Doppelganger (35 page)
Warrior's blade, but we're a stupid pair. I'm glad Eclipse is around to keep us sane, or we'd kill ourselves, just because neither of us would admit to being overmatched.
"Tell me about her childhood," Miryo said.
Eclipse wasn't surprised at the question. In her place, he would have wanted to know the same thing. Unfortunately, there was only so much he could tell her about it. "I wasn't there for most of it. She didn't come to Silverfire until she was thirteen."
"I want to know about that, too," Miryo said, sitting forward in interest. "I know she was a
"They don't. Sen was… an exception." Eclipse laughed briefly, shaking his head. "I don't know why I still call her Sen. She just made such a vivid impression on me back then, when she came to Silverfire, before she earned her Hunter name. That's when we became friends."
"You're year-mates?"
Eclipse nodded. "But she and I are better friends than most. A
lot
of people didn't like her being accepted so late; she didn't have any friends when she showed up. But I… well, I admired her. All these people trying to make her fail, to drive her out, and I think she didn't even
see
them half the time. Just blocked out everything that wasn't a part of what she needed to do." He grinned as a memory returned to him, even though it was kind of a painful one. "There was this one master, Talon—he fig-ured out early on that the quickest way to make Sen do something was to tell her she was too weak to do it—" He broke off as Miryo laughed. "What?"
The witch waved a hand, indicating he should continue. "Just seeing similarities, is all."
"I hope you never went through anything like she did," Eclipse said, a little grim, even after all this time. "Talon went too far, always telling her she wasn't good enough. Had Sen convinced she hadn't yet proven her right to stay. She damn near broke herself trying to satisfy him. In the end, Jaguar even brought in a witch to heal her when she ripped her knee apart from training too much."
The amusement drained out of Miryo's face at his words. Watching it was strange; Eclipse still hadn't adjusted to the likeness. It was as if he were seeing Sen with long hair.
No, not quite. More as if he were seeing Sen the way she might have been, had she not come to Silverfire. The challenges she faced there had put a hardness in her, a streak of self-reliance that made her difficult to befriend. Eclipse was the only person who had really gotten inside that defense. Miryo was softer, more open; her life had not driven her to be so skeptical of those around her.
Miryo spoke, breaking his reverie. "She's good, isn't she? I saw the Thornbloods when they brought her in. She did quite a bit of damage before they took her. And there were four of them."
Eclipse snorted. "It would
take
four Thornbloods to take her down. Partly because they're not great Hunters, and partly because you're right: she's that good. I think that's why Jaguar let her into Silverfire. She was already strong and agile from being a Dancer, and she's got reflexes you wouldn't believe." He paused as a came to him. "Then again, maybe you would." He held out his hands, palm up. "Put your hands over mine, just barely touching."
Miryo did so, plainly curious.
"I'm going to try and slap the backs of your hands," Eclipse said. "When you feel me move, you try to pull away faster, so I miss. Got it?" Miryo nodded. "Okay. Ready?"
His hands flashed out and slapped hers smartly.
"Okay, now you see how that works. I guess you never played this as a kid? We'll do it for real this time." He repositioned his hands beneath hers.
And slapped her hands again.
They went through this twice more before Miryo dropped her hands and gave him an ironic look. "I don't have her reflexes, do I."
The difference was unmistakable. "I guess not. She must have gotten it from the Dancer training, before she got to Silverfire." But he knew as he said it that it wasn't true. Sen couldn't sing, and Miryo didn't have the reflexes. It had to be a part of their condition—but why?
Miryo didn't look like she believed the excuse, either. She chose not to comment, though. "So if life was so hard for her at Silverfire, why did she come? She had to have known it wouldn't be easy."
"Oh, she knew it, all right. I think she was just crazy." Eclipse shook his head in bemusement. "She says she'd always wanted to be a Hunter. Like that was what she was meant to do. She didn't mind being a Dancer, but it wasn't her choice. Then the woman who led her company called her in one day, completely out of the blue, and offered her a chance to be a Hunter." He shrugged. "She took it. And never looked back."
"Looking back feeds doubt," Miryo said softly, gazing off into the shadows. "And sometimes you can't afford that."
Her meaning was obvious. Eclipse watched her, and worried. They weren't going to give up. And he could only hope that one of them would be left standing when it was done.
Silverfire
Powder in her hair dulled its color to brown; makeup gave her cheekbones she'd never been born with, and at the same time downplayed her eyes. Despite it all, Miryo couldn't help but feel the innkeeper's eyes lingered on her a moment longer than they needed to.
Void it. My horse isn't even stabled, and already my disguise is cracking.
She couldn't figure out how. Granted, the pool she'd used for a mirror that morning had not been great, but she'd been impressed with Mirage's skill in changing her appearance. The powder couldn't take a lot of abuse before it would start to brush out, but it had the advantage of being temporary; she'd rebelled against truly dyeing it. It didn't have to last long. All she had to do was get a room at the inn and stay in it, and touch up the powder at need.
But the innkeeper was looking at her already.
Had sweat begun to streak the makeup? The day was still young, but already it was hot. She had split off from Mirage and Eclipse earlier that morning, riding to Elensk while the two Hunters visited Silverfire. She still wished she had gone with them; her doppelganger had spent many of her formative years there, and so Miryo was nat-urally curious to see the place. But Mirage's concerns were well-grounded, and so Miryo stayed away. She had wanted to just camp somewhere, but Eclipse had pointed out that it might cause trouble if a patrol of trainees from Silverfire came across her.
So here she was, in town and disguised. In theory. Perhaps not so
well as she had
thought, though.
The realization hit her like a falling tree branch.
It's not your appearance, idiot; it's your behavior. You've seen for yourself how many mannerisms you two share. How many times do you think he's seen Mirage, with Elensk this close to the school? That's why he's looking at you sideways
.
I
knew
spending the day in a town full of Silverfire agents was a bad idea
.
Quickly Miryo recalculated. And so when the innkeeper quoted the room price to her, she put on the expression she could least imagine on her own face or her double's: petulance.
"Per
night
?" she said, deliberately imitating the accents she'd heard from the petty highborns in Haira. "Well, at least it covers the bathhouse as well, right?"
Irritation flickered in his eyes. "I'm afraid we have no bathhouse, goodwoman," he said. "I will have a maid bring up a tub and hot water, though."
Miryo was surprised to notice how much the lack of the honorific "Katsu" grated. It had been hardly any time since her testing, and yet already she took the term for granted. But no time to mull on that; she had an act to keep up. "No
bathhouse
? Sweet Maiden, what kind of backwater place is this? And I'm going to have to put up with another five days of this before I get to Dravya!"
"I apologize, goodwoman. I'm afraid this is a small town, and a small inn."
"I don't need
you
to tell me that." Miryo put as much aggravation in her sigh as she could. "Well, I don't suppose
I'll
find better in a pest hole like this town. And I'll be gone soon enough—thank the Bride.
Now where's my room
?"
She dropped the
pose as soon as the door was shut behind her. Her jaw ached, and she rubbed it absently; maintaining that expression had been surprisingly hard. And what a silly way to behave! Blaming that poor man for not running a city-class inn, when he lived in a small town. She wished she could apologize.
It was barely noon. Mirage and Eclipse would not be back until tomorrow, which left her with the remainder of today and part of tomorrow to kill. Somehow.
She had lunch first, sequestered in her room; then she had the maid bring up the promised tub and water. Miryo dismissed the girl's offers of help, and as a precaution locked the door behind her. She didn't soak in the tub, lest the steam interfere with her disguise; she was capable of touching it up, but not redoing it from scratch should it become ruined. Instead she stripped down and took a thorough sponge bath, fiercely scrubbing away the layers of dust that had built up during the ride. Then she touched up her disguise, called for another bath, and used this one to clean some of her belongings, remembering too late that a true highborn would have had a servant do it. By the time she was done it was vaguely dinnertime, and she called for the maid to remove the tub and bring supper. She ate. The dishes were taken away.