Beggar's Rebellion

by Levi Jacobs

  12

  The path to freedom is renunciation.

  ---Highland monk

  The next morning a strange sight greeted farmers working the fields north of Ayugen: a ragged young man in a fine-cut House Coldferth tunic and bare feet descending the footpaths from the bluffs. His stomach bulged in the middle, as though he’d grown his wisdom belly early, and those who passed close caught the earthen odor of yura wafting behind him.

  Tai had fallen asleep on the far bluffs, waking to sunlight and the double hunger of a body without food or uai. He found a simple farmstead along the path and traded the woman there a ball of yura for porridge and a cup of sour mavenstym tea. It felt odd to be alone—no kids, no lawkeepers, no rebels around, just the laughing children of the goodwife and a wood stool and the blue sky.

  And me.

  And you. Tai sighed, drinking the last of the tea. Ancestors forbid I escape you too.

  He stood, thanking the goodwife again for the breakfast in Achuri, the woman waving and children stopping to stare as he set off along a footpath across the valley. Ayugen rose in the distance, climbing the bluffs from the river, Newgen a squat stone toad on the west side. Farmers worked in the early morning light, pulling red weeds from waving rows of barley, gathering wintermelon flowers for the spicy summer soup agetegang.

  Speaking of escape, seems like House Coldferth is going to be after us now. That Yati mercenary recognized you.

  Tai adjusted the sack around his waist. “So?” He could tell when Hake was building up to something.

  So the lawkeepers are too. And, y’know, the Titans at the prison camp, and everybody who works in the mines.

  “So?”

  So go alone.

  “Hake no.”

  It makes a lot more sense now, Tai. Not only is there no safe place for us in the city or the mines, but you’ve got an elkload of yura tied to your waist. Think about what that’s worth in the capital.

  Tai nodded at an elderly man pulling beets. “I’ve thought about it. It’s worth a ton here, too. I could probably hire my army just with what we took last night.”

  Hake sighed. But somehow I know you’re not going to.

  “I could. But Karhail and the rest are already raising an army—and I wouldn’t know how to do it on my own. How to train them, how to equip them? Those guys are soldiers, Hake. Plus they might end up doing Ayugen some good for once, besides getting the kids out.”

  Have you thought about where you’re going to go with the kids, once they’re out? We’ll still be stuck here, with no money and even more people angry at us than before. I mean, if you thought the lawkeepers were bad…

  They were approaching a string of boats along the shoreline, ferries waiting to take farmers and produce to the city. That’s where the rebellion comes in, Tai thought back. We’ll stay with them, get our feet under us at least, and figure it out from there.

  That didn’t end well last time.

  Tai negotiated passage across, giving the wizened old man a ball of yura in exchange for a few marks in change. It’ll give us a place to land at least, Tai thought back. And if it doesn’t look like it’s going well for them, I won’t stick around like we did last time.

  Let’s review our options, shall we? Tai could almost see Hake, arms crossed and head cocked like he did when he was sure he was right. You can repeatedly risk your life fighting soldiers like the ones that killed me in the hopes the rebellion will pan out and you’ll get Fisher and the rest back. Or, you could spend a couple months getting filthy rich in Worldsmouth, come back and break your kids free, then have a place waiting for them in the capital. Seems like an obvious choice to me.

  Tai held the edge of the narrow boat, old man casually dodging flotillas of logs cut upstream. That would be great, he thought back. If we had a few months.

  You think the rebels will get it done before then?

  Tai glanced at the burnt hulks of the rebel’s last attack, now dragged onto shore and being dismantled for salvage. I’ve got a big bag of yura says they will, he thought-spoke. And I don’t think they’re in the caves for fun.

  With all that elkmeck about hungry spirits and whatnot? They’re just trying to use you for your power.

  Or you are, he thought back. According to Lumo, you’re just a stranger’s spirit eating my uai.

  Right. That’s how I know every detail of your life before we met.

  The canoe bumped against the far shore, and Tai climbed onto the dock, thanking the old man in humble-polite Achuri. “They didn’t even know about my power till Ilrick rescued me,” he mumbled, blending into the dockyard crowds. He needed to get through them and to Aelya as soon as possible. If anyone saw him, or figured out what he was carrying…

  Another good reason not to come back here. And they might not have known about your power, but they were sure shaking to recruit you once they saw it.

  Tai took a winding market path. “And I was shaking to recruit them, once I realized what they were doing. Think about it—not only do they have the skills to build an army, they’ve got places to keep people hidden, and a plan to take down the Houses.”

  A totally insane plan. We tried to defeat the Councilate, remember?

  “That was a long time ago. And it’s no less insane than what I was thinking of trying, hiring a mercenary army.”

  That’s what I’m saying. The only sane thing to do is go to Worldsmouth and come back with the money to fix this.

  “And leave the kids here? Leave your sister in that prison? Never.”

  You can do her more good rich and late than quick and dead.

  “I’m not going to die.”

  Yeah. I used to think that too.

  Tai came out of Riverbottom, taking a footpath up the bluffs. “Well the sad truth is that you did, and I miss you buddy, but I’m the one that gets to make the decisions now.”

  Right. Hake was angry now. Even though I’m the one who saved you from killing yourself after the war. And she’s my sister. You owe me this much at least.

  Tai rolled his shoulders. “Yes, I owe you. I promised you to do the best I can for her, and I will—and not just for you. But I’m going to do it my way.”

  Hake clammed up, anger still rolling off him, like he used to when he was still alive, only he couldn’t storm off anywhere now. Tai stretched his neck. Nothing to be done for it. Just do his damn best to get the kids out of there.

  But first, the friend he could get to. Aelya.

  Marrem’s shop looked the same as always, painted sign hanging in front of a tidy bluffhouse edged in potted herbs. It was unsettling, somehow—like the whole thing had never happened. Like his kids might still be there, Fisher counting butterflies and Pang juggling bean sacks in front of the cookfire.

  But there was no pot on the coals, no smoke rising from the chimney. They were gone.

  One of Marrem’s kids was out front, Iyela he thought, and she rose on spotting him. “Ma’s inside,” she said in the casual Achuri of a youth unused to social situations. “You want her?”

  “I do, little sister.”

  She lead him in, the interior cool and smelling of citrus and rosemary. Marrem was in a small room to the left of the hall, walls covered in small, precisely-labelled boxes. A blue garbler perched in a wicker cage in the corner, singing its peculiar low-throated song. The healworker raised an eyebrow. “So you did make it. And working for House Coldferth now?”

  Tai adjusted the uniform, fine fabric still unfamiliar against his skin. “No, I—it’s a long story. Is Aelya here?”

  “She is. Your lawkeepers broke three of her ribs and gave her such a cut to the side that she ought to have lost the leg.” Marrem clucked her tongue. “Another finger deeper and she would have.”

  Tai swallowed, worry rising in his throat. “But she—“

  “She’ll be fine.” Marrem turned back to her herbs, measuring careful amounts into a worn stone pestle. “Another week off her feet and she’ll be keeping you in line again. Looks
like you need it.”

  Tai touched his face, raw in a dozen places from his push through the storehouse roof. “I—got into some trouble with some mercenaries.”

  She began pulling down different herbs. “Some mercenaries now too? What’s this all about?”

  Tai sighed. “It’s about payback. We embarrassed a lawkeeper, and he came after us.”

  Marrem nodded, grinding the herbs with a practiced hand. “And now you want payback on them?”

  “No. I just want my kids back. They’re in the camp now, Marrem.”

  The woman’s eyes saddened, but her tone was still firm. “So you’re going to go and kill more people to make sure they don’t die?”

  “I--no.” But he didn’t need Hake to remind him that wasn’t really true. “Well, yes. Eventually.”

  “And what will that change?”

  “My kids will be safe.”

  “And the parents of those people you kill?” She clucked her tongue again, working a foul-smelling paste into the ground herbs. He had the unpleasant suspicion they were meant for him. “You have to come up with something better, or it’ll just keep going.”

  Tai chewed his lip, watching her work. “What would that be?”

  The healworker barked a laugh, but without humor. “Never been able to think of an answer. Guess that’s why I mix herbs instead of start revolutions. Now hold still, this is going to burn.”

  The next few minutes were unpleasant, Marrem prodding and poking and smearing at the cuts and bruises he’d earned over the last few days. The ointment did burn, but there was something comforting in it too. He’d spent much of his childhood here, getting poked and prodded and patched up after street fights. Marrem was the closest thing he’d had to a parent after the war.

  “There,” she said, standing back. “Nothing too major, ancestors be praised. But drink this tea twice a day. And if you have some of that yura to spare, I would take something for my labor with Aelya.”

  “Of course.” Tai untied the pouch and gave her a few balls, then after considering a moment, put a handful in his own pocket. Karhail had said he could keep some.

  Take more. It’s not like they did anything to earn it.

  Tai grimaced, following Marrem down the hall to the infirmary. I’m in this now, he thought back. Whatever I give them only gets us closer to getting the kids out.

  To killing more people to make sure they don’t die?

  Aelya was asleep when they came in, infirmary beds empty except for a man at the end. Blue garblers sang in the corners, and a fresh breeze came through the single window in the ceiling. “Now don’t wake her up,” Marrem said, stopping at the door. “She’s been taking plenty of dreamleaf. I think the wound in her side still hurts her. I’ll be across the hall if you need me.”

  Tai nodded and sat on the bed across from Aelya. Her face was softer in sleep, making her look younger than her sixteen winters. There were thick bandages around her middle, and other evidences of Marrem’s handiwork. Tai winced, imagining her facing down Tulric and his lawkeepers, fighting them though there was no way she could win. Getting cut down.

  Because of him.

  He hadn’t had much time to think about Tulric’s attack since it had happened, but there was time now. It seemed obvious in retrospect that the lawkeeper would attack. You didn’t get shamed publicly without seeking some kind of revenge. At least, not if you were raised in a street gang. He should have taken everyone with him. Gods, if Aelya didn’t get better—

  She shifted on the bed, and one eye cracked open. “Tai?” Her voice was thick with sleep. “That you?”

  “Aelya! Are you okay? Do you—should I get you some dreamleaf?”

  The stocky girl grinned. “Had enough of that already. Marrem’s got like an unlimited supply back there.”

  “So you’re not—in a lot of pain?”

  “I mean it hurts, yeah, but,” she grinned, and he could see the glaze in her eyes, “I’m feeling no pain.”

  A weight lifted off his shoulders. “Mecking lush!”

  She shrugged, rolling to one side with a wince. “The kids are locked up, you’re probably dead, and I’m trapped here under Marrem’s thumb waiting for Tulric or one of the other lawkeepers to come finish the job. Figured the least I could do was drink a little leaf.”

  He laughed, as much in relief as humor. She was still Aelya. “That’s fair, I guess. Look, I wanted to say I’m sorry about the whole thing. I should have been there when Tulric came. It was stupid to go off by myself and get the money. I should have taken everyone, and I’m sorry you got attacked.”

  She frowned at him. “If it was stupid then I’m stupid too, cuz I was in on the plan.”

  “No I’m not saying that, I—“

  She snorted. “You’re guilt-tripping yourself, is what you’re doing. I’m the one that knocked Tulric out, remember? If anybody should feel guilty it’s me, and I’m feeling fine. So cut it out.”

  Tai swallowed. “Right. Thanks Aels.”

  “So what happened to you anyway? Marrem said you threw our savings at her and ran out of here to go fight Tulric.”

  He shifted in his seat. “Something like that. I did find Tulric, but he’d already put the kids in the prison camp, so—“

  “Meckstains.” She grabbed his arm. “They’re in the camp?”

  “They’re in there.” Tai steeled himself for her disappointment, for some kind of attack. None came. “I tried to get them out. I attacked the camp but there were too many of them—“

  “Wait, you attacked the camp? As in used your resonance? Prophet’s piece I pass out for one day and you decide to go all Blackspine?”

  “I didn’t go all Blackspine. I just—used my resonance, and it was fine.” He ignored Hake’s grumblings at this. “I had to fly at the prison camp to get in, but there were too many wafters, so I backtracked to a mine compound, so the lawkeepers couldn’t get in.”

  “A mine compound? We seriously spend a year and a half twiddling our thumbs and then soon as I pass out you go on all these adventures?”

  “We’ve had adventures.”

  “Mhm. Like the time Curly shat himself and we had to wash all the blankets in the middle of the night?”

  “Yeah. Like that.”

  “So how the hell’d you get out of the mines?”

  “I found a backdoor. With the help of some rebels.” Tai couldn’t keep a smile from his face, knowing how she’d react.

  “Oh Prophet’s mecking piece, just give me the dreamleaf. This is elkscat.” She waved her hand at the pitcher, but he knew she wasn’t serious. “So then you probably took over House Coldferth too, and that’s why you’re wearing their uniform?”

  “Actually, I hit a lick off their mine compound and stole a bunch of yura.”

  “You stole yura. From a mining compound. Tai those things are guarded heavier than shatting Newgen.”

  Tai shrugged, untying the bag around his waist. “See for yourself.” He held it out to her.

  Aelya took it, and sniffed it. And stared, not saying a word.

  “Aelya? You okay?”

  Her voice came out dead serious. “Where did you get this?”

  “I told you. I broke into Coldferth’s mining compound last night, using some information the rebels had, and stole it from their warehouse. They had ten times this much in there.”

  “And now you’re just… walking around with it?”

  “I’m—taking it to an arms dealer, actually. Odril. To help with the rebellion.” At Hake’s grumblings he added, “Though Hake is saying I should just take it and go to Worldsmouth.”

  Aelya laughed. “That’s what Worlea’s been saying, only with the money you left here.”

  “Hake thinks it would be better for Fisher.”

  “That’s meckstains. He’s just trying to guilt you into it.”

  Tai shifted. “Well, I did get him killed.

  She frowned. “Like you got me attacked by lawkeepers? Not everything is your fault,
Tai. Now when are we going back to the rebels?”

  It took him a second to register the last part. “We?”

  “You think you’re gonna leave me here to get more pokes and prods by the old woman?”

  “I can hear you,” Marrem said from the next room.

  Aelya kept going. “See what I mean? Leave me here and I will make you feel guilty. Now come on.”

  “Aels, Marrem said you need another week in bed.”

  She waved a hand. “Another week and I’ll be so hooked on dreamleaf I won’t want to leave. Sides, we’ve been practicing on crutches.” She nodded to a pair in the corner.

  Marrem appeared in the doorway, hands on hips. “You’re not ready to leave.”

  Aelya put on a smile. “Never been readier actually. I can find dreamleaf and a bed wherever we go.”

  The healworker clucked her tongue. “I won’t get either of you to listen to sense, will I?”

  Tai looked at Aelya and smiled. “Not likely.”

  13

  In the aftermath the Prophet realized his mistake. Seingard was perfect—the land, the waters, the bubbling baths—but the people were not. And so we were given the challenges, each his own, to make him grateful, make him humble, make him wise.

  --Seinjial origin myth, crew of The Swallowtail Mistress

  Odril came two days later. Ella still didn’t have a plan, hadn’t thought of a way to get out or get yura without exposing Tunla. But the rest of life in the office had started to normalize—she’d met the other women, began to understand the rhythm of work and cooking and cleaning in the small basement rooms. It wasn’t home, wasn’t even homey, but Ella was gradually finding her place in it.

  That was the scary part. She could not let herself get comfortable.

  The lock turned just before lunch, from the outside, brawler striking resonance as the door opened. Odril stepped in, scowling, a load of books in one arm. He looked just as pinched and sallow as ever. She met his eyes and caught a gleam of pleasure behind the scowl, though it was Prula he spoke to--something about a new account and deliveries and books coming that afternoon. Ella was pleased, at least, to see the red, puffy skin on his face, the fading bruises from where she’d attacked him.