Fortune and Fate (Twelve Houses) (11 page)
Read Fortune and Fate (Twelve Houses) Online
Authors: Sharon Shinn
“Oh, Bryce will make sure of that,” Ginny said.
That caused Wen’s eyebrows to shoot up to her scalp. “What does that mean?” she asked.
Ginny looked faintly annoyed, as if she wished she hadn’t said anything. “Oh—nothing. He’s just a very good judge of character.”
Wen cut her eyes over toward Bryce, to find him trying to maintain an innocent expression as he munched on an apple. “How good?” she said slowly. “Are you a reader?”
The word hung over the fire for a good long moment before anyone answered. Bryce and Ginny exchanged an extended look, in which he clearly communicated something to her, and reluctantly Ginny nodded. “Yes,” she said.
Wen’s eyebrows were back up near her hairline. A reader could discern what other people were thinking or feeling, no matter how much they tried to conceal. A reader could sort a man’s lies from his true tales or spy a woman’s evil heart behind her compassionate face. Cammon, considered the most gifted reader in Gillengaria, could separate the good from the bad with no effort at all.
It seemed this lost boy could also. “You’re a mystic,” she said slowly.
Ginny looked alarmed—it hadn’t been all that long since mystics were persecuted in Gillengaria, particularly here in the south—but Bryce nodded happily. “My mother never believed me when I said I could tell what people were thinking, but Ginny always did,” he said.
Ginny put her arm around him protectively. “And he’s always right.”
Wen thought it over. “So—when you stopped me on the road this afternoon—”
“I knew you would help us,” Bryce said with energy. “I waited and waited for the right person to come by. There were lots of people who would have stopped, but none of them would have been able to fight off Howard and the others. I knew you would. I knew you wouldn’t hurt
us
, either.”
us
, either.”
It had been bad enough to fall into a trap, but to find it had been baited specifically for her made Wen feel even more peculiar. And yet, somehow she had the feeling she’d been complimented.
“That’s quite a skill,” she said slowly. “I’d think somebody might pay you pretty well for that.”
“No,” Ginny said swiftly, tightening her arm around Bryce’s shoulders. “We never mention he’s a reader. He’ll chop wood and work in the stables—and I’ll cook or clean or do whatever needs to be done—but we don’t want to tell anyone he’s a mystic.”
“You might want to reconsider that,” Wen said gently. “The world has changed in the last two years. I can think of someone who might want him just
because
he has magic.”
because
he has magic.”
“Who?” Ginny asked sharply. “Who would need a mystic?”
The name that had instantly popped into her head was Jasper Paladar. The serramarra’s guardian might find it awfully handy to employ someone who could warn him when unscrupulous characters showed up at Fortune’s door pretending to be friends. It was hard to know how much power little Bryce possessed, but enough to benefit Karryn Fortunalt? Probably.
“Someone powerful who needs a reliable advisor,” Wen said. “We’ll think about it while we ride to Forten City.”
Ginny nodded tightly, and Wen gentled her voice. “You can trust me, you know,” she said. “At least—your brother knows that, and it’s true. I won’t let any more harm come to you.”
“I know,” Ginny said. She gave Wen a straight look. “But I don’t even know your name.”
Wen hesitated just a moment before replying. How blatant would a lie have to be before this young mystic picked up on it? She phrased her answer carefully. “Some people call me Willa,” she said. And since that was the truth, Bryce didn’t contradict her.
“Then, Willa, let me thank you for what you’ve done for us so far,” Ginny said formally. “And we will trust you to see us safely to Forten City.”
Chapter 6
NEITHER CHILD WAS COMFORTABLE SITTING A HORSE, SO
the trip back to Forten City took twice as long as it had taken Wen to cover the same distance. She put Ginny on the gelding and placed Bryce before her on one of the outlaw’s horses, but even so, their progress was slow. By the time they took a late lunch, they were all weary, and by the time night fell, they were still a half-day’s ride from Forten City. They camped out again and made an earlier start the next morning.
the trip back to Forten City took twice as long as it had taken Wen to cover the same distance. She put Ginny on the gelding and placed Bryce before her on one of the outlaw’s horses, but even so, their progress was slow. By the time they took a late lunch, they were all weary, and by the time night fell, they were still a half-day’s ride from Forten City. They camped out again and made an earlier start the next morning.
They could smell the sea long before they arrived at the city itself, and eventually all the other scents of civilization began to drift their way. It didn’t take a reader to tell that Ginny was getting more and more tense the closer they came to their destination, but Bryce squirmed on Wen’s lap, trying to catch the first glimpse of the harbor town. Once it was in view, he drew still, staring at it with mesmerized fascination.
They clattered through the gates around noon and Wen instantly started looking for accommodations. Someplace decent enough to offer food and baths, but not grand enough to sneer at her disheveled charges. She found a suitable inn on the outskirts of town, staffed by a harried woman and her incurious husband. Within an hour, the children were washed, combed, dressed, and altogether more respectable. Ginny had even put a ragged ribbon in her auburn hair, still damp from the bath.
Wen sat them down on one of the two beds and poured out the coins she’d lifted from Howard and Ricky. Bryce’s eyes widened, but Ginny’s narrowed; she knew the value of each denomination and recognized that there wasn’t much to crow over. “I got this off your stepbrother and his friend, so you should have it,” Wen said. “We can also sell the horses—though not for much—and the gear. We’ll get enough to buy you each a new set of clothes and a few decent meals. Then we need to find a place both of you can settle. Where you can do a little work to earn your keep.”
“I thought I’d ask the innkeeper’s wife,” Ginny said in a quiet voice. “She looked like she could use some help.”
Wen nodded. “She did, at that. And we can stroll around Forten City, see if anyplace strikes your fancy. Bryce can—” Wen waved her fingers over her head. “See if he senses any spot that seems like a good place for you to land.” Meanwhile, she would seek out Jasper Paladar and see if he was more broad-minded about magic than the erstwhile marlord.
“You want us to go to that man who needs a mystic,” Bryce said.
It really
was
sort of annoying to have him pick that idea out of her head. She’d have to ask Justin how he managed to shield his thoughts from Cammon.
was
sort of annoying to have him pick that idea out of her head. She’d have to ask Justin how he managed to shield his thoughts from Cammon.
No. Justin was living in Ghosenhall, and Wen never expected to see him again.
She shoved the thought aside. “I think that’s an option,” she said evenly. “But it’s not the only one. I don’t want you or your sister to have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
Ginny came to her feet. “Let’s walk around the city,” she said. “I’ve never been here. Let’s see what it’s like.”
AT
first both children were so overwhelmed by the sights of Forten City that they crowded close to Wen, practically tripping her every time she took a step. Bryce’s eyes darted around nervously, and now and then he twitched a little, as if jerking back from a danger that Wen couldn’t see. She imagined that all the sounds and emotions of the city were pressing on him hard from all directions. It might be like the sense of assault she’d felt the first time she practiced in an actual training yard, with men all around her yelling and striking each other with a musical clangor.
But she’d gotten used to it quickly enough, and Bryce made a fast recovery, too. Indeed, within an hour he seemed more intrigued than overwhelmed, and his bright curiosity had resurfaced. Ginny remained subdued but determined. She looked around at every new street they crossed as if trying to absorb and understand the mix of opportunities it offered, both for good and for ill.
Somewhat deliberately, Wen led them first through the noisier parts of town, the harbor districts and the commercial streets. Both of them, she could tell, were relieved as they made their way west from the ocean, into neighborhoods that had a little less bustle and a little more grace. By contrast, when they turned onto the wide boulevard where Fortune was situated, the street seemed almost deserted.
Bryce, of course, figured out what she was doing and ran forward to press his face against the living fence. “This is it?” he asked, trying to see through the hedge. “This is the house where you want us to work?”
Ginny followed Bryce more sedately. She bent beside him to try to catch a glimpse of the mansion. “It’s very grand,” she said in a doubtful voice. “I don’t know that anybody here would want us.”
“Grand people are the ones who like to hire grand skills,” Wen replied. Then she shrugged. “I don’t even know if the people who live here would want to hire a reader—and his sister. I just thought I’d show you the place. If you don’t want me to make inquiries, I won’t. We’ll head on back to the main part of town and see what kind of work we can find for you there.”
Ginny hesitated, then nodded. They turned their steps back the way they’d come. Ginny just set her shoulders and kept her attention on the street ahead of her, but twice Wen saw Bryce look over his shoulder, gazing back at Fortune.
THEY
took a couple of days to just play. Wen figured neither of the siblings had ever had much time to enjoy themselves and would probably be in service the rest of their lives. Why not give them a treat now? So she took them to a museum to see fancy bits of art and strange collections of weaponry. She found a park where a troupe of actors performed comedic theatre outdoors every night. She paid the captain of a trading vessel a small fee to let the children explore the length of his ship, and then she hired one of his friends to take them sailing. Neither of them had been near the ocean before, and Bryce got sick over the railing. But both of them claimed to love the experience and asked her five times if they might go again.
She sold the horses the first day, pawning the tack separately just in case anyone would recognize the animals and their gear if they showed up together. The money was good enough to cover the cost of a couple dresses for Ginny and two complete sets of clothing for Bryce, as well as shoes for each of them. After two days of good food, hot baths, new clothing, and the absence of fear, they looked like completely different creatures. They looked like the children they must have been back when their mother loved them.
“I talked to the innkeeper’s wife today,” Ginny said as they prepared to go to bed on that second night. Bryce was already dead asleep.
Wen nodded. “I saw you. Did she offer you a job?”
“Yes. Room and board for me and Bryce, and pay after we’ve proved ourselves for three months.”
“Well, that’s fair. Does Bryce like her?”
“I didn’t ask Bryce,” Ginny said with quiet dignity. “I’m not so bad at judging a person’s character myself.”
Now Wen grinned. “You
are
a pretty smart girl. Then are you going to take her offer?”
are
a pretty smart girl. Then are you going to take her offer?”
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