“Time is not on our side,” Jade said. He took a sip of his drink, then leaned forward. “Where is my wife?”
“In the Tower,” Master Abrams said, flatly. “My...sources...are not what they once were, thanks to the Black Daggers, but I do hear some things. The Crown Princess and Lady Imaiqah were both taken to the Tower and...well, since then no one has seen head or hair of either of them.”
“Alassa is still alive,” Jade said. “What about Imaiqah?”
“I couldn’t swear to anything,” Master Abrams said. “Her family was apparently rounded up too, shortly after Alassa was arrested, along with a number of other prominent Democrats and Levellers. The entire movement is apparently headless.”
Emily looked up. “Apparently?”
“There have been...rumors...that someone survived the purge,” Master Abrams told her, gently. “But again, I could not swear to it. It may just be wishful thinking. The Black Daggers moved with remarkable speed.”
“But what happened?” Jade’s voice was anguished. “I mean...what happened when she was arrested?”
Master Abrams looked at Mouse, who squirmed uncomfortably. “I told her,” Mouse said. “I...I told her that Imaiqah had been arrested. I...”
Jade leaned forward. “Why? How did you know?”
Mouse inched backwards, her arm brushing against Emily as she tried to shrink away from Jade. “I was...I was working for Lady Lye,” she said. Her voice shook. “The Crown Princess was meant to be going on a tour of the outer lands. I...I heard that Lady Imaiqah had been arrested, as soon as she entered the castle, and...and I told the Crown Princess.”
“You heard about the arrest,” Jade said. “Who from? Who told you?”
“Lady Lye,” Mouse said. “She was...she was with a group of us.”
“Lady Lye,” Emily said, hoping to distract Jade from Mouse. “Who is she?”
Jade muttered something unpleasant under his breath. “The Mistress of the Princess’s Bedchamber,” he said. “She took up the job two years ago, after the wedding. Alassa didn’t want anyone in that post, but...she needed someone.”
Emily nodded in understanding. The previous Master of the Princess’s Bedchamber had been Nightingale, who’d used it to feather his nest. Alassa had plenty of reason not to want someone else to take the post, particularly someone she didn’t trust completely, but...Jade was right. She had needed someone. A staff of fifty men and women needed someone to supervise. It was simply unfortunate that there was no way to keep that person from exploiting their position for their own personal gain.
She should have offered the post to Imaiqah, Emily thought. But Imaiqah had something else to do.
“This leads to an interesting question,” Cat said. “Did Lady Lye tell you deliberately, in the hopes you would go to the princess?”
Mouse reddened. “I don’t know. I just...I just told the princess!”
Emily frowned. Randor couldn’t just lock up his daughter, particularly one who also happened to be the Crown Princess, on a whim. He would need an excuse, one that would suffice for when the nobility started asking questions. Had he deliberately planned to lure Alassa into treason? Had he left Imaiqah alive to serve as bait in a trap? And, if so, was Lady Lye a co-conspirator or a mindless dupe? And what about Mouse herself?
A nasty thought struck her. Randor wouldn’t have acted so fast if he hadn’t known about Paren’s treason. He’d taken a hell of a risk when, so far, only a handful of people knew the truth. Imaiqah herself hadn’t known. And that meant...Nanette was the only person who could have told the king. She could easily have done more...
She reached out with her senses, carefully brushing them across Mouse. Someone had put a binding on her, one designed to keep her from betraying a handful of secrets, but there was nothing else. Few magicians would tolerate a binding, if one could be induced to stick to them. It took a stronger spell to dominate a magician. And if Mouse was Nanette in disguise, it was a very good disguise. Emily couldn’t sense even a flicker of inherent magic surrounding the girl.
But Nanette was good at hiding her true nature, Emily reminded herself. She posed as a Second Year student and nearly got away with it too.
She listened as Jade interrogated Mouse, silently contemplating the possibilities. Mouse could have brought the king’s men down on their heads by now, if she was working for the king. But she hadn’t. And there was no trace of magic, save for the binding. Master Abrams would probably have put it on her, Emily guessed. Alassa might have done it, but the binding didn’t feel like Alassa’s work.
“Fine,” Jade said, clearly unsatisfied. He leaned back in his chair, making a visible effort to relax. “What happened after you left?”
“Your wife was arrested,” Master Abrams said, curtly. “Beyond that, we don’t know.”
Jade looked at Mouse. “And you made no attempt to return to the castle?”
“No, My Lord,” Mouse said. “I felt I would be safer here.”
Binding and all, Emily thought. Mouse might not even know she had a binding. It wasn’t a compulsion spell, merely something designed to keep her from revealing certain secrets. And you might have been right to stay.
She shuddered. Alassa was safe, at least until she gave birth. Emily was fairly sure of that, if only because Randor needed a legitimate heir. Imaiqah and Mouse, on the other hand, could have their lives cut short in a heartbeat. Randor had no reason to keep Mouse alive if she ever returned to the castle. Technically, Mouse had been obeying orders, but...no one would care if the king ordered her killed. She was just a servant girl.
Jade let out a long sigh. “Master Abrams, where do you stand?”
Master Abrams frowned. “I’m in favor of a peaceful life,” he said. “And the impending civil war is unlikely to be peaceful.”
Emily met his eyes. “Do you know what’s happening?”
“Just rumors, each one crazier than the last.” Master Abrams snickered. “The barons are revolting...and they’re rebelling too. Half the kingdom is already on fire, invading armies are prowling on the edge of the Crown Lands, the Crown Princess has given birth to twin goblins...it’s hard to know what to believe.”
“Hah,” Jade said. “What do you believe?”
“Three of the barons are supposed to be on the verge of formally renouncing their oaths to the king and declaring war,” Master Abrams said, more seriously. “I’ve heard that they’re already drawing up a list of demands, with a threat of war if the king refuses to concede.”
“Randor won’t concede,” Jade said, quietly.
“I fear not,” Master Abrams said. “The king has been bringing more and more troops into the Crown Lands, garrisoning them around Alexis. It’s only a matter of time before they’re employed in a first strike against the Harkness Lands. Baroness Harkness has been making too much noise about her adopted son having a claim to the throne.”
Jade’s eyes narrowed. “She adopted him?”
“Yes,” Master Abrams said. “Rumor has it that she’s barren.”
“Or that her husband couldn’t father a child,” Jade said, savagely. “He doesn’t even have any bastards, does he?”
Emily felt a flicker of sympathy for the older woman, even though she had a feeling that Baroness Harkness would prefer to be beheaded than left alive to contemplate just how far she’d fallen and contemplate the depth of her disgrace. But she knew Jade wouldn’t agree. Another claimant to the throne, even one with a very tenuous link to the Royal Bloodline, would only make Alassa’s life more complicated. Too many barons would back the male, even if his claim was weak.
She cleared her throat. “What do we do now?”
“You and Cat go take a look at the Tower of Alexis,” Jade said. “I’ll have a long chat with Mouse, then see what Master Abrams and I can do.”
“As you wish,” Cat said. “I’m sure it will be a pleasant stroll.”
“Just don’t get caught,” Jade advised. “Please.”
Emily stood.
She wanted to tell Jade to be gentle–she was almost certain that Mouse was nothing more than what she appeared to be–but she knew he wouldn’t listen to her either. Mouse had been there when Alassa had made her fateful decision, either as an agent provocateur or an unwitting instigator of doom. Jade would know what she knew, even if it left the younger girl feeling like she’d been put through the wringer. Emily felt genuinely sorry for her. It was never good for commoners to get mixed up in the affairs of royalty.
And you’re a commoner, she reminded herself, as she headed for the door. There wasn’t a trace of aristocratic blood in her. If you didn’t have magic, what would you have been here?
Chapter Thirteen
“THAT GIRL,” CAT SAID, AS SOON as they were out in the sun. “Do you believe her?”
“I think she’s telling the truth, as she knows it,” Emily said. “I didn’t sense any magic around her.”
Cat looked relieved. “I didn’t sense anything either. But a very good magician could hide her power.”
Emily frowned. Nanette was good. She knew that from bitter experience. But if Mouse was actually Nanette...Nanette was taking a hell of a risk. She was good, but could she fight Emily, Jade and Cat at the same time? It would be crazy. And yet...the fight would bring the king’s sorcerers down on their heads. Perhaps Nanette was being crazy like a fox.
It’s still an insane risk, she told herself, firmly. She wouldn’t have needed to stick around either if she’d already done her job.
“I don’t think so,” she said. If there were any inconsistencies in Mouse’s story, Jade would get them out of her. “But we need to be careful anyway.”
She felt her frown deepen. Mouse was young–and probably naive. Emily had no idea of her background, which meant...she had no idea if Mouse’s family were at risk of being turned into bargaining chips. Did Randor know that Mouse had vanished on the same day his daughter had been arrested? Or had Lady Lye brought it to his attention? Or...had Lady Lye kept her mouth shut, fearing the loss of whatever remained of her influence? There was nothing to be gained by being Mistress of the Princess’s Bedchamber when there was no longer any princess.
“We will be,” Cat assured her. “We will be very careful.”
They walked on, skirting the Royal Mile as they made their way towards the river. It added a considerable distance to their journey, but it limited the risk of accidentally encountering soldiers who might actually be alert. The guards on the streets around them didn’t seem to be paying too much attention to anyone, although it was quite quiet. It wouldn’t be long until it was noon and everyone went for lunch.
The air blew hot and cold as they reached the river and watched, just for a moment, as boats and barges made their way towards the docks. A handful of private jetties reached into the water on both sides of the river–there were a number of stone townhouses belonging to the rich and powerful on the far side–but the majority of shipping had to go through the city docks. Emily suspected that would have to change, sooner or later, once the Dockworkers Guild could be convinced to see reason. Imaiqah had told her that the guildsmen had bitterly resisted even the merest suggestion that the docks could be expanded.
Cat took her hand as they strolled up the road towards the Tower. It was clearly visible, even from a distance: an ominous shape looming over the river. The castle had a certain elegance, Emily had to admit, but whoever had designed the Tower of Alexis had wanted to make it very clear the Tower was a prison. It was a stone blocky mass, five stories high, lacking even a handful of visible windows. Anyone who found themselves in one of the cells would be denied sunlight unless they were allowed to use the courtyard.
Cannons on the top, she thought, as they walked closer. And plenty of guardsmen in sight.
Emily felt her heart start to beat faster, as if she were on the verge of a panic attack, a moment before the rune on her chest grew hot. She gritted her teeth against the pain, cursing the designers under her breath. Subtle Magic. They’d protected the Tower with subtle magic. Anyone who even looked at the building for too long would find themselves too scared to move, too terrified to do anything until the guards picked them up. No wonder there were so few people in view. The Tower scared the life out of them.
“The guards must be protected, somehow,” Cat said. His voice was light, but he was squeezing her fingers almost painfully hard. “It wouldn’t be that hard to produce a countermeasure.”
“Yeah,” Emily said. Now she was aware of the effect, and its cause, the pain was starting to fade away. It wasn’t particularly subtle, not like some of the other runes she’d seen at Whitehall and Mountaintop, but it got the point across. “We can make ourselves protective amulets if we can’t find them anywhere else.”
She glanced at him, then eyed the building as they strode towards the gates. Up close, the building appeared to be sinking into the water, as if the softer rock had all been washed away over the years. There was only one visible gate, manned by a dozen soldiers; she guessed there was a second gate on the far side, accessible only by boat. She could sense wards hiding behind the subtle magic too, wards designed to keep sorcerers from spying on the prisoners inside. There was nothing subtle about them. Anyone who tried to use magic inside the Tower would find it very difficult indeed.
We might be able to find a way to break through the wards, she thought slowly, but actually getting into the Tower would be very difficult.
A pair of guards strode up to the gatehouse and stopped. Emily watched, out of the corner of her eye, as they were checked against a list of guards before being permitted to enter the compound. They were both carrying amulets in their hands, carefully holding them up as they entered the gate. Emily guessed the amulets were designed to prevent the wards from snapping at them. It wouldn’t be that hard to use wards to keep the prisoners firmly in their cells. Randor certainly had the money and sorcerers to make the place as close to impregnable as possible.
She closed her eyes for a long moment, trying to think. The Tower of Alexis seemed impregnable, at least without a nexus point. And she didn’t have a nexus point. The closest one was hundreds of kilometers away, and she doubted its owners would let her experiment to find a way to channel power to Alexis. Heart’s Eye was even further away, right on the other side of the continent. She didn’t think she had any way to use the nexus point to bring down the wards without risking a complete disaster.
Cat’s grip tightened, again. “They’re coming up behind us,” he muttered, so quietly that she barely heard him. “Let me do the talking.”
Emily nodded as she heard footsteps behind her. It was hard, so hard, to resist the temptation to turn and look at whoever was behind them. She didn’t like having someone in her blind spot, someone who might try to do her harm. Had they been detected? Had their subtle probes been noticed after all? Or were the guards merely curious as to why they were there?
A hand fell on Cat’s shoulder. He stopped and turned, letting go of Emily’s hand. She followed him and saw a pair of guardsmen staring at them. They were young, their eyes flickering across her face and chest, but they both wore the king’s livery. It was a clear sign that they might be more professional than they let on.
The leader took a step forward. “What are you doing here?”
Blunt and to the point, Emily noted. And not something that’s likely to be misunderstood.
Cat smiled, rather weakly. “My girlfriend and I are having a walk,” he said, indicating Emily with one hand. “We don’t want to be too close to our homes.”
The guards exchanged faint smiles, not leers. Emily blinked in surprise, then realized they were younger than she’d thought. They were tough, wiry men, but she would be surprised to discover that they were out of their teens. One of them had a face so clear of stubble that she couldn’t help wondering if he was a lot younger than she’d thought.
“A walk,” the leader said. He sounded professional. Too professional. “Here?”
Cat winked. “My esteemed
friend, her brother, does not come this way,” he said. “Nor do my parents, may the gods bless them.”
Emily kept her eyes lowered, like a good little merchant girl would do if there was even the merest hint of sexual impropriety. Society would turn a blind eye to a great many things, as long as they were private, but an open indiscretion was impossible to ignore. A merchant family would take a very dim view of anything that might call their character into question.
But it doesn’t stop young men and women from walking out together, she thought. And if they’re very careful, they get away with it.
She braced herself, ready to fight if necessary. They didn’t dare let themselves be arrested, even if the guards didn’t have the faintest idea who they really were. Cat’s chit claimed he belonged to a family that had never heard of him, while she didn’t have any chit at all. She wondered, morbidly, just how long it would be before Randor started insisting that girls stayed inside all the time. He really didn’t think very highly of women.
“I suppose they are too busy working,” the leader said. He winked at Cat. “Being here kills the romance though, does it not?”
Cat winked back. “Being with her brother kills the romance too. Do you know what he threatened to do to anyone who paid any attention to his sister?”
Emily let out a silly little giggle, silently grateful–for once–that she wasn’t expected to make eye contact with anyone. The giggle was so childish that she would have instantly hated anyone who giggled like it if she’d met them at Whitehall. A little girl had no business giggling like that, let alone a grown woman. The contempt she saw in their eyes stung, even though it was an act. She had to remind herself, sharply, that she needed them to underestimate her.
“Yeah, yeah,” the leader said. “Have fun.”
The Princess in the Tower (Schooled in Magic Book 15) Page 13