by Tina Hunter
She replaced the fake wall and quickly made her way up to the second floor. Brutus, Simon, and Teodor had rooms next to each other, and Simon and Brutus had given Teodor their room keys before they left. She knocked on his door and was relieved to have him open it a moment later.
He appeared confused for a moment before growing cross. “I told you I’d stay, and I dids. No need to check on me.” He crossed his arms across his chest, and his grumpy look only made her smile.
“I didn’t doubt you would,” she replied. “I’m here however because one of our friends has returned.”
“Oh, Simon’s out already?” Teodor said looking around.
“Our other friend,” she said in a whisper. Teodor’s eyes flew open in shock, and she held her hand up to forestall any questions. “I need his room key.”
Teodor nodded and quickly left the door to rummage around in his room. She didn’t bother trying to look, his room was a mess. She was lucky that he knew where to find anything. He came back with two black keys, almost identical to her own.
“Sorry, can’t ‘member which is which.”
She nodded her thanks, but before she could leave, he reached out and grabbed her arm. It was gentle but urgent at the same time.
“How bad is he?” Teodor whispered. She gave him a reassuring smile.
“He’ll be fine. I’ll bring him up to his room later and you can talk to him yourself in the morning.”
Teodor let go of her arm with a thankful nod, and she walked away before he shut the door. She went to the door next to Teodor’s, and it unlocked with her first try.
Inside was a mess of clothing on the bed and small statues of the Oracles and their angels on the small shelf in the room. She didn’t take Brutus to be a religious man, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t. She scanned around quickly for anything that might hold crystals. There was a small purple bag just under the bed and she pulled it out.
She didn’t find Volonite. Instead, she found a tuning crystal made of Thelodot. Found only in Belalto, Thelodot was used for long-range communication. This had to be Simon’s room. The pair to this diamond-shaped crystal was likely with Darkan so that Simon could report on whatever the secret mission was. There would have to be a stack of notes to translate the tunes from the crystal into words. This might be her only chance to find it. She stuffed the Thelodot back into the bag and quickly searched the room. Simon had put nothing in the closet and there was nothing of note in the drawers. Even the clothes on the bed held no secrets for her. It was a small room. It should be that hard to find. The guilt of leaving Brutus in the basement finally pulled her from her search. She’d have to find out some other way.
Brutus’ room was the opposite of Teodor’s. It looked as pristine as it had been when they arrived. The only thing out of place was the black bag tucked just under the bed and a single closed suitcase in the closet. She pulled out the black bag first and opened it. Inside were various crystals of different shapes and sizes, all tucked into straps made just for each one. The bag unfolded so she could see all the crystals laid out in a line.
She quickly found the one he had used on her arms just a few days ago. Or at least it looked like the same one, she didn’t really know if all healing crystals were shaped like this or not. The glow was steady but not brilliant so it may not be completely charged. She studied the rest, trying to match the sigil just in case, and found a second one with the same sigil. It was a thick oblong, with the sharp edge on one end. She stuffed both under her shirt, careful to place the points away from her skin, and put the bag back under the bed.
She wanted to stop by her own room and see Dorothy, but when she got to the door, there was no light on inside. She didn’t want to wake the girl, so she slipped Simon’s key under Teodor’s door and headed downstairs. Somehow, she avoided everyone, even the front desk clerk didn’t look up when she walked by. Down the next set of stairs and she was back in the dirt room. She couldn’t hear anything from the other side of the false wall and her chest tightened in fear. Was she too late? She threw open the wall and rushed in. He was just sleeping, his head rocking back a forth but gratefully silent. She replaced the wall and knelt down beside his cot, careful to avoid the wet clothes this time.
“Brutus,” she whispered. “I have the crystals but I don’t know how to use them. I need you to wake up.”
Brutus groaned again when opening his eyes. But there was no recognition in them. He gazed through her like she was a ghost.
“Brutus,” she tried again. “I need your help. What do I do?”
His eyes focused on her face for a moment. “Magic,” he said as if finally understanding what she was talking about. “F-f-focus. To Do.” His voice was weak and his chattering teeth made it hard to make out the words.
Lynn tried to figure that one out. “So, I focus on what it’s supposed to do?”
Brutus shook his head. “You w-w-want do.”
“On what I want it to do?” She asked. He nodded. “So just a general, ‘fix him’ will work?”
Brutus closed his eyes and smiled. The first time she’d seen one. It was a nice smile. She pulled out the two crystals and held them out in front of him. He hadn’t opened his eyes again.
“Brutus. Come on. Stay awake. Tell me which one to use.” She grabbed onto his shoulder, shaking him gently. He opened his eyes and reached out to grab the oblong crystal. “Ok friend. That’s all I needed. You can relax now.”
Almost before the words were out of her mouth, he dropped his arm as if the effort was too much to keep it in the air.
She put the other crystal down on the ground and gripped the oblong one. She hoped it was as easy as he said, she’d never used healing magic. She’d had others heal her, but she’d never had to use it. Part of the Donassi upbringing she supposed. Even if she found magic useful, the thought of demons eating at her soul for all eternity had bothered her for a long time. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and pressed the crystal onto Brutus’ bare chest.
She focused on the crystal, and on the fact that he was sick and needed to be healed. Suddenly she could see Brutus’ body, or rather the inside of it. She could see in shades of blue and had to open her eyes to be sure of what she was seeing. When her eyes were closed again, she could see where his body was cold, where it was putting a strain on his heart and organs, where there were wounds that were letting something bad into his blood. She could see everything clearly. And she knew without needing it explained, what she had to do. She pushed and moved the heat from the room and different parts of his body into his chest. She could hear his breathing grow easier. Then Lynn pushed more heat into his arms and legs and head. Anywhere that was colder than it should be, she heated up. She pushed the bad stuff out of his blood and closed up the wounds. She didn’t stop until she felt a hand on her shoulder and her eyes flew open to see Brutus looking at her with kind, grateful eyes. Lynn let her hands drop to her sides and wiped her brow. She’d been sweating under the strain.
“Magic work takes a lot out of you the first few times. But you did very well. I feel normal again.” Brutus smiled at her, “Thank you.”
“Wow,” she said, “two smiles in one day. Careful, you’ll spoil me, now.” She meant it as a gentle joke but it wiped the smile from his face.
“Sorry,” she said, “It was just a joke.”
“I know,” he said. His voice was serious. “But it reminded me that I have things I need to tell you.”
Lynn got serious too. “What happened over there?”
Brutus got a faraway look in his eye as he told her what he remembered.
“I was singled out right away. I might not have looked like a Docker but I might as well have been. The men on that boat were beaten down. Obeyed the soldiers without a thought. They knew I wasn’t one of them, even if I said I was new. They just waited to see when the soldiers would notice. They didn’t have to say anything, just their attitude was enough to make the soldiers wary of me. By the time we made it across,
they pulled me out of the line and asked me how I’d gotten the job. I tried to stick to my story, but they wanted specifics. And when I couldn’t give them, they tried to arrest me. Asked if I was part of the group they were preparing for. I kept saying I was innocent, that I wasn’t part of any group, but they marched me towards the fort. Then I got a chance to run, and I took it. I made it into the forest and hid. They followed, of course, but I know my way around a forest. I found a small cave and hid in there. That’s when I got bit by something.” Several something's, if the vision Lynn saw was true. “I stayed there until it was dark. My vision was a little fuzzy, from the bites I’m guessing, but I made it to the water. I was far enough away from the fort that there weren’t any soldiers around. And then I swam. I didn’t even feel the cold until I was almost across. I pulled myself up on the far side of town and walked all the way back here. I was moving by instinct alone by then.” He looked at her in the eye. “You saved my life.”
He said it as a statement of fact. No thanks, just a statement. She’d take it.
“You’re welcome,” she said with a little nod of her head. But the gravity of what he’d told her was sinking in. The guards were preparing for something to happen. This was not the time for this job. Darkan couldn’t have known about all this going on. Not to mention that two of her so-called crew wouldn’t be able to leave this Inn until they left. There had to be a way to get out of this deal without breaking the contract. Her wrist itched at the thought.
She felt a hand on hers and looked up to see a grave-looking face on Brutus. “You need to fail this one.”
Lynn pulled her hand away from his. “I can’t.”
“Is that necklace really worth all of this?” he asked with a scowl. She scowled back.
“This isn’t just about the necklace. Though that is one of my primary concerns.” She took a deep breath. “I can’t be a slave to Darkan for twenty years. I can’t.” Twenty years would put her over the timeline to claim the farmstead. It would become her Pater’s property, legally there would be nothing she could do to stop it. “I can’t just quit. I have things... I can’t do it.”
“Would you die for it?” He appeared pained when he asked, and she couldn’t be sure if it was compassion or his bracelet.
“Die or be a slave for Darkan?” She considered it carefully and still came to the same conclusion. “I’d choose death.”
“Remember you told me that, ok.” He looked incredibly sad and Lynn didn’t know how to tell him what he needed to know to make this better.
“Come on,” she said, turning away and tucking the crystal back under her shirt. “Let’s get you up to your room. You’ll need to stay out of sight until I can disguise you.”
She turned to open the fake wall and heard him stand up behind her.... And then a lot of rustling. She turned to find him making the bed. She would have laughed except she should have expected it. Brutus was a bundle of contradictions. When he’d finished, and gathered up his wet clothes, he followed her out of the secret room and up the stairs to the main floor. She walked ahead of him to make sure the way was clear and then waved him to follow her. They were lucky that even the desk clerk wasn’t there when they snuck past. She left him by his room door, handing him his key without a word. She wanted to talk to Simon, but she was exhausted. She needed to sleep. She carefully crept into her room and stripped off her clothes, leaving them in a pile at the foot of the bed. Dorothy was a shadowy lump in the bed and she was grateful to not have to speak to anyone else tonight.
Eight
~Thursday Morning At The Corrupt Harpy~
DOROTHY WOKE TO the sound of loud whispers. Could whispers be loud?
“Be quiet you’ll wake her,” that was Lynn’s voice. Then she heard shuffling feet and a door closing. She could have gone back to sleep, but her curiosity was demanding to know what Lynn was talking about. Maybe they’d found out what happened to Brutus?
She stretched and yawned and quietly creeped out of bed to the door. Her bare feet made no noise on the floor, but a squeaking floorboard caused her to freeze. Three breaths later no one had opened the door, so she walked the rest of the way to the door. Even with her ear pressed against it, she couldn’t hear anything. Maybe they’d gone into one of the men’s rooms. She pouted, disappointed. She decided to get dressed and go find them. Her first instinct was to grab her dress, but she figured that it would be easier for Douglas Baker to move around without a chaperone. She smiled at the freedom Lynn had shown her.
It was quick to dress as a boy and tuck her braid under her cap as Lynn had shown her. No one had come back yet, so she left locking the door behind her. She walked as quietly as she could to the doors she knew the men were staying at. She heard Teodor snoring loudly in his room and covered her mouth to keep from giggling. Simon’s room was full of voices though. Lots of whispers. She knocked on the door. The whispers stopped, and after a few moments of silence, she spoke into the door.
“It’s me!” she tried to do that loud whisper she’d heard. She wondered if she should tell them her name, but the door opened before she had to think about which name to say.
“I thought you were asleep?” Lynn said.
Dorjee shrugged. “Can I come in?” She batted her eyelashes at Lynn liked she’d seen some girls do.
Lynn rolled her eyes, but with a smile. “I’m going to have to teach you how to use that look properly,” she said, then opened the door for her. Inside she saw not only Simon but Brutus as well, looking the same as he had yesterday morning before he left. She resisted the urge to run to him and give him a hug. She had been worried yes, but he didn’t seem like the hugging type.
“What is she doing here?” Simon said, his face all scrunched up. He obviously wasn’t feeling any nicer after being in the stocks yesterday.
“Well, someone needs to watch her until I can get Malack and Declan to come to get her for the day,” Lynn replied with her hands on her hips.
“The whole day?” Dorjee asked. Even she heard the whine in her voice. Lynn laughed.
“Probably not the whole day. But I have to meet with some people this morning and it wouldn’t be safe for you to come along.”
Dorjee just nodded. The way Lynn said ‘people’ it was probably the Blades she had met with yesterday. She would rather a whole day with Malack than a second in the same room as the man with the gun from the Velvet Rose.
“You expect me to watch the child?” Simon said with disgust.
“Hey,” Dorjee crossed her arms over her chest. He didn’t have to say it like that. Lynn physically got between them with her arms out.
“That’s enough out of you,” she directed at Simon, “It’s not as if you two have anywhere else you can be. You’re stuck in these rooms until we figure something else out. So, try to not be completely useless to me, ok?”
Simon crossed his arms and turned to look out the window. Brutus at least nodded his agreement. Dorjee hoped Malack would arrive quickly.
“Now that this is settled,” Lynn said smiling again, “Is there anything else I should know before I go?” Again, she directed her words at Simon, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he waved his hand in her general direction without turning to look her. It looked like he was trying to swat a fly.
Lynn let out a heavy sigh. “I will see you later, Dorothy.” She gave a single nod to Brutus, who returned it, and then she was gone. Maybe Dorjee should have just gone back to sleep.
The silence stretched for a long while. Simon didn’t turn around from looking out the window and Brutus glanced awkwardly at her and then away. Now it was her turn for a heavy sigh.
“Would it be ok if I waited in my room? At least I have a book in there.”
“Of course,” Brutus said, visibly relieved. Dorjee left the room and shut the door quietly behind her. She walked to the door of her room and then got an idea. She unlocked the door, opened it and shut it loudly. Then she slipped off her heavy boots and crept back to Simon’s door. They were talk
ing again. She pressed her ear against the door to hear better.
“What else was I supposed to do?” Simon’s voice sounded high pitched. Was he scared?
“You should have told her,” Brutus said.
“And increase the chances of her actually finishing this stupid mission of my uncle’s? No, thank you. I don’t want that on my conscience and I don’t think you do either.”
“She told me last night she would rather die than fail,” Brutus said. Was he talking about Lynn? Simon let out a harsh laugh.
“Of course, she would. Well then, she can die trying for all I care.”
“She will if you don’t tell her what they know. And then you’ll have that on your conscience.”
Silence followed that, and she began to worry that Brutus might leave the room and find her there. Finally, she decided that she’d go back to her room and wait. She’d heard enough to know that Simon was keeping something from Lynn and that Lynn needed to know. She just hoped she’d get to tell Lynn in time.
Lynn walked in through the back door of the Mermaid’s Kiss into the small receiving room she’d found there yesterday. It was empty save for one of the girls cleaning up drinks left on the table.
“Hello there, stranger. Can I help you with something?” At least it wasn’t redhead from yesterday.
“I’m supposed to meet with someone,” she said casually, deepening her tone of voice.
“Oh,” she said with obvious disappointment. “If you’re looking for Mr. Burkley, he’s next door having a late breakfast.”
“Thank you, darling,” Lynn said with a wink. The girl seemed to perk up. Next door was a middle-class restaurant. She was worried she wouldn’t be allowed in with her current dress since even the back door had a doorman. But at the mention of Mr. Burkley’s name, she was ushered right in. Her uncle was sitting in a secluded booth at the back of the restaurant. Very private.
