‘How far does her range extend?’
‘I’m not sure. It covers the whole City, I think, so maybe twenty or thirty miles or so?’
Bekha gazed into the dark pool of water. ‘And what are your feelings towards Lady Vana?’
‘Are you saying we should kill her?’
‘If she’s the only demigod who can track you, then it’s worth considering.’
‘Marcus will have surrounded her with soldiers, not only to protect her, but to stop her from running away. But, she’s my sister. We’ve never got on, but I don’t want to see her dead.’
‘Alright. Shall we make a move?’
‘Where?’
Bekha glanced up and pointed. ‘Through there.’
Aila squinted up into the gloom. Above them was a metal hatch leading to the road that ran over their heads.
‘Do you have other vision powers?’ said Bekha. ‘Can you look outside to see if anyone’s there?’
‘Nope. Changing my appearance is all I’ve got.’ She stood, wiped her face again, then placed the handkerchief into a pocket.
You see me as a road maintenance worker with a bag of tools over my shoulder.
‘Woah!’ cried Bekha. ‘Could you warn me when you’re going to do that?’
‘Sure. How do I look?’
Bekha narrowed her eyes. ‘Convincing.’
Aila stretched up with her arms, and her fingers grasped the handle of the hatch. ‘You ready?’
‘Yeah,’ said Bekha, getting to her feet.
She pushed the hatch with her hands, and it lifted an inch. It was heavy, but she managed to get her fingers into the gap, and shoved it to the side. She pulled herself up, and poked her head through the hole. Outside, the street was deserted and quiet. Thick clouds hung in the sky, and a cold mist was drifting over the canal. She hauled herself through the hatch and onto the cobbles, then reached down with her arm, and helped Bekha clamber up to the surface of the road. Aila slid the hatch cover back into place, and it fell with a clang.
‘Hey!’ came a shout from the other side of the canal.
Aila glanced over, and saw a squad of heavily armed Blades approach.
‘Stay calm,’ she whispered to Bekha as the soldiers crossed a bridge over the waterway.
‘You know the curfew rules,’ said one of the Blades. ‘You should be indoors by now.’
‘Sorry, officer,’ said Aila, bowing her head. ‘I had an urgent repair job in the drainage tunnels, and it took a bit longer than I’d expected.’
The Blades glowered at them. ‘And who’s this?’ said one, pointing at Bekha.
‘My apprentice.’
‘A little old for an apprentice, isn’t she?’
Aila shrugged. ‘I take what I can get, officers.’
One frowned. ‘Let’s see your permission-to-work slip.’
You see me holding up the correct document.
The Blades peered at the illusory piece of paper.
‘Fine,’ said the officer, ‘but keep a better track of time on your next job. If we catch you out after sunset again, your ass will be in a cell before you can blink.’
‘Understood, officers. Thank you.’
‘On your way, then.’
Aila and Bekha bowed their heads, then turned and hurried away down the side of the canal. Bekha let out a deep breath of air as they turned a corner.
‘I can’t believe we got away with that.’
‘My power does have its uses.’
Bekha frowned. ‘So it seems.’
‘You’d better get used to it,’ Aila said as they turned into a dark alleyway, ‘because this is our life now.’
Chapter 2
No Name
The Cold Sea – 6th Marcalis 3419
The beams of the ship creaked in the darkness as the stern rose and fell. Corthie tried to get comfortable, but the chains were digging into his wrists and ankles, and the wooden deck was filthy and damp. Through a door a few yards in front of him, other prisoners lay crammed into the hold, but Corthie had been kept separate for the entire voyage, including the time he had spent in hospital on a small isle recovering from his wounds. Since leaving Pella, he had only seen a few faces; a couple of Reaper guards, and a man who was always with them.
He sat up, abandoning any attempt to sleep. The cold was too intense, and from the grey light seeping through the mesh of a hatch, he guessed that it was morning. His stomach growled from hunger, and he wondered if they would remember to feed him that day. The wounds from the crossbow bolts had been slow to heal, and even after a month he could still feel them. His ability to heal wasn’t, as many imagined, a mage or god power, and was diminished by any lack of food. At the Great Walls of the City, he had been well-fed, and able to eat as much as he had wanted; whereas he had shed weight on the low rations he had been given as a prisoner.
Still, he was alive. He could put up with any amount of cold or discomfort; his long training at Gadena’s camp on Lostwell had conditioned him to endure, and his frustration was more due to the direction the ship was taking, bearing him away from the City; away from Aila and Blackrose.
The door in the bulkhead opened, and the two Reaper guards walked in, their companion following them through the entrance, a thick, hooded cloak covering his features.
Corthie eyed them as a guard placed a bowl and mug onto the wooden beams. He reached out when the man’s hand withdrew, and grasped the bowl.
The man gestured to the guards. ‘Leave us.’
Corthie watched as the two soldiers left the room.
‘Are you finally going to speak to me?’ he said, picking up a chunk of hard bread.
The man turned to him. ‘I didn’t feel the need for any contact. I have a job to do, and I will do it.’
‘What’s your name?’
‘That is of no relevance. The ship will be docking soon. You will be the last to leave, once all of the other prisoners have been taken ashore.’
‘Are you going to help me escape?’
The man emitted a low laugh. ‘No. Besides, there is nowhere to escape to. There are nothing but tar sands and ice fields for miles around; and even if you made it past them, the lands on the other side of the Straits from the City are infested with greenhides. The only way out of here is on a boat.’
‘Tar sands?’
‘Yes. You’ll see. Once I’ve handed you over, the two guards and I will be going back to the City. My master wants you to stay alive, and the only way to do that in this Malik-forsaken place is to work hard and keep your head down. The regime here is strict and harsh, and I advise you to do as they say.’
‘And then what? Is someone coming for me?’
‘I’m afraid that’s none of my concern.’
‘Salvor must have told you something before we left.’
‘Not about that; my master only said to make sure you were kept alive.’
‘What’s happening in the City?’
‘I’ve been on this ship with you for the last ten days, how would I know?’
‘But we stayed on an island while I was getting better; you must have learned something there.’
The man gazed at him, his eyes dark in the shadow of the hood. ‘Everyone believes it was you who killed Princess Khora.’