by C. R. Daems
“I Jatia, Honorable One. You hurt arm,” Liada said. She was grateful Emmund had her tattooed. It was the only thing that was going to save her.
“I’ve seen you in Ostono,” he said, giving her a shake.
“No. Never to Ostono. Would like go, Honorable One.”
“She is Gorlack, High Priest. No Ostono woman would have Gorlack tatts. One probably wouldn’t speak Gorlack either,” the other priest said while examining her arm again. He bent his head to peer at the tatts. “These are real.”
A senior priest strode into the Temple and waited beyond the crowd.
“She looks very much like the girl in Ostono. But many young women look alike, I suppose.” He let her go and returned to the front.
The senior priest who had just walked up said, “High Priest, we have searched from Market and Edgewater Streets to the docks including the Markets. We found nothing.”
“The Quag must search all of Llunris tonight. They may find their energy trail and identify where they are hiding. Tomorrow we will search Pier and Edge to the docks. I know they are here.” Sechael’s voice was loud and sounded frustrated.
“High priest, pardon, but the people of Llunris will not tolerate much more. They are at the point of revolt.”
“Finish tomorrow. If we don’t find them by then, they have probably left the city.”
Liada stayed for another half hour, as priest after priest reported no progress. She was sweating but it was too risky to attract attention by leaving. Sechael kept looking in her direction, and she was sure if she left too soon, he would have her arrested or followed.
* * * *
Emmund was lounging in her chair while Zeph paced around her room when she got there.
“Where have you been?” Emmund said. “With priests everywhere I was starting to worry.”
Hmmmph.
He hadn’t looked worried. She told them about following the crowd and her encounter in the Temple.
“You did what?” Zeph shouted. “He knows you from Ostono, and you have your friends on you—in a Temple full of Quag.”
“What did you learn?” Emmund asked. He was shaking his head.
“The Quag will be out tonight. And tomorrow will be the last day of the search. The priests are afraid of the people. They’re getting really angry. But they’ll have conducted a thorough search of all Llunris by tomorrow,” Liada said. Although she had been scared when Sechael had singled her out, very scared, she was pleased. Neither the priests nor the Quag were perfect. If they were the favorites of the gods, the gods must have been asleep or didn’t care about the priests and their interests.
Emmund gave one of his crooked smiles. “I found the man Kaim followed. He’s part of the assassin guild here. It would be nice to see the list Erisbeth prepared.” He seemed to be talking to himself until he looked up at Liada.
“Tomorrow won’t be safe or that night, perhaps the day after. I won’t risk my friends before that. Besides, if we lose the First Ones, we will lose all chance of finding our answers in time to stop the killing.”
* * * *
The next day at work, Liada didn’t see any priests. Almost everyone who stopped to buy fish had something to say about them though. A man stopped to talk to Cammlo for a long time, shouting that the priests had forced their way into his house, broken things and frightened his family for nothing. Two women nearby were talking about throwing the priests out of Llunris. She still hadn’t gotten used to that. In Ostono, the priests had an iron grip on the people. Talk like this would get you dragged off to the Temple, and you’d probably never come back.
The priests had two advantages or they wouldn’t have survived this long in any of the empires. First was the fear of the First Ones returning, but that threat was wearing thin since no one alive had seen a First One. Second was the Quag. The Quag could kill an entire mob.
After work, she wandered the market. The mood was more subdued, but the people were still angry. Liada agreed with the priest that had told Sechael the people wouldn’t tolerate another day of searches. The afternoon was interesting and she learned some new words that would have shocked her mother. They made her laugh under her breath. After a while, she strolled back to the Inn for dinner with Zeph.
“How is it going at work?” Liada asked. Zeph looked worried, which he did a lot lately. He was only picking at his food, which wasn’t like Zeph at all.
“We went to some Inns on Pier Street. It was crawling with Priests and Quag.”
“It’ll end today. And in the market there was talk of throwing the priests out of Llunris.”
“Throw out the priests?” Zeph shook his head. “In Ostono—”
“Gorlacks seems to have run out of tolerance—like Breeze Point. That’s probably why Sechael’s plan has Breeze Point and Gorlack last.”
Zeph used a piece of bread to sop up the last of the gravy in the bottom of his bowl of stew. Afterward, they went upstairs to her room. She was sure Emmund would be waiting as usual, and he was.
“I was thinking we might send the First Ones out to look around tonight,” he said, looking thoughtful.
“No. The priests had the Quag out last night. They might again tonight. Or if the Quag searched early tomorrow morning, they’d see its trail back here. Let’s not give Sechael any reason to keep looking.”
“All right. I’m not sure they would find anything worth the risk. We know the password, and it’s probably the same in all the cities. I’d like to know who’s on the list. We’ve been lucky so far, I’m just greedy.” Emmund laughed.
Liada had to chuckle. Emmund had a nice laugh—on the rare occasion he used it.
“I wonder when Sechael’s going to leave. Their plan must start soon. And people are going to die.” Now he didn’t look like he felt like laughing. “Never mind. You’re right about your friends. We don’t want to take any unnecessary chances with them. I’ll have someone watch the docks. He will have to contact someone for transportation there.”
Emmund stood thoughtful for a minute, then turned and left.
“He actually sounded reasonable,” Zeph said, looking at the door.
“Losing the First Ones would be a disaster for him. He has to be.”
Zeph gave her a speculative look. “Well, maybe we’ve just been around him too long.”
The next few days were routine. Mistress Cammlo actually talked to her now and then, and she consented to give Liada the recipe for the batter she used for her fried fish. She was a hard-working woman, who had lost her husband and had to support two children on what she earned at the market. It was hard work, filleting the fish, cooking it over the boiling hot cauldron, and waiting on customers. Liada had provided a bit of relief from having to do everything. She felt sorry for Cammlo, but she sure didn’t want to do this for the rest of her life. Liada rubbed the ache in the small of her back and filleted another fish.
At noon, since she hadn’t seen even a single priest, she let Aliy go to Erisbeth’s house and Kaim to the assassin’s house. Tali stayed with her. She knew she was being selfish but she wanted her friend’s company and to protect at least one if something went wrong. Aliy was back that evening. Its thin feathers brushed her neck and shoulder as it landed.
“Did you manage to find out anything, Aliy?”
“Yes. I entered the house with some of Erisbeth’s friends. They spent hours talking. Most was about the priests and how much power they would have under the priests. Sechael is leaving in two days. He’s chartered a boat called the Sea Hawk. I found out a couple of names on the list, and I know the names of everyone who was there.”
She felt comforted by the brush of its feathers and knowing Aliy was safe for now. Emmund showed up not long afterward. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought that he knew exactly when one of her friends came back to report. But he actually smiled at her. She wondered if he was getting sick.
“What’s new, Liada?”
“Don’t you ever carry on a real conversati
on?” she asked. If he was going to smile, he could at least say hello, too. He showed up without notice, never told you when he would be back, wasted no words, and disappeared.
“Sorry. Years of being a spy do little for my social skills. I have no life except for spying on others.” He’d made her feel bad. She had Zeph, her friends, and family. He had nothing but work.
“I’m sorry. I guess I never thought about how lonely it could be—being a spy. Maybe when this is over you could come and visit Zeph, me, and my parents—if you get time,” she blurted. Emmund was infuriating at times, but she’d become...rather fond of him in a strange way. She thought he was blushing!
He stood speechless for a long time. “I’d like that.”
She nibbled on her lip for a second and decided to change the subject. “Sechael is leaving in two days.” She gave him the names Aliy had identified.
“Excellent. Thank Aliy for me.” He smiled. “If you can be ready, we’ll leave tomorrow. We need to reach Stonecross before Sechael.”
After Emmund left, Kaim landed on her shoulder, tickling her ear. She smiled. Everyone was home safe. And Emmund actually asked if she could be ready. That was definitely a new one.
“As Emmund thought, our man is an assassin. He seems to be a leader in the guild and met with several men over the past day and night. I could identify them but they go by nicknames, not real one: Blade… Blood… Hawk… Fang… Tong…. The one we were following is called Chief.”
Sounds like people we don’t want to meet, she thought.
“We leave tomorrow, my friends. I’d like you to stay in my harness until we leave. Maybe the search is over. But let’s not take a chance.”
Chapter 16
Ostono: Stonecross
The boat was the same one they’d taken from Breeze Point to Hawks Point, sleek and fast. Liada loved the blue of the water melding into the sky on the horizon, the wind in her hair, and the salt-water spray in her face. The sea smelled delicious once you were away from the shore. They sailed faster than a horse could gallop. Emmund had said it would take all day, as they had to cross almost the entire length of Lake Disos.
Zeph sat next to her in the back of the boat. He didn’t look sea-sick, but he looked strange, like something was bursting to come out.
“What’s wrong?” she said.
“My father and Ma,” he said, his voice husky. “They must know I didn’t go to my uncle’s by now. I took off without telling them. They must hate me.”
She grinned. “Tell them I kidnapped you.”
He glared at her, and Liada was immediately sorry. It wasn’t funny. She worried, too, when she had time to think about it. Worse, she could get everyone tortured and killed if the Priests found out what she was doing. “I’m sorry. I’ve been trying not to think about it. It hurts less that way.”
“What am I going to tell them?”
“The truth,” she said. “You were trying to protect me because we’re friends.”
“You think they’ll understand?”
“Zeph, they love you. They’ll be happy you didn’t run away. You were saving my life and hoping not to get them involved.”
“Pa was talking about talking to your pa. We’re old enough for betrothal—”
Liada’s mouth dropped open and her face flooded with heat. She tried to say something but she just choked. “Zeph, you know you don’t care about me—that way.”
“Well, we’re used to each other. It wouldn’t be so bad.”
His voice sounded funny though.
“Zeph, I’ve seen you look at other girls.” She turned her head and managed to look him in the face even though her own was burning with embarrassment. “Neither one of us would end up being happy.”
He nodded. “I guess.”
“Anyway, we’ll worry about that when this is all over,” she managed to get out.
“What about your parents? What will you tell them?”
“Nothing right now. We’ll leave again soon. Unless you stay,” Liada said. She’d been grateful for Zeph’s company. He’d been there when she needed someone. She’d miss him terribly if he stayed.
“I’m going with you. You need someone to look after you. I know you think you can take care of yourself. But if someone starts to hurt you—well, they better not. And I still don’t trust Emmund.”
“Thank you, Zeph.” They both sat quietly as the boat glided over the water. It was evening when the sailors tied the boat up at the dock. By the time they unloaded their things, it was dark with just a sliver of the moon shining. There was a carriage sitting empty. Emmund climbed up onto the driver’s seat, dressed in his usual dark clothes and driver’s hat. Before Liada and Zeph had settled into the seat, he had the horse moving.
“I wonder where he’s going?” Liada said.
“More of the same. He’ll tell us when he gets there.” Zeph laughed.
“I guess he thinks it’ll spoil the fun if we know.” Having no real choice, she and Zeph settled down on the cracked leather seats. It was a short ride up Dock Road to the road circling the Market. Seeing familiar places and knowing she didn’t dare see anyone she loved made her hurt inside and it felt like there was a fist inside her throat. A few minutes later, Emmund turned onto Rocky Road.
She and Zeph both stared in shock. He appeared to be taking them in the direction of their homes. She wasn’t ready and she didn’t think Zeph was either. When he turned onto Lansee Street, she knew he was headed to The Hideaway.
Damn the man. We’re not ready.
The dining room would be closed but her mother would be cleaning up and preparing for the next day’s meals. Her father would probably be in the Tavern serving drinks and talking with customers, mostly with people staying at the Inn. But some would be townspeople relaxing after a day’s work.
Emmund jumped down.
I’ll get even with you for this.
She glared at him.
“We can lessen the shock if I warn your parents you’re coming,” he said as he walked towards the back door to the kitchen.
She panicked until she felt the three First Ones move.
“We are here to support you, Liada. We will do whatever is necessary to help,” Tali said. Kaim and Aliy also assured her, each brushing her cheek with what she had always thought to be a kiss. She patted Zeph’s hand.
“We’ll be all right.”
Zeph choked out, “Uh huh.” He gave her a weak smile.
Emmund appeared at the coach door. “I’ve told your mother you’re here and I’m bringing you in. I told her it was important not to tell anyone until you talked to her. She went to get your father.”
“You could have warned us,” Liada said as she jumped from the coach.
“I didn’t want to worry you.”
If she weren’t so nervous, she would have hit him. He smiled at her glare. They walked to the back door and opened it.
Her mother and father stood in the lamplight just inside. Her mother threw her arms around Liada and squeezed. Her father waited until her mother let her go before he grabbed her arms and kissed her cheek. Then he put his hand under her chin and turned her face to expose her tattoo.
“You caused us many a sleepless night worrying about you. You have a lot of explaining to do,” her father said. Her mother stepped back, her gaze fixed on the tattoo.
“Why... How…” Then her mother glared at Emmund. “Who is he?”
“We’ll explain everything. Please, let’s get Zeph’s parents so we can explain it to everyone all at once.”
“I’ll get them,” her father said and stalked out the door, shaking his head. She couldn’t figure out if he was mad at her, happy to see her, or exasperated—probably all three. Now tears were running down her mother’s face and she started stroking Liada’s hair back, seeming to examine her for anything wrong. Liada suspected “wrong” included tattoos.
The door opened as Zeph’s father stormed through it.
“Gods. He’s here.” He grab
bed his son. She wondered if Zeph was going to get hugged, hit or shaken. She would have laughed if it weren’t so serious. His mother, Dori, stood there crying so hard she started to hiccup.
“All right. Now it’s time to ’fess up. And I guess you’ll explain him sometime,” her father said, pointing to Emmund, who hadn’t moved the whole time and had the most infuriatingly bland look on his face as though he’d nothing to do with the whole thing.
Liada let out a long sigh and looked at Zeph.
“You tell it. You tell stories better,” he said.
She nodded. Zeph had never been much of a talker. She almost laughed, but thought it was a bad time.
“I have to start at the very beginning. It’s going to sound like we made it up. We didn’t. Please…let me tell the whole thing first.” Liada looked at each until they nodded.
“It begins in the garden out back…”
Liada decided she shouldn’t skip anything—the truth and nothing but the truth. Several times during the story, one of the parents tried to interrupt to ask a question. She shook her head and said, “Please. Let me finish first.” But she could see from their faces that they were having a hard time believing the story. When she finished there was silence. All four had glanced at Emmund several times during the tale.
“You couldn’t possibly make one like that up. And those are real tattoos. But no one’s seen the First Ones for years. Are you sure they’re really talking to you?” her mother said.
“Tali.”
The little Sprite appeared beside her. Zeph’s mother gasped and the others stood wide-eyed.
“Aliy.”
The Firebird appeared on the other side. Everyone took a step forward to get a better look.
“Kaim.”
The Seadragon floated beside Aliy.
“May I present to you my friends, the First Ones?”
No one said anything for several minutes. Then the First Ones vanished to return to Liada’s shoulders.
“The Priests are planning to take over?” Her father and Zeph’s asked the question almost at once.
