The Edge of Shadow, page 22
part #5 of The Kin of Kings Series
The parchment nearly took up the entire desk. The drawing was of this three-story building, Basen realized, but with so much more than its outline. Each room was drawn separately, one on top of another. Wilfre had added numbers next to each image that seemed to represent more than just height and width.
“What is all of this?” Basen asked.
“People are getting suspicious of the activity around this building,” Wilfre said.
“I realize that, but there’s little we can do about it. Besides, everyone here hates the Takarys. They wouldn’t go to guards with suspicions.”
“Why take the risk when we can give ourselves the excuse we need?” He tapped his parchment at the small part at the bottom where there was no ink. “Our team has been contracted to rebuild this place.”
“How sure are you that if we follow your guidelines it won’t topple down and kill us all?”
“Certain. I was a carpenter before a liaison.”
“You?” Shock made the word come out before Basen had the chance to stop it.
“Can’t imagine me getting my hands dirty?”
“No, I can’t.”
“Well, you’re right.” Wilfre chuckled. “I would design, then leave the building to others. With a team of the right people we could get the floors and walls up in a week.”
“That seems impossible.”
“Neeko was a carpenter as well, did you know?”
“No.”
“He’s modest, unlike me, but I was able to get the truth out of him eventually that he’s something of a prodigy. With his pyforial energy and experience, it can be done. There’s just one problem.”
“The money,” Basen realized.
“Exactly. It’s going to run out in a week even without purchasing the supplies we need. Have you found a way to expedite the attack you’ve spent so long planning?”
“No. It takes time to learn the whereabouts of our enemies and get everyone in position.”
“Then we need more money, lots of it. I wish I had taken more than my one acrown from the Academy.”
“That was yours?”
Wilfre stood to stretch his back, letting out a groan as he answered, “Yes. I had two more I should’ve taken, but that one was already in my pocket. Have you figured out how we will get more money?”
“That, I will figure out soon.” Something had come to mind right after Basen had woken up, when he turned to see Sanya bored and sulking as she leaned against the wall. He could use her; he just had to determine how.
He returned to his corner of the basement. He’d paced back and forth here so many times he half expected to have worn down a trail, but there was only scattered soot upon blackened wood.
The best place to get money was directly from his enemies, but the person he most wanted to take it from was his cousin Crea. She didn’t deserve whatever amount of wealth she’d clung to after the execution of her father.
Basen could make portals to many places by now. If he knew where she was, he was certain he could devise a plan to take her money.
Actually, I only have to know where she keeps her money, not where she is. And this he did know: the treasury in Tenred castle. Nearly all troops loyal to her were already in Kyrro, betraying Basen and his allies. Only those necessary to govern the territory remained.
Once he had two akorell stones, Basen could teleport into the castle and then out again, but how could he get into the treasury? Getting past the guards might be possible, but not the steel door.
Crea’s younger sister, Gayla, should be somewhere in the castle if Crea wasn’t. She’d know the way in, probably even had the keys.
Basen had to stop himself at this point, for it was becoming too tempting to follow through with this plan. His gut told him it was a bad idea, and in the few instances he’d gone against his instincts, he’d regretted it. The warden had already told Basen never to return when he came with Krepps to intimidate the man into letting Juliana out of prison. His presence would alert every guard.
But Nebre should be welcomed back to the castle. As the only one able to provide insight on Krepps, he was valuable. He hadn’t wanted to leave when he’d been taken by his father, so it would make sense. He’ll tell them he had a wretched time with his kind and wants to return.
No, he will be questioned by psychics. Besides, Basen had already told himself to stop speculating about stealing his family’s money.
An unbidden voice returned as much as he tried to keep it silent: Don’t forget about Sanya. She’d spoken about stealing and leaving Kyrro as if it were easy. She could find a way to get herself an audience with Gayla.
Sanya will say her father’s still alive and has been following the progress of the war. He wants to offer his services to Tenred by returning to be the inventor of military potions. He’ll threaten to offer his services to Ulric if the Hillers aren’t interested, through Sanya of course.
She’d be questioned by a psychic the whole time, which wouldn’t be a problem.
This would work, so why did he feel something regrettable would happen?
“Sanya,” he called out.
Her shoulders slumped as she walked. “What?”
“How would you like to get out of here and steal from Crea and Gayla Hiller?”
She perked up. “I’m listening.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Sanya voiced no concerns about Basen’s plan. The only thing she told him she was worried about was making sure the febeetles would be fed each day.
“They’re completely irrelevant to this,” Basen said. It was a concern that she might be losing her mind if she thought so.
“I know that—I’m not stupid! I’ve put in a lot of effort and lost sleep because of those creatures, so you’d better keep them alive.”
“Effie knows to feed them and rebuild the sartious pen. They are important to me as well.” She seemed like a volcano about to erupt. “You’re going to have to control your emotions for us to get away with the money. Are you sure this is something you can do?”
She actually seemed to ponder the question as she glanced at the floor. “We can’t go until we have two akorell stones tomorrow, so I’ll tell you then.”
“It was more of a rhetorical question, Sanya.”
“Oh.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing.”
She was acting too strangely for that to be true. “Can I trust you to do exactly what I need while we’re there?”
“I said I’d tell you tomorrow,” she said to the floor, then went back to her corner of the basement to sulk in the shadows again.
People generally stayed away from her, and she looked at them as if she resented them for this, which only made people keep more distance. Basen didn’t know how to end this cycle, but doing nothing didn’t mean he was ignoring it.
Neeko and Shara came by to speak with Wilfre and inspect the building closely. Neeko agreed with Wilfre that it would only take a week to replace the walls and floors, so Basen gladly let them take full control of the project.
Most of the instructors—or officers—as Basen thought of them now, worked well together and had already relayed information to Basen about their district and associated team. So it came as a surprise that Basen’s father was one of the few who hadn’t gotten back to him yet, especially considering that the district of his team’s responsibility was the closest one. It was this poor area, with many houses burned like the one Basen and others spent so much time within.
He had begun to fear something had happened before Henry finally showed up looking even worse than when Basen had reunited with him in the forest. There were no signs of youth left on Henry’s weathered face, his hair graying more every day.
“What happened?” Basen asked.
“Nothing. It took this long to be thorough, and we’ve already begun recruiting.”
Recruiting? His instincts told him not to scold his father. “Are you sure these people can be trusted?”
“They have nothing to gain by reporting us. The guards will do nothing to better the lives of these wretched souls.”
“That might be true,” Basen said, “but it only matters if these people think they have something to gain by betraying us.”
“They’re too angry. No guards patrol this district anymore, as if Ulric has deemed it invisible. We’ve already added fifty people to our army, and I expect more to follow.”
There was at least one guard still patrolling last Basen had checked. Was Henry lying or had the guard given up on this district?
“I appreciate your effort, Father, so don’t take what I’m about to say as a slight against your work. None of these people are trained to fight, and we have no weapons for them.” Early recruitment wasn’t part of the plan. Basen wasn’t sure why his father had taken it upon himself to pad their numbers without asking Basen first, but it was too awkward to claim rank over his father.
“When we get more money, we can buy steel. There’s a blacksmith in this district who could help us with the making of akorell bracelets and swords.”
“Trela has already claimed there is a blacksmith in her district who wants to support us.”
“So we’ll have two.”
“That just increases the risk. Even if both blacksmiths are loyal, someone entering their forge at the wrong time could see the extent of their project and inform a guard.”
“Then tell Trela not to bother with her blacksmith. The people in this district are loyal to us. I’ll speak with the blacksmith later today.”
It bothered Basen how hasty his father could be about something in which subtlety was of the utmost importance. “You can’t possibly be certain everyone’s loyal to us.”
“My son, I know these things.” Henry clearly didn’t use their bond as an endearment but to invoke his perceived rank over Basen. “You focus on where we’re going to get the money we need and let me handle this district.”
“When did you speak to Wilfre?”
“Last night. You were sleeping.”
Basen didn’t like his father going around him, but there was nothing he could say. “All right. I’m trusting you.”
Henry left just as quickly as he’d come.
Sanya walked around the wall from where she’d obviously been eavesdropping. “He’s lying,” she said.
Basen shushed her. “Keep your voice down. What did he lie about?”
She came closer and whispered, “When he answered your question of what happened.”
So something had caused his father’s delay. Basen wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
“I’m going for a walk,” Sanya said, though she looked to be waiting for his permission.
“Doesn’t Ulric know you abandoned him?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s not a good idea. All it takes is one person to recognize you, and the whole district will be investigated.”
“What’s not a good idea would be sending me into Tenred castle to steal the Hillers’ fortune having done little more than stretch my legs in the past week.”
“Fine, but try not to be noticed.”
As she left, he got the sense that she was no different from his father in that there was something she didn’t want him to know.
Henry had always been secretive. Basen and Juliana never pried because they knew it had to do with Henry’s brother, Tegry, and not them. But Sanya’s secrets were different. They were potentially deadly to Basen.
As he looked through their sanctuary and then Millry’s tavern for someone he trusted to follow her, Cleve confronted him. As soon as Basen caught sight of the subdued fury in his friend’s narrowed eyes, he realized what this would be about.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were sending a group back to the forest?” Cleve demanded.
“I should’ve, I’m sorry. But I didn’t think of it until I saw you just now. I can take you there tonight when I make a portal to the Slugari colony.”
His expression softened. “All right.” But it looked as if there was more he needed to say.
“What is it?”
“I suppose Wilfre told you about my money?”
“He didn’t mention anything about you.”
Cleve looked surprisingly abashed as his eyes rolled down. “I had many acrowns that I left behind. Wilfre really didn’t say anything?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s a surprise considering the hard time he gave me for leaving it in the hands of our enemies.”
“How much money, Cleve?”
“You don’t want to know. It was a gift from a friend, a rich friend. You don’t know him.”
Crea probably has it now. “Is there a chance your rich friend could still help us?”
“I hoped long ago that he might, but no. I just needed to tell you about the money. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. We’ll get what we need and more. I have to be going, though. I’m sorry.”
“Of course.”
Why couldn’t more people be as easy to manage as Cleve? Basen almost asked the warrior to follow Sanya for him, but Cleve was not known for subtlety. Basen didn’t have time to look for anyone else, so he took it upon himself to track her down before she got too far.
She could probably tell with psyche if someone was spying on her, so Basen made sure to keep as much distance as he could. There were many narrow streets in this poorer district of the city, but Sanya chose to stroll down the main roads instead. She walked without purpose, chewing on a finger most of the time. She appeared oblivious to the people passing by, wistful even as she often stopped and looked up at the sky.
A few times, Basen caught her balling her fists as if to punch an invisible foe, only to drop them and visibly force herself to relax with a deep breath. It was only once that she glanced around to check for anyone spying, nearly catching Basen before he ducked behind the side of yet another burned building barely standing.
He wondered how his father had come to trust these people so quickly and what method he used to recruit them. They must be happy about the febeetles being taken away by a rebel psychic, but such information was dangerous to spread.
Could that be what bothered Henry—something Henry had done to gain trust that could come back to bite them? Yes, that was most likely it. Knowing Henry, he probably had promised coin to some of the people he’d recruited. The blacksmith. Henry was too desperate for political power. Trela could’ve taken care of the making of the akorell stones, but Henry needed it to be him.
After following Sanya for a while, Basen had seen enough of her pointless wandering to realize she must be in the midst of an inner dialogue. He turned back before she found him, wishing there was someone else he could bring to Tenred castle who he trusted more.
*****
Sanya spent the day walking around the district. The rebels referred to it as H district, or home, but the people who lived here seemed to think of it more as punishment, for they named it “the claw.” Once you were in its grip, you couldn’t get out.
She found a few more febeetles that she’d missed the first time around. She drew them out into the street and stomped them dead.
If Basen saw, he’d probably bar her from ever leaving their “sanctuary” again, and it would become the second prison she’d be forced to escape from.
None of this mattered in the end. Her “allies” were going to be killed no matter how hard she fought to keep them alive, and she would be far from here when it happened.
Basen had distributed the collective money to Wilfre, his father, Sneary, Trela, Jack, and Alabell to hold. Sanya would never be part of that inner circle, even after she put her life at risk to steal from Tenred castle. The only person who would look after her was herself.
A young man started walking beside her by evening. He purposely seemed to keep a gap between them, but he slowed and sped up whenever she changed her pace. He didn’t look as if he was dimwitted, but Sanya could think of no other excuse for his behavior. It seemed as if he’d washed recently, his combed-back hair damp and his face cleanly shaven. He was probably a year or two older than Sanya, strong and distractingly tall, matching Cleve’s height.
He hardly glanced over at her, but she could feel from psyche that he wasn’t just walking the same way by chance. He was following and as curious as a cat.
She had learned to ignore people over the years of harassment in Tenred castle, so it was easy to pretend he didn’t exist. Soon she felt the presence of more creatures, this time in an inn where some of her “allies” were staying, no doubt. Dutifully, she called the creatures out into the street. She frowned when two rats were among the ten febeetles. She didn’t so much mind killing the rats, but it was a hassle.
Some people came out of the inn, probably to thank her, but stopped and held their stomachs when they saw the febeetles devouring the disabled rats alive. When it was done, she squished each black beetle with the heel of her boot.
It was a shock to see the young man still there, not even slightly perturbed by the sight. He even smiled. Meanwhile, the entire street had cleared.
“Something’s wrong with you,” she told him.
He laughed. “I’m not the one scaring people.”
“I’m helping them. They’re grateful.”
“And scared.”
It was true, she did frighten everyone. “What do you want with me?”
“To get to know you.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Why?”
“I think you’re beautiful.”
It was such a shock that Sanya couldn’t even get a word out. “Yu…wh…mm?”
“Yes, beautiful in a dark kind of way, like the moon glimmering through the fog.”
“You’re bleeding.”
She felt his embarrassment as he touched around his upper lip. He found the wet spot and frowned at his red finger.
“I would apologize,” he said, “but you don’t strike me as the kind of woman who hates the sight of blood.” He gestured at the mess she’d left on the street.
