The Assassins of Altis (11 page)

“Will the Mechanic train run?” Mari heard one Imperial woman ask another. “The city council has closed the gates.”

“The Mechanics are not affected by the city council’s actions.” The second woman had the look of a high-ranking Imperial bureaucrat, her suit and accessories as precisely arranged and selected as if it were a uniform. “They will do what they want.”

“Arrogant and uncivilized,” the first woman complained. “What happened in the Gorgan District, anyway?”

Mari strained her ears to listen to the reply.

“Officially, no one is saying anything,” the Imperial bureaucrat replied. “But I’ve heard from those who’ve seen all the reports that it was an all-out fight between a large group of Mechanics and a large group of Mages. An absolute, pitched battle with Mechanic weapons and Mage spells ravaging the entire district. Four buildings were totally destroyed and several others damaged.”

“You’re not serious!” the first woman gasped. “In the heart of Palandur?”

“Gorgan isn’t exactly the heart of Palandur,” the second woman replied dryly. “Some of the buildings that burned should have been torn down years ago. Still, it’s pretty frightening, isn’t it? The city guard couldn’t handle it all, so they actually called out part of the city legion to deal with it. Some sort of Mage monster had to be destroyed. Imagine being caught in the middle of that. The fires still haven’t been completely extinguished.”

Mari sniffed cautiously, hoping no scent of smoke still clung to her, and tried to suppress a guilty feeling.
It’s not my fault that buildings I’m in keep getting burned down. Well, the one in Ringhmon was my fault. But not these.

“What about the rioting?” the first woman asked.

“What rioting?”

The first woman paused, as if uncertain what to make of that question. “In Gorgan. There are rumors that hundreds have been injured, large numbers of stores and homes destroyed
—
”

“Imperial citizens do not riot,” the Imperial official said in a tone of voice that both warned and reprimanded. “Anything that happened in Gorgan involved Mages and Mechanics and no one else.”

Mari could almost hear the first woman gulp nervously before speaking again. “Of course. You’re right. Surely the Emperor’s not going to tolerate that behavior from the Great Guilds?” she said, hastily changing the subject back to the first topic. “Even from Mechanics and Mages?”

The second woman lowered her voice dramatically, but Mari could still hear. “He is reportedly very, very unhappy and has expressed that to the heads of both of the Great Guilds.”

“It’s about time! Those Mechanics think they’re better than the Emperor himself, I’m sure!”

The woman was in fact right about that, Mari thought to herself. But Mari wasn’t going to say that out loud. She leaned back and looked at Alain. “I guess we were the large group of Mechanics,” she murmured.

“I will try not to take offense at being mistaken for a Mechanic.” Alain gave her a glance. “What happened with the Mage you fought in the alley before I came down?”

Mari bit her lip, looking at the floor. “I shot him. I had to. He had a knife and he looked like he was getting ready to make a spell. But after I shot him he just lay there, hurt. I gave him something to control the bleeding and told him what to do. He should be all right if a healer gives him antibiotics.”

“In the middle of a battle you paused to give mercy to an enemy?”

“Yeah. I know. It wasn’t very smart.” She inhaled deeply, feeling the rawness in her throat from last night’s exertions. “But that’s who I am.”

“I am happy that you did that,” Alain said.

Despite her disquiet, Mari tried to bend a smile his way. “A Mage approving of an act of mercy? What’s the world coming to?”

“Perhaps something better, if the one who will bring the new day wields mercy as well as a weapon,” Alain said. “What of the other you shot at? Your weapon struck the lightning Mage?”

“I think so,” Mari said. “Either that or I scared the blazes out of that Mage.”

“The loss of that one would cause me no grief,” Alain admitted. “Especially if it was the same Mage who tried to kill me during the ambush of the Alexdrians on the northern plains. Asha did not lie to us.”

“You told me that at the time and I never doubted it. I hated leaving her behind. Did you get any look at all as we ran, to see what happened to her?”

Alain nodded. “As we began running, Mage Asha vanished from sight using the concealment spell. That would have made her presence obvious to other Mages, but hidden her from the troll since it had not fixed on her. She probably held the spell only until safely past the troll.”

“I wish we could have done that,” Mari said. “Do you have any idea who needed her help?”

“No. Perhaps the Mage you shot, though I do not know why that would concern her.” Alain paused. “It is all right to be concerned about Asha?”

“Alain!” Mari stared at him. “You really felt that you needed to ask that? I must have been awful.”

“It is just that you have sometimes seemed unhappy when speaking of Asha
—
”

“Because I was being stupid! And jealous! There, I said it. I admit another one of my flaws.” Mari grasped Alain’s hand tightly. “Of course you can be concerned for Asha’s safety. Is there a thread between you and her?”

“No,” Alain said. “That is only between us.”

Despite her resolve not to be jealous of Asha any more, Mari still felt a flash of relief to hear that. “I hope she’s all right, Alain. Should we wait somewhere for her?”

“That would be too dangerous, since we have no idea how long we must wait. Mari, what did Asha mean when you spoke of her warning you?”

“She gave me a headache,” Mari replied shortly, feeling oddly reluctant to discuss it.

“She made your head hurt?”

“That’s what headache means, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.” Alain was looking at her with a wondering expression. “Asha was able to use her link to you in this way? That is remarkable.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Mari said. “Personally, grateful as I am for her warning, I am less than thrilled that any other woman can reach into my head because I’m in love with you. Even Asha.”

“This still bothers you?”

“Of course it bothers me.” Mari looked away, unable to watch him as she kept speaking. “Yes, I was half-dreaming about you just before the headache hit. I guess my bonfire of adoration for you was hot enough that Asha could toast some marshmallows on my brain. That’s what jerked me into full alertness so I heard those Mages coming up the stairs.”

“It saved us?” Alain asked. “Why are you unhappy when you speak of it?”

“Because I’m not comfortable with knowing that every time I think of you I am transmitting passionate signals to the entire world!” Mari hissed. “Why is that hard to understand?”

“Transmitting?”

“Sending out messages!” Mari leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. “Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to have someone able to tell every time I’m thinking about you? ‘Oh, there she goes again. I wonder if she’s in bed with him right now. Or maybe they’re just kissing.’”

“Or planning to change the world,” Alain said.

“I’m sure that’s the first thing that comes to Asha’s mind.”

“But she would only try to sense you when she is trying to find you,” Alain offered. “It is an effort, Mari, like any other spell. It tires her, requires power, and cannot be sustained for long periods. She will only do it when she is trying to locate us, and then for short lengths of time.”

“Really? You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“Then why doesn’t my transmitter of love tire me out? Asha made it sound like I’m broadcasting to everyone and everything on Dematr, which, I have to tell you, doesn’t make me happy. How many people besides Asha are listening in while I light up the world with thoughts of you?”

Alain started to answer, stopped, then spoke slowly. “It is not the same thing. Certainly no one can read your actual thoughts.”

“You said that before, and that had better be true.”

“Asha has a tie to you. You now serve to assist her in finding me when you increase the intensity of your feelings. I am not sure how to explain it right.”

Mari stared at him. “Increase the intensity? I’m an amplifier as well as a transmitter?”

“A what and a what?”

“I’m an amplifier and a transmitter,” Mari repeated. She gazed upward. “I don’t believe this is happening to me.”

“Do you really think about me that often?” Alain asked.

“That’s none of your business!”

“It is not?”

“No! What I think about you and when I think about you is my business! I wonder if there is any way to ground out my signal?”

“What?” Looking confused, Alain tried one last attempt at reassurance. “Mari, I would advise that you not worry about it.”

That did it. “Of course you wouldn’t worry about it! You’re not transmitting your lust to the world! And if you were, you’d be happy, because you’re a man!”

Alain nodded quickly, his expression wary, and changed the subject. “The rioting must have become worse after we escaped the area.”

“Yeah.” Mari closed her eyes briefly, trying to calm herself once more, then opened them to look at him. “I know what you’re thinking. I’m not blaming myself for that. It was as though the citizens there were a bomb waiting to go off, and the Mage attack just acted as a spark to make them explode. Do you have any idea why?”

“They were very angry,” Alain said, thinking. “They appeared to have no goal but fighting and destruction.”

“That’s what I saw, too. What would make people act like that?”

Alain kept his eyes on her. “I saw a few acolytes act in a similar way during my training. Pushed too far, unable to continue to live as they were, but believing they had no chance of becoming Mages, they erupted into violence against any Mage and elder within reach. Those acolytes were quickly killed, of course.”

Mari nodded, feeling sick inside. “They didn’t have any hope. Nothing to make them think things would ever get better. No reason any more to restrain their worst impulses.”

“The leading edge of the storm,” Alain murmured. “Perhaps if someone gave the commons hope, it would help them.”

“How can anyone give them hope that things will get better? That things will ever change for them?” Mari suddenly understood, and looked down at the floor, trying to avoid coming to the only possible conclusion. “You mean, if someone…revealed herself.”

“Yes.”

She stared at the vague patterns in the flooring, her stomach knotting at the idea. “All right. I will think about it. But not until after we find that tower on Altis. It must have been kept secret for a reason, and I don’t want too much attention on me from the commons until we’ve found any answers that place holds.”

Alain did not reply, but she sensed his approval and agreement. Unhappy, Mari settled back again to wait. The train was supposed to leave in about an hour, so they had a little while left to wait before they would be allowed to board the passenger cars.

Another train rolled into the station, a freight from the south by what Mari could see of it. She stared at the sky, willing the sun to rise faster. “I’m going to see how they’re doing at getting our train ready.”

“I do not think that you should,” Alain said. “It is not wise to walk around this place when your fellow Mechanics might recognize you.“

“I can keep my head down. It’ll only be for a few moments. I’m going to go crazy if I have to keep sitting here.” Before Alain could object again, Mari stood up and walked quickly to where she could view the train which was being prepared to go to Landfall, trying to judge how close it was to boarding passengers. Mechanics moved around it, working on the cars and the steam locomotive which would pull the train. Despite her resolve not to linger in this spot, Mari stared at the locomotive, remembering happy times spent maintaining and operating locomotives during her training. Feeling depressed, Mari finally turned back towards Alain.

And found herself facing a portly, middle-aged man in a Mechanics jacket. The man stopped in mid-stride, staring at her, his broad mustache seeming to bristle. She stared back, knowing that he had recognized her. “Professor T’mos. Good morning.” It had been less than a year since she had seen him last, but it felt like a lifetime had passed.

T’mos nodded, frowning just as he had the many times he had discussed Mari’s behavior with her when she was a student at the academy. “Good morning, Master Mechanic Mari.”

She feared that he would immediately sound an alarm, but instead the professor tilted his head to one side to beckon Mari to stand near the wall. “I did not expect to meet you here.”

Mari smiled as if unconcerned. “All roads lead to Palandur.” She could see out of the corner of her eye that Alain was watching them without seeming to watch them. Mari studied Professor T’mos, trying to figure out his attitude toward her. They had been on good terms when she had been at the Mechanics Guild Academy, Mari thought, but only on a student/professor basis. T’mos had devoted considerable time to counseling her on proper ways for Mechanics to act. All in all, his attention to her had been a little suffocating, but Mari had liked him enough as a teacher to tolerate that.

Professor T’mos nodded again, his mouth working as he thought. “Have you come to Palandur to report to Guild Headquarters?” he finally asked.

“I wasn’t planning on that, no.”

“Maybe I should be clearer.” T’mos took on the same attitude she remembered so clearly; the wise, mature professor speaking to the inexperienced young student. “You’re in a lot of trouble, young lady. Surely you know that?” Mari nodded. “There is an arrest order out. Running isn’t the answer. The Guild will catch you eventually if you try to do that. Whatever you did, you still need to trust in the Guild’s mercy.”

Mari shook her head. “Professor T’mos, the Guild’s mercy in my case consisted of setting me up on my first contract to get kidnapped and killed by commons. You must have heard of that.”