by K.N. Lee
A titter of laughter outside broke through her stunned concentration. About twenty feet from the opened tent flap, Anna sat on a stump. Women were crowding closer. Her sister’s face was aglow in the morning sunshine as she basked at being the center of attention.
Gilly had forgotten how much Anna craved belonging, being respected and listened to. Finally, she had something important to talk about, not merely to repeat idle gossip, but to share knowledge about a place right inside Ryca that few knew.
She was describing the tour they’d been given in Erov. The colorful tents, their manner of dress and the quills and scrolls on display in the Erovian marketplace. From the rapt attention of her listeners, Gilly suspected there would soon be a surge in the sale of writing implements in Perm, whether or not the buyers could read or write.
It was a while before Anna ended her tale, answered a myriad of questions and then returned to the tent. Her relaxed face wore a smile that curved her lips up and lit her eyes with happiness. A rare state for her sister, and it brought a warm glow to Gilly’s chest. “Been having fun?”
Anna stopped and raised an eyebrow, as if in surprise. “Yes. I never realized all that I missed while living in Nadym. There is a whole wonderful world out here.”
Gilly nodded. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.”
Anna gave her a thoughtful stare and then came closer. “We’re a lot alike, aren’t we?”
Gilly had to laugh at that. “In Nadym, you would have sworn we had not a thing in common.”
Anna restlessly paced back to the tent opening. “I was a fool in Nadym,” she said in an angry tone to the world at large. “I knew nothing and pretended to know everything.”
Gilly frowned at her sister’s stiff back. What had her so upset? “Don’t be hard on yourself. Only by traveling and seeing different places do we open our minds to other possibilities.”
Anna swung around and glared at her “You know all about that, don’t you, Gilly? You’ve traveled to many different places with my mother, brother and sister, and later, with me. You’ve been all over Ryca, while I only ever knew Nadym.”
Her sister’s envy and loneliness was heartbreaking. Anna had never known her family, only the one she built for herself. “You, too, have traveled much of late.”
“Yes, I have, and I’m learning more and understanding others better every day for it. I liked meeting the people of Erov and now these tenters.” She rushed closer and dropped to her knees before Gilly, her bad mood forgotten. “What do you say we find Marton and the children and explore Perm? It feels like forever since breakfast and I could use one of those spicy meat pies I’ve heard they sell at the marketplace.”
Gilly shook her head. “You go.”
“What are you going to do here by yourself?”
Cast a protection spell, wash out my clothing, rub ointment on my leg without Tom watching. The choices were endless, if lonely. Gilly pointed to the book with her quill. “I want to finish this.”
Perhaps I will take a lesson from that teardrop and write to you, what I can’t seem to say out loud.
“You’ve been at this long enough. How much is there to say? And don’t give me any foolish talk about protecting the tent. I heard outside that our possession will be perfectly safe. It’s a code among tenters that while neighbors are inside Perm, their things are not to be violated.”
Anna’s entreating glance made Gilly squirm with guilt but she stood her ground. Safer for all if she stayed out of sight, and out of Tom’s way.
Now that he was well, he might be ready to find a woman to entertain him in Perm. He could have already. One who wouldn’t kick him when he touched her. Each new realization bore a deeper hole into her heart. She bit her lip. “You should go now. Marton will worry if you stay away any longer.”
“It’s not safe for me to walk alone in a strange place,” Anna said in a stubborn voice. “Until I find him, I could use your swishing.” She emphasized her words with a wiggle of her fingers, “In case there’s trouble.”
Gilly chuckled. “I told you, it’s not safe to use high magic, especially so close to a horsemen garrison. We’d get caught.”
Anna shook her head. “Some of the women out there let slip that in Perm they still revere magic, though no one practices it. I don’t think anyone would tell on us. So let’s go.”
“Anna…”
“Just until I find Marton. Then you can scurry back here and hide in the tent.”
“I’m not hiding!” Gilly said, annoyed in part because her sister was right. She was hiding from the future Tom promised. It would be so different from what she had lived with for the past twenty years. Accepting Tom meant inviting another person into her solitary world. Am I so content to be alone?
One look at her sister and the answer was clear. No! “All right, I’ll come.”
She barely packed her sack with her books and quill before a crowing Anna shooed her outside.
Chapter 10
Gilly and Anna made their way to the city entrance and discovered a long line of people ahead of them. Their walk to the back of the line to get into Perm was disheartening. When they finally reached the gate, there was a toll to pay. Without a wagon of merchandise, however, it was a small fee. By the time they walked through, Gilly was starving, having missed her breakfast and midday meal.
It had been so noisy among the tenters that Gilly had assumed it would be even more so inside Perm, but there was hardly anyone about. On this side of the city’s immense wall, a cobblestone road stretched far into the horizon on either side of them. Across the road, about a hundred paces away, houses were carved right into the rock, making this city appear nestled within the mountain.
The people who had come through the gates ahead of them walked briskly toward various doorways and vanished within. The only one loitering nearby was a man adjusting a strap on a heavily laden donkey.
Gilly’s stomach growled in complaint and she lost interest in the man. “First thing I’m going to do once we’re at the marketplace is eat.”
“I’m hungry, too, but which of those doors leads to the main market?” Anna sounded both awed and anxious.
Before she could make a guess, the man pulling the overloaded donkey walked by and pointed to a doorway to their right. “Layabouts don’t get the early worms, you know, and if you two don’t hurry up, all the best goods will be gone.” He sounded appalled by their late arrival. “The market closes an hour before sunset!”
Gilly gave him a curious glance at that unlooked-for advice, but he hurried away up the road. She shrugged off his bad temper and studied the door he pointed out. On its lintel, was a colorful carving of people gathered around a booth. “Think that’s a marketplace sign?”
“Could be,” Anna said.
They were about to cross the road when a pair of King’s Horsemen in green capes rode by, horses’ hooves clip-clopping on the cobbles. That terrifying sight instantly decided Gilly’s course and she hurried Anna forward.
The doorkeeper confirmed this was indeed Perm’s market and held his hand out for an entry payment. Gilly cringed at the exorbitant charge he quoted but Anna handed over the two bronze coins without complaint.
The moment they stepped inside, the mystery of the missing people was solved. The noisy hallway had several open doors but the loudest chatter came from the far end, which had a wider opening flanked by marble columns. With shared smiles, they hurried through that opulent entrance only to find two green-cloaked horsemen on foot that stood guard at the opening.
The one closest to her nodded a narrow-eyed greeting and Gilly nodded back before looking away. She took Anna’s hand and within two steps, they were engulfed in a stream of people. The experience was akin to having a cloak of invisibility swept over them. Gilly, never one to like crowds, now thanked the Light for this one.
Her ears were reverberating from the noise inside this gigantic room.
Anna squeezed her hand and shouted, “Can you . . . believe . .
. this place?”
Her sister was unlikely to hear her any more than she could understand her, so Gilly simply squeezed her hand.
Every guild imaginable appeared to have a stand – dyers, masons, bakers, shoemakers, and rope makers. Gilly’s mind reeled at the number of trades showcasing their talents. She trembled at the wondrous sights. And being among so many people was overwhelming. The crowd flowed around them like a gushing river.
What did stand out among this crowd were many green-caped horsemen positioned along the far walls, each standing about twenty paces apart.
Behind them, the tall gray stonewall was smoothed to a brilliant shine that reflected the lights of hundreds of lanterns and torches hung high above. On the ceiling, vast colorful murals depicted Ryca’s history, from its origins as an isolated coastal fortress built by a few hardy souls to a violent bloody scene of Prince Keegan’s murder at the hands of his queen.
Gilly frowned, feeling that scene was unreal after the revelations in Erov about the night the prince died. She blinked and Prince Keegan’s killer shifted. The murderous queen transformed into a stooped, twisted man with a jeweled dagger. In a blink, the earlier version returned and Gilly sensed the mask of a spell rippling over that mural.
The people of Perm played with fire by displaying such a magical artifact publicly, right in the midst of this horseman-controlled city. She shivered, afraid for everyone in the room.
The vision of reoccurring green capes beside the gray walls was a stark reminder this was a dangerous city for her and those she loved. Though she was glad she had acquiesced to come with Anna, she was no longer certain she wanted to leave her sister and the children, not even in Marton’s protection. In fact, finding him in this crowd might prove a problem.
Together, they toured the chamber for a sign of a familiar face. Lost was her trepidation she was not good enough for Tom as she anxiously searched for his dear angular features and dark brown hair.
At the heavenly scent of meat pies, Gilly halted, her hunger overtaking her worries. “This is too good to pass up, Anna.”
“Tasty pies. Best in all of Perm.” The vendor’s gaze skimmed over Gilly, lingering on her lame leg before swinging up to meet her gaze with intensity. “Better than even a palace cook could produce, eh, missus?”
Gilly sniffed a crusty top that was wafting amazing flavors of rosemary and thyme. “I’ll take two, please.”
“Just one for me,” Anna said, with a chuckle.
They lingered beside the meat cart, eating and watching the crowd.
“Move along!” a King’s Horseman said.
Gilly started at the barked order. She’d not noticed the horseman so close. After exchanging a worried glance with Anna, Gilly licked salty meat juices off her fingers, wiped her hand clean and took hold of Anna again. They returned to their search.
Once out of earshot of the horseman, Gilly said, “I’m unhappy with leaving you here.”
“That makes two of us,” Anna said. “The sooner we find Marton and the children and leave this marketplace, the happier I’ll be too.”
“Good.” Relief washed over Gilly as they passed a man tossing flaming torches in the air as if they were no more dangerous than a half dozen sticks. Gilly stopped to watch him in fascination.
“Bevan would love this.” Anna’s grip on her loosened. “Stay here, while I fetch him.”
“No, I’ll come with you.” Gilly clenched her sister’s withdrawing fingertips but a large lout barged between them, forcefully breaking their hold.
She tumbled backwards and into the juggler. Her cry of, “Anna!” was lost in his loud curses and the spectators’ alarmed exclamation as flaming torches plunged to the ground. Metallic rims struck a ringing clang against the stone floor and sparks flew in all directions. Spectators surged away to avoid getting singed.
Gilly regained her feet and covered her hot cheeks with her cool hands. She had ruined his act. “I’m so sorry!”
As the torch flames died, people broke into laughter and pointed at her, a chilling echo of her dream. By the time she helped the juggler retrieve his fallen equipment, Anna was nowhere in sight.
Frantically, she scanned for a sign of her sister’s distinctive blond head among so many brunette and black haired people. How hard could she be to spot? Anna should stand out like a blazing light in this sea of darkness.
Fear holding her fist clenched, she circuited the gigantic room. The children were not by the acrobats. She was sure that act should have drawn Bevan’s attention, if not Skye’s. At this point, even running into Tom in the arms of another woman would have been a profound relief.
As she searched and failed to spot anyone from her party, her heart began to pound with true panic. Could Anna have found Marton and the children and returned to the tent? Would she have forgotten about me? Seemed unlikely considering how hard her sister had gripped her hand since they spotted the first horsemen at the entrance.
She could have panicked, wanting to get her children out of this chamber. The sensible thing would be to return to the tent to check if anyone had gone back there. Yet, Gilly was reluctant to leave without Anna in hand. Just one more quick circuit about the room, and then she’d go back to the tent. When she returned to the hallway, she went into every open doorway. Nowhere did she spot a recognizable face.
Exhausted, and having lost track of time in the underground rooms, she made her way back to the columned entryway and stared blindly into the large chamber, her mind numb.
“Move along,” a nearby horseman said. “You’re blocking the entryway.”
Afraid he might chase her out, Gilly hurried inside. Also, the crowd felt thinner. The mule driver said the market closed an hour before sunset. Surely it wasn’t so late already?
Cullen! He had come here to set up a booth here. People were sure to remember him. And he might have seen Anna, Marton and the children or know where they were going next. But where was his stand? She didn’t recall seeing a minstrel’s booth. A woman brushed past and Gilly said, “Mistress, have you seen a minstrel in here?”
“Only one who claims to have been to Erov.” The woman paused and gave a harsh laugh. “I wasted good coin listening to his idiocy. Black skinned people, indeed. I’ve heard more plausible tales from my children.” She pointed a thumb across the room. “His booth is beside the scarf seller.”
Giddy with relief, Gilly was about to take off in that direction when the woman snagged her sleeve.
“Don’t waste your money listening to his lies, missus. If you want to hear a good taradiddle, the Rycan Warriors spin a better tale about Prince Keegan’s daughter arriving in Perm. At least they spout their nonsense for free.”
Gilly shook off the woman’s hold, and then wondered if that’s why there were so many horsemen in this chamber today. Why they refused to allow anyone to loiter. Were they on the lookout for Keegan’s daughter? If so, she wished the young princess safe travels.
Crossing the chamber didn’t take as long because the crowd was definitely thinner. She hardly bumped into one person. Means I’m running out of time. If people were leaving, the market must be closing soon. If she didn’t return to her tent, the gates could shut and she would be trapped inside Perm with nowhere to go and horsemen on patrol everywhere she turned.
Her impromptu dash brought her to Cullen’s booth.
It was empty.
She gave a defeated sigh and leaned against the stand, a painful stitch springing up her left leg. Where could they all be?
After a moment, she sensed someone watching her. A horseman? Slowly, she swung her gaze to her left. The scarf seller from the booth beside this one was eyeing her with intense interest. Dread collapsed and hope reared. This man might have spoken to Cullen. She pushed herself away to limp over to him. “Sir, did you see the minstrel Cullen? Will he be returning soon?”
He shook his head. “Just started my shift. No one’s been over there since I arrived. You look like you could use a pretty scarf t
o cheer you.” He held out a silky blue confection. “This one’s from Tibor. They breed the best silkworms along that coast where the weather is warmer and humid. If Prince Keegan’s daughter was here, she would wear this material. You can have it for a steal, missus.”
Gilly absently waved him away and asked the next person who strode by about Cullen, and the one after that. A young boy said he’d listened to the minstrel earlier this morning but the booth had been empty for a while.
Defeated, Gilly returned to Cullen’s booth and sank onto his chair. Nothing left now but to return to her tent and hope Anna was there with her family. Or Tom had returned to look for her. That last hope got her back on her weary feet.
The room was almost bare now. So sparse, in fact, that even the scarf seller was shutting down his booth. The nearest horsemen, about eight paces away on her right seemed to be eyeing her with suspicion for loitering. Time to leave. A cry rose in her throat in protest at that admission of defeat, but she swallowed it down. Her sore leg protested but she doggedly hobbled across this large chamber repeating a silent mantra.
Anna is safe. The children are safe. Tom is safe.
There was a crush to get out the front doors and when she finally exited onto the cobblestone street outside, the sun was low on the horizon. Her steps halted and her stomach clenched in rejection of crossing the road to the portal through which she and Anna had entered Perm. Once those giant gates slammed shut behind her, Anna would be trapped in Perm. The stretch of road before her yawned as wide as the forest through which she had trudged with baby Anna in her arms, leaving behind two siblings and her mother in the cottage to perish.
She choked back a cry before it broke free. Think. If everyone was leaving the market, there could still be time before the gates shut. If she hurried to the tent, and found it empty she could slip back into Perm. But what if she misjudged the time? Ask someone the hour.
