Chaos Broken (10 page)

‘Thanks for the book, Seth,' I said. ‘And the gin.'

Then I closed the door and extinguished the hallway light, knowing Seth had lied. Of course he was playing a game with me. There were always strings attached, I'd just never been able to see them before. Even if he didn't mean to, it was Seth's nature to manipulate. But this time, I'd figure it out and I'd be ready.

After a reasonable night's sleep and an obnoxiously early morning rise, I pottered about the house, inhaling an apple strudel that Nicola had left, and fuelling up on coffee.

After the hour was deemed reasonable, I decided to check in on Sabine to ask some questions about Kalin. Then I'd go to Blackgoat and talk to Crowhurst about Nicola's offer. If the money was as good as Crowhurst was implying, then fuck pride, I'd give it a go.

I dressed in my Tanker boots, sensible cotton trousers and a green top with a high neck. A peek out the window showed miserable grey skies and drizzling rain, so I grabbed a thick coat with a hood and buckled on my work-belt. Taking my cane and an umbrella beside it, I stepped out to the bleak morning and whistled for a Mercury boy. When one appeared, I sent him to Blackgoat with a brief message to Crowhurst about my whereabouts. Then I limped along the increasingly crowded street, searching for a free rickshaw. When one finally rattled to a stop beside me, I gave him the address and then stared out the window at the water-slicked streets, replaying the visits of Seth and Roman last night. Goosebumps prickled my skin as I recalled Roman's declaration that I was
his
. Did I want that? Did I want to be his possession? It felt like the kind of novelty that would wear off.

By the time we pulled up outside the school I'd sunken into a dandy little pool of depression, and being back at my old school made it worse. Even before Poulter's murder, I didn't have fond memories of this place. I'd struggled with sitting still for so long, listening to a teacher drone on about the history of The Weald. Then there were the classes for the girls on how to cook and sew so we could get husbands, while the boys went to learn archery and swordplay.

Very. Fucking. Unfair.

I paid the driver and got out, popping my umbrella and hurrying into the school's administration building. The same woman Crowhurst and I had spoken to the other day was there, staring at a folder in her hands, as if she couldn't remember why she had it in the first place.

‘Hello?' I called out. She looked up with bloodshot eyes. I softened my tone. ‘I'd like to see Sabine. Would she be around?'

‘She's in Headmistress Poulter's office. Packing.' Her eyes filled with fresh tears. ‘Just go on up.'

I took the stairs nice and slow. My hips grumbled with the cold and by the time I got to the second flight, pain was shooting up and down my bad leg.

Inside Poulter's office, I found Sabine sitting in a chair, stroking the back of a mangy-looking tabby. Eyes scanning the room, I remembered the unfortunate occasions I'd been hauled inside these four walls to be disciplined for brawling. Sabine looked up when I entered. Dark circles sat under her eyes and her apricot hair hung limp around her face.

‘Hey.' I nodded at the cat. ‘Is that Blinky?'

Sabine scratched behind the cat's ear and it began to purr. ‘Yes. He came home last night.' She quickly wiped away tears. ‘The school's going to look after him. Make sure he's fed properly and all that.'

‘You're not in class?' I asked.

Sabine's eyes locked on the cat. ‘I've got a few free periods to pack up the office.' She gestured towards some crates sitting beside a bookcase.

I sat in an old armchair by the door. The cat gave me a snotty look and shifted on Sabine's lap.

‘How are you?' I asked.

‘I'll be fine.'

‘I'm really sorry about what happened to Poulter.'

‘It wasn't right.'

‘I know.' I hesitated, then asked, ‘I know you already talked to the City Watch, but what can you tell me about Kalin?'

Fear flashed in Sabine's eyes. ‘Do you think he'll be back?'

‘I don't know,' I answered truthfully. ‘It depends on what he was doing.'

The cat, irritated at being ignored, dug its claws into Sabine's lap and she winced, before resuming scratching him behind the ear. ‘Poulter didn't like him, but none of the teachers did. He was dumped at the Applecross Orphanage as a baby. He was always in trouble for something. He scared everyone at the school. They tried to expel him a couple of times.'

‘But it didn't work?'

Sabine shrugged. ‘They talked about it, but he'd always just be at school the next day. I heard that someone kept throwing money at the school's administration board to smooth things over.'

‘An anonymous relative?'

‘There was some talk that he was the bastard son of an important man.'

‘Did Kalin say anything about it?'

‘Don't know. I avoided him. His eyes are creepy.'

‘Do you know if Kalin practised darkcraft?' I asked.

‘Not that I know of. He got in plenty of fights and had a mean streak. One time, I heard he lit a dog on fire. He was also pretty smart. I never saw him study, but he always got high marks.' She hesitated, then asked, ‘Do you know why he attacked Mistress Poulter? He didn't like her, but then, he didn't really like anyone, so why her?'

‘I don't know yet. But don't worry about him coming back, I'm sure the law will find him soon.' I tried to sound confident, but truth was I didn't hold a lot of faith that the City Watch would locate him. No one talked to the law in Applecross since Seth had left the City Watch. There just didn't seem to be anyone left who could put enough fear into people to make them talk. I once heard that Seth had cut off a suspect's ear to get a confession. After the confession was given, apparently he'd cut off the offenders other ear for ‘balance'. When I'd asked him about it, all Seth told me was that the way he saw it, once word got around what he'd done, he would have fewer ears to cut off in the long run. I had trouble seeing Caleb doing something so bloodthirsty.

After bidding Sabine farewell, I left the school, trying to ignore the rolling unease in my stomach and the voice in my head that told me this was only the beginning.

***

I crossed the road and my boots hesitated before the one place that had frightened me as a child: the Applecross Orphanage. At school, the kids from here been tough, with eyes like stones and mouths like you'd find on sailors. Kalin deserved justice if he was responsible for Poulter's death, but it was difficult not to feel a small measure of pity for him. I considered myself lucky that I'd been left for Orella and Gideon to find, and hadn't ended up at the mercy of the orphanage. While Orella might not have given birth to me, I considered her my mother. And Gideon weathered all of my considerable flaws and lack of social graces as character quirks. While he frowned on some of my activities as an adult, he'd defended me to the hilt while I'd been a child. I'd been damned lucky to have them raise me.

‘Can I help you?' A stout woman appeared in the doorway, hands clasped together. She wore a stiff blue dress, and her hair was braided and coiled up on her head.

‘I'm Lora Blackgoat, a Runner with Blackgoat Watch.'

‘Humph.' Her mouth twisted. ‘You here about Kalin?'

‘Why do you ask?'

She made an exasperated sound. ‘Because the City Watch have already been here, asking about him. Doesn't take a genius to figure out he had something to do with Lady Poulter's death.'

I narrowed my eyes and her aura flicked into view: a swirling dark blue nimbus, with flickers of orange. Aura reading was a rare ability I had, and from what I saw, there was no deceit in her words. But just because she thought she was right, didn't make it so.

‘Did you know Kalin?' I blinked the vision away.

‘I did and he was always up to no good, that boy.' She gestured for me to follow her. ‘I'm Lady Henner. I can show you where he used to sleep, but that's about it.'

‘Guess that's better than nothing,' I said.

Henner grunted and struck off, skirts swishing. ‘He was thrown out of the school and we were about to do the same here when he took off. He was a horrid child. Once he attacked the cook with a knife when he was refused seconds. Can you believe the cheek? Disgraceful behaviour.'

A small group of giggling girls passed us, their laughter fading when they spied Henner. I noted the way their heads ducked and their shoulders slumped and I swallowed hard. Being a kid was tough, but being a kid without anyone to love you had to be the hardest thing. After the third flight of stairs, my bad leg was screaming for mercy and I was ready to beg for a break. Before I could start complaining, Henner exited through a door and I followed gratefully, leaning heavy on my cane.

We entered a room with bunk beds and sparse furnishings. The bedding appeared clean and each bed was meticulously made. Henner pointed to one of the beds on the left.

‘That used to be his. The City Watch took a crate of what he'd left behind. It was just junk, really.'

‘Do you mind if I look around?' I asked.

‘Do as you like. Save for a few stragglers, most of the children are in school.'

Hobbling over, I sat down with relief on the hard bed Kalin used to inhabit. Leaning over, I checked out the floor under the bed, seeing nothing but a pair of worn shoes.

‘What are you looking for?' Henner asked. ‘The City Watch were pretty thorough.'

‘You never know,' I murmured, peering behind the bedside table. ‘Fresh pair of eyes, women's intuition, dumb luck…who knows. Did he hang around any gang in particular?'

Henner gave a haughty sniff. ‘I wouldn't know about something like that. I just clean up after them.'

‘I heard Kalin had a wealthy benefactor.'

‘Don't know anything about that.'

‘You sure?' I squinted and watched her aura flush dark green as she lied.

‘I told you, I don't know anything about no wealthy relative.'

‘I never said anything about a relative,' I said. Reaching inside my belt, I pinched some salt and cast. The salt crackled to life and Henner took an alarmed step back.

‘What do you think you're doing?' she cried. ‘I don't want none of that craft business around here.'

‘Relax,' I said. ‘It's just a harmless seeking spell.'

Henner made some more disapproving noises, but they faded as she watched the spell work. The spell was complex, and I felt a headache start up as it wound around the room in multiple streaks of silver.

‘What's it doing?' Henner asked in hushed voice.

‘It finds what's hidden,' I answered casually, omitting to mention it also caused people to speak hidden truths. ‘Tell me again about who keeps an eye on Kalin?'

Henner blinked as some of the spell whizzed by her. She frowned as the light wove around her, then paused and pointed behind me.

‘It found something.'

Annoyed at the distraction, I turned to see part of the spell fizzle out over a bed to the far right. With a sigh, I walked over and slipped a hand under the mattress, pulling out a dog-eared pack of naked women playing cards.

‘Woops.' I was about to shove them back, before Henner snatched them.

‘I'll take that, thank you.' She slid the cards into a pocket. ‘Filth like that doesn't belong here.'

I hesitated, rethinking the worth of casting the spell again. Henner was obviously a stubborn woman and I didn't want to get the kids here in trouble. Pinching salt, I decided to give it one more shot. As I cast a second time, I tried to dig deeper into the spell, pulling up Kalin's face into my mind's eye as I did. The spell sparked bright and slid around the room, seeking prey. Trying not to be obvious, I tried to direct it back to Henner, but it ignored me and whirled over Kalin's bed, ruffling the blankets before sliding under the bedframe. Wondering what I'd missed, I checked again, seeing nothing but the old shoes. I tried to shift the bed, but it didn't move, and I jarred my muscles with the effort. Henner made a tutting sound.

‘Bolted into place,' she said, pointing out the now bleeding obvious.

With a resigned sigh, I crawled under the bed and pushed the shoes aside. Keeping my eyes sharp, I felt around the floor until I found a loose section that the shoes had been covering. With my fingertips, I pried it up to reveal a small hidey hole beneath. Inside, I pulled out a dusty bag of boiled sweets and a leather pouch of chipped marbles.

‘What have you got?' Henner's feet shuffled behind me.

‘Not sure.' I pulled out a last item, a folded piece of paper, and sneezed with the dust that came with it.

‘Bless you.' Henner's feet shuffled back like she was worried she'd catch something.

‘Thanks.' I pinched my nose. Turning the piece of paper over, I saw it was an old black-and-white image. Wiping off the dust, I squinted, trying to see past the smudges and scratches. It looked like an official image of a City Watch constable. It took me a second more to process what I was seeing, because it was a face I knew well, even though it was a much younger version.

Seth
.

I replaced the lollies and marbles back and closed the hidey hole, thinking some kid in the future might need it and that a hidden treasure might be their only pleasant memory of their time in this place. Wiggling out from under the bed, I grabbed my cane and pushed myself to my feet, the image clasped in one hand.

‘What's that?' Henner took a step closer, trying to see what I'd found.

I tucked the piece of paper into my work-belt and straightened my clothes. ‘Something the City Watch must have missed.'

Henner began to protest, but I raised my hands. ‘I'll take it straight over to the City Watch. I'm friends with one of the Captains investigating Poulter's death.'