Forgotten (28 page)

Mola hissed and drew out her daggers. Callo, noticing this time, placed a hand on her thin arm. “Put them away, girl. He doesn’t know the insult,” the big man muttered. “Punishing ignorance is not the way.”

“Why not?”
She demanded. “Ignorance is no excuse! If the boy made any effort to understand the people, he would know. But he doesn’t bother. None of the Urazian garbage
do
. They think they’re better than the people, Callo.
Even this one.”

“This man said to put them away!” Even the slab of meat flinched at Callo’s shout. With obvious reluctance, she did as she was told.

The councilor drew in a deep breath and let it out again. Slowly, he turned back to Kaie. “No one can make demands of the heart, and expect them heeded. The heart is not a thing to be forced. If the man wants an audience with the Lady Dau, he must be patient. When she is ready, the heart will call for him. The man must accept his lot and wait until summoned.”

Kaie was silent for some time, weighing his options. Not that there were many. “You’re asking me to go back to my people with promises of ‘maybe.’ That’s a hard pill to swallow, old man. But if there is to be no other way, will you at least answer me one question?”

“Name it.”

“Are your people eating fresh fish?”

Mola scoffed. Kaie could see the confused look on Henry’s face, and expected Judah and Vaughan were wearing ones very similar. But Callo understood. His eyes narrowed, but not in an unfriendly way. Quite the opposite, Kaie got the distinct impression the councilor approved.

“Yes.”

Kaie smiled and nodded. That was important. He offered his hand. Callo smiled and took it. The deal was struck.

“You can’t do this!” Autumnsong found her voice. “You’re a good man!
A good man!”

Kaie glanced at the shrieking woman. “I said you’d be surprised.”

Callo glanced at his man. The meat slab stepped forward and grabbed the Lady Autumnsong. Henry held on to her for a moment, but Kaie signaled him to let go. In less than a minute, the only sign of either was the fading sound of her cries.

Mola’s was the life chosen to balance the scales. Kaie couldn’t decide how to feel about that. Every sway of her hips was like art, reminding him of all the fantasies. She stirred something in him. Something he thought Gregor and Silvertongue destroyed. His gratitude for that made them sharper, more real. And he was sure she knew all of it. She kept looking over at him, and Kaie was sure he saw the traces of a smirk before the furious scowl slid into place.

But Peren was back at the warehouse. She would hate him now. But it would still hurt her, watching him lust after Mola. Kaie wouldn’t break her.

“I’m struggling to figure out if we won this one,” Judah muttered once they were safely
back
inside the warehouse. Everyone watched as they walked in, but no one approached. Not even Peren, though Kaie could feel the weight of her gaze pressing down on his shoulders.

“We were never going to win this one,” Kaie admitted. “Not completely. Even without the Lady Dau, there wasn’t any chance of walking out of here with everything we want.”

“Why not?”
Vaughan asked.

“Callo’s got too much to lose from trusting us at this point. No matter how he seems, Callo has been a politician far longer than he was ever a stonemason. He knows how the game is played. He’ll wait to see if we keep cowering in our hole, or if we manage to do enough damage to be worthwhile before he even takes our request to Dau. Be sure of that.”

Kaie turned to Judah. “I need you to come up with some way to do that.”

The giant chewed the inside of his cheek. “I have a few ideas. They’ll need some considering before I’m ready to share them.”

“Is two hours long enough?” Judah nodded slowly, already looking miles away. Kaie was relieved. It was less likely to spend more lives than they could spare if the one issuing the orders knew something about military strategy, anyway. “Okay. I’ll find you then. And let the doctor know you’re back. I don’t need her shouting at me when she decides it’s my fault you won’t let her fix you.”

Judah walked away muttering a curse or three under his breath, but Kaie knew it was half-hearted.

“Do you want me to help the doctor with him?” Vaughan asked.

Kaie shook his head. “No. You know what I want you to do.”

“You know I can’t…”

He sighed. “I know. And I’m being patient. But something big is coming. I intend to survive it. So whatever you have to do, do it faster.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Vaughan insisted.

“The men and women here, each one of them is prepared to help us live through this mess.
Everyone but you and Peren.”

Vaughan looked up, terrified. “You’re not… you wouldn’t! You wouldn’t leave us alone out there! Not Peren!”

Kaie stared at the other man, not letting himself so much as blink. “If you want to protect her, figure out how to be useful again.”

The blonde must have seen something in his eyes. He scurried off to Peren. Kaie hoped they would keep each other busy. He couldn’t deal with either one of them right now.

“Does the boy have something for the girl to do, too? Will he tell her to go do what he thinks is best? Does he expect her to listen?” Mola sneered.

“No,” Kaie growled. “I’m sure if all I did was
tell
you to go get something to eat, you would find a way to starve to death before morning just to spite me. So go do whatever in the Abyss you want to do. As long as it’s away from me, I truly don’t give a shit.”

Her mouth worked, and he thought she might stick around just to piss him off. He didn’t do anything to encourage her along. He just waited.
After her pouty lips and dark scowls failed to win any reaction from him, Mola flounced off.
A small breath of relief slid out from between his lips.

“And me?”

He almost forgot about Henry. It was the longest the man had kept his mouth closed since Kaie met him. Without the obnoxious comments, Henry was surprisingly unmemorable.

Kaie scratched the back of his neck. All the blood and sweat was combining with the sand to form a thick layer of grime coating every inch of his skin. It was almost enough to make him miss the pool back in the manse. “I want you to tell people what happened out there. By the time Judah and I sort out the next move, I need everybody here to know we’re not to turn our blades against the Huduku.”

Henry snorted. “You mean you want them to know you made good.”

“A pleasant side effect.
Right now, I think it’s most important we don’t ruin this whole thing because someone didn’t know who to stab.”

“Right,” Henry said. “Just tell me one thing. That thing you asked the older guy, the one about the fish. What was that about?”

“I’m nosy.” Kaie answered.

Henry rolled his eyes and walked off on Mola’s heels, not making any effort to hide his irritation.

Kaie waited for a few minutes, waiting to see if anyone else was going to come up and make demands of him. But it seemed the soldiers were all occupied with their own concerns. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he slipped to the back of the building.

It took a bit of work, moving the boxes around and rearranging them without anyone noticing. Kaie managed. Once he was sure that no curious eyes would find him, he slumped against the back wall. Kaie dropped his head into his hands.

Kaie never doubted he would see Keegan again. Not until tonight. Even if he could return to Lindel, he wouldn’t find the boy there. His son was gone.

Silent sobs shook his shoulders as hot tears spilled into his hands.

The weeks passed in a blur. Their days were spent hiding in one building or another. From the Fourth and the sun,
which was just as dangerous.
Nights weren’t any better. The heat of the day leaked out of the city faster with every setting of the sun. Violence and running were keeping them warm for now, but Kaie knew it wouldn’t last forever. Once the season truly turned, the darkness could be just as deadly as the light.

Judah’s plan was simple. The hundred were divided up into groups of five or six. Since their enemy greatly outnumbered them, the idea was to use the city itself. That meant being small and mobile, able to harry the Fourth and retreat before the bulk of the blades were turned on them. The narrow streets and high buildings were a huge advantage with this sort of attack. The other benefit of this division was that they required less space and were far less likely to draw attention. Sorting out the squads was a difficult task Kaie was happy to leave in the soldier’s hands.
Mostly.
His own was the only team he expressed any interest in.

Judah didn’t see Vaughan in quite the same light Kaie did. It was pointless to try to hide the fact the blonde was a mage. Not while Judah still wore the scars from the fume bees on his back and arms. Vaughan regularly made comments that led Kaie
to believe
he could sense Judah’s ability as well. Ordinarily he might just dismiss it as blustering. But he noticed the way the blonde’s body shifted whenever the man other drew near, as well as how Vaughan’s eyes found Judah with impossible accuracy whenever the other man’s name came up. Little things, maybe, but they were telling. And it was just as clear that they didn’t like each other. Even talking about the blonde sent the solider into a tirade about the dangers of ‘wildling magic’ and how it would end up killing them all.

But Kaie got his way. Once he pointed out that Peren would never leave her brother’s side that Judah finally began to cave. She couldn’t fight, and wouldn’t stand a chance when someone came to deal with the two of them. She needed to be protected. And Judah couldn’t hide how eager he was to be the one doing that protecting. Kaie hated using her like that, and hated more how effective she was at changing the soldier’s mind. It didn’t stop him, though. He was prepared to use the same tactic as often as it was effective.

To get Vaughan and Peren, he had to take Henry. Judah gave a list of reasons, some of which Kaie even listened to.
Ones about Henry’s inclination to cause trouble and the man’s obvious lack of respect.
He pointed out how dangerous it was to have a voice undermining them among the ranks they wouldn’t be seeing, and Kaie did see the point. He just didn’t care. He didn’t want anyone else, and especially not another person who needed to be kept under watch. Mola was more than enough of that.

Not, Kaie admitted to himself, that he minded keeping his eyes on the Huduku girl. She was treacherous. She kept her oath of cooperation to the letter. She led them to wherever the locals dropped off supplies without complaint, but twice they caught her trying to provoke the men delivering them into attacking. It wasn’t breaking her promise to Callo,
not exactly, but Kaie suspected she would get more creative with her interpretation of those words the longer she was forced to keep them. Her hatred burned too hot for anything else. It was why he found her so damn fascinating.

He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do about the tension between them. Imagining her silky brown skin beneath his fingers made his heart race. The fantasies refused to r
elease him
.

Not until he glanced up and saw dark blue eyes. Kaie was never free of the weight of Peren’s gaze. She knew what happened with Autumnsong. She must know that he didn’t get the noble woman’s secret. But she still hoped, and he felt it. She was waiting for him to come to her, to tell her it would all be okay and that he knew exactly how to find Keegan. Her eyes kept him awake for hours, silently demanding answers. He’d barely slept since this all started. She wouldn’t let him.

It was worse, today. They were stuck inside the same house for the last four days, and Kaie could hear the seconds ticking away. They were supposed to meet two of the squads that morning. The map said they were still several blocks away. A large unit of the Fourth was camped in a building just across the street. Any attempt to leave the modest home was sure to get them discovered. While they might be able to fight their way free, there wasn’t a chance they could get away clean. Judah wasn’t willing to expose the other two squads, Kaie couldn’t argue with that. Not logically.

Waiting was wearing on him. The count was becoming a relentless reminder of how close disaster loomed. It was making him reckless. They didn’t have time. The window for his plan to work was closing quickly and, once it did, it wouldn’t matter if they were discovered.

And then there were those damned eyes.

“We have to leave,” he announced to the quiet room.

Henry and Judah turned away from their windows. They all took turns watching the Fourth from the cracks of the window shutters. From the second floor the view wasn’t great, but it sufficed.

“Yeah?”
Henry snarled. “
Wanna
be the first one out, then? I bet them folks across the
street’d
be real pleased to see you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he insisted. “Tania and Hail need to know about this force before they stumble into it.”

It was a good reason, even if it wasn’t the real one. Kaie watched Judah weigh the idea for a moment before shaking his head. “They won’t. They know the orders. When we don’t report in, they’ll assume we’re dead or captured. They’ll retreat and alert the others. They’ll keep up with the attacks with or without us.”

Kaie didn’t share Judah’s unfailing faith in the other members of their dubious resistance. The man inspired confidence in people that defied logic. They were barely
holding together what he assembled with ease. Neither one of them could claim Gregor’s natural presence. Without them, he was sure each member left in the Twelfth would end up enlisted in the Fourth in less than a fortnight.

He needed a different approach. “Callo made his deal with me, not them. He’s not going to keep feeding them.
Especially not if his daughter’s missing.”

That got everyone’s undivided attention. Mola glared at him with a hatred that was almost physical.

“How can the boy know this?” She demanded, her hands dropping to her hips. He recognized the stance well. In a second, the knives would be in her hands.
A second after that, they would probably be pressed against his throat.
Or maybe they’d go into his gut this time. She wasn’t designed for this kind of waiting, either.

“Callo introduced you as an apprentice, but not his. But why else would he bring you anywhere? And why would he want you at his side for this, or trust you to keep an eye on us now?”

She hissed at him, and that was answer enough for even Henry to puzzle out.

Judah frowned. “That changes things,” he allowed.
“But not our situation.
There’s still no way out, Kale.”

“There’s one.” He looked back to Mola. Even before he spoke again, she understood and shook her head. “Take us into the passes.”

“No!”

“You gave your word that you’d be our guide, Mola. That you would do what you could to keep us from being captured.”

“She didn’t promise to bring the trespassers into the heart of the greatest city!”

“Funny,” Henry said. “I thought the heart was that Dau lady you and your papa were going on about.”

She spat at him. Kaie bit down a laugh.

“I’ve already been in the passes,” he reminded her, working to hide his amusement.
“More than once.
Your father was the one who told me of them.”

“Then he will suffer when the gods learn of his dishonor. This girl will not.”

He searched her eyes for some hint of doubt, for some weakness he could exploit. There wasn’t any. “I’ll go by myself, then.”

There was another hiss, this time one of steel. One of her knives slid out and pressed against Kaie’s throat. “This girl will not allow it.”

“Then stop me, Mola.”

Kaie wanted her to smile at that, to give some sign that she was enjoying the confrontation as much as he was. She didn’t, though. Her face was impossibly neutral. “Kale will not violate the greatest city again,” she promised.

He was certain she would kill him if he didn’t back down. He could see the promise, the hope, in her eyes. She wanted to kill him. Mola was only waiting for him to give her the excuse she needed. Even if he didn’t today, she would find another.
A night when it wasn’t just his life in the balance.
She would burn the whole city to ash and bury it beneath the sands. He could see it all unfolding in his mind’s
eye,
hear her screaming into the blaze. She would be
die
free. Free of Urazin, free of him.

Kaie felt no panic. He thrummed with the need to do just that, to push her just far enough.

Judah didn’t give either of them the chance to see what happened if he did. The soldier shoved Mola backward with enough force to make her grunt and topple to the floor. Then he spun on Kaie, anger stealing his good looks. “Enough!”

“Stay out of this!” Kaie snapped. Now that the blade was gone, reality came rushing back. He could hear the seconds ticking away and feel the eyes on him once again.

“Fate’s tits I will! What does this accomplish? How does getting yourself
killed
fit into that infamous plan of yours?”

He snarled at the giant, but gave no answer. Kaie didn’t have one.

“You’re staying out of the damn passes. We’ve time yet. If the Fourth hasn’t moved by nightfall, we’ll talk again. For now, go cool off!”

It wasn’t right. Kaie was supposed to be the one in charge. Control was slipping away faster than he could grab hold of it. Whatever happened with Mola, it took root in him and wouldn’t let go. He couldn’t shake it off as a fantasy. He could feel the heat on his skin and taste the ash in the back of his throat. Gods but he wanted it. He left the
room,
more because he was afraid someone would notice just how unnerved he was by the experience than out of a desire to do as he was told.

In the single room upstairs, they moved all the furniture around to suit their needs. It ruined any sense that it was once someone’s bedroom. Downstairs was another matter. They left it untouched, in case one of the patrols came
thorough
. They threw out the rotting food when they first arrived, before the Fourth showed up, but otherwise everything was exactly how it was left.

The effect was eerie. Whoever lived here left pieces of themselves
everywhere.
A painting hung above the fireplace, a pretty jade necklace left on the dresser, a book, the open page half-filled with handwritten numbers. The table was still set for two, waiting for the couple to return and begin their dinner. One of chairs was pulled out from the table
even, ready for someone to sit down in front of the dusty bowls. The room was frozen in time, waiting for life to return.

Kaie wasn’t interested in preserving the scene just now. He rooted around the cupboards with determination, looking for something he couldn’t name. He plopped down into the waiting chair, sending up a small cloud of dust, and pulled the stopper off the bottle. The smell of alcohol hit his nose immediately, followed by a rich, almost sweet scent. He closed his eyes and breathed in the golden brown aroma. Two smooth mouthfuls later, a pleasant fire was spreading out from his stomach.

He didn’t get to drink much. The only stuff Peren and Vaughan could get was just as likely to make him blind as get him drunk, and the headache the next day was never worth it. The wine Gregor got his hands on was significantly better. They couldn’t afford to indulge much, though. There were too many eyes, even in the manse.

This time Kaie intended to get truly drunk and stay that way as long as he could manage. Long enough to get rid of the image in his head, and maybe long enough to drown out the sound of time disappearing. And whatever sort of spirits he held was proving to be very accommodating. Already, he was feeling the effects.

Peren slid into the seat across from him. He didn’t even notice her coming down the stairs. Kaie scowled at her, more irritated that she would interrupt than concerned about her reasons for it.
His mistake.

“Did you ever love him?” She asked him softly. The words were hammer blows, shattering the euphoria the booze was trying so hard to make for him.

No need to ask who she meant. “Yes.”

Her big eyes blinked. He couldn’t see any of the thousand accusations he expected in them, but they weren’t the same either. Kaie got no sense of her looking through him. He couldn’t sort out how he felt about that. Good, maybe. He didn’t want her to see what was inside him now. But he remembered what it was like, seeing himself as a good man through her eyes. He missed that. He didn’t even realize how much until this moment.

“I can’t tell if you’re lying.”

“I’m not,” he said. He followed it with another swallow. The fire wasn’t nearly as nice as it was a moment ago.