Dragon-Ridden (35 page)

Dewdrop muttered under his breath
as Tate took the little boy by the hand and merged with the crowd heading into
the city. She made sure they stayed surrounded by lots of people as she put
distance between them and the harbor.

“Oh look, our friends from the
harbor,” a female voice said delightedly next to Tate’s shoulder. The woman
grabbed Tate in a hug before she could stop her, not even seeming to mind the
water that soaked into her shirt from Tate. Next she hugged Dewdrop. He shot
Tate a wild-eyed look over the woman’s shoulder, probably asking for help. She
shook her head back at him. She did not want to be hugged again. It was the
woman from the floating raft, with her friend standing just behind her.

“We looked but couldn’t find you
after the lantern release.”

Tate thought quickly. “Yes, well,
I’m afraid I got too excited and fell in,” she said pointing to her wet
clothing.

They made sympathetic sounds while
Tate tried to look regretful.

“And who’s this?” the woman asked
bending down to say hi to the boy.

“A friend of the family,” Dewdrop
hurriedly explained.

“Why, he’s wet too,” she said
touching a strand of hair that clung to his neck. He leaned away, backing into
Tate.

She placed a hand on his shoulder
in support. “Yes,” she said smiling down at him. “This little guy loves to
swim, and when he saw I had taken a dunking he just jumped right into the
water.”

“We’d better find you a change of
clothes before you catch a cold then,” the woman said in sympathy.

Tate was already making their
excuses when the woman took her by the arm and pulled her along in her wake.
“Oh no, I insist. How are you to enjoy the festival in those wet clothes? No,
no, just leave it to us. We’re renting rooms near here and have some great
costumes you can use.”

“That’s very kind of you, but I
just couldn’t,” Tate began.

Dewdrop interrupted quickly.
“Really? That’s just too kind. I’d always heard people in Aurelia were rather
rude, but now I see that just isn’t true.”

What are you doing?
Tate
mouthed at Dew Drop.

He tilted his head to the right as
if he wanted her to look. She glanced over. Ryu and three men with the dark
hair and golden complexion of the Kairi were cutting through the crowd. She
ducked behind the woman and chanced a quick glance back. It didn’t look like
she’d been seen as Ryu was glancing around as if searching for something.

“It’s Donza,” the man said as if in
explanation which Tate took to mean that the mood of the festival inspired
people to a degree of friendliness they wouldn’t normally have.

“We’d appreciate any help you could
give us,” Tate said. “Should we go now?”

She ushered the couple from the
square, keeping an eye on Ryu and his companions. Only when they were out of
sight with no one following did she release the breath she had been holding.

The woman was chattering away while
Tate only half listened, making the appropriate noises during pauses in the
conversation. The rest of her mind was on Ryu and why he’d been in that square
at that precise moment. The city was enormous. Even with all her walking around
in the past three days she couldn’t have covered more than a quarter of the
area. The chances of running into that particular person right when she found
the all-important fulcrum were slim to nonexistent. Had he been following her?

“Here we are,” the woman said in a
chipper voice.

Tate looked up at a plain brick
building much like Colton’s Place. On the inside, stairs led up to a decent
sized apartment complete with kitchen, common area and two bedrooms. The open
windows led onto a balcony, and the sounds of revelry floated in on the night’s
breeze.

The room was in a bit of disarray
with linen scattered over the floor in piles. Several had been rolled up into
little bundles. It looked like several people had been crashing in the
apartment over the past couple of days.

“I have a couple of costumes that
might fit you,” the woman said disappearing into a room.

“Anything you have should be fine,”
Tate assured her.

The little boy at her side gazed
around with a placid curiosity. He hadn’t said anything since he’d seen Umi and
had been more than willing to hide from the Kairi and Ryu.

“Forgive the mess,” the woman said
walking into the room with several sets of clothes draped over her arm.
“Several friends are in from the country for the festival, and this place
always gets a bit messy during the festival season.”

Tate nodded and smiled, taking the
clothes when they were handed to her. The little boy took his without a word,
staring at them curiously. He seemed particularly fascinated with the way the
thread felt against his skin, running his hands up and down it several times.

“You can get changed through
there,” the woman said, pointing to two separate rooms.

“Thank you,” Tate said. Turning to
the boy, she asked, “Can you change your clothes by yourself?”

He didn’t answer, remaining
absorbed in the fabric. Dewdrop stepped up saying, “I’ll make sure he puts them
on properly.”

The boy taken care of, Tate closed
the door behind her before peeling off her wet clothing. She’d taken her boots
off before jumping into the water, but they were still slightly damp. They’d
have to do because she simply didn’t have anything to replace them. Hopefully
they were dry enough that they wouldn’t give her blisters.

She stepped into the pants
surprised at how good the cloth felt against her skin. It was cool and silky,
reflecting the light with a glossy sheen. Golden, they almost matched her hair
and fell to just above the floor in a loose fit. She took a few steps and loved
how they moved with her.

She donned a beige undershirt
tucking it into her pants and then a formal looking tunic, which fell to just
above mid thigh. Her full sleeves widened the closer they got to the cuffs and
ended at her knuckles.

The base fabric of the garment was
a rich topaz that was highlighted by beautiful embroidery using threads of
silver, gold and a pale rose. Tate whistled silently, twisting and turning to
admire the fit. The garment’s coloring complimented Tate’s perfectly.

When the woman had offered to let
Tate borrow clothes, Tate hadn’t thought they’d be so fine or fit so well.

 A cry of approval greeted
Tate when she walked into the common area causing a light blush to grace her
face. She executed a turn when asked so they could see the back as well.

“I knew they would fit,” the woman
said clapping her hands. “They look beautiful on you.”

“Now, you look ready for Donza,”
the man added with an appreciative glint in his eye.

Tate ducked her head. “I can’t
believe you found something that would fit me so well.” She held up one arm
admiring the sleeve. “I’m not sure I should accept something that is so
obviously well made. These must be expensive.”

“Your praise is payment enough,”
the woman said blushing slightly.

“Sheila’s the maker of those
clothes,” the man said proudly. “My sister’s an apprentice to a dress maker
right now, but one day she’s going to be making clothes for all the Upper City
ladies.”

“That’s amazing,” Tate said
impressed. It was too. She wished she had an honest goal to work towards. That
there was some skill that she could do better than anybody else. Preferably of
the noncriminal variety. “Still, I feel bad for taking all your hard work without
payment. I don’t have much money on me, but perhaps I can pay you back.”

Sheila flapped her hand at Tate.
“Don’t even think of it. This is Donza. It’s bad luck to take payment for
services freely offered.”

Tate was interrupted when Dewdrop
and the boy stepped back into the room. The boy entered with a remote
expression on his face and a rigid posture made more evident by the fitted
clothing on him. His outfit was a mirror of Tate’s with loose pants and a tunic
fitted across the chest with loose straight sleeves that fell to his fingers.
He ran the fingers of one hand down one side over and over again, his face
remaining emotionless the entire time.

“Oh my, so cute,” Sheila gushed
going to kneel in front of him. She tugged on the tunic checking its fit.

Tate examined him with a critical
eye. While he was less noticeable now that he was out of his robes, his hair
would be an instant giveaway to anyone who knew what to look for. Her hair was
too, for that matter.

It was on the tip of her tongue to
ask if Sheila had any hats when Sheila sprang to her feet with an exclamation.
“I know the perfect thing to go with your outfits.”

She hurried back into the room
where Tate had changed. They could hear things being shifted around, and then
Sheila was waving two masks in her hands as she swished back to them.

She handed the gold one to Tate and
the silver one to the little boy who took it and put it to his face. His eyes
blinked out at her. The mask itself was a stylized etching of a growling beast,
with swirls and groves carved onto the forehead and cheeks before elongating
into a snout over a mouth filled with sharp teeth. The incisors jutted fiercely
over the edge of the mouth on both top and bottom. An icy blue had been rubbed
into the groves while the rest was an aged silver color. White and blue
feathers stuck out from the top in varying lengths. Once on, the mask would
cover his entire face and all of his hair.

Tate’s mask was simpler, being a
smooth gold with red designs painted on one cheek and around one eye. Similar
to the boy’s, the headdress had red, gold and black tulle sprouting from the
edges while waves of expertly bunched cloth fell down the back.

She pulled it on and looked around.
She’d have no peripheral vision while wearing it, but nobody would be able to
recognize her.

“I made those for some friends who
couldn’t make it,” Sheila said. “I’m so glad they can be put to use.”

Dewdrop helped braid the boy’s hair
so it wouldn’t stick out of the bottom while Tate twisted her hair into a knot
at the base of her neck before putting her mask back on. She moved her head
experimentally. Nothing snagged and she could look from side to side with no
problem.

“Time for Donza,” the man said when
they were done.

“Thank you so much for all you’ve
done,” Tate said. They’d helped a lot more than they would ever know.

“Don’t even mention it,” Sheila
said. “If this is your first time experiencing Donza, you’ve got to do it
right.”

Tate laughed at that.

The festival seemed to have kicked
into high gear, even though it was an hour after midnight. Many were in
costumes similar to Tate and the boys’. Some had less ornate masks while others
put theirs to shame. It seemed to be an anything goes mentality. There were
regularly dressed people mixed in with the costumes. Tate kept one hand on the
boy when the crowd pushed in on them. She waited for the brother and sister’s
attention to be focused elsewhere before drawing Dewdrop and the boy in another
direction. Their companions would simply assume they’d gotten separated in the
crowd.

“What’re we going to do now?”
Dewdrop asked, shouting above the noise.

“I don’t know.”

It was slow going trying to push
their way through the streets. Traffic from horses and carriages had been shut
down as the simple magnitude of the crowds caused the streets to be filled wall
to wall with people. They passed a square where a group of musicians had set up
and people danced in time to the music.

Tate wanted to get off the streets
so they could plan but didn’t want to head back to their previous hideout, as
it was too close to the harbor. Going up onto the roofs was out given it’d be
pretty much impossible to find a spot free of revelers to gain access to it.
She looked at the boy’s thin arms and legs. He probably wouldn’t be able to
make the climb anyway.

“How much do you know about barrier
stones?” she shouted above the crowd.

“A little bit,” he shouted back. “I
had to know their limits when I was a thief.”

“Is it true no one can get in
unless the owner lets them?”

He nodded slowly, his expression
thoughtful. “As long as their blood hasn’t been spilt and smeared over the
stones. If they have an item of clothing that you bled or sweated in, they can
use that to get in too. Are you talking about Ryu’s place?”

She nodded, forgetting he couldn’t
see her through the mask. Remembering, she said, “Yes. Lucius and the Red Lady
don’t know about that place, and Ryu is in the city. We should be safe there
for a short time. Long enough to figure out our next move and pick up some
money.”

“What if he left someone to guard
it?”

“I think I’ve worked out a back way
into the place.”

“You’re the boss,” he said.

She pushed him lightly but behind
the mask she was smiling.

Tate couldn’t decide if this was a
good plan or not as she made her way across the building’s roof, Dewdrop and
the boy following behind. She tried to keep her steps as quiet as possible, not
wanting anyone inside to know she was up there.

When they walked by the building
earlier, it had been impossible to tell if anybody was watching it with all the
revelers clogging the streets. While the masks hid her and the boy’s identity
from sight, she knew it could do the same for her enemies. That’s why she was
creeping across the roof in the dead of night.

She dropped to her belly and
slithered the rest of the way to the edge. Cautiously, she poked her head out,
looking at the street. Good. It didn’t look like anybody was looking up. Tate
swung one leg over the edge and then the other and lowered herself to her
window. Her hands gripped the edge tightly as her muscles protested her weight.
She stuck the tip of one foot in a small crack in the wall before peering into
her room. It was empty. Not even Night or his cubs were there.