The Magicians And Mrs. Quent Part 48

Eldyn barely had time to put on his coat and tell Sashie he was going out before Dercy grabbed him by the arm and hauled him out into the swift-falling evening. They went to Durrow Street (with a stop to purchase a bottle of whiskey) and that night went to not one but three illusion plays, sneaking the bottle back and forth between them and growing quite merry. They let out hearty applause at the glorious performances and heckled just as enthusiastically as a phantasm wavered and vanished despite all the frantic arm-wavings of some hapless illusionist.

After the last performance, they had not gone home. Instead, Dercy took Eldyn to some unsavory tavern on the fringes of High Holy. Within they discovered a number of Dercy's compatriots from the Theater of the Moon, as well as performers from several other theaters, all still in their costumes from the night's performances.

Eldyn had expressed reluctance to join a party of so many who were strangers to him-indeed, who were strangers of the strangest sort, all glittered and powdered and shimmering like things of air and light themselves. However, before he could retreat, Dercy pulled him forward and introduced him. Calls of welcome rang out, and cup after cup was placed in his hand. Soon the dank interior of the tavern was gone, replaced by a forest of silver trees with gold leaves that fluttered down all around. The rotund bartender seemed resigned to the wings sprouting from his back. Those few derelicts who had wandered in off the street looking for grog became fauns and goblins. Soon Eldyn found himself laughing and singing along with all the marvelous creatures around him.

The next day, Eldyn had not awakened until well into the afternoon. Nor was it long after that when Dercy came to the inn and once again whisked him off for further entertainment. Eldyn had lived through far too many grim times, Dercy declared; he had much to make up for.

So it went. Each evening they went to plays on Durrow Street, and if Dercy was performing at the Theater of the Moon, Eldyn would sit in the balcony with a bottle of wine and watch, enrapt, as once again the fiery king pursued the silvery youth without ever being able to capture him. By day (when they were awake) they walked through the city or sat in coffeehouses, and Dercy would amuse them both with small illusions-often worked at the expense of some hapless victim who was suddenly confused to see a flower sprouting out of his cup or a hat of green leaves crowning some somber old gentleman pa.s.sing by.

Eldyn could not remember the last time he had felt so light, so at ease and full of good humor. Even his inability to work illusions had been but a fleeting shadow, a cloud that pa.s.sed before the sun quickly and was gone. Each day brought new wonders, new delights, and never once, as he and Dercy made their way to and fro across the city, did he look over his shoulder or fear to see a tall figure in a russet coat striding his way.

No, he had no cause for fear now. However, seeking employment was the last thing he wished to do. The thought of taking another clerking position was unbearable. He wanted to stay here and drink and talk and laugh with Dercy. If only he had money for another pot...

Dercy snapped his fingers. "Now we're in business!"

Eldyn picked up the coin and turned it over and over. Were his eyes playing tricks on him?

Yes, they were-and that was precisely the point. The coin was no longer dull copper but rather bright silver.

"Quick," Dercy said. "Spend it while it lasts."

Eldyn hesitated-how would this be any different than stealing? He may be poor, but he was still a gentleman.

However, he was thirsty as well. As Dercy turned away, hiding his face from view, Eldyn went to the bar. He ordered another pot and acted in every way as natural as possible as he handed the coin to the barkeep. The man did little more than glance at it, then threw it in the drawer beneath the counter.

Moments later Eldyn returned to the table with the punch.

"It worked," Eldyn said, heart pounding, still astonished at how easy it had been.

"Of course it worked," Dercy said, filling their gla.s.ses. "I told you-you're an illusionist."

"But what happens when the spell wears off?"

"Nothing at all. I've glimpsed their money drawer here-all the coins are tossed together. By now that coin you handed him looks like any other copper penny in there. They'll never know they were duped, and-oh, don't give me that look. Even an angel needs to sin now and then. No one likes anyone who's too high and mighty. Not even G.o.d above."

He handed Eldyn one of the cups. Despite himself, Eldyn grinned.

"To illusion," Dercy said.

They struck their cups and drained them, and any sour remorse Eldyn tasted was washed away by the sweet, strong punch.

T HE NIGHT WAS brief, and the middling lumenal was already half over by the time Eldyn woke. Sashie a.s.sailed him at once.

"I cannot find any oranges," she said. "I searched all the pockets of your coat. Did you not bring me any? Of course not-you think only of yourself and your new friend. You go out to plays and parties while I sit here in this wretched room. Not that I could go to a party even if I wished. I have nothing good to wear. You have a new coat, but all I have are these same awful rags. I'm not fit to be seen."

She swiped at the skirt of her frock. In fact, she looked quite pretty.

"Please, dear brother. Please let me go out." She knelt and clasped her hands on his knees. "I will perish if I cannot go out. I beg you, let me go."

He began to tell her she could not. Except that was not true, was it? He had been keeping her locked up out of habit, yet there was no reason for it anymore. He could not harm Sashie now, not from behind the bars of Barrowgate, and there was no danger of her going to Westen; she could not have done so even if she wished.

"Of course you may go out, dearest," he said.

"But I cannot breathe in this awful place, you have to-" Her eyes went wide as his words registered. Her tears were suddenly gone.

"I must look for work today, but take this." He gave her his last silver coin. It didn't matter. He had a number of pennies, which would serve him just as well now. "Buy yourself some pretty thing. You deserve it for all you have endured, and more. Once I have found work again, I will buy you a closet full of dresses-all the latest fashions."

She gaped at him, then all at once threw her arms around his neck and showered him with kisses. He was dear brother then, and sweet brother. He endured her sudden and violent affections gladly; he had missed them. At last she went to the mirror and arranged herself. With a promise to be back for supper, she was out the door.

Eldyn smiled as he watched her go. It was good to see her glad again. This had been hard for her, perhaps even harder than for him, for she could not truly understand what danger they had been in. He forgave her any cruel things she had said; he knew she had not meant them.

Besides, soon these last dark months would be but a dim memory. The future held only promise; nor would they have to journey to Caerdun in the south to begin a new life.

However, between now and that happy future, he would have to earn a little money. Yet that thought dimmed his smile only a little. Whatever work he took, it would not be forever. Eldyn did not know what the future held for him, but he knew now that there were possibilities he had never before considered.

He washed his face and put on his coat, then drew a penny from his pocket and flipped it in the air. By the time he caught it again, it had turned from copper to silver. Grinning, he slipped the coin back in his pocket and headed out to find work.

H E FOUND RAFFERDY instead.

So astonished was Eldyn to see his friend that he barely recognized him at first. Or perhaps it was the uncharacteristically solemn look on Rafferdy's face that made him seem so unfamiliar. He hardly looked like the man Eldyn knew. But, no-it was Rafferdy sure enough, striding across Greenly Circle, dressed in a charcoal-gray coat and carrying an ivory-handled cane.

"Ho, there, Rafferdy!" Eldyn called out. "Wait up!"

Rafferdy stopped and looked up at the sound of his name. When he saw Eldyn hurrying toward him across the circle, a grin split his face, and then he looked like the old Rafferdy indeed.

"Garritt, by G.o.d, it's good to see you!" he exclaimed, clasping Eldyn's hand and shaking it long and vigorously. Eldyn returned the gesture with equal energy.

"It's been too long," Eldyn said.

"Far too long," Rafferdy agreed. "Yet now that I see you, I can't imagine why that is. Surely your business can't have been occupying you all this time. What was it you were doing? Something about the New Lands, if I recall. How did that all turn out?"

One day he would tell Rafferdy the whole story, but only when both of them were drunk enough. "It wasn't what I thought it would be," Eldyn said, truthfully enough.

"Nothing ever is," Rafferdy said. "I presume you're on to new endeavors?"

Eldyn slipped a hand into his coat pocket, touching the penny there, and could not help a smile. "I believe I am," he said. "But what of you? You've been busy yourself of late. Has your work for your father still been occupying you, or are you on to other schemes?"

Rafferdy looked away, across Greenly Circle, and a shadow of that seriousness again crossed his face. In that moment he looked older than he ever had before, though Eldyn could not say he looked unwell.

"What's the matter, Rafferdy?" he said, then he laughed. "Why, you look positively lordly. Have you decided to quit worrying about all that power and start enjoying being a magnate?"

Rafferdy turned to fix him with a sharp look. "What I would enjoy is a gla.s.s of whiskey."

"Really? You looked like you were walking with great purpose just now. Weren't you going somewhere?"

"It can wait," Rafferdy said. "Besides, a drink can only help, and I see a tavern right there across the circle."

"It's a bit early for liquor."

"Nonsense. The lumenal is to be short. If we do not act with haste, the day will be over. We'd best drink now while we have the chance."

Eldyn couldn't argue with that logic. Besides, it seemed both he and Rafferdy were on errands neither antic.i.p.ated with pleasure. The lumenal was to be longer tomorrow. He could always look for work then. One more day wouldn't make a difference.

"Well come on, then," he said. "We've already lost another minute just standing here."

They proceeded to the tavern, finding it dim, cavelike, and utterly to their liking. There they pa.s.sed several pleasant hours smoking, drinking, talking, and laughing. Eldyn had forgotten how much he truly liked Rafferdy. He was at once reminded of fond days past and filled with hope at what the future held for both of them.

Their mood became solemn only once, when Eldyn asked if he ever saw Miss Lockwell. Eldyn often thought of her still, and he knew how much Rafferdy had cared for her.

"She is Miss Lockwell no longer," Rafferdy said. He finished his whiskey and poured another.

"She is married?" Eldyn said, shocked by this news. "To whom?"

"To a man who, it turns out, works for my father."

Eldyn could not disguise his horror. "You mean a servant?"

"No, you misunderstand. Mr. Quent is an agent of the king, as is my father. He a.s.sists Lord Rafferdy in his work for the Crown-whatever that is. I confess, it is still a mystery to me. I have never met this Mr. Quent, but I gather he has worked for my father for many years. What's more, it turns out he was, in the past, a friend of Mr. Lockwell's. So it seems Miss Lockwell and I were connected before we ever encountered each other. A curious world, isn't it? We think we meet people by chance, when chance has nothing to do with it." He took a long draft from his gla.s.s.

Eldyn didn't know what to say, so he took a drink himself. He knew this could only have been hard news to his friend. First his own engagement to Miss Everaud had been broken off under a cloud of scandal, and now this. How unfortunate the subject of marriage must seem to him! All the same, Rafferdy must have known that, no matter what happened, he never would have been able to marry Miss Lockwell.

"I'm glad for her," Rafferdy said, his voice gone smoky from the whiskey. "I am given to understand he is somewhat old for her but that he has a large estate and is a respectable gentleman. So she is pretty, and he is rich. No doubt society will judge it an excellent match. I know my father does; thus a woman he found intolerable for his son is in turn found ideal for his a.s.sociate. Strange, isn't it, how it's the direction we are viewed from that makes us attractive or abhorrent? But it is well. Yes, I am glad for her."

Despite Rafferdy's grave look, Eldyn believed him.

"To Miss Lockwell," he said, raising his gla.s.s.

"To Mrs. Quent," Rafferdy replied.

After that, they drank for a little while in silence.

Gradually their spirits rose again, and their talk resumed. Soon they were laughing again like old times as Rafferdy imitated some lord or lady he had overheard at Lady Marsdel's. At last the whiskey was gone, and with a sigh Rafferdy said that his errand could not wait.

"What is it you must do that you find so disagreeable?" Eldyn asked.

Rafferdy twisted the ring on his right hand. "I am, if you can believe it, on my way to a lesson in magick with Mr. Bennick."

At first he thought Rafferdy was making another jest. But no-he was serious! Eldyn expressed his extreme astonishment and pressed Rafferdy for his motivations. Last Eldyn knew, Rafferdy had mocked those young men at university who studied the arcane arts.

"My reasons will have to wait for when we meet next," Rafferdy said. "I am now very late."

Indeed, it was later than Eldyn thought as they stepped out the tavern door. The sun was already nearly to the Citadel, and boys walked about Greenly Circle, hawking the evening broadsheets.

Eldyn shook Rafferdy's hand and began to ask when they should plan to meet again. However, as he spoke, one of the boys pa.s.sed by, holding up a copy of The Messenger.

Rafferdy frowned. "What is it, Garritt? Did you have too much to drink? You look unwell of a sudden."

Eldyn reached into his pocket, fumbled, and pulled out the penny. It was dull copper again. "Here!" he said, throwing the penny to the boy. "Give me one of those."

He s.n.a.t.c.hed the broadsheet from the boy, then turned it over, reading the headline that had caught his eye: NOTORIOUS HIGHWAYMAN ESCAPES.

"What is it, Garritt? You're pale as if you saw a ghost."

Yes, it was like being haunted by the ghost of one thought dead. Eldyn read the first lines of the article. It had happened that morning, in the gray hour just before dawn. Howls were heard coming from the jail beneath Barrowgate. A guard was found dead, his flesh torn as if by some animal, his mouth stuffed full of Murghese gold. The prisoner was nowhere to be seen....

A hand fell on his arm. Eldyn flinched away, but it was only Rafferdy. He looked at Eldyn, concern on his face.

"What's wrong, Garritt?"

Eldyn shook his head. "It is...forgive me. I must go."

Before Rafferdy could say anything more, Eldyn turned and ran across Greenly Circle, clutching the broadsheet in his hands.

H IS BLOOD DRUMMED in his ears by the time he reached the inn in Lowpark. Despite his dread, he had been forced to walk the last part of the way, for his lungs felt as if he had breathed fire.

The inn was quiet as he entered. Hope rose within him. Perhaps he had not come yet; perhaps he was waiting for dark to fall. Eldyn hurried up the stairs to the chambers he shared with Sashie.

The door opened as he touched the handle. He stepped into the room, and a low sound escaped him. The bedclothes lay in a tattered heap, and the pillows were gutted, their contents strewn about. The curtains had been ripped down, the table overturned. There were lines on one wall-four gouges made close together. Eldyn reached out a shaking hand, tracing the gouges with his fingers. A sickness welled up inside him.

Footsteps sounded behind him. He lurched around, and so strong was his relief, his joy, that it overwhelmed him as much as fear had a moment ago.

"h.e.l.lo, sweet brother," Sashie said, smiling in the doorway, a basket in her hands. Then she stepped inside, and her smile vanished. The basket slipped from her grasp. Oranges rolled across the floor.

He went to her and took her hand. "Are you all right? Did you see anyone following you?"

"Following me? I don't understand." She gazed around, her eyes large. "What's happened, brother? Who did this?"

"We have to go. Now."

"But my things, my dresses-"

"There's no time for that." Tightening his grip on her hand, he pulled her after him, into the hall and down the stairs.

He halted at the bottom. She began to question him again, but he pressed a finger to her lips. He gathered the dim air around both of them like a cloak, then listened. Usually there was a low murmur of conversation in the public room or clatters from the kitchen. However, the inn was silent. The lamps had not been lit against the coming night.

Eldyn waited. He could not believe Westen was far. He had come looking for Sashie but had not found her. Yet surely he was close and had seen them both enter the inn. In which case, why did he not attack?

Because he did not want to kill them-he wanted something far more than that. He wanted Sashie.

Eldyn tightened his grip on his sister's hand. She let out a gasp of pain, but he ignored it. Their only hope was to make a dash for the door and run down the lane. There would be people on the main thoroughfare below. He could not believe Westen would show himself in front of a crowd-not when he was a wanted man, not when a drawing of his face had appeared in every broadsheet in the city.

"Move quickly," he whispered. "And do as I say."

Keeping the gloom close around them, he started for the door, pulling Sashie after him.

Ahead, something stirred in the dimness of the public room. He glimpsed the silhouette of a tall, upright figure as it pa.s.sed before the silver square of a window. The figure was lost to sight, but a moment later another shadow appeared, this one nearer to the floor. A low sound, a kind of growling, rose on the air. Sashie screamed.

There was no point in concealment now. He flung the shadows off.