I turned my gaze aside and tried pushing down the guilt. Here I was, pampered with good food whenever I requested it and kept apart from the terrors that befell the rest of the city. Yet I was just another of the common people who’d had a stroke of good luck. Why did I deserve to eat when they couldn’t?
Corin drew me away. “There’s another exit,” she said as we left the main gates behind. “They don’t know of it yet.”
The sounds of protest dimmed behind us, and I felt my guilt ebb. I didn’t try to cling to it. Guilt, I’d discovered before, would ill serve anyone. All I could do was my part.
The side gate was guarded by two Conclave soldiers from the inside, and was as devoid of protestors as Corin had promised.
“You sure you two want to go out there?” one of them asked at our request to leave, a grizzled veteran with a scar running along his forehead.
“Yes, we’re sure,” I replied.
“Have a care then. Women like yourselves are easy prey for those dusk mobs.”
I ignored the unintended slight, focusing on the unfamiliar term, which Orhan had earlier used. “Dusk mobs?”
The man stared at me with even more concern. “You don’t even know of them? ‘Thae above, woman, where have you been? Yes, the dusk mobs — with all those dirty plebs mopping up any bystander unfortunate enough to be in their way. The ones that have been breaking into shops, tearing down stands, terrorizing any markets still foolish enough to open. The mobs have all but put a standstill to honest work in Oedija.”
“Is it so bad?”
The guard’s companion snorted. “Let’s just say it’s not good. You at least have some protection on you?”
I was starting to regret not hunting out a kitchen knife in Sizani’s kitchen. But Corin nodded. “Plenty,” she asserted.
The two men looked up at her, both of them shorter than the big outlander woman.
“Maybe they’ll be alright,” the veteran muttered. “Well, on with you then.” His eye finally caught my medallion, which had been partially obscured in the folds of my chiton, and they widened slightly. “Ah, my apologies, Verifier. I had only seen your superior coming and going here.”
“First Verifier,” I corrected him. A warmth of pride flushed my chest at the sudden respect. “First Verifier Nomusa is my accomplice, not my superior. Now, if you’ll open the gates…”
Any superiority I felt quickly vanished out on the streets. With the guards’ warnings heavy on my mind, Corin and I walked quickly along the cobblestone toward the Acadium. It wasn’t terribly far from the Conclave, but with tension pounding in my temples and hungry eyes watching us from the shadows, the journey seemed much longer.
“Should we keep to the main roads or back alleys?” I looked up and down the promenade. Few folk walked it at the moment. I didn’t want to find out why.
Corin shrugged. I might have thought her unconcerned but for the occasional glance she cast around us. “I haven’t been out much.”
I chewed my lip. “Let’s take the backways. I don’t trust being seen out in the open when the road’s empty.”
I didn’t know this part of Oedija well, but by glimpsing the high points of the Pillars between buildings, we progressed slowly toward the Acadium. But when twice we were forced to turn around in dead-end alleys, frustration and fear began to mount. Though we passed many people crouched in the alleys who watched us, and more than a few begged for money, we hadn’t come across any that seemed to mean us harm.
As we ran into a third dead end, I cursed under my breath and began to turn around. But a voice came from behind us. “That’s far enough, hanims. We’ll be having whatever’s on you now.”
Heart in my throat, I whirled to see five young men stalking toward us. They were ragged and dirty and had a sharper hunger in their eyes than those we’d passed in the alleys. In their hands were makeshift weapons: knives of varying shapes, a club with long nails sticking out haphazardly, a mop handle with a knife bound to the end of it. Yet poorly armed as they were, they severely outnumbered us.
Fury fueled by fear flared up in me. If only I knew how to channel, if only I was a warden, these men wouldn’t pose a problem. As it was, there was only one solution.
I unthreaded my coin purse slowly. The five silvers inside clinked softly together, even padded with cloth as they were. Each clink shot rage through me. Here I was once again, helpless. I’d stood down the most powerful warden of our age. Yet soon after, I’d been nearly killed by a middle-aged apothecary, and now I was being robbed by five common youths. Only then did I realize it wasn’t me who had stood up to Vusu. It was my allies surrounding me that had been my strength. Without them, I was nothing.
“Don’t take all day,” the one with the club snapped, his bloodshot eyes bulging. As I saw his white fingertips, fear shot through me. This one was an asher, indulging in silvertongue, a drug smuggled up from Avvad. When ingested, the stimulant often made its user manic and unpredictable.
I quickly tossed my purse to the youth who had spoken first, who adeptly caught it. He looked like he’d have been handsome in other circumstances and possessed a calm authority. Hopefully he would keep the asher in line. Corin followed a moment later with her own purse, not bothering to hide her scowl.
The boy peered inside mine, and a delighted grin spread across his face. “What a find! Thank you, hanims.” He gave a mocking bow. “Now we’ll take our leave. But what’s that hanging from your neck?”
My hand went protectively to the Verifier medallion. “You don’t want this.”
“No? But I think I’ll be the judge of that.” The youth sauntered over and, despite my attempt to dodge, he hooked the chain in his hand and drew me painfully closer. Against my better judgement, I held on for a moment longer. But I was still too weak to resist as he wrenched it from my grasp and yanked it off my neck.
I seethed with fury as he studied it, a thoughtful expression on his dirty features. “Iron, or I don’t know my weights,” he said with evident disappointment. “And a crude carving. What’s it for?”
“Something you’ll be hunted for having,” I said, threat creeping into my voice.
The youth tossed it back at me so suddenly I almost dropped it, only just managing to snag the chain. “It looks too similar to the Tribunal circle for my liking. You a Tribune?”
“No.” He deserved no more explanation, and I gave him none.
The amusement had faded from the boy’s expression. Behind him, the asher glared at us, the muscles of his face spasming. A dog barely held bound on a leash, that one. Fear dampened my outrage.
“Hide it next time,” the boy advised. “That way no one will be tempted. And I would cool your anger, hanim. With some other thief, it might get you killed.”
Without another word, he turned and walked away. The asher glared at us over his shoulder, but he and the others followed their leader away. I kept my expression stony until they disappeared around the corner.
When they were gone, I let out a breath. I could always get more coin. And having frequented the streets of Oedija my whole life, it wasn’t my first mugging. That we’d survived without harm should have been a relief. But it was a poor salve for the helplessness burning inside me.
I started up the alley. “Best not wait for that asher to return. It’s time we were inside the Acadium’s walls.”
A moment later, I noticed Corin hadn’t followed. Turning back, I found her rooted in the same spot. “Corin? You coming?”
“Every time.” Her voice was tight and strained as a taut rope. “Every time I save coins, they are stolen from me.”
Guilt welled up in me. I knew what she was saving her coins for. And I’d been responsible for the first time she’d lost all her savings as well. “I’ll find a way to help you, Corin. I swear it.”
She cast me a bitter look, then came down the alley and slid past me. Repressing a sigh, I followed.
We kept a warier eye out now. Having no coin to steal put us in a more
dangerous position than before. After all, anyone who went to the trouble of robbing us wouldn’t be pleased to come away with nothing but an iron medallion. And there were men with thirsts for uglier things than for coin. Pushing the thought from my mind, I kept watch for the Pillars and pressed on.
Finally, we emerged from an alley to see the walls of the Acadium before us. I hurried toward the compound, Corin on my heels. Pulling the medallion out from the folds of my chiton, I let it fall between my breasts as we approached the guards.
But even as their eyes skirted over the medallion, they didn’t immediately let us in. “One of the new Verifiers, are you?” one of the guards asked, a woman with braided hair the color of autumn blushing vines. With hair that red, she had to be an outlander like Corin. “Wondered when you lot would come by.”
“And come steal Acadium secrets,” her companion muttered, a gaunt-faced man.
Though it struck me as strange, I thought it best not to ask. “Your secrets are safe, never fear. But if you would admit us, we’re in a bit of a hurry.”
“Would love to,” the woman said sarcastically. “But I should warn you, I can’t guarantee you coming out.”
At my narrowed eyes, the man rolled his eyes. “She means the mobs. They come by the gates every few turns to yell about daemons and such.”
The woman snorted. “Like these Acadians would hurt anyone. They’re sheep for our Shepherds, just the way it should be.”
“Thanks for the warning.” I couldn’t completely hide my exasperation. “Now, the gate…”
As they cranked it open and we started up the hill within, I thought over their words. I’d heard all of these attitudes about wardens before, but it took on a different feel now. I might be a warden. All those ridiculous beliefs might now apply to me as well.
“So that’s what people think of wardens?” I whispered to Corin. “That they’re daemons or sheep?”
She shrugged. “Many believe my people savages. That we do not know which end of a spoon to use. People believe honors to be little more than livestock, not really people. This is not so different.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. Put like that, it was hard to complain, even if it still didn’t sit well.
Ascending the initial rise into the Acadium’s campus, we navigated our way through its varied buildings. I considered altering our course to seek Linos, but dismissed the thought. Much as I wished to see my brother, this errand was more pressing. There would be time enough later for him once this was all over. Besides, much as I wanted to, there was nothing I could do to help him at the moment.
Moving along the cobbled road that cut through the center of the Acadium, I made my way toward the place where an old, decrepit tower squatted. As Eltris’ home came into view, it once again struck me as the ugly cousin among a homely family.
In front of its dingy door, an Acadian apprentice waited, identifiable by his plain brown robes. “Greetings,” he said in a bored voice. “Have you come to seek Eltris as well?”
I cocked an eyebrow. “We’re not the first?”
“Hardly. The Master Augur is very popular lately. But you won’t want to wait around. She hasn’t graced her tower in three days.” The pupil, little older than Linos, sighed and leaned against the mossy tower. “And guess who’s left with lookout duty?”
I frowned. I didn’t know where else I’d find the augur. As usual, Eltris thought of no one but herself.
Muttering a farewell, I led Corin back down the alley to the main thoroughfare that ran through the Acadium. Reaching the cobblestones, I hesitated for a moment and looked to my right, where a black tower rose from the far end of the campus. Setting my jaw, I set off toward it.
Corin fell in beside me. “Where are we going?”
“To find someone who might know where Eltris is.”
As she fell silent again, I studied our destination. The tower wasn’t as tall as the Pillar that rose just before it, but it soared far above the rest of the city. Made of seamless black stone, its construction reminded me of the Conclave. Another of the magic-forged buildings from our ancestors, perhaps, or from the people they’d conquered a thousand years ago. As was tradition, the Archmaster of the Acadian had claimed as his own.
As we neared the tower, more Acadians appeared around us. They wore robes of drab colors, dark blues and grays and clay browns. No doubt those were the cheapest dyes. Acadians had always shown a sense of frugality, though whether it was forced on them or if they adopted it themselves, I didn’t know. Despite the meanness of their clothes, the streets smelled cleaner than elsewhere in Oedija, and the passing people wore friendlier expressions. Considering our earlier encounter, friendly faces were a welcome change.
Yet a sense of unease crept up on me, my palms growing clammy, my mouth dry. It took me a moment to understand why. If I were a warden, would the Acadians around me be able to tell? Eltris had seemed to know who could channel, as did Vusu. Kyros was said to be able to detect traces of channeling. What if other wardens possessed similar abilities? Kindly glances suddenly seem suspicious. I avoided their eyes, finally understanding the hunted feeling Xaron and Talan always carried with them.
It only intensified as we reached the base of Kyros’ tower. Two Acadians and two guards stood by the tower door. One of the guards, a woman of middling years, stared at us as we approached.
“Name and business?” she barked.
“Airene — First Verifier Airene,” I corrected myself. “Here to speak with Archmaster Kyros.”
“Verifier, you say?” one of the Acadians spoke. He wore a more genial expression than the guard. “How intriguing! But the Order of Verifiers has not existed for over a century.”
“Actually, Master Nikanor, it was just re-established a few days ago,” the second guard said, a young man who wore an obliging smile. “We were warned you might show up, First Verifier.”
His words sent a thrill of alarm through me, but I kept my voice calm. “You make it sound quite ominous.”
The guard’s grin widened. “That depends. Do ‘digging up old bones’ and ‘stirring up a pot of trouble’ sound ominous to you?”
I bowed mockingly. “It seems my reputation proceeds me.”
“Fortunately for you, the Archmaster didn’t prohibit your entrance. We can escort you up if you’re willing.”
The second Acadian, who had been watching the exchange with an irritated expression, suddenly outburst, “They get to go right in? But I’ve been waiting here for ages!”
“And you’ll continue to wait!” the female guard snapped. “As for you, Verifier, I won’t hold this door forever. Best get yourself inside.”
I glanced at Corin. “My companion ought to come as well.”
The woman’s face took on an alarming shade of red. “Don’t have orders for that, do we? Just you inside, no one else!”
The young man shook his head and hauled the door open to the tower. “I apologize, First Verifier. This way, if you please.”
“You don’t have to wait for me,” I told Corin.
The former cartwoman shook her head. “I’ll wait.”
I smiled gratefully at her before following the young guard in. A dark, squat atrium waited beyond, lit by faintly glowing pyr lamps whose cultures seemed about to die out. The guard led me to a staircase that spiraled up the middle of the room.
“The Archmaster waits in his quarters at the top. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee he’ll grant you an audience until we knock. His health has been erratic.” There was apology in the guard’s voice.
It was a good thing I hadn’t tried to come here yesterday as I’d intended. From the height of the tower, I doubted I’d have managed it. I was skeptical of even doing so today. “Nothing for it, I suppose.”
We climbed. After the eighth circle, my feet were dragging. After the fourteenth, my legs were leaden. When we reached the twentieth, I finally begged for a break and sat panting on the landing just by the stairs. The guard looked away politely
, but I detected a small smile on his lips.
The one recompense for my labors was a series of fascinating sights. One level hosted an apothecary’s laboratory, every surface glowing in iridescent hues. Another was full of nothing but mirrors of every shape and size, some so large they stretched to the ceiling. The twentieth floor where I rested was on one of the more ordinary floors, with little more than a kitchenette that looked cold and disused, and wood piled in the corner.
“The Archmaster’s chambers are two circles further.” The guard spoke in a soft tone now, as if afraid of being overheard. “Whenever you are rested, we can proceed.”
Twenty-two circles in total. Our ancestors had always had a fondness for multiples of eleven. The derelict tower Canopy had topped had risen eleven itself.
“I’m ready,” I said, not eager to be thought weak by the handsome young man.
Rising on jittery legs, we ascended the last few stairs. The final flight rose to a door, the room beyond walled off. An honor waited for us, a woman a decade older than myself by the faint lines on her face.
“First Verifier Airene comes to beg an audience of the Archmaster,” the guard told the honor. “Is he taking visitors?”
The honor shook her head. “I regret to say the Archmaster is still taking his rest. He sustained many wounds and needs time to recover from them.”
My stomach sunk. All this way for nothing. But no sooner had disappointment set in than a voice boomed from within. “Admit her!”
The honor looked embarrassed. “Pardon me, First Verifier. It seems I was mistaken. Please, come in.”
I left my escort in the stairwell and entered. Kyros’ quarters were not as lavish as I expected, though they were by no means austere. Books were messily arranged on bookshelves lining the walls, alternating with ancient-looking tapestries. Thick carpets layered the floor. A few oddities were present as well. The room was lit by levitating pyr lamps, the same as I’d seen at Asileia’s Ascension, that were somehow maintained through magnesis. And along one wall, a series of items were encased in glass that didn’t seem to warrant such a display, like a glass orb that contained nothing within it, and a scratched, white wooden dagger fit for little more than play between children.
Realm of Ashes Page 7