The dress was a rich, dark red, the color of fine wine, and Misty had laced it uncomfortably tight. The skirt flowed beautifully from her hips, and Tavi could quickly get used to the extra height from the boots. Then there was the hat. It was constructed of gorgeous felt, the same shade as the dress, with cream-colored silk flowers all along the band. Misty had put Tavi’s hair up in a twist, and she had pinned the hat at a stylish angle toward the back of her sister’s head.
Tavi couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She looked—and felt—like a woman.
When she heard a knock at the door and Tullen’s muffled voice from behind it calling, “Let’s see!” Tavi turned and walked to the window, suddenly self-conscious. Misty opened the door.
“Why does it lace up like a shoe?” Sall’s reaction wasn’t quite what Tavi had expected, but it put her at ease. She laughed and turned around to find Tullen still standing in the doorway, staring at her with an unreadable expression.
“What?” she asked, her discomfort returning.
A smile started at the edges of Tullen’s lips, hitting his eyes before it grew wider. By the time he had crossed the room to her, it was a face-filling grin. “Wow,” he said.
She looked down at herself, smiling. “I like it too.”
Tullen ran his fingers lightly down the soft fabric on her back, from her shoulder to her waist. He shook his head and spoke again. “Wow.”
“You’ve found yourself an eloquent one, Tavi,” Misty said. “Let’s go.”
By the time they neared Konner’s house again, Tavi had been forced to stop twice to heal her blisters, though that did nothing to relieve her cramped toes. How did women wear these cruel, heeled boots all the time? Perhaps they were wealthy and went everywhere in carriages, rather than on foot.
I stick out like a sore thumb, Tavi thought as she glanced at her three companions in their drab, worn clothing. She missed her thick, comfortable, woolen dress and her sturdy boots.
They sauntered down a road that ran parallel to Silverstone Avenue. This street was not as luxurious, and, more importantly, was devoid of nosy safety officers. Misty, Sall, and Tullen found a narrow alley where they could wait in the shadows. Across the street from it, another alley led to Silverstone Avenue.
In the dim alley, Tullen activated his hearing gift. He wore a knit cap over his ears, and it suppressed the golden glow. “I’ll be listening for Narre’s and Reba’s voices, and for yours,” Tullen told Tavi. “If you need anything, just tell me—I’ll get there as quickly as I can.”
Tavi nodded. She wished the hat perched on the back of her head was more practical. Not only were her exposed ears cold; she also couldn’t activate her own hearing gift without attracting attention. But she pasted on a brave smile, turned to Sall, and said, “We’ll find her.” Tavi squeezed both Tullen’s and Misty’s hands before walking through the dirty alley, across the cobblestone street, through the second alley, and onto Silverstone Avenue.
Sure enough, a safety officer was patrolling. He was on the other side of the street and facing the other way, however, so Tavi turned onto the raised sidewalk. She put on the most confident air she could manage, her back straight and chin tilted upward. I reside in one of these homes, and I am taking my midday constitutional, she told herself. It didn’t take long for the safety officer to turn and see her, but the only acknowledgement he gave her was brief tip of his hat. Tavi responded with a slight nod before again turning her eyes straight ahead.
She only dared a short glance at Konner Burrell’s mansion as she passed it on the opposite side of the road. When she reached the end of the street, Tavi crossed it and turned toward the banker’s house. As she approached, she was relieved to see that the safety officer was several houses away, again with his back toward her. Tavi opened the iron gate at the front of the property, cringing as it squeaked. She closed the gate behind her and stepped into a beautiful, decorative garden. She walked down a curving, stone-paved path, through tall hedges, toward the house.
The dress Tavi was wearing felt even tighter, and she looked down, surprised to see that her pounding heartbeat was only barely visible from the outside. She forced herself not to slow down, quickly reaching the front door. Before she could convince herself not to, she knocked.
Nothing happened. After a full minute, Tavi looked toward the windows. They were all covered. Could it be that no one was home? Didn’t a house like this have servants? She fidgeted with her hat band, and her attention was drawn back to her sore feet. She had a ridiculous urge to sit on the front steps and take off her shoes. This impractical thought caused her to smile, which was her state when the door opened.
A maid stood there, breathing heavily. “So sorry, ma’am, I barely heard the knock from the back of the house, and the other staff said I was imagining things.” She returned Tavi’s smile and pointed at a black button, set in filigreed brass, mounted on the stone next to the door. “Next time, push the doorbell. It will ring in four different rooms. Now—how can I help you?”
As the woman spoke, Tavi activated her speech gift. By the time the maid was done speaking, Tavi could feel magic rushing into her mouth and the surrounding skin. The maid’s eyes were drawn to the glow.
The best way to distract someone from paying attention to her speech gift was to give them a question to answer, so Tavi didn’t delay. “Is this Konner Burrell’s house?” she asked.
“Yes ma’am.” The words were accompanied by several swift head nods.
Tavi needed to determine whether they had found the correct Konner. “My colleague has a delivery for him, but it is to be sent to the farmhouse, and I’ve misplaced the address. Can you please send me in the right direction?”
“Of course; I work there every other week,” the woman began, and Tavi’s heart leapt at the answer. The maid pointed west. “You’ll head that way—”
Her instructions were cut off when a tall, solid bear of a woman, also wearing servant garb, approached from the side, grasped the maid’s shoulders, and pulled her from the doorway. Before Tavi could even think of what to say, the glowering woman swung the door closed with a resounding slam.
Tavi spoke softly, knowing Tullen was listening. “In case you couldn’t hear that, the door was just slammed in my face.” She turned around, trying to think what her options might be. The greenery blocked her view of most of the street—and also kept the safety officer from seeing what had just happened.
Tavi walked down the path, following it around two curves, through the tall hedges. That put her out of sight of the first floor windows where she guessed the stern servant was watching her. Let the woman think she was leaving. Instead of taking the path all the way to the gate, however, Tavi ducked behind a hedge. Once there, she breathed deeply, drawing magic from her mouth into her chest. On her exhale, she pushed the magic into her ears.
Tavi spent a minute listening for Narre and Reba. Tears pricked her eyes when she didn’t hear either of them. Well, she’d have to see if there was anyone else worth hearing. First, she attempted to pick up the voice of the maid who had opened the door. After several seconds, she heard just three words. “I know, but—”
The maid was interrupted by a harsh, deep voice, likely from the woman who had slammed the door. “I don’t want to hear excuses,” she began.
Tavi shifted her attention, listening for any other voices in the area. Before this trip, she had been working on discerning what direction voices were coming from. She picked up a few conversations but determined they were from surrounding homes. Then she heard a male voice that seemed a little closer. It seemed to be coming from somewhere behind the house. “I instructed you to have her saddled and ready half an hour ago,” the voice barked. “It’s a long ride to the farmhouse.” Tavi gasped—the farmhouse.
“Nearly ready, sir,” a different voice replied, this one rough and humble.
Tavi moved, creeping through rows of hedges. “Someone is about to go to a farmhouse on a horse,” Tavi whispered, “I
think it’s Konner Burrell. Tullen, you have to follow him. I’ll try to see what direction he goes so you can catch up to him.” Tavi listened just long enough to hear Tullen’s confirmation; then she again shifted her focus to the men behind the house. They, however, were silent.
Moving from plant to plant, Tavi made her way to the side of the house, staying hidden as much as she could—which wasn’t as much as she would have liked. As luck would have it, she only saw one servant, a young gardener. He was napping against the side of a fountain, and he didn’t stir as Tavi continued to move through the grounds.
Finally she rounded the house, shocked at how long it had taken. Why did anyone need a home this big? She reached the back yard, which was far larger than she would have expected in the middle of Savala. In addition to a garden full of gorgeous plants, she saw a small stable and a carriage house.
Soon Tavi spotted a middle-aged man, of below-average height but above-average fitness, exiting the stable. His sturdy arms, clad in a beautiful blue coat, were crossed, the picture of impatience. A few minutes later, he was followed by an old man leading a chestnut stallion. It was the most beautiful horse Tavi had ever seen—all sleek muscles; its mane, tail, and coat brushed to a sheen. It wore a saddle that Tavi guessed was worth several times more than Miss Mella herself.
Without a word, the blue-coated man mounted the horse. He rode it through the grounds and along the opposite side of the house from where Tavi was hiding. Tavi crept back the way she’d come. By the time she neared the path leading to the gate, she heard the clip-clop of hooves trotting on cobblestones. Giving up on any semblance of stealth, she released her hearing gift, rushed to the gate, threw it open, and looked down the street.
“He’s going west, Tullen!” she said, giving him a brief description of man and horse. “Follow him! Try not to let him see you, but don’t worry about hiding from anyone else. He’s reached the end of the street—he turned north! Go!”
Tavi realized she was still standing at the open gate, apparently talking to herself, and the safety officer had taken notice of her. She gave a smile of true embarrassment before walking across the sidewalk and to the street. She navigated the cobblestones with some difficulty in her heeled boots, but she kept her head high even when she wobbled. The officer did not follow her, and she gave a sigh of relief.
Tavi sipped her third cup of tea, waiting for Tullen to return. She conversed with Misty and Sall, but couldn’t stop looking toward the door of the tea house. Sooner than she’d expected, Tullen walked in—and she could tell from his expression he didn’t bear good news.
“He made so many turns, it was as if he was afraid of being followed,” Tullen said. “I was trying to stay far enough back that he wouldn’t spot me, but eventually I lost him. I kept running, going down as many streets as I could, but he was gone.” He finished talking, and then he glowered at Tavi. “Why in Sava’s name are you smiling?”
“On my way back here,” she replied, “I walked along Silverstone Avenue where the horse had just been. I picked up her scent. We can track the horse—and that means we can track the man, too.” She grinned at Tullen again. “Let’s run.”
His face transformed from frustration to excitement. He grasped her hand and pulled her toward the door. “Let’s fly.”
It turned out that “flying” through the city, while trying to track a horse on streets where hundreds of horses passed daily, was impossible. Every minute or so, Tavi requested that they stop to double-check the scent. Nearly as frequently, Tullen had to slow or halt altogether due to curious onlookers in their path. Savalans might have occasionally seen gifted young men running faster than any horse, but they certainly weren’t used to seeing such a man carrying a red-clad, golden-nosed passenger.
After twenty minutes of this, both Tavi and Tullen were grouchy, and they agreed that walking through the city would be far more practical. Tavi was already feeling her grasp on her scent gift slipping, so she released her magic, only activating it every few minutes or when they reached the end of a street. She repeatedly lost the scent and had to backtrack to find where the man on the horse had turned. Having planned to travel at unbelievable speed, their plodding pace was infuriating.
After half an hour, Tavi insisted they stop at a cobbler who handed over a pair of sturdy walking boots in exchange for the shoes she had just purchased. The new pair was ten times more comfortable, and probably worth half as much as the fashionable boots Tavi had been wearing.
Two hours after they’d begun, they reached the western edge of the city where the well-kept cobblestone road they traversed turned to dirt. Buildings and pedestrians were at last spread out. They walked a few dozen feet down the road, and Tullen asked, “Still on the right track?”
Tavi activated her magic, giving a tired smile when she picked up the horse’s distinct scent. “We are,” she confirmed.
“My legs are so tired, the only thing that will help is to run,” Tullen said with a grin.
Tavi laughed. “Thank goodness. Let’s go.”
It felt like freedom itself to travel at the speed of a sparrow, especially after hours at a snail’s pace. Soon they reached open road with few buildings and fewer cross streets, and Tavi let out a whoop of joy. The cool breeze tickled her ears, then took the hat right off her head. They both laughed, and Tullen skidded to a stop and went back for it.
Tracking the horse was far easier than it had been in the city. Each time they approached a turnoff, Tavi activated her gift to check which direction the horse had gone. Twice, they followed new roads. Just fifteen minutes after they’d started running, they found themselves on a narrow drive leading off the main road. Tullen set Tavi down, and they moved into the thick trees next to the drive. Staying in the wooded area, they followed the curving course of the rutted road.
The trees soon ended, the drive continuing through a few acres of fallow fields. They stopped, and beyond the fields, they saw several buildings—including a large farmhouse.
Suddenly Tavi lurched forward as if she meant to break into a run. Tullen caught her arm before she could leave the trees.
“Wait!” he demanded. “I want to go too, but we can’t run in without a plan; it’s not safe.” Those words broke through Tavi’s determination, and she turned toward Tullen. She pulled up the edge of his hat and saw he had activated his hearing gift, just as she had.
“You hear her too, don’t you?” she asked, her voice desperate. “It’s Narre.”
Chapter Forty-Three
I have noticed that magical students often go through phases when they take far too many risks. Their age lends itself to overconfidence, and magic exacerbates this natural condition.
-From Training Sun-Blessed Students by Ellea Kariana
“I have a gift for you,” Misty said. With a grin, she held up a pair of pants.
“What are those for?” Tavi asked.
“They’re for you!” Misty held up another pair. “These are for me. I purchased them when you were gone yesterday. If we’re to go on a rescue mission, we can’t be tripped up by skirts.”
Tavi smiled. “Ellea would be proud.”
The afternoon before, as Tavi and Tullen had stood in the woods within view of the farmhouse, Tullen had insisted they wait until the next day to attempt a rescue of Narre. Sall and Misty should be with them, and they should all have input on their plan, he had said.
Tavi had known he was right, but leaving that property, with Narre so close, had been torturous. Back at the hotel, they had spent the entire evening examining various scenarios and planning as much as they could.
Tavi pulled the pants on. Misty had done a pretty good job on the fit; they were a little long and were cut for a boy’s body, but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed by rolled cuffs and a belt. They paired their pants with long-sleeved shirts, which Misty had also purchased.
When Tavi looked at herself in the mirror, she laughed out loud. Maybe she did look like a nine-year-old boy now, but she love
d it. She kicked her leg as high as she could, relishing the freedom.
When the sisters entered the room next door, Tullen and Sall both broke into uncontrollable laughter. Misty and Tavi spun around, resulting in enthusiastic applause.
“What do you think?” Tavi asked when the room quieted.
“If anyone can pull it off, you can,” Tullen said with a grin.
Sall studied them. “It’s practical.”
Misty sat on the one chair in the room, her legs stretched out in front of her. “I don’t think I’m ever going to want to take them off,” she gushed.
A few minutes later, they had purchased travel-friendly food from the dining room, and they took to the streets. They were all surprised by how little attention the sisters drew in their unconventional clothes. It took a lot to shock city folk.
Getting out of the city required a walk of several miles. Once they reached the outskirts, Tullen activated his stride gift and carried one of them at a time, just as he had done on earlier travel days. Soon they were all sneaking through the woods toward the farmhouse, following the path as Tavi and Tullen had done the day before.
They stayed in the woods, circling around the cleared portion of the property. When they reached a spot close to the back of the farmhouse, providing a good view of most of the property’s buildings, they advanced further into the woods. They could no longer see the house, but the first step of their plan involved listening rather than watching. They found a small open space to sit, and when they were settled, both Tavi and Tullen activated their hearing gifts.
Facing the Sun Page 30