Shatterglass (34 page)

Tris looked around the edge of the screen at him as she did up her sash. “Help me with what? I didn’t help find him, I walked bang into the man, Niko! Is he dead yet?”

Niko’s large, dark eyes filled with distress as he watched her. “Do you care so little, Tris? He paid in blood, yesterday.”

“I feel sorrier for the prathmuni” she retorted. “There was a slaughter, wasn’t there?”

She had dreamed it, seeing knots of prathmuni disappear under the stones and clubs of outraged citizens.

“Sadly, yes,” Niko admitted. “Twenty-nine prathmuni dead, four of them children.

The Keepers finally decreed martial law and ordered the arurim to get the city under control.”

Tris paused, her sash half-tied. She emerged from behind the screen, frowning.

“Twenty-nine?” she repeated. She had expected far more.

“I was shocked, too,” admitted Niko. “But that’s all that were found. Tharios’s prathmuni have vanished. The Assembly is fighting about who will do their work.”

Tris grinned. They had listened to her, then. They had escaped.

Niko tugged at his moustache. “I find it interesting that they left at almost the same time the Ghost was captured. Do you think they were warned?”

Tris ignored so foolish a question. Niko was too clever not to realize she had warned the prathmuni. “Where’s Glaki?” she asked. She wished everyone had escaped, but if prathmuni were like most people, some must have insisted that no one would blame their entire class for the acts of one man. At least the number of dead was far smaller than it could have been. “How’s Keth?”

“He’s in the workroom, meditating,” replied Niko. “Glaki is helping in the kitchen.

They’re staying here for the time being - Khapik was closed during the riots. What do you plan to do with the girl, Tris?”

“Keep her with me,” Tris replied. “She needs something constant in her life, and she has no family.” She held up a hand to silence her teacher when he opened his mouth.

“I know I need to provide for her properly. I’m too young for motherhood. And she’s an academic mage, though too young to work with it much. I want to learn to be an academic mage myself; I don’t know how to teach one.”

“She has used her power somewhat,” Niko remarked. “She is far more disciplined than I would expect for a child her age.”

“It’s the meditation, I suppose,” Tris replied. “I suppose that will do for now. I was thinking of taking her back to Winding Circle when we go home.” Searching an open drawer for a scarf for her hair, which was a mess of half-undone braids that would have to be washed, arranged and pinned afresh, she found Chime sound asleep in her belongings. “Hello, beautiful,” she murmured, stroking the glass dragon as she eased a blue scarf out from under her.

Chime opened one glass eye and chinked at her, then resumed her slumbers.

“Come eat something,” Niko said. “You don’t have to plan Glaki’s life today.”

“Good,” Tris replied, clutching a chair. “Right now I’d be hard put to decide between honey and syrup for my bread.” She took the arm Niko offered, leaning on it more than she would have done had her strength been normal. “How’s Dema?” she asked as they went downstairs.

“Vindicated. About to receive a more prestigious appointment,” replied Niko. “We thought it ‘was best for all concerned if he got sole credit for the Ghost’s arrest. Some grumblers say he should have sent disguised arurimi into the district earlier, but they’re in the minority. Do you mind?”

“Dema getting credit?” Tris asked as Niko let her sink on to a dining-room chair.

“He’s welcome to it. I told you, I didn’t find the Ghost, I ran into him. Does Keth mind?”

“He says no,” replied Niko, ringing the bell for the cook.

“Tris, Tris!” Glaki plunged out of the kitchen, arms upraised, spoon in one hand. Tris managed to hold off the spoon while welcoming the four-year-old’s passionate hug.

“You’re awake!”

“We thought you’d sleep all year,” said Kethlun. He’d come downstairs without Tris realizing it. “So tell me, if you were storing other things than lightning in your hair, why didn’t we feel them tear up the house while you were snoring?”

“I don’t snore,” Tris retorted. “And there are protections on my head to keep the power from escaping even when I’m not in control of it. I renew them every time I wash my hair, all right?“

Keth sighed. “Here I was, all hopeful you wouldn’t even have the strength to pick on me once you woke up. So much for boyish dreams.” He wandered into the kitchen.

“Tris, look,” said Glaki impatient, bouncing in the older girl’s lap.

“I’m looking,” Tris replied. “Don’t do that, I might break.”

Glaki pointed to a dish on the table. It rose, shakily, eight full centimetres, then settled again.

“Very good,” Tris said. She hesitated, then kissed Glaki on the cheek. “Your mother and aunt would have been proud.”

Keth had continued to work at Touchstone Glass while Tris slept, with Dema to keep him enclosed with protective magic. A week after Tris got out of bed, she rejoined Keth at the shop, along with Glaki, Little Bear and Chime. They said hello to Antonou on their arrival, then retired to the workshop.

The slip into their old routine was as easy as Tris’s slip into sleep. The three of them meditated. Glaki settled into her corner to play with her dolls as Tris drew her protective circle around the shop. Watching Keth work, she thought that she would dispense with the barrier after today. He kept his power firmly in hand as he created the small, sparking globes that Antonou could sell.

Comfortable with Keth’s skills, Tris let herself out through her barrier, to practise scrying the winds. Her bit of success in pursuit of the Ghost had given her confidence.

She could master this in time, and who knew? Unlike her other magics, she might be able to make a living with this.

She only had the strength for less than a half hour of work. Sweating, she lowered her barrier on the workshop and left it down. As she sat on a bench, watching Keth, she realized that his eye was on her.

“What are your plans?” she asked. “Niko says they’re going to move the conference to an island off the coast. I should go with him.” She smiled wickedly. “It seems our fellow mages don’t find Tharios, with all the rubbish piling up, much fun as a place to write their text on visionary magics.”

“I’m going with you,” Keth says. “There are glassmakers on the island related to Antonou. They’ll take the work they can sell to him, and he’ll pay them for my supplies. Later…” He gouged at the floor with his foot.

“Later…?” Tris nudged.

Keth looked at her. “I want to study investigators’ magics. While you slept, Denia shielded me while I made two more globes with crimes in them. It’s not something I want to do constantly, understand, but if I can help, I’d like to.”

Tris nodded encouragement. “That sounds like a wonderful idea. I wouldn’t want you to give up your glassmaking, but even a little help from time to time would make a difference, it seems to me.”

Keth grinned at her. “I thought you’d approve.

And Tris, I had another thought.“ She raised her eyebrows. Keth said, ”How would you like to learn how to work glass?“

Tris blinked. “You mean, learn to work it like an ordinary craftsman does.”

“Exactly.” Keth sat next to her. “You won’t get further than journeyman, probably.

You don’t have the time to spend just on glass, for one thing. But you could learn to mould and pull glass. I’ve seen how you admire the work.”

Tris looked at the ground to hide her blush of pleasure. “I’d love to.”

Keth laughed. “Oh, I have you now!” he said, rubbing his hands together. “A little repayment for your hours of torture —” He went into the shop and took down two leather aprons.

“I did not torture you,” Tris retorted. She accepted one apron and tied it over her gown. “No more than you deserved, anyway. And I’m still your teacher, so mind your step.”

“I am going to enjoy this,” Keth said. “Come here. We’ll start with the basic mix of materials you need to melt down.” As Glaki invented stories for her dolls, Keth proceeded to instruct his young teacher on the mysteries of glass.

They were cleaning up for the day, or rather, Keth and Glaki cleaned up while Tris sat on a bench and sweated, when Dema walked into the courtyard. Little Bear greeted him with earsplitting barks as Chime flew around his head. “You look terrible,”

Dema informed Tris. “Are you even ready to be out of bed?”

“Nice to see you, too,” she mumbled.

“Slumming, or moving out?” asked Keth, grinning at Dema.

“Neither.” When Keth and Tris stared at him, Dema coughed into his fist. “I’m, ah, staying at Elya Street,” he confessed. “I, well…” He looked at them and shrugged. “I like it down here. I asked the Keepers to promote one of my sisters instead.” When Keth and Tris continued to stare at him, Dema flushed under his brown skin. “They need me more down here than they do further up the hill. And after catching the Ghost, the yaskedasi are talking to me. I’ve been able to solve three old crimes since that night.” He sighed. “The Keepers rewarded me anyway. At least, they said it was a reward. I’m also assigned to the Hodenekes and Noskemiou arurimati. I guess they think if I like the low life, I ought to get a bellyfull of it.” He looked at Tris. “Which reminds me — who tipped the pmthmuni off, do you suppose? Let them know to flee the city?”

Tris knew that sooner or later someone would think to ask. Though she was not generally in favour of lying, she saw no reason why anyone should know the truth.

She looked Dema in the eye and said, “For all you know, there were prathmuni everywhere on that street. They’re not stupid, Dema.”

“No, they’re not,” he said grimly. “They’re negotiating a contract with Tharios right now, from hiding. They won’t return until the Assembly grants certain concessions, like pay for their work, and better living conditions.”

Keth and Tris exchanged grins. “What a shame,” Keth remarked.

“I feel for you,” said Tris, innocent and earnest. “I feel for all Tharios.”

“Me too,” said Glaki, hugging Dema around the knees.

Dema lifted her up and kissed her cheek. “I’m glad someone around here feels sorry for me.” To Tris he said, “We can’t change overnight. Not Tharios.”

“But a little change won’t kill you,” replied Tris as Chime began to purr in her lap. “It might even help Tharios to stand another thousand years.”