Part 19 (1/2)

He was looking at me, short-tempered and hot, and I realized that I hadnat yet given him a proper answer. aOf course I will,a I said, quiet and low. He was my brother. I owed him that much.

I knew that the longer I stayed silent, the more likely it was that one day the odds would become irrevocably stacked against me, that I would break something that could not be fixed and that this lie would be the end of us.

aIall write to him,a I said.

aWhen?a Rook asked.

aTonight,a I said. aNow.a Because Iad promised hima”because I was still under the strange impression I was a man of my word, if little elsea”I did exactly as I said, and wrote thaEsar a brief, formal note that Iad discovered something in the Airman that might be of interest to him.

I was almost grateful for thaEsaras summons when it came the following morning, for the need to prepare a report was a welcome distraction from my own thoughts, confused and tangled as theyad become. I spent the morning attacking my new task with all the zeal of a hunted man.

The summons had said that a carriage would be sent to meet me nearbya”a special treatment that surprised me, but thaEsar was apparently very good to his spies. Just as I was observing the turn of the hour on the small round watch Marius had gifted me with to congratulate me upon some previous academic success, the carriage appeared, white and gold like something out of a roman, or some ludicrous rich manas fantasy. The Mollyrat in me couldnat quite get past being awed long enough to be contemptuous, but having spent so long as a penny-pinching student, I couldnat help but wonder at how many hot meals that carriage would buy. Somehow I thought it would be better if I didnat know the answer.

I clambered inside, clutching tightly to the sheet of notes Rook had dictated to mea”and which Iad subsequently translated into the kind of talk I could use with a man like thaEsara”and attempted to calm myself. Thinking with a clear head was the only way I was going to get through this particular meeting with any kind of dignity, or more importantly, with my head still fixed firmly to my shoulders. During my time in the Airman, Iad adapted to thinking one way and speaking another. This need for duplicity was still no excuse for the way Iad behaved, the way I was still behaving, toward Rook, but it had been cultivated as a survival tactic the moment Iad stepped into that room on the dais facing those fourteen wing-backed chairs, and the undoing of it was proving more difficult than I ever would have antic.i.p.ated.

Now, it seemed, I would have to learn and fast, for thaEsar was a man who did not like to be lied to. And if he sensed a disparity between my mind and my lips, he would surely not hesitate to act.

The carriage moved quickly across the cobblestone streets, and I watched out the window as the city pa.s.sed by in what seemed to me now a meaningless blur of hustle and bustle. Thremedon was my home; Iad known it all my life, and yet for all I recognized it now it might have been any central metropolis, teeming with its own people, its own traditions, and completely severed from my heart.

The servant sent to greet me bowed low, and I fought the urge to do the same back to him, as it would have damaged my standing considerably. I would never grow accustomed to being the sort of man to whom other men bowed. Perhaps it was something to be born into and not learned at all. That, more than anything, told me how much things had changed, the small worming ways in which Rook had got into my mind, because there was a time when I would have said that there was nothing that couldnat be taught. Now I wasnat so sure.

Then I had to concentrate on following, keeping the servantas back in front of me, or else risk getting lost in thaEsaras winding hallwaysa”little better than catacombs, I thought, for all their decoration and fancy curios.

This time I counted them as we pa.s.sed: two antiquated mirrors, one very large portrait of thaEsar himself, a tapestry, a door with no handle, a window with bars. The farther we moved toward our goal, the dimmer the light became, until we were plunged into the same grasping darkness that I remembered. I could no longer discern the shape of my surroundings and I could do no more than follow after my guide, ever ahead and turning so swiftly and so sharply that at times I felt dizzy.

I found myself thinking that it seemed thaEsar should have a more accessible set of chambers, for it wasnat logical to a.s.sume that the n.o.blesse with whom he met daily would accede to being led through the depths of the palace like rats through a maze. No, it seemed more logical that he would only have such a room as the one to which I was being led for his own private dealings, ones he didnat want subject to court gossip and whisperings.

This was his route for spies.

It was a long way to go for a little privacy, I felt, but then thaEsaras secrets were considerably more important than those of most men. Then I thought of the woman whoad been with him on the night of the ball, dark and striking and, most notably, perhaps, incredibly familiar toward thaEsar. Perhaps some of the secrets he held were the same as all menas.

It was only when the servant stopped, turning on his heel with a motion eerily similar to his predecessoras, that I realized wead arrived at our destination.

aThank you,a I said to him, with all sincerity, for I was certain that the dizzying trip to thaEsaras secret meeting room could not be an enjoyable one, and I was equally certain of just how lost Iad have been without the guidance.

He merely nodded, then offered me the briefest of smiles.

I steeled myself and opened the door.

ThaEsar was seated in the same seat head been in before, giving me the momentarily jarring sensation that no time had pa.s.sed at all. Of course, his companion was no longer the woman, but a man I was surprised to recognize as the Provost of the city.

a . . . panic in the streets, not to mention the Basquiat, Your Majesty, if you donat mind me saying. The bereaved are gathering, and there isnat anything that starts a riot faster than unhappy people who feel theyave been mistreated.a He hesitated, as though this last had been too much, and bowed low in the court fas.h.i.+on. aYour pardon.a ThaEsar held up one square, powerful hand. Head seen me enter.

aI will continue my discussion with you at a later date, Provost,a he said. aDo not fear. If the situation is truly as bad as you say, then we will have to think on a way toward solving it.a The Provost nodded like a man careful not to look too disappointed. His hair was the same shade as thaEsaras and his chin very similar.

aYes, Your Majesty.a He turned then, understanding his dismissal when he saw me hovering guiltily in the doorway like a child caught out late. I could do nothing but offer him an apologetic look, and he left the room by moving past me without so much as a glance.

aNow,a said thaEsar, switching tack with a voice full of command and purpose, awhat news do you have of our Dragon Corps? I trust that in the time we have given you there has been more than one event worthy of our attention.a aWell, there is one matter,a I said, immediately forgetting what it was Iad written in my notesa”Rookas speech full of curses, as well as half-remembered complaints from Niall and Raphael, dark remarks made by Ghislain, and Adamoas shouting behind closed doors. I forgot it all, and swallowed the sudden fluttering of panic that threatened to break loose from my throat. ThaEsar had this effect on people. It was no wonder his networks for intelligence were so precise and effective. aRooka”that is, the airman Rook, who flies your dragon Havemercya”he says that sheas . . . off.a ThaEsar regarded me with a look that bordered dangerously on disapproval. aOff?a In for a chevronet, in for a tournois, I thought weakly to myself, and nodded. aYes, Your Majesty. I overhead him saying that she, ita”the dragon, that isa”he said it isnat flying the way it ought to.a aPerhaps Airman Rook finds himself incapable of the task of flying our most prized dragon,a replied thaEsar. aWe have heard that he exhibits traits of inconsistency in his behavior when flying.a I wondered then just how many spies thaEsar had set about the Airman, and whether I would have to keep a closer eye now on the men who came to collect the laundry, and the women who cleaned the rooms; even the young boys who kept the dragons clean and well oiled.

Not that this was my place, of course. I owed no loyalty to the airmen; I had no reason to inform them of thaEsaras spies, especially not when I myself could still be counted among them. I couldnat explain this sudden troublesome loyalty, only knew with a familiar helplessness that it had everything to do with Rook, the way it all dida”the way it all would until I revealed the truth.

aIa”a I paused, marveling weakly at the realization of what Iad been about to do. Rook had tainted every corner of my mind to the point where I would defend an imagined slight on his prowess to thaEsar himself. I felt ill. aAs I understand it, he is the best flier among his fellows. If he thinks thereas something wrong with Havemercya”a aThere is nothing wrong with our dragons,a thaEsar said, with a clear note in his voice that this was the final p.r.o.nouncement on the subject. aYou have clearly misunderstood what it is we asked you to do in the first place.a Disappointment flooded my mouth, hot and bitter. I held my tongue.

When head found I had no more to report other than what thaEsar clearly regarded as the fanciful misgivings of a man whose skills he appreciated but whose opinions he had no use for, I was dismissed promptly and without hesitation.

Iad failed on both sides of the equation. ThaEsar refused to see the trutha”no doubt he had his reasons, yet I was infuriated all the samea”and, what was more, when Rook demanded an answer, I could no more defend my ineffectiveness than I could prove to him the sky was green. Iad got nothing but a curt dismissal regarding the matter of the dragons, and I knew that it wouldnat be good enough to take back. I should have pressed thaEsar; I should have made him listen.

Rook would have done it that way. No matter what happened, his voice would have been heard if he were the one in charge of speaking his mind. Whatever other shortcomings he had, getting his point across was never a problem.

I left, thinking that the long struggle back through the crooked hallways would wear me out, but I exited the palace fairly br.i.m.m.i.n.g with excess energy, as though Iad been caught in a fight and sent home before the knives had even been drawn. My hands were shaking, my cheeks hot. I decided to walk back to the Airman, as the weather was fair, and besides which Iad seen too much of the city from carriage windows of late. Perhaps I would feel more at home in Thremedon if I truly immersed myself in it once more; it was an approach that couldnat hurt.

Before Iad even pa.s.sed very far from the palace I stopped again. Something was bothering me, and it took a moment to realize that it was the memory of the Provostas curious meeting with thaEsar. What s.n.a.t.c.hes Iad heard of their conversation rose clear into my mind, and I turned my head toward the sun.

The stark, proud lines of the Basquiat stood off in the distance, serene shape belying the true chaos surrounding it if what Iad heard hadnat been an exaggeration.

Perhaps it was a desire to speak with Marius, who was often at the Basquiat late into the day, or perhaps it was that I didnat wish to face Rook with my stubborn and unexpected defense of him still ringing in my ears. For whatever reason, I turned around and headed in the direction of the Basquiat.

I hadnat noticed it before from the window of the carriage, probably because I was so wrapped up in thinking about Rook and of what I would say to thaEsar, but I did now: the people keeping their distance, huddling together in small groups and whispering about a plague, or about thaEsar covering something up. That there was nerve enough for this sort of talk in broad daylight, on the streets no less, told me more than I thought I wanted to know. When I cut through the Rue daSt. Difference, I saw a woman crying in a hat shop, and when I doubled back for having come too close to Charlotte, I came upon the aVersity Stretch, as busily populated as Iad ever seen it. It was as though everyone was out of doors instead of in, and when I stopped a girl on the street to ask, she shook her head.

aMost of our professors have gone off sick,a she explained. aAt least I think thatas what they say it is. The explanation was actually surprisingly vague.a aAh,a I said.

aYes,a she replied. aOnly itas sort of funny that the lot of them would have gone off sick all at once, donat you think? Itas got a bit of a stink to it.a I knewa”as she was a student of the aVersitya”that if I didnat make my escape now, Iad be there three hours listening to her particular theory on what had happened. Feeling rude but desperate, I quickly thanked her, then went along my way, picking up my pace as I came to the familiar turn of Whitstone Road that would lead me straight to the Basquiat.

If asked, I couldnat have said what I was rus.h.i.+ng for, but I thought that it was something more than a studentas curiosity or interest in a problem unsolved.

The Basquiat was almost too colorful, although Iad heard that it had come about as a disagreement between the founders, and that in order to please everyone they had simply used each suggestion of color that had been presented. The result was something spectacularly striking, which I suspected was what theyad been after in the first place. The seven domes atop its staggering towers were no two the same. Some were done in swirling patterns, and others had the checkered effect of a chessboard. The largest domea”not the topmost, but the largesta”was a hollow onion of pure gold, and beneath it was the open tower magicians used to chart the weather or converse with the falcons. The center tower was a round room with arched windows that stretched from floor to ceiling, and it was here that the members of the Basquiat met. At ground level there were two doors, one large and perfectly centered and the other smaller, framed by a pointed capstone and off to one side.

This was the entrance for nonmembers of the Basquiat, and the one I saw the people crowding around before Iad even managed to get close enough.

No one, I saw, seemed to be using the official door, though when I neared it there was someone sitting there on the steps in front of it. His hair looked a little longa”it was in his eyesa”and he had drawn his knees up to his chest in what appeared to be abject misery. It was hard to place him without his eager smile and tentative kindness, but I thought all at once that I knew him.

aExcuse me, is that . . . Hal?a His head flew up so fast that I half expected to hear his neck pop, and he blinked at me for a moment before I saw the flicker of recognition pa.s.s through his red-rimmed eyes. He looked as though he hadnat slept in days.

aIa”Itas Thom, isnat it?a His voice caught on something, faltering and wretched.

I felt again the unfamiliar kins.h.i.+p I had when wead met in the bathroom, or perhaps it was simply that here was a person as miserable as I was, and in him I recognized some likeness of myself.

aIt is,a I said, and moved to sit next to him on the stair.

aOh,a he said, and sniffed as though he had a cold. aItas good to see you again. I thought Iad offended you at the party. I didnat mean to. If I did, Iam very sorry.a I didnat know where to begin. Should I start by telling him the fault was obviously mine, or that there were clearly more important things on his mind than some foolish fit of temper Iad had at thaEsaras ball? I settled for reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder.

aHave you been here long?a I asked.

He nodded, and I saw his throat work for a moment as though he were trying to keep from crying. aItas Royston,a he said at last. aMargrave Royston. I had a letter. It told me that heas here, only I donat know how toa”Theyave said Iam not to see him.a I felt a sweeping rush of sympathy, imagining what I would do if anyone had tried to tell me I had to stay away from Rook, even though Iad tried to tell myself that very thing time and time again. Besides which, it wasnat the same situation at all. For one, this was clearly more serious. Anyone at all could see there was something being kept secret within the walls of the Basquiat. Having no idea what that secret could possibly be made it worse, not to mention the rumors Iad heard, the missing professors, the talk along aVersity Stretch.

At once, with what wits I had left, I endeavored to think about this logically. aHal,a I said, awhat did your letter say?a He smiled faintly, but there was no spirit, no heart at all, in the expression. aI thought there might be some clue, but it said no more than I told you. The Margrave Royston is here and he is not receiving visitors at this time. When I came herea”I came here straightaway; I only received the letter this morninga”there were others. Itas just as you see it. Theyare not letting anyone who isnat a magician enter, and weave seen no one at all come out again.a He drew a deep breath; I saw his mouth tremble and twist, and I knew he was on the verge of tears. Head already been crying: his eyes showed me that. aI spoke with a young womana”her fatheras within, she told me, or so it was written on her letter. She said that he told her once of a different entrance, a secret one, but as secrets go it may be better hidden than whatas happening to the magicians being kept inside there. But all I can do is sit here, useless and crying.a aCome,a I said gently, resting a hand on his shoulder. aShall we talk to the young woman you spoke to? It seems she knows more than we.a aShe doesnat like to be interrupted,a Hal replied. aSheas much too busy threatening people. I only got a moment of her time, because she seemed to know what she was talking abouta”her rights as kina”but then, Iam not kin at all. Iam justa”a He bit off without warning and shook his head almost savagely, and I gave his shoulder what I hoped was a rea.s.suring squeeze. It was quite possible that it wasnat anything of the sort, but it seemed to steady him somewhat. aIam sorry,a he said at length. aIama”I believe the phrase is at my witas end, and thatas exactly how it feels. At the end of my wits; at the end of everything.a aI donat blame you,a I said.