BRYTE'S ASCENT (Arucadi Series Book 8)

by E. Rose Sabin

  She’s orienting herself, Bryte realized. What was Lina planning? Whatever it was, it would probably not include her. And would they ever stop somewhere and cool off?

  After they’d passed by all the places open to tourists on the fourth and fifth tiers and on the fifth tier reached a park that adjoined an exclusive, gated office complex, Lina bid the carriage stop and let them off. She paid the fare, which had to have been substantial after so much riding around, and directed Bryte into the park.

  When they reached a bench in a secluded area, Lina let Bryte sit. Shade trees offered welcome relief from the stifling heat. But Lina did not allow a lengthy respite. “Those office buildings are a good place to hunt for Lord Inver,” she said. “We’re going to explore them. But unless I tell you otherwise, you must not use your power.”

  “How are we going to get in there?” Bryte asked. “We’d need passes and identification.”

  “We’ll get in, don’t worry. Leave that to me. Did you hear what I said about not using your power?”

  “Yes, but that isn’t easy. I can tune out what I don’t want to hear, but I can’t just not hear things.”

  “Well, hear things the way normals do. Don’t extend your hearing.”

  Bryte nodded agreement, not bothering to explain that she had no idea what the normal range of hearing was or how to restrict herself to it.

  “It’s very important,” Lina insisted. “You must not use your power. Especially not anywhere near Lord Inver.”

  “But we may not find his office, even if we get in.”

  Lina must have heard the skepticism in her voice. “We’ll get in,” she said.

  Lina rose and started through the park toward the high fence that separated it from the office complex, not bothering to look to be sure Bryte followed.

  Of course Bryte did. She was startled to see Lina come to a sudden stop and clap her hands to her head. Bryte hurried to catch up with her and ask, “What’s wrong?”

  Lina’s face was pale; her body shook. She sucked in gasps of air as if struggling to breathe.

  Bryte put a hand under her arm to steady her. “What is it?” she asked again. “What happened?”

  It was several minutes before Lina was able to answer. “Oryon,” she said. “He’s done something to Oryon. I felt it.” She straightened, breathing more normally; color returned to her face.

  “We’ve shared power so many times that we’re linked in some way. I felt—I felt distress, pain … and then emptiness. I don’t know …”

  “Is he dead? Has Lord Inver killed him?”

  Lina lifted her head and sniffed the air as though the wind might carry the answer to Bryte’s question. Finally she said, “I don’t think so. I’d feel his death even more strongly than I felt this, this … whatever it was. But something terrible has happened, that I know.” She bared her teeth in a snarl that reminded Bryte of Master Onigon’s angry cat. Her fingers curved like claws. “If he’s hurt Oryon or killed him, I’ll find Lord Inver and tear open his chest and claw out his heart.”

  Bryte shuddered at the image. Could Lina really do such a thing? Would she?

  Bryte rather thought she both could and would.

  Lina crossed the remaining distance to the stone fence in three angry strides. Hands on her hips, she stood regarding the stones as Bryte caught up with her.

  The wall was higher than a tall man, and imbedded in its top were shards of glass and sharp metal fragments. “How are we supposed to get over that?” Bryte asked.

  “We’re not going over it; we’re going through it,” Lina said. “I’ll need to borrow power. You won’t need it—I’ve already told you not to use any.”

  It was a demand, not a request, and Bryte’s first reaction was to refuse. Then she thought about Oryon and about Lina’s distress. “Go ahead,” she said, steeling herself for a drain like that she had felt in the bazaar. She leaned against the fence and shut her eyes.

  She felt a momentary weakness, straightened, opened her eyes, and saw Lina still staring at the wall.

  Bryte looked at the portion of the wall receiving Lina’s attention. A stone disappeared from it, then another, and another, until an opening was created, large enough for them to crawl through. A handful of pebbles littered its base.

  Lina scooped up the pebbles and wormed through the opening, motioning Bryte to follow. As soon as they were both standing on the other side of the wall, Lina placed the pebbles back into the opening, and again Bryte felt a momentary weakness. The pebbles grew into stones that filled the breach, though their haphazard arrangement, full of gaps and bulges looked unstable. It would never stand up to inspection, but from a distance, who would notice?

  They stood on a grassy plot not far from a tall office building, in plain sight of anyone who happened to gaze out of the building’s open windows.

  “Follow me.” Lina .headed for the rear of the building.

  Bryte obeyed, expecting guards to step out and stop them at any moment.

  “I can’t make us invisible the way Oryon could,” Lina said as she walked. “I’ve set wards to make us less noticeable. Watch for an employees’ entrance.”

  They spotted one before going very far. A large group of men and women were streaming out of it. “It’s closing time,” Bryte whispered. “They’re all going home.”

  Lina drew her behind a row of trashcans. The cans shielded them from view but the heat accentuated the foul odors of the garbage. “I’m going to get behind those people and walk after them as if I’m an employee,” Lina whispered. “I’ll turn and go back as if I’d forgotten something, which is what I’ll tell anyone who questions me. You wait out of sight until I come back or signal you to come to me. I’ll try to locate Lord Inver’s office.”

  “But it’s probably not in this building or even anywhere near here.”

  “No, but I ought to be able to find someone who knows where it is. Quiet now, and do as I say.” With that, Lina glided out of hiding and slipped up to the departing workers.

  Bryte sneaked peeks and saw Lina turn back, exchange a brief word with a worker late in exiting, and go in through the doors. Bryte resisted the temptation to test her power by listening to the conversation. The time had not yet come to break her promise to Lina.

  A couple of men approached the trashcans. Bryte hunkered down as one lifted a lid and tossed something into the can, letting out a whiff of rotting garbage that made Bryte hold her breath to keep from gagging. When the two moved on, her released breath came out as a sigh of relief.

  After that she waited nervously until Lina returned as silently as she had left.

  “I found out which building Lord Inver’s office is in. It’s not too far. Come on.”

  “How did—?”

  Lina cut off Bryte’s question with a wave of her hand and led Bryte quickly around the building to its front and onto the walkway leading past the imposing entranceway.

  The walkway filled the space between the buildings and the high stone fence in front. Despite its width, it was almost devoid of foot traffic and very quiet. Apparently most workers left by the rear exits, and with the offices closed or closing, no clients were arriving.

  Bryte couldn’t help contrasting this area with the bustling crowds that filled the streets and walkways of the flats. It should have been peaceful, but she found the silence oppressive. One or two Peace Officers guarded the entrance of each building.

  Lina walked along at a brisk pace but not so rapid as to attract attention. A Peace Officer regarded them with a stern stare. Lina smiled and nodded, and he looked away.

  They passed three buildings, and Bryte was sweating by the time they reached the fourth, more from nervousness than from the heat and the exertion. As usual Lina seemed unbothered by either.

  This fourth building was the most imposing. It was six stories tall, not high as buildings go, but it was of heavy stone, with iron grillwork covering the windows on the first two floors. The bronze doors were guarded by two armed
Peace Officers.

  “We’ll never get in there,” Bryte said.

  “Oh, I think we will,” Lina replied. “You just stay behind me and keep your mouth shut.”

  With that, she walked toward the guards, while Bryte dutifully fell in behind her.

  As Lina approached, the guards dropped their hands onto their weapons. Lina didn’t hesitate, though Bryte slowed and stepped to the side, out of the line of fire. That angle allowed her a side view of Lina’s face.

  Lina smiled coquettishly and spoke in a lilting voice. “Please, I know it’s late and the offices are closing—”

  “Closed,” one guard barked. “They’re all closed.”

  The other guard, a younger man, returned Lina’s smile and asked, “Why did you need to get in?”

  “I’m Dr. Guinn’s niece. I have an important message for him.”

  How Lina had gotten the name was as much a mystery as how she’d discovered where to find Lord Inver’s office.

  “You have identification or a pass?” the older guard asked, less harshly. Both men had moved their hands away from their weapons.

  She’s using her power. She’s using it to charm them.

  “I have identification, of course,” Lina said, opening her handbag. “I don’t have a pass, but you can call Dr. Guinn and verify what I’m telling you. I’m positive he will not yet have left the building.”

  “Sure, we can do that,” the younger guard said, moving away from his post.

  Lina groped through her handbag, stalling, Bryte figured, since any identification she produced would reveal her lie. “I’m sorry,” she was saying, smiling up into the guard’s stern face. “I’m afraid things get all jumbled in here, and it always takes a while to find anything.” She looked apologetic and flustered and utterly helpless. It was all Bryte could do not to laugh.

  “Take your time, my dear,” the guard said, his tone fatherly now and indulgent.

  Lina continued to root through the handbag until finally she cried, “Here it is at last!” and pulled out a card case just as the younger guard returned.

  Good timing, Bryte thought.

  “Dr. Guinn has left,” the younger guard announced. “No one answered the call.”

  Lina let the hand holding the card case drop to her side. “Oh, but he can’t have left. I’m positive he hasn’t.” Tears flooded her eyes. “Oh, please. This is really very important. I have to get this message to him. I’m sure he’s still in his office and not answering the phone because of the time. Can’t I just go and see?”

  Both guards wore solicitous expressions. “I could go with her,” the younger guard offered. “I’m sure there’d be no harm done.”

  “Oh, could you?” Lina’s voice gushed. “I’d be ever so grateful to you. And I’m sure Dr. Guinn will be, too.”

  The older guard agreed.

  “You wait here, dear,” Lina said to Bryte. “I’ll only be a minute.” To the guards she explained, “She’s my young cousin. She won’t make any trouble.”

  They nodded solemnly, and the younger guard placed his hand beneath Lina’s elbow and guided her into the building. The older guard watched until they disappeared from view, then returned his attention to his post.

  Bryte stood where Lina had left her, chafing inwardly at being forced to remain behind but schooling herself not to reveal her dissatisfaction. The guard ignored her.

  Time passed. The guard kept glancing inside. He took to shifting nervously from foot to foot as more time passed and his companion did not return. It probably dawned on him that Lina never had shown him the requested identification. Finally he looked at Bryte. “You know what this message was your cousin was supposed to deliver?” he asked.

  Bryte played stupid. She stared at the ground and shook her head. “She wouldn’t tell me,” she mumbled.

  Indecision was written on the man’s face. After a few more glances up an obviously empty corridor, he said, “You stay right where you are, girl.” With that, he turned and marched inside.

  Bryte was not about to pass up the opportunity. Whether Lina had really meant for her to wait outside or had planned this, Bryte had no idea. It didn’t matter. She recalled the Widow Kipley’s warning: “Sometimes you’re better off alone.” This could well be one of those times.

  Abandoning the pledge Lina had extracted from her to refrain from using power, she listened, and when she no longer heard the guard’s footsteps, she bolted through the front door.

  She listened for the sound of voices, footsteps, anything that would warn of the guards’ return or of the presence of other people. The ground floor was deserted. The first guard must have taken Lina upstairs, and the second must have followed them there.

  As soon as she established that the stairs were at present empty, she hurried up them to the second floor. The building had an elevator, but elevators were noisy contraptions, best avoided.

  Voices came from a room a safe distance from her. She listened intently and determined that the voices were not those of Lina or either of the guards. She went to the stairs leading to the third floor and listened.

  This time many voices came from various locations, so that she had to climb the stairs and listen on the landing to be able to pick out the ones she wanted. She heard Lina’s voice, a soft purr, too low to distinguish the words. The younger guard was with her, though Bryte heard no speech from him, only rapid breathing.

  Not far from them she heard the stealthy footsteps of the second guard. All of this was too far from her to allow her to shout a warning.

  Then came a growl, not a human sound at all. Bryte thought of the panther, and snarls and screams confirmed her guess. Lina must conjure the animal with her power.

  The commotion drew the attention of the others on the floor, whoever they were. Bryte would not long be safe where she was. She bounded up the stairs to the fourth floor, and when the growls and screams were still too loud to her ears, continued on to the fifth floor.

  The sounds were not as loud here. She could still hear them, but she was reasonably certain that the sounds would not carry to the normal ears of anyone inside an office or apartment on this floor, though anyone walking near the stairs would hear.

  The safest thing, then, was to get away from the stairs. She headed down a corridor past closed doors of offices that her hearing told her were empty. The corridor right-angled, and she found herself walking toward the rear of the building.

  And here she heard voices—unfamiliar voices, speaking softly behind a closed door. She intended to tiptoe past, but a name stopped her.

  A man inside the room had spoken the name of Lord Hallomer—her father.

  Her father’s office was on the sixth tier, but he could have come here on business. She flattened herself against the wall beside the door and listened.

  “Feel sorry for the kid,” a man’s voice said. “I mean, his own son!”

  “Yeah, Hallomer’s got a heart of stone. Kid doesn’t stand a chance,” a second male voice responded.

  “So where’d he find him and how come it took him so long?”

  “Seems the mother got wise and hid the kid. Until his talent manifested, Hallomer couldn’t find him. Probably didn’t try till he got wind of the talent.”

  “Wonder why he’s so set against letting the boy live. After all, he’s only got the one daughter and his wife’s dead. I’d think he’d want to claim the son.”

  It was almost too much for Bryte to take in. She had a brother! Well, a half-brother. In terrible danger. Bryte went weak-kneed. This must be what Master Onigon told Lina but wanted kept from her. Bryte fought to still her trembling as she continued to listen.

  “You’d think,” the other man agreed. “Apparently it’s something to do with Lord Inver. Hallomer’s under Inver’s thumb, does whatever he says.”

  “Poor kid. He’s how old? Five or six?”

  “At least. Maybe seven. Lord Inver’s sending his new boy after him, the one he’s bragging about. If the guy�
�s as good as Inver claims, the kid won’t stand a chance.”

  “How good does an assassin have to be to kill a seven-year-old?”

  “Yeah, well, it won’t be the easy job it sounds like if the kid’s got powers and he’s warded. But from what Inver says, that won’t stop this new guy.”

  It dawned on Bryte that the “new guy” they spoke of had to be Oryon. The realization caused a sudden nausea. Bryte clapped her hand to her mouth. Oryon wouldn’t kill a child, surely.

  Lina had said something had been done to Oryon. Lord Inver might have a way of making him do this unspeakable thing.

  She had to stop him. She had a younger brother, and she would not let her father and Lord Inver destroy him.

  Bryte had to learn more about the boy—who he was and where to find him. She had to get to him before Oryon did. And these men had the information she needed.

  They were moving around inside, shuffling papers, probably gathering materials together before leaving. Loath to leave, desperate to hear more, Bryte looked for a hiding place.

  A new sound intruded on her consciousness: the loping gait of a large animal. The panther!

  Sure enough, the sleek black animal bounded into view at the far end of the hallway. It loped toward her, stopped, and—its form wavered, blurred, solidified into a human shape. Lina!

  Bryte was so shocked that it was a moment before she could speak, and in that moment Lina reached her, grabbed her arm, and said, “I told you to wait outside!”

  Frantically she signaled for silence. Too late. The door at which she’d been listening burst open, and two tall, burly men stepped into the hall.

  “What’re you two doing here?” one asked. The other lunged for Lina.

  Bryte sagged against the wall in sudden weakness, and Lina blurred, changed. A panther leaped for the man’s throat.

  Lina must have needed power to change. She’d taken all Bryte’s strength. Bryte fought to stay on her feet.

  The man had fallen, the panther on top of him. The second man backed into the office he’d so recently left. Bryte gathered her scattered wits and yelled, “Lina, don’t kill him! He knows things we have to know.”