"What's that?" Karel asked, frowning. He had never studied magic and knew almost nothing of how it worked.
"It's a bit of luck that can be used each day during one's actual birth moment," Mardis answered. "But it's weak, and mine will only be with me briefly at ninth hour. I've been practicing with it every day since I decided I'd have to be a wizard, but I doubt that I'm good enough to take on the Scarlet Guard. Thardik's skills may be all we have when we enter the Temple."
"'We' aren't entering." Karel said. "I'm going in alone."
Mardis's eyes flashed. "Not without me, you're not."
He gave her a weak smile. "I have to, Mardie. I think I can enter the Temple without being spotted, and I know where Narni's chambers are, so I can catch her off-guard."
"And then what will you do?" Rashell demanded.
"Whatever it takes to discover where mv children are and how I might get them back safely."
Mardis put a hand under Karel's chin and raised his head so that his eyes locked with hers. "So why can't I go with you?"
He shrugged. "Because when I was an initiate, I only managed to steal one set of scarlet robes."
•
Dusk would be falling soon. Mardis, Thardik, and Rashell sat on one of the semicircular stone benches surrounding the Fountain of the Three Temples, pretending to be just three more relaxed Liavekans watching the last red gleams of sunlight sparkle amid the streams of cascading water. The mist that surrounded them like a fog only made the evening hotter and more horrible as far as Mardis was concerned. There was no breeze; the air was as dead as the dust in the streets.
For the hundredth time, Mardis was unable to keep herself from glancing up at the clock set into the fountain's center spire. It was a few minutes past seventh hour.
"Damn," she whispered, looking over her shoulder across the cobblestoned common. Two members of the Scarlet Guard stood on either side of the Red Temple's perpetually open main entrance like a pair of vermilion statues. "It's been two hours. I'm going after him." She began to stand.
Thardik put his hand on her arm and pulled her back down. "Those two at the d-door might ask you your b-business, and what would you s-say?"
Rashell put her head in her hands. "Karel's been caught. Oh, why didn't he go to the east entrance as I told him? There aren't so many eyes watching that one."
"N-no, but that would have t-taken him right past the b-beadle," Thardik said, "and then he would have b-been nabbed for certain. Really, I d-don't think those two guards even glanced at him, and once he was p-past them, who would have s-stopped him?"
"The Margrave of Narnitalo," Mardis growled, turning back to face the fountain again. She's probably making him bed her as payment in advance for letting him see the twins. And when she's through. she'll laugh at him for believing that she meant to keep the bargain.
Rashell began sobbing, as she had done every few minutes throughout the afternoon. "If I had fought, or if I had scooped up the babies and run—"
Mardis rubbed her mother's neck. "Don't be ridiculous. What could you have possibly done against five men?" She paused, afraid of how Rashell would react to what she had to say next. "I really think you should go home, Mother. Thardik has to stay because we may need magic, but …"
Rashell looked up angrily, her mood changing as rapidly as the fountain's water fell to the pool. "But I'm useless, is that it? Well, we'll see about that if it comes down to a fight!" She reached into a pocket of her smock and pulled out a serrated bread knife. "I borrowed this from your bakery."
"P-put that away!" Thardik said, looking around in terror at the numerous strolling citizens. "Someone might s-see!"
Rashell returned the knife to her pocket. "I won't sit at home while my grandchildren are in danger," she said grimly. "So don't count me out, daughter."
Mardis met her mother's firm gaze. "All right," she said softly. "I won't."
Thardik grasped her wrist. "Look!" he whispered.
Mardis turned and saw two figures in priests' robes emerge from the Red Temple's main entrance. One was short and fair; the other tall and dark: Narni and Karel. As they came down the steps together, a scarlet-trimmed black carriage drawn by a single horse appeared around the Temple's southeast corner. It stopped at the foot of the steps, and Narni and Karel climbed inside. Immediately, the driver snapped the reins, and the horse started toward the Levar's Way at a fast trot.
Mardis jumped to her feet. "Asriel and Larren weren't with them," she said worriedly, stepping away from the bench.
"M-maybe that's where they're g-going," Thardik said, joining her. "To the t-twins."
Rashell stood as well. “At least Karel doesn't seem to be a prisoner."
"At least." Mardis muttered, and then began running so as not to lose sight of the carriage. Somehow, the fact that Narni had not had Karel seized made her more rather than less anxious.
The black-and-scarlet carriage reached the Levar's Way and began heading south, leaving the slower traffic of camels and carts behind. For an instant, Mardis felt a stab of panic as she realized that she would have no hope of keeping it in sight while on foot, but then she saw two ugly contraptions, pedicabs, parked beside each other between the Levar's Way and the Gold Temple ruins. Their drivers were lounging in their seats, passing a flask back and forth.
Mardis clambered into the passenger seat of the cab closer to the street, leaned forward, and slapped the driver on the shoulder. "Follow that carriage!" she cried, pointing.
The muscular woman in the driver's seat looked back sardonically. "I've only been pedaling this thing two weeks, and already I can't count the number of times I've heard that. Except it's usually 'Follow that camel!' Well, sorry, mistress, but not tonight. I'm off duty."
''I'll give you a levar!" The carriage had all but disappeared around the curve of the Way.
The driver scratched her jaw. "Well … all right," she said. "But only if you help pedal."
Mardis put her feet on the wooden passenger pedals and began pumping. The contraption moved sluggishly at first, giving Mardis time to hear Thardik and Rashell enter the second vehicle and tell its driver to "Follow that cab!"
Then, as the pedicab entered traffic, Mardis's driver began pedaling furiously. The cab shot forward after the carriage, and Mardis could only hope that her companions, who possessed her only weapons, would be able to keep up.
Regardless, she couldn't wait. She had to keep Karel in sight so that she could be with him when he found their son and daughter.
•
The black-and-scarlet carriage sped far across the city to the docks, and the sky was dark by the time it finally stopped before a weathered, sagging warehouse on a narrow street that Mardis did not recognize. From the mingled smells of dead fish and seaweed, she knew that it was close to the bay. Her pedicab was trailing the carriage by a good distance, and she was just able to see Narni and Karel emerge. Narni was carrying a glowing lantern.
Mardis stopped pedaling and stared at the warehouse, wishing that she could see through its walls. Are you in there, Asriel? Do you know I'm coming for you, Larren? Why can't I feel your presence if we're this close?
She shook herself. Already her cab was closer to the warehouse than she would have liked. The street, probably bustling by day, was almost empty of traffic now, and she was afraid that Narni might spot her. "Stop here," she said.
Wheezing, the driver steered the vehicle to the edge of the street and pulled back the hand brake. The cab lurched as it stopped, and Mardis nearly cracked her head on the back of the driver's seat.
"One levar, as agreed," the driver croaked, slumping over the steering bars. "Although if I'd known I'd have to work so hard for it, I'd've thought twice."
Mardis stepped out and handed over all three of the silver coins she'd grabbed from the bakery's cashbox. "The extra half-levar is for your trouble," she said, "and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone about following the carriage. I'm planning a surprise." She looked up as she spoke an
d saw that the carriage was continuing down the dirty street. Narni had opened a door and was entering the warehouse; Karel was following.
The pedicab driver accepted Mardis's coins with a weary grin. "Mistress, for an extra half-levar, I'll be happy to forget that I ever picked you up at all." She began pedaling again and left Mardis standing alone in the street.
As the carriage and then the pedicab disappeared, Mardis realized that she was standing in a shaft of yellow light from a window in the nearest building. Quickly she moved into the shadows, wishing that she'd had enough sense to tell the driver to stop in the dark.
She had no sooner stepped out of the light when she heard a loud clatter, and Rashell and Thardik's cab appeared. It was slowing, both sets of pedals clacking around and around from sheer momentum, and stopped as it reached the shaft of light.
''I'm sorry," the driver said, panting. "We've lost them. It's too hot, and you didn't help me pedal enough."
Mardis stepped into the light and hissed. Thardik and Rashell saw her, but their driver, wiping sweat from his eyes, did not. Mardis returned to the shadows.
Stiffly, Rashell climbed out of the cab and turned to help Thardik. "Very well, young man," she said sternly. "But don't expect to grow rich running your business this way."
The driver made a rude gesture and pedaled away, groaning. Thardik and Rashell, waddling as if their joints had fused, moved through the yellow light to where Mardis waited.
Mardis pointed at the ramshackle warehouse. "The priest took Karel in there."
"So what do we do n-now?" Thardik asked.
Mardis hesitated, biting her lip. "I'll enter first," she said uncertainly. "Thardik, you follow a few seconds later, but stay well behind me so that you're not seen. I'll make a racket to get the priest's attention, and when she confronts me, I'll pretend that I still have my luck. I'll threaten to cave in the roof if she doesn't do as I say."
"She won't b-believe you," Thardik said nervously.
"She will if you tear down a chunk of the ceiling and keep it hovering over her head," Mardis said. "You do that sort of thing at the Station all the time, don't you? Cut things apart and levitate the pieces?"
Even in the poor light, Mardis saw the old wizard's expression of pleased surprise. "Why, yes," he said. "I d-do, don't I?"
Mardis nodded. "And if the priest doesn't see you, she'll think she stole the wrong item from me—which could mean that she and her cronies will be intimidated enough for us to get the twins back without a fight."
"And what am I to do?" Rashell said angrily.
Mardis faced her. "I want you to wait just outside the entrance—gods, I hope it isn't guarded; I haven't seen anyone—and be ready to come if I shout for you. If Larren and Asriel are inside and my bluff doesn't work, you need to get them out while Thardik, Karel, and I keep the priest and whoever else is in there occupied."
"G-good p-plan," Thardik said.
Mardis started down the street toward the warehouse. It was probably a terrible plan, but she couldn't take any more time with it. She had to know what had happened to her babies.
•
Mardis listened at the door where Narni and Karel had entered, but she heard nothing. Nor could she see any light through the cracks. Taking a deep breath, she pressed on the spring-latch and found it locked,
"Let me," Rashell murmured, pushing Mardis aside. She pulled out the serrated knife and slid it between the door and the jamb.
"S-something's wrong," Thardik whispered from several paces behind them.
Mardis glanced back at him. "It’s just a spring-latch. Mother should be able to open it."
"N-not that." Even though his voice was only a whisper, Mardis could hear him beginning to panic. "I c-can't come any c-closer. There's some k-kind of spell here to k-keep out wizards."
"How could a spell know who's a wizard and who isn't?"
"It c-could be a barrier against luck v-vessels." Thardik reached into a pocket and withdrew a small object, which he placed on the ground. Then he stepped forward. "That's it, all r-right."
Before Mardis could absorb the implications of that, the latch popped open, and the door squeaked inward on ancient hinges. Rashell flourished her knife before putting it away. "I should have been a burglar, like your father," she whispered. "May Rikiki nibble his rotten soul."
"He may nibble us all before this is over," Mardis muttered, and then pointed at Thardik's luck piece. "Do you suppose we could get it inside if I carried it?"
Thardik held his hands palms upward and shrugged.
Mardis stepped past him and bent to pick up the object. It was smooth and warm in her hand, and she recognized the shape immediately. "An acorn?" she said aloud, surprised.
"I thought it m-might help me become a mighty oak," Thardik said. "It d-didn't work too well."
Mardis pocketed the nut and stepped back past the point where the old wizard had been stopped. "I thought so," she whispered. "With me, it's just an acorn. Stay at least three paces away until we're inside, Thardik; the barrier spell is probably in effect right up to the doorway. Once we're in, I'll pass this back to you. Except for that, the plan stays the same."
Thardik moved well clear of the doorway so that Mardis could enter, and Rashell squeezed her daughter's arm as she came close. ''I'm here," the older woman murmured. "Remember that."
Mardis squeezed Rashell's arm in response and then stepped toward the dark, half-open doorway. Her mouth felt as though she had just eaten dry sand.
As she began to slip inside, a high-pitched wail emanated from far back in the warehouse.
Mardis froze. Larren! That's Larren!
Then all fear was forgotten, and she plunged into the waiting blackness.
•
Mardis slipped on sawdust and collided with the walls of a narrow passageway as she ran, blind, toward the sound of her baby's cry. It was like trying to sprint while trapped in the black glue of a nightmare.
She knew that she had left the passageway and entered a cavernous room when the cry began to echo and she saw the dim glow of a cloth-covered lantern several paces to her left. She changed direction and headed for the light.
"Now!" a voice cried, and Mardis was jerked to a halt as she was seized from either side. Too late, she remembered that she was to have passed the acorn luck piece back to Thardik as soon as they entered the building.
The cloth was removed from the lantern, and Mardis, blinking at the sudden brightness, saw Narni and Karel standing before a small wooden table. With them were four uniformed members of the Scarlet Guard—two held Karel, and another was pressing the flat of his sword to Karel's mouth. On the table, beside a sandglass, stood a large wicker basket containing a squirming shape that had to be Larren. She could not see Asriel, but was certain she was there. If Larren was upset, Asriel was sure to be content.
Mardis strained toward the table, but was held fast by two Scarlet Guards. She stamped on the foot of the one on her right, but it had no effect.
"Is her companion with us as well?" Narni called, holding her lantern higher.
"Here," a rough voice answered, and two more guards dragged Thardik abreast of those who held Mardis. The old wizard's face was as red as hot coals.
"I'm sorry," Mardis said, speaking loudly to be heard over the baby's cries. "I didn't think too well."
Thardik blinked, looking like an old, tufted owl. "It d-doesn't matter, child," he said. "Considering the odds, we c-came close enough."
Mardis noted the emphasis he gave his last two words and then mentally measured the distance between them. Was Thardik within three paces of the acorn in her pocket? It looked a bit far to her, but …
"More light!" Narni commanded, handing the lantern to her one unoccupied soldier, who placed it on the table. The two guards holding Karel released him, then turned and strode in opposite directions to light lanterns that hung from wooden support columns.
As the lanterns flickered to life, Mardis saw that she was in a huge sawdu
st-floored chamber, the illuminated portion of which was empty save for the table and a chopping block at the foot of one of the support columns. Atop the chopping block lay a slim, gleaming circle of metal: Mardis's silver bracelet. The enormous soldier who had lit the lantern above it remained standing there, his arms folded over his chest. The other guard returned to stand with Narni. "Did anyone besides the old fat-sack come in with her?" Narni asked sharply.
One of the guards holding Thardik answered. "No, Your Grace. The hall was empty but for this one. Shall I search outside?"
Narni pursed her lips for a moment and then said, "Don't bother. The barrier spell will stop wizards, and the only others who might have come are the grandmothers. We have nothing to fear from them—and they aren't here anyway, are they, love?" She looked up at Karel as her guard lowered the sword from Karel's mouth to his throat.
Karel's expression was blank. "No," he said. "As I told you, I asked my mother to care for Rashell, who was hysterical."
Narni gestured at Mardis and Thardik. "You also told me that you slipped away from these two. But it seems that they followed you, doesn't it?"
"So it seems."
Narni reached up and chucked him under the chin. "You wouldn't lie to an old lover, would you, sweet?"
Karel pushed her hand away, ignoring the snarl of the guard who held the sword at his throat. "I know better than to try to match a professional at her trade."
Mardis felt that she loved him more at that moment than ever before.
Narni stuck out her lower lip in the same pout that Mardis had seen that afternoon. "Now you're trying to make me feel bad," the priest said in her little-girl voice. "I don't like that." The pout disappeared as quickly as it had come. "Besides, dear heart, you have tried to match me. You came to my chambers hoping to convince me to return your brats, but you wouldn't even hop into bed. That showed a lack of willingness to bargain, if you ask me."
Karel didn't even look at her. "You brought me here anyway."
Narni waggled her finger. "But not to hand them over to you, my first and truest love. Within the hour, they'll be taken aboard a ship that will carry them to Gold Harbor, where they'll be cared for by parents of my choosing. If these are indeed the twins of the 'two coins' prophecy, they must be raised within strict ideological guidelines—and it's best that their home be some distance from Liavek. Neither the Zhir nor the Tichenese will expect their conquerors to come from a city committed to neutrality."
Liavek 8 Page 10