A Time of Dying (Araneae Nation) (6 page)

She gave me a meaningful glance. “We all have our secrets.”

If the cost of hers was learning one of mine, then a trade held no appeal. “Yes. We do.”

“Vaughn has granted permission for you to move freely through Cathis.” She headed toward a slender cabinet inset near the door and began riffling through shelves. “There are conditions of course.” She paused with a hand on a pile of black pants and lifted the topmost pair. She selected a shirt and set the clothing on the stool Murdoch had used. After dropping a pair of worn and dusty boots onto the floor, Mana rinsed her hands and approached me with a large bristle brush.

Bending down, she applied some type of salve then battled the tangles from my hair.

“Of course.” My fingers tightened painfully on the tub’s lip with each stroke. “Such as?”

“You’ll have a personal guard.” She set her brush aside and began plaiting my hair down my back in two rows. When she finished, she spun a silken thread from a fingertip and tied the ends.

“Personal guard?” She meant one of the paladin’s lapdogs. “Who?”

“Murdoch.” She stood back to admire her work. “Unless you’d rather have Lleu?”

Recalling his earlier kiss and smug grin, I curled my lip. “No, thank you.”

Seeming pleased with her morning’s work, she shrugged. “Then Murdoch it is.”

“He must be busy.” Doing whatever it was he did for the paladin. “I hate to be a bother.”

“Vaughn gave the order.” Mana dusted her hands. “That’s as good as law to Murdoch.”

Those who followed orders were sadly adverse to breaking rules, which meant I might have spoken too soon. Lleu indulged in harmless flirtations. How else might I tempt him to assist me?

“Is there a third option?” A low-ranking guard with wit to match? “Murdoch must hate me.”

“You mean because you stabbed him?” A smile played about her lips.

“Yes.” I cringed to recall it. “Most males take that sort of personal injury, well, personally.”

“Mimetidae aren’t like most males.” She gave the impression of considering her next words with care. “What you did to him would be an indication of interest under kinder circumstances.”

My jaw dropped. “I could have killed him.”

“But you didn’t.”

I threw up my hands. “But I
could have
.”

Wiping droplets from her face, Mana shivered. “Your water is cold.”

“Is it?” I hadn’t noticed. A quick glance down confirmed I had chill bumps.

Her brow creased. “Can’t you feel it?”

“No,” I answered honestly. “I don’t feel much of anything anymore.”

Chapter Four

Left to fend for myself after a summons sent Mana in search of her husband, I crept into the hall with the utmost care. I made it several giddy steps before the hairs on my nape stood on end.

“Going somewhere?” Murdoch’s voice rose over my shoulder.

“I was…”
think of a convenient lie,
“…looking for you.” I smiled. “And there you are.”

He managed not to roll his eyes, but they did drift a bit skyward. “Where are you headed?”

“Mana said I’m free to do as I like.” She had said something along those lines.

“The paladin granted you permission to move freely through Cathis,” Murdoch corrected.

I narrowed my eyes. “Were you listening at the door?”

“Yes.” The fact didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. “But Vaughn told me as much.”

“Ah.” I seized on his slip. “So now he’s Vaughn, is he?”

“
Paladin
Vaughn.” He walked around me. “There. Is that better?”

“Do you know one another well?” He said Vaughn’s name so easily. “Are you friends?”

Perhaps choosing Murdoch was its own reward after all.

He absently rubbed a scar running the length of his forearm. “No.”

“I don’t believe you.” His friend, Lleu, hadn’t pretended formality at all.

“Then we’re even.” He stared at my mouth. “I don’t believe anything you say.”

I whirled past Murdoch and stalked off in the opposite direction. Heavy footfalls announced his intention to follow me, ruining any chance I had for exploring this place, wherever we were. I had never seen turns in a hallway cut so sharp. I feared touching the walls might slice my hands.

“Is this the paladin’s home?” I wondered aloud.

“It is.” We continued in silence until passing yet another razor corner. “It’s called the Tower Square for a reason,” he said, as if noticing my interest. “Avoid all but the south tower. The other towers are forbidden except for the ruling family and their guards. There is a garden in the heart of the Towers. The maven alone dares tread there. You would do best to keep a wide berth of it.”

“Why is that?” I didn’t expect an answer, so his surprised me.

“The north tower is now a recovery ward for infected females.” Regret sharpened his voice. “The garden was a tomb. Until Mana arrived, corpses were stored there. Too many died too fast. There was no one to care for the dead.” He must have caught the horrified expression on my face since his tightened. “The bodies have been removed to the field, as you know from this morning. The maven is attempting to clean the area of negative spiritual energy. She’s blessing the space.”

“You think that helps?” Nothing short of a sword or a spade gave me comfort.

He appeared to give my question real consideration. “It can’t hurt.”

“Did any…?” How to phrase it delicately? “Did any bodies from the garden go missing?”

His head whipped toward me. “Why do you ask?”

So, yes, they had. “No reason.” I walked on, eager to avoid glimpsing the morbid garden.

Murdoch fisted my braid and held me in place with it. “What do you know of such things?”

Telling him they had gotten up and walked off seemed unwise. Besides, no one believed me.

“I thought plague…Mimetidae…” I let him connect the dots.

The tic beneath his eye fluttered. “You’re asking if we ate our dead.”

“You told me yourself you’re capable of it.” Though eating a neighbor was in poor taste.

“If you’re hungry enough, you’re capable of anything.” His words came gruff. “You must be tired. Would you like me to escort you to your room? You can retire until dinner, which the paladin expects you to attend.”

“No, I—” On second thought… “I have my own room?”

“You are, apparently, a guest in Cathis.” His flat delivery told me what he thought of that.

“Don’t worry.” I patted his good cheek. “I won’t be for long.”

He grasped my wrist, holding my palm against the handsome side of his face. “Seven days.”

I swallowed hard. “Is that all?”

“Unless you give the paladin a reason not to alert Hishima to your arrival, then yes, it is.”

“I have no gold to buy his silence or clan to aid in forging the alliance he desires.” I slid my hand from his. “I have nothing of value, except for myself.” And information Hishima would kill to keep concealed, which was laughable considering no one believed my tall tales were the truth.

His stark gaze trapped me. “Why did you run?”

“What does it matter?” I broke away before he answered.

“When I first found you, I thought you were mad or desperate. You’re neither.”

“We have vastly different definitions of desperation.” I clung to sanity by a silken thread.

“I think you know something or saw something,” he continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “I think you knew it was too dangerous to remain in Titania with that knowledge. By virtue of you being here, you’re bringing that danger to Cathis.” He leaned closer, inhaling my panic. “Confide your secrets in Paladin Vaughn. Give him incentive to protect you against his fellow paladin’s wrath.”

My laughter rang brittle. “What makes you think I know anything of value?”

His expression turned so amicable, I knew whatever he said next I would not like.

“Did you know that spirit walkers can detect lies based on fluctuations in your aura?”

I flinched. “Can they?”

How had I forgotten that gem? Perhaps because I never had reason to lie to Mana until now.

“I can tell from your scent you know it’s true, and that frightens you.” His nose trailed along the curve of my neck until his lips brushed my ear. “The maven is protecting you as best she can. That tells me she believes what you told her.” He exhaled. “And some things you haven’t yet.”

I put my hands on his chest and shoved. “I liked you better when you thought I was mad.”

“I liked you better gagged.” He straightened his shirt. “You made more sense to me then.”

“Take me to my room.” I almost stomped my foot for emphasis. He would have loved that.

“Follow me.” He set off at a brisk pace.

I was winded after we rounded the third corner. “Somewhere else you’d rather be?”

“Don’t sound so hopeful.” He slowed a bit. “You are my new priority.”

How dismal he made me sound. “What was your priority before?”

“Nothing that won’t keep.”

“You wanted my help.” It seemed a lifetime ago. “What did you have in mind?”

He stopped at a door that looked familiar to me. When he shoved it open, I was treated to the view of Murdoch’s room. The bed had been made, the area tidied, but it was not my own space.

I planted my feet and refused to budge. “You said I had my own room.”

“No.” A twinkle in his eye made my blood simmer. “I said you were a guest of Cathis. What you took that to mean is no problem of mine. As you are so fond of pointing out—our clans have little in common.” He made a helpless gesture. “I do apologize you misunderstood my meaning.”

“As do I.” Sharing a room made escaping it that much more difficult. He swept out his arm, and I took his invitation. “You were saying? About your priorities?”

He checked the hall before locking the door. “During the first nights after the plague struck, several males left their posts. They never made their rounds, never went home, never contacted a single family member.” His conviction filled me with sympathy. “We have not seen them since.”

I pulled a hand through my hair to hide its trembling. “In desperate times—”

“I knew those men, grew up with most of them. They didn’t abandon their families.”

“That’s the task the paladin gave you. He wants you to locate the missing guards.” Meaning he didn’t believe the males were deserters either. Learning of Vaughn’s quest for answers ignited a dangerous spark in my chest. Could Vaughn be the ally I needed? Dare I tell him what I knew?

The risk might be worth the reward, or it might cost me what little freedom I had won.

Murdoch nodded. “The trail grows colder the longer I wait.”

“So why not let me entertain myself?” I smiled. “You could get in a few hours’ work.”

His focus on my lips made them tingle. “In a few hours it would be
your
trail getting cold.”

I folded my arms. “Do you always do what Vaughn tells you?”

He countered, “Do you ever do what you’re told?”

I scrunched up my face. “Is that a trick question?”

He palmed the doorknob with a sigh. “I’ll be outside if you need anything.”

The door closed with a sharp thud. After checking to see that the knob turned, to be sure the surly guard wasn’t poised to spring at the first whiff of rebellion, I inspected my surroundings as I hadn’t had the luxury to do so earlier. What caught my eye first was a pink glow seeping under a tapestry hung above a stubby table strewn with papers Murdoch used as a desk. Oh so gingerly I peeled back the fabric, nudged the shutters gently open, and I was treated with a welcome view.

Warm air hit my face and blew hairs free of my braid.

“Hello, freedom.” I patted the arch of a narrow, paneless window.

It was slender, but I was skin and bones. Squeezing through it would present me no problem. Careful not to make a sound, I unhooked the fabric panel from the heavy metal rod that hung it.

Without a rope, I turned to the next best thing—the closet full of Murdoch’s clothes. He was so tall his pants were long and easy to tie into knots. They were made of thick cloth I was unfamiliar with, but it was tougher than the sheets or his shirts would have been. Once I had coiled several lengths of makeshift rope, I worked up the nerve to peer past the ledge, all the way to the ground.

The view made me swallow convulsively. Despite the fact I climbed well, a skill all Segestriidae honed in order to harvest the finest crystals for our crafts, such great heights terrified me. I even avoided my family’s niche in the crystal cavern until necessity forced a visit.

But if my choice was dare the fall or accept defeat, I chose the risk.

Using the tapestry rod, which reminded me of an old banner pole on closer inspection, I tied the ends of the pants in the center of the rod and balanced the thing on the lip of the window. My stomach bottomed out when I climbed up and dangled my legs. It was a long way down. Rope in hand, I shut my eyes and eased over the side. I could do this. Eyes shut. That was the key. Bit by bit, hand over hand, I would lower myself nearer the blessed ground. I gulped and slinked down.