by Cait Ashwood
“Right then. I’ll be here,” Zeche said to the empty room. He thought about sitting on the bed, but an ominous squeak changed his mind about that rather quickly. He settled for leaning against the wall.
Sooner than he’d expected, the Tracker was back.
“How cold was that trail?” Hound stood perfectly straight, arms crossed over his chest, lips tugged down into a frown.
Well, if Audrey wanted tall, dark, and mysterious, she certainly got it. Zeche shook his head and focused on answering the question. “Three hours, maybe four.”
Hound shook his head. “I should have been able to get more than that.” He stared at the exact spot where the kid had been, as if he could see something more this time around. “Well, he shows back up, send Rowan to fetch me so I have a fresh trail. He’ll come back, I can promise you that. Whoever this is covered his tracks after the fourth jump. He’s hiding something.”
“Not surprising,” Zeche muttered.
“What are you doing in Ebonwallowe, anyway? Lily went missing near Calanon.” The tension had drained from Hound’s shoulders, but his eyes were still tight, careful. He wanted something, anything, to tell Audrey.
“She’s had enough time to get here if she caught the ferry. If I were a young girl alone in the world for the first time, I’d want to make sure friends were nearby.” Zeche inclined his head at the rough raven carved into the mud of the wall.
“You think she’d come here?” Hound seemed taken aback. He leaned against the wall, thumbs in his belt loops, thinking. “I guess I can see the sense. She finds trouble, starts hollering for a Raven... they’ll investigate whether they know who she is or not.”
Zeche’s lip twitched into a grin. “No one uses their name lightly, especially not here.”
Hound nodded. “The horse--any sign of him? He’s a rather unique animal.”
“We got here this morning, and searching the stables was our first priority. We found a few animals that could be him and we’ll be watching the locations.”
Hound raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize you were familiar with Thunder.”
Zeche shrugged. “Nikita is.”
“Right.” Hound stuck his hands in his pockets, seeming not to know what to say next.
Zeche let the hard edge leave his voice. “I have left word with most of the orphanages. The kids are looking for her, and the patrons are keeping an eye out for new youth in the city. We’ll find her.”
Hound pushed off the wall, not meeting his eye. “I sure as hell hope so, Zeche. I sure as hell hope.”
Rowan pinched the end of his nose, eyes watering. Damned hay. Always makes me sneeze. Sneezing coming from a supposedly empty hayloft would most certainly give away his position.
He had managed to learn quite a bit about his twin in the four days he’d been staking out her place of employment. Watching her was a bit like watching himself in a distorted mirror. While they didn’t look much alike, they had a lot of the same mannerisms. They made a nearly identical sound in the back of the throat when they were disgusted, and had the same nervous habit of biting their lower lip. Twin oddities aside, he could stand being related to her. She worked well and quietly, not expecting much from anyone. The horses trusted her implicitly, and she seemed to have a sixth sense to her when it came to understanding the beasts.
The stable master’s wife did more work running the place than her husband. He insisted that running the books was the most important part of the business. From the comments Rowan overheard, it seemed like he’d hired Lily because of her looks. His wife Harriet was having nothing of that, however, for which Rowan was immensely grateful. Lily appeared to be completely oblivious to the man’s desires, a fact that was likely helping to win over his wife.
Speak of the devil.
Harriet came into the stable, looking about imperiously for a certain red-haired girl. The nervous mare snorted and Lily’s head shot up from the stall at the end.
“Yes, Ms. Harriet?” Her hair was back in a ponytail, which seemed oddly appropriate here. She’d traded in her nicer clothes for something more practical after the first day, and her sleeves were rolled back to her elbows. She frequently complained when no one was around to hear that her first purchase with her coin was going to be a good pair of boots.
“You’ve been working here four days now, girl.”
Lily paused, straightening her back and leaning on the pitchfork. “Yes, ma’am?”
Harriet’s eyes narrowed. “I think it’s time you tell me what you’re runnin’ from.”
Rowan scooted away from the edge of the ledge. He was sure the hay still adequately covered him; his nose hadn’t stopped running. I should have fought Zeche harder for the night-time stakeouts. But if I’m still hidden, then why does Harriet think she’s running from something? Did the guy come snooping around? He strained his ears to catch every word of the conversation.
Lily stared right at Harriet, opened her mouth, and then stopped. She looked down at her feet and shook her head slowly. “It’s nothing that will come back to hurt you or the horses, I can promise you that. Worst thing that would happen is you’d be short some help.”
“Hmph. Out with it, girl. It can’t be that bad.”
Lily fidgeted, biting her lower lip. “I don’t want to lie to you, Miss.”
“So don’t.” The woman crossed her arms over her chest, drumming her fingers impatiently on her bicep.
Rowan would have liked the woman’s no-nonsense attitude any other day of the week, but today he found it abrasive. That was his twin down there, and it wasn’t exactly like she could tell the woman what she was.
Lily was quiet for so long that Harriet seemed to find her sympathy. “Did someone wrong you?”
“No. Well, not yet, anyway. It wasn’t going to happen for another few months.” Lily wasn’t normally very tan to begin with, but she was even more pale under the direct questioning.
“A few months? What kind of tragedy do you know about in advance?” The scorn was right back in Harriet’s voice.
“It-it was related to my age. A tradition in my family of sorts, I guess you could say. Except they wanted me to start early, even though I wasn’t ready.” The words tumbled from her mouth in a rush.
Up in the loft, Rowan seethed. He could put the pieces together. He knew Lilies had until their eighteenth name day to begin their ‘service,’ as they called it. But if she had a few months left, then I’m not truly eighteen, am I? He filed that bit of information away for another time when he could pay more attention to it. Why was Lily being forced into service early? It would certainly explain why she’d left. As the daughter of the First Lily, there was only one person Rowan could imagine forcing Lily into anything: Audrey. Would his mother’s atrocities never cease?
“Well, you’re not lying.”
“Wh-what?” Lily’s voice jumped at least an octave in timbre, her eyes wide and panicked.
“My sister runs an orphanage down by the yards. They’ve got word to keep an eye out for someone matching your description. Runaway Lily-in-training, they said.” Harriet pinned her with a stare.
Even from the loft, Rowan could see how badly Lily was shaking.
“I guess I’ll be leaving you, then.” A mouse could have been louder. The defeat was strewn plainly across her features, from her downcast eyes and hunched shoulders to the fire that had completely left those green eyes of hers.
“I wouldn’t know nothing about that. I just came to ask you to fetch the pail of walnut dye into the house. My back can’t handle the heavy buckets like they used to.” Harriet turned on her heel and left without another word.
Lily stared after her, leaning on the pitchfork. “Walnut dye?” A hand twirled in her flaming red hair.
Rowan shook his head in the loft. If she doesn’t want to go back, she shouldn’t have to. But that hair of hers was a dead giveaway. Most folks had brown hair. There were a few blacks and blonds here and there, but red? Ace was the only other one he
knew with that tinge, and it had only intensified in Lily’s locks. Harriet’s hair was a faded, ashy brown. Walnut dye would give a much darker color.
A grin slowly spread across Lily’s face as the pair apparently came to the same conclusion at the same time. “Walnut dye!” She had a grin on her face and a jump to her step as she went to obediently carry the small bucket into the house.
Rowan shook his head up in the loft, his smile stretching his face wide. Tone down that hair some and keep herself dirty enough to cover some of the freckles, and she’d be harder to distinguish in a crowd. I just wish I knew why Harriet is helping her. Seems to me the Seekers probably have a reward out for her. Still, keeping her in the city was of paramount importance if they hoped to find their tainted visitor again. Anything that kept her here was a good thing in his book.
Chapter Fourteen
Brana rubbed her temples, a habit she’d picked up from her father. She glanced at the staircase behind her, the one that led to her mother’s room. Audrey hadn’t improved much with Lily still missing, but Brana could occasionally coax her into talking. Today, she wished she hadn’t. She could have gone her entire life without hearing the things she’d heard this afternoon.
Fascinating how history only focuses on the results, not the sacrifices necessary to get there. She knew her mother had been instrumental in bringing the Order back, but tortured while pregnant? Poisoned with the taint? How were these things not common knowledge? And even worse was what it meant for Lily. Audrey had never told her eldest daughter the secret, and now it ate away at Brana.
“Hey, you okay? Just kinda standing there staring off into space.”
The kidding tone brought her back into the moment and she was, indeed, staring up a staircase with a blank expression. Instead of tensing up, she felt herself deflate. Jasper was safe; he always had been.
“I’m... well, no. Not really.”
Laconic laziness left him and his teasing smirk faded into an earnest expression. “What’s wrong, Ana?” His eyes flicked up to the door at the top of the stairs. “Is it the First?”
Brana almost chuckled at how wrong he was. The entire Tower knew she’d been barely more than a ghost, scarcely eating, never appearing publicly. Quite a few feared that her heart had broken beyond repair this time. If Lily couldn’t be found, Brana wasn’t the only one afraid that one day she’d walk into her mother’s quarters and find her dead. It was an odd sort of relief to not have to bear that news now, but it carried with it a sense of impending doom.
“Hm. Well, coffee has always been your friend. Let’s get you two reacquainted, shall we?”
Something in his tone was sharper than she’d expect, and her gaze swiveled around to focus on his face. He’s scared for me. The realization didn’t help ward off the dysphoria. She took his elbow when he offered it and let him lead her through the tower.
He sat her down at a table near the only lit fire in the dining hall. Even in the spring, she was always cold. She basked in the warmth as he left to get her some coffee.
Jasper came back a minute later and gave her a sheepish grin as he handed over the mug, stuffing his hands in his pockets after she took it.
Brana raised her eyebrow and stared at the liquid. Was it a bit lighter than normal? She sniffed it and found that it smelled absolutely decadent. There was something more than straight coffee to the aroma, but she didn’t care. If there was anyone on the planet she’d trust to give her a strange substance in a cup, it was Jasper or her father.
Heaven on my tongue. Oh, but that is delicious. Warmth spread through her, but it was from more than the coffee.
“Do you like it?”
Brana grinned up at him. “I take it they finally got the recipe figured out. This is amazing, Jas.”
He looked equal parts relieved and proud. “Just don’t drink it too quickly. And let me see if they have any pastries left over.” He was off before she could tell him not to worry. Well. I could do with something sweet after all the sour news today.
She’d dared to get her hopes up the night before when her father had been called to Ebonwallowe. Not many people knew about it, but neither of them trusted Audrey alone right now. Jasper really shouldn’t even be in the Tower, but as Brana was taking on additional duties and helping Amelina keep the place running, Seeker presence had been stepped up. Someone had either snuck out or been abducted, after all. Security had to be maintained. Never mind that Jasper was the only unconfirmed Seeker that had been assigned to the Tower. Brana knew he had come to keep an eye on her. And besides, having another Tracker around was never a bad thing when it came to missing persons.
Jasper sauntered back up to the table. “Here we are, a pair of apple tarts.” He held them out to her on a napkin, letting her pick hers. He straddled the bench after she’d picked, polishing off his tart in three bites.
“I honestly don’t know where you put it all,” Brana commented around her mouthful of tart. The dining hall was practically empty, so she let her etiquette slide a bit. That was part of Jasper’s effect on her; she stopped caring as much about what other people thought and just relaxed. She was still trying to figure out if that was a good thing or something to be avoided. Plenty of time to worry about that once we find Lily.
Jasper waited for her to finish her tart and half of her coffee laced with whatever magical concoction they had managed to cook up before he started pestering her. He leaned in closer, voice low. “So, do you wanna tell me what’s going on?”
Practically empty wasn’t entirely empty and Brana glanced around the hall, unsure. “Not here?” She phrased it as a question. She honestly didn’t want to get back into it, but maybe it would be good for her to get it off her chest. Jasper was a decent tactician, too. He could probably find a new angle on things, maybe even one that helped.
“I’ll see you in your room in ten?” His mischievous grin infected her. He technically wasn’t allowed in her quarters, especially as she’d recently taken on private ones in Lily’s absence. The idle chatter of the other girls was so meaningless when dealing with everything Brana suddenly found dumped on her plate. But Jasper was willing to phase there and risk getting in trouble, just to let her talk.
“Okay.” She smiled and got to work on the rest of her coffee.
Jasper rose and headed out of the dining hall, throwing a wink at her before he turned the corner. Some might call it mischief, some might even say he was too much like his father in the old days. To Brana, he was the perfect blend of duty, responsibility, and the one thing she found nowhere else in her life: fun.
She’d had just enough time to make it to her room and comb through her hair when Jasper phased in. Somehow, he’d conjured up a spare set of linens and a deck of cards, both of which he dumped on a spare bed. The rooms were designed to house multiple women, and one day, they would. For now, they had few enough numbers that there was still a chance at solitary luxury.
“You’re making yourself quite at home.” She raised her eyebrows but her words were full of humor.
Jasper shrugged and plopped down on the bed and sat cross-legged. He leaned his elbows on his knees and pinned her with an inquisitive stare.
Funny thing about brown eyes. Some look like dirt, some look like manure. Some have little golden flecks in them. Jasper’s look like warm caramel when he’s into something. No amount of caramel in the world was going to make this easier.
She sighed, taking a seat on her own bed and pulling her knees up to her chest. “I don’t know, Jas. I mean, she’s gone, right? They won’t let Mom go look for her, so she’s basically up in her room either waiting for Lily to be found, or to die. I can’t handle it, Dad certainly can’t handle it, and yet we’re trying. What else is there to do?”
Jasper frowned, his eyes darkening. “Not to be insensitive, Ana, but that isn’t what upset you earlier.”
Ouch. It was the kick in the ass she needed though, and he was right. They’d been working in the dark for at least two weeks now.
She shrugged helplessly. “Dad got called to Ebonwallowe to track a random Seeker. He didn’t get far though, said the kid covered his tracks.”
Jasper perked up. “Still, that’s good. It could be a lead if there’s someone hanging around that shouldn’t be.”
“It could be, sure. I’m just being selfish, I guess.” She chewed on the inside of her cheek, already feeling like a traitor before verbalizing her emotions.
“Selfish? How do you figure?”
Brana sighed. “It’s just... everyone that was mean to me before, they’ve all stopped. Apart from Mom being all screwed up, my life is way better now than it ever was when Lily was around.” She paused, twirling her hair around her fingers. “That makes me a horrible person, doesn’t it?”
Jasper’s silence seemed damning, and she was afraid to look at him. “Would you prevent her coming home?”
“What? No, never!” Does he honestly think--the mischievous glint was back in his eyes.
“And if you found her in trouble, would you help her?”
Brana could see where he was going with this. “Of course I would.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. Your life has improved because someone isn’t actively attacking you all the time. It’s natural to be relieved about that. It doesn’t mean you hate her or wish she’d never come back.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “You’re sure?”
“Totally. Was that all that’s bugging you?” He sounded so carefree, she hated to ruin it.
“Not even close.”
Jasper’s face fell slightly. He tucked his legs in tighter and laid his wrists over his knees. “Okay then. Hit me with the next one.”
Brana’s mind swirled, trying to find purchase somewhere. There had to be a better way to say this than just blurting it out. Jasper gave her plenty of time to think, but nothing came to her. “If Lily goes into a Grove, she’ll die.”