“You tell me,” Lenora said. “You’re the one she talked to.”
No, Raolcan was the one she talked to. Had she shown him anything more than that blue sign?
I saw there were hidden rooms. Do any of the buildings back onto other structures?
They all did. I scanned them while trying to look nonchalant. Lenora was examining a belt buckle at a stall.
“It’s a lovely buckle,” the hawker said, his eyes glittering with a potential sale. The buckle Lenora was holding was brass with a roaring dragon’s head as the emblem. The eyes glittered with yellow glass.
“I’m afraid I can’t afford it,” Lenora said, putting it back.
I think there was a room beneath the surface.
Was that even possible? Wouldn’t people notice it was beneath the lattice? Did the dragons fly underneath very often?
Are you close to where a tier rises?
A tier rose behind the buildings on the left side. We’d climbed up two of them to get to this point, each tier five steps above the one before, a ziggurat rising upwards in the air, its surface encrusted with buildings, people, dragons, and culture.
“Then borrow money from one of the lenders and come back. After all, this is the street of moneylenders,” the hawker scoffed, pointing to the nearest blue sign. So, that’s what they meant!
A perfect disguise. Any number of people could go in and out of a money lender and no one would ask questions. It would also be handy for financing their aims. If there’s a tier nearby someone could build a lower level and tuck it under the edge of a tier. You wouldn’t notice it from underneath unless you were looking for it. It would be very difficult and expensive, though. You’d need to build it of dragonsteel and magic. And you’d need to do it secretly.
Nothing said secret like a money lender. I looked down the street, trying to see if there were any tell-tale signs of a lower level beneath the lattice of the street. It was impossible to tell. Even if there hadn’t been people walking on it, the holes were just too small.
Perhaps at night, if you knew what you were looking for, you would see the glow of lights.
It was worth a try. We’d just have to come back then. I took Lenora’s arm.
“It’s lovely. Let’s come back when we have the money ... sister.”
Lenora frowned but I pulled her along the street.
“It’s below one of these money lenders. Which one, is the question. We can return at night and see if there are any clues.”
“Below? That’s ridiculous!”
I opened my mouth to answer, but instead, it just stayed open as I watched a compact, baldheaded man in Dragon Rider blacks enter the third moneylender on the left-hand side of the street. He ducked in so quickly that it looked like he was fleeing someone. Was that Leng?
Chapter Seventeen
“I’m certain it was Leng,” I said again as I sat on the edge of my cot. I was breathless from trying to keep up with Lenora and she was already pacing a tiny circle in our room at the inn. Did she ever stop moving?
“What would Leng Shardson – a Purple Dragon Rider - be doing here?” she asked.
“Maybe he is looking for Savette, too.”
After all, he’d said he would, didn’t he?
And you should trust him to do it. He is more than he seems. He wouldn’t have been chosen by a Purple dragon if he wasn’t. We are not fools when it comes to people.
Then why did he act so strangely since his illness?
Love does strange things to young men. Even dragons aren’t immune to this.
That was a crazy explanation, but sorting out Leng was more confusing than sorting out our current puzzle.
“Maybe he was just borrowing money,” Lenora said.
“’You should have let me follow him into the money lender’s instead of dragging me back here.”
“And tip our hand? If that one really is where they have your friend our arrival will tip them off. We need to sneak in at night when no one is expecting it.”
“Then we need a plan. I doubt they’ll leave the place unlocked, and I am not a seasoned criminal who knows how to bypass locks.” I chewed my lip. We were so close. There had to be a way.
“Let’s worry about confirming that it’s the right one first, then we’ll figure out what to do next. Right now, I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”
Lenora strode out the door and I leapt to follow her. She truly was an adventurous Green, leaping into our task without any worries about how we would accomplish it.
When we reached the common room, the other girls were just arriving from outside, shaking out their cloaks. From out the wide-paned window, I saw snow swirling through the crowds.
“Why is it so cold here when it was balmy on the Ruby Isles?” Olla complained as we took a seat at one of the tables.
Lenora jabbed her in the ribs with one of her handy elbows, but Artis whispered a real reply. “The ocean is warm, and so are the hot springs of the islands. Some say that a mountain of fire lies beneath them. It makes them warm when the rest of the land is freezing in this unseasonable storm.”
“See? It won’t kill you to tell me things,” Olla said to Lenora.
“Just remember who is paying for your hot food,” Lenora said, waving to the girl who was tending to the tables. She whisked into the kitchen and came out with a tray loaded with stew and bread. Steam swirled up from the bread, filling the air with a mouth-watering smell.
“Are storms like this common here so early in Autumn?” Orra asked Artis. “I didn’t think it would get this cold until much later. It never got like this so early at Dragon School or our home.”
“It’s a freak storm,” Artis said. “Everyone is talking about it. No one’s seen anything like it since our grandfathers’ time. It’s all I heard on the streets and at the stalls. Weren’t you listening?”
“It’s true,” the girl said. “My grandfather says there was a storm this early when he was a child, but we don’t remember one like it. It’s awful strange and I’m worried about what it means for the harvest.”
Once the food was distributed, the girl left and we dug in. The common room was filling up, but our table was in the corner and we had some privacy from listening ears.
“We have good news,” Orra announced. “We found it.”
Lenora and I exchanged a look. They did?
Olla still seemed irritable when she spoke. “There’s a place with a blue sign one street over from here. The only one like it on any of the streets we searched.”
“It turns out that means it’s a money lender,” I said. “There were many in our area.”
“Then how do we know which one to check?” Orra asked.
“We need to watch them at night. By then, normal people will have gone home and we can watch for specific activity.” It was almost certain to be the one that Leng walked into. He must be as hot on the trail as we were. Maybe we should see if we could find him before dark. Would he stay in an inn?
He’s not in the dragon cotes, though Ahlskibi is.
“And what will you do once you find out which it is? We’ll have to sneak in. Do any of the rest of you know how to pick locks?” Orra asked.
“Are you saying that you do?” Lenora looked around as she spoke, clearly worried about being overheard, but no one was looking our way and their own conversations drowned ours out.
“Both of us do,” Olla confirmed. “You know we grew up in a sky city. You don’t think we spent the whole time begging, do you?”
“I didn’t know,” Lenora said.
“Enough.” Artis’ words were cold as the snow outside and her face was grim. “I’ve heard enough. This ends now.”
Lenora waved a hand. “Just be patient until we get Savette back. It will only be a few more days at most.”
Artis leaned forward over the table, her words coming out in almost a hiss. “It was one thing when you suggested that we find Amel and bring her back. That was risky enough. Then to follow her here – that w
as worse! Now, you’re talking about criminal behavior. I won’t risk everything on your reckless whims! I’ve wanted to be a dragon rider my whole life and you’re stealing my only opportunity. We don’t all have money and important fathers who will save us from our foolishness!”
Lenora’s face colored and she opened her mouth, but Artis was up out of her chair and stalking out the inn door before anyone could say another word. I felt my heart sink. What was she going to do?
Chapter Eighteen
“She’ll be back when she sees how foolish she’s being,” Lenora said, but I didn’t agree. She had the look in her eye of a student who went to ‘tell the teacher.’ She was going to find the nearest Dragon Rider and report us. I was certain of it.
“I’m going back out to watch the moneylenders,” I said.
Lenora grabbed my sleeve. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
I wasn’t going to. I was going to do something smart and hide my gear with Raolcan and then keep my eyes peeled on the streets for Leng, Artis, and anyone who might lead me to Savette. I gave Lenora a tight smile.
“Thank you for dinner.”
They weren’t finished, but I was. I’d come too far to be stopped now. I returned to my room, packed my things, gave the cot a longing look – I’d been looking forward to sleeping in a bed – and made my way through the crowded streets back to the dragon cotes.
The guard at the entrance gave me a strange look, but let me through. I didn’t realize why until I was already at Raolcan’s alcove. I was still in the dress. Should I change and risk standing out in the crowd or should I keep it on and risk standing out when I did Dragon Rider things?
Keep it on. People will underestimate you. That is one of your greatest strengths.
It didn’t sound like much of a strength.
Trust me. No one else knows what a deadly flower you are.
It would be amazing if I was as wise and powerful as Raolcan thought I was – or as wise and powerful as he actually was.
I really am quite amazing.
Would he be willing to watch my things while I went back?
Does a dragon flame?
I took that as a yes, deposited my gear in his alcove, checked his food and water and gave him a kiss on the forehead before I left.
Don’t let anyone see you do that. It would ruin my reputation.
You aren’t bound here, are you?
No one knows I’m in training here.
Good. Who knew if I might need him to fly off and save my bacon?
Knowing you, I will absolutely be needed.
As always, I left Raolcan with a smile on my face. He was the best friend a girl could have. I was willing to bet that there wasn’t another dragon like him in all the world.
There really isn’t.
Okay, I needed to focus. Dusk was falling, but the sky city was like a flower of light, blooming bright in the gathering darkness. Hanging lanterns lit the inns and taverns and even some of the shops and businesses lit the lanterns over their shop doors. Some of the lanterns on the corners had red glass over them, making the light red. I wonder what that signified.
The law. Those are guard stations.
How did he know that?
I listen.
I found the street of moneylenders and made my way to a shaded area to the side of where the belt cart had been earlier in the day. It was easy to see the whole street here, tucked in beside the stairs that led up to a noisy tavern. But it would be hard to see me. I slipped into the shadows and leaned against the wall. Was it dark enough to make out a hidden level yet?
A hand tightened around my arm and I leapt, fear soaring within me.
“Shhhh. It’s just me.”
Lenora! “Where are the rest?”
“You were right about Artis. She came marching into the inn with full Dragon Riders! They grabbed Olla and Orra while I was upstairs. If I hadn’t been quick they would have grabbed me, too.”
Would that have been better? “Maybe you would have been safer if they had.”
“Don’t be a fool. We came here for Savette Leedris. I’m not accustomed to failure.”
That must be nice.
There! Two shadows slipped out of the door that Leng had entered earlier. One was tall and lanky and the other bulky. Were they the moneylenders? Or someone else? If only I knew where Leng was staying. We could use a third person – especially one who new what he was doing.
“Do you see it?” Lenora whispered excitedly. A loud man, drunk already despite the early hour, stumbled past with his friends singing loudly. Why did they have a tavern so close to the moneylenders? Did they expect people to loan money just to come and spend it here?
“See what?”
“The glow. Look at the street and unfocus your eyes.”
Just like she said, I could see a very slight glow beneath the building Leng had entered. I swallowed, nervous now. With Olla and Orra ‘rescued’ by the Grandis, how would we get in?
“Come on!” Lenora grabbed my arm and pulled me across the street, ducking into the shadows once we got there and then slinking towards the moneylender’s. Unsurprisingly, the door was locked. Lenora tried it three times just to be sure, but I’d never thought that they’d leave it open if they had anything of value within and my friend was valuable.
“Now what?” she asked.
“Now we stop thinking like Castelans and think like servants.”
She snorted. “What good will that do us?”
“Put your hood up.”
I hobbled past her and down the side of the narrow building. It backed up against the lattice of the wall to the next tier, but there was a door at the side and businesses were just closing. I knew what that meant. Someone would be here soon to do the scrubbing. No matter what people were up to, no matter how nefarious or wicked, they still needed someone to scrub. I took a place by the door and waited.
“Now what?”
“Wait and be quiet.”
The waiting seemed to take forever. I had to keep leaning against the wall to keep my leg from falling asleep and every so often Lenora sighed dramatically, but eventually, someone came, bucket and mop in hand and an apron tied tight around her middle. She took a step back when she saw us.
“We were sent to help with the scrubbing tonight. The master wants it done twice as fast so he sent us from the house staff,” I said, hoping our black dresses would pass for servant attire.
“I’m not sharing his coin, that’s for sure. I don’t need help.” She was my age and very thin with a suspicious squint.
“He didn’t say anything about pay. He just told us to do it.” I put a saucy tone into my voice, the way I’d heard other servants argue. There was a hierarchy and long-term bitterness to that role that could be easily faked.
“I clean just fine on my own.” This time she stepped forward and I knew what she was saying. She didn’t mind the help, but she wanted to know if she should take it as an insult. If I coddled her now, she’d be sure it was one.
“It’s not our business what the master says about you and how you drag your heels, is it? We just go where we’re sent. We’ve been busy all day and would like our rest, so let’s be about it.”
Perfect. Her sullen expression told me I’d hit the right note. She unlocked the door quickly and opened it up, lighting a lantern within. I followed her and Lenora was on my heels like she was my shadow.
A pair of guards stood on either side of the door, short swords strapped to their waists and a bored look that vanished when we entered. I swallowed hard. I hadn’t expected guards.
“Who are these, Sal?” one of them asked.
“They’re here to help me finish up faster,” the scrub girl – Sal - said with her nose in the air. “I’m to tell them what to do here, so don’t put your nose into it.”
The guard looked skeptical, but he ignored us, clearly believing her.
Sal turned to us. She had the beady eyes of someone who had lived too much already. “No
one cleans the lending floors but me. I won’t have your dirty hands on the glass cases or the valuables.”
“We’re more than good enough to clean the lending floor,” I said, crossing my arms.
“You? A cripple? And this mute? Don’t insult me! You two can clean the backroom and the lavatory. Mind you don’t go through the door in the back. That’s our orders. Polish the handles, sweep, mop and tend to the lavatory. Now, be quick about it. There are extra cleaning things in the lavatory. I see you aren’t responsible enough to have your own.”
She smirked like she’d won something, and I tried to keep my face sour and irritated when inside I was so excited my hands were shaking. We were in. We just needed to get to that back door and hope it wasn’t locked.
Chapter Nineteen
“Is it locked?” Lenora whispered from behind me.
“No.” I pressed my ear to the door, but there were no sounds. Lenora stood in front of me looking furtively down the hall. We’d surveyed the back room and the lavatory – yuck! Other than needing a good cleaning there was nothing in either one to make us think this was anything more than a money lender. There was a strongbox in the back room with three big locks, but we weren’t here to steal. We were here to get back someone who was stolen from us. “I’m going to slip in. Can you watch the corridor?”
Lenora nodded, pushing a broom she’d taken from the lavatory across the floor. She’d clearly never swept a floor in her life.
I eased the door open slowly, hoping it wouldn’t squeak or that light wouldn’t flood an otherwise dark room, and then slipped inside and eased the door closed behind me. I was at the top of a flight of stairs that went down to the right and then jogged sharply to the back the building. Below, a glow of light told me something was going on down there. Voices murmured below, so I crept down, a stair at a time, listening.
Dragon School_The Ruby Isles Page 6