Authors: Barbara Ann Wright
“Ah, an Allusian.” His gaze went far away. As Katya began to ask what he was thinking of, he shook his head and patted her shoulder. “I look forward to meeting her.” He left her then, and back in her apartment, she found Averie laying out a dinner of roasted chicken.
Averie nodded as Katya related the plan. “She has nothing for riding? Were you thinking a coat and trousers?”
“I saw the wistful look in her eyes when she spoke of the clothes she’d left in Allusia. We’ll need to give the tailor special instructions on what to make. But first, we need someone who knows Allusian fashion.”
“Her maid?”
Katya winked over her wineglass. “You’re worth your weight in gold.”
“Perhaps now
is
a good time to discuss my wages, but I’ll put that off for the moment. If Starbride goes to the library every day, I’ll ambush her maid after she’s gone.”
“Make sure she knows it’s a surprise.”
“Are you certain this trip into the city will be safe?”
“The Order will be there, and these traitors can’t have a grudge against Starbride. If anything happens, I’ll tell her to ride away at full speed.”
“Are you sure she’d go? If she’s as interested in you as you seem to be in her…”
“All right then, I’ll tell Pennynail to carry her off at full speed.”
“A better plan altogether.”
Averie had the instructions for a modern Allusian outfit by midmorning the next day, and one of the recommended tailors claimed he could have the garments finished in the day and a half remaining. When he proved as good as his word and the garments arrived and passed Averie’s inspection, Katya tipped him enormously. He bobbed like a buoy and grinned like an idiot as he thanked her over and over.
Averie had to shoo him from the room at last. “Don’t you want to see these?”
“Since they passed your scrutiny, I want my first look at them to be on Starbride.”
“She won’t be able to resist you, you know.”
“Are you saying clothes are the way to a woman’s heart?”
“I’m saying that charm is, and you have it in plenty.”
Katya sprawled in her chair. “You’re lucky that men are your cup of tea, then.”
“Oh, very.” Averie wrapped the outfit in the cloth it arrived in and tied it with a ribbon. “Protective as I am with my virtue, I would’ve had my skirt over my head long ago in your charming presence.”
Katya laughed until she had to wipe away tears. With giddy anticipation, she dug a small card out of her desk and wrote,
Dearest Meringue, please accept this gift in spite of your mother’s wishes. Also, please join me on a tour of Marienne in the morning, when I will flirt with you mercilessly.
She left it unsigned and pinned it to the parcel’s ribbon. “There, take this to her room, Averie. I only wish I could see her face when she opens it.”
“When and where will you meet?”
“Three hours after dawn at the royal stables. Tell the grooms to expect her.”
When Katya reached the stables the next morning, Starbride met her with a two-foot-wide smile in place. She turned full circle, showing off. A tight bodice, ruby red with gold accents, covered a loose shirt in darker red that hung to mid-thigh. Flared sleeves started under the bodice’s straps, and the shirt collar followed the line of the bodice, making a wide neck that stopped just above her breasts, revealing nothing. The design flattered her curves, and the color made her skin glow. The fitted trousers were a dark wine, perfect for riding, or so Dawnmother had assured them. Half her hair had been pulled loosely behind her head, letting most of it flow over her shoulders. As comfortable as she seemed, she looked ten times as beautiful.
After her turn, she rushed forward and clasped Katya’s hands. “I love it! Where did you find it?”
“I’m royalty. We have ways.”
Starbride hugged herself and beamed. “I love it! Thank you.”
Katya smiled so hard her cheeks ached. “You’re welcome.” She gestured to the horses, more than a little surprised at the heat in her face. “Whenever you’re ready, the city awaits. Do you need the mounting block?”
“Ha!” Starbride slipped one foot in her stirrup and swung into her saddle without a second’s hesitation.
“You weren’t kidding about knowing your way around horses.”
Starbride tossed her hair over one shoulder. “Of course not, though you should have heard Dawnmother teasing me about the princess inviting me to a stable.”
Katya thought about that as they guided their horses into the city. “A roll in the hay?”
“We call it sneaking into a hayloft, but it’s the same thing.”
“It’s the same the world over, I imagine.” She leaned close. “And I have to warn you that, since I had that garment made, I know exactly where to start with it if I do decide to seduce you.”
“Dawnmother snuck in some extra pins, just in case, so watch yourself.”
As they rode, Katya pointed out several of the chapterhouses with carved façades of their patron spirits. She took Starbride past the outdoor market and Fountain Square, its two fountains bubbling away, one decorated with the five male spirits, the other with the five females. “It used to be Carnival Square,” Katya said, “before the fountains were built.”
“A place for celebrations?”
“No, they, um, they had the gallows here. I think the name was a dark joke.”
“Ah.” Starbride frowned. “I see.”
Katya cleared her throat. What a wonderful conversation she’d started, sure to keep the day light and carefree. “How about some shopping?”
“Won’t you get mobbed in the market?”
“We won’t go there. I know some better places.” As she turned her horse, she spied a white banner down the street. It flapped gently in the breeze, and Katya paused to stare as the large red symbol in its center. “Is that Allusian?”
“I don’t recognize it. Do you?”
Katya frowned. The symbol seemed so familiar, but she could put no meaning to it. It was just a collection of lines and curves, but it almost spoke to her, telling her to go another way, away from the major thoroughfare it hung over. “No.”
“We could find out,” Starbride said. “Go ask the people in the building, if you’re that curious.”
Katya shook her head rapidly. “No, sorry. Shopping, right? Let’s take this street instead.”
Keeping up the light chatter, she led the way down several alleys to a wealthier district with less foot traffic. They hitched their horses at a small hostelry, the better to walk and window-shop. Katya started down one street and spied another symbol, this one hanging in a shop window. She paused, her breath catching. A different symbol, it still gave her the same feeling of knowing and not knowing it.
“Katya?” Starbride asked. “What’s wrong?”
“I was…just trying to remember where we are.” She backed away from the symbol. “I don’t think we want this street.” Uneasiness spread across her shoulders, a feeling of being watched, and she rested her hand close to her rapier.
Two more symbols turned them in different directions, and Katya’s heart began to pound. Starbride was talking, but she couldn’t pay attention. She tried to calm herself, to watch for danger, but there was nothing to see. Careful to keep her face calm, Katya guided them toward their horses through another shop-lined square.
Across the square, Crowe wandered in the opposite direction as he pretended to window-shop. Down an alleyway, Brutal and Maia strolled together, his larger form bending slightly as if to better hear her. Katya knew she wouldn’t see Pennynail until she needed him. She made her shoulders relax. The Order was there, and everything would be fine.
Starbride pointed at a shop window. “Who would wear those shoes?”
Katya took a slow look around and realized that the square was empty of everyone except herself, Starbride, and Crowe. Overhead, the sun approached midday. Were all the shoppers resting? Gathering ingredients for the evening meal? Or had she and Starbride wandered farther from the city center than she’d thought?
“Why don’t we…?” Another window caught her attention. She stepped forward, drawn by a series of intricately patterned scarves just inside the glass. An odd pattern of embroidered symbols seemed to dance across the green silk scarf in the center. Pretty from a distance, up close, the pattern seemed almost sinister. Like the symbols she’d been seeing all day, these had an allure to them, but they didn’t put her off like before. They beckoned.
Starbride leaned around her shoulder and took her hand. “What are you looking at? Oh! My mother would like that one. How expensive do you think they are?”
The feel of Starbride’s body pressed close chased Katya’s anxiety away. “Well, you know what they say, if you have to ask…”
“…then you don’t know?”
“…then you can’t afford it.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” She shrugged. “I guess I don’t know what they say.”
“Don’t worry. They say it so often that you’ll learn.”
“Shall we go in?”
Katya almost said no, but what could a shop full of scarves do to them? Crowe would be hovering at the window, and Brutal and Maia were close. Katya wouldn’t have been surprised to find Pennynail inside the store’s walls.
The doorbell jingled as they entered, and the smell of leather washed over them. The place was filled not only with scarves, but also purses, pouches, hats, and gloves. Katya noticed the same patterns again and again, familiar and yet not, making her uneasy one moment and comforted the next. She wanted badly to scratch between her shoulder blades, as if her discomfort had settled as an itch.
A man stepped out from a curtained room at the back and gave Katya and Starbride a wide smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Katya reached for Starbride’s arm, about to drag them both from the shop when something shone in the man’s hand, and she couldn’t move.
“Can I help?” he asked.
Starbride studied a scarf without looking up. “We’d like some prices, please. Katya, what do you think of this one?” She turned and stared for a moment. “Katya?”
Katya could only watch, mute and motionless, lost in the shop-keeper’s pyramid. Starbride stepped closer, and Katya wanted to scream as a larger man emerged from the curtain and picked up a scarf. She cursed the body that wouldn’t obey her as the large man lifted the scarf and wrapped it around Starbride’s mouth from behind.
Starbride cried out, but the large man jerked the scarf tight, cutting off her voice. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and lifted her, kicking and flailing, off the floor. He carried her behind the curtain.
Katya strained to move, but her body refused again. She heard several thumps from behind the curtain, and then the big man reemerged, alone.
“Bar the door,” the shopkeeper said.
The large man moved behind Katya, and she heard him grunt, followed by another thump, this one the unmistakable sound of wood against wood. He walked back around, smirking, before he disappeared behind the curtain again.
The shopkeeper held the pyramid high. “Follow me,” he commanded.
Katya stumbled toward him, her limbs like lead that nonetheless worked without her permission. The pyramid was perfect and glittering, the sides faceted, and the points set in gold. Rage blurred Katya’s eyes, but her pyramid necklace lay dormant against her chest. The shopkeeper held the curtain open, and Katya lurched after him. Starbride’s muted cries came from behind her. The shopkeeper relieved Katya of her rapier and knife and made her walk into a cage a little taller than her and twice as wide. He locked her inside and put the pyramid behind his back.
Katya hurled herself at the bars. “Release me!”
“I knew you’d see the symbols,” the shopkeeper said, “but you wouldn’t know what they meant. Well, I know what they mean. I know what you are, and I’m going to prove it.”
He moved to the side. Four other people had gathered in the background, all masked and wearing nondescript clothing. The large man had bound Starbride to a short wooden table. At some point, they’d stuffed a rag in her mouth.
“Bastards!” Katya yelled. “You have me. Let her go!”
“Oh, we have you,” the shopkeeper said. “And yet not you.” He turned to the masked people. “You see?”
“We see nothing,” one of them said, a man’s voice. “The princess in a cage.”
“You don’t see, but you will.” He lifted the pyramid over Starbride’s face. She glanced at it and then strained against the bonds and tried to scream around the rag.
The shopkeeper frowned. Katya banged against the bars. Whatever he was trying on Starbride, it wasn’t working. Katya didn’t know if that was a mercy or a cruelty. It all depended on what they wanted.
The shopkeeper shrugged. “I had hoped to make this easier for you, but…” He gestured to the large man. “Do it.”
Licking his lips, the large man gave Katya a languid look and drew a small knife from a sheath at his belt. He moved to Starbride’s right hand and pried it open. She squealed and bucked. “Shh, shh,” he whispered as he laid the knife between two of her fingers. “There’s a good girl.”
Horror tightened Katya’s chest and spread up her neck to her head. “Don’t.” Rage tipped over into an eerie calm that left her face hot and her body shivering with cold. Her necklace pulsed against her chest. Back inside the shop, she heard someone pounding on the door.