Tangle of Thornes

by Lorel Clayton

  “You can’t leave me here!”

  “I can.” He locked the door behind him.

  After he had gone, I stood there, mouth agape, as the blackness pressed in. He had abandoned me.

  This was one of those times when it would be normal to cry. Because I couldn’t, I knew there was something wrong with me, but, no matter what he said, it wasn’t because I was like Ulric.

  15│ QUESTIONS

  ~

  HOURS LATER, I WAS COVERED in limestone dust from my renewed efforts at escape. When the door screeched open again, I foolishly hoped it was my uncle, back to say my lesson was over and I could go home, but it wasn’t. It was something better. Food and water, finally! I poured the stale liquid down my throat and looked around for more. The guard smirked.

  I scowled at him so hard he made a gesture of protection against the Evil Eye. I didn’t know such magic, but he didn’t know that. He closed the door and left me to eat in the dark, nothing to see but afterimages burnt into my retina. The bread was sour, the apple too soft and mealy, while the cheese was hard and overripe. I ate it all.

  I went back to scratching at the wall and daydreamed of white snow melting into rivulets of cool, sweet water. My head ached continually now, either from bruising or dehydration. The shaky control I possessed over my innate anger did not hold up well in such conditions. I wondered if I’d be able to strangle the guard with my chains when he came back. For a moment, I wished I had let Uncle or Nanny teach me a few curses. It would have been nice to watch my captors squirm with an insatiable itch or lose all control over bodily functions.

  I sighed, thinking about Ilsa, who was probably sleeping soundly in a soft bed and smiling to herself as she imagined my discomfort. I didn’t want to be like my sister, but times like this I forgot why. Everything seemed to work out well for her.

  Another day passed where I scratched at the wall and dreamt dark dreams of revenge. I would catch myself feeling angry and focus on the stone instead. This growing fury must be exactly what Ulric wanted me to feel.

  The soldier came back with a plate of crusty bread and smelly cheese. He waited for me to guzzle the water and then said, “You have a visitor,” and held the door open.

  Imprisonment had improved my social calendar.

  I squinted and made out a squat figure silhouetted in fire light, a fuzz of hair sticking out from his head at strange angles. He moved closer, and gold-rimmed spectacles glinted above a smiling face with a clean-shaven chin and massive moustache curling up at the ends. It was one of Gypsum’s husbands, Markham.

  “I’m your advocate.” He paused to take in the miniscule cell, before studying my face. His smile broadened. “Is that a bruise on your cheek?”

  I put a hand to one of many sore spots. “Probably.”

  “Wonderful!” He pulled out a stick of charcoal and a piece of parchment from his bag. He turned to my jailer and, in a chillingly professional tone, asked, “How do I spell your name, guardsman?”

  His eyes bulged. “What’s going on?”

  “Illegal search, wrongful imprisonment, torture.... We’ll have this entire Watch house shut down and the soldiers sent to the Eastern Line by the time I’m done.” Gypsum’s husband seemed giddy.

  Relief flooded over me now that my advocate was here—and competent. I didn’t know if Nanny had told Gypsum what was happening as I asked, or if this was Conrad’s work, but I was grateful either way. My escape tunnel was progressing too slowly, and I would prefer to leave before I absorbed any more of the ‘lesson’ my uncle wanted to teach.

  The elven guard squirmed as Markham interrogated him. I had always known there was power in the law, though mastering it had never occurred to me. Legal texts and phrasing seemed as impenetrable and arcane as ancient Solhan invocations.

  When the dwarf finished, he gestured for me to follow, and the guard did not stop us. Markham knew the way, leading me unerringly out of the cell block and into a common area with a long table. The silver-haired officer in white robes who had questioned me earlier was already seated, rolls of parchment and writing implements on the table before him.

  “Miss Thorne. Sir Markham.” The elf captain waved us to chairs.

  My advocate remained standing. “We won’t be here long.”

  The elf’s lavender eyes darkened, but he nodded. “Very well. Miss Thorne is free to go, as soon as she signs the statement.”

  “What statement? I never said a word. I’m not putting my name on anything.”

  Markham raised a placating hand and gestured for me to come closer. I bent down so the dwarf could whisper in my ear. “I prepared a statement on your behalf, explaining the Guard’s mistake in no uncertain terms. Please, read it if you like, but I suggest you sign.”

  He passed the parchment scroll to me. I unrolled it and read, my brow furrowed at first, but I soon relaxed when I saw the tact Markham was taking.

  “That’s right,” I said. “Kali is the relative of an old friend. How could anyone have mistaken her for a slave?”

  The whole thing was a mass of lies, and no one should believe it, but Gypsum had lent her support to the tale, along with her husband, Sir Markham. I wasn’t about to contradict a ‘Sir’ and neither was the silver-haired Guard captain. I held out my hand for the quill, chains clanking.

  As I put the finishing touches on my signature, the door opened. Kali was led in. Right behind her were two faces who made my hand slip, the quill tip cutting into the parchment. It was the half-elf slaver woman who gave me Kali’s papers and one of her compatriots. No Randall at least, but I still felt sick. A queasiness settled in my stomach and rooted me to the ground. They knew who Kali was and would prove the falsehood of the paper I had just signed.

  The woman smiled as she took a seat, but it didn’t reach her eyes. The man watched everyone else in the room warily, not completely putting his weight in the other chair.

  “Unchain my client now.” Markham’s tone was peremptory, and I had the urge to hush him. We were both about to be exposed as liars.

  One of the guards obeyed, and the manacles slip off my wrists, even as I watched the woman with a growing sense of doom. She was sure to give me away any second now. She was half-Solhan as well as being half-elf, a dangerous mix. Both loved little torments.

  “Thank you for coming.” The elf captain held out two more scrolls for the slavers. “It was I who insisted to Sir Markham you sign your statements with me as witness.”

  “We understand,” the woman said, reaching for the proffered roll of parchment.

  “You see...” The elf paused, gripping one end of the scroll while the slaver held the other. He wouldn’t hand it over just yet. “...I find it odd the good advocate found two merchants willing to verify someone was not a slave. Very peculiar.”

  The woman’s gaze met the captain’s, unflinching. “I approached the advocate, not the other way around. Eva’s sister told us what happened, and I felt it my duty to correct the situation. The Lallalokan she saw with us is not the same one in this room.”

  I glanced at Kali. She was stiff with fear, her expression confused, but she kept her lips sealed, still playing the baffled foreigner. Everyone’s eyes were on Kali at that moment, which was fortuitous, else people would have noticed my own shocked expression. Why was the slaver saying this? Had Markham bought her off? Gypsum had gone far out on a limb for me. I should have given her a better gift for her last birthday.

  The silver-haired elf did not relent. “What, may I ask, did happen to your Lallalokan girl? My informants tell me she was sold at a high price to a Solhan lady.” He looked at me.

  I frowned. I wasn’t a lady. When would people learn that?

  “I wouldn’t know,” the woman said. “Once I have payment, I don’t care what happens to them.” That sounded like truth.

  “And you, Master Harald? Do you concur with your wife’s assessment? This Lallalokan and the one you sold are different people?”

  The two slavers were married?
I would never have guessed. There was no hint of affection in their behavior to one another.

  The man, Harald, seemed surprised he’d been addressed. “It’s like Jhenna said.”

  The woman pulled her scroll free of the captain’s grip. “You have a quill? I’d like to get back to work.”

  I gave her mine.

  The Guard captain did not look happy, but there was nothing he could do other than pull me aside and whisper a warning. “I’ll be watching you, Miss Thorne.”

  After the statements were signed, the five of us—Kali, Markham, the two slavers and I—were escorted out of the Watch house.

  Conrad waited on the street, leaning nonchalantly against a wall. He came over to me and touched a hand to my bruised cheek. “I can’t believe this happened. I’m ashamed of this uniform.”

  “Don’t be. It’s not your fault,” I said.

  My dwarf advocate shook the slavers’ hands. “Thank you again for coming forward.”

  “My pleasure,” Jhenna said. She called to me as she and her husband were walking away, “I’ll be seeing you, Eva.”

  Harald and Jhenna had saved me when they could easily have left me to rot. What was in it for them? I thought about going after them and asking, but it was bad luck to question good fortune.

  I respectfully bobbed my head to the advocate. “I owe you, Sir Markham.”

  He waved my gratitude away. “It was Gypsum. All I did was draw up a few documents and go around menacing guards until I got in to see you. It was highly enjoyable.”

  “Still, thank you.” I leaned down and whispered so Conrad wouldn’t hear. “Will you be in trouble if someone finds out we were lying?”

  “I wasn’t.” I thought he was naïve, until I detected the amusement in his voice. “Gypsum says she knows Kali, and I must believe my wife. The Solhan Circle slavers say she’s not theirs, and I am not about to question such credible witnesses. Like I said, I did nothing.”

  “Harald and Jhenna really did come forward on their own?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did they say why?”

  The dwarf shook his head. “Perhaps they like you? You are the same people.”

  “Solhans sticking together? Not possible.”

  Markham shrugged and said his goodbyes. I told him I would visit Gypsum soon and thank her in person. After he left, I was thoughtful, wondering what the slavers wanted and when they would ask for it.

  Maybe they wanted my heart?

  If they had such sinister ulterior motives, I wasn’t looking forward to running into them again. I doubted that was their plan, though. What would be so special about my heart? If they needed a soul for dark magic, wouldn’t anyone’s do? They had plenty of slaves at their mercy already. Perhaps this was some convoluted way of warning me off without risking Ulric’s wrath?

  “What are you thinking about so earnestly?” Conrad asked.

  I hurried to find an appropriate lie, not wanting to share my fears. “...Freedom.” The overcast sky, orange and purple in the fading daylight was a welcome sight. “Highcrowne is a lot better looking than a cell.”

  “And the city is better looking with you in it again.” He smiled, showing off those perfect teeth.

  I blushed, suddenly self-conscious. The stink of fouled straw clung to me, and I itched from stone dust that had worked its way into every crack. “I need a bath. And I should get Kali home.”

  “Let me escort you both.” Conrad held out an arm to Kali. Startled, she took it. I refused to put a hand on his other arm, wanting both of mine free as full dark approached. “So, you’re an old friend of Eva’s?”

  Kali seemed unsure what to say. Apparently, Conrad had bought the official story. I wasn’t surprised; he was too straight and narrow to deliberately participate in a fraud. It was kind of adorable.

  “She doesn’t speak elvish well,” I lied.

  “Ah.” After that, Conrad more than made up for the lack of conversation on Kali’s part. While we walked, he chattered about how the Market District’s Watch house was old fashioned and poorly managed, while his own regiment was progressive and served as an example for the future of the Guard.

  I stopped listening. My thoughts wandered from the slavers to ways of getting back at Ilsa for what she had done, but I couldn’t think of a retribution satisfying enough it wouldn’t end up putting me in prison permanently. Of course, it wasn’t the worst thing Ilsa had ever done, so why dwell? It was better to focus on other things.

  My personal effects had been returned, and I felt the rolled-up slave documents in my belt pouch. I should try to contact Erick again. If he had come looking for me after I left a message at the Bowl and Crown, he was sure to have heard about my arrest. Maybe he had left town, afraid I would give him up? I hoped not. I needed to talk to him.

  I wanted proof Kali’s papers were forgeries, although it would be of little help now. I had signed a legal statement swearing Kali was not a slave, and I couldn’t haul her out before the authorities later and offer her up as proof. If I did, the Solhan Circle might be fined, kicked out of Highcrowne, or even temporarily imprisoned, but I would also get Gypsum and everyone else who had covered for me in trouble. What good would that do?

  Still, I would find Erick, if he could be found, and get those forgeries tested as a first step in establishing the slavers’ guilt. The faked documents were a motive, but it wasn’t proof they killed Viktor. I wanted to know for certain.

  I doubted Kali was the only illegal slave they’d sold. I’d try to access other documents, or their old servant, Olaf, to find the proof I needed. Viktor had died shortly after freeing Olaf. I was certain the slave held the key to more than one secret. He knew where all the bodies were buried, so to speak.

  Outside Viktor’s house, Conrad stopped and kissed first Kali’s hand then mine. “Too much loveliness for one place. This building is undeserving.”

  “Don’t worry,” I said, “Nanny balances things out.”

  I suddenly remembered the grall in the basement and hoped he was all right. He had been left alone with Nanny. “Is everything okay at the cafe? Is Jorg working out?”

  “Oh, yes. It’s striking to watch him cook. As far as I know, my cousin has no complaints.”

  “Does Karolyne know where I disappeared to?”

  “I told her and swore I would free you, but, shamefully, I’ll have to report I only managed an escort.”

  “You weren’t the one who talked to Gypsum and found me an advocate?”

  “Gypsum and I are not acquainted, I’m afraid. Perhaps Karo spoke to her?”

  Yeah, I doubted it had been Nanny. “Well.... Goodnight, Conrad.”

  He was reluctant to let me go. Finally, with a furtive glance at the watching Kali, he said, “I’m sorry I failed you, Eva.”

  “I’m going to bed,” Kali said, making a hasty exit. Her elvish was perfect, and I hoped Conrad hadn’t noticed.

  I sighed, looking at his puppy dog face. He must feel wretched, which explained his nervous monologue on the way here. I thought it was my filthy state keeping his usual flirtatiousness in check, but now I suspected it was his self-imposed guilt at having failed to rescue me from the dungeon. Ego stroking would be required, and I wasn’t in the mood.

  “There was nothing you could do,” I said. “You’re a recruit. That elven captain would never have budged. I do appreciate you trying, though.”

  “It’s worse than that.” He stared at his feet. “My investigation is at a standstill. Since the docks, I’ve learned nothing more about your brother’s death.”

  I had plenty of my own leads to pursue, but I had plenty of reasons to keep them from Conrad too. All I said was, “I’m sure you’ll get another break.”

  “What if they’re right, and I don’t deserve to be a guard? What if I’m so incompetent I never fulfil my promise to you?” He appeared heartbreakingly unsure of himself, so I touched his hand, and he squeezed mine.

  “You’re not incompetent,” I assured him. �
��And elves are never right.”

  “I wanted to prove myself to you.” His thumb caressed the area at the base of my forefinger, and I shivered. Uh, oh.

  Erick had probably left town, I reminded myself. Not that we had an official relationship. Still, did it matter whether Erick had left or not? I thought about that kiss and decided it didn’t. Conrad was gorgeous and kind and brave.... Where was I going with this? Oh, yes, but I needed to see how things worked out with Erick first. I wanted to give him an honest chance.

  “Conrad…” I began.

  “Eva!” Kali came running out the front door. “Come see! Nanny is gone!”

  16│ SEARCHING

  ~

  “WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ‘gone’?” I made a throat slitting gesture and raised my eyebrows questioningly. Nothing but Nanny’s unexpected demise could get Kali this excited.

  “She’s vanished! Come on!” Kali ran back up the stairs to the living quarters above the bookstore, expecting me to follow.

  Conrad stood straighter, alert, and said, “Let me investigate.” I allowed him to go first this time. The chance to do something guardsman-like seemed to bolster his spirits.

  The living room was a mess: the settee torn to shreds, tables overturned, everything fragile broken into little pieces, holes knocked in the walls. The devastation was more thorough than what had happened to the bookshop.

  My first thought was Ilsa. She made sure I was sent to jail, so she’d be free to search the place for secret compartments. Viktor had bequeathed silver and gems; perhaps Ilsa figured there was more of the same hidden away and not mentioned in the will? I remembered the way she’d defaced Viktor’s portrait and knew she had no scruples.

  Still, there was something desperate about this. The broken frames—how much silver could fit inside a painting?—a shattered bud vase, books torn out of their bindings.... Ilsa wasn’t interested in anything so small, and if she were bent on vandalism, she had enough self-control to focus on the truly personal items.