Revolution (Chronicles of Charanthe #2)

by Rachel Cotterill

  *

  She started in Almont, with the Fifth City School. The low grey building was sandwiched in the middle of the Artisan Quarter, with easy access over the rooftops, and the windows weren’t even latched. The boy was called Richard and, it turned out, he shared a dormitory with seven others. She found his room without difficulty, but the challenge would be to extract him from his bed without waking the others.

  She peered into the room, watching for any sign of movement – or too-careful stillness – that might indicate a boy was awake. Satisfied that they were all really sleeping, she tiptoed across to her target and clapped her hand across his mouth before he could make a sound. She rolled his body across her shoulders and carried him from the room, only lowering him to the ground once they were back in the corridor outside. He tried to speak through her fingers.

  “If you promise to keep your voice down, I’ll let you talk,” she said. “Is there somewhere we could go for privacy?”

  He nodded.

  “Which way?”

  He indicated left with a jerk of his head and she helped him to his feet, still keeping one hand firmly across his mouth. She couldn’t afford to risk a disturbance.

  “Who are you?” he asked as soon as she allowed him to speak. “What d’you want with me?”

  “I’ve come to recruit you.” She gave him a moment to think about it, watching the questions flicker across his face, but he didn’t voice them. “You don’t need me to tell you that you’re an exceptional student. You’re top of your class for hand-to-hand, and one of the best in the Empire at apothecary. You’re quiet when you need to be quiet, but people will listen when you speak. You have all the skills we need.”

  “We?”

  “Have you heard of the Association?”

  He looked blank. “What’s that?”

  “Okay, let’s start with something you’ve definitely heard of. There are plenty of legends telling of a secret society of assassins, though they’re seldom much good on the details.”

  “Um, yeah... but you’re not telling me you’re an assassin, are you?”

  “Well, that’s not all that I am.” She smiled, amused by his reaction to the idea of having been hauled from his bed by an assassin. There was a time when she would have felt the same. “But of course those are the stories that tend to get told, since assassination is infinitely more exciting to talk about than, say, politics.”

  “Politics?”

  She’d guessed from his records that that might pique his interest, and the timbre of his voice now told her she’d judged correctly.

  “What you need to understand is that the Association does a little bit of everything. If it needs doing, and if other people might be reluctant to do it or lack the necessary skills, that’s where we step in. We know how to move silently through the shadows, how to arrange a situation to turn the way we need, how to steer people subtly in the right direction... as well as how to slip a knife between the ribs or a poison in the drink.”

  “But you work for the rebels?”

  “Not exactly. We used to do a lot of work directly for the Empire, but sadly that’s no longer an option – which is why, instead of a Level Three assignment to make you think, you’ll almost certainly get the Level One you deserve. But even if you get your dream job, we can offer you something beyond any of that.”

  “And if I’m interested... what do I do? How do I contact you for more information?”

  “What more information do you want? You can ask me now.”

  “I’m not sure, I just thought I might have questions.”

  “Well, generations have managed without anyone to guide them,” she said, though she thought of Venncastle’s approach and wondered whether the Association would have done better to swallow its pride a long time ago. “If you want to join us, you just need to come to the Black Wolf Caves at the full moon after you get your assignment.”

  She had one more boy to visit in Almont that night, and then she returned to her room at the Old Barrel Yard, though she waited until it was morning and the tavern was empty before she asked Ade how her plans had been progressing in her absence.

  “People are impatient,” he said. “You’re asking them to pull back but they don’t see any alternative. There’s a lot of doubt.”

  “So they’d prefer to go on setting fires that last just as long as it takes for the fire wardens to arrive, rather than planning to actually achieve something?” she asked, trying not to sound too disappointed.

  “You make it sound as though a sacrificial fire has no effect.”

  Eleanor just stared at him, unable to even form an intelligent question around what she thought she’d heard. Eventually she managed, “Sacrificial... what?”

  Ade sighed and sat down. “What do you know about the cults?”

  “Aside from being illegal?”

  “They must have taught you more than that. What about your histories?”

  “Charan identified religion as a serious threat to the peace,” she said, almost reciting from her schoolbooks. “It undermines the foundations of the Empire to give power to any beings which aren’t bound by our laws.”

  “And what d’you believe?”

  “Me?”

  “Do you really think the gods can’t see you just because you haven’t done any sacrifices lately?”

  Eleanor twisted a corner of her tunic between her fingers. “I hadn’t really thought about it.”

  “Well, there’s a thing to think about. For now it’ll do you to know that the cults aren’t nearly so dead as they’d have you believe, and if you’re going to throw your lot in with rebels then you’d best find out who you’re dealing with.”

  “Cults.” Eleanor nodded, trying to assimilate all this new information whilst maintaining a coherent plan. “And does that account for all of them?”

  “Maybe one in ten’s like you and just doesn’t enjoy being bossed around by some woman whose only claim to anything is the name of her father’s grandfather. The rest are devotees of one god or another.”

  “And this is why they like to set things on fire?”

  “There’s nigh on a thousand gods mentioned in the old lore, but the Lady of Fire sits over them all, and her followers are the largest faction. You do want her on your side.”

  “Okay. Do you have a map of the city?”

  He shuffled beneath the bar and pulled out an old, slightly faded plan of the central districts. “It’s a little out of date,” he said. “Why?”

  “I’ll be away for a while, and I want to give people something to do while they wait for me to get back. Now, as I understand it there are rebel streets where we are, and nearby here and here,” – she traced the roads with her fingertip – “and then in the Exchange Quarter around this square, and then down here in the south... is that about right?”

  “Those are the main areas, yes. There are a few houses just over here, and a couple more here along the old mining road.”

  “Okay, this is what we’ll do. Everyone who lives between two rebel houses in these areas needs to be persuaded to leave if they can’t be persuaded to join us. That way we can strengthen up the areas where we’re already strong. Anyone who wants to start a fire should be encouraged to take out houses along here or here to strengthen our perimeter.”

  “Our perimeter? How can we ever defend ourselves when the Imperial forces come? Most of our volunteers haven’t lifted a weapon since school combat classes.”

  “Don’t worry about that for now. Find out who wants to be a soldier in the rebel guard, and suggest they work on their fitness. When I get back I’ll start some combat training.”

  After that she moved as quickly as she could from one school to the next, hitching lifts on carts between cities, and giving each boy the same basic message: you have a choice, and we’re it. She tried not to think too hard about the strange things Ade had said. The rebels were only one part of the plan, and if some of them followed arcane cults that was simply another leve
r to use in moving them.

  Finally, Hessekolenisshe was the only school left on her list. As she followed Daniel’s instructions to where the ship lay permanently at anchor, she finally admitted to herself that this was going to be much harder to sneak into than any normal, land-based school.

  The ship wasn’t far from the shore, sheltered between a pair of thin islands. Eleanor borrowed a small skiff and sailed out into the channel on a cloudy, moonless night, but she still didn’t dare approach the ship too closely. Just because she couldn’t see anyone on watch didn’t mean that there was no-one looking out to see her.

  She lowered her anchor, folded the sails, and dived over the side. She left the skiff bobbing in the waves and struck out towards the school ship, swimming mostly beneath the surface and lifting her face for air as infrequently as her lungs allowed.

  She paused under the shadow of the bow and contemplated her options. The ship’s hull was built from large, thick planks that would provide surprisingly good holds for climbing. She tested her weight on one of the lowest boards above the water line, lifting herself half out of the water. She thought she felt the ship move, but it was almost imperceptible, and she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it. It certainly wasn’t enough to wake anyone.

  She pulled herself slowly up the hull, flattening her body against the planks as she climbed, and reached the deck after slipping only a couple of times on the slimy boards.

  She’d brought dry clothes wrapped tightly inside her sealskin bag, and she ducked into an empty classroom to change. For all that she wanted to surprise the boy, she didn’t quite want to look like she’d just crawled out of the sea. Her hair, however, was irredeemably drenched; water and seaweed dribbled down her back as she went to look for the boy called Lukal.

  With Daniel’s sketch of the ship in her mind, she knew she didn’t have to go far to find the bunks of the students in their final year. Lukal was asleep just where she expected him to be, and she put her hand firmly across his mouth before waking him.

  He opened his eyes, stared at her in horror, and tried to scream; Eleanor put her finger to her lips while keeping her other hand clamped on his face, but it was no use; he tried to wrestle himself free, and though he wouldn’t succeed she knew he was going to be trouble. She flicked a dart from her sleeve straight into his arm, and waited for him to slump back into his bunk. It was the second time she’d had to sedate a panicked youth, but the last one had been small and easy to carry. Lukal was twice Eleanor’s size, and she struggled to move him without waking his friends.

  The boy in the next bunk started to sit up and, frustrated, Eleanor shot a dart towards him before he had chance to work out why he’d woken. She plucked the dart from his skin and pocketed it; he wouldn’t remember a thing when he woke, and though he’d have a slight headache it shouldn’t be enough to rouse his suspicions.

  She turned her attention back to Lukal and eventually managed to manoeuvre him out of the room. Once she was sure she’d taken him a safe enough distance from his colleagues, she gave him a small dose of stimulant to wake him again, silently thanking Daniel for equipping her with such carefully paired potions.

  “Do you know what just happened?” she asked as he came round.

  He peered at her from beneath heavy eyelids. “Who are you?”

  “I’m representing the a body known as the Association,” she said. “That’s all you need to know.”

  “But... this isn’t how it’s supposed to happen. Only Venncastle breaks the rules like this.”

  “It may not be what’s supposed to happen, but since the Empress decided to take away the old routes, I’m afraid it’s what we’re stuck with. If we can’t change your assignment, we have to get the message through some other way.”

  He blinked slowly, three times, and shook his head. “You’ve drugged me. I don’t feel right.”

  “You panicked. We’ll have to train that out of you, if you’re going to be any use at all. But you’ll be fine, trust me. I wouldn’t go to all this trouble just to poison you.”

  “What’s this about, then?”

  “I’m just here to tell you that you’re on our list. You’ve got the option to come and join us – and if that’s your choice, make your way to the Black Wolf Caves on the night of the full moon following your Day of Assignment.”

  He looked unconvinced but he didn’t ask any more questions, so she left him thinking about her proposal and changed back into her wet clothes to swim back to her boat. She dried herself off again before settling down for the night, curled up beneath the folded sails, and slept until the dawn light woke her with its warmth. She was about to return the skiff to its owner and look for a cart back to Almont when a new thought stopped her in her tracks. She’d finished her rounds more quickly than she’d expected... and it wasn’t far to Venncastle. No-one would have to know if she failed, but to get even one of the students to shelve their legendary loyalty for long enough to consider the alternative she was offering, now that would be an achievement. And there were two names left on the list Lucille had provided.

  Her mind made up, she turned the boat and sailed along the coast in the direction of Flying Rock Island. It would take a day or two at most; there was nothing to lose.

  She thought they might have improved their security since the last time she’d managed to climb in via the sea-walls, but she saw no flicker of lights in the old guard towers as she approached. It looked like the school’s guards were still focused exclusively on their duties at the front gate. She dropped her sails and rowed into a small cave beneath the cliffs to wait for darkness to fall more completely. As she waited, she lay back in the boat and tried to recall the detail of the Venncastle students’ records; unlike the others, she hadn’t been constantly rehearsing this meeting in her head.

  The clearest sign of her unpreparedness, though, was that she didn’t really know where in the castle to look for the two boys who’d been on Lucille’s list. As she scrambled up the cliff face she remembered James, the lad who’d caught her last time she’d tried this. It was a shame he would have graduated and moved out into the adult world by now – otherwise she could have asked him for directions. As it was, she’d just have to work it out some other way.

  She made her way to the tower which housed the Provost’s chamber, and found a small administrative office on the ground floor. There was a plan of the castle pinned to the wall, with names pinned into the rooms, and it didn’t take her long to spot the two she was looking for.

  She checked and double-checked her position on the map, then marched straight into the nearer of the two rooms.

  “Tal.”

  The youth sat up in bed, and jumped to his feet almost immediately. He was tall, with stringy muscles that flexed as he moved to position himself between her and the door.

  “Who are you?” he demanded, reaching for a sword from the wall rack.

  “I wouldn’t bother with that,” she said. “If I was here to hurt you, you wouldn’t even have woken. And you certainly don’t stand a chance if you try to attack me.”

  “Who are you?” Still he held the sword in front of him. “Why are you here?”

  “I’m from the Association,” she said. Addressing Venncastle’s students certainly demanded a different approach. “You’ve heard of us, of course. In fact, until about a year ago, I expect you imagined you’d be joining us.”

  “Didn’t know the Association had girls in it,” he muttered. “Anyway, that’s by the by. The Association’s dead. It’s Shadow Corps, now.”

  “The Association is far from dead, believe me. You might get assigned to the Shadow Corps, you might not – that’s in the Assessors’ hands. It’s not your choice.”

  “You still haven’t said why you’re here.”

  “I wouldn’t want you to be misinformed when you come to make the most important decision of your life. The Association is still an option that’s open to you. It’s important that you’re aware of it.”

 
“Venncastle doesn’t support the outlaws.”

  “You support only yourselves.”

  He shook his head. “We back the Empire, but you’re no part of that now. And there’s war on the horizon.”

  It amused her to hear this child tell her there was war brewing, as if he had any concept of what that might mean.

  “No,” she said firmly. “Venncastle only truly supports Venncastle – however much you might wish the Empress to believe otherwise. We know. But the split already happened, which means things are different now.”

  “How is it any different?

  “Your choice is personal, but if there’s to be a war, the school would be wise to have people on both sides.”

  He turned his sword slowly, watching her reflection in the blade. “Why shouldn’t I just kill you now? I’m sure I’d be well rewarded for it.”

  “If you think you stand a chance, you’re more than welcome to try. After all, I’m not even holding a weapon.” She held up her empty hands to illustrate her point. “But if I disarm you as easily as I think I will, promise me you’ll think seriously about what I’ve said.”

  “Why should I promise you anything?”

  “You owe it to yourself.”

  He lunged as she started the sentence, and before the final word left her lips she had his sword in her hand and he was lying on the floor, trapped beneath her. To his credit, he didn’t tremble.

  “So, do you promise?” she asked, stepping towards the door and tossing the hilt of his sword back towards him. “We’ll be waiting for your decision.”

  “How would I contact you? I mean, if I even wanted to.”

  “There’s a full moon three days after you get your assignment. If you think you might prefer my alternative, you just have to come to the mouth of the Black Wolf Caves that night. We’ll take it from there. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to pay a visit to one of your colleagues.”

  “Gaven.”

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll talk to him about all this tomorrow. Just remember your decision is your own.” She turned and left before he had chance to respond.

  She jogged lightly through the corridors until she reached the tower where she expected to find Gaven, squirted oil into the hinges of his door, and pushed her way into his room without a sound.

  “Gaven.”

  He barely seemed to stir beneath the sheets but she knew he was looking at her, and probably with a weapon now aimed in her direction.

  “I’ve come to talk to you about the Association.”

  He still didn’t move. “Go ahead.”

  She smiled into the darkness. He was a deep one, this one.

  “I’m just here to make sure you have all the facts you need to make your decision. You’ll be given your assignment in just a few weeks, and until recently you were expecting something meaningless. Just a formality, something to refuse without even reading it.” He made no acknowledgement of her words, so she pressed on. “Things have changed – you’re probably expecting the Shadow Corps now and you’ll probably get it. But the alternative hasn’t disappeared. You still have the choice to refuse their offer and join us.”

  He remained impassive; immobile. She wondered if she’d get any reaction at all.

  “Well, if you think you might be interested, I had a little chat with Tal earlier. He knows how to find me. There’s always a welcome in the Association for good people who choose to seek us out.”

  She backed out of the room, not trusting to turn her back on this quietly dangerous youth. He seemed the sort who’d put a dart in her neck and claim his reward without bothering to ask her for any reason why he shouldn’t.

  As she made her way back to the Association headquarters, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. It would be an unlikely victory, but she wanted his quiet confidence on her side.