The City of Pillars (6 page)

Shadya smiled. “The job isn’t in the city.”

“We have unfinished business here.”

“We’ve already discussed finishing that business later,” Rondel cut in. “See how the walls are lighting up in odd patterns. That means that either patrols are nearby or a local sorcerer is probing the area.” Andrasta’s eyes widened slightly. “Yes, they brought in sorcerers to help in the search. There are rumors circulating around the city that they’re bringing in even more from Thaj too. They want us bad.”

“We’re not leaving the city,” she hissed.

Rondel sighed. “I know what you’re thinking. We can track the
item
later, even if it’s been sold. Besides, the library is so guarded right now, there’s no way we could sneak in and get the rest of the things we need. Yes, leaving will delay our plans for the future, but I would rather them be delayed by a couple of months than never fulfilling them because we’re dead.” He paused with a shiver. “They’re talking about drawing and quartering us. You should hear what they’re pinning on us. Not just the stuff at the library. Things that happened so long ago I still had a full hand and could sing. Even all those stories about the missing children are being attributed to us. We’ve become the scapegoats for an entire city’s problems. We have to leave. At least for awhile.”

“Why us?” Andrasta asked Shadya.

“Because I know you have a reputation of doing what many consider to be difficult in accomplishing, skills that will be needed for the job I have in mind. Even outside of the stories involving your activities these last few months in Zafar, I did some research and heard about what happened in Iget with the Cult of Sutek. I’m impressed.”

Andrasta raised an eyebrow. “So, we were your first choice?”

She hesitated. “Second actually.”

Rondel blinked. That was news to him. “Who was the first?”

“Kamal and Wabu.”

Andrasta snorted. “And what happened?”

“They told me no.”

“Why?” asked Rondel.

“They said what I was asking for was too risky.”

“Didn’t pay enough?”

“Not at all. Trust me, you’ll be well compensated. But the job won’t be easy.”

“Shadya, would you mind giving us a moment alone?” asked Rondel.

“Of course not.” She bowed and went into an adjoining room. Rondel couldn’t help but notice the sway of her hips beneath the abayah.

“You’re pathetic,” Andrasta muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“You see a pretty face and you lose all sense of reasoning.”

“That’s not true.”

“Then what’s the job?”

Rondel opened his mouth. Then paused. “We haven’t really covered that part yet.”

“Exactly. You’ve been up a day longer than I have, and you don’t even know what she wants us to do. In fact, you dismissed her just now before even asking that question.”

Rondel frowned.
That is odd. Why didn’t I think of that?
He thought of Shadya’s smiling face.
Could I really be that distracted by her beauty?

Andrasta continued. “And she never said
exactly
how much we would be paid either. Yet you want to help. That doesn’t seem suspicious to you?”

“Maybe. But, we don’t exactly have a wealth of options and with our money still hidden at the library, we could use the coin. Plus, we need to get out of the city for awhile. Shadya says she can do that.” He paused. “The longer we wait, the more difficult our escape will be.”

“What happens if we aren’t able to get back into the city at a later point?”

“I don’t know. That’s a problem I’d rather worry about if it presents itself. My most immediate concern is staying alive.”

“What about Jewel?”

He frowned. “Your horse?”

“Yes.”

Rondel had forgotten completely about their mounts. Both were good animals they had picked up as a reward for helping destroy the Cult of Sutek. He really didn’t have much of an attachment to his. To Rondel, the animal was nothing more than a means of travel. Andrasta on the other hand, had grown fond of hers.

“We’ll have to leave the horses here.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Again, we don’t have a choice. We quartered them at a stable under an alias and paid several months in advance for their upkeep. They’ll be fine. We can always pick them up when we’re done.”

Andrasta scowled, jamming the last piece of bread in her mouth. She chewed and with a mouthful of food, swore. Rondel knew she had begun to see the sense in agreeing with him.

“Fine. But we still need to find out what’s the blasted job.”

“Agreed. Shadya?” Rondel called.

The woman re-entered the room. “Yes?”

“We’re yours. What’s the job?”

“A group of bandits stole something from my family. I must get it back from them.”

“What did they steal?” asked Andrasta.

The room glowed a bright blue, faded to purple, then pulsed twice before dimming low.

Shadya gasped, eyes darting along the wall while studying the wards. “No time.” Shadya said, throwing things into a bag. “We need to leave.”

“What was that?” Rondel asked, helping Andrasta to her feet.

“The watch is looking in this part of the city again. They have several powerful sorcerers with them. More than I expected. My wards will not hold much longer. We need to go.”

* * *

After grabbing some things from her apartment, Shadya led them into an alley. Rondel’s heart raced knowing that he no longer had the protection of the apartment’s wards.

He must have worn his worry too boldly for when Shadya turned back, she smiled.

“You’ll be fine.” She gestured to the small amulet she had slipped on him before leaving. Andrasta wore one as well. “As long as you keep those on and we keep moving, it will confuse those looking for you.”

“Then let’s keep moving,” said Andrasta.

Rondel glanced over his shoulder, noting the sour look on his partner’s face. Andrasta looked better since taking food and water, but was still not her old self. He knew she hated depending on the aid of others, yet once again, they found themselves at the mercy of someone they barely knew.

I can only hope this ends as well as it did with Jahi and Dendera.

“Pay attention to where you’re going,” Andrasta said.

Rondel realized he had been staring at her.

Shadya came to a halt at the corner of a building, peering out slowly for trouble.

She had veiled her face and head. However, the details of the woman’s beauty came easily to mind. He remembered Andrasta’s implied statements that he would do anything for an attractive woman and grew angry, more at himself than at his partner. Though Rondel found himself pleasantly recalling his conversations with Shadya, the woman’s appearance was what originally drew his attention.

Old habits die hard. What did Andrasta tell me once while we trained? “Habits make you predictable. Easy to manipulate. Habits are the downfall of every warrior.”

Advice that can be applied to just about anything.

His eyes drifted down her body, covered in the loose black robes. His chest tightened and his heart beat faster. The abayah left everything to one’s imagination, and Rondel had quite the overactive mind.

Is an appreciation for women such a bad habit?

“Quietly,” Shadya whispered, darting across the street and into another alley.

They made several more turns until stopping near a stable.

“Wait here,” said Shadya.

She moved ahead and spoke with the stable hand for a few moments. Once he entered the stable, she gestured them over.

“Hide by those barrels and slip into the wagon when the boy pulls it forward.”

“That’s the plan?” protested Andrasta. “We hide in the back of a wagon.”

“Yes.”

“That’s a dumb idea. They’ll search the wagon.”

“The underside of the wagon is warded. The guards will see nothing but an empty wagon bed and a couple random sacks and barrels.”

“I don’t like it.”

“We don’t have much of a choice,” said Rondel.

Sounds of the wagon approaching came from inside the stable.

“Hide,” Shadya hissed.

Rondel yanked Andrasta’s arm, and the two crouched behind the barrels. When the boy brought the camel-led wagon out, he stopped and climbed down. Shadya casually turned the stable hand to the side while paying him.

Rondel guided Andrasta out and eased into the wagon bed. Despite their best efforts to be quiet, it creaked under their weight.

“What was that?” asked the boy.

Andrasta slid loose her dagger.

“I didn’t hear anything,” said Shadya.

“No. There was something. Let me check.”

The boy appeared at the back of the wagon wearing a frown. Rondel kept Andrasta from lunging forward with the dagger. The boy stared at them with indifference. He shrugged, then walked away. “My apologies. I guess it was nothing.”

Shadya climbed into the driver’s seat. “Thank you.”

She clicked the reins and the wagon began to roll. Softly, she called over her shoulder. “There should be a blanket. Drape it over yourselves. It’s also warded and will give you added protection. The guards will be more skeptical than the boy.”

Underneath the blanket, Andrasta still held her dagger, gripping the hilt so tightly the brown skin on her hands lightened.

“Relax,” he whispered.

“I’ll relax when we’re out of the city.”

“Keep your voices down,” whispered Shadya. “The wards don’t mask noise.”

The journey through Zafar took even longer than Rondel had imagined. Based on the constant twists and turns, it seemed Shadya bypassed the high-traffic areas. However, guards still stopped them numerous times along their way off the plateau of the upper city.

Guards asked the same questions at each check point, using the same cadence so that Rondel wondered if they all read from a prepared script.

After a couple hours of slow progress, the bump of cobbled stones gave way to smoother roads. Rondel could not have been happier as he needed to relieve himself and each bounce played havoc on his bladder.

The leveling out of the road also brought a sudden wave of heat that washed over them. Leaving the shade of the city’s tightly packed buildings, tiny rays of sunlight penetrated the blanket they hid under.

We’re approaching the gate. Almost there.

The wagon lurched to a stop, then gradually inched forward, halting again periodically as Shadya waited her turn with the guards.

Under the sun, Rondel’s discomfort grew. Sweat beaded on his skin and chafed under his clothes. It took everything he had not to reflexively wipe his brow. However, he dared not make the slightest of movements lest a brush of cloth against wood alert the guards to their presence. He spared a glance at Andrasta who lay perfectly still except for the occasional blink.

He wondered what occupied her thoughts.

Probably planning out a thousand scenarios if we’re discovered, all working out how to cause the most number of deaths.
His smile parted into a nervous grin.
And all I can think about is taking a leak.

He sniffed the air, suddenly aware that the awful aroma came from them. Neither had bathed in days. And only Rondel had a chance to clean up at all.

The wards don’t mask sound, but I hope to the gods they close nostrils.

A voice that sounded like gravel, hoarse from a day’s worth of questions rose above the dozens of other random conversations held by those pressing toward the gates of Zafar.

“Name.”

“Shadya Wasem.”

“Why are you leaving Zafar?”

God, it sounds as though he’s actually holding rocks in his mouth
.

“I’m to meet my husband in Thaj.”

“What’s your husband doing in Thaj?”

“Business.”

“What sort of business?”

“I don’t know.”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“No,” said Shadya in a lowered voice. Rondel imagined her bowing her head, appearing as submissive as possible. She played the part well in public. Rondel thought he saw a slight shake of Andrasta’s head. His partner hated how women were treated in Erba even more than he did.

In order not to offend the local men of the city, Rondel had to convince Andrasta to pretend she was a male by wearing a man’s headdress and face covering. By disguising her voice and letting Rondel do most of the talking, they had been able to fool most. Those who suspected or even knew the truth, didn’t seem to care since she was not a local.

“What are you taking to your husband?” continued the guard.

“Sacks of wheat. Several barrels of olives. A few other smaller items.”

“An odd mix,” said the guard. Rondel could tell from his voice that the man had begun to circle the wagon. “Why does he need them? Especially when he could purchase such things in Thaj.”

“I don’t know.”

“You may go.”
Rondel thought, imagining the next response that followed these questions.

“You don’t ever question your husband’s requests?”

Crap. This is new.

Andrasta noticed the same. Her breathing changed ever so slightly.

“Never,” replied Shadya.

“Even though he’s sending you on a four-day journey in order to deliver what seems like trivial items.”

“Never,” she repeated.

The guard grunted. “And you’re traveling by yourself too. A dangerous thing for a small woman to do on her own. And a risky thing for any husband to command his wife. Many things can happen on the road.”

Rondel glanced down to Andrasta’s hand. It worked the dagger hilt hard.

“Hubul will protect me,” said Shadya.

“I hope he does,” said the guard. A long pause followed. “You may go.”

The wagon rolled forward. Minutes later, Shadya called over her shoulder. “We’re out of the city. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to reveal yourselves.”

Rondel relaxed, but only slightly.

He still had to pee.

CHAPTER 6

Traffic lessened the farther out from Zafar they traveled. They spoke sparingly during the first hour or two except when Rondel begged a stop to relieve himself behind an outcropping of large orange rock. Rock and sand was about all one could expect to find away from the cities of Erba unless one happened upon an oasis or watering hole.