The Hope of Elantris (2 page)

"Ashe, could I borrow you for a moment?" she asked.

"Of course, Lady Matisse," the Seon said. "What do you
need?"

"Something simple, really," Matisse said. "But, it might just
help. . . ."

#

Ashe finished his story, and Matisse smiled to herself, eying
the sleeping form of the little girl Riika in her bedroll. The
child seemed peaceful for the first time in weeks.

Bringing Ashe into the Roost had initially provoked quite a
reaction from the children who weren't asleep. Yet, as he'd begun
to talk, Matisse's instincts had proven correct. The Seon's deep,
sonorous voice had quieted the children. Ashe had a rhythm about
his speech that was wonderfully soothing. Hearing a story from a
Seon had not only coaxed little Riika to sleep, but the rest of the
stragglers as well.

Matisse stood, stretching her legs, then nodded toward the doors
outside. Ashe hovered behind her, passing the sullen Idotris at the
front doors again. He was tossing pebbles toward a slug that had
somehow found its way into New Elantris.

"I'm sorry to take so much of your time, Ashe," Matisse said
quietly when they were far enough not to wake the children.

"Nonsense, Lady Matisse," Ashe said. "Lady Sarene can spare me
for a bit, I think. Besides, it good to tell stories again. It has
been some time since my mistress was a child."

"You were Passed to Lady Sarene when she was that young?"
Matisse asked, curious.

"At her birth, my lady," Ashe said.

Matisse smiled wistfully.

"You shall have your own Seon some day, I should think, Lady
Matisse," Ashe said.

Matisse cocked her head. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, there was a time when almost no Elantrian went without a
Seon. I'm beginning to think that Lord Spirit may just be able to
fix this city-after all, he fixed AonDor. If he does, we shall find
you a Seon of your own. Perhaps one named Ati. That is your own
Aon, is it not?"

"Yes," Matisse said. "It means hope."

"A fitting Aon for you, I believe," Ashe said. "Now, if my
duties here are finished, perhaps I should-"

"Matisse!" a voice said.

Matisse cringed, glancing at the Roost, filled with its sleeping
occupants. A light was bobbing in the night, coming down a
side-street-the source of the yelling.

"Matisse?" the voice demanded again.

"Hush, Mareshe!" Matisse hissed, crossing the street quietly to
where the man stood. "The children are sleeping!"

"Oh," Mareshe said, pausing. The haughty Elantrian wore standard
New Elantris clothing-bright trousers and shirt-but he had modified
his with a couple of sashes which he believed made the costume more
'artistic.'

"Where's that father of yours?" Mareshe asked.

"Training the people with swords," Matisse said quietly.

"What?" Mareshe asked. "It's the middle of the night!"

Matisse shrugged. "You know Dashe. Once he gets an idea in his
head. . . ."

"First Galladon wanders off," Mareshe grumbled, "now Dashe is
off waving swords in the night. If only Lord Spirit would come
back. . . ."

"Galladon's gone?" Matisse asked, perking up.

Mareshe nodded. "He disappears like this sometimes. Karata too.
They'll never tell me where they've gone. Always so secretive!
'You're in charge, Mareshe' they say, then go off to have secret
conferences without me. Honestly!" With that, the man wandered off,
bearing his lantern with him.

Off somewhere secret,
Matisse thought.
That library
Dashe mentioned?
She eyed Ashe, who was still hovering beside
her. Perhaps if she coaxed him enough, he'd tell her-

At that moment, the screaming began.

The shouts were so sudden, so unexpected, that Matisse jumped.
She spun about, trying to determine the location of the sounds.
They seemed to be coming from the front of New Elantris.

"Ashe!" she said.

"I'm already going, Lady Matisse," the Seon said, zipping into
the air, a glowing speck in the night.

The yells continued. Distant, echoing. Matisse shivered, backing
up unconsciously. She heard other things. The ring of metal against
metal.

She turned back toward the Roost. Taid, the adult who supervised
the Roost, had walked out of the building in his nightgown. Even in
the darkness, Matisse could see a look of concern on his face.

"Wait here," he said.

"Don't leave us!" Idotris said, looking around in fright.

"I'll be back," Taid said, rushing away.

Matisse shared a look with Idotris. The other teenagers who had
been on duty watching the kids had already gone to their own homes
for the night. Only Idotris and she remained.

"I'm going to go with him," Idotris said, stalking after
Taid.

"Oh, no you don't," Matisse said, grabbing his arm and pulling
him back. In the distance, the yelling continued.

She glanced toward the Roost. "Go wake the kids."

"What?" Idotris said indignantly. "After all the work we did to
get them to sleep?"

"Do it," Matisse snapped. "Get them up, and have them put their
shoes on."

Idotris resisted for a moment, then grumbled something and
stalked inside the room. A moment later, she could hear him doing
as she asked, rousing the children. Matisse rushed over to a
building across the street-one of the supply buildings. Inside, she
found two lanterns with oil in them, and some flint and steel.

She paused.
What am I doing?

Just being prepared,
she told herself, shivering as the
screaming continued. It seemed to be getting closer. She rushed
back across the street.

"My lady!" Ashe's voice said. She glanced up to see that the
Seon was flying back down toward her. His Aon was so dim that she
could barely see him.

"My lady," Ashe said urgently. "Soldiers have attacked New
Elantris!"

"What?" she asked, shocked.

"They wear red and have the height and dark hair of Fjordells,
my lady," Ashe said. "There are hundreds of them. Some of your
soldiers are fighting at the front of the city, but there are far
too few of them. New Elantris is already overrun! My lady-the
soldiers are coming this way, and they're searching through the
buildings!"

Matisse stood, dumbfounded.

No. No, it can't happen. No here. This place is peaceful.
Perfect.
I escaped the outside world. I found a place
where I belonged. It can't come after me.

"My lady!" Ashe said, sounding terrified. "Those screams. . . .
I think. . .I think the soldiers are attacking the people they
find!"

And they're coming this way.

Matisse stood, lanterns clutched in numb fingers. This was the
end, then. After all, what could she do? Nearly a child herself, a
beggar, a girl without family or home. What could she do?

I take care of the children. It's my job.

It's the job Lord Spirit gave me.

"We have to get them out," Matisse said, sprinting toward the
Roost. "They know where to look because we cleaned this section of
Elantris. The city is huge-if we get the children out into the
dirty part, we can hide them."

"Yes, my lady," Ashe said.

"You go find my father!" Matisse said. "Tell him what we're
doing."

With that, she entered the Roost, Ashe hovering away into the
night. Inside, Idotris had done as she asked, and the children were
groggily putting on their shoes.

"Quickly, children," Matisse said.

"What's going on?" Tiil demanded.

"We've got to go," Matisse said to the young troublemaker.
"Till, Teor, I'm going to need your help-you and all of the older
children, all right? You have to try and help the young ones. Keep
them moving, and keep them quiet. All right?"

"Why?" Tiil asked, frowning. "What's going on?"

"It's an emergency," Matisse said. "That's all you need to
know."

"Why are
you
in charge?" Teor said, stepping up to his
friend, folding his arms.

"You know my father?" Matisse said.

They nodded.

"You know he's a soldier?" Matisse asked.

Again, a nod.

"Well, that makes me a soldier too. It's hereditary. He's a
captain, so I'm a captain. And that means I get to tell you what to
do. You can be my sub-captains, though, if you promise to do what I
say."

The two younger boys paused, then Tiil nodded. "Makes sense," he
said.

"Good. Now
move!
" Matisse said.

The boys moved over, helping the younger children. Matisse began
to herd them out the front door, into the darkened streets. Many of
them, however, had caught onto the terror of the night, and were
too scared to move.

"Matisse!" Idotris hissed, coming closer. "What is going
on?"

"Ashe says New Elantris is under attack," Matisse said, kneeling
beside her lanterns. "Soldiers are slaughtering everyone."

Idotris grew quiet.

She lit the lanterns, then stood. As she'd expected, the
children-even the little ones-gravitated toward the light, and the
sense of protection it offered. She handed one lantern to Idotris,
and by its light she could see his terrified face.

"What do we do?" he asked with a shaking voice.

"We run," Matisse said, rushing out of the room.

And the children followed. Rather than be left behind in the
dark, they ran after the light, Tiil and Teor helping the smaller
ones, Idotris trying to hush those who began to cry. Matisse was
worried at bringing light, but it seemed the only way. Indeed, they
barely kept the children moving as it was, herding them in the
fastest way out of New Elantris-which was also the way directly
away from the screams, which were now frightfully close.

That also took them away from the populated sections of New
Elantris. Matisse had hoped that they'd run into someone who could
help as they moved. Unfortunately, those who weren't out practicing
Aons were with her father, practicing with weapons. The only
occupied buildings would have been the ones Ashe had indicated were
being attacked. Their occupants. . . .

Don't think about that,
Matisse thought as their ragged
band of fifty children reached the edges of New Elantris. They were
almost free. They could-

A voice suddenly yelled behind them, speaking in a harsh tongue
Matisse didn't understand. Matisse spun, looking over the heads of
frightened children. The center of New Elantris was glowing
faintly. From firelight.

It was burning.

There, framed by the flames of death was a squad of three men in
red uniforms. They carried swords.

Surely they wouldn't kill children,
Matisse thought,
her hand shaking as it held its lantern.

Then she saw the glint in the soldiers' eyes. A dangerous, grim
look. They advanced on her group. Yes, they would kill children.
Elantrian children, at least.

"Run," Matisse said, her voice quivering. Yet, she knew the
children could never move faster than these men. "Run! Go and-"

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a ball of light zipped from the
sky. Ashe moved between the men, spinning around their heads,
distracting them. The men cursed, waving their swords about in
anger, looking up at the Seon.

Which is why they completely missed seeing Dashe charge
them.

He took them from the side, coming through a shadowed alleyway
in New Elantris. He knocked one down, sword flashing, then spun
toward the other two as they cursed, turning away from the
Seon.

We need to go!
"Move!" she urged again, getting Idotris
and the others to keep going. The children backed away from the
swordfight, moving out into the night, following Idotris's light.
Matisse stayed near the back, turning with concern toward her
father.

He wasn't doing well. He was an excellent warrior, but the
soldiers had been joined by two other men, and Dashe's body was
weakened by being an Elantrian. Matisse stood, holding her lantern
in trembling fingers, uncertain what to do. The children were
sniffling in the dark behind her, their retreat painfully slow.
Dashe fought bravely, his rusty sword replaced by one that Sarene
must have sent. He knocked aside blade after blade, but he was
getting surrounded.

I have to do something!
Matisse thought, stepping
forward. At that moment, Dashe turned, and she could see cuts on
his face and body. The look of dread she saw in his eyes made her
freeze with fright.

"Go," he whispered, his voice lost, but his lips moving.
"Run!"

One of the soldiers rammed their sword through Dashe's
chest.

"No!" Matisse screamed. But that only drew their attention as
Dashe collapsed, quivering on the ground. The pain had become too
much for him.

The soldiers looked at her, then began to advance. Dashe had
taken down several of them, but there were three left.

Matisse felt numb.

"Please, my lady!" Ashe said, floating down beside her, hovering
urgently. "You must run!"

Father is dead. No, worse-he's Hoed.
Matisse shook her
head, forcing herself to stay alert. She'd seen tragedy as a
beggar. She could keep going. She had to.

These men would find the children. The children were too slow.
Unless. . . . She looked up at the Seon beside her, noting the
glowing Aon at his center. It meant light.

"Ashe," she said urgently as the soldiers approached. "Find
Idotris ahead. Tell him to put out his lantern, then lead him and
the others to someplace safe!"
"Someplace safe?" Ashe said. "I don't know if
any
place is
safe."

"That library you spoke of," Matisse said, thinking quickly.
"Where is it?"

"Straight north from here, my lady," Ashe said. "In a hidden
chamber beneath a squat building. It is marked by Aon Rao."

"Galladon and Karata are there," Matisse said. "Take the
children to them-Karata will know what to do."