He passed a wealthy neighborhood, where the road evened, the packed dirt and grass attended to and steps winding down regularly to the earth below, to accommodate human-forms and cubs and elders who could not make the leap.
He knew every crossing of the High Road, at least in this part of the city, and he took a path that would circle back to his home, but not for a while. In cat form, he thought of Moon with less pain, but also loved her more strongly. His cat form was more of a homebody than he himself ever had been.
He remembered the night she'd finally said she couldn't shift. He'd assumed it was a problem with no solution, an accident of birth or curse or magical binding. And so he'd told her about the pain he lived with, and how it reminded him he wasn't invincible even as he was conquering the underworld of Carnate.
She'd started spending more and more time around after that, though she hadn't admitted to being a Fade for a long time.
He shook his head as he turned down the path toward home. Hadn't they told each other secrets before? If she was only getting information on Loviva, why hadn't she told him? He wouldn't have objected – probably. Fades were considered invincible, or so he'd thought his whole life.
The sun had set, but this made the High Road no less busy. Families appeared to lounge and play.
Renat leaped down from the High Road and crossed the roofs back to his small balcony.
There was nothing to be done about it. Letting her back into his life was a risk he could not afford to take.
He'd just had that thought as he crossed the threshold and saw her standing inside.
He shifted form sharply, enough that the change in mental state felt like a jolt. His panther's calm and focus slipped away, leaving him breathless.
"What are you doing here?" It came out less accusatory and more desperate than he'd intended, but he did not have the anger in him at the moment.
She rolled a cracked red stone between her fingers. Even with her normal fidgeting, he thought she looked a bit windblown. She couldn't have slept in the streets, could she?
Stop worrying about her, an annoyed voice in the back of his head said.
"I still haven't figured out all that Loviva and the Demon's Breath know about you, but I did figure out she has a big score coming in in three days’ time. Well, actually the tower has a score coming in, but Loviva is planning to intercept it."
His jaw clenched. "You can tell Loviva I'm not interested in this information."
She stamped her foot in a surprising display of fury. "Renat, I don't work for Loviva. Now we know about a big magical score of hers. We can get to it first!"
"I don't deal in magics," he said. "Artefacts meant for the tower? It would take us weeks to rid ourselves of something that hot."
This wasn't necessarily true. Buyers – especially the enemies of the sorcerers or the royals – would hear of the raid and seek them out to buy the artefacts, likely sight unseen and for great sums.
She chose only to raise an eyebrow at his foolish and knee-jerk refusal. "With this amount of money, we could afford to safely leave the city, like you want."
"You told Loviva I wanted to leave Carnate and now she's trying to buy me out with this plan."
She stepped forward, fist clenched around the cracked stone. "What in the name of the Great Eye are you talking about, you untrusting ninny! Why would Loviva waste a magical score on you? Why wouldn't she sell half the score and use the other half to blow you to smithereens?"
Even his defensive brain thought that was a more solid plan on Loviva's part.
"In any case, you don't have any claim to be upset, while I do."
"You? And why?"
"Were you planning on leaving the city without me?"
He started. "Of course not. Why would you ask that?"
"You were planning to have us all leave in weeks' time, and you hadn't yet though to ask if I wanted to go or not? Didn't you want my help planning?"
"But...I knew you would. I mean...I assumed you wouldn't want to stay in Carnate forever."
"Why did you think that?"
"Because you always moved around before Carnate."
She frowned. "I was happy to be settled. But either way, didn't you want my help in planning?"
He settled into a chair by his desk. A small part of his heart, one he wouldn't admit to yet, was wondering why Moon hadn't just killed him in his sleep at some point in the past two years. Wouldn't it have been easier, if Loviva did have a Fade, to use her to kill him, or grow her territory? She would have done exactly what he had done over the past year: expanded, and cemented power. It was a waste of a Fade's power to send her undercover, when another may have done the job just as well.
"I don't want to know."
"Renat, it's magical artefacts. They could help—"
"I don't want to KNOW!" he roared, flipping the chair next to him. He'd spent all afternoon agitated and with her simple appearance, any sense of calm was ruined. He wasn't even sure he wanted to be this abrupt, this cruel. But while she was here, perhaps for the last time, he couldn't resist making her feel how he'd felt all day.
She crossed her arms, not fazed in the least. "Calm down!"
He thrust a finger at her. "You're not welcome here, Moon."
"I know. I never was," she said scathingly. "You've made it clear."
"I hate to have besmirched the honor of a Fade," he snarled.
Moon sneered. "Don't think so highly of yourself."
~*~
Even Moon, having arrived at his door with no plan in mind, was surprised at how badly this was going. Had she thought they could reconcile? Had that been her plan? What foolishness. The moment she saw him a heat blazed in her, so sharp and pointed. How dare he throw out all that they had built together? How dare he call this his kingdom, when it was she who had helped make it so? How could he call her a liar, when he had kept so much from her?
She wanted to draw back, to correct the course of their conversation, but every question she asked herself and every word out of his mouth fanned the flames.
"Do you really think Loviva would've wasted her time on a kitten like you? Do you really think I would've helped a nothing like you to, what? Become powerful enough to challenge Demon's Breath? Stop being such a damn fool, Renat. Our fight isn't over Loviva bringing you down, it's over you treating me like a thing to be bought so easily!"
His face was clouded, she couldn't read his intentions. "How can I, when I know you've never told me all your secrets?"
"What secrets? You already know I'm a Fade."
"Well, you never told me you work for the Hji."
~*~
Renat watched her surprise with satisfaction. He had no idea why the Hji would want her fucking around with a gang leader, but there was no denying it. She'd left enough clues to find over time, and though he'd never been beyond Carnate, he knew what Hji writing looked like, knew their look.
"How did you – I don't work for the Hji. I was their slave, and I escaped."
His mouth dropped open. For months he'd known she was connected to the Hji, but it had bothered him little – he only wanted to leave Carnate to escape the fighting. Whoever ruled would be, in the end, much the same.
"But...you are a Fade."
"What do you think that means?"
She was furious, far more than she had been before.
"Empires are built on Fades..." He said helplessly.
"No, they aren't, Renat. Fades are pawns, just as much as anyone else is. When they sent me into Carnate I knew I'd only have one chance. I broke the spells on me and vanished."
He did not ask how she had broken the spells. She likely had had no money, which meant she could not afford a sorcerer. The temple would not take a Fade. She would have had to use natural methods – blood, or submersion, or something equally painful.
A frisson ran between them, painful and tense.
He closed his eyes.
When he opened them, she had vanished.
~*~
Moon cried again. The tears were hot while the rest of her body chilled in the night air. She only made it from the balcony to the neighboring roof before she crumpled in a heap.
She cried not just because of Renat, but for all she'd faced. To have come so far only to lose everything again. To have loved someone and found him only waiting to see the worst in her.
She rested her forehead against a tile wall. She knew now what to do. She would intercept those magical artefacts herself, take as much as she could carry, and flee Carnate.
~*~
Renat knew with certainty that he had messed up. Until now, he hadn’t even realized he wanted her back. He’d been hurt, and wanted to make her feel the same, but once he’d started to realize how many holes his suspicions had, he’d wanted her to come back, and for everything to be the same between them.
He pressed his hands to his head and cursed aloud to the empty room.
"Gawiiin!" Renat shouted through the door, even as he threw it open.
Gawin was there, along with several other of his closest confidants, those who had been with him through the beginning.
"Yes?" Gawin said, not without some hesitation. Renat had been in a foul mood all day, so it was no wonder he was nervous.
"We have to find Moon," Renat said. He felt the strain, the fear they wouldn't find her in time, but otherwise his head was clear. Moon was not a traitor, and he needed to tell her how much he trusted her. Fear had made him say what he’d said, fear had driven him for the past 24 hours.
"I will make some calls," Gawin said. He hesitated, then asked, "Why?"
"I have to apologize to her," Renat said without missing a beat. "I made a mistake."
His crew lit up.
"You mean—?" said Faruq with hopeful eyes.
"She did not betray us," Renat said with finality.
The dark mood that had plagued the day lifted. His crew clapped each other on the backs.
"Thank the tower," Gawin said. "I'll go now and see what I can find out."
"I'm coming with you," Renat said.
~*~
He felt better now that he and Gawin were moving. He'd been utterly helpless all day. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck to clear his head. There was no doubt he'd made a mistake, but if he could find her, he could fix it.
He and Gawin split up, each going to try a list of her old haunts. The sun had set over an hour ago, but the city was still alive with energy. News from the walls passed back and forth, as much fiction as fact. There hadn't been an attack in some time, and if anything, the city was more on edge than ever.
Renat turned up nothing from her old contacts. He had to remind himself she'd only been away one night, there wasn't time to meet up with all the people she knew. They only needed to strike gold once.
He met up with Gawin on the corner of Dale and Layne.
"I know where she was last night," Gawin said. "Fremo. Fancy place. Left without paying but he owes her a favor so he wasn't worried about it. It's hard to say if she'll be back another night. Do you want me to stake the place out?"
He doubted she'd be back. He ran a frustrated hand behind his head.
"I have one suggestion," Gawin ventured.
Renat nodded he should continue.
"If she's going to be intercepting this run on magical artefacts, then we know where she'll be in a couple days."
Renat growled. He didn't like that plan one bit. First of all, they didn't know if she would try to intercept the artefacts still or not...
"You're right," he realized suddenly. She would be intercepting them, if only for one reason. Loviva knew something about him, something she claimed she held over his head. If Moon could take Loviva down a peg, Renat bet she would.
"We need to learn more about this shipment," he decided. He relayed to Gawin what little Moon had told him.
"I bet Xavier knows something," Renat decided. "You watch the Fremo."
Gawin shook his head. "I'll come with to Xavier's first."
A smart choice. Xavier may have gone straight but he was still dangerous if he wanted to be.
Gawin and Renat set off.
It was now well past the hours when visitors would be received by an upstanding citizen, but Xavier was no such man.
Renat looked about the manor house as they mounted the front steps to the door. It was a finely-built place, made of stone and with a brick courtyard. The effect was genteel. Renat wondered if he'd ever want a place such as this for himself. Not exactly the same, he preferred the airier style native to Carnate. But someplace clean, presentable, where his children could play without fear. Much as he eschewed the finer things as a waste of money, there was something to the idea.
A footman used to Xavier's odd visitors received them with little surprise or questions. They waited in a study. A low fire kept back the cool night, and there were more subtle comforts to be found in the mahogany desk and carved chairs, velvet pillows in rich colors decorating the lot. Patterned curtains swayed lightly in the breeze.
He could be convinced to like such a space, especially on cold nights when his bones ached.
Renat almost wished he and Gawin had dressed in their better clothes before arriving. They both wore simple working outfits, and though Renat had no need to prove his wealth to himself, there were people in this world who needed it proved to them, before they would lift a finger to help you.
"Cousin," Xavier said cordially as he entered the room.
He greeted Gawin coolly, thought Renat could think of no reason for it. Perhaps their paths had crossed in the past.
They were served the customary coffee and cigars – Xavier was a show-off – before settling in.
"I understand Moon came to see you." Renat decided to waste no time. He was worried for his wife.
Xavier nodded, revealing nothing more.
"I want to know about the shipment coming in for the tower. The magic artefacts."
Xavier twitched. "I don't know much of anything, Renat, and I told your lady the same."
"We both think you knew more than you let on."
Xavier's eyebrows raised. "Well I – Renat, I heard a rumor about Moon—"
"What rumor?" Renat cut through the other man's words with a mild, but firm, tone.
"I suppose I shouldn't believe everything I hear," Xavier backtracked. "I can't tell you what to do, Renat, but you should stay away from that shipment. Let the tower have it."
Renat edged forward on his seat. "Why? What is it? Why does Loviva want it?"
"Loviva's overreaching," said Xavier harshly. "There's no denying she's smart. Anyone who's been around as long as she has is bound to be. But she's overreaching."
"What is it?"
"My contacts in the tower have told me...it isn't a collection of artefacts, Renat. It's just one box, coming up from the Kingdom of the Salt Sea."
Renat and Gawin waited, neither taking their coffee. The cigar burned on in Gawin's hand.
"It's a weapon," Xavier finally admitted. "A weapon to push the Hji back from our door, and save Carnate."
Renat sat back heavily in his chair.
"But it is great and terrible," Xavier went on. "Sorcerer Amadou himself did not order it, the king demanded its use. In the wrong hands... who knows what the result will be."
"Shit," said Gawin. "Should we... warn the guard?"
An incredulous idea to three who lived so far outside the usual laws. And yet, Renat wasn't sure it was a bad idea.
"Loviva won't be successful. She isn't like you, Renat, her inner circle jockeys for power instead of drawing together. I've watched your fight, even though I've left the pitch. I think the guard can repel whatever she has coming."
Renat stared blankly ahead. They might repel the Demon's Breath crew, but what about one invisible Fade?
~*~
Moon walked every inch of the western road, the one the shipment would come through in a few days’ time. Invisible, she scouted likely locations f
or guard postings and for Demon's Breath to make their move. She tracked where the High Road crossed above them, and she thought she knew just where the Demon's Breath would attack, and where she needed to intercept the delivery.
Finally, she curled up on a rooftop, in a sheltered corner she'd found in her early days in Carnate.
When she'd finally broken the tracking and binding spells on her, she'd need to vanish, and not just with Fade magic. She needed to disappear so completely that no one would bother to look for her.
She'd spent a lot of time alone on the rooftop, observing Carnate.
Who would have thought by joining the Arrowheads, she vanished more completely from the eye of the Hji than one could imagine. Lucky for her, for an empire a Fade was nothing more than a pawn, and no one had hunted her.
You could just leave, a part of her said. She could take the route of the shipment, not to steal anything, but to slip right out the gate into the freedom of the outside world.
But for all Carnate's walls, she'd never felt trapped here. What she wanted, first, was to know that Renat would be safe. He'd infuriated her, but she still meant everything she'd said that day, when they'd decided to marry.
It was after his meteoric rise, and that's what she'd liked about it. Yes, he was on top, but he hadn't been vainglorious or insufferable. If anything, he'd become humbler, more concerned about how to provide for his people.
Loviva Shayu, the shark, had none of that. Moon had never had any people of her own before, but she learned quickly enough how to protect them.
And even after they'd been married in a simple gathering of the Arrowhead crew against a wall of flowering vines, they'd lain in bed that night and talked and schemed. Oh, she should have told him the Hji would come, and interrupt some of those plans, but once the smuggling business had boomed, it had hardly seemed necessary.
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