“Beyond compare.”
Alena chewed on her lower lip. “That can’t leave too many people in town.”
“But hard to find.”
“Maybe. I’ll begin searching. How can I find you?”
“Meet here? Every afternoon after academy?”
Alena thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll start looking tonight, and I’ll tell you what I find.”
“Thank you.”
She gave him a wry smile. “You’re the one letting me live. I should be thanking you.”
She stood up and gave him a sloppy bow. “So thank you.”
Brandt watched her walk down the street and vanish in the crowd.
An interesting young woman indeed.
20
Alena’s heart pounded as she walked away from the teahouse. With every breath she had taken near the wolfblade, she had expected to feel the burning agony of cold steel through her chest.
She was the reason Brandt’s closest friends were dead. They both knew it. She swore she could see the knowledge haunting his decisions, a darkness deep behind his gaze.
The death blow had never come. As she retreated from the teahouse she kept checking behind her, trying to see if she was being followed. He hadn’t been very good at it the first time, but perhaps he had intended for her to notice him.
She didn’t observe anyone following, and in time, she gradually relaxed.
When she was completely sure she was out of his sight, she collapsed onto a bench and closed her eyes. She heard concerned murmurs from passersby, but she ignored them. She took deep breaths in through her nose, wishing for a chance to go back a few weeks and make different decisions.
In time, the feeling of being overwhelmed receded. What was done was done. The past couldn’t be changed. She opened her eyes and stood up, rejuvenated by a fresh burst of determination.
She took a long route home, making sure, once again, that she wasn’t being followed. Perhaps she was too cautious, but right now, no amount of caution seemed unreasonable.
Once home, Alena went straight to her room and pulled out all the papers she had acquired from Bayt’s shop. She had cracked the cypher, and was gradually becoming able to read it.
Reading and writing languages came easily to her. Her memory was excellent, and memorizing the cypher proved to be little problem. She still got stuck on occasion, but her progress was quick.
Bayt’s papers had been far more organized than she had first imagined. On her desk she had sorted them into piles. The largest pile, by far, was focused on various people, unofficial biographies that Bayt had collected over time. Other stacks dealt with resources, locations, and legends. As Alena categorized the papers, she learned more about the man she had called master.
Bayt had apparently never met a piece of information he wasn’t interested in. His notes were well-organized, with small, neat handwriting. She hadn’t thought Bayt possessed much, but as she organized her stash, she came to understand Bayt had collected an enormous amount of information over the years. Not a single word was wasted in the notes, making each paper a literal treasure trove.
Alena turned her attention to the pile of papers that dealt with people. Within the stack, the papers were organized by location, so it didn’t take long for her to find the stack of papers dealing with citizens of Landow.
She began to read, separating the papers into new, smaller piles. One was for people meeting one of Brandt’s criteria. Another was for people meeting more than one.
The sun went down, and Alena lit a candle to work by. She heard her father come home from the smithy. On his way to bed he paused outside her door, no doubt wondering why she was still awake. He didn’t knock, though, and eventually continued on to his room.
Alena took some of her own notes to pass on to Brandt, then went to bed and fell immediately asleep.
The next morning, Jace gave her a strange look as he saw the piles of paper with bizarre scribbles across them. She rolled her eyes at his questions, though, which silenced them quickly enough.
She struggled to keep her mind on her studies all day. The far more interesting problem was the identity of the masked bandit. Alena forced herself to sit through history, leaving only when the others did.
Like her, Niles still attended academy. He had many of the same classes as her, and he didn’t seem to be struggling with his studies. In fact, he appeared more focused than ever. His father’s death had motivated him, more than Alena gave him credit for. His focus reminded her she needed to work just as hard to avoid him. It hadn’t taken Brandt long to find her. How long would it be until Niles was in front of her, demanding justice for his father?
After the final session of the day, Alena made her way to the teahouse, once again ensuring that she wasn’t being followed. Brandt was already there.
She didn’t feel the same fear she had yesterday. He didn’t seem to be duplicitous. His actions reflected his words. For now, at least, she was safe.
One troubling thought passed through her mind, though. What would happen when the bandit was unmasked and she was no longer useful to him?
He didn’t seem like the type of man to exact such a coldhearted revenge, but there wasn’t any way to tell. Not until it was too late.
Alena pushed her concerns aside. She handed Brandt her notes. “I’m about halfway through the citizens of Landow. I don’t think anyone here is who we are looking for, but these are the closest matches I’ve found so far. I wanted you to have them, in case something stood out.”
Brandt looked through the papers. His eyebrows rose as he read. “This is… thorough.”
“Bayt’s systems were more impressive than even I realized.”
Brandt nodded. “I see.”
There wasn’t much else to discuss. Alena wanted to return to her research, eager to solve the problem. From the way Brandt kept looking out the window of the teahouse, he wanted to pursue some of
