“Yes, but a sword does not a swordsman make.”
Larkin laughed. “She might be better than you at it. Do not judge before you’ve seen.”
“If something happened to her—”
“Pssh! It would no more be your fault than if I crossed the road and was run over by a stray apple wagon. You can’t save us all, milord.”
Aidan clenched and unclenched his jaw. This was not the conversation he wanted to be having this early in the morning, if ever. “You changed the subject on me. What happened last night when I left you? I heard—”
“No decent man would listen at keyholes and then repeat what he heard.”
The door behind Aidan creaked open. “Heard what?”
Aidan moved out of the way, and Slaíne brushed past him. She still wore the yellow dress, though the light gave her face a better color. It was more flattering than he had realized in the dimness of the night previous. He cleared his throat as if to speak, then thought better of it.
The seer raised her brows at him, though Slaíne was mercifully unaware. “Are we on the road today? I ’spect we’d be wanting to find the grave.”
Larkin shushed her. “No, today is not the day to try for it. We need a strategy, in case we encounter any foe. Not to mention that none of us has a clue as to the location. We’ll need a map. We’ll need a certain Lord Dewhurst for that. He has a map, though I doubt he understands how to read it. We’ll take that somehow.”
“Good luck with that,” Aidan muttered. The women looked at him, and he raised his hands. “Your old master has a map. Perhaps others have a copy as well.”
The seer was already shaking her head and finger at him. “Let us speak of it here no longer. We’ll talk over matters at the appointed hour. But for now, milor— All right, Mr. Powell, you could do with, er, some—”
Slaíne sniffed. “Yes, he does kind of stink, don’t he?”
Aidan laughed. “Is that all?”
“Men,” Larkin said, taking Slaíne by the arm and leading her down the remainder of the hall. “Don’t take too long, breakfast is in twenty.”
“I know,” said Aidan, amused. “’Twas I that told you.”
But they were already gone.
Aidan cursed and returned to the room and bolted the door behind him. The water, as he expected, was freezing, but he thought it unreasonable to ask the servants to empty the bath and heat more water for him. So he Dismissed the filth from the tub, stripped down, and took a quick, brisk bath.
Once he’d finished, he had nothing to dry off with, and was forced to return to his own filthy clothing. But, after a little concentration, he was able to Dismiss the worst of the grime and dried sweat away, making the clothing more presentable and less offensive to the ladies’ sense of smell.
After he’d done that, to his surprise and relief, he found a shaving kit lying on the dressing table. He hadn’t had a good shave in – well, since visiting his hometown and Tristram.
As he lathered up, Aidan thought of his old friend. He’d been putting off thoughts of the traitor for a while now, but the scraping of the blade against his skin brought the memory of pooling blood in an inkwell.
How stupid he had been to put his friend in the position to do something like that. And how stupid was he now, letting the seer into his circle. Aidan did not wish a circle. He did not need a circle, and yet here he was.
“I need to get rid of her,” he muttered to himself. He knew that the seer could not be trusted. She had proven that during their first meeting. “She hasn’t tried anything yet,” he told his reflection. The blade was dull, and the shave was not as close as he would have liked. Aidan grumbled and went over his face a second time.
It was true: Larkin had not tried anything yet. But just because she’d been acting under a master’s orders before, it didn’t make her any more reliable. And that was another matter: Had she been acting under orders to distract Aidan so Dewhurst could capture him? And if so, what was to stop her from lying about being under those same orders still? He did not think she would try anything at the moment; for whatever reason, she wanted help reaching old Cedric’s grave. She would not be the first person to ask for Aidan’s help in that matter.
“Meraude,” he muttered, splashing his face with cold water. If either Lord Dewhurst or that witch wished for the Goblet, it was best to make certain that neither got hold of it. He could refuse Meraude, since she had no idea of his current location and had no longer contacted him by way of the Seeing Pool. But the seer. She could see things before they happened. But how much? Would she know he planned on leading her in circles away from where he suspected the Goblet to be? Even now, she could be sitting down there, watching the future shaping before her very eyes…if that was how it worked. Somehow, Aidan doubted it.
Well, there was nothing to be done about it at the moment. He dried his face, threw on his vest, and went down for breakfast. For a moment, he panicked, feeling so many Pulls, and none of their owners looking any friendlier at him than they had earlier. Some of the men outright pointed and snarled their disdain at him.
“Coward,” one muttered.
Aidan let no emotion show on his face and made for the private room where they’d dined the night previous. The seer was sitting at the table, smoking a pipe and prattling on about some nonsense. She seemed rather pleased about something, but stopped talking when she noticed that Aidan was standing there in the doorway.
Slaíne, on the hand, was worrying her lip and wouldn’t look Aidan in the eye. This did not bode well. The last thing he needed was a mischief-maker on his hands, and he suspected the seer was just that.
“What’s this?” Aidan said, trying to keep his voice even.
Larkin laughed like a drowning bird through a mouthful of smoke. He thought she rather looked like a dragon in that moment, and suddenly wished for the silver sword. But the fancy passed without either seer or Slaíne noticing anything awry.
“What’s so amusing?”
“Nothing’s amusing, sir. We’re – that is, I am worried.” She shot a look at the seer, who shrugged.
Aidan crossed his arms over his chest. “I can see that you are worried. What has you so?”
“Them out there, they’re saying right horrible things about you.”
It felt as though a millstone had been lifted from around his neck. He actually chuckled. “Is that all?”
Slaíne’s brow puckered. “But they called you a – well, a….” She shied away from the word. He would not.
“Coward,” Aidan finished for her.
It was the seer’s turn again to laugh. “See, miss? Our man doesn’t care what others say or think of him. The only opinion of himself that he cares about is his own.”
Aidan rubbed his shoulder, which prickled with painful coldness. “When I sort out whether that was meant as a compliment or an insult, I’ll respond appropriately. Where is breakfast? I ordered it to be here nigh thirty minutes ago.”
The girl managed to meet his eye that time. “Madam had to re-order it.”
That rose Aidan’s brows. “Whatever for?”
“The innkeeper’s wife, she doesn’t like you much.” The seer winked at him. “I told you not to get on her bad side.”
Aidan swore before remembering he was in the company of women. “Forgive me.”
“Oh, don’t worry; I say a lot worse than that.” And with that, Slaíne turned back to the fire and fiddled with the poker.
He chose to ignore that comment. Instead of responding, he sat down and poured himself a cup of cider, felt for any strange Pulls, found none, and drank deeply.
“Your own fault, milord, for not fighting last night. All of the able-bodied men, stranger and local alike, took arms against the sea of wraiths and drove them bravely away into the night.” She smirked. “Or, so they tell it. More likely the wraiths realized they we
re outnumbered and went to gather stronger numbers. Give me some of that. Yes.” She, too, poured herself a glass of cider and drank deeply. “Will you fight tonight?”
“Firstly, you told me to stay indoors last night. Secondly, who says they’ll return?”
“The woman who knows, that’s who.”
That did not sit well with Aidan. He did not wish to remain here another night. The sooner he could get rid of the seer, the better. “What was your vision about last night?”
The woman coughed on her own smoke. She sat there wheezing and thumping a fist to her chest before she was able to quit, and then stared up at Aidan with watery eyes. “What makes you say I had one?”
Aidan gave her a wry smile. “Because you said your visions came with a cost, and I assume, judging from the wretched pain you sounded to be in, that the cost was paid last night for another one.”
Larkin did not regard him with a friendly eye as she took a calming sip of cider and put her pipe out. She tucked the instrument back in her pouch. Grimacing, she shook her head. “It was all nonsense, really. And don’t feel smart for figuring out my curse that easily. Each of us that’s Blest has got some price to pay for it, Lord Ingledark. You know as well as any.”
There was a loud crash, which caused Aidan to jump and turn to Slaíne. The seer, not surprisingly, had not moved an inch but took to picking at her nails.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothin’,” Slaíne said, though her brow was creased. “Just knocked over my chair. Clumsy today, I am.” She righted the furniture and sat down on it.
Aidan decided to not look at her a moment longer than was necessary, and took a seat of his own. “Right, so. You say Lord Dewhurst has a map.”
The seer favored him with a curt nod. “The one which you believe is impossible to get. You who can Summon and Dismiss at will.”
Aidan shook his head. “You do not know how my particular brand of magic works.”
“Then enlighten us.”
He gave Slaíne a sideways glance, and was surprised to find her still pensive. But he ignored her discomfiture and began an explanation of his own abilities. “In order to get rid of something, I have to Recognize it.” He paused. “Say I wanted to Dismiss a chair in the next room here in this inn. I could concentrate, find a Pull, but if I didn’t have a line of sight and have never explored that chair’s Pull before, I might Dismiss only part of it, or something else entirely.”
Through this explanation, the seer nodded and continued picking at her nails. When he paused, she looked up. “Go on.”
“Well, say you could get me within half a mile of the map, I wouldn’t be able to Call or Dismiss and then Summon it to myself. I don’t know its Pull, follow?”
“It’s not familiar,” Slaíne chimed in.
Aidan afforded her a small nod, but his gaze returned at once to Larkin, who was smirking. “What? You have some solution to this problem?”
“No, I just like the thought of you getting your revenge.”
That caught him off guard. “What do I need revenge for?”
“For what Lord Dewhurst did to you and your reputation, that’s what.” She turned to Slaíne. “Didn’t he tell you why he’s a wanted man?”
Aidan raked a hand back through his hair and drained his cup. This woman. The nerve, suggesting that he need to avenge himself against the dandy. Yes, the idea was tempting. But that he would actually take the law into his own hands? The thought was ridiculous. He said as much, and the woman laughed in his face.
“Get the map, Lord Ingledark. Do to that fiend what he would have done to you, had you not run fast enough. Take back what is rightfully yours.”
“What’s she sayin’, Mr. Aidan?”
“It doesn’t matter, Slaíne. Seer, I have no taste for vengeance. If you, on the other hand, have need of it, I won’t stand in your way.” They were silent then, the three of them, for Aidan motioned for them to be so; there were several Pulls at the door, familiar Pulls from yesterday. “Just the servants bringing breakfast.” They all let out a collective breath of relief and went back to their previous occupations.
After the servants had laid down their wares – plates full of potato hash, ham, wheat cakes, and honey – they left, and Aidan could feel that they were out of eavesdropping range. The three continued their conversation.
It was Larkin who first spoke again. “Fine. The girl will cause a distraction, you will get into the house and retrieve the map, and I will deal with his so-called lordship. Sound like a good plan to you?”
Aidan had no intention of following her plan, but he did not offer his dissent. Instead, he scratched at his chin and looked thoughtful before answering with, “Let me think on it. I am not entirely certain that is the best course of action at the moment.”
The seer eyed him curiously, but let the matter slip. “Right. Now, why are we letting this fantastic feast grow cold before our very ravenous eyes? Let’s tuck in.”
* * *
Later that day, while the seer took a rest after complaining of a headache, Aidan Dismissed all of their belongings and took Slaíne out into the town square. They passed hagglers who called out to them, pushing their wares, some getting in Slaíne’s face and demanding she try on such and such a necklace or brooch.
Aidan smirked. Slaíne pushed on, ignoring the hawkers. “Rude,” she said, far from sounding or looking flattered.
They walked in silence until they neared the edge of town. That was when Aidan turned to Slaíne and said, “Let’s walk a little farther, shall we?”
She raised her eyebrows at the words, frowned, but followed him down a small lane. “What’s the matter?” They came to a standstill next to a small garden, whose keeper watched them with consternation. That would not do.
Aidan gave the man a rueful smile and led Slaíne further still, behind houses, through hanging laundry, until they emerged on a side road. “Forgive me, I wanted to make certain we weren’t being followed.”
“Who’d want to follow us?”
He gave her a pointed look.
“You mean you didn’t want the seer to see where we was going?” She worried her lip for a moment. “Won’t she, you know, know anyway? She’s got that talent, after all.”
He shrugged. “I wanted this at least said without her within hearing distance.” Aidan looked around again before getting to the meat of the matter. “She probably already knows that I do not trust her.”
Slaíne snorted and stopped when he gave her a funny look. “’S obvious.”
“Right. Anyway, I fear she means to lead me into another trap.”
That startled her. “She ain’t said anything that made me worry about that. But you’re the one what’s got history with her.”
“I am not willing to place my life in the hands of someone who has already betrayed me. That is why I propose we form our own plans.”
She looked at him, amazed for a while.
He wondered what he’d said to shock her so.
“You want my opinion?” she asked.
He nodded. “Of course.”
Slaíne went quiet for a moment, her brow wrinkling. “No one’s asked my opinion before.”
Aidan waited patiently for as long he dared allow, feeling all the while for Pulls, and keeping a sense out for Larkin’s Pull in particular. Her Pull, mercifully, was nowhere to be found in the near vicinity. If he concentrated hard enough, Aidan was certain he’d be able to find it back at the inn.
“How can one make plans without a seer knowing?”
“I don’t think her foreknowledge works how you believe. If she is one of the Blest, like me, then maybe her ability has its limitations. I can only Summon and Call what I can recognize or what feels familiar. Perhaps she can only see what concerns her directly.”
“Then why find us? She must’ve used her ab
ilities to cross our paths, and we nay concern her direct-like.”
“But we do concern her directly. Because she chose to see us. If my theory is a correct one, she was sent to find us. But if we were to bring in a third party, one that we would make certain had no direct contact with her….”
Slaíne’s brow furrowed further. “I don’t know, sir. It would be a risk.”
“Agreed.”
“What would this third party of yours do?”
“They would be waiting to rescue us, should anything ill befall you or me. There is no way to know for certain. The risk would be finding a person we could trust, and also trust that our all-knowing friend is not all-knowing.” He sighed and felt the weight of their situation rest on his shoulders. Perhaps it had been a fool’s errand, walking out here, hoping to share some of the burden. Slaíne seemed to still be in the master-slave mindset, and he felt true pity for her. “Anyway, I just wanted you to be aware, should I need to contact anyone or do anything tricky, that I’ll need you to be my eyes and ears with Larkin.”
The girl nodded, but she did not seem pleased. “All right.”
It did not seem possible that Slaíne would betray him, given the nature of her curse, but he decided to make future plans on his own and to only bring her in on them when necessary. “I know she seems…all right, but I don’t trust her.”
“Then I don’t trust her.”
Aidan smirked. “Glad to know we’re agreed on the matter.”
“Always.”
He ignored that last remark in favor of feeling for any unwanted Pulls in the near vicinity. He recognized the seer’s right away. She was on the move. “Come,” he said, leading Slaíne into the open street. At once they were accosted by more salespeople, the majority of them latching on to Slaíne, whose temper seemed on the rise. Before she could slap a particularly forward apothecary, Aidan stared the man down, using his full height to his advantage. That got the man to back away.
The seer’s Pull was leading him away from the main ways. He wondered if she could see him and if that would put him and Slaíne in danger. Just to be certain, he Summoned his dagger when he was certain no one could see him, and tucked it into its sheath on his belt.
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