Then Kirian said, “My lord, may I ask a personal question?”
His brows went up. “I suppose.”
“Where are
you
going, so late at night?”
He considered his answer. Before he could speak, she added: “You also are traveling alone, and packed for a journey. I thought you were on some mission for the King or Lord Arias, but I am not so tired that I’m stupid. You hid from Lord Arias’ men.”
He couldn’t help but grin. “I thought that little fact wouldn’t escape you. Thank you for holding your curiosity in check until we were warm.”
“Well?”
He smiled at her. Full of stew and ale, tired but warm, he began to be amused by her lack of proper social conventions. Perhaps she was too tired to remember that she should not question a
righ
lord – even an outcast like himself—like this. Or perhaps it was ingrained. They did teach etiquette and diplomacy at Healer’s College, did they not?
“You needn’t answer, my lord,” Kirian said, but she looked unhappy.
“It is as you have guessed,” he said. “We are on no mission but our own. In fact, Lord Arias may send men after me. When King Martan discovers I have left, he will seek to punish me as well.”
She frowned. “This does not sound good, my lord.”
He shrugged. “It is as Jashan wills. I am taking unauthorized leave.”
“Where are you going?”
He didn’t know why, but he wanted to tell her. “To Ha’las, Healer, on that Leyish ship if she’ll take me.”
“Ha’las.”
Another sip of ale went down like silk. He could almost forget Arias’ face this afternoon as he threatened him with color magery. He looked out the parlor’s little window and said, “I would appreciate it, Hon Kirian, if you would keep this information close.”
“Of course.” A pause. She was watching him with those acute brown eyes. “Do you know anyone in Ha’las?”
“Not a soul.”
Chiss regarded him for a moment and said, “If I may, my lord.”
“I think we need not burden Hon Kirian with all my reasons for this journey,” he said to Chiss. She did not need to know that Callo had discovered that his life had been a lie, and that he had decided he could not live this way, a supplicant to an uncle who was using him only as a tool.
“I only ask because, well,” she hesitated, “I wondered if I might come with you.”
He almost choked on his ale.
“I beg your pardon, Hon Kirian?” Chiss asked.
She sipped at her ale. Callo noticed a rather becoming flush on her cheeks, from warmth and ale and possibly a little embarrassment. “I wondered if I might accompany you.”
“No,” Callo said. “This is not a pleasure trip, Hon Kirian.”
“I realize that. I have only two choices, as I see it. I can remain here—in an inn—or find employment somewhere, but not as a Healer for a while, so that if Lord Arias is seeking me, his men will not find me. Or I can join you.”
“Then you have only one choice,” Callo said.
“Hon Kirian,” Chiss interjected, “This will be a dangerous journey. We have no experience of Ha’las, other than to know the ku’an are hazardous. Our return is uncertain. It is not safe. Why by the Unknown God would you want to come to Ha’las?”
She shrugged. “A sense of adventure. I don’t know.”
“You can return to Sugetre,” Callo told her.
“I don’t think so. Remember I am thought to have aided someone who threatened the nobility. The
righ
will seek me everywhere, and they may demand aid from the King. Sugetre is unsafe.”
“The
righ
don’t care about you,” Callo said. “You exaggerate your importance in all of this. And Arias would not have you slain.”
“And Lady Mia Lon, and her husband who was the target of their attempt at murder?”
“I suppose I can’t speak for them. Tilonar is a fool, always was.” Callo thought a moment. Clearly he would not convince her that her life was not at risk. He wondered what the other Healer had told her, to make her so afraid. “Then if you must hide, hide here. What about staying with this herb seller?”
“I have met him only once. I have been thinking that it is very likely he will turn me over to Lord Arias’ men for a reward.”
“Then you must hide elsewhere.”
“I suppose that is what I must do.” Her hand was at her belt, unfastening her purse. There was a jingle of coins. She was counting. “I see I have sufficient money to stay in Two Merkhan for some time. I will say farewell then, my lord, and take my leave in the morning. Thank you for listening.” She pushed back her chair and rose.
“Wait.” Callo frowned. “How much money do you have?”
“That’s not a problem, my lord. I can easily support myself for a sennight or two.”
He felt his temper flicker. “That’s not what I asked.”
“It’s not your concern.”
“Chiss, will you get my purse, please? I want to give Kirian some additional funds.”
“I will not accept it,” Kirian said.
“Because you have enough, as you have said.” He rose and began pacing to discharge some of his tension. The woman was as irritating as sand in the eye. Why could she not accept a little money? What if she starved here, stubborn as an ox until the end?
She eyed him. “I am sorry you are upset. Look, I’ll show you.” She took the purse and spilled the coins into her palm, then onto the table. Ten silver kels rolled onto the table top.
Chiss coughed.
Callo said, “Ten kels?”
“My savings. This is really quite a sufficient amount. I will be fine, as you see.”
“Kirian. You cannot think you can feed and house yourself in Two Merkhan for—several sennights—on ten kels?”
“I am certain I can, Lord Callo,” she replied with some surprise. “Not here, of course.” She gestured at their comfortable surroundings and the remains of their meal. “But this will feed me for quite a while. But now that you have put the idea in my head, I may just try to buy passage to Ha’las for myself.”
“Ghosian wouldn’t take you. It’s illegal.”
“You must think he’s willing to circumvent the law, or you would not be here.”
“Can you not go somewhere else—anywhere else?” Callo snapped.
Chiss added, “There are many places in Righar that might be safe for you. Have you no family—no friends elsewhere?”
“None. I am alone. How much do you suppose passage to Ha’las would be?”
“Jashan’s eyes!” swore Callo. “You try me. All right, then. You have beaten me down. Come with us to Ha’las, then, if you must. At least you will not starve in the streets.”
Her face lit up. “Really?”
“I said so,” he said, knowing he was glowering at her.
She made a quick instinctive motion, almost as if she wanted to put her arms around him then stopped herself. Her smile brightened the room. In spite of himself, he felt his shoulders losing their tension.
“I can’t wait!” she said.
Chiss made a motion of protest.
“Chiss?”
“If you will forgive me, Hon Kirian. You should not approach this as a vacation. It is possible that none of us may live through this adventure.”
“Oh, I know that, Chiss. But right now, with this terrible day behind me, and a journey ahead of me to
Ha’las
, of all places—I’m thrilled. It’s much more exciting than sitting in some inn hoping to be overlooked for a few sennights.”
“You said you have no family to miss you. Have you no one to wonder where you are?”
“No one. This is the first time I have ever been glad of it, since they cannot forbid me.” She smiled at Callo again. He was charmed, his tension gone. He smiled back. Perhaps she would be a good companion on this journey.
Then she yawned, and watching her, he did as well. Chiss’ narrow face creased in a smile. “If I may, my lord,” he said, “I will order you both to your beds.”
“I will help clean up,” Kirian offered. “There is no reason Chiss should have to stay working while we sleep.”
This had never occurred to Callo; Chiss was a manservant after all, and paid well to do exactly that. But he could not allow Kirian to stay cleaning up the room while he retired. He was not sure why, since she was in fact of common birth and, as a Healer, was used to physical work. But whatever the reason, he could not. He began to set his bowl onto the waiting tray when Chiss said: “The house servants will do that, my lord. I am off to rest. I bid you good night.” Chiss bowed and retreated to the room he would share with Callo, where he would sleep on a servant’s cot near the door.
“Good evening,” Callo said. Kirian covered another yawn and bid him a polite good night, vanishing into her room. Callo returned to his room and changed into the sleeping clothes Chiss had packed, feeling the day’s stresses melt into weariness. He lay on the bed, almost asleep already, aware, through his exhaustion, of Chiss fidgeting with their packs, searching for something. Then he sighed and sleep took him before he could even acknowledge Chiss’ good night.
Chapter Seven
Daylight reached its pale fingers under the shutters. Kirian curled tighter under her wool blanket. She listened hard; there was no sound from the adjoining bedchamber.
She smiled. In spite of everything, she felt good, charged with anticipation at the adventure ahead. It had taken no small amount of persuasion to convince Lord Callo to allow her to go with them to Ha’las. Showing him her savings had been a stroke of genius. Ten kels would have kept her in relative comfort for a sennight or two until she could find a way out of Two Merkhan; but he was accustomed to a different style of living, and she had guessed it would look insufficient to him.
She stretched and grinned. She couldn’t account for it herself, but after Callo’s brief statement of his destination she felt a powerful urge to go with him. The thought of Ha’las, dark and dangerous, had taken possession of her. For the first time in her life, she would do something on her own, without being directed to it or expected to do it because she was a charity student.
The thought of betraying her oath was shrugged aside with barely a thought. There were people in Ha’las who could use the services of a Healer. She could serve the sick wherever she went. There was no need to abandon her Healer’s oath simply because she was leaving Righar.
A muffled sound in the next room told her someone was awake and moving around. She threw off the blanket and hurried into the spare set of clothing Ruthan had stuffed into her Healer’s bag. She dragged a comb through her hair—thank the Gods for short hair that required no time at all to make presentable. A brisk swish of lukewarm water from the washing jug served for her teeth since she was in a hurry. Stuffing her old clothes back into her bag and donning her cloak, she was ready to go. She intended to dog their steps today until they were all safely on board the trader. Given a chance, Lord Callo might leave her here after all, and she didn’t intend to give them a chance to get out of her sight.
She peered into the hall twice, but saw no sign that her companions were up and about. By the time she heard a tap on the door she had re-brushed her teeth properly, opened the shutters to let in the cold morning sunshine, and been bored for a while. Once, she imagined that they had departed without her, and she was about to leave a whole kel on the nightstand for payment and take off after them. She wrenched open the door to see Chiss, who held a tray with a steaming cup of tea.
“Good morning, Healer. Would you like some tea?”
She stared at him for a confused moment while she rearranged her expectations. A corner of Chiss’ mouth twitched. He said, “My lord is still asleep, Hon Kirian. He will not leave without you, now that he has agreed to take you with us.”
Kirian sighed. “I have not been raised to expect honor from the nobility, Hon Chiss.”
“Indeed. You can believe me in this, however. Have some tea while you can. The servants will bring up breakfast in a few minutes.”
“Thank you.” Kirian took the mug and inhaled the sweet aroma. The first sip scalded her tongue. She said, “Have you a moment to have some tea yourself?”
“I will wait for breakfast, thank you. I must go awaken Lord Callo.”
“When do we leave? Do you know?”
“I assume we will visit the ship this morning. Lord Callo will want to wait until the emissaries have gone. I have no idea when her captain will plan to leave port.”
“How do we know they are going to Ha’las?”
“I know of this ship, and her captain. They frequently make secret runs to Ha’las from here, since we are the closest port to Las’ash.” He paused, looking at her. “That is the capital of Ha’las, and the only port of any size.”
“Thank you.”
After Chiss left, Kirian took some time to go through her bag. Ruthan clearly expected her to stay away from the village for a while. The old woman had packed a change of clothes, tooth powder, a comb, a cake of soap. There was a crumbly oat cake and some dried fruit wrapped in a dish cloth at the bottom of the bag. As expected, there were her Healer’s supplies: bandages, a few essential herbs in pouches, and the precious Healer’s knife which had been presented to her at graduation. Kirian packed everything away again, blessing Ruthan. She hoped the old woman would not worry.
Kirian took the bag with her to breakfast. As she entered the parlor, Chiss was reading something by the light of the window. It appeared to be a message, scrawled on quality paper. He started and stuffed the paper away in his pocket as she came in. Kirian gave him another good morning and settled in to eat. There were boiled eggs, and bread with cheese, and more tea, as well as a jar of ale. On a plate sat three huge pastries, filled with gooey sugar and butter and cinnamon. She smelled them across the room. After yesterday’s cold, hungry walk, it seemed a feast.
“Where is Lord Callo?”
“I believe he went out to look around.” Chiss sipped his tea. There was only an egg and some fruit on his plate.
Kirian rose and went to the tiny window. She looked down at the street, watching the passers-by. A carter drove his horse toward the back of the inn; his cart held hay for the inn stables. “At least I know he will be back, since he left you here.”
“He will not leave without you, Hon Kirian, even if perhaps he should.”