Chasers of the Wind (41 page)

The door creaked quietly and I instantly jumped up and grabbed the knife I’d hidden under the pillow and concealed it behind my back. The woman who walked into the room had short blond hair and was wearing a colorful skirt. I was so startled that it took me a second to realize that it was Layen.

16

She smelled faintly of jasmine. I reached out for her and wrapped my arms around her. Humming softly, she bit my earlobe. A cat. A warm cat. And predatory. From time to time even too predatory. The scratches she left on my back always ached sweetly though.

“I can’t get used to you.”

“Really?” Sharp little teeth sank into the side of my neck. She growled. “Then I guess I’ll just have to do something to get you used to me again.”

Much later, when we were lying in the bed after this most recent onslaught of passion, I still found it necessary to explain, “Your hair is much shorter. I didn’t recognize you at first.”

“You don’t like it?” My sun smiled.

“How could I not? I’ve just never seen it like this.”

“I had to sacrifice it. We’re being looked for, and any sign might give us away. I was afraid they’d recognize me at the gates.”

For some time we lay there in silence, thinking our own thoughts.

“I kept thinking that I’d never see you again,” Layen said suddenly. “You delayed too long.”

“I’m sorry.” What else could I say to her?

“It’s a miracle we got out.”

“I know. I saw. You were ahead of us by a few seconds and were able to escape. We had to find a different route and sneak through the fields. Did the rest of your journey pass without incident?”

“Yes. I said good-bye to Ga-Nor and Luk at the gates and came here. You can’t imagine it, being locked inside four walls, every second wondering whether you survived or not.”

“I can imagine it, my sun. I can imagine it all too well. I wondered the same about you. It’s a good thing the redhead crossed our path. He was able to bring you out of that mess. Did our friends object to you leaving them?”

“The tracker, no. He understood that I wouldn’t give in to entreaties and immediately let me go where I wished. But Luk was truly upset, and kept urging me to stay. But I washed my hands of them. We have our business here, and they have theirs. We shouldn’t get them involved. Plus, our soldiers were going to meet the Walkers.”

“Why?” I was on my guard.

“From what I gathered, Luk was the only one to survive the storming of the Gates of Six Towers. And he saw Rubeola. That might interest the Walkers.”

“He also saw Typhoid.”

“She’s dead.”

“I’m not so sure. It seems she’s a tenacious creature and managed to return from the Abyss.”

I told her about running into the lad who used to be Pork. With each passing second her face became grimmer. When I was done a tense silence hung between us. Layen was lying motionless with her eyes closed.

“Is such a thing possible?” I asked finally, unable to contain myself.

“You want to hear the truth? I have no idea. Anything’s possible with the Damned. They are stronger than anyone else in our world. Their bodies are very difficult to destroy, and that’s to say nothing of their spirits. It’s entirely possible that destroying the latter requires more than ordinary steel. You need to disrupt the essence, the foundation, to burn out the spark. Do you remember that arrow?”

I nodded tiredly, realizing what she was talking about. I remembered it well—the strange bone arrowhead, the green shaft, and the lilac radiance before it hit the Walker.

“If Typhoid is alive, we’re in for trouble.”

“Cunningly observed,” she said, laughing, and began to get dressed. “I would say that we’re in for a great deal of trouble. She may just want to break your neck, but I’m sure she has much more to talk about with me and the Healer. It’s possible she just has a desire for revenge. It’s possible. But I wouldn’t rule out the idea that she wants us for something else.”

“Like what?”

“Perhaps to find a more fitting body than the one she has now. Or to get back her Gift. Did Gis actually say that she was very weak?”

“He did. Or at least, that’s how it seemed to him. Who knows what’s in the mind of a wizard?”

“So our mutual friend, the courier, is a Scarlet? Hmmm…” She lifted the hem of her colorful, recently purchased skirt and fastened a knife in a long, narrow sheath to her right shin. “You’re lucky he was there.”

“And he’s lucky I was there.”

She suddenly broke into laughter. “I’d give much to see the look on the Damned’s face when she realized who she was dealing with! It’s unlikely Typhoid ever thought she’d come across a demon charmer! She’d be particularly defenseless. Just imagine; I’m starting to regret that Gis isn’t with you. Where did you leave him?”

“At a wayside tavern. About two days’ travel from Al’sgara. I crept away in the middle of the night, while he was sleeping. I have no liking for such companions. With all due respect toward demonologists, I like to stay as far away from them as possible. It makes my soul rest easier.”

“Did the boy stay with him?” She hid another dagger in her left sleeve.

“The lad disappeared in Bald Hollow. We left without him. Whether he survived or not, I don’t know.”

This news upset her. “I’d be sorry if the Healer died. He had some good qualities.”

“Sure, like arrogance and stubbornness.”

“Other than those,” said my sun. She was already fully dressed. “But it’s possible the world lost the next Sculptor.”

“Why are you getting ready? Shouldn’t we wait ’til dark? I already had to quiet one bounty hunter this morning.”

I told her about what happened in Dovetown.

“So soon?” She was surprised. “At times I marvel at your ability to get into trouble. Not a day passed, and you were already recognized. Who was he working for?”

“For himself. He was fed by Mols on a case-by-case basis. So, where are you going and wouldn’t it be better for us to wait ’til it’s dark?” I asked again.

“Don’t you know that a curfew has been declared in Al’sgara after nightfall? It’s not a good idea to go out onto the streets. Military patrols, the watch, and the Viceroy’s Guards together with Walkers and Embers. I really don’t want to get caught by the last two, so I’d prefer to risk it during the day, and sit inside at night. We need to see Mols. Don’t you think it’s time to visit our old friend? After all, he was kind enough to send Whip and his team to warn us about Joch’s bad behavior.”

I smirked. “Perhaps you’re right. They’ll be glad to see us.”

We both laughed and I began to get dressed.

“Did you find out anything about Joch?” I asked in passing.

“I couldn’t stick my nose outside, so Ktatak and Jola were my eyes and ears. From what I could find out—the task will be hard. Joch is well guarded.”

I shrugged. “Sooner or later we’re all sent to the Abyss. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of time. We need to be on a ship by the end of the week. Perhaps sooner.”

“I know. I heard that the Isthmuses of Lina have been taken. We’ll smell smoke soon enough.”

I nodded and took my axe from the chair. “What about your Gift?”

Layen’s face instantly darkened. “It’s not going as well as I’d hoped.”

“But still?” I insisted. “Can I count on your help?”

“In that sense, no. Not right now, anyways. My spark is flaring up, but very slowly. For right now there’s little I can do. Let’s wait a few days, okay?”

I nodded, trying not to show my disappointment. The Damned! It was all her fault! If we’d never crossed paths with her, the hunt for Joch would have been much easier.

“Okay, don’t worry about it, my sun. We’ll manage on our own. It’s not the first time, right?”

She smiled gratefully. “Let’s go. I’ll tell you about our target on the way.”

“Wait a moment. What about the money?” I didn’t see her pack.

“I left it with Jola.”

“Now I’m really starting to worry,” I joked sourly. “What if the old woman flies away with our sorens?”

“She knows where her interests lie, of course, but in this I trust her.”

“Just like in fortune telling,” I said even more bitterly.

“Just like in fortune telling,” Layen concurred. “By the way, what did your cards say?”

“Nothing. Our prophetess was at a loss. She said she made a mistake. The spread was incorrect.”

“She made a mistake? An incorrect spread?” my sun echoed. “Are we talking about the same Jola?”

“And now just imagine how surprised Ktatak was. I thought he’d croak from happiness.”

She laughed loudly. “That would have been wonderful to see.”

“I wouldn’t want to miss the chance to see it a second time. The winged one almost plucked all her feathers out from vexation. Come on. We need to say good-bye to them. I hope walking around with weapons hasn’t been prohibited in the city?”

“No. With that, praise Melot, everything is as it should be.”

We went downstairs. There were still only two torches burning in the shop. Jola was ignoring us and muttering curses under her breath, laying out her fortune-telling cards on the table for the hundredth time that day. And the Blazog was attending his own business, too—he was pulling a hefty sword from the back of a dead man. Another corpse was lying under the Je’arre’s table. As far as I could tell in the gloom, he had been split by a single powerful blow from his collarbone to the middle of his chest. A whole lake of blood was flowing out of him.

“Guests?” I inquired politely.

Jola launched into a series of shrill imprecations, which placed primary emphasis on the mothers who gave birth to the bastards that dared attack her shop.

“Are these on your souls or on ours?” Layen was watching as the Blazog wiped his sword on the clothes of the dead man lying by the door.

“Don’t worry, Layen. There’s absolutely no kvonnection to you.” Ktatak laughed. “This kvouple of children of fish decided to tickvale my partner’s feathers. And at the same time as their little prankva, they were kvoinkva to make a profit.”

“The damned bastards!” confirmed the Je’arre without looking up from her cards. “May the skies fall upon their rotten families. May their children’s eyes dry up. May maggots devour their despicable guts alive!”

“That’s the right approach,” agreed the swamp dweller, not hiding his sarcasm. “Why didn’t you tell them that to their faces when they were still alive?”

“You stole my chance, you leech!” Jola snorted irritably and finally put her cards aside. “I didn’t have time to open my mouth before you swatted them like mosquitoes from your swamp!”

Ktatak laughed deep in his chest.

“You did your work quietly,” I said in a low voice. “I see your grip is as strong and quick as ever, you old trunk.”

“I take pride in the praise of a master.” He stretched his lips into a smile.

It wasn’t all that difficult to imagine what went on here. The two men obviously weren’t from the neighborhood, nor did they make their living as professional evaders of the law, otherwise they would have found themselves some friendlier victims. The lads were just eager to get their hands on a Je’arre. If they weren’t blinded by the torch hanging by the stairs and saw the winged woman, then it’s unlikely they had time to take note of Ktatak hiding in the gloom. So they’d stumbled right by him. I wondered if they had any idea who it was that jumped out at them?

Trying not to step in the blood that was seeping along the floor, Layen walked over to the door and lowered the latch.

“That’s right, girl,” said Jola approvingly. “If another dozen stop by, I’ll be cleaning the floor for the rest of my life.”

“Since when do you mop the floors, chickvadee? I’m always the one doinkva it,” said Ktatak indignantly.

“Stuff it, you leech.”

“What are you going to do with the bodies?” asked Layen.

“That’s our business. Don’t worry your pretty little head. Are you leaving?”

“We’d like to.”

“Go out through the back door.” The flyer had buried her nose in the cards once more. “Ktatak, show them the way. Then you can take care of these bodies. They’re not going anywhere.”

Layen kissed the Je’arre on the cheek. “Thank you for everything.”

“Not at all, Weasel. Not at all. I was happy to help.” For the first time since their conversation began, Jola smiled. “Take care of yourself. And good luck.”

The Blazog brought a quiver full of arrows and a bow out of the darkness—it was an exact copy of the one I’d had before. Four curves, composite, black. A good weapon.

“Nicely done. Just what I needed.” I endorsed his choice, carefully examining the merchandise.

Ktatak grunted in embarrassment and quickly said, “I’m just sorry for the arrows. I don’t know how to choose the right ones.”

“It’s okay,” I comforted him. “I’ll manage.”

“Takva your sorens.” He handed Layen her pack. “We kvan’t answer for their safety. We’ll be out of here any minute now.”

“Farewell, Jola.”

“Until we meet again, Gray. Until then.” She didn’t even raise her head from the cards.

We walked behind the Blazog, passing through a succession of half-lit rooms, brimming with bales and boxes. It’s hard to believe they’d sent off all their goods. To me it looked like there was still something here that could turn a profit. Disorder prevailed all around, and no one was planning to contend with it. In one place the floor was strewn with reels of expensive multicolored Sdisian thread. The dust in the room shone in the rays of the evening sun, which was peeking through one of the windows.

Finally, Ktatak stopped at a door, removed the dead bolt, inserted a beautiful key into the keyhole, unlocked it, and looked out.

“All kvalear. Kvo through the backvayard, to the right of the pikvasty. There’s a kvate there. There’s a kvey under the tile with a frokva painted on it. Don’t forkvet to put it backva. Then kvo alonkva the alleyway, it’ll lead you right to the harbor. I hope fate will brinkva us backva tokvether again. May Kvagun help you.”

“The god of the Blazogs is unlikely to pay attention to humans.”

The swamp dweller smiled. “If the kvod of the Je’arre kvan kvome to you in the fortune-telling kvards, why kvan’t my kvod look after my friends?”