by Rachel Aaron
He scooted over to make room, and Josef jumped up onto the seat beside him. Nico climbed into the back, holding her coat close. She kept clear of the mule. Animals were better than most spirits at sniffing out a demonseed.
Of course. They know a predator when they see one.
“Shut up,” Nico muttered.
“What?”
Her head shot up. Eli was looking back at her, his face concerned. “What did you say?”
Nico shook her head and scooted down among the bags, biting her tongue. She didn’t speak again until it was time to stop for the night.
They made four more pickups, two at smaller towns, one at a crossroads tavern, and one in the middle of an otherwise perfectly normal field. That one had looked like just a rest break to admire the scenery until Eli had a chat with one of the large stones. After a short exchange, the stone rolled away to reveal a small treasury of valuables, including two midsized statues and a large painting wrapped in waxed cloth.
“I don’t get it,” Josef huffed, lifting one of the statues into their straining cart. “When did you find the time to hide all of this stuff? I never see you do any work after a robbery.”
“You should pay more attention,” Eli said, carrying a wooden chest fixed with a broken exquisite gold lock. “I’m always working. There.” He shoved the chest into the final bit of open space left in the cart. “That should be it.”
“Can the mule carry it all?” Josef asked, looking doubtfully at the overloaded cart.
“Of course,” Eli said, hopping into the driver’s seat. “I asked the cart to help.” He winked at Josef. “I told you. I’m always working.”
“So I see,” Josef grumbled, helping Nico into the back of the overloaded cart before climbing up himself.
Nico settled herself as well as she could on the lumpy bags of treasure, pulling her knees in to avoid bumping them on the painting’s sharp edges. “Where now?” she said.
“Homeward bound,” Eli answered. He tapped the reins, and the cart lurched forward, down the field and back onto the dirt road, where Eli turned it north and west, toward the plains.
They rode for two days straight. They would have made better time, but Eli insisted on stopping in every village with a bounty board to see if his bounty had taken another spontaneous jump upward. It hadn’t, though Eli couldn’t figure out if that was because the number had ceased its strange inflation or if the towns they passed through were simply too small to receive timely bounty updates. Either way, he spent most of his spare breath coming up with theories.
“It’s probably an impostor,” he decided for the second time in as many hours. “Someone banking on my fame.”
Josef chuckled. “Don’t you mean robbing on your infamy?”
Eli gave him a sour look. “I would write the bounty office myself and ask if I thought I’d get an answer this year. Bunch of paper-pushers, they probably have five approved explanations and they still don’t know what’s going on.”
The farther they went up into the great plains at the heart of the continent, the more desolate the landscape became. Each village they passed was smaller and farther out than the one before until, at last, they gave out all together, leaving only the rolling hills of endless grass. Neither Josef nor Eli seemed concerned by the sudden nothingness, but Nico crouched down in the cart as far as she could get from the enormous empty space that stretched out all around her.
“It has been awhile,” Josef said as the mule trudged through the tall, yellow grass. “I can’t even make out the road anymore.”
“I don’t see how you would know,” Eli said. “Considering the last time I brought you here, you were unconscious.”
Josef grunted and Eli turned to grin at Nico. “This was before we had you to drag him around when he goes down. I had to use a wheelbarrow.”
Nico smiled back faintly, but his words drove a sharp barb into her mind, reinforcing how useful she’d been and, in contrast, how useless she was now. She held her breath, waiting for the voice to make a comment, but nothing came. Still, she could feel it, a cold, clammy blackness just behind her conscious mind, watching smugly, letting her draw her own bleak conclusions.
The sun was just beginning to set over the rolling hills when the cart came to a creaking halt. Nico dragged herself up to see why Eli had stopped them and saw the thief standing on the driver’s bench.
“There you are,” he shouted over the wind as Josef and Nico stood up to look as well. “Home.”
They were on the edge of a wide, shallow valley, and below them was a village. At first glance, it looked very much like the other villages they had passed, a small cluster of stone houses arranged in a square around a well. But the more one looked at the village, the stranger it became. For one thing, each of the stone houses was at least two stories, well kept, and prosperous looking. There was glass in every window, all the shutters were painted in bright colors, and every door sported a cheery lamp with a colored-glass shade. The square between the houses, which in the other towns had invariably been little more than a stretch of hard-packed dirt, was a carpet of bright green grass. Little fields, just as green as the grass in the square, dotted the slopes all around the village. There were gardens behind the houses as well, each boasting an amazing variety of plants, from common plains wheat to tropical fruit trees. Large herds of fat cattle, fluffy sheep, and dancing goats grazed on the hills above the fields, tended by woolly dogs and boys on horseback. The whole picture was, in short, beautiful, pastoral, prosperous, and amazingly out of place on the empty, rolling plains.
“Come on,” Eli said, jumping out to lead the mule down the hill. “We should be in time for dinner.”
A crowd had gathered by the time they reached the edge of town. Villagers flowed out of houses, some young, many old, but all plump, well dressed, and healthy looking. They gathered around the well, and a cheer rose up as Eli walked the cart into the square.
“Welcome back, Mr. Mayor!” A great man with a bushy red beard pushed his way through the crowd to grab Eli’s hand, shaking it fiercely. “It’s been too long.”
“Good to be home, Derrik,” Eli said and grinned back. He turned and grabbed Nico, pulling her forward. “You all met my swordsman on my last visit. Now I’ve added another hand to the game. This is Nico. Make her feel welcome.”
Another round of applause went up. Nico tried to pull back, away from the attention, but Eli’s hand on her shoulder held her firm, and she could only look down at her feet as the people began to chatter.
With a final squeeze, Eli left her to mingle with the crowd, all of whom seemed to be falling over themselves to shake his hand. Josef stepped up to take Eli’s place beside her, and they watched in silent fascination.
“What is this place?” Nico whispered as the people began to fawn over Eli. “They’re as bad as spirits around him.”
“Of course,” Josef replied quietly, shifting the enormous sword on his back. “Eli owns this town.”
Nico frowned. “Owns it? Even the people?”
“Especially the people,” Josef said, stepping away from the cart as a horde of people swarmed over it, opening bags and sorting through the various priceless treasures inside.
Nico didn’t follow him. She stood where she was, watching with a mixture of horror and amazement as the townsfolk ravaged the cart. They opened bags and spilled the treasures out onto the grass, sorting the coins, gems, rings, bracelets, crowns, and so forth into piles. Each villager gathered up a collection, and then went to the man with the red beard who made a note in his ledger of what each person had taken. Once it had been accounted for, the people carried their armfuls of treasure, Eli’s treasure, things Nico had helped him steal, into their houses, and all with Eli not five feet away, still chatting and shaking hands while Josef stood solemnly beside him, neither of them doing anything about it.
All across town, doors were being thrown open so the people could move the goods into their houses, and what Nico saw inside made
her eyes go wide. Every house in the square was absolutely full of treasure. There were tables set with golden plates and gem-encrusted cutlery, ready for dinner. Famous paintings that belonged in king’s halls hung over stone fireplaces, protected from the soot by makeshift wooden mantels. She saw young children sitting on silk carpets playing with rubies the size of their fists. One house even had a lamp inlaid with gold coins instead of mirrored reflectors nailed to its front entry, the round coins turning the light butter yellow. Everywhere she looked, the wealth of nations had been reduced to simple home furnishings, and Nico, who didn’t say much under the best of circumstances, was at a complete loss for words.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” said a soft female voice beside her. Nico whirled around to find a woman not much taller than herself standing beside her. She was very pretty, in a demure sort of way, with dark blond hair and delicate features. She smiled at Nico and gestured toward the cart, which was almost empty.
“I had the same reaction you did when I first saw it,” she said. “But that’s how the mayor likes it, and so that’s what we do.” She turned and held out her hand. “I’m Angeline. I run the school here. Derrik is my husband.” She nodded at the man with the red beard who was still taking inventory from a line of people with armfuls of treasure. “He’s the deputy here. He keeps Home running when the mayor is out.”
“The mayor?” Nico said, taking her offered hand shyly. She wasn’t offered handshakes much. “You mean Eli?”
Angeline put a slender finger to her lips. “Don’t use that name here. It’s bad luck. Even in the middle of the plains surrounded by friends, we don’t want to take any chances.”
“I don’t understand,” Nico said, lowering her voice. “What is this place?”
“It’s Home,” Angeline said simply. When it was obvious this explanation didn’t make things any clearer for Nico, Angeline took a breath and tried again. “You saw how there was no road into town, right?”
Nico nodded.
“Well,” Angeline continued, “there used to be a dirt trade track going across the plains, and that was what supported this village. Then, eighteen years ago, the Council of Thrones completed the Great Road, its first large building project. The Great Road connected the southern kingdoms with the northern half of the Council, becoming the world’s longest trade highway and, in turn, completely eliminating the need for the little dirt track that ran by the village.
“The village deteriorated. The land here is hard, and with no money from traders, the young people left. Eventually, there were only a handful of families still living here, and it looked like the village would vanish altogether, like so many others on the plains. But then a miracle happened.” Angeline’s face grew wistful. “One day, or so my husband tells it, the mayor walked in from the plains. Just appeared from nowhere, leading a cart almost exactly like the one he brought today. The mayor brought everyone together in the square and made the village an offer. He would buy everything, our houses, our land, our well, everything. He wanted to buy the town.”
Nico nodded. It sounded exactly like something Eli would do.
“Several of the people were angry, of course. It was all family land. Where would they live if this stranger bought it? The mayor answered that he would buy them too. Everyone in the village, old, young, whole, or crippled, was to be put on his payroll. In return for his money, all he wanted was our secrecy, a safe place to rest every time he was in town, and the pledge that we would keep all outsiders away. Of course, this just made people more skeptical than ever, but that’s when he unveiled the gold.” Angeline chuckled. “After that, there were no more objections. He was voted mayor that night, and he renamed the town Home. We’ve flourished ever since, and not just with money. Our fields have produced with hardly any work on our part, doubly so after one of the mayor’s visits. The well stays full even in drought, and we don’t have trouble with storms or wild animals. We live a blessed life here, and it’s all because of the mayor.”
Nico squinched her eyebrows together. “And how often does he—”
“He brings in a cart like this once, maybe twice, a year,” Angeline finished for her. “Until two years ago, he was always alone. But then the swordsman joined, and now you.” She gave Nico a very serious look. “I know you’re one of his trusted companions. Please know that everyone in this village would die before betraying the mayor. No one wants to go back to how things were, or risk our great fortune. We spend only the coined gold, and only far away. We never trade any of the unique treasures. We follow his orders to the letter, always, so don’t worry, you’re all safe and welcome here.”
Nico wanted to tell the woman that she hadn’t been worried, but Angeline seemed so concerned that Nico think well of them, she had no choice but to smile and nod. Satisfied, Angeline gave Nico’s hand a final squeeze and walked over to her husband, handing him a fresh ledger just as his was about to be filled up. The cart was almost empty at this point, and Eli, having shaken hands at least four times with every one of the two dozen villagers, wandered over to stand beside Nico again.
“Well,” he said, “what do you think?”
She gave him a sideways look. “It’s quite an extravagant setup.”
“I would settle for nothing less,” Eli answered, and then he sighed. “I’m only sad the Duke of Gaol is dead and can’t see this. He would have turned purple.”
Nico didn’t understand that statement at all. She was trying to think of something to say when her stomach gurgled loudly.
Eli laughed. “Hungry already? Josef’s rubbing off on you. Come, let’s go ask about dinner.”
He grabbed Nico by the shoulder and walked her toward the red-bearded man with the ledger who was deep in conversation with Josef. Angeline was nowhere to be seen, and both men looked very grim.
“Ah, Mr. Mayor,” the deputy said. “I’m afraid—”
“We’ve got a problem,” Josef finished for him. “Seems last night a stranger came into town asking for Eli Monpress.”
Eli’s smile faded. “A stranger? Here? What kind of stranger?”
“A girl, Mr. Mayor,” the deputy said. “None of us had seen her before. We took her into custody at once. I must assure you that Home is as safe and secret as—”
“It’s all right, Derrik,” Eli said. “I’m sure everyone here has been playing by the rules. Did this girl say where she was from or why she was here?”
“No, Mr. Mayor,” the deputy said, shaking his head. “She wouldn’t say anything, other than that her name was Pele.”
Eli’s smile faded instantly. “Powers,” he hissed under his breath. “All right, where is she?”
Derrik motioned for them to follow him. “This way, sir. I’ve got her at my house.”
He led them across the grass and toward a large house at the far end of the square. Nico expected him to stop at the steps, but he walked past the front door and around to the back of the house, where a pair of double doors was set into the ground.
“You’ve got her in the cellar?” Eli said. “You haven’t been treating her badly, I hope.”
“Of course not,” Derrik said, unbolting the large lock. “I’ve got a nice little room down here I use for storing grain. It’s dry and comfortable, but this door’s the only way out. I thought it would be best, considering… Anyway, she hasn’t complained, just sits and waits for you.”
Eli nodded and, as soon as the doors were open, started down the stairs. “Wait here,” he said when the deputy began to follow him. “We won’t be long.”
Looking a little taken aback, the man nodded and stepped aside, letting Eli, Josef, and Nico climb down into the cellar.
It was just as the man had said, a small, dry room in the cellar with a lamp and a bed and a stack of books that had obviously been brought down from the house above. Sitting on the edge of the bed was a familiar girl in hunter’s leathers with a long, lovely knife at her hip and dark circles under her eyes, as though she’d been crying.
Eli stopped at the foot of the stairs and gave her a long, serious look. “Hello, Pele.”
The girl nodded. “Eli.”
Eli grabbed a stool from the corner and set it down beside her. “You chose a difficult way of getting in touch, you know,” he said, sitting down with a long sigh. “Why not just get your father to reach me? Slorn has more tricks than any three bears put together.”
“If I could do that, I wouldn’t need you in the first place,” Pele said, her voice going a bit ragged. “My father’s… Slorn’s gone missing.”
There was a long silence.
“Missing?” Eli said at last. “Men like Slorn don’t just go missing.” He leaned forward and grasped Pele’s hand. “What happened?”
Pele didn’t try to take her hand back. Instead, she leaned forward, blinking back tears, and began to tell her story.
By the time she finished, Eli was looking grim indeed, and Pele was sobbing openly.
“After what Sted did to my mother, Father was inconsolable,” she said, her voice quivering. “He locked himself in his workroom and wouldn’t come out for two days no matter how I beat on the door. Then, on the third morning, he came out dressed in traveling gear and said he was going after Sted.” Pele took a deep breath. “I wanted to go with him, but he said someone had to stay and take care of the house. He said he had to go, that he’d made a promise to the League of Storms to keep the seed secret and safe. That it was the only reason the League had let him keep Mother alive in the first place. So he left and I stayed behind. He said he’d contact me when he knew something, but that was three weeks ago. Since then, I’ve heard nothing. Please.” She gripped Eli’s hand. “Please, Eli, you’re one of his oldest friends. You have to help me find him.”
Eli calmly began extricating his fingers from her grasp. “Pele,” he said gently. “I’m a thief, all right? This isn’t really my area of expertise. Surely there’s someone else—”
Pele refused to let go. “But you go everywhere. You know all sorts of things. And there is no one else. Father took all his contacts with him. I only knew where you were because this village is listed as your delivery address in our records.”