B008P7JX7Q EBOK (6 page)

Connor felt a small thread of his excitement
return. “We already do most of the work. I’m fairly certain we can handle it,
can’t we, Adrian?”

“We couldn’t do a worse job than those two,”
Adrian agreed in a vacant tone.

“I’m going to go tell my father,” Connor said.
He left Tarrak and Adrian, searching for his father. His excitement was
returning, and once more the major concerns governing his mind were the
Festival and the fireworks that night.

3

For Adrian the walk down to the docks was the
most bewildering of his life. He had enjoyed the Festival for as long as he
could remember, and he had walked down this street countless times, but never
before had he felt so apart from the rest of the folk he saw. It felt as though
he was a complete outsider amidst them, watching them in their merriment and
wondering why they were so jovial. Alexis and Connor walked to one side him,
yet he felt apart from them as well.

The Festival of Lights had swept the whole city
up in a joyous mood. The streets were filled with the rainbow hues that
represented the festival colors, and streamers flew on every lamppost and
porch. The night was pitch black and cloudy, with a strong breeze rolling in
from the harbor, a nice contrast to the day’s heat. Lamps cast little pools of
light every few feet down the streets, lighting the townsfolk as they mingled
in small groups or flocked to the docks. The docks were the only place where
the overwhelming bright colors were missing. A few of the ships had colorful
streamers tied atop their masts in patriotic pride. Many of the other merchant
and trader crews partook in the yearly ritual as well, no doubt glad of the
respite from an ordinary night.

“There’s hardly any room to stand,” Alexis said
as they came out onto the wide docks.

Adrian saw at once that he was right. A sea of
humanity covered the harbor front, cast in the orange glow of lamps, their
voices in direct opposition to the gentle sounds of the waves.

“We should have come earlier,” said Connor.

Adrian looked to the small wall that he often
liked to occupy and watch the ships roll in, and saw that it was also crowded
by other youths. They all laughed and joked, delighting in one another’s
company, as did every other person he saw. How odd was it then that he could
feel so little of their joy? He wanted to share in their mirth, but the dark
clouds hanging over his soul refused to drift away. He remembered times, as the
year before, or even months before, when he would have been as delighted as
them at the prospect of witnessing this great climax to the ancient Festival,
carried over from Naban by the first settlers. Now he watched with an
outsider’s gaze.

“There’s Jaime,” said Connor. “Jaime! Over
here!”

Jaime headed towards them with a lopsided grin
to match his lopsided hat, covering his blond mat of hair. “Nice surprise to
see you two fellows down here.” He took notice of Alexis then, standing quietly
between them and scanning the crowd, and introduced himself properly. “Jaime
Fahnen, sir, pleased to meet you.”

“Alexis Marshall. A pleasure to meet you, young
master.”

“Would it be too much to assume that you are one
of the three newcomers staying at the Golden Lilly?” Jaime inquired.

“You would be correct in assuming that,” said
Alexis. His eyes drifted over the surrounding crowd, as though seeking
something. He immediately excused himself and left the boys.

“What’s the matter with you?” Connor asked
Jaime. “Can’t you ever talk properly?”

“Don’t blame me, gents, if my mother taught me
to behave graciously. Your mothers should have taught you the same manners.”

The words caught Adrian’s attention and he
sensed Connor tense beside him. He wondered if Jaime had planted the barb on
purpose, fully knowing that both their mothers were dead, or if the boy was
simply ignorant. Nonetheless, it reminded him of why he had never quite grown
to like Jaime Fahnen.

“I wonder if your mother taught you to fight, as
well,” Connor asked in a low voice.

Jaime looked startled. He held his hands out
before him. “Come on, Connor, I was only joking.”

Connor simply shook his head and stared past the
other boy. “The fireworks are about to start,” he said in a controlled voice.

Adrian turned to look towards the center of the
harbor. He could barely make out the masts of the ship anchored there. Alexis
joined them as they waited, handing them each a roasted ear of corn flavored
with lemon and spices.

“How do you celebrate the festival in
Carlstown?” Adrian asked him.

 “It’s not so grand as here, we hardly have a
large firework display, but everyone gets together to sing and dance. It’s
joyous, which I suppose is all that matters.”

The crowd of watchers packed even more tightly
together as they waited for the first light to bloom in the night sky. Adrian
was glad that he and the others had chosen to stand farther back and apart from
the thick of the crowd; he didn’t want to feel trapped amidst all those people.
The folk crowding the docks hushed in anticipation, and the whoops from some of
the youths and the sound of firecrackers seemed oddly pervasive in that
silence.

“There it goes,” Alexis said quietly.

A moment later the sky lit up with bursts of
yellows, greens, and pinks. The crowd broke their silence and cheered, while
children sitting atop their parents’ shoulders exclaimed their awe at the
sight. As the first sparks began to rain down another explosion lit up the
night sky. White sparks shot out in every direction, blooming and exploding as
they descended, immediately joined by a brilliant burst of gold and then red.
The sparks alternated colors as they descended; the white turned blue while the
gold morphed into orange. Again the crowd cheered in approval, and Connor and
Jaime shouted in delight. Shouts for more came from all around them. Adrian
watched the people around him, their eyes turned to the sky above the harbor
where brilliant colors dominated the night, and once he opened himself to it,
he felt
their joy. It was not hard. All he had to do was watch them
delight in the Festival, and his own excitement returned. He was as incapable
of not sharing their mirth as he would have been unable to return someone’s
smile.

For fifteen minutes the sky was filled with
blossoms of color drifting down like rain, forever stuck in the minds of the
watchers. The display ended with an extravagant burst, with five explosions
going off simultaneously, banishing the night above the harbor for the moment
of their duration. As the last sparks began to drift down folk began to applaud
and cheer so loudly that Adrian was certain even the men on the barge could
hear them.

Adrian glanced to his right and he saw his
friends applauding as fiercely as anyone else, even Alexis resembled a child.
Adrian’s own lips cracked in a smile as he watched them.

Why can’t I feel like this all the time?

4

“Did you ever see anything so great?” Connor
asked Alexis as they made their way up the hill. Music came from every inn and
tavern they passed, and small bands strolled the streets, gathering followings
as they moved further down the street. The sounds of firecrackers were
everywhere, little gunshots
erupting in the night followed by joyous
laughter.

“Once or twice,” said Alexis.

“It was better than last year, don’t you think,
Adrian?”

“Yes, definitely better than last year.”

It began to rain then, a soft drizzle that felt
cool to the skin. Connor turned his face to the sky to let the rain roll down
his face. “Can we stay out a little longer, Alexis? Watch some of the street
performers?”

“I don’t think so. I told your father I would
look after you and have you back on time.”

Connor didn’t object; he was simply glad to have
been able to catch the fireworks. Last year they had nearly missed the display
because Tarrak had been too busy to escort them down. It struck him as a little
unfair that Anne and Bertha could stay out longer than him - he thought he had
caught a glimpse of them down at the docks with their own friends - but he and
Adrian must follow a curfew. He knew better than to bring it up to his father,
though, knowing what he would be told.

“Is that Quinn?” Adrian asked suddenly.

Connor looked to where Adrian was looking and he
saw a thin shape emerge from a tavern, nearly tripping over the doorstep. The
man looked up in puzzlement at the rain and walked out into the street
muttering under his breath. Connor saw only a glimpse of the man’s face in the
light cast by a lamp, but it was enough for him to be certain.

“He’s supposed to be minding the stables!”
Connor said aloud, annoyed. “With him here that means there’s no one at the
stables!”

 He ran after the figure stumbling up the
street. “Quinn! What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be working! Quinn!”

The man turned to look at him. He watched Connor
approach with his face lowered. “What do you want?” he asked fiercely. His eyes
narrowed as he recognized Connor. “Oh, it’s you. The little yapping bastard.”

“What are you doing out here?” Connor demanded.
“Why aren’t you at the stables?”

“The whole damn city’s out enjoyin’ themselves,
I figure I’d join em. What’s it t’you?”

“Your drunk! Damn it, my father is paying you!”

“Bugger off, y’little runt,” Quinn told him as
he turned to walk away.

“I’m going to tell my--”

It was as far as Connor got. Quinn wheeled
around, surprisingly quick for his drunken state. Anger and hate twisted his
face like a mask. Connor felt himself grabbed from behind and pulled back from
Quinn’s backhand. He looked up to find Alexis standing over his shoulder. The
smile had disappeared from Alexis’s face completely and left him looking grim,
his wet hair hanging in his face.

“Don’t touch the boy,” Alexis warned.

“To hell with you!” Quinn snarled and rushed
towards him.

Alexis pushed Connor further back, never taking
his eyes off Quinn. Connor watched in fascinated horror, and for a moment of
clear thought he wondered what Alexis could hope to do against the fiercer man.

Quinn attacked with a hard roundhouse. Alexis
nimbly stepped aside and shoved the blow aside. His hand shot out and punched
Quinn hard in the ribs. The sound of the blow caused Connor to wince. The
stablehand fell to one knee with a grunt of pain. He immediately launched
himself at Alexis with a furious cry of outrage, bowling the younger man over
with a stiff blow to the stomach, and then a meaty punch to the jaw that sent
Alexis staggering to the ground.

Quinn aimed a hard kick at Alexis’s ribcage.
Alexis raised his arm and managed to block it. He rushed to his feet and
tackled the other man in the same motion. One hand gripped the stablehand by
the throat while the other gripped his left wrist. Quinn’s eyes widened with
alarm as he tried to free Alexis’s grip on his throat. Alexis shoved the other
man back, using his heel to trip him, and slammed him hard to the ground.
Connor heard the sound of Quinn’s skull hit the cobblestone and he swallowed
nervously. Alexis rose to his feet slowly, looking down at the other man’s
unconscious form.

“Is he--?” Adrian began, but Alexis cut him off.

“Don’t worry about him. Let’s go.”

It was raining more strongly as they left the sight
of the brawl and marched up the hill. Connor looked behind and saw the eyes of
the few people who had gathered to watch the fight follow them. He tried to
tell himself that the whole ordeal was justified, that Quinn deserved what had
come to him, but he kept remembering the dull
thud
that Quinn’s head
made as it struck the street. He exchanged a worried look with Adrian as they
followed Alexis, regarding him with wary caution.

Alexis wasn’t smiling now, and looking at him
Connor found it hard to believe he had ever seen the man smile.

Revelations

1

“Seems like a capable man to me,” said Tarrak
from his post beside the main entrance “I’m glad he was with you two.”

“So am I,” Adrian said. “But it ... it was
surprising to see him change so quickly. To see him smiling one moment and ....”
The Festival had been two days past and yet the memory of Alexis’s grim face
still left him bewildered.
It was almost as if he was two men then
, he
thought.

“I know,” Tarrak said, and it seemed to Adrian that
he
did
understand. “Sometimes a man has to go to a dark place in order
to do what needs to be done.”

“Well, at least Quinn’s been dealt with,” Connor
remarked.

Tarrak frowned. “Don’t be so quick to think
that. People like Quinn have a habit of turning up and making trouble just when
you think you’re done with them. And Jic as well; I don’t think he expected to
be let go so soon, but I think your father did the right thing in being rid of
them both.”