The Black Shriving (Chronicles of the Black Gate Book 2) (51 page)

"Ser Tiron?" Orishin stopped his awkward scuttling away and peered at him. "It is you! I thought you were a demon come to claim me for my sins. But - what has happened? You are covered in blood!"

Tiron touched his face. His fingers came away sticky. "Hannus is dead. He was framed by Ylisa. They killed him and made it look like he was trying to kill the emperor. The chamberlain has had Iskra and Ord arrested."

Orishin blinked rapidly as he processed that. "Oh, no."

"Oh, yes. Now you're going to help me get her out."

"I am? But how? The prison is heavily guarded. Yes, we must. But how? Let me think."

Both men stared at the ground, each deep in thought. Tiron racked his brain, trying to think whom they could approach. "I've got it," he said. "We've got to get to the Vothak Academy."

Orishin opened his mouth to protest, then went still. "Yes. Very good. They are loyal only to the emperor, and they are strongly in favor of this war. Any truce will depend on their being killed for heresy. But how can they help?"

"I don't know yet. But we met three of them earlier tonight. Al-Vothak Ilina, in particular."

Orishin tugged at his beard. "The academy is not too far from here, but they will not let two strangers inside at this hour, no matter how wild a tale we spin."

"Can we break in?" Tiron thought his own proposition over. "No, bad idea. I doubt Sin Casters would treat intruders gently."

Orishin sat up. "There is one man who might help us. It is a dangerous gamble, however. He could just as easily arrest us both."

"Captain Patash?"

"The same. He is a very intelligent man, and the fact that he was willing to lead Lady Kyferin to the Hall of Peacocks instead of the Hall of Pigeons speaks in his favor. His help is far from guaranteed, however."

Tiron scratched at his jaw. "Do you know where to find him?"

Orishin nodded eagerly. "He passes through this square on patrol every two hours. He's due to come by soon again. That's how I've come to know him. He stops by my stall on occasion to discuss international affairs."

"All right. I'd best remain out of sight at first, though." Tiron scanned the square. "Let's do this. I'll wait in that alley. When he appears, tell him you need to speak to him in private and lead him there. We'll talk. If he agrees to help, good. If not, well, at least we'll have some privacy."

Orishin nodded, eyes wide. "Please, try not to hurt him. He is a good man, a friend of mine."

Tiron stood with a groan. "No promises. I'll be watching."

Tiron was nearly asleep on his feet when Patash's patrol filed into the square. There were six guards with him and they appeared to be on alert, swinging their lanterns from side to side as they peered into the darkness.
Great,
thought Tiron.
The whole city is probably after me.

Patash waved to Orishin, but he seemed intent on continuing his patrol without stopping to talk. Orishin emerged and bid Patash come close. The captain said something to his men and stepped over, then conferred quietly with the stall owner before nodding reluctantly. He called out in Agerastian to his troops, then followed Orishin into the alley.

Tiron stepped out, sword resting over his shoulder, and grinned at the captain. "Evening, Patash."

The captain immediately drew his blade and went to shout, but Orishin said something rapidly in Agerastian, clearly a plea, falling to his knees as he did so. The captain hesitated, eyes narrowed, gauged the distance to the alley's mouth, and then nodded slowly to Tiron.

Thank you
, thought Tiron, though he didn't direct his gratitude toward the Ascendant. "Orishin, get on your feet. Tell him what's happened."

Orishin did so in a quick stream of words, speaking most emphatically and with plenty of wild gestures. The whole time Patash watched Tiron, eyes flat, expression closed. Tiron met his gaze without difficulty, keeping his own stare open and without reserve. When Orishin finally finished, Patash continued to stare at Tiron, who leaned his blade against the wall and raised his hands, palm outward.

"It's true. Every word of it. A trap. Help us. You know Lady Iskra is innocent."

The silence stretched out. Patash was clearly wrestling with his instincts, and Tiron respected that. He was asking Patash to betray his responsibilities and trust in Tiron's intuition. The captain's gaze was piercing. Finally, he nodded and said something quietly to Orishin, who visibly wilted with relief.

"He says he will help, but at the first sign of betrayal he will arrest you and curse himself for being a fool. He wants to know how you plan to clear Lady Iskra's name."

"The academy," said Tiron. "Tell him we need his help in getting an audience with the Vothak Ilina."

Patash's face darkened, and then he laughed and shook his head.

"The captain says, why not? After that we can visit the emperor, and then perhaps send a letter to the Ascendant's Grace." Orishin smiled weakly.

Tiron stared flatly at Patash. The man's eyebrows rose, and he shot a question at Orishin, who nodded mutely. Patash rubbed his nose, then sighed and nodded. He gestured for Tiron and Orishin to follow and stepped back into the square.

"What did he say?"

"That he will do what he can." Orishin shook his head in wonder. "He's actually helping. I am surprised! And delighted."

"Come on, then," said Tiron, hefting his blade and stepping around the translator. "Let's go wake up some Sin Casters."

Patash and his patrol took them by back roads to one of the rose-colored buildings with a glittering dome. Orishin explained that they had once been temples to the Ascendant, but had since the city's independence been devoted to different purposes. This one, taller and less massive than the others, had been turned into the emperor's academy.

It wasn't a popular building, Tiron noted as they stepped up to the entrance. There were no stalls in the square outside it, and the encircling buildings looked half-abandoned. Tiron couldn't blame the locals. Who would want to live next to fire-throwing mages?

Patash stepped up to the forbidding double doors and knocked boldly. His guards stood to one side, still casting dubious looks at Tiron and frowning as they sought to understand what was taking place.

The doors opened. A handsome young man with close-cropped hair, wearing a simple cotton tunic that dropped to his knees, looked in surprise at Patash. "Can I help you?"

"Please give my apologies to al-Vothak Ilina, and tell her that Captain Patash requests an urgent meeting with her."

"Al-Vothak Ilina?" Concern flashed across the man's face. "Come in. I'll see if she is available."

The double doors opened directly into the old hall of worship, and Tiron glanced automatically toward the far end, where he expected to see a great silver triangle on the wall. Of course it was missing. He was amused to realize that he could still be shocked by the sight of wooden partitions installed down the length of the great hall, dividing the space into more practical rooms.

The young man led their party down a central corridor, past various doorways, and then out into the final open space where the altar had once been. In its place was a circle of rather comfortable-looking chairs, and a massive tapestry on one wall showed Thansos the emperor striking down the Solar Gate with black fire.

Patash stood stiffly, his tanned face pale, a thin horizontal line creasing his forehead. He muttered something to Orishin, who grimaced apologetically and replied in a conciliatory fashion.

Tiron sank gratefully into one of the chairs. His vision had started to blur. There was no sense in acting tough if it meant collapsing onto the floor a few minutes from now.

The sound of footsteps echoed down from the ceiling, and moments later a small group entered, led by al-Vothak Ilina herself. Her face was cast in a severe expression, and a simple dove-gray robe covered her from chin to feet. Tiron didn't recognize the four men and women behind her, but that was fine; he didn't need to.

Ilina caught sight of him and stopped. She blinked, clearly trying to place him, and then her eyes widened. "You are with Lady Kyferin's party."

Ah, Ennoian.
Tiron forced himself to rise, and bowed. "I was. She has been arrested on charges of attempting to assassinate the emperor."

Ilina's face hardened, the lines around her mouth growing more pronounced. The other four didn't react. Clearly they didn't speak the language.

"I had not heard. When did this happen?"

"Perhaps... an hour ago? Maybe two? I lost track of time while running through the city."

"You fled arrest?"

"Naturally."

"It is my duty, then, to turn you over to the authorities."

Tiron nodded. "Agreed. There's a captain of the guard right there. However, he's agreed that it might be worth your while to listen to me first."

Patash was following this spate of Ennoian with lowered brows, Orishin whispering a translation to him all the while. Patash stepped forward, hesitated once more, and then visibly committed himself. He spoke in a quiet but confident manner before he bowed deeply and stepped back.

Ilina turned and whispered in Agerastian to one of her followers, who promptly turned and ran back down the corridor. She looked to Tiron. "Then speak."

"The man they are blaming the assassination attempt on was a good man, a family man by the name of Hannus. At tonight's feast, he was given wine by a beautiful serving girl. He drank little, but soon grew heavily intoxicated. She only served him, then when I was escorting Lady Iskra back to our group, our other guard, Ord, was challenged by a man who fell upon him. When he turned, he saw Hannus being led away by that same serving girl, now clearly tripping over himself. We searched for him but didn't dare go far. We notified the chamberlain and returned to our rooms."

Orishin translated all the while to Patash, who added some words when Tiron was done.

Ilina's broad nostrils flared as she mulled this over. "What happened then?"

"Palace guards burst into our rooms, claiming that Hannus had been killed while crossing the emperor's private garden with a blade in hand. Even if one chooses to disregard the fact that he was loyal to Lady Kyferin and would never have attempted this of his own free will, I doubt he would have been able to find the emperor's gardens without help, much less attempt an assassination while he was that drunk."

"And if he was feigning drunkenness so that he would have precisely such an alibi?"

Tiron shrugged. "Then he was a far better actor then he was a soldier, and trust me, he was a good soldier. No, someone is seeking to disrupt Lady Kyferin's attempt to forge an alliance with the emperor before it's too late." Tiron wanted nothing more than to sit, but he resisted the urge. "There. That's what I've got. Now arrest me or agree to help."

Ilina snorted. "You are a direct man. I appreciate that." She turned to Patash and interrogated him for a few minutes. When that was over, she nodded. "Very well. I agree that there is a chance this could be an attempt to sabotage our negotiations. I will help you investigate this matter. Captain Patash suggests we seek this serving girl. We can speak with the Master of Feasts to learn her identity. I think it best you remain here so as not to risk being arrested while we pursue our investigation."

Tiron shook his head and smiled. "I'm not staying behind. And second, we all know who's behind this. The emperor's daughter. Come on – let's just head right to her quarters and see if that girl's there. She'd have to be highly trusted to be given a mission like that. If we go quickly enough, I bet we'll catch her just before she's given a sackful of gold and sent on her way."

Orishin's translation caused Patash to give a very firm negative. He spoke forcefully, Ilina nodded, and Orishin turned to Tiron. "They say to risk such an intrusion with no evidence is to risk death. We must first ascertain the identity of the serving girl through traditional means."

"Then don't bother. She wasn't a serving girl. She was placed there specifically for tonight, and if that's true, this Master of Feasts won't admit to such a crime. Most likely our presence will be noted, Ylisa will be notified by some sneaky bastard, and the serving girl will be immediately hidden." He locked eyes with Ilina. "If you're going to take this seriously, take it seriously. Otherwise, you're just wasting our time."

The al-Vothak inhaled sharply again. She was balancing right on the edge.

"Look," said Tiron. "If Lady Kyferin is an assassin, you're dead. That means there's no more Gate Stone coming, which means the invasion is finished. It means a truce, or worse, which in turn means all of you Sin Casters - or Vothaks - are dead. Your one chance at survival lies in catching this serving girl. You fumble this, you lose her, and you all die." He gave her a moment to think that over, then said, "So, come with me. Let's strike fast and hard at Ylisa's apartments. Let's gamble it all so that we at least have a chance of winning."

The silence was so tense, it fairly trembled. Then Ilina gave a curt nod. "You have convinced me." She spoke a command to Patash, who stiffened, then nodded reluctantly. "We're leaving now. I won't slow down for your wounds."