Vengeance

Tobry went halfway down the stairs. ‘What is it?’

‘Father’s fallen and knocked himself out. It could be bad.’ The door banged.

‘There,’ said Tobry, leading the way up the stairs. ‘Nothing for you to worry about.’

She limped after him, dread gnawing at her like a stomach full of alkoyl. Lord Ricinus would wake, describe Tali and accuse her of trying to kill him, and Lady Ricinus would be relentless. An attack on the lord of the house was an attack on the house itself and must be savagely punished.

It must also destroy the friendship that had developed between her and Rix, and perhaps Tobry too. They would know she had deceived them. They would believe she had attacked Rix’s father while he was drunk and helpless, then had run away. Rix could not forgive that, any more than Tali could have forgiven an attack on a member of her own family. Why hadn’t she told the truth?

Because the slaves’ way was so ingrained in her that it was instinctive. Never admit anything, never notice anything and always be ready to lie yourself out of trouble.

‘You’re shaking,’ said Tobry. ‘Have you eaten?’

‘Not — ’ Her voice went hoarse. ‘Not today.’

‘Sit down. I’ll bring something up.’

Tobry headed for the stairs, then turned back, as if he had forgotten something. Picking up a small canvas that was facing away from her, he put it into a storeroom full of other canvases and closed the door.

Now that she had no distractions, pulses of pain were spearing through Tali’s abused thigh, following the line of the arrow wound, which had been repeatedly broken open in the past days. She forced herself to concentrate. When Rix discovered what she had done to his father, he would be furious. He had risked his life for her and she had betrayed his trust.

Would he give her up? No, he was too noble for that. He would put her out and tell her he never wanted to set eyes on her again. After all they had been through together Tali could not face that. She had to get away before he returned, and the only place she could go was back to the tunnels.

Could she glean any evidence about the murder first? How long did she have? Lord Ricinus had been very drunk when she’d encountered him in the cellar, and in the minutes after that he had swilled two more bottles. After he came to, he would probably sleep for hours.

Settling on a red leather settee, she pressed down on the hot arrow wound, working the healing charm as best she could, and re-examined the clues. There was no subtlety about Rix; his feelings showed on his face. If he knew anything about the killing, he would have given it away when she had told him about it. Therefore, he knew nothing. And yet, he had been there. She was not mistaken about that.

Tali desperately needed someone to share her doubts and fears with. What if she broached the subject with Tobry? She trusted him, but Tobry’s loyalties had to be with his friend. If she told him that Rix had been a witness to the murder, Tobry would ask him about it.

‘Here you are,’ said Tobry.

He set down a tray beside her. It held four wedges of something firm — one wedge white, the next two yellow and the last threaded with grey mould — plus sausages and slices of preserved meats, little onions with long yellow stalks, a green apple and a red one, and a couple of dishes whose contents quivered.

‘What’s that?’ said Tali, pointing to the plain yellow wedge.

‘Cheese. You don’t have cheese in Cython?’

‘There’s no milk.’ She nibbled some cheese. It was pleasantly nutty.

‘Wine?’ He was holding out a brown bottle.

She could only see the drunken old man swilling it then peeing on the wall. ‘I’d rather have water.’

He fetched some and sat on the other end of the settee. ‘I’m intrigued to know how you got into the palace.’

‘You mentioned tunnels, so I sniffed them out.’

He was smiling. ‘That’s quite a nose you have.’

Was he mocking her? She did not know how to reply. ‘If this place is searched, what are you going to do with me?’

‘Take you out the window and down into Tumbrel Town.’

‘If they know Rix sneaked out, won’t they be watching the windows?’

‘I expect so. We’ll have to be quick.’

‘What if they’ve got men waiting below to catch us?’ Panic flared. She was going to be caught and sold to the chancellor like a slave.

‘I’ll have men there too,’ said Tobry. ‘Trust me, I’ve played this game before. I’m going out to make the arrangements now. In the meantime, you’ve got to eat and sleep and give your thigh a chance to heal. Then, if we need to go in a hurry, at least I won’t have to carry you.’

‘You once said you had a friend who was skilled in magery and might help me find — ’

‘And you said, “Don’t tell anyone about it”.’

‘I’ve got to have help. I can’t do it by myself.’

‘Unfortunately she left Caulderon when the attacks began. If the enemy wins, those with magery will be taken first, and tortured longest.’

‘I’ve lost, then,’ she said bitterly. ‘And I’ll be one of them.’

‘So will I,’ Tobry reminded her. He sighed. ‘Lie down, close your eyes and empty your mind.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘A little test.’

‘But you said … what if he sees into me, through you?’

‘I’m not using my magery. Just the elbrot’s. But only if you trust me.’

‘I trust you,’ said Tali. But she could also trust her enemy to use every advantage. And yet, without magery she was lost anyway. ‘I’ll have to take the risk.’

She closed her eyes and tried to think of nothing, but the memory of di-DA- doh?Di-DA- doh? kept intruding. Did the killers know she was in the palace? And what if her enemy still lurked within Tobry, just waiting for the right moment, this moment, to possess her? She would not be able to endure it the way Tobry had. A slave’s mind was her last refuge when all else had been taken. If the wrythen invaded that sanctum she would go insane.

Tobry moved the elbrot back and forth over the top of her head, around the sides, and above her face. She could detect its glow through her closed eyelids.

‘Your mind’s so full it’s bulging out your ears,’ said Tobry.

‘Sorry,’ she said hoarsely. Don’t think of the notes. Don’t dwell on the call. Di-DA- doh?Di-DA- doh? What made the notes, anyway?

‘Blank it all out.’ Tobry laid his callused hand across her forehead. ‘Turn yourself into a cork bobbing in a pond, just drifting, drifting.’

She imagined that she was floating, empty, uncaring where wind and currents took her or what happened once she got there, at peace … But what if he was possessed, and her enemy was reading her gift at this moment, sneering at her weakness, preparing to enter her …?

‘Ugh!’ cried Tobry, screwing up his face in pain. ‘For a minute there, I thought I was close, but it dropped away.’ His tanned skin was pale, his lips bloodless.

Because I blocked you, she thought guiltily. Despite all you’ve done for me, I didn’t trust you. ‘Are you all right?’

‘It was more painful than I’d expected.’

‘You knew it would hurt?’

‘My magery often does.’

CHAPTER 65

The inner peace faded and Tali was back on the red settee with her thigh throbbing and her belly so empty that it hurt. She ate as much bread, cheese and sausage as her small stomach could hold, fighting the urge to