Sixty Eight: Smoke

Dela dreamed she was back out on the plains with her family. It was a strange dream; it had no sound, only images, of places and people she'd grown up with. Her many small siblings chased each other through the long grasses, play-fighting and trying to lodge sticky clumps of tack-weed on each others' clothes. Her older siblings were either out hunting or tending children of their own. Her many aunts sat and gossiped around the fire, cleaning the skins from the last hunt or repairing frayed gathering baskets. Smoke spiralled into the night sky, where a bright moon hung overhead; in the distance, the second moon illuminated the mountains. The breeze changed, and smoke blew into her face.

She woke up choking. Bleary-eyed, she thought at first that she was still in the dream and that the haze would clear in a moment, but as she slowly regained wakefulness the haze resolved itself into tendrils of smoke, creeping in around the gaps in the dorm room door. She could no longer see the ceiling, and her lungs were full of grit.

"Lin," she croaked. She got up on her hands and knees, keeping low to the ground. "Lin, get up!"

She shook the huddle in the other bed vigorously. Lin began to groan, but was overtaken by a fit of coughing. A moment later her head appeared over the top of the blanket.

"Temple fire," Dela said, and cringed as she heard the distant crash of something collapsing. "We need to get out right now."

It must have been a big blaze, she thought groggily, to have smoke reach their dorms. Most of the temple was made of stone. Only the public prayer hall would have enough in it to burn.

She and Lin crawled to the door, the skirts of their nightdresses over their noses. She had to plunge her head into the smoke cloud to find the latch, and returned to the floor with her eyes stinging and streaming tears. The corridor outside wasn't any better.

"This can't just be someone dropping a votive," Lin muttered, but they didn't speak further to avoid drawing more smoke into their lungs. Some doors of the dorms were already flung wide and the rooms empty; those that weren't they pounded on until there was a response. The smoke was so thick that coming upon the exit was a surprise; the rarely-used door at the end of the dormitory block stood open, pouring smoke into the street. Dela gasped in a lungful of sweet fresh air and then doubled over with wracking coughs. In the dimness she heard others coughing. The shadowy shapes of other soot-smeared acolytes drifted in the street. Someone was crying nearby.

"Are you alright?" Lin asked. They both winced as someone else was noisily sick.

"Been better." Her throat and eyes ached. She couldn't pull in a full breath. "You?"

"I feel like I've been stamped on. On the inside."

"Same."

Dela crept to the end of the street to look out into the main temple courtyard. Confirming her suspicions, smoke poured out of the main doors from the prayer hall. The courtyard was thronged with people, some in guard uniform. The Clerics stood in clusters in their nightgowns. Dela hurried back to the small group who had escaped through the dormitory exit.

"Everyone else is in the courtyard."

"What happened?" A voice spoke up. Though it was hard to confirm through the rasp in it, Dela thought the voice might have been Taria's. "Does anyone know?"

"How would we?" someone else snapped. "We were asleep."

"Let's just go and find the priestesses," Lin said loudly, before a fight could break out. Dela herself felt shaken; if she hadn't woken up when she did, she and Lin might have died in there. "They'll tell us whatever it is we need to know."

In a shambling group, the acolytes from their section of the dormitory shuffled into the courtyard. A city guard jogged over, spotting them from the edge of the throng, and came to a stop in front of Dela. "Are any of you in urgent need of medical attention? Everyone will get seen, but we don't have many physicians here yet. Anything urgent goes first."

"Anyone?" Lin called over her shoulder. A confused muttering followed, until Dela clarified loudly to be heard.

"If you've hurt yourself in the escape, your vision is limited or you are finding it very hard to breathe, please go with this man to get medical attention." Her own voice trailed off into a hoarse wheeze. She turned away to cough, and when she looked up again two girls had stepped from the crowd. One slumped heavily on the other, eyelids fluttering and lips dark at the corners. The guard scooped her up into his arms, nodded an acknowledgement at Lin and Dela, and hurried off towards the far side of the courtyard with the other girl shuffling in his wake.

"Shelter work pays off in strange ways," Lin mumbled. She eyed the smoke pouring from the main doors, and Dela turned to look at the damage herself. The fire seemed contained to the main prayer hall, though smoke also plumed from some upper floor windows. The air stank of wood-smoke and burning cloth.

Dela fought a lump in her throat. It came on suddenly; seeing the place she had called home for two years billowing smoke brought tears to her eyes that were nothing to do with the air. "What could have happened? Kerrin is so careful with the prayer hall candles. They shouldn't even have been lit at this time."

"Someone dropped one passing through?" Lin suggested doubtfully.

"And didn't stamp it out while it was still tiny?" Dela replied. "A blaze this big can't have been an accident."

They glanced at each other. Lin muttered, "Arson?"

"I think even arsonists would think twice about desecrating Kiel's main temple." Dela paused. "Except for arsonists from Nict."

"Devils? You think Devils set a fire?"

"Who else?" Dela shrugged. "I've heard they'll do literally anything as long you pay for it, and I'm inclined to believe it after my run-ins. And most of them are Nicts."

"Or Orthan having a hissy fit over not getting one of Kerrin's temples off her," Lin added thoughtfully, after a pause. The thought hadn't occurred to Dela. She just couldn't imagine the Orthanians stooping so low.

A cry echoed across the courtyard. Everyone went silent as one, and the sudden stillness was eerie. Everyone who had grown up in Nictaven knew that cry.

"Please tell me an Unspoken is somewhere around here," Lin whispered.

Dela looked around, partly to check for Unspoken and partly to try and spot the demon that had been attracted by the fire. A blaze this big could easily attract more than one Firebull.

"Can a fire wreck the nets?" Lucine stood nearby, visibly shaking. "How has it got so close? We're supposed to be fully warded for half a mile out of this courtyard!"

"Well, Devils can't unpick rune nets for any kind of money," Lin said.

Unless the Devil had an Unspoken on side, Dela thought, thinking of the otherworld boy and the threats made against him. But could even he have done it? He could not have been manifested all that long, and Dela had heard from Nika that it was often well over a year before a new Unspoken could work runes with any accuracy.

There was no time to think about it; a vast shadow appeared on a nearby roofline. Somebody in the crowd screamed. The Firebull shifted at the noise, huge head turning. Its stubby finger-like paws sent tiles shattering on the cobbles below. Like a scene from a nightmare, a second appeared behind it. Both demons lowed.

"Run!" Dela thought she recognised Kerrin's voice through the din. "Get to taverns, shelters, anywhere with a working net! Everybody go!"

Dela hesitated, but Lin didn't. Dela stumbled as her friend grabbed her arm and started running back the way they came, up the narrow street. The breath rasped in her lungs and Lin didn't sound as if she was doing much better, but sheer terror kept them moving. A crash sounded behind them, and another haunting, hollering cry. She glanced back over her shoulder. It didn't seem as though anyone else had chosen this escape route. A figure of a man suddenly appeared in the entrance to the street and began running after them; perhaps a guard.

She hoped everyone got out safely. There were too many questions about the events of the night and not enough answers – how the fire had started, why the rune net had failed, why they had had no warning of either. There was a good chance that the Firebulls would be too distracted by the burning temple to be overly concerned with its fleeing occupants, but if anyone met more demons heading that way before they reached safety...

No. She wouldn't think about it. Those were concerns for the aftermath, but in the here and now it would only distract her from getting herself to safety.

She gasped as something buried itself in her foot. She had left the temple without shoes and in the chaos had barely noticed, but city streets were dangerous for bare feet. She stumbled to a halt, dragging Lin to a stop with her, and cursed in a very un-priestlike fashion as she pulled a shard of broken glass out of the ball of her foot. A thick line of red seeped from the hole.

"Careful," she gasped at Lin, as her friend moved closer to look. "You aren't wearing shoes either."

She chucked the shard into the gutter. The footsteps of the man who had been behind them drew closer, and she saw that it hadn't been a temple guard after all. It was just an ordinary man, probably caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, or perhaps he had been in one of the chapels for late-night prayer.

"Can you help us?" Lin asked him, as he made to move past. He stopped. "I can't support her all the way."

His dark eyes glittered at them, considering, and Dela's gut churned with unease. Perhaps not so ordinary...and then she saw the tattoo on the side of his neck.

"Lin," she whispered hoarsely, grasping the girl's wrist, but Lin had already realised her mistake.

"You're Kerrin's little favourite, aren't you?" The man stepped forward, and metal glinted at his side. He grinned. "Client would probably pay nicely to get their hands on you."

Something heavy landed behind them. Dela didn't have time to draw breath for a scream before a cloth closed over her mouth and nose and the world went dark.

When she next came around, she was alone. And cold. Freezing, actually. Below her was a low rattle and rumble, and her groggy mind took a moment to realise she was in motion. She opened her eyes and tried to move, but quickly determined that her wrists and ankles were bound and someone had put a sack over her head.

Of all the things that could have befallen her tonight, being kidnapped by a Devil had not entered her consideration for a single second.

She fell still again. Her breathing came short enough already after the smoke, and the bag wasn't helping. She tried to find her centre, as panic wouldn't get her anywhere, but keeping the situation entirely from her thoughts proved impossible. She didn't know if Lin had been taken with her, or hurt in any way. She shuddered, forcing away images of her best friend lying broken in a gutter somewhere.

The wagon groaned as it came to a halt. She strained her ears, and braced herself when she heard soft footsteps and low voices. She slumped down on the wagon bed, pretending to sleep and trying to hear what her captors were saying. They spoke too quietly for her to make anything out, but one speaker sounded increasingly unhappy about something. She had not expected her Varthian upbringing to serve her in this way; from a young age she had been prepared for the possibility that she might become collateral if there was a tribe raid. Her mother and sisters had taught her diligently on what to do if she was taken hostage, how to negotiate a marriage instead of ending up a bed slave. The only thing it didn't give her an advantage on was who she spoke to; all Varthians followed the same code, no matter how bloody the disagreement. The Devils followed no code that anyone outside them could ever discern.

Rough hands suddenly grabbed her and hauled her to the ground, standing her roughly on her feet and holding her there until she found her balance. She staggered as she tried to put weight on her damaged foot and searing pain followed. She hoped she hadn't left any glass in the wound.

The bag was whisked off her head. The street she stood in was damp and gloomy, the buildings around them ramshackle and seemingly abandoned. Dela's heart leapt to her throat. She could guess what quarter she was in, and she could expect no rescue here. She might have found aid at the house temple of Nict, if she'd had the first clue which direction to go in or how to get away from her captors. As it was, she didn't think she'd get three paces from the huge man peering down at her if he chose to chase her, even if her foot hadn't been damaged.

"You'll bring the whole city down on our heads, Burns," the huge man said. His accent was clearly Varthian. "I didn't think the boss would want anything this blatant. Kerrin will tear down every door in the city for one of her acolytes, and Harkenn will pay the guard to help her."

"She could make us a lot of money, Usk," Burns growled. "Our client is aiming to upset Kerrin."

"And last I heard, our boss was aiming not to be firmly linked to this job."

An uncomfortable silence. "Well, she's already heard too much. It's selling her or killing her at this point."

They both looked down at her. Dela set her jaw and tried not to look as terrified as she felt. She now knew for certain that Lin wasn't with her, and couldn't help but fear for the reason.

"You're thick, Burns," the larger man finally said. "That's why you have never led a group of your own. Think next time."

A hard nudge in the back got Dela moving in the opposite direction to the wagon. She pulled in a shuddering, stunted breath. Was he taking her to kill her? After all she had done to prepare for the Long Path, she was still terrified of her own death. Her vision blurred. She would never see her training come to fruition. It had all been for naught. Her best friend might be dead, and she was going to die alone, where they would probably make sure no one ever found her body. It all seemed so unfair.

"That's my captive!" Burns called indignantly, but didn't seem inclined to challenge Dela's new companion. She didn't blame him; he was fully two heads shorter. This Varthian was big even by Varthian standards.

Ex-Varthian, she corrected herself. He served the Devils, and the wild goddess would never approve of that. She couldn't expect help from him because of shared heritage.

"Do you speak Tochk?" she asked, without looking round. Burns seemed to be following them at a distance, but she didn't dare look round.

"I do." He replied to her in her own tongue. It was comforting to hear it, even if the voice belonged to the man who might kill her.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked. She was proud, at least, that her voice didn't waver.

He didn't answer her.

He nudged her along in front of him along a series of winding streets and alleys. All were in disrepair, and sometimes she heard muttering in the shadowed doorways. Pools of stagnant water glittered in the gutters, and foul smells proliferated. She hobbled to keep her injured foot out of the muck, slowing them. It wasn't long before the big man sighed, and without warning hoisted her up and over his broad shoulder. Her breath left her as she landed, but she bit down on a scream. She didn't want to attract more Devils to fight over who got to give her which horrible fate.

It was a bittersweet relief, however, to not have to support her own weight.

They went much faster after that. Occasionally she caught glimpses of Burns following them. It was a shock when they started climbing, and she suddenly found herself in a small, grubby room. The haze of smoke in it irritated her lungs and made her cough so hard she thought she would vomit. The Varthian put her down against the wall almost gently, and left her side for a moment. When he returned he held a battered metal cup with water in it.

"Why the fuck is there suddenly a child in my house?" A voice she was sure she had heard before followed a series of footsteps that clunked on every alternate step. Burns scrambled through the window at the moment, and the voice added, "And the group degenerates. Usk, I'm not in the mood for demonshit this evening."

"He stole my captive," Burns said plaintively. "She was escaping the temple. She's one of Kerrin's favourites, I thought I could get money for her."

"You're going to get my fist down your throat if you don't stop whinging like that."

The clunking came closer. Dela stared at the metal foot in front of her, and then followed it up and stared Arlen Blackheart in the face. She gasped, and then stifled it. Uncovered, he had a narrow, sharp face, a scar pulling at one half of his mouth and another that ran through his brow and all the way down his cheek. The eye that intersected with the scar was milky white and stared the wrong way, but the other was sharp and dark. Considering. His wanted posters were not far off the mark with the cruel sharpness to his mouth.

"I've seen you before." He frowned. The unscarred side of his face didn't pull down so severely. "Usk, please give me something good."

The Varthian had moved to the table. He was just as imposing while sitting. When he spoke, she saw that his teeth were as sharp as if he had just come in from the plains, and were studded with silver and gold. She felt a pang, missing her brothers more than ever. She might never get to see them again.

"She is Kerrin's favourite," Usk said. "Considering our employer's desire to stay hidden in this job, Burns thought it would be a splendid idea to kidnap an acolyte Kerrin would definitely miss. There was not enough planning to prevent this causing the guild a lot of trouble."

"Let them come," Burns muttered. "Harkenn's going loony anyway, I heard."

Arlen's eyes narrowed. "I doubt he's so loony that he's lost control of the city guard. Did you consider for one moment how exactly the client would hide this? He might not welcome it as much as you think he will."

Dela looked between the men, unsure what to hope for. She did sit vigil for Arlen's mother, but she wasn't certain that would carry much weight with a man like him – she had suspected he was dangerous. The priestess had told her as much. She couldn't determine which man gave her a better chance of rescue, if any at all. Past Arlen's shoulder, Usk watched her as he rolled a cigarette. She had heard of the man, but in no context where it made her desire a meeting with him.

"We can keep her here for the time being," Arlen finally said. "Until I've talked to Marick about it. If you want to argue, I'm sure Usk will be happy to oblige."

Burns did not leave gracefully. Dela heard him muttering and cursing all the way back down the crates, and had a feeling that the whole guild would know she was here before long. Her heart sank. There was no chance she would find her way out of the quarter on her own, even if she could get away from these two.

Arlen looked at Usk, and something passed between them. Silent as a shadow despite his size, Usk got up from the table and followed Burns out.

Dela turned back from the window to find Arlen watching her. She tried not to cower back against the wall, but despite one eye clearly being blind, it felt as though he pierced her with both.

"How does a Varthian barely old enough to bear kids end up tending dead people in the Kelian temple?" he asked bluntly. She blinked.

"Luck, mostly," she said, amazed at herself for having the courage to speak at all.

"Good luck or bad luck?"

"Good," she said, more vehemently than she had intended. The grin he offered her in response unfriendly. One of his teeth was missing and another cracked.

"So where do we go from here, Dela?" he asked. For some reason the fact that he remembered her name disturbed her. "You understand there's a bit of a situation here."

She nodded, tightly.

"How well do you know the Orthanian temple?"

She hesitated, taken aback. It didn't seem to be a trick question. She thought about it, trying not to think about the mucus-y rasp she could feel bubbling in her throat. Her eyes still stung. "Not very well. I know the basics."

"And how close are you really to Lady Kerrin?"

She tipped her chin up. "I won't do anything to betray her."

Arlen laughed. "That would be cute if it wasn't nauseating." His smile vanished. "Might be hard for you to believe, but for once this isn't in my interests. How well do you know Lady Kerrin, and what chance would you have of convincing her to give us a way of breaking in to a Caelumese diplomat's bedchamber?"

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Regards,

Elinor (S E Harrison)