Tessyn sat in the Council House with her legs slung over the arm of a well-padded, comfy chair. It was the last place she ever expected to find herself. When the chaos in Tamirra began, Erphele assumed Carbathe’s riot would be quelled soon, but of course that never happened. Erphele sat nearby, smoothing her white dress. The garment must be worth a few hundred ess, and the blue opal jewelry around her neck at least as much.
Carbathe’s men arrived at Erphele’s mansion not long after the city was taken and demanded she come with them. Tessyn thought Erphele would refuse, but surprisingly, the woman agreed, if only to maintain her dignity. ‘I will not be tied hand and foot to be dragged from my home like a criminal’, is what she said. At first, Tessyn thought this Carbathe fellow meant to throw Erphele in the dungeon for some crime or perceived slight, but instead, he’d put her in private quarters and visited her every few hours it seemed. The man was clearly infatuated, and while strange, it at least meant there was little for Tessyn to worry about so long as he was. Even so, none of them had been allowed to leave.
Articia sat beside Erphele, glowering at anything that dared enter her sight. Apparently, Grevail promised the pair he would steal the relic if they got him inside Seirod’s house. Grevail, Grevail, Grevail, Tessyn mused. He meant well, but was always at the mercy of his dreams, and she was often all too willing to join him. Yet he did try to save them, even if he nearly killed everyone in the process.
Adellus and Raela were another matter. Tessyn knew Raela was with that big man, Noz, and his companion. She shuddered; just thinking about that fellow was enough to send her skin crawling. Her stomach felt turned inside out whenever she imagined what Raela might be experiencing in the captivity of those two. Articia let it slip that the Sifters found Vaik’s hideout near the south gate. I have to get out of here and find her.
Beyond the sitting room doors, Tessyn saw the Urucan, Patalla. Carbathe treated him as an equal, even deferring to him at times, so she assumed he must be some kind of powerful noble, though she knew little about that kind of thing. She’d heard stories about the Urucan since she were a child, as had every Eudan sprout, and they lived up to the tales, at least in appearance—hairy, brutish, and covered in tattoos. He was as much an Esh to her as he was a man.
Ophin and Kaeno were here, too. Erphele did not want to leave without her servants, and Ophin begged to be brought along as if he might shrivel up and die otherwise. Grix and Iphik sat at a table beneath a window in the corner, playing the board game, Culi. Iphik had mostly won so far and Grix frowned at the pieces as if frustrated. She shook her head at the pair.
Grix had come to her while she was being kept at Erphele’s, and to her surprise, offered what seemed a genuine apology. If it weren’t for his contract with Erphele, he would let her go, he claimed. Her first instinct was that the tall Sifter was after something else, but she was not the type to fall for a man, or to be used by one. She never let them get too close. They all only wanted one thing from a Lowtown mudrat girl.
To make it up to her, Grix taught her how to defend against someone who grabbed her like he did that night at Seirod’s mansion. Control the wrist and spin away. Sweep the legs or strike for the face. He even let her practice on him, until Articia found them and scolded Grix as if he were a boy.
She watched him analyzing the board between himself and Iphik. He was quite handsome, even if he rarely had a look on his face other than that hard stare. His eyes lifted from the game, locking on hers, and then as if to spite her, a smile bloomed on his lips. A pretty sight when he does, though.
Grix insisted that Erphele let him take off Tessyn’s chains and he would be the one to keep an eye on her, so she forgave him for imprisoning her in the first place. He accompanied her for walks in Erphele’s garden and even shared some wine from Erphele’s cellar after he convinced Ophin that Erphele wouldn’t mind. It wouldn’t be easy, but she estimated it would be just a handful of days and he would be opening the door for her as she walked out of here—unless Articia caught on. The old hag already eyed the Sifter with unbridled suspicion whenever they were in the same room together.
Motion at the doorway brought Tessyn’s attention to Carbathe striding toward them. A black cape snaked behind him—his torso protected by a shining, ornate breastplate. The sword at his hip moved in rhythm with every step of his black leather boots. He’d taken to wearing Urucan colors, orange and black. The gambeson and leggings today were no different.
Tessyn didn’t understand what the man’s plan was. Surely, Amphid would come and take the town back. From the little she’d seen of Carbathe, which was usually when he came to unsuccessfully woo Erphele as he seemed about to do now, he appeared a total buffoon.
Carbathe entered and surveyed the room with pale blue eyes that were all the more cold under snow white hair. Everyone continued what they were doing, but watched him from the edge of their vision, as if he were an overbearing father chaperoning his children.
“Raina,” Carbathe said and the room paused at his booming voice. He motioned at Grix and Iphik. “What need do you have of these Sifters?”
Erphele expressed surprise at the question. “They are my friends.”
Iphik directed a frown at Carbathe, but when the man turned his way, the look transformed into a feigned smile. Carbathe’s gaze drifted lazily back to Erphele. “Your friends? I have known you for quite some time, and I do not remember Sifters in your company before now.”
“Yes, well—”
“And who is this?” Carbathe asked, inquisitive eyes fastening on Articia.
For the first time Tessyn had seen, Articia looked worried. The old woman displaced her usual glower with a meek pout that was as natural on her face as it would have been on a wolf. “I have known Erphele for many years, Khos Carbathe,” she said. “I am an old friend of the family.”
Carbathe rationed his worsening glower around the room. “I ask, Raina, since it seems you spend all day in here accompanied by an over-sized entourage, yet there are many things I have for you to do if you cared to do them.”
Tessyn stopped a scoff before it left her lips. He was such a pompous fool. Tessyn understood why Erphele had no interest in him. I might feel sympathy for the woman if the irony of her being held captive the same as she did to me wasn’t so delightful.
Carbathe’s gaze swept to Tessyn. He fingered his chin and studied her. “Who is this?” he asked Erphele.
“She is my servant,” Erphele said, cautious gaze wandering to Tessyn.
Carbathe frowned. “Raina, my dear, you have no need of that now. I have a dozen servants ready to wait on your every need. The very best Tamirra has to offer.” Carbathe narrowed his eyes when Tessyn directed a glare at Erphele. “She is not fit for a lady of your status.”
“She is very important to us,” Articia added quickly.
Tessyn turned her glare on the old woman. Old bag of bones. She had enough of that hag and her questions. “You’re right…ah…Khos Carbathe. I miss my family…and…I’d…I’d like to visit them,” Tessyn said.
Carbathe regarded her with a flat-eyed stare for a moment before he shrugged and gestured at Ophin. “You may keep your other servants, Raina, at least they seem capable, but this girl has no place here, especially when she does not want to be here in the first place. Not worthy of you at all, my dear.” Carbathe turned toward the door. “Mesimere! Escort this young woman from the Council House.”
A young man, head swaying with blond curls and wearing a tunic emblazoned with Carbathe’s purple rose appeared in the doorway, already striding toward Tessyn.
“But—” Erphele began.
“Enough, Raina. For too long I have asked you to see things as I do, yet you have refused. Now, you will do what I say.”
Tessyn struggled to control her elation. She felt like giggling, or sticking her tongue out at Articia. She’d thought of endless schemes to escape and then Carbathe set her free in a handful of words. “Thank you,” she said to Carbathe.
Carbathe looked down his nose at her, running a cold eye filled with disgust over her legs slung across the chair arm. “Not even a curtsy, as would be proper. I should have you flogged.” He swept back his cape in a lordly flourish and returned his attention to Erphele.
Grix shot up from his seat, chair screeching on the floor and drawing every eye. “I will escort her,” he began, then paused and finished with, “Khos Carbathe.”
Carbathe raised an eyebrow at Grix, pursing his lips, then spread his hands with a touch of exasperation. “Very well, Sifter. Seren herself could appear and show her out for all it matters to me.”
“I will have my most well trained servants brought…” Carbathe said to Erphele, but Tessyn didn’t care to hear the rest.
Grix crossed the room and offered her his hand. She rewarded him with a smile and they retreated under Carbathe’s domineering gaze toward the door. Tessyn glanced over her shoulder to see Articia staring vexedly at their backs.
“Why did you do that?” she whispered at Grix as they left the room.
“I wanted to warn you,” he said.
“About what?”
“The city is quite dangerous, there are drunken soldiers roaming the streets and I—”
Tessyn scoffed. “I can take care of myself. I’m from Lowtown if you don’t remember.” A few drunk men were not something she ever needed to hide from. Quick feet, quick wit, and a winning smile had gotten her out of more trouble than muscles ever had for any man.
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“Of course you can,” he said without a hint of sarcasm, “but you will allow me to escort you to the gates at the very least.”
“Why do you care what happens to me? I was your prisoner after all. What about your contract with Erphele?”
They meandered down a long hallway that ended in the entrance doors of the Council House. Grix looked down at her with a frown. “I’ve already told you that just because I have a contract does not mean I like what I’m ordered to do.”
“What didn’t you like about your orders?” Tessyn asked.
“I didn’t like keeping you in chains,” he said, “if that is what you’re after. I thought Erphele would question you for a few days before releasing you. That night at Seirod’s when you asked me to let you go, I realized…” he stopped and cleared his throat.
“You realized what?”
“That I’d made a mistake,” he finished. He pushed open the fancy double doors of the Council House and they passed between a knot of Urucan guards who watched them with suspicious eyes around the nose-guards of gleaming helmets.
A thought occurred to Tessyn as they stepped into the street. Is he trying to trick me? She jabbed a finger at him. “If you think you can follow me to see where I go and come back to capture me for a third time, you’re mad.” She turned north on the highway. Far down the road in the distance sat the Eudan Gate. The only other time she’d seen it was peeking through the window in Erphele’s carriage the night after the fire at Seirod’s mansion. When Arxaro had brought them into Tamirra, Raela, Dell and herself had been bound and gagged beneath a tarp in the back of a wagon. Even from here, Tessyn could see the portcullis was down, and before it, the indistinct moving forms of what were surely more Urucan. It would be hard to find Grevail, if he was even still in the city, but at least she knew Raela and Dell’s last whereabouts.
Grix followed behind her. “That is not my intention,” he muttered.
So, we’re back to cold eyes instead of pretty smiles, are we? “Well, why are you still here? I can take care of myself, as we’ve already established.”
“I just want to make sure you leave the city safely.”
“Who said I want to leave the city?”
Grix turned unbelieving eyes on her. “You mean to stay here? And you think I’m mad? Why?”
“Since when have you cared about my well-being, Sifter?” She turned off the highway and away from the Eudan Gate, walking deeper into the city.
Grix tailed her, emitting a long, worried breath. “Tessyn, please tell me you won’t stay here.”
Goosebumps raced across her skin. Although the weather seemed warm enough, it must have been a rogue, chilly breeze. All that time in captivity had made her soft. It wasn’t because she liked the way her name sounded on his lips, that was for sure. Not him. A Sifter who had kidnapped her and her friends. “I won’t promise you anything.”
About a dozen paces ahead, two hooded figures stepped from the mouth of an alleyway and into the road. Tessyn jerked to a stop.
“Tessyn,” one of them said, a man’s voice. His face was covered with cloth so that only his amber-brown eyes were visible.
Grix dashed to stand between Tessyn and the strangers, a hand on his sword hilt. “Who are you?”
“Easy, Sifter,” the other man said, putting his own hand to a dagger at his waist. “We’ve been looking for her.”
“Who are you?” Tessyn repeated, watching them over Grix’ shoulder.
“Grevail sent us.”
Tessyn’s jaw dropped. She tried to push Grix out of the way but he refused to budge. “Grevail sent you? Where is he?” The last Tessyn saw of Grevail was when he appeared from the inferno of the storeroom that night at Seirod’s house, and from the little information she managed to garner from Grix and the conversations she overheard between Articia and Erphele, she knew he escaped.
“Come with us and we’ll take you to him. We can’t say any more here with…” the man fell silent with a nod at Grix, who still clutched at his sword as if ready to draw.
Tessyn jabbed a knuckle into the Sifter’s back. “Get out of the way.”
“How can you be sure they are to be trusted?” Grix asked over his shoulder.
“Who else would know who I am?”
“Seirod?”
Tessyn bit her lip. She hadn’t thought of that.
The first man glanced at his companion, as if unsure of what to say next, then spared a wary glance around the empty street. “If you’d like to come with us, we’ll take you to him, otherwise, we’ll tell him you refused.” He nudged his companion and they disappeared into the alley.
“I’m going with them,” Tessyn said. “They wouldn’t just leave if Seirod sent them.”
“They would if I was here protecting you.”
“I don’t need your protection!” she spat and danced around him, marching after the cloaked men.
“I’m sorry, Tessyn.”
There was something in his voice that made her turn around; a sadness she didn’t think someone like Grix were capable of.
“…about your friends. I’ve never regretted capturing a mark, until you. I’m sorry, and I hope you find them.” He paused, as if he wanted to say something more, but then shook his head and spun on his heel, walking away.
Staring after him, she opened her mouth, then scoffed and snapped it closed. You’ve got a head full of ash, Tessyn. Nobody wants a mudrat but another mudrat. She too spun on her heel, entering the alley to find the cloaked figures standing just inside.
“Are you ready?” said one of the men, removing the hood and cloth from his head. He was young, with reddish-brown hair and light brown eyes that scanned the mouth of the alleyway as if expecting the Sifter to reappear. “I’m Auphen.”
The other man had also removed his disguise and regarded Tessyn with dark eyes, inclining his head. “Aritane.”
A sudden surge of doubt struck her. What has Grevail gotten himself involved with? Why isn’t he here? She repressed the thoughts, though with some trouble. If these people know anything about Grevail’s whereabouts, it is worth the risk. “Lead the way.”
The man who named himself Auphen bobbed an eager nod and headed south down the alley. Tessyn followed after him and the other one, Aritane, took up the rear. “Who are you?” she asked.
“Grevail can tell you everything,” Auphen said without turning around. “First, we need to get you there without catching a Toad axe in the back.”
Tessyn took the cue to remain silent and tried her best to keep her suspicions about the pair subdued as they led her further into the city. They skirted main roads as much as possible, peeking out of alleys to scout if the way was clear before proceeding. Once, when a knot of Carbathe’s men turned a corner in the distance and marched in their direction, the pair of cloaked men picked her up by the arms, hustling her out of sight onto the nearest side street.
“You are no friends of the Urucan?” she asked when they stopped manhandling her.
Auphen’s amber eyes tightened. “Of course not. Are you?”
Tessyn harrumphed. “Nobody would have ever caught me kissing Amphid’s rings, but I don’t like what happened here,” she said with a glance at the empty streets and vacant houses. She imagined how she would feel if the Urucan marched into Lowtown, but then had to remember it was Amphid himself who wanted to do that.
Auphen shook his head. “At least northerners won’t laugh at us when we talk about the Urucan from now on.”
Much less Urucan were present in the south of town than elsewhere, and the few times Tessyn saw any townsfolk, they scuttled along like an insect, shoulders hunched and head twisting to look every way at once. Many buildings had been looted, and even some others had been burned to the ground with nothing more remaining than blackened husks where a business or home once stood. The Sifters escorted her through the silent city without incident until Auphen strode to the door of a big brick building at an intersection that at first glance appeared abandoned, the few windows facing the street boarded up.
Auphen knocked, and when it opened a short moment later, a young woman stood in the entrance, her deep blue eyes widening at the sight of Tessyn. She waved them inside hurriedly, and once they were out of the street, slammed the door shut as if the Urucan were on their heels.
After sliding the bolt closed, the woman tossed lustrous black hair over a shoulder and gestured at Tessyn while narrowing her eyes at Auphen. “Who is this? It’s hardly the time to be bringing in new recruits, Auphen! If they find out where we are—”
“This is Grevail’s friend,” Aritane said. “Tessyn.”
Alisia’s mouth dropped open and she swung back, studying Tessyn. “He will be happy to see you.”
Tessyn cast an eye about the place. Beneath a high vaulted ceiling were a pair of large millstones covered in a thick layer of dust, as was everything else in the musty, cobwebbed brick building, but Grevail was nowhere to be seen.
“Grevail!” Alisia called over her shoulder.
It didn’t take him long to appear in a doorway at the rear of the room. He was disheveled—black curly hair a mess and clothes dotted with stains. He stared at Tessyn, green eyes blinking, then dashed forward, bounding past the millstones in a blur to wrap her in a hug. “Tessyn!”
She hugged him in return, laughing, even as he threatened to squeeze the breath out of her.
“I’m so sorry, Tessyn,” he mumbled into her hair.
“Grevail,” she said and pushed him to arm’s length, surprised to see wetness in his eyes. “It isn’t your fault.” The tomb may have been his idea, but they’d all gone along with it too. The only other choice they’d had was to wait for the watch to storm Lowtown.
“We could use her help,” Alisia said.
Tessyn turned to look at the other woman, whose deep blue eyes were busy sizing her up. “With what?”
“Daryn and Asimir,” Grevail said. “We are getting them out of the city.”
Tessyn raised an eyebrow. “Who are they? What about Raela and Dell?”
Grevail put a hand on her shoulder and his gaze grew hard and determined. “I have a plan. We’ll get them back too. I have it, Tessyn.”
Tessyn grunted in reply, stealing a look at Alisia, but the young woman did not so much as blink. He’s told her about that stone, has he? Tessyn didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried. If she hasn’t ran to tell the Thava yet, she can’t be about to do it now.
“The relic. I have it and I’m going to trade it for Adellus and Raela.”
Aritane, the older fellow, produce a few disgruntled noises at the mention of the relic, but Alisia bobbed her head at Grevail’s words. “And we’ll help you get your friends back,” she said, “but first thing first. If Amphid wants to retake our city, he has the best chance to do so with Daryn at his side.”
“Who is Daryn?” Tessyn asked again, spreading her hands at Grevail. “How is he more important than Raela or Adellus, Grevail?” Why should we help Amphid? He never helped us!
“He is Khos of Tamirra,” Alisia said, rolling her eyes at Tessyn’s ignorance. “Grevail promised me his help.”
Grevail gave a hurried nod, obviously trying placate the girl, but his gaze held a salience that was for Tessyn only. “We’ll need their help to get Raela and Dell back, Tessyn. If it wasn’t for Alisia, I…who knows where I’d be, maybe dead, and I wouldn’t have found you. I want Raela and Dell back too, but this is the only way. We need their help.”
“Let’s fill her in,” Alisia said. “She is from Lowtown?”
Tessyn raised an eyebrow at the woman. Who does she think she is ordering us around?
Grevail noticed the look on Tessyn’s face and hurried to speak first. “Yes, she is, and she comes only if she wants to,” he said to Alisia, then directed a shrug at Tessyn. “It could be dangerous and I don’t want to talk you into anything worse than I have already.”
Alisia analyzed Tessyn with a critical eye, as if she were an item for sale on a shop shelf.
Tessyn patted Grevail on the cheek with a resigned breath. She had always wanted to be a part of his grand ideas, everyone did, even when they sometimes didn’t turn out as intended, but this wasn’t about getting them out of Lowtown as his schemes usually were. This was about saving Dell and Raela, and not even the Lady Of Graves could make Tessyn walk away from her friends, especially now. “I’m coming with you, Grevail. We’ll get them back.”
A relieved smile split his face and he threw his arms around her again.
Tessyn smiled too, speaking into his chest as he crushed her against it. “What’s more, I know where Raela is. That Noz fellow and his friend are hiding near the Urucan Gate, but I don’t know much more than that. If we are going to find where she is being kept, we need to start as soon as we can.”
Grevail released her with another laugh, but his mirth soon faded. “Well, it’s a place to start. We’ll find her.”
Alisia took them in with a resigned sigh of her own before speaking. “I’m glad you have found your friend, Grevail, but our work tonight will be dangerous. We all need to be at our best and focused on the matter at hand.”
Grevail was once more quick to ease her worries. “I know. We will be.”
“What is this plan?” Tessyn asked, furrowing her brow at Alisia.
The dark-haired woman’s lips tightened in a grimace. “Well, it was to get the nobles out through the Berry Gate, but the Urucan have increased the guard there, and atop the walls too. I’m afraid we have no other choice but to go through the Eudan Gate.”
Tessyn frowned. “There are loads of Urucan at the gate…and the portcullis is down. How are we going to get past that?”
Alisia nodded as if she realized what she was about to say might seem absurd. “We will break into the gatehouse and raise it ourselves.”