“We’re at the empress’s entrance,” he said as if he heard my question. “It will be heavily guarded after last night. Be totally silent. You are not here.”
I took the biting stick out of Horc’s hands. He couldn’t be trusted when it came to biting. He started to protest, but I mouthed, “Bacon,” and he clamped his lips shut.
The carriage made another turn and then slowed to a stop. The slender black hand of an anubis grasped the cardinal’s window sill. All he had to do was lean forward and he would see us and we would be known to be special. Right then, special was the worst thing in the world to be.
Chapter Twenty-three
THE ANUBIS’S SNOUT appeared in the window, slowly coming in and tilting in my direction. My heart pounded and the ache from Bentha’s injury increased. I clapped a hand over my mouth to keep from crying out. The cardinal to his credit didn’t even glance in our direction. Instead, he leaned toward the creeping snout. “Can I help you with something? Is there something you need?”
The snout withdrew a bit. The nostril fluttered. Oh, no. It was sniffing. I didn’t think of that. He would smell us. Stupid dog.
“I repeat,” said the cardinal, “is there something you need?”
“Your Grace, I have been ordered to thoroughly search all visitors to the palace.”
“Including me?”
The anubis hesitated. “I am to sniff out trouble. You may have been compromised.”
The cardinal belly-laughed. “Me? Who would want to compromise me?”
The snout relaxed. “Yes, well, orders are orders.”
“Many have said so. Do get on with sniffing me. I’m going to be late for the empress’s breakfast.”
I squeezed Horc. If Iris had been there, she would’ve said, “What’ll we do? What’ll we do?” I didn’t know. I couldn’t make a break for it. Nothing is more suspicious than running.
“I smell spriggan,” said the anubis.
“Yes. That would be Master Yik, head of accounts at the cathedral. Anything else?”
Don’t encourage him, old man. Are you crazy?
The anubis took a good sniff. “You’re clear, Your Grace. Welcome to the palace.”
The snout withdrew and the carriage lurched forward. The cardinal leaned back and folded his hands over his belly. “That was fun.”
“You call that fun? He could’ve smelled me. We were very nearly caught,” I said in a tight whisper.
He waved the thought away. “Do not dwell on your kummerspeck.”
“Huh?”
“Your…um…worry bacon. You understand this?” asked the cardinal in all seriousness.
Worry bacon? What the heck?
“Not even a little bit. We could’ve been caught and you encouraged him or her or whatever it was.”
“It was fun and you couldn’t have been caught. Anubis cannot smell you.”
“They can’t smell wood fairies? That’s not good. They would stink as guards.”
“No. I mean they can’t smell you. Specifically. You smell of edelweiss and happiness. They can’t smell those things. They’re good.”
Horc stiffened. “He smelled me.”
“Yes. Spriggans smell of profit. It’s not a purely good smell.”
“And not purely bad either, right?” asked the little spriggan.
“Would Master Yik have the cathedral’s accounts if he were purely bad? No. The only creature I’ve ever known to be purely bad is a horen.”
“They can smell horen then?” I asked.
“Yes, but it’s difficult.”
“Why, if they’re purely bad.”
The cardinal watched me calmly. “You know about horen, Mattie?”
“Not really. I’m just curious.”
“I imagine you’re curious about a great many things with which you have no experience.”
If only I could hear, I would’ve known if there was sarcasm in his voice.
“Of course,” I said, sweetly. “Why would I be curious of things I know about?”
“You’re good with answers.”
I wasn’t that time. I wasn’t sure what he meant, so I stayed silent as the carriage turned once more and halted.
The cardinal patted my knee again. “Stay in the carriage. Nanny will come for you.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The door opened and the cardinal hurried out. I held my breath and the door closed without anyone looking in. The carriage started moving again and I gave Horc his biting stick back.
“Did anyone say where the carriage is going?” I asked him.
“I presume to the stables. That is where horses go.”
“No need for sarcasm.”
“Sarcasm? It is a fact.” He attacked his stick with gusto, getting splinters all over my skirt.
“Horc, did you notice anything different about the horses?” I asked.
“Other than the fact that they can fly and talk?”
“Yes, other than that.”
He chewed and stared up at me. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. Anything.”
“Their hooves look rather expensive. I wonder what they would bring on the open market,” he mused.
“Those hooves are attached to live horses,” I said.
“Not permanently.”
“Don’t get—”
Horc put his stubby finger to his lips. The carriage halted and I pulled him close. My chest began to hurt as my heart rate sped up again.
Oh, please let Nanny open the door.
The door whipped open just as that thought escaped my head and Nanny’s face appeared. “Well, there you are. Come now. They’ll be calling for you soon.”
“Is it safe?” I whispered.
“Naturally.” She smiled at Horc. “I see you’ve brought reinforcements.”
“My sister needs me,” he said.
“And you need meat. Am I right?”
Horc got all dreamy. “Pork.”
I rolled my eyes and got out. We were in the stables, but they were as grand as the rest of the palace with stone arches and ornate carvings of horses. There were carriages lining one wall, ranging from over-the-top gilded ones to little bitty pony carts for children. The other wall had a row of large stalls with horses peeking over the doors at us. But, at second glance, there weren’t just horses. There were unicorns, four bulls with gold nose rings, and what I thought were a pair of moose. But the moose had silver antlers and blue eyes. I wonder if they talked and if they could, what would they say about us sneaking out of the cardinal’s carriage.
“They won’t say anything. What happens in the stable, stays here. It is their custom.” Nanny took the now slobbering Horc out of my arms and looked me over. “Interesting. Where did you get that uniform? I’ve never seen it before.”
“My other uniforms were dirty and my aunt came up with this,” I said. “Is it alright?”
“Your aunt is a seamstress?”
“Yes.”
“She’s very talented.” Nanny tapped her lip. “And wise as well. The empress will like it. Conservative, demure, but with plenty of style. Yes, she’ll like this very much. This way.”
We walked by the damumoto. The flames in their noses were now bursting out and crackling with energy. They made me miss my own flames.
Volotora turned to me, so beautiful I almost couldn’t concentrate. “Good luck.”
Talking horses were going to take some getting used to. “Thank you.”
“We’ll speak soon,” said the horse.
Oh, no. About what?
“Um…okay.”
“Don’t worry,” said Volotora.
Too late.
Nanny led me out a side door and I glanced back at the damumoto. Sparks were flying from their nostrils as they began talking to each other. If that wasn’t about me, I’d lick Horc’s foot.
I followed Nanny through a complex set of passages and then out into one of the humans’ servants’ halls. That’s when things began to loo
k familiar. I recognized the stoves in the wall and knew exactly where I was when we arrived at the kitchen door.
The kitchens were even busier than the last time I’d been there. The multi-horned troll was rolling out pastry, bumping up against a maple dryad cutting out shapes in another sheet of pastry. The stoves were all fired up and so many pots were bubbling I lost count.
I tugged on Nanny’s sleeve. “What’s going on?”
“State visitors and the cardinal’s breakfast, but it’s always busy. This is a large household. The kitchen staff feeds the royal family, guests, the nobility in residence, as well as all staff.”
“Who pays for all this?”
“The people’s taxes.”
No wonder the French rebelled. They have to pay to feed the rich.
“So there are state visitors here right now,” I said in my most disinterested voice.
“Yes.”
“I heard they were from France.”
She stopped and gave me a hard look. “I understand that you’re curious. It’s only natural in one so young, but you must contain your interest in the presence of Their Majesties. You will speak of nothing outside of your particular duties. Do you understand?”
She led me back to the room with the cradle and set Horc inside. He was watching me carefully.
“Mattie, we must go over the rules. You will not speak unless spoken to. You will never speak to the empress directly.”
“What if she speaks to me?” I asked.
“She won’t. Don’t ask any indelicate questions. Nothing personal and never ever touch her person.”
I gaped at her. “Tell me you’re kidding.”
She drew back. “I am not. These are the rules. You accepted them when you signed the contract.”
“No, I didn’t. All it said was that I couldn’t reveal anything about working for the family.”
“The royal dictates are implied.”
“If it’s not in the contract. It’s not in the contract. I may as well go home and save you the trouble of taking me to her. There’s no point.”
“What are you saying?” Nanny’s face reddened. “You won’t help the empress, the sovereign of the nation, in her time of need.”
“I’m saying I can’t. Do you really think I can heal her without touching or talking to her? That’s crazy.”
“That’s the way it is done,” she said, so red now she might’ve given herself a fever.
“Sit down and I’ll make you some tea.” I said.
“Tea won’t help.”
“You obviously haven’t had my tea.”
Nanny sank into a chair and I went back into the bustling kitchen to ask for a hot water and whatever kinds of tea they had. A wood fairy with bald patches on her wings shoved a tray with a pot, teacups and a dish of little round pastries on it at me and pointed at a walk-in pantry before running off yelling about something. The pantry was bigger than five of my rooms in the cathedral and I found an unbelievable assortment of teas on a low shelf. There were green, black, and white teas, sorted by country of origin. Next to them were the herbal teas that I was looking for, chamomile and lavender. I used the silver spoon attached each crock, measured some loose tea into the teapot and poured the steaming water in. After checking to make sure no one was looking I stuck my finger in and swirled the hot water. Flames erupted out of my fingertip and heated the water to boiling. A rhyme came to mind and I said it without thinking.
“It’s time to relieve this ridiculous stress.
Your life is not a terrible mess.”
To my surprise, the silly little rhyme worked and Nanny’s face appeared briefly in the thin steam drifting out of the pot. She looked incredibly worn and had heavy weights on her shoulders. Hmmm. I wondered what that was about. I blew away the image and popped a pastry in my mouth. Oh my. It was like a croissant, but filled with fluffy, rich cream. Iris would be in heaven. I ate another one and took the tray out to Nanny. She was handing Horc a bacon-wrapped biting stick. I poured her a cup and watched as she took a tentative sip.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Chamomile and lavender.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes,” I said. “What does it taste like?”
She got a little dreamy and closed her eyes. “There’s something else. I can’t quite place it. So familiar but not…I don’t know. It’ll sound silly, but I keep thinking of happiness.”
Horc grinned and looked away to conceal it as Nanny opened her eyes.
“It’s just good tea,” I said.
“I suppose so.”
I couldn’t tell if she bought it or not, but she drank the entire cup.
“Better?”
“I haven’t felt this good in years.” Nanny leaned forward with the empty cup in her hands. “You must make this for Her Majesty.”
“I told you. I can’t help her, if I’m not allowed to really examine her.”
Nanny frowned. “She is an empress and you are—”
“You don’t know what I am and it hardly matters, since you won’t let me do anything. I’m not surprised the imperial healer can’t help the empress. Who could under those restrictions?”
“This is the way it has always been done.”
Gledit, the leaf fairy, walked in. He was even odder in a well-lit room. If he didn’t have hands and eyeballs I would never have known he was a fairy. He turned sideways to make sure no one followed him and the illusion was perfect. His arm disappeared against the leaf pattern on his side.
“Nanny.” He bowed.
“Yes, Gledit.”
He glanced at me, definitely noticing the new uniform. “Mattie the maid is needed now.”
She started to get to her feet, but I stopped her. “There’s really no point. I’m not right for the kind of cleaning you need.”
“You are right.” She gave me the stink eye. “And you’ve already accepted a payment.”
She had me there, but it was still pointless. “Fine, but the cleaning will not be to your satisfaction.”
She gave me more stink eye, but I didn’t back down. Under the palace rules, I couldn’t even put the rejuvenation spell on her. That would require touching.
Gledit rustled around and I saw that he had several layers of leaf on his body. I so wanted to stare at him. “What should I tell His Majesty?”
“I will tell him that his new maid is ready to do her duty,” said Nanny.
“I’m sure I can find it on my own,” I said.
“I’m sure you can’t.”
I poured her another cup of steaming tea. “I’m resourceful.”
“Mattie,” she lowered her voice like Gledit wasn’t standing right there and couldn’t hear, “I haven’t fully explained how the palace works.”
“If I may, Nanny,” said Gledit.
She nodded.
“I would be honored to explain the palace to her.”
“Very well.” Nanny’s prim and proper look went all worried.
I curtsied and followed Gledit out through the kitchens. I didn’t realize that he was winged until we reached the servants’ hall. He jumped off the doorstep and a dozen little wings popped out along the leaf ridge that formed his back.
“Whoa,” I said with my hand on my chest.
He turned. His little wings went so fast, they were a blur. Their movement reminded me of a beetle’s wings.
“You’ve never seen a phylliid before?” He smiled as if he expected this all along.
“No. I’m sorry. You surprised me.”
“It’s a common reaction. There are only ten of my species in Europe.”
“Where are you from? I asked.
“I was born in Vienna, but my family came from Brazil.”
“Why did they leave?”
“They got tired of family members getting eaten by monkeys,” he said.
I grimaced. “That’s awful.”
He shrugged and waved for me to come with him and I took off, careful to keep m
y distance, since my wings were so wide. We flew down the hall. Gledit stayed silent until we passed a group of wood fairies carrying buckets of water. “So who are you really?”
“The new maid,” I said.
He scoffed. “Please. Do you take me for a fool?”
“Not at all.”
“I’m the emperor’s valet. You can tell me.”
There was a glint in his eye that told me that he was the last person I should tell. “I’m the new maid.”
He flew in front of me and stopped. “Tell me who you are.”
“I did.”
“You can’t be a maid. Nanny brought you into the emperor’s private office. Imperial staff have worked for Their Majesty’s for forty years and have never been in there.”
“He let you in.” I flew past him, looking for something familiar to show me the way.
Gledit cut me off again. “I’m his valet. It’s my job. What’s yours?”
“Cleaning. Look at me. Do you honestly think I’m more than a maid?”
I had the uniform, the red chapped hands, and the broken nails, but I kind of wanted him to say no. That I was obviously special, but, of course, he didn’t. He looked at my sad, ugly hands and agreed. I was nothing special.
We flew swiftly through several halls and ended up at the emperor’s desk. Gledit landed and his wings disappeared against his odd flat body. He said nothing but stared at Sisi’s portrait as Nanny had done. After what seemed like forever and six days, Casper ever so slowly came out from behind the portrait. But this time he was carrying a duster, bucket, and mop.
“You took your time about it, missy,” he said, giving me the supplies.
Same to you.
I curtsied. “I apologize. It was a busy morning at the cathedral.”
He harrumphed as if that wasn’t possible. “I hope you’re ready to work hard. The cardinal recommended you, but I have my doubts as to your competence with klitzeklein trolls.”
“Klitzeklein trolls?” asked Gledit with a wrinkled up expression of distaste.
Casper ignored him. “I haven’t been able to rid the desk of them. I don’t know how a girl such as you could. But the emperor does listen to the cardinal.” He squinted at me. “What are you wearing?”
Wicked Chill (Away From Whipplethorn Book Four) Page 23
