Kay, but she waited until a guard came around and opened the door. Then she swung out and looked over the scene. Through the swirling dust, she saw that the entire orphanage had been assembled in front of them. The children and their minders alike looked afraid. There were guards posted around them, preventing them from moving away from the group of armed foreigners that had just alighted on the place where they normally played. Amos and Gillis were to the side, a large group of Pathfinders with them. Kay could see Ewan hovering near them, a worried expression on his lined face. Alban was at the opposite side with some of the others she’d been interrogated by her first day in the camps. Kay stood at the center of the group from inside the gates, with Joah at her side and Yamar and Elmer just behind her. The Wrang were fanned out past them, impressive in their uniforms of Dynasty red. Every eye was on Kay as the dust slowly settled.
She lowered her head, speaking quietly to the side. “Joah, the children told Ewan they believe the woods to the west of the camps are haunted. They’ve seen strange lights there at night. I need you to find out where they saw the lights.” She looked up and met his eyes. He gave a nod and stepped forward.
By Joah’s second step, Kay could already see him transitioning into character. She’d seen the show before and never failed to be impressed. When he wanted, Joah could wrap himself in cool like it was a cloak. His walk took on a slouched, easy character. He glanced around slowly, dismissive of all the guards, dismissive of everyone around. Except the children. He alternated focusing on them, then looking past and around them, bringing himself into a sort of alignment with their pack. A slight hunch to his shoulder, like he was leaning in to a huddle. The children were already beginning to cluster around him, intrigued by the body language of a fellow youth, one who was not the slightest bit burdened by intimidation or fear. Too cool to even care if he was cool.
He gave a small smile to the youngest child on two feet, held his two closed hands out to her. When she looked a little confused, he gave her a patient nudge with his eyes. She tapped one of his hands, and he opened it to show his silver watch. He let it fall out of his hand and catch on the thin chain that held it. Then he began whirling it around, slowly at first. From his expression it was a simple show, just for the benefit of the small one, but everyone around was fixated. A glance or two towards the older kids, a look of subtle self-deprecation of the lengths he was forced to go to for the sake of charming the younger ones, as the chain and the swirling silver sphere at its end began an impressive pattern, weaving in and out of his fingers. And just like that they were his, same as the many other packs of children she’d sent him into over the years.
Always a little different in his approach, but always the same result. A brief demonstration and soon everyone would be fighting for his ear, for his approval. Maybe they did remember seeing the Fenroy kid wandering into the Lagoons the night before. Maybe they did hear that Eloise had a new boyfriend and the rumors were he was a wetblood. So long as he didn’t tell anyone, they could show him where the Jenro brothers were hiding out, upset their parents were planning to send them to spend the summer over in Porcenne.
Kay watched another moment, then looked at Margaret Jordene, standing uncomfortable and afraid off to the side. “Make sure he gets the space he needs,” she said to Yamar, a small gesture towards the orphan’s minders, who were creeping a little closer, drawn either by Joah’s show or their protective instincts. “And tell the Pathfinders to get ready to ride. I’m counting on you all getting along.”
“We’re following the guidance of children who think they saw some lights in a haunted forest?” Yamar asked.
“The Winden need to kill him somewhere near the camps. They’d arouse too much suspicion if they brought him in. They’re going around to a place the Fire Creep must have prepared. That’s where he’s been these past couple days. Amos told me of the odd rituals the Winden are partial to. I’m expecting something dramatic. Something that would require preparation. Create strange lights at n
ight. Ordinarily, I’d say it’s a stretch, but I’ve got a feeling that’s the right direction. We just have to hope they don’t beat us there by too much. Let’s hope they’re waiting for sundown.” At those last words, she began walking over to Margaret.
“Has the haught princess come for our children?” Margaret asked as Kay approached, her tone a little kinder than her words. “Will they be singing at some ceremony for the closing of the Fire Eye?”
“Margaret, I had to kill your brother today. I’m sorry.”
Margaret’s face betrayed a quick parade of emotions. Surprise, confusion, sadness, anger. She reigned it in and snapped back into the slightly scolding expression she normally wore. “He was still alive?” A hint of sadness lingered in her eyes.
“Yes. He’d grown into a bit of a monster. I’ll spare you the details. But he came to kill me and I killed him instead.”
Margaret breathed out, turned away. She spoke softly, more to the ground than to Kay. “Well, don’t know that he ever had much of a chance, once our uncle got a hold of him. Still, guess I wished he would have found a way forward.”
“He didn’t,” Kay said, watching as Joah put the watch away. He was now speaking earnestly with a few of the older boys. “He never recovered.”
“He was in Celest?”
“Yes. Passing for full Gol.”
“My uncle taught him to hate himself,” Margaret said, still staring at the ground.
“And did a good job of it too.” It looked like Joah was wrapping up. Finishing his act the way she’d seen so many times before. Touching each head, making each child feel his attention for a moment. If someone like that had ever walked into the orphanage when she’d been there, she would have dreamed of him every night for months. And would have left with him in a moment if given the opportunity.
Kay studied Margaret out of the corner of her eye. “I’m going to put a word in, have you set up in the kitchens. Assuming the camp is still here tomorrow.”
The Fire Eye Refugee Page 18
