Assassin’s Fate

‘I did,’ she smiled and spoke through her clenched teeth. ‘I told you that she saw more than you knew, and you said she always had! I thought you knew, too. As for why she didn’t tell you, well, I think that’s obvious now. So she could do this. Elude all of us and try to rescue Bee alone.’

Bits of conversations fell into a pattern. Yes. The Fool had considered himself the best choice to enter Clerres alone and find Bee. So he had done it. Just as I had told him I would do if the opportunity presented itself. I fell silent as I considered that.

The day was already warm but a gentle breeze carried the resinous scent of the brushy trees on the hillsides behind the city. The smells of smoked fish, ripe fruit and the fragrance of the tiny white flowers with yellow hearts that seemed to drape every doorway drifted through the air mingling with the expected smells of a seaside town. The streets were extraordinarily clean and well maintained. I saw no beggars and there was a general air of prosperity. The city guards were very much in evidence, stern-faced and well-armed. The Fool had not exaggerated their presence. Many of the buildings were shops, with homes above them. A woman stepped out of a door to shake a small rug as we passed. Two boys in loose cotton shirts and short trousers raced past us. It seemed a quiet day in a prosperous city.

Spark startled when I uttered a short, foul word. Only yesterday, the Fool had read aloud from Bee’s book to me. A slip on his part, or had he hoped I would notice? Had he found it humorous? I ground my teeth.

With a whoosh of air and slash of feather against my cheek, Motley landed on my shoulder. I flinched and then told her, ‘Go back to the ship. We can’t attract attention.’

She pecked my cheek, a sharp jab. ‘No. No, no, no!’

People were turning to see the talking bird. I tried to pretend that it was nothing out of the ordinary. I flapped a hand at her and she hopped to Per’s shoulder.

‘Don’t talk to her,’ I suggested in a low voice. A crow riding on a boy’s shoulder was noteworthy enough. We did not need to be having an argument with her as we strolled along.

Motley chuckled and settled herself for her ride.

We followed a well-travelled road that fronted the harbour, past tidy houses and small shops. The road wound along the built-out docks of the harbour and then the rocky shores of the bay. I saw little fishing boats pulled up on the shore, and healthy children sorting fish they pulled from their parents’ nets. The fortune-seekers who walked alongside me were plentiful, and by their garb they had come from many and varied places. Some seemed cheerful, almost merry, as they strolled along. Young couples hoping for augers of good fortune, perhaps. Others were sombre or full of anxiety, snapping and scolding their companions as they hurried past us to try to be the first to the crossing. All of us made a procession of hopes and fears as we promenaded down the well-kept boulevard toward the prediction of our futures.

‘Where do you think she is?’ Spark asked me.

‘There was a low tide early this morning. I suspect that’s why she came ashore late last night. She would have had time to sell the bracelet and pay for a pass to cross. She may already be inside the castle.’

‘Where should we look for her?’ Lant asked quietly. ‘After we cross.’

‘We don’t look for Amber,’ I told him. ‘We stay to her plan as she proposed it, for that is what she will expect us to do. So we will enter Clerres, find a way to conceal ourselves, and then search the rooftop cells. If we don’t find Bee there, we will gather in the washing courts, hoping that Amber will meet us there and Bee will be with her.’

The silence that followed my words was ample evidence of how little any of us liked that plan.

‘I don’t understand why Amber went without us,’ Per said.

‘She believes she has the best chance of finding Bee.’

‘No.’ Spark’s hand on my arm tightened. ‘I think I know why. I think it’s because it is the most unlikely thing. The least practical plan.’

I knew we needed to hurry but her words slowed my steps. ‘And?’ I prompted her.

‘It’s the most foolish. You said they knew we were here. Amber has spoken of how they can steer the world’s course because they know the likely futures. So she has chosen to pursue the most unlikely one in the hope that they won’t have seen it.’

I stopped. ‘But all the plans. All our talking, your sewing …’

‘All to make it more likely we would do it?’ She shook her head and smiled up at me, a fond daughter to her father. ‘I don’t know. I only guess at these things, from all she has told us about the Servants and her dreams.’

‘If you are correct,’ I said as I resumed walking, ‘then they will be watching for us. Our purpose may be to distract them.’ To be captured? Held, possibly tortured? Would the Fool have sent all of us into such danger? No.

Perhaps.