The Assassins of Altis (26 page)

The others watched Jorge walk out of the dining room and toward the ladder up onto the deck.

The other woman sighed. “I can’t blame him for being that way. A lot of people may feel like that. I bet the Western Alliance government will feel like that. It’s scary. Cities are already starting to pop. When the people hear about the daughter, it could get a lot worse.”

“Nobody should do anything until the daughter says it’s time,” Mari insisted.

The others nodded, but Patila eyed Mari. “Do you know when that will be?”

“No,” Mari said.

“How would she know?” one of the male soldiers asked Patila.

#

Once back in their cabin, Mari sat on the bed. “What do you think?”

“I think you are revealing yourself,” Alain said.

“Not on purpose,” Mari said. “That thing about the rifles was because I’m not used to talking to commons. A Mechanic would have understood. For the rest…it’s just…they need hope. You told me that!”

“I did.” Alain stood, his eyes hooded in thought. “The things they said about violence in their cities were worrisome. I have been uncertain about your decision not to announce the arrival of the daughter, but now I see the wisdom in it.”

“
Now
you see the wisdom in it?” Mari asked. “So, you didn’t think it was a wise decision before?”

Alain looked at her, plainly considering his words before replying. “It was your decision to make. I withheld judgment. I did not decide either way.”

“You are my husband,” Mari said. “You should assume wisdom on my part.”

Alain’s expression changed slightly, gaining a slightly puzzled air. “This is a rule of being married?”

“Yes,” Mari said. “It’s one of the rules. Assume your wife is being wise when she makes a decision or says something.”

“I did not know this. Is there a place where all of these rules are written down?” Alain asked.

“Um…I’ll tell them to you whenever you need to know one.” Mari looked at him, feeling guilty for misleading Alain. “All right. I’ll tell you the truth. There aren’t actually any written rules for being married.”

“There are not?” Alain asked, even more puzzled now. “But it is so important. You have told me the Mechanics have written rules for how to do everything.”

“Yes,” Mari admitted. “They do. Construction manuals. Operating manuals. Repair manuals. Maintenance manuals. Organizational manuals. Procedural manuals. You name it.”

“But there is no marriage manual?”

Mari frowned. “No. There ought to be. Shouldn’t there? I wish I’d thought to ask my mother about that.”

“I will trust in your wisdom, then,” Alain said.

She gave him a suspicious look. “Was that sarcasm? That better not have been sarcasm. What was that thing those commons said about Mages and women? All of the commons seemed to understand.”

Alain shook his head. “I do not know. Commons know so little of Mages that they create stories. On the matter of the rumors about Mara, the soldier may have been right that this is being deliberately pushed by the Emperor, though it is also possible that the Emperor is as superstitious as some of his people.”

Mari winced, looking down. “Mara! What did I do to deserve that?”

“At least the Mara story and the belief that the daughter has returned are serving to conceal the actual reason we went to Marandur,” Alain pointed out. “The idea that the daughter of Jules sought something her ancestor left there may satisfy many.”

“Jules didn’t leave those texts,” Mari muttered, her eyes going to their packs. “But maybe you’re right and that story will help us. The Mara thing, though, is just so appalling.”

Alain watched her, puzzled again. “Why does it bother you? You are not Mara.”

Mari pressed her fingers against both sides of her head. “Alain, I don’t want to seem ungrateful. I’m sure any woman would be happy to hear that her husband doesn’t consider her to be an undead, blood-sucking fiend. But that still leaves a lot of people inside the Empire who are going to be worried about Mara—about me—coming through the window to devour their children.”

“From what those men and women said,” Alain pointed out, “the chosen prey of Mara is young men, not children. Mara would seek out a man about my age.”

Mari felt her brow lowering as she glared at Alain. “And why did you feel it necessary to say that?” she growled.

Belatedly realizing that he had made a serious mistake, Alain was groping for words. “I did not…that is…what should I say now?”

“As little as possible.”

He nodded silently.

“Do you have any idea how it feels to have people think you’re some loathsome creature?” Mari demanded.

Alain did not respond immediately. “Yes.”

“What?”

“I am a Mage.”

She felt a burst of shame. “Of course you know how that feels. Mechanics and commons use a lot worse words to describe Mages. I’m sorry. I’m just feeling so much pressure. I don’t understand why I couldn’t have more time, a few years at least, to lay the groundwork for overthrowing the Great Guilds. Instead I have to worry about getting it done faster, without attracting too much notice from the Great Guilds before I assemble the strength needed to withstand the inevitable all-out attack.”

“It may be that your presence has created the conditions for the storm,” Alain suggested. “That is why it approaches swiftly.”

“My— What?” Mari glared at him. “Are you saying it’s my fault?”

“No.” He paused, then spoke slowly, as if forming the thoughts behind his words as he talked. “Whenever the daughter appeared, whenever that happened, her presence would create the conditions for the commons to erupt into violence. Instead of waiting with patience for the one who would help free them, they would want to act.”

“But you said this storm was threatening before anyone was talking about me being the daughter!” Mari objected.

“You existed,” Alain said. “In getting to know me, a Mage, and in surviving the attack on the caravan, you had already taken the first steps on the road the daughter had to travel.”

“Great.” Mari slumped backwards. “So it’s my fault just for existing. Just like so many Senior Mechanics have implied for years.”

“That is not—” “

“Speaking of my Guild, I’ve been thinking, Alain. This ship raced to get out of Caer Lyn because they’d heard the harbor was going to be closed, and those guys at dinner said some Mechanics were called off this ship for some Guild emergency. Even though the reaction was badly coordinated, doesn’t that sound like my Guild had realized that I was in Caer Lyn after all?”

Alain considered her question, then nodded. “It does. Yet the two who went to your home betrayed no signs of worry or suspicion.”

“But what else could have betrayed our presence? There is no way that the ship we sabotaged could have gotten that far-talker working again. We saw those sailors after my Guild had already started those measures to close down the port, so they couldn’t have told anyone.”

“You have told me that Mechanics cannot sense the presence of other Mechanics,” Alain noted. “But something is revealing where you are.”

Mari shook her head. “I wish I could figure out what it was. Maybe the Guild has hired lots of commons with orders to keep an eye out for me. How could we avoid being seen if the Guild had that many commons also searching for us?” She tried to think of anything else that might betray her presence, finally hauling out her far-talker and confirming that it was off. “If I was talking on this they could track the signal. I used to leave it on standby sometimes so I could hear what any nearby Mechanics might be saying to each other, but ever since Severun it has stayed off. I don’t even know if the battery is still good. Probably, I guess, since I haven’t been using it.” She pushed the far-talker back into her pack, then looked at the watertight bundle holding the banned Mechanics Guild texts. “About another week and we’ll be at Altis. I wonder what we’ll find there? Answers? Or just more questions?”

“Perhaps both answers and more questions,” Alain suggested.

She sealed her pack. “We’ll know in a while, I guess. What do you want to do now?” Alain smiled at her. “I should have guessed,” Mari laughed, then held out a restraining hand. “How do you feel? You’ve told me that being too close to someone else was supposed to make you lose your powers, and, well, we’ve gotten really, really close.”

He regarded her with that serious look. “I feel stronger than ever. Still. I cannot actually test that, of course.”

“Alain, if you lose your powers—”

“It will have been worth it. I told you that before this voyage began, and everything since then has only reinforced for me that I was right.”

She smiled, reaching for him. “Come here, my Mage.”

#

The city of Altis lay on the island of Altis in the far northwestern part of the Sea of Bakre. Mari stood at the railing of the sailing ship
White Wing
, gazing up at the mountains rising steeply from the waters of the sea. The entrance to the great circular harbor was just coming into view as the
White Wing
swung past the southern headland of the island. The breeze sweeping past the island carried a brisk reminder of winter’s cold, but also the promise of the spring which would soon warm the lands around the inland sea.

Mari looked at the white buildings of the city of Altis on its high tableland and wondered what awaited her there, her and Alain, what enemies might be lying in wait for them at this moment. After more than a week at sea marred only by the worry of another ship intercepting them as the Mechanic ship had, it was jarring to face the prospect of immediate danger once again.

She had been more careful and said less in subsequent conversations with commons on the ship, but had noticed the soldier Patila and the skeptical man both regarding her more than would be usual in the last several days.

Alain came to stand beside her, and Mari reached out to grip his hand tightly. “I’ve been wondering if the last week was a dream,” she confessed. “Wondering if I’ll wake up and find us still trapped in Marandur, or me locked in a cell someplace, all alone.”

“If it was a dream,” Alain noted, “I have shared it with you, and it has been a very good dream.”

“Oh, yeah. No complaints there.” Mari grinned. “But right now I’m trying to get back into the right state of mind for a couple of fugitives from the most powerful enemies in the world. Our honeymoon cruise is over. It’s back to being constantly alert for people trying to kill or capture us.”

“Yes,” Alain agreed. “Our enemies, and your Guild in particular, have shown too much skill at anticipating our moves. No one should know that we have come here, though, so with any luck we will not have to worry about anyone waiting on the dock. Nor should anyone expect us to stay in Altis. Assuming we make it ashore without running into trouble, what do we do first?”

Mari looked down at her left hand. “One thing I regretted is that we didn’t have time to get promise rings in Caer Lyn. We’ll have to do that in Altis, first thing.”

“Before trying to find the tower?” Alain asked, surprised.

“Yes.” She spread her fingers, imagining a ring there. “I’ve made a great many sacrifices for the sake of others and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want this one little thing to take priority. It won’t take all that long. We can’t afford anything really fancy, but then I don’t want anything fancy. Just plain gold bands for both of us. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes.” He paused. “Gold bands on our hands.”

“That’s right.” Mari gave him a rueful smile. “Just like in that vision of yours back in Dorcastle. We did get married.”

“What would you have done in Dorcastle if I had told you then about the gold bands? If I had known what they meant?”

She gasped a brief laugh. “That’s hard to say. By the time you did mention them I had already made some decisions about committing to you, but back then…stars above, Alain. I might have run.”

“It is well that I did not mention it, then.”

“Sure is.” Mari met his eyes, her face serious. “I need you in so many ways. What am I going to do if I lose you?”

“Keep trying. You must.”

She exhaled heavily, then held him close and kissed Alain quickly. “I’ll try, but I doubt that will be enough. There’s no way I can do this alone. The daughter needs her Mage.” Mari raised her free hand and rubbed the place under her coat where her pistol rested in its shoulder holster. She hadn’t worn it for part of the time they had been at sea, but she might need the weapon again soon. “No more visions?”

“No.”

“Have you been totally honest with me about your Mage powers? Are they really still strong?”

Alain nodded. “Yes. I sometimes feel that if should someone threaten you I could muster enough power to blow a hole the size of that harbor in a city.”

Mari let him see how startled she was by that. “All right. Let’s not blow up any cities on my account, if you don’t mind.” The
White Wing
tacked, swinging around toward the entrance to the harbor, Mari bracing herself against the railing as the deck tilted. “Now we need our minds on business. Let’s get our packs and get ready for trouble, just in case.” She kissed him again, longer this time, knowing they were probably getting more amused looks from the commons on board who knew they were newly married. “Welcome to Altis, my beloved Mage.”

#

The
White Wing
had anchored out from the quay, her boats shuttling passengers ashore. While most of the passengers had jostled for places to get on the first boats, Mari and Alain had held back. He kept an eye on things around them as Mari, from a position where she could not be easily seen, was using her far-seer to study the docks of the lower port without being obvious about it. “I can’t see anything that looks too suspicious,” Mari told him. “There are a few Mechanics visible down at one end, but they’re obviously working on something. I don’t see any Mages. Everybody in common clothing seems to have a good reason for being where they are, and when the first boat came in nobody jumped out of the shadows to arrest them all.”