028

Chapter 27

"Have you been on your travels for long?" Ellerie asked Shavala as the two walked through the market district.

Melithar—or whatever his name was—hadn't had any updates on the investigation, so Ellerie had volunteered to help the other woman buy supplies while Boktar and Corec were looking for horses. The

dorvasta

woman made Ellerie feel self-conscious. Shavala was quiet and contemplative, like an elven elder, while Ellerie was aware she herself was neither of those things. And the other woman was a druid born among the

tershaya

trees, no less. Ellerie was half-tempted to explain who she really was, just so she could stop feeling like the bumbling cousin.

"Not long," Shavala said. "About two months. I've never met a

nilvasta

before."

"You haven't?" Ellerie said, surprised. "I thought my people visited the forest regularly. I've seen many

dorvasta

in Terevas and Matagor. For a while, I had a...friend among them." The elven word for

friend

could be inflected in a dozen different ways to convey different meanings. She included the inflections for

female

and

intimate

.

Shavala nodded. "I've heard of visitors, but Terrillia is very spread out and I was just a child when I lived there. Since then, I've been living in a border camp on the other side of the forest. I did see some

nilvasta

in Tyrsall, but I didn't stop to speak to them. Did you know there's an entire elven quarter there?"

"In Matagor, as well. Not all of us wish to live in Terevas."

"Terevas is one of the places I would like to see before I return to the forest. Is it true that it's made of palaces of glass and metal?"

Ellerie smiled at the memory. "The Glass Palace, yes. The outer levels were all built that way so the sun can shine through, but the inner quarters are stone and wood. Some of the other buildings in the center of the city followed the same design."

"How does it stay up?"

"Our artisans discovered how to make large sheets of glass, and the steel frames are able to hold the sheets in place naturally, but it was all reinforced magically to ensure it could never fall."

"But no

tershaya

?"

"There are

tershaya

! There's one right in front of the palace! There are some others, too, we just don't live in them."

Shavala smiled sadly. "I didn't mean to offend."

They were quiet for a moment, then Ellerie said, "Why do you travel with the humans?"

"They're my friends."

"Even after what he did to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"The binding spell!"

"Why worry about something that can't be changed? I like my sigil—I just hide it in the city now because too many people were curious about it."

"Well,

I

think it can be changed, and I'm going to find a way to do it." Thinking about the spell reminded Ellerie of the itching, and she had to stop herself from reaching for her forehead.

"For your sake—and Treya's—I hope so," Shavala said. "I'd like to keep mine. I'm not sure about Katrin. She still complains about it, but I've seen her use it to find Corec when she's nervous about him being away."

Ellerie shook her head. "I'll see what I can do, but if I have to banish them all to banish mine, I will."

"I understand. Why did you leave Terevas? Do the

nilvasta

go on travels, too?"

"I don't think that word applies," Ellerie said. In elven, the word that translated as

travels

held the connotation of a young person going out on his or her own for the first time, then returning home permanently. "Our people come and go from Terevas all the time—some of us, anyway."

Shavala nodded. "What about you?"

Ellerie sighed. "Terevas isn't a very nice place. It looks pretty, but the people... I got tired of all the secrets and lies, so I left."

"Is that why you don't use your family name?"

"I don't have a family name."

"What about di'Valla?"

Ellerie swallowed nervously. "You know who I am?"

"I spent the last eight years patrolling the border zone with the rangers. When you left Terevas, we were given your name and description and told to watch out for you, and to make sure you were brought home safely."

"I'm a hundred and eleven now!" Ellerie said, panicked. Unlike Melithar, Shavala wasn't Terevassian and wasn't sworn to obey. "You can't take me back!"

The other woman burst into startled laughter. "I wasn't planning to. I was just curious."

"Oh. Did you tell anyone?"

"Should I? I didn't think it was important."

"I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it. Boktar knows, of course, but it's just easier to not tell anyone else."

Shavala shrugged. "If you wish. You and Boktar...are you together?"

Ellerie laughed. "No. He's not interested in women any more than I am in men. It makes us good partners—no complications."

"Partners?"

"We work together. When I left Terevas, I didn't really understand how much things actually cost in the real world. Somebody else had always handled that for me. I didn't bring enough money, and by the time I reached Matagor, I realized I'd need to find a job. I tried to work as a wizard, but I wasn't very experienced back then, and it didn't turn out well. After that, I worked as a bodyguard for the head of a merchant family. The guard captain didn't want to hire me, but I bested him, so the merchant insisted. I got paired with Boktar because they thought it was funny for the elf and the dwarf to work together. We didn't stay there long—the merchant was a bloodworm—but we remained partners."

Shavala nodded, then stopped in front of a store. "I think this is the one the innkeeper suggested."

The store sold the dry staples they'd need for the journey—rice, beans, flour, oats, tea. Ellerie pulled the shopping list from her pocket. She didn't need a list, but Boktar had insisted on writing out the amounts of everything they'd need for seven people. Sometimes, he acted like her mother. Well, not

her

mother, but some other mother who was better at the job.

As she followed Shavala through the door, she wondered if Melithar planned to come with them, but decided he'd just have to bring his own supplies.

#

"You didn't have to come with me, if you want to do something else," Katrin said. "Circle Bay is my home; I'll be fine."

"And you spent a lot of time around dockside taverns while you were here?" Treya asked.

"No, but that doesn't mean I need a bodyguard."

"Corec thinks you do."

"Since when do you do what Corec asks?"

"I agree with him. And it was either this or go with him to look for horses. I don't know anything about horses, and I'd rather spend the day with you than with him."

"Thank you, I guess."

Treya grinned at her.

Katrin led her into the tavern below Felix's apartment, then stopped in surprise when she saw an old friend sitting alone at a table.

"What's wrong?" Treya asked from behind her.

"Nothing. I don't see Felix, but I do see someone I know. Do you want to meet her?"

"Of course."

They walked over to the table.

"Ana?" Katrin said.

The young woman looked up. "Katrin!" She stood and the two hugged. "Barz said you were back!"

"This is my friend, Treya," Katrin said. "She's a priestess." Treya frowned, but it was easier to explain a priestess than a mystic or the Three Orders.

Ana's eyes grew wide at that. "Oh!" She ducked her head. "Hello, miss. Do you two want to join me?"

The three of them took seats around the table.

"Why are you in a place like this alone?" Katrin asked Ana.

"Oh, umm, I'm waiting for someone. What about you? Why were you gone so long?"

"I was trying to earn enough to pay Barz's penalty."

"He mentioned you'd paid it. That was really nice of you. I tried to get everyone to pitch in so we could get him out, but only a couple of people wanted to help. Where are you going to live now? I heard your uncle gave up your old apartment."

"Actually, I'm not planning to stay in Circle Bay."

"You're not?" Ana looked worried for her.

"No; I met someone. He and I are traveling with Treya and some other friends, and then we're going to settle down in Tyrsall, but I'll be sure to visit here as often as I can."

"Barz said you were with someone, but he didn't seem very happy about it."

"Why are you talking to Barz so much, anyway? I thought you left the crew."

"I did, but he and I...umm..."

"You're seeing my brother? Since when?" Katrin wasn't sure how she felt about that. Barz had been involved with a number of women, but he'd never been with one of her friends before.

"We started about two months before he was arrested."

"Two months! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know if you'd be mad."

"I'm not mad, but why didn't you ever tell me you were interested in him? He's a good man, but I'm worried he's just going to end up in prison again."

Ana looked down. "I don't know. He said he's going to look for work—real work—like the magistrate told him to, but he's talking to the crew, too. I want him to quit, but, well, you know how Barz is. He doesn't like to be told what to do."

Katrin nodded. "Maybe once he's got a job, he'll realize he can make more money that way than he ever did as a thief."

"That's what I told him! I was making good money at...oh." Ana blushed. "I was working at Miss Sabina's when I ran into him again. I never told you about it because I thought you'd yell at me." Miss Sabina's was a high-end brothel in the city center. Ana turned to Treya. "I'm sorry, miss. I didn't mean to offend."

Treya waved her off. "Don't mind me, you two should catch up."

"I wouldn't have yelled at you," Katrin said. "Sabina tried to recruit me, too, but I told her no. But what about you and Barz?"

"He didn't want me working there after we got together, so I'm serving tables at the Five Gulls. It doesn't pay as well, so I'm rooming with some of the girls from the crew, but Barz wants to get an apartment together once he has a job. He says he doesn't want to stay with your uncle any longer than he has to."

That wasn't a surprise. Although Katrin had lived with Felix, Barz had moved in and out, getting his own place any time he could afford it, or sometimes staying with friends.

Just then, Felix and Barz came down the stairs together. They had matching black eyes, and Felix had a scrape across his left cheek.

Ana jumped up from her seat and hugged Barz, not commenting on the black eye. Apparently she'd already seen it.

Katrin introduced them to Treya, then said, "What happened to the two of you?"

"Why didn't you tell me he abandoned you?" her brother said angrily. "He'd said you were caught by that bounty hunter, but you never said that Felix left you behind first!"

"You

told

him?" she asked Felix.

"I assumed you'd already told him," he replied as the two men sat down. "It slipped out."

"You didn't answer my question," Barz said to her.

"I didn't want you two arguing," Katrin said. "Not with me going away."

"I don't want you leaving with that man."

Felix nodded in agreement, while Ana just looked back and forth between them, biting her lip in worry.

"I don't need you to make my decisions anymore," Katrin said. "Either of you. I'm happy with Corec, and that's all you need to know."

Ana laid her hand over Barz's, calming his fidgeting.

"Why not stay here?" Barz said. "Even if it's with

him

."

"I've already promised a friend we'll travel with her for a while, and then I need to find a bardic teacher. After that, I don't know what's going to happen. We're planning on going to Tyrsall, but it'll depend on where we can find work. Maybe we'll end up in Circle Bay after all." Katrin doubted that, but she had to give them some reason to stop arguing with her.

"A bardic teacher?" Felix said. "I thought you gave up on that."

"I gave up on the northern schools, but the southern schools are still an option. Right now, I'm hoping to find a bard who was trained in the south and who wouldn't mind teaching me outside of the schools. That's why I'm here, to see if you know whether there are any traveling bards in the city."

"Yosep is the only one I know of, but he's from Larso, so I imagine he attended the school in Telfort. And the bards that live here in the city all follow the rules of the school here, I'm sure."

Katrin sighed. "I'll have to keep looking, then."

"You really think you're going to find someone like that?"

"If I don't, then I'll look farther south, but I don't want to keep talking about me. Barz, what sort of work are you looking for?"

"Dockworker, I suppose. I don't really know how to do anything else."

"You're smart, and you can read and write and figure. Maybe you could work in a shop."

He laughed. "Me? A shopkeeper? They'd be fools to hire me."

Katrin frowned at her brother. He was still different from what she remembered before his prison stint—more sullen and angry. She couldn't think of how to improve his mood, and when Ana whispered in his ear and he smiled down at her, Katrin felt left out.

It was more than that, though, and as the conversation continued, it seemed like a gulf had grown between herself and Barz and Felix, and even between herself and Ana. They were still her family and friends, but she'd been away for a long time and she had new friends now. Was this what it was like to grow up and leave home? She'd have to ask Shavala and Treya—Corec didn't like to talk about his early life.

Soon, she ran out of things to talk about. After a few awkward silences, she stood and said, "It's getting late. We should get going. I think we'll be here at least one more day, so I'll try to stop by again if I can."

After saying their goodbyes, they headed for the door.

On the way out, Treya said, "I'm going to visit a friend at the Assembly Chamber. I'll stop by the inn on my way back to the chapter house tonight to see if they've decided when we're leaving."

"All right, I'll see you then."

#

When Shavala made it back to the inn, Katrin was already there.

"Did you find your uncle?"

"Yes," Katrin replied. "My brother, too. They were at the tavern where Felix plays."

"Did he have any suggestions on finding a bard?"

"He thinks all the bards in the city at the moment were trained in the northern traditions, so they're not likely to take on a female student. I'll have to keep looking. How did things go with Ellerie?"

"She's not what I expected from a

nilvasta

. And she's...very young."

"She didn't look any younger than you."

"She's an adult, but I'm not sure she's ready to travel on her own. It is good that she has the dwarven man to watch out for her, but I think she's used to getting her own way—she may not react well when she doesn't."

Katrin sighed. "Bobo stole from them, then Corec cast the binding spell on her. She probably hates us. I agreed to go with her because you wanted to, but if she tries to hurt Corec, we'll have to figure out a way to stop her."

"What if she tries to hurt Bobo?"

"Him, too, but she threatened to kill Corec when we were in the cell together."

"I didn't realize that," Shavala said. "I was just eager to get to know a

nilvasta

. We don't have to go with them."

"No, it makes sense for us to all stay together until we figure out how to get rid of the runes, especially if she's able to help. We can go our own way after that."

Shavala nodded. "She doesn't wish to visit Terevas anyway, and I do, so we'd have to part ways at some point. Or at least I would. How long do you and Corec plan to travel before you return to Tyrsall?"

"I don't know. A while, at least. Somebody's got to keep you out of trouble."

Shavala grinned at her.

Katrin continued, "If we haven't settled down by the time you leave for Terevas, we'll go with you, but if Ellerie and Boktar really

are

trying to find treasure, that could be exciting. That's the kind of thing I could write a song about."

"I didn't know you wrote songs."

"I don't, but if I want to be a real bard, I've got to stop thinking like a minstrel. Bards write songs. Besides, I need to do something to get my mind off what I did to that man the other day."

Shavala sat down and wrapped an arm around her friend. She wasn't sure if Katrin had told anyone else how she felt about the way she'd killed the man. It sounded like the same thing she'd done to the thief back in Tyrsall, but she hadn't hurt anyone that time.

"He would have killed you, yes?"

"He would have killed Corec. I don't think he even knew I was there until it was too late. It was so messy—he was wearing leather armor, so I had to stab him in the side of the neck." Katrin shivered.

Shavala hugged her more tightly. "It sounds like you didn't have a choice. Besides, he took coin to murder someone. You don't need to worry about him."

"It's not him I'm worried about, it's me." Katrin took a deep breath. "I'll be fine, but I don't want to talk about it right now. Let's talk about something else."

"Like what?"

"You haven't spent much time with Corec lately. Have you changed your mind about him?"

"I've been thinking about Lorvalla and her human husband."

"Lorvalla? Oh, the leatherworker back in Tyrsall?"

"Yes. He must have died when she was still very young, and she never remarried."

Katrin eyed her. "You weren't thinking of marrying Corec, weren't you?"

Shavala laughed softly. "No, but the thought of Lorvalla and her husband made me sad, so I decided to avoid human men, at least for now. I need to think on it more."

"I understand. Does seventy or eighty years seem as short to you as seven hundred years seems long to me?"

"Yes," Shavala said after a moment's hesitation, "but we're taught not to talk about that with humans."

"I won't tell anyone, but you don't have to be too sad. Seventy years doesn't seem all that short to me. What do you even

do

for seven hundred years?"

"We mostly do the same things we've done all along. Some of my people take up a different craft or career after the first few hundred years, but others are happy with what they've been doing. Perhaps elves and humans perceive the passing of time differently."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, it's just something I've been thinking about. Anyway, I don't know if Corec is interested. With other elves, I can usually tell, but he spends most of his time with you."

"I think he's interested, but I never told him your idea about sharing." Then, Katrin grinned. "I think he's trying to avoid watching you like he used to, so that he doesn't make me jealous."

"Why would watching make you jealous?"

There was a knock on the door and Treya came in. "Hey. Did they find horses? What day are we leaving?"

"They're not back yet," Katrin said.

"Oh. Where's everyone else?"

"Ellerie returned to her own inn after we were done buying supplies," Shavala said. "I think she wants to stay for at least one more day."

"I'm not sure where Bobo is," Katrin added. "I think he must have gone to the library when she wouldn't let him look at that book of hers without her being there."

"Circle Bay has a library?" Treya asked.

"Yes. It's smaller than Tyrsall's, but we've got one. I've never been inside, though."

"Well, I guess I'll head to the chapter house. Will you send a messenger to let me know what the plan is?"

"Why not stay here tonight? Or at least until they get back?"

"I suppose I could stay for a while."

Shavala said, "It is strange that you and I share a room while we're on the road, but as soon as we reach a city, you disappear. Do you like these chapter houses so much?"

Treya laughed and sat down across from them. "They're home. Or at least the ones in Tyrsall and Four Roads are. This one is different since I don't know anyone here except for Enna, and she doesn't live at the chapter house, but they're still my sisters."