Doppelganger (26 page)
Mirage didn't want to stop in Angrim, but they didn't have a lot of choice. They still hadn't sent a bird ahead to Silverfire, and the horses needed the rest anyway.
Who am I kidding? I need the rest, too. I've been on the mad just as long as Mist has. From Insebrar to Abern to Starfall to Insebrar again to here
—
I haven't really stopped since Chervie, and that little holiday got cut short
.
They had been driving themselves hard since Starfall, first to reach Avalanche before he left Vilardi, and then to get to Miest before trouble could catch up to them. They had not told anyone of their suspicions, and there had been no sign of pursuit from Vilardi, but still the hairs on the back of Mirage's neck refused to lie down. She could not escape that hunted feeling, and it had begun to seriously grate on her nerves.
So this delay in Angrim, while frustrating, was also nice. It was a welcome chance to sit in something other than a saddle; to walk on her own two feet through the daylit streets of a town; to wake up in the same bed two mornings in a row.
Mirage slept for an exceptionally long time their first night in Angrim, and woke just before noon. She stretched luxuriously, legs dangling off the narrow bed. She'd recovered from the lump on her head she'd taken in that brawl, and her knee was mostly better, but they'd been two weeks on the road from Vilardi, and she didn't have much energy left. While these hours of sleep had not been strictly necessary—she'd gone on in worse condition before—they had been very pleasant. Her nerves had calmed as well. In the sunlit quiet of her room, she reveled in the lack of tension. She no longer felt as if she must check the road behind her for pursuit every few minutes. It was truly a relief.
All right, lazy. You've lounged around in bed for long enough; time to get up and get some things done.
She found Eclipse downstairs in the common room, enjoying an early lunch. He raised an eyebrow at her, but chose not to comment on her late rising; in a way it was a pity. Mirage was in a good enough mood that for once she wouldn't have retaliated.
The reason for his silence became apparent soon enough. He needed her in that good mood. "I've been checking the horses, and they need to be reshod before we head on."
The day was half gone, and his expression was wary. It wasn't hard for Mirage to figure out. "You want to stay an extra day."
Eclipse nodded. "There's a farrier who can do it today, but he shod Sparker last year and I
really
don't like his work. The one I'd rather get can't do it until tomorrow."
Yesterday Mirage would have snapped his nose off; yesterday she felt as though she were being targeted by an archer. "That sounds fine. It'll give me a chance to mend some tack and get everything else back in order. Have you gotten supplies yet?"
The look on his face was priceless. "You're not going to argue?"
"Not really. I don't think the extra day will hurt us, and I can certainly find productive ways to use it."
"I won't complain. Especially since I haven't even begun to get supplies—I woke late, too." His grin was not very repentant.
"No wonder you didn't chide me. I expected you to."
"I
can
chide you, if you'd like."
"No, thank you." Mirage stretched again and looked around the common room, which was empty aside from them; the inn did not begin serving nonguests until dinner. "This quiet is
nice
. Especially in light of our recent adventures. No brawls, no suspicious guards, and best of all, not a cockroach in sight."
He cocked his head and studied her face. "You're not feeling as edgy, are you?"
"Nope. Which is why I'm in a good mood. Take advantage of it while you can."
"Can I borrow some money?"
"Don't press your luck." They grinned at each other, in genuine, unadulterated good humor for the first time in a while.
Which was odd, given that as far as they knew, their situation hadn't improved. But the more Mirage thought about it, the more she felt pleased at the thought of staying in Angrim, maybe even wandering around the town a little bit, seeing what interesting things she might happen across. She'd been in Angrim many times before, but still…
You can't stay forever
, she reminded herself.
You've still got trouble on your back
.
But since a certain amount of delay was inevitable, she might as well enjoy the respite.
Miryo knew her doppelganger was in Angrim the moment she rode through the gate. Its presence hit her with palpable force; every nerve in her body hummed before subsiding into a quieter but still noticeable murmur.
"It's here," she said to the Cousins, pitching her voice to just carry over the noise of the town.
They both glanced at her briefly, then returned their attention to the crowd with redoubled fervor.
I think they expect it to leap out and attack me right here. I wonder if it can tell I'm coming
?
"Let's find the house, and then we'll make a plan," she said, and began to press through the crowd.
The house in question was new, being a part of the Air Ray's plan to maintain places for witches to stay while they traveled. There weren't many of them yet; the money to build them came largely from the Void Ray, and they gave slowly. This one, though, had benefitted from donations from Fire. Angrim was the capital city of Abern, and often had witches on diplomatic missions passing through. So the house, instead of being a modest little waystation, was palatial. Since no one else was there at the moment, Miryo had no qualms about commandeering it for herself.
It was a good thing, she reflected, that her double was here, that the long chase was drawing to a close. She needed it to end; the stress and effort had taken their toll, and she had pushed a fast pace from Haira to here. Their horses were not in good shape. But once her doppelganger was taken care of, they could rest here for a few days, then ride at a more sedate pace back to Starfall.
She could even cast spells to make their journey easier.
Miryo allowed herself a small smile that was hardly sufficient to express the glee she felt at that thought.
Magic
. My
magic. Soon I'll be able to use it
.
They found the house without trouble. The place was quite large; Miryo was amused at the ostentation the Fire Ray seemed to think was necessary. Did traveling ambassadors truly need a multistory house just to stay in overnight?
She chose a bedroom and sat on the bed to ponder the situation while the Cousins brought the baggage up. Her double was in Angrim, but for how long? It hadn't shown any inclination to stay in one place for long before. She needed some way to find it, and quickly, but without scaring it off.
And what happens when you find it, little girl? Are you going to kill it on the spot?
That was another problem, one she hadn't let herself address before. How
was
she going to kill her doppelganger? Her magic couldn't be trusted, and the Primes had explicitly outlawed it for this task anyway. She had to dp it herself; she couldn't use the Cousins. But what if it knew how to fight?
Look at it this way. You know
nothing
about fighting. Therefore, it can't possibly know less than you do, and there's a good chance it knows more. If nothing else, it's got to have scuffled with local boys as a child. So chances are you're going to be at some kind of a disadvantage when it comes to blows
.
But it didn't have to come to an out-and-out fight. She had to kill it herself, but was there any rule against having someone else capture it first?
The Cousins could do that. They could take it prisoner and bring it back here, where Miryo could… dispatch it.
That hardly seemed fair.
Fairness doesn't enter into it. This is necessary. Besides, it'll get its fair fight, when the Cousins go after it. Once they have it prisoner, it's as good as dead anyway, so it's not that much different from me attacking and killing it on the spot
. And, since she had already established that doing so would be one step away from suicidal, this was her only workable plan.
A knock sounded on the door. "Come in," Miryo said.
"It's here," Miryo said at last. "I don't know where exactly, not yet. I'm going to go out into the town. You and Sai wait here. Prepare one of the attic rooms to hold a prisoner, as best as you can."
"I'll do that,"
Miryo grimaced, but she wasn't surprised. Her efforts to convince them she didn't need a watchdog had comprehensively failed. "All right. I won't be gone long."
She went down into the streets, Sai ghosting along behind her in the midday crowd.
It's here, somewhere within these walls. No sense of direction, though; I must be too close. Real helpful. My instinct
would
choose now to desert me
.
What if I wander into it, here on the street?
The thought turned Miryo cold. She wasn't ready. Only Sai was here—not that a combat-trained Cousin was anything to sniff at. But it would cause all kinds of comment if there was a fight here on the street. And even if she didn't encounter her doppelganger face-to-face, what if a merchant mentioned to it that he had seen a woman very tike it earlier that day?
Miryo turned on her heel and left the crowded street as quickly as she could.
Her feet carried her without any real sense of direction. She wasn't sure which way the inn was, and couldn't yet bring herself to ask Sai. As it was, her wandering brought her to a place she wanted to go.
She went up the steps and into the temple's cool interior without thinking about it twice, it was the first time she'd set foot in a temple not built for witches' use, and she gazed around it in curiosity. This one was pentagonal in layout, with a door at each corner; from her studies, she knew it was an unusual design. The interior face of each wall was devoted to a different Aspect of the Goddess. The middle was open to the sky; Miryo hummed and sensed the spell that covered the opening, keeping leaves and other such litter out. Rain, however, could enter freely, as could snow and birds, so the natural world still had access.
