The False Martyr (79 page)

“
I’m no one’s lord,” Teth
laughed before she remembered who she was, then added, “yet.” The
boy looked at her sideways but seemed to think no more of it. “I
like it here,” she continued. “It may sound strange but it feels
nice to be warm.”

“
If ya want ta feel warm,
come back this afternoon,” the boy said absently as he cracked eggs
into a pan. “I’ll barely need the stove ta cook yir eggs then.” He
seemed only then to catch himself. “My lord,” he added
quickly.

“
I hear they’ve no food at
all,” another boy said to the lad at his side. They stood shoulder
to shoulder working a great mound of dough.

“
And the Wasting Death
too,” his fellow replied. “My cousin knows one o’ the soldiers
whose been out there. Says they ‘ave two carts o’ bodies every day.
Heard they just dump ‘em in the river fir the fish.”

The first boy shook his
head. “Bad times, these, and the gov’nor . . . .” the boy cut off
as a hand found the side of his head, knocking it into that of his
fellow. They both stopped their kneading to rub their aching
skulls, which earned them flour stained faces and another
slap.

“
The bread,” the chief
baker growled. “You idiots will be headed out there with them if
you can’t keep your lips from flapping.” He turned to Teth with a
big, but entirely disingenuous, smile. “Master Esther, please
forgive these fools. They have no idea what they’re saying. Idle
chatter and rumor is all. We all know the governor’s doing all he
can to keep order in the city in these hard times.” He took a deep
breath and looked away. “Now, I’ve just pulled some cherry rolls
from the oven. In these times, I don’t know how he does it, but
Master Tappers found us the most lovely bushel of tart cherries.
The rolls are a specialty around here. Just let me add the glaze
and you can be the first to try them.”

Teth returned to the
Tappers’ chambers a few minutes later. She held a tray with eggs,
fish, and three of the rolls. They looked like normal dinner rolls,
but shiny with glaze, and the baker promised a surprise inside. She
had received a number of curious looks from the residents who were
just now starting to rise and seek their morning meals, but no one
offered anything more than the most cursory greetings.

Mrs. Tappers appeared at
the door almost as soon as Teth knocked, and she nearly dropped the
tray in surprise at the quick response. “I’m sorry, my dear,” Mrs.
Tappers said as she relieved Teth of the tray. “I was standing
right here. I’d had a premonition that you were on your way, but I
did not mean to startle you.” She looked now as she always did –
hair up in its imposing tower, face white with powder except where
the rouge and paints stained it red. A corset had shaped her lumps
into curves that a dress made the model of feminine form. In
fifteen short minutes, Mrs. Tappers had transformed herself from a
tired, aged, nondescript, old woman into the matron of a great
house, mother, keeper of fifty families. Teth was amazed, but
having seen what she had done to Dasen, she knew that Mrs. Tappers
was a woman adept at transformation.

“
I am sorry. Please come
in and join me.” Mrs. Tappers set the tray on a small table on the
other side of the room from the armchairs that had housed them
during Teth’s first visit. Teth ventured in cautiously and closed
the door behind her. Mrs. Tappers led her to one of the table’s
four chairs before which sat her breakfast. Teth took the seat and
lifted the fork beside her plate. She was suddenly famished despite
having eaten near her weight the night before – with food a
supposed scarcity in the city, she was not sure how much longer the
Tappers would be able to keep her. “Please, eat,” Mrs. Tappers
insisted.

At that same moment,
another door opened, and Mr. Tappers emerged from what must be a
bedroom. He was dressed and dapper, but still looking haggard. He
rubbed his face and sat in the chair opposite his wife, so that
they flanked Teth at the small table. He reached his hand out to
his wife, and she took it. They exchanged a knowing glance as
Teth’s eyes bounced between them.

“
I think you and your
husband have gotten yourselves in something a bit deeper than you
realize,” Mrs. Tappers ventured. “I’ve been talking with Mark, and
we’ve agree that we want to help you.”

Teth stopped chewing the
bite of egg in her mouth. Her eyes moved cautiously back and forth,
trying to find the trap that must be contained in the
offer.

“
I know I told you this
before, and it may sound strange, but we know exactly what you are
going through. We were once just like you, on the run from who we
were, the whole world seemingly against us, secrets and lies
everywhere we turned. We never would have made it, but someone
helped us, someone showed us how to make our lives into something
that we could live with. Now, it’s our turn to return the
favor.”

“
What about Kian?” Teth
asked then wanted the words immediately back.

“
We’ll deal with him when
the time comes. He’s not nearly as smart as he thinks he
is.”

The discussion after that
was short and largely one-sided. The Tappers agreed that Kian was
dangerous, that ambition was the only thing driving him, that he
would turn on them as soon as the opportunity arose, and that Dasen
and Teth should look to get away from him before that happened.
They agreed to help them escape but thought the best time for that
would be when Kian made his move to take the city. In the confusion
that was sure to follow, the Tappers reasoned they’d be able to get
them on a boat heading down the river. And if it all worked, Kian
would never even know the innkeepers’ part.

Through it all, Teth held
her tongue, dying to tell them everything she knew but unwilling to
risk it all, unwilling to trust even as all her prayers were
answered.

“
Obviously, there are a
lot of details to work out,” Mr. Tappers said when his wife had
finished describing the plan. He looked around the room, seemingly
still reluctant.

Margot squeezed his hand
until his eyes found hers. “We have to do this,” she said,
conviction clear. “It is not just the debt owed. It is the world.
If Dasen is what you have said, then we cannot allow Kian to use
him or the invaders to claim him. It is our duty to the
Order.”

Mr. Tappers nodded at
that, looking solemn. “We will talk again,” he said to Teth. “Until
then, do not mention any of this to Dasen. He needs to be focused
on his part. If he’s looking over his shoulder, this will never
work.” He took a deep breath. “You should also know that Kian can
hear everything you say in that room. There is a hole behind the
picture on the north wall. If he knows you’re both in the room,
then someone is listening. You can trust us and, probably, Garth,
but the others are Kian’s men, bought and paid for. They will
follow him to the Maelstrom.”

“
What about Lareno?” Teth
asked, still thinking back to everything she had said to Dasen
since they’d arrived, wondering what Kian or one of his cronies had
heard. Luckily, she had said very, very little.

“
We don’t know him well,”
Margot answered. “Kian said it was the valati that saved them, that
he was waiting for them in the river, that he fished them out and
brought them here.” She stopped. “I don’t know. He stays at the
temple but has not displaced Valati Nommeck as would be his right.
He is friendly enough, self-effacing, not at all like you’d expect
from a man in his position.”

“
I mean,” Teth tried to
think what she wanted to say. “I mean, what role does he have in
all this?” She held her breath hoping for some indication that the
Tappers had already lumped the valati in with Kian, that it was
safe to confide in them fully.

She did not receive it.
“You can be sure that he’s involved in Kian’s schemes,” Mrs.
Tappers answered slowly. “He may even be planning a lot of it, but
I think his motivations are far different from Kian’s. He strikes
us as a true man of the Order, a man who just wants what’s best for
the people in his care. But in honesty, we don’t know him
well.”

Teth nodded. Mrs. Tappers
indecision was not enough to risk giving anything more away. “But
Garth is not one of them?”

“
He’s a Morg,” Mr. Tappers
explained. “Unless he’s under contract, he’s his own man. Kian
thinks he’s loyal, but Morgs have their own code, and Kian’s about
as far from it as a man can get.”

Teth nodded. She felt like
a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The Tappers help was
exactly what she needed to get Dasen away from Kian and Lareno
while still finding the peace they’d promised. If she could just
play along for a few more weeks, could just hold out that long, she
could have everything she wanted, and there’d be no way for the
Weaver to stop her.

“
We need to get to the
inn,” Mrs. Tappers announced, looking at the pendulum clock
standing on the opposite wall. “We’ll be missed.” She pulled
herself up then walked to Teth and took her face in her thick
hands. “We will be watching over you. You are safe for now. Kian
needs Dasen, and Garth will protect you as long as you are near
him. You cannot be seen with us too much, but we can talk, and we
will keep you updated on our plans. Until then, you must act as if
you suspect nothing. Can you do that?”

“
Yes. Kian already
distrusts me, but I won’t give him any other reasons to doubt. And
I’ll do everything I can to stay away from him.” Teth stood and
allowed Mrs. Tappers to lead her toward the door.

“
Smart girl,” Mr. Tappers
said as he joined them. “Margot, dear, I need to finish getting
myself ready. Can you handle the service for a few
minutes?”

“
A few minutes?” she
guffawed. “I handle it all day, every day. Unless you think your
incessant yapping is what fills our customers’ bellies.”

Mr. Tappers chuckled at
that then disappeared into the other room. Teth was at the door to
the inn by this point, and Mrs. Tappers was reaching for the
handle. “It was so nice of you to stop by and apologize,” she
announced as she opened the door. “I know that you did not mean to
worry us. I understand how it is with boys and time. And you need
not apologize to us for anything, but I appreciate your fine
manners in doing so. Now, please get some breakfast before it’s
gone.”

And as quickly as that,
Teth was in the hall with the door closing behind her. It had all
happened so fast that she was not sure it had been real.

“
There you are,” Garth
announced from the other side of the hall. “I’ve been looking
everywhere. Your sister said you had stepped out, and I was worried
you’d run off again.” The big Morg closed on Teth and clapped a
hand on her shoulder, nearly sending her to the floor.

“
I . . . I . . . ah just
stopped to apologize to the Tappers for worrying them
yesterday.”

“
I see, well let’s get you
some breakfast then to you training. I think we will find a new
location. Too many distractions here, and as you said, we need
space and air.”

Teth was stunned. These
were as many words as the taciturn Morg had spoken to her in the
previous four days combined. She followed him to the kitchen and
could not help the smile that pulled at the corner of her lips.
Surely, the Order had other tricks in store, but this was a good
day. Things were going her way for the first time in months – years
– and she could not help but feel good.

Chapter 44

The
38
^th
Day of Summer

“
Lady Esther, we were just
talking about you. Won’t you join us?” Dasen looked at Kian and
rolled his eyes. It was late in the night. He had just been heading
to bed when Mr. Tappers knocked. He stepped into the storeroom of
the inn wearing a women’s dressing gown and just enough powder to
keep his stubble hidden from a chance encounter. Teth hobbled
groggily behind. She had been asleep for an hour, was obviously
still feeling the effects of the workout that Garth had put her
through that day, had barely managed to pull on pants and a shirt
before stumbling out the door of their room. She plopped onto a bag
of grain, leaned against a stack of barrels, and yawned long and
hard.

“
What’s this about?” Dasen
asked as the innkeeper secured the door behind them. Garth took up
a place near Teth, looming over her like the bodyguard he was
supposed to be, eyes barely leaving her. Dasen walked past him to
the small table where the rebel band held their meetings. Kian was
already seated with Valati Lareno on one side and the twins Torin
and Jax on the other. Another of Kian’s men, a wiry fellow with a
short beard and long hair, whose name Dasen couldn’t recall was
next to Lareno.

Coming around a stack of
barrels that reached nearly to the ceiling, Dasen saw the room’s
back door and nearly fell over himself in his shock. Leaning
against the door, picking their nails with indifference, were a
trio of uniformed soldiers. A stack of flour sacks as tall as
himself kept Dasen from falling. He searched for the hands that
should be reaching to take him, the swords that would ensure he
didn’t struggle, the ropes that would secure his hands and feet. He
reached reflexively toward the power he’d used outside Thoren. It
was there but in barely perceptible. If Thoren had been a forest
fire, this was barely a brand. He had no idea if it would be
enough. “What . . . what’s?” his words stumbled with his
body.