“This will do,” he announced as he stood just inside the room and glanced around. There was nothing to criticize, just as there was nothing to favor. It would be adequate.
“The water is down on the first floor. There’s a pump that provides fresh water, down at the bottom of the stairs. Empty the bedpan into the harbor,” Hamilton explained. “Let’s look at the window and the ledge.”
He opened the sash, then both of them stuck their heads out of the wide opening. The ledge was wide, so wide Silas imagined just sitting upon it and watching the ships sailing in and out of the harbor.
“You can go to other windows and enter, or you can use the drainpipe to climb down a floor or two,” Hamilton was providing a peculiar variety of helpfulness, and Silas wondered what Prima had said about him in the letter.
“If you move the wardrobe,” Hamilton indicated the largest piece of furniture in the room, “you’ll find that there’s a passageway into the adjacent room.”
Silas stood, astounded by the revelations.
“That’s it. If you need anything, leave a note under my office door. Don’t come to see me in person. If I can help, I will,” Hamilton was all business. He shook hands with Silas, then exited the apartment.
Silas went to the window and looked out once more, not really looking at the view as he tried to imagine what Prima’s letter had told Hamilton about Silas. Something had made the trader give Silas a special treatment, more than would have been expected for just delivering a message. Even more puzzling was the existence of a room such as Silas had been given, one that seemed clearly designed to provide multiple means of escape. What conditions would press the need to have such alternatives, and who would need to have such alternatives? Not ordinary traders, certainly. Smugglers, perhaps. Or maybe something more.
Silas’s mind crept away from his reverie, and he found that his room on the upper floor of the warehouse provided a view of much of the city, including the palace. He was at a level nearly even with the top of the Speakers Tower where he had sat with Jimes on his first visit to the palace. He decided to send a message to Jade, to tell of his arrival, and to ask her to look into the mirror, so that they could talk.
It was the beginning, he realized. Now was the beginning of his real mission, his effort to try to break into a prison, so that he could help Mata escape. It was the beginning of the most desperate adventure he had ever planned to undertake, a result of the rashest promise he had ever made.
He closed his eyes and focused, drawing a picture of Jade in his mind, and preparing his body to speak in the manner that would drive his voice over the long distance to the palace.
“Jade, this is Silas. I’m in a room in the city. I’m ready to talk to you. Jade, this is Silas. Look into the mirror at the first chance you have,” he released the quick message, then exhaled.
His pack was across the room, on the bed, where he had left it. As soon as he crossed the room again, he opened the pack and pulled the mirror free.
Jade was waiting for him, her face close to the mirror, observing it.
“What took you so long?” she had the message already written and posted.
“I just got the room where I can stay,” Silas spoke the words, using his talent, aware that a faint hue of yellow might had emerged with the breath he expelled as he spoke. “What can you tell me about Mata?” Jade’s head moved minutely, betraying the arrival of his words.
“Where is your room? We can talk in person this evening,” Jade scribbled her answer.
“I’m on the fifth floor of a warehouse down by the docks,” Silas stood up and carried the mirror to the window, then waved the glass piece slowly from one side of the window frame to the other, to provide the view from his room. “This is the warehouse with the blue lobby,” he spoke as he panned the scene.
“Tell me when you’re coming, and I can meet you in the lobby,” he suggested.
“A half hour after sundown,” she immediately scribbled an appointment.
Silas nodded his head in agreement.
“Thank you,” she mouthed the words, then left the vicinity of the mirror, leaving Silas to put his mirror away.
Chapter 5
Silas decided that he would go into the city to pass the time, and to try to find something to eat. He felt famished.
He left his unusual room and descended the stairs, then walked along the harbor front to the area near where the ferry ship arrived. He found what he was seeking – the vendor who sold the unusual concoction of ingredients called chili, served upon a sausage and a bread roll. He paid for his roll, then began to eat it as he thought about the time he had discovered it in Amenozume. He had been so surprised that the regional dish of a small village in Avaleen had been sold in Amenozume, he had accidentally used his power as a Wind Word Speaker for the first time, and spoken to Jimes.
He walked as he ate the roll. He walked across the city to the spot where Prima’s caravan had parked for the multiple days it had spent on the island; the park was empty, and the grass showed little sign of damage from the long stay by the wagons. From there he walked back through the city to the western side of the harbor, to where the pier stood that carried the pearl divers out into the shallow waters over the oyster beds.
Mata was not there, of course. He did not walk out onto the pier, but stood slightly inland, watching the small figures on the platform in the harbor, as they continually dove into the water, then resurfaced. He wondered about, then felt sympathy for, Mata, and how she must have felt in the moments when the Guild’s scheme had ensnared her. The confusion, then the fear, and anger and bewilderment that had passed in waves through her as guards seized her and charges – false charges – were filed, and then imprisonment.
He was ready to set her free; he’d do it that instance, if he had been ready. She shouldn’t have to suffer an extra moment of the unjust imprisonment.
And then, after she was free, he wasn’t sure what came next. He needed to ask Jade. Was there a place for Mata to establish a new life? Was there a way to prove her innocence, and let her return to her old life? Could she remain on the island, or would she have to flee, and how would that happen?
Silas realized that he might have to accompany her to the mainland, and then somehow find a way to help her establish a new life. He hadn’t looked beyond the question of freeing her until then.
Freeing her from prison wasn’t going to be easy. He realized that was just a theoretical success, a promise he breezily made to himself, that he would carry out. And now he realized that it would only be the first step in the beginning of difficult steps that could stretch far into the future. He didn’t even know what he pictured his own future being, and now he was asking himself to think about someone else’s as well.
The western sky was turning red. The sun was setting, and he needed to return to the warehouse by the harbor. That was a simpler, better defined task than contemplating an unknowable future. He shook his head and started walking toward the city, back towards the busy commercial harbor front that was going to be his home.
He reached the lobby of the warehouse, the blue room, as the sun set. The room was dark, lit only by a single lamp. It was empty – all the doors that lined its walls were closed, and there were only a pair of people who walked through the room as Silas took a seat, then sat with his chin on his chest, keeping his unmistakable eyes hidden from the passersby.
He heard a door open, and looked up. Two women walked in cautiously, and Silas lowered his gaze, as he waited for Jade to appear. The women walked quietly, approaching his position.
“Silas?” a voice asked.
He looked up in surprise.
The women both wore scarves wrapped around their heads, and light shawls around their torsos, coverings that obscured much of their appearances.
He studies the face of one woman. She wore her scarf in a wrap that was very effective in hiding her face as it covered her hair and slipped across her chin. The other woman’s face was less
concealed, and as his gaze turned to it, Silas realized that the eyes he saw were Jade’s.
“Take us someplace safe. Let’s go to your room,” she said quietly.
He silently nodded, stood, and led the way to the first stair well, then opened the door.
“It’s dark. What’s in there?” Jade asked.
Silas looked at the dim flight of stairs. His eyes saw better in the darkness than other people’s eyes, he remembered. The gasses in the cave had done that for him.
“Here, take my hand. This is a staircase. We’re going to go up,” he held a hand out, and felt Jade grasp it.
They silently climbed the steps, and came to the second floor, which had little more light that the staircase had yielded, and they continued to hold hands as they moved to the next set of stairs and then climbed.
“How can you do this?” the other woman asked. It was the first time Silas heard her voice, a deeper voice than Jade’s, one that was lush and appealing.
Silas stopped counting flights as they arrived at the fifth floor.
“We’re here,” he told his guests in a quiet voice. There was no reason to be quiet – there certainly weren’t any other people around, no other ears that needed to be avoided. But the atmosphere seemed to demand stealth.
They walked down the hall to his door, which he opened and led the pair of visitors through, into his room. He walked over to the candles, then released Jade’s hand. His own hand was warm, and slightly clammy from the exercise of the climb and the long embrace, he realized.
A moment later a candle was lit, and he watched the two women look around the room.
“Move the candle away from the window. There’s no need to advertise that anyone’s up here,” Jade’s companion directed.
Silas carried the candle over to the door, then placed it on the floor. When he stood up, he observed that Jade was removing her scarf, setting her face and hair free from constriction, while her companion loosened her wraps to achieve a degree of comfort, but maintained the concealment of her identity.
“You didn’t stumble once in the staircase; it was like you could see the whole way,” Jade marveled.
“I could,” Silas replied. He gestured towards his eyes as his mouth twisted in a grimace that acknowledged their difference. “It’s part of what happened.
“How are you?” he asked, unsure of how to begin the conversation.
“Good. Worried. Thankful you’re here. Things are about to get worse, and I wouldn’t know what to do without your help,” Jade said.
“What exactly can you do?” her companion asked. “Besides see in the dark, which is a useful trait. A bit disturbing, but useful.” Her tone of voice portrayed her doubts.
“I don’t know. Tell me what Mata’s situation is. Where she is, what it’s like; we’ll try to figure out how to save her,” Silas wanted to put the woman’s doubts to rest, but realized he had no good information to act on yet.
“She’s in a cell in Koch prison. It’s an ancient fortress, left over from the dark ages, in the center of the city,” Jade began. “The Pearl Traders Guild wants to use this false theft to make the point that Ivaric soldiers will bring security to the harbor.
“There’s reportedly a shipload of soldiers already on their way. The Guild intends to carry out an overthrow of the queen,” Jade dramatically explained. Her companion huffed indignantly.
“When the soldiers arrive, they plan to execute Mata as soon as possible, then start arresting and executing everyone else they claim is a ‘criminal’, to appear to be more effective than our own police. Then the Guild will launch a campaign to have a ‘governor’ appointed to deal with the rule of the city, and in no time, the queen will be powerless,” Jade’s voice rose an octave with emotion.
“It is treason!” her companion growled.
“How long until the Ivaric soldiers arrive?” Silas asked.
“We don’t know; perhaps a month, perhaps less. Nothing will happen to Mata until they arrive, praise the gods,” Jade replied.
Ivaric soldiers would be even worse than the ladies of the court realized, Silas thought to himself. One note about his golden and purple eyes, and they would be looking to scoop him up as an additional catch. Something needed to be done quickly, so that he and Mata could flee to safety.
“Tell me about the prison. Do you know what cell she’s in?” Silas needed some practical information.
“There is a tower in the northwest corner. She’s held on the next to highest floor,” the woman replied.
“Who is she?” Silas asked Jade, pointing to her companion. “Why is she here?”
Jade hesitated, then began. “She’s,” the girl started to say.
“My name is Mene,” the older girl spoke up for herself calmly. “I came to help Jade if she needed help, in the event you were,” she paused, “less than Jade painted you to be.
“And I know the situation very well. My information will help,” she added. “I spend a lot of time at the court.
“For example, the tower has a main stairwell, but there’s also a chute with a ladder that goes up to the top floor. It starts in the roof of a maid’s closet on the first floor. You can go all the way up without being detected,” Mene explained.
“And late at night, there are no shifts that walk the halls. The waking guards stay at the main gate, with one or two only roaming the halls randomly,” she added. “Just stay in the darkness and use those demon-spawn eyes of yours to see your way to set the girl free.”
“They’re not demon-spawn,” Silas snapped, making Jade’s eyes widen. “What do I do with Mata once I have her free of the prison? Where’s she going to go?”
“We’ll have to ship her off the island,” Mene said matter-of-factly, making Jade stifle a cry.
“It is the best answer in the short term. Can you take her, Silas?” Jade asked.
“Let’s wait to see how reliable and honorable the boy is before we get too far,” her companion interjected. “First, I want to know how he’s going to get in the prison and get her out without getting her killed.”
Silas paused. “I,” he slowly answered, “want to look at the prison for myself to inspect it. I’ll do that tomorrow.” Mene made it all sound so easy, with the hidden ladder and the lazy guards. He himself had thought it seemed so easy – had thought so when he had been hundreds of miles away and rashly promised to set Mata free. But now reality was just a couple of miles and a few hours away, and he had no idea of how to get into the prison, or how to get back out.
They all sat in silence for a few moments, until Mene spoke again.
“I’d like to see your mirror,” she said.
It was Silas’s turn for his eyes to widen. He looked at Jade. “I told her; I had to tell her to explain how I knew you were here,” the girl explained, her voice pleading for understanding.
Silas opened his pack and pulled the mirror piece out, then handed it to Mene, as Jade craned her neck to look over her friend’s shoulder.
“Where is this?” the woman asked.
Silas circled around next to Jade, and looked at the dark scene as well. He could faintly see a few square shapes. “I think that’s the warehouse in Ivaric,” he answered.
“You can see things in Ivaric? You don’t just watch the girls undress in the palace?” Mene asked harshly.
“I don’t watch girls undress,” Silas retorted. “I try hard not to look if something like that is going on. I only look in the mirror at Amenozume, here, to see Jade,” he nodded to the girl next to him.
“Can you make it show us what you see when you look in the palace?” Jade asked eagerly.
“Yes,” Silas nodded. He took the mirror and pressed it back into his pack, then pulled it out again, revealing the dim interior of the princess’s dressing room in the palace.
“That’s all you can see?” Jade asked with a degree of relief in her voice. “I’ve tried to keep girls much further away from the mirror than that,” she admitted.
&n
bsp; “We need to return to the palace,” Mene handed the mirror back to Silas as she stood up. “Send a message to Jade tomorrow night at this time to tell her what plans you’ve made.
“Now, lead us back through the darkness,” she ordered.
Silas took his time putting the mirror back in his pack, wanting to demonstrate that he wouldn’t jump to comply with Mene’s commands. He blew out the candle as he opened the door.
“Put your hand on my shoulder,” he lifted Jade’s hand and put it in place. “And you do the same,” he directed Mene, then carefully led them along the route back down the halls and steps to the lobby, to see them out of the building.
“Silas, thank you,” Jade stopped and hugged him tightly. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered, real emotion in her voice, and Silas saw moisture in her eyes.
“Don’t lose hope,” he whispered back, then released her, and watched the pair leave the building.
He stood in the dim blue lobby, wondering what to do, while he found that his eyes were staring at Hamilton’s door, without seeing the object in front of them. It was a reminder that the mysterious trader would supply some assistance, provided that a discreet note was slipped under his door.
Silas’s pad and stylus were five stories above. He snorted in dismay, then climbed the five stories, wrote his note in the dark, and descended the five stories. Then, once his note was beneath the door of the trading office, Silas climbed the stairs one last time, looked out the window at the twinkling lights of the city that spread out below him, and settled into his new bed.
Chapter 6
Silas’s window grew light with the rising sun the next morning. He woke up all at once, then sat up and looked around at the room that was his new residence. There was nothing special about it, but it had a bed, and he was thankful for the chance to sleep on a mattress that was soft and comfortable.
He went down the stairs and then out into the streets of the city, where a low level of commerce was already underway. A vendor sold him a sausage roll for breakfast, after which Silas walked around the city, looking for the prison that he needed to discover. He didn’t remember seeing any such place during his previous wanderings around the city, and he didn’t find it that morning either.
The Pearl Diver Page 4
