The Adventures of Benjamin Skyhammer (23 page)

* * *

As he neared the door to the HriHriKari Relic hunting office, Skyhammer recalled that the receptionist was a beautiful human female who had graduated from the academy last year. He whipped out a handkerchief and wiped his face, putting aside thoughts of Higgins. The receptionist would be able to contact the Aridizan officials on his behalf. Spark would be watching him even more closely now that he was in HriHriKari.

He strode through the door and then froze. Behind the reception desk was a grizzled older man flicking through his Retrographs. The young woman was gone. Skyhammer resumed his walk with a little less confidence and stepped up to the desk.

"I'm Skyhammer."

"I know who you are," the old man said, returning his eyes to his Whorl. "What do you want?"

"Is the receptionist here? Sarah, I believe her name is."

"Sarah became a Relic hunter last month and is out on a job," the man said. "I've replaced her. What do you want?"

"I need to find somebody in town through the Aridizans' official records. She came to HriHriKari a few years ago. I need you to contact the officials on my behalf."

"Whoa, what is this all about?" The receptionist gave him a suspicious look.

"The changed Retrographs. I need you to find - don't write anything down, she can see it!" he burst out as the man reached for a writing implement.

The receptionist froze.

"Pick up something else as though you are being watched and-"

"Are you crazy? There is no one else in the office. Look around!" the man exclaimed.

"She can see us through our Retrographs."

The man recoiled in horror. "The Sorcerer is here? Watching us?" He closed his Whorl with a terrified jerk of his hand.

"Just keep looking at my face and don't do anything to let her know that we know she's watching us," Skyhammer said. "Whatever we see, she sees. You're under orders from the King not to repeat this information." He prayed this small lie wouldn't come back to bite him in the butt. "I'm running out of time and need to find this woman. Since you've been in contact with me, she's watching your Retrographs too. She may be able to send someone to kill you if she suspects that you're after her as well, so be very careful."

A look of shock and fear appeared on the man's face. Then he grinned. "Why should I believe you?"

Skyhammer shrugged. "You know about the Retrograph Sorcerer. You know I'm the Keeper of the Retrograph Vault. I figure you're smart enough to make the connection." He smiled. It wouldn't do to annoy the only person in HriHriKari that could help him.

The receptionist sighed. "Okay, Skyhammer. I know you do have the King's ear. What exactly do you need to know?"

"I need to find out the names and whereabouts of all human females who have arrived in the city since the end of 6006 and before the middle of 6007. She's still in this city." He gnawed his lip thoughtfully. "That should narrow it down. Most females come in and study but don't stay. I hope."

"The only humans who come here are Relic hunters and students. Maybe the odd tourist. Could she be a Relic hunter?"

"No, definitely not. She'll be in hiding somewhere. She may have committed a crime in Quasianti."

The receptionist sucked in a sharp breath. "What'd she do?"

"She's wanted in connection with the death of a Byndari."

The man's eyes widened.

"But don't tell the Aridizan officials that. They might alert her somehow." He leaned in closer. "Please tell them to keep this investigation under wraps and especially not to tell any humans. Or Byndari. Just me."

The man nodded. "I'm Guzzle, by the way." The receptionist stuck out his hand.

Skyhammer shook it. "I'll make sure the King is aware of your contribution to the investigation, Guzzle. You have my word."

"I have a question. If this human female is watching us through our Retrographs-."

"Most definitely," Skyhammer assured him.

"Then she will see us chatting and me going straight to the Aridizan officials. I think she'll realize that you sent me to them."

Skyhammer nodded. "You're right. Why am I wasting time sending you? I should just go myself." He leaned his elbows on the counter and cradled his head in his hands. He felt exhausted. His thoughts were moving like sludge in a sewer.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Guzzle's eyes.

"I'll go anyway. You need to sleep. If the Sorcerer learns we're after her, we'll just have to move faster."

Skyhammer was about to protest but he realized Guzzle was right. He could sleep while Guzzle was visiting the officials. He nodded. "Guzzle. If," he hesitated. Should he tell him? Would it scare Guzzle off or spur him on? "The Retrograph Sorcerer threatened the King and the ceremony. If the officials need encouragement to help us, that should do it." He swayed. He was reminded of his time in the Fungal Forest. So tired.

"I have a cot in the back for emergencies," Guzzle said, leading him behind the counter to a cot set up in the Relic hunting supplies room. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."

Skyhammer fell onto the cot fully clothed. His last thoughts were of Higgins.

* * *

A long metal object dug into Skyhammer's right hip. He wriggled forward then remembered where he was and sat bolt upright. He pulled his sword around until it felt comfortable again. He poked his head out of the door of the office. It was mid-afternoon. Where was Guzzle? He couldn't leave until the man came back.

He pottered around in the supplies room for another hour before he heard the office door open.

"Skyhammer?" Guzzle's voice came through, tentative.

Skyhammer dashed into the reception area. "So? What took you so long?"

"Let me sit down, man." Guzzle flopped into his chair. "You know those officials like their long lunches. By the time I had found the right person to speak to, they had all closed their offices for lunch. I had to wait." He rubbed his belly. "I'm starving. Let me get something to eat." He stood up. "But while I'm doing that, have a look at these documents." He indicated the papers he had tossed onto his desk.

Skyhammer slipped into his chair while Guzzle rummaged in the supplies room. Skyhammer spread the documents across the desk. The first was a list of names.

"That one took a while to write out, let me tell you!" Guzzle emerged from the back, munching on a piece of fruit. "So while she was doing that, I got a cartographer to draw that out." He indicated the other four pieces of paper.

Skyhammer laid them out in a square. A map of the whole city, drawn with skill. One hundred stars were marked out on the map, one in almost every section of the city. Names were written by each one.

Guzzle swallowed and belched. "Those're the locations of each human woman. Lots, eh?" He popped a knob of cheese in his mouth.

Skyhammer's heart sank. So many! He only had two days! Well, one day now since this one was almost over.

"We'd better get started, eh?"

"We?" Skyhammer looked at the receptionist. "You've been an enormous help. There is no need. Higgins and I," He stopped. "I mean," he went on, "I can take care of this. You have work to do here and I've taken up enough of your time. . ."

"Piffle!" Guzzle leaned in close enough that his cheesy breath blew up Skyhammer's nose. "This sorcerer needs to be captured as soon as possible. It involves all the races. My wife and kids are in Four Hills. I'm here. If we could do magic anywhere and they could come here, then life would be about perfect. Nothing else is happening; all the other Relic hunters are out. Nothing for me to do now. I want to help you. I want to help the King." He stood up straight and proud. "I am still a citizen of Quasianti and damn proud to be a human."

Skyhammer regarded him for a moment, then smiled. "We've got a lot of area to cover. Let's get to it." His heart soared. Guzzle wasn't Higgins but he needed brawn not brains, for the near future at any rate.

* * *

The plan had been hatched. Guzzle locked up the Relic office.

"Send me a message if any human females try to leave the city," Skyhammer ordered. There was only one way in and one way out of the city - the front gate.

Nodding, Guzzle asked, "How will I know you've found her?"

"I'll come to the gate. Don't leave it until I do."

"No problem. I've got a buddy who's a guard there. I'll pay him an extra-long visit. They've got spare cots." He saluted. "Good luck."

Skyhammer shook his hand. "Thank you."

Guzzle left.

Now it was almost midnight and he had been walking around town since four o'clock. For the last two hours, none of the people had opened their doors to Skyhammer's knock. Those doors wouldn't open until the sun rose, he guessed. But with the list of names growing ever bigger and longer in his head, Skyhammer had not wanted to give up. He needed to see each woman to make sure she wasn't Spark and that wasn't going to happen now.

He rubbed his eyes. He had one more day in HriHriKari. If he hadn't found Spark, hadn't discovered who was planning to kill the King and sabotage the ceremony, then he would never get magic powers. He refused to believe it was Spark's own plan. She would want him to have magic; he knew that even after all this time apart. And the idea that it might be the Byndari didn't sit well with him. They had told all the species about the ceremony. Why would they sabotage it? He went back to his room and slept like the dead until sunrise.

The following day he went from door to door to door to door. On occasion, he was directed to a shop or office where the lady of the house was working. By the time the sun set the second evening, he still had ten more women to see. He groaned. It was impossible to see them all before he left. Hanamun must have lied to protect Spark. No message from Guzzle. So Spark was still here. Would he have to leave before finding her? The King said to find the Sorcerer or not to bother coming back.

In the main plaza of HriHriKari, he slumped on a bench, frustrated. All around him, Aridizans were setting up stalls to sell food and cheap trinkets at the night market. Higgins loved markets; he missed her.

He had the feeling that Spark had somehow played him for a fool. But he had to find her. At least if he missed the ceremony, he would have the Sorcerer in hand and could prevent her from affecting its outcome.

Skyhammer stood up, failure hanging over his head like a black cloud. He wouldn't be there for the ceremony and he quite possibly wouldn't have found the Retrograph Sorcerer. Maybe it was better to fail here where nobody knew. Higgins would be so disappointed. Was she all right? He closed his eyes and imagined his vision sailing out across the desert, into Hightown and into a little room where he could see Higgins laughing with Jessup, walking around, cured. He opened his eyes to the chaos of the night market and uncertainty. Surely he would be able to feel it if she died. Surely, no matter how far apart they were, he would feel that loss. He pictured her: teasing smile, red hair, big hips, cute pot-belly. How had he not noticed her growing in his heart? Life without her was - unimaginable.

You don't know for sure, he told himself. Just deal with the matter at hand. He looked around. Tendrils of smoke from cooking fires curled in front of the lamps hanging from the corners of food stalls. He wasn't hungry. He wanted reassurance. That life was working out as it should. On the other side of the street, tucked between two stalls, a female Aridizan sat hunched over a round table. As he watched, the Aridizan looked up and met his eyes. A crystal ball glittered on the table. He crossed the street.

Chapter 23

Countdown to ceremony: 4 days

Skyhammer sat down across from the Aridizan. She was ancient, a crone. Skyhammer had not thought that Aridizan skin could get more wrinkly than it already was. Her robes were wine-red.

"What do you wish to know, man?" she said, leaning across the table. She put her hands around the crystal ball. Skyhammer shuddered. Her fingernails were long and sharp. Could Aridizan magic be telling the future? Or the present?

"I wish to know if my friend is alive or dead." Why did he ask that? Saying it aloud made it more real somehow. He should have asked about Spark instead. He stood up. "Forget it."

"Sit down." The Aridizan's voice demanded obedience. He sat. "You are no idle fortune seeker, man. I can see that your friend is someone of great importance to you. Maybe even more important than you realize. And your quest." She paused, watching his face.

He wondered what she saw. How did she know about his quest?

"Your quest could change the world." Her voice lowered so that Skyhammer had to lean in closer to hear what she was saying. "You don't need my speculations and guesswork. You need the real one."

"Real one?" he whispered. "Real what?"

"The Eye." Her gaze bore into his very soul. "She knows everything, she views everyone. She can tell you about your friend. She can tell you your chances for completing your quest."

"The Eye? Really?" He snorted in scepticism. Most likely, the Eye was just another, more expensive Aridizan fortune teller. But something niggled at him, words in the fortune teller's phrasing. "What did you mean, "she views everyone"?" he asked.

The Aridizan's cloak drooped over the table as she brought her ancient face closer. "Rumours only, you understand, my young human friend." Skyhammer tilted his right ear closer to her mouth. "The Eye has a special eye. Kept in a black box. It can view people's lives!"

He recoiled so fast that he was sure the chair had imprinted a welt across his back. A special eye in a black box. An eye used to view daily life. He knew someone with a black box. "Spark," he breathed. The fortune teller had admitted it was just a rumour though. At this point, he couldn't afford to dismiss any clues. He had to leave HriHriKari tomorrow. With Spark.

"How do I see her?"

"No one ever sees her," the Aridizan said, smiling. "Never has anyone seen her. She has a servant, a tongueless boy called Mute. You ask him your questions and she relays her answer to you through him. She is a shadow on the wind. Her powers connect time and place. She can tell you about your friend and your quest."