He found Wrey in the house’s sitting room. “Get Aldin and Camalyn for me,” he instructed her. She left the room.
Camalyn arrived first. She didn’t live at the house, but Konner had sent word to her the night before, asking her to meet him. “Blessed be the First Midwife,” Konner told her with a smirk.
She laughed and returned the greeting before sitting and smoothing the satin skirt of her purple dress. The outfit had nothing in common with the modest garb she wore in public as a Karite. Konner guessed she’d arrived with her voluminous, shapeless Karite garb over the lovely dress. She longed for the day when she could again go out in public looking her best.
Aldin soon arrived wearing blue pajamas, his cheeks and chin covered in stubble. He stifled a yawn as he sauntered to his seat.
“My apologies for the early arrival,” Konner said. The corner of Aldin’s mouth lifted in response; he remained cheerful even after only half a night’s sleep. Konner said, “I need to know how things are going with our plans. Camalyn, why don’t you begin? We’ll give Aldin a few minutes to wake up.”
Camalyn gave Konner a wide smile before declaring, “One hundred and thirty-seven.”
Konner laughed, his raised eyebrows seeming to lift his whole body. “One hundred thirty-seven? Wasn’t it around eighty last week?”
“Seventy-seven. They’re bringing their friends.”
“In droves, it seems.” Konner shook his head, laughing again. Camalyn had been meeting with her group of rogue Karites for three-quarters of a year, and he’d never expected her to gather so many people around her. She was proving to be an irresistible figure to religious types who yearned for direction but had grown disenchanted with Karite restrictions.
“Are the Karite elders still making trouble for you?” Konner asked.
“They want to excommunicate me. But there are twice as many active Karites in Savala as there were before my council campaign. The elders know that’s because of my efforts, and if I’m gone from their little club, many others will be too. So they corner me after every meeting and try to convince me of the dire eternal consequences of my heresy.”
Konner shook his head. “They have no idea what’s coming. If they did, they’d be damning you to Kovus already. Is your group still rallying around your great prophecy?”
“Yes. They’re looking for its fulfillment everywhere, but I keep reminding them it will be clear when the time comes. I tell them our only responsibilities now are to bring more people into our group and to ready ourselves.”
“ ‘Make ready the faithful, for the day and place are near,’ ” Konner recited.
“You remember it?”
“ ‘Crown shall sit upon the man, man shall sit upon the throne, and gold shall kneel to gray.’ It’s a work of poetry. If I get bored in my old age, I may become a professional prophet.”
“I think running a kingdom will keep us all busy enough,” Camalyn said.
“I certainly hope so.” Konner sat in a chair near Camalyn, propping his elbows on his knees and leaning toward her. “Have you considered how your group will support us when we crown our king?”
“I have some thoughts, but I could use your input.”
They’d been strategizing together for several minutes when Aldin yelped. It was sudden, but not loud.
Turning to Aldin, Konner saw him rubbing his eyes. “I fell asleep,” he said with a smile. “Then I woke up.”
Konner turned to Camalyn. “You’re on a good course here. We can work out the rest of the details later.”
She nodded and stood, exiting in a swish of regal skirts. A moment later, Ash came in.
“Konner, I didn’t know you were here,” Ash said. He looked at Aldin and raised an eyebrow. “Why are you still in your pajamas?”
“I was on a powder run last night,” Aldin said. “Got to sleep late.”
“Powder run?” Ash asked.
Konner stood and interjected, “It’s an idiom. Our young friend was seeking the city’s best tobacco and drink while the rest of you were in bed. I was about to discuss this risky behavior with him. Privately. Do you mind?”
“Excuse me.” Ash gave both men an odd look before he left.
When the door closed, Aldin asked, “A what-iom?”
In two steps, Konner was standing over Aldin, trying to control his breathing with little success. “When I told you to tell no one about your powder run, was I unclear?” he spat.
“No, but I—”
“Were you sleeping? Confused about the definition of ‘no one’?”
“I wasn’t confused, but I assumed Ash knew what we were doing!”
“He didn’t. But he’s figured it out now.”
“He’s going to be our king! Why didn’t you tell him about this?”
“You live with the man!” Konner cried, then caught himself, lowering his voice. “Have you not noticed him morphing into a pacifist?”
“A pacifist? What’s wrong with that?”
Konner stared at him, not sure how to respond. Aldin had never been the brightest in their group. Finally, he spoke. “You do realize black powder is a weapon, right?”
“Well, sure,” Aldin replied, “but are we really going to use it?”
“Let’s just say I doubt we’ll transition from a council to a king without some explosive behavior.” Konner examined Aldin’s face, trying to determine what, if anything, was going on in the young man’s mind. “How do you feel about that?”
“How do I feel about it?” Aldin’s face relaxed, a wide smile taking over. “I don’t care how we do things. You’ve got the brains here. Just let me know what you want me to do, and I’ll do it. All I ask is that you make sure there’re plenty of pastries for me in our kingdom. And maybe a princess or two.”
“Pastries and princesses?”
Aldin shrugged, that huge smile still in place.
Konner shook his head, allowing himself to smile too. Until this moment, he’d never realized that Aldin’s simplicity was more than a reflection of his young age. It was also part of his character. He was cheerful, fun-loving, and, most importantly, moldable. Konner’s mind raced, adjusting for this young man who might be the only Gray willing to do whatever Konner asked.
Konner realized he’d been standing there smiling at Aldin for a few seconds too long, and the young man’s face had collapsed into confusion. Covering the awkwardness with a laugh, Konner said, “I’m sure we can arrange a few pastries, and maybe even introduce you to a noble lady or two, though I can’t guarantee they’ll like you. But we have a lot of work to do first. Why don’t you take me to our powder stores tonight? I’d like to see your work in person.” His face turned grave, and Aldin’s mirrored it. “And remember,” Konner said, “this is confidential. No exceptions. I’ll pick you up in my carriage in the alley at midnight.”
Aldin climbed into Konner’s carriage at five minutes past midnight.
“Did anyone see you leave?” Konner asked.
“Ash was still up,” Aldin said. “I told him I was meeting a girl.”
“Very well.”
As the carriage rattled along dark streets, Konner mulled over the awkward conversation with Ash. Clearly Ash hadn’t believed the hasty excuse about “powder run” being a turn of phrase. Konner would have to come clean; otherwise Ash would do detective work on his own. But Ash only needed enough information to sate his curiosity. Once he was king, surely he’d love the power of it, and he’d be more pliable and open to the difficult necessities of ruling. Not for the first time, Konner chafed at having to handle his Grays like a woman handles her silk stockings—with great care, lest they run.
The carriage pulled up behind the tiny building next to the Cormina Research Institute. Konner instructed his driver to wait; no one was around to see them at this time of night. They entered through the back door.
Inside was a large metal barrel. Konner held a lantern close enough to illuminate it and bent to look in. It was less than one-quarter full.
“Why isn’t there more?”
“I thought they’d notice if I took too much. I took some from every barrel in there, but if I take a lot, it’ll be obvious.”
Konner nodded, hand on his chin. He’d initially assumed the government had massive quantities of black powder stored, but Ash had told him it was just five barrels. Aldin was right; if the guards noticed their decreased stores, they would look for it, and they wouldn’t have to look far. The Grays would lose their valuable contraband before they had a chance to use it. Unless . . .
Konner smiled and turned to Aldin. “Tomorrow night, I’ll send my carriage to drive you here again. You’ll bring bags of soil with you. When you take powder out of a barrel, replace it with soil. Of course, you’ll need to top it with enough powder so it looks normal. I want this whole barrel filled with black powder.”
“It’ll take a lot of trips,” Aldin said. “The tunnel is a tight squeeze.”
Konner put his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “I have every confidence in you.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I know this is a textbook and should therefore be dry and pedantic, but I hope you will allow me to indulge in a little rant. We work with women, and approximately half our society fits into that category. Why, then, is it considered so distasteful to discuss women’s issues in public? Yes, we bleed, and we cramp, and we feel tremendous pleasure. None of this is shameful. Let us stop making it so!
-From Midwifery: A Manual for Practical and Karian Midwives by Ellea Kariana
Tavi woke and sat up in her bunk with a sense of general dread. It was still dark, and judging by how tired she felt, she guessed dawn was still a couple of hours away. After activating her touch gift, she looked around the room. In the bottom bunk across the room, Jenevy’s sleeping form was barely illuminated by Tavi’s magical glow. Tavi rubbed her eyes. What was the source of her anxiety?
It came to her in an instant: Reba. Tavi grimaced and lay down, trying to go back to sleep. It was hopeless though. Reba was coming to the midwife house, and Tavi’s mind was alive with anger. After a few minutes of restlessness, she climbed down the ladder and dressed as quietly as she could. She descended the stairs and went to the kitchen in search of hot tea and solitude.
Instead of solitude, she encountered Tullen. Tavi stopped in the doorway. It was one thing to be alone with Tullen when they were fleeing for their lives; it was another thing entirely to spend time with him in the kitchen with everyone else sleeping.
Tullen smiled at her. “You’re up early.”
“I could say the same about you.”
“I tossed one of my blankets to the floor during the night. I was cold and couldn’t get back to sleep.”
Tavi nodded, then gave an involuntary shiver. She wore a sweater over her dress, but the winter chill cut through the wool.
“Tea?” Tullen offered her a steaming cup, and she took it. “You can sit. If you’d like,” he said.
In answer, Tavi sat across from him. The table suddenly appeared very small.
Tullen took a sip. “I bet you hate the thought of living in the same house as Reba.”
Tavi raised her eyebrows. Straightforward as ever. “I’d rather yank all my toenails out,” she said.
“All of them?”
“Well, maybe just one or two.” Tavi surprised herself by chuckling, and Tullen smiled.
They drank their tea in silence. After a few minutes, Tavi said, “I still don’t see why she has to stay here.” This had been a point of contention between her and the others for the previous two days, ever since Narre and Tullen had discovered the tunnel.
“She’s familiar with the layout of the Gray House and knows all about the people who live there. She’ll try to help Jenevy get in.”
“I understand that. But we could find out whatever Reba knows by sending messages back and forth. There’s a reason she hasn’t been living here. If the Grays find her, she’ll put us in danger.”
“We’re all taking greater risks than before.” Tullen paused. When Tavi met his gaze, he said, “We could all put each other in danger at any point. But we also protect each other. That’s what it means to work on a team.”
Tavi looked down at her tea and took a few slow sips, though it was so cool she could have gulped it down. She knew Tullen’s words were more than an offhanded statement about working together. Clearly he wasn’t sure she’d committed to the team, with all the danger that entailed for the rest of the Golds. She wasn’t sure either, so she didn’t respond.
“You’re both up early!”
Tavi’s head snapped up, and she saw the source of the statement standing in the kitchen doorway: Jenevy, black curls escaping from her hair tie, a smile on her face.
“It seems insomnia is contagious this morning,” Tullen said with a smile. “Have a seat.”
Jenevy sat between Tavi and Tullen. Tavi glanced at her, then looked away, then realized she didn’t know where to put her hands or her eyes. She settled with fiddling with the lantern on the table.
“Do you want more tea, Tavi?” Tullen asked.
She looked up and saw he’d finished filling Jenevy’s cup. Without thinking, Tavi held her own cup out. As Tullen filled it, she mentally cursed herself. Now she’d have to stay at the table a little longer.
“I think it’ll be a beautiful day, once the sun comes up,” Jenevy said.
Tullen murmured in agreement. Tavi raised one eyebrow. Last she’d checked, it was cold and slushy outside.
No one spoke. Tavi heard a noise—shhh shhh shhh—and realized it was her own shoe, brushing against the wooden floor. She halted the movement, but a moment later, she caught herself rubbing her index finger back and forth along her teacup’s handle. She stilled her hand and attempted to still her mind with a long, deep breath that would’ve made Nydine proud.
Why was this so awkward? It was just her and her friend Tullen, along with his friend Jenevy, enjoying a cup of tea. Well, tolerating a cup of tea.
Have they kissed? The thought came into Tavi’s mind, along with an unwelcome mental image, and she felt her cheeks warm. She’d asked herself that question before, but never while sitting in a room so close to the two objects of her curiosity.
Tavi risked a glance up and found Tullen watching her with a small, curious smile. He’d seen the blush. Of course he had. She looked away.
“What time is Pala fetching Reba?” Jenevy asked.
“Before lunch,” Tullen said. “How are you feeling about your role in all this?”
“I don’t know,” Jenevy replied. “I’m not even sure what I’ll be doing yet. I don’t see any way for me to get in the house, short of breaking in, and I’d prefer not to do that.” She let out a nervous laugh.
Tavi stayed quiet; she had experience breaking into Konner’s farmhouse, but it probably wouldn’t help Jenevy to be reminded of how that had turned out.
After a couple more minutes of awkward chatting, Tavi drained the last of her cup, stood, and planted a sunny smile on her face. “I’d like to get my school work done before Reba gets here,” she said.
Tullen and Jenevy bid her goodbye. As Tavi climbed the stairs, she thought, If schoolwork and Reba were my excuses for escaping the kitchen, I must have been even more miserable than I realized.
“We’re all going to meet in the sitting room after lunch to do some planning,” Narre told Tavi.
Tavi groaned. Lunch was only half an hour away, and Reba had arrived at the midwife house a few minutes earlier. “Can I have lunch in our room?” Tavi asked. “And stay here for the meeting too? And then maybe never leave our room again?”
Narre smiled. “You forget, Reba is going to stay in this room with us.”
Tavi’s face fell. “What did I ever do to deserve this?” She turned back to the mathematics problem she was working on, but it was hopeless. Her focus was gone. Good thing she was ahead in her schoolwork. She pulled out her journal and wrote in it until it was time for lunch.
Downs
tairs, the dining room was nearly full. Three apprentices, including Jenevy, were there, in addition to Pala, another midwife, Reba, and all the Golds. Tavi chose a chair far away from Reba to avoid conversation.
Lunch was uneventful and passed too quickly for Tavi’s liking. All too soon, Reba and the Golds headed to the sitting room.
Once they were settled, Tavi again sitting as far from Reba as she could manage, Sall asked, “Reba, did you use a scarf over your face when you walked here with Pala?”
“Of course,” she said. “I don’t go anywhere without it. I don’t go out in public much at all. I’m careful.”
Narre smiled at Reba. “How have things been going at the healing house?”
“I love it there,” Reba said. “I’m looking forward to practicing what I’ve been learning.”
The midwives had agreed to allow Reba to use her new skills with their patients. Midwives and healers learned the basics in each other’s fields as part of their training. Tavi had to admit, it was a good arrangement. For Reba, anyway.
“Let’s talk about what’s next,” Pala said. “Jenevy, we need to get you into the Gray House.” Pala’s eyes sparkled; she never ceased to be enthusiastic when they talked about fighting the Grays.
Jenevy turned to Reba. “We can’t think of any practical ways for me to get into the house without rousing suspicion. I think the best thing is for you to tell us any needs the Grays might have. For instance, if they hate their food, or it’s always messy, I could try to go in as a cook or a maid.”
“The Gray House was a boring place to live,” Reba said. “I know they’re trying to take over the government, but most of the time, we sat around and waited. We all handled it differently. I read a lot of books. Aldin cooked for us, and he was good at it. I think he had to cook for his siblings when he was younger. Sella kept the house clean. I offered to help her, but she had a specific way of doing things. Wrey sat around knitting enough socks to keep an army warm all winter. Ash was the only one who was busy. He was gone a lot.”
Facing the Gray Page 21