The Stolen Child (46 page)

Arsha scrunched her nose up, trying to figure out what the woman meant by this.
 

“
I thought that kind of thing was, you know, forbidden,” she said.
 

“
Oh yes.  The practice of fatework, in all forms, is highly regulated within the Guild.  However the results of that practice are another matter entirely.”
 

“
So what Arsh and I did...” Rachael began, tailing off with a
nervous look.
 

“
Would, to my understanding, be recognised by Guild law as no different from any other blood tie.  If Reuben means to snatch you away from your family here by having your adoption annulled...”
 

“
It wouldn't matter, because she'd still be my sister,” Arsha said, hearing the excitement in her own voice.
 

“
By Guild law, that will make Rachael every bit as much your father's daughter as you are, entitled to all the same protections.  Reuben might try to argue it, of course, but there's enough precedent that I imagine Miss Karvonen will be able to tear him to pieces.  I'm sorry, I know this doesn't help your father... Believe me, I am every bit as worried about Rishi as you are, Arsha... But at least it is something.”
 

“
Thank you,” Arsha said.  She turned to look at Rachael, and saw the nervous relief in the girl's eyes, barely concealed.
 

“
Thanks,” Rachael said, not quite able to look Maya in the eye.  “Really, thank you, for all of this.”
 

“
You're both welcome, of course,” Maya said.  “Now I really should be going.  Rukiya will only let me stay down here so long.”
 

The woman smiled and got to her feet, smoothing the front of her robe down.
 

“
Hey,” Racheal said, “you won't... You won't get in too much trouble for all this?  Will you?”
 

“
A little.  But I'll be fine.  Honestly, I think Rishi will be more angry at me than anyone else will.”
 

“
Why?” Arsha said.
 

“
Because your father is one of kindest men I have ever known,
and he's never stopped trying to protect me, from myself and from everyone else.  But sometimes little sisters just have to get in trouble.”
 

Maya smiled again, and just for a moment Arsha saw Rachael smiling back, as if amused by something the woman had said.  Then Maya turned and let herself out.
 

“
Remember, Volume Three,” the woman said as she closed the door.
 

It was early in the morning when t
he carriages came for them
, rattling through streets that were filled with what
Rachael
at
first took to be fog.  It took her a while to realise that there wouldn't be any fog in the city.  
T
hey were riding through thin wisps of cloud.

The city was neatly arranged, with six long spokes radiating outwards from the central tower.  
Their carriage
joined one of these main streets and proceeded towards the tower itself.  
The thin spire looked down over everything else in the city, a slender needle of glass that seemed uncomfortably similar to another building, a world away.
 Rachael assumed that they would turn away onto a side street as they neared the city centre, but instead they continued right up to the very base of the tower and the cluster of buildings that surrounded it.  
The building they arrived at
was larger than a cathedral, with a high domed roof and a long colonnaded entrance hall that stretched out towards them.  An impressive set of double doors crested wide marble steps, flanked by rows of
grey
-coated guards.  
Impressive as it was, even this immense structure seemed insignificant against the vastness of the tower that overshadowed it.
 

The courtyard was filled with people, dressed in a dazzling display of coloured silks and gold and silver embroidery.  She supposed the crowds were all here for the last day of the hearing, just like they were.
 

As they stepped down from the carriage their guards formed up around them, leading them in a procession towards the wide steps.  She saw people in the crowd turning to look.  Some pointed or whispered, and she became increasingly sure that she was the focus of
at least part of their
attention.

At the doorway another set of g
uards checked paperwork and waved them through.  
They entered into a large foyer.  Curved staircases followed each wall, leading up to a balcony above.  Wall hangings were arrayed in every colour imaginable, each adorned with an elaborate symbol in gold and silver thread.
 

Groups milled about the room talking amongst themselves in hushed voices.  Micah laid a hand lightly on her shoulder, keeping her close.  She glanced up at the others, unable to avoid noticing the way Milima's face seemed to slip into a worried frown.  Arsha seemed to notice as well, moving close to the woman's side.  Milima slipped an arm around Arsha's shoulder and gave them all a weak smile.
 

“I'll be OK,”
s
he said.  Even Ilona reached out to touch the woman's arm, the small gesture of comfort seeming to speak volumes.

Rachael
turned away and studied the crowd, endless unknown faces milling around her.  
Then her eyes fell on one face that she recognised, and
a cold shiver passed down her spine.

Manindra Bhandari stood amidst a small gathering, his long white hair tied back in a braid with a ruby clasp, his weight
resting
on a
n
ebony cane.  Naveen stood with him, dressed in red and gold like his father, a sword
hanging
at his waist.  
He
had a hard scowl on his face.

The crash of a gong resounded through the foyer, turning every eye upwards to the balcony where a man in a grey robe stood.
 

“Ladies and gentlemen, if you will please proceed to the Hall of Whispers and take your seats.”

The doors below the balcony swung wide, and the crowd began to move in their direction.  Ilona lead the way as their group joined the stream of people filing through the large double doors.  Rachael followed at the back, not feeling particularly eager to see where any of this was going.  As she was being jostled by the throng, she was surprised to feel a sharp tug at her sleeve.  
She looked back to see a woman in a familiar looking
white robe
standing a little behind her
.

“Maya?”
s
he whispered.

The lady nodded.  
Maya's bodyguard stood at her side, staying in step, eyes razor sharp.  S
he gave Rachael a stern, measuring look.

“Rachael, I just...”

Maya
seemed unsure of what to say.  
The cool confidence the woman had shown a few nights before had now vanished entirely.
  A pair of
older
men
ducked past them, carefully avoiding the seer, though their curious eyes took in the scene.
 

“I'm sorry,” Maya said, with a deep earnestness.  “Rachael, I'm truly sorry.  You have to believe that.  
What's going to happen in there...
”

Confused, Rachael tried to catch a glimpse of
Maya's
face under the
scarf
as if she might find some explanation there.  More
people were flowing past them, an exaggerated care in the way they avoided even brushing Maya's robes
.

“Go.  Be with the others,” Maya gestured,
apparently unable to bring herself to say anything else
.  
Though she wasn't happy about leaving without a clearer answer, Rachael saw the
wa
y
Rukiya's eyes fixed on her, like something
dangerous.  She gave the bodyguard a curt nod and slipped away, joining the crowd that filed into the chamber
.

As she entered the hall, she found herself at the top of a flight of steps leading down to an open floor.  A dais occupied the far side of the chamber,
supporting an imposing desk and a high backed chair
, whilst all around her tiered seating filled the remaining space.  A balcony above encircled half the chamber, seeming to offer more seating.  Above
it all
a high domed ceiling of stained glass allowed sunlight to pour down onto them.

The domed glass had been divided into smaller sections, each depicting a person, strangely stylised.  Some were hard to make out, others more clearly depicted, but Rachael immediately recognised the figures she had seen on the walls of Manindra's home.  Her eyes quickly settled on the form of
a woman in a flowing dress, surrounded by a swirling cloud of autumn leaves.  
Her face was concealed by what appeared to be some kind of mask.  For a moment she could almost hear a voice like dry leaves whispering her name again.  It was only when a tall man jostled her as he passed that she remembered where she was standing.
 

To the left of the room,
a couple of rows from the front
, she could see Manindra sitting with his son.  
Further down, in the
very front row, she saw Reuben Ben Mahir with a couple of men she didn't recognise.
  To the right,
a set of seats appeared to have been reserved for them.  Already she could see the others waiting for her.  Micah gestured, ushering her into the row ahead of himself.  The long bench was hard and uncomfortable.
 

She glanced across at where Manindra and his boys sat.  The old man's self-indulgent smile never faltered,
but his son
scowled at
everything in the room
as if
it might be a threat.  Just like the way Rukiya had been looking at her.  
She was thankful that at least Rakesh wasn't there too.
 

As the last group entered the chamber, she barely paid attention until she saw the long
grey
coats of the guards who flanked the two men walking between them.  Rishi and Abasi strode between the tiered seats, shoulder to shoulder, cold eyes seeming to issue a challenge to anyone watching.  It was only as Abasi saw them seated at the front that his expression softened.  He almost seemed to want to reach out past the guard who stood at his side, to grasp his wife's hand.  Rishi, however, seemed to barely notice them.  There was only the briefest flicker in his eyes as they met Arsha's.  A moment of something that almost seemed like shame.  Then the two men were brought to their seats at the centre of the chamber, just in front of the open floor that surrounded the dais.

In the nervous silence her eyes returned once more to the image of the woman in the glass, surrounded by the swirling golden leaves, the sunlight making the whole image glow.

A few minutes later, a
man in grey entered and sounded a gong.
 

“All rise for Lord Inquisitor Kadima,”
t
he man declared, his voice ringing out across the hushed chamber.

As everyone in the chamber stood, Rachael followed their example.  Her eyes flickered to Ilona's face, the cold mask that seemed to give nothing away.  She tried to let the same blank expression settle on her own features, to become a
n empty
space, devoid of emotion.  Anything to keep her stomach from twisting itself in knots.  She felt Arsha's hand brush against hers, and with scarcely a thought she slipped her fingers through
her sister's
.

A tall man entered the room, walking slowly to the dais where he took his seat behind the large desk.  
His hair was a tight mat of greying curls
, and he was dressed in long black robes hemmed in blue and gold.  His face had the square roughness of a heavy stone,
skin the colour of jet
.

The gong was struck again and the
man cleared his throat, a rough, rasping sound that resounded through the silent chamber.  When he spoke, his voice creaked like oak timbers, old but strong.
 

“
Ladies and gentlemen, you may be seated.  This court of inquiry shall now be called to order.
”

As people took their seats, a hush settled over the courtroom.

“This court has heard the arguments presented by all parties, and reviewed all material evidence pertaining to this matter.  We have deliberated on the arguments and the facts presented to us, and we are ready now to pronounce judgement in this matter.”

The man paused for a moment to glance down at his desk, where Rachael supposed he must have had papers laid out.

“We have heard, from
Sir Reuben Ben Mahir
, a charge of conspiracy against Lord Manindra Bhandari and Professor Rishi Chandra.  That these two men conspired to gain unlawful access to information held by the Chamber of Foresight, and put that information to the purpose of capturing and containing a forbidden artefact, namely one of the
S
eeds which was discovered in the city of London, beyond the Veil.  
Sir Ben Mahir
contends that, in doing so, these individuals and persons associated with them and working under their direction enacted multiple breaches of the
A
ccord
s
during the events which transpired in London.”

A pause, as the Lord Inquisitor cleared his throat.

“
After reviewing the evidence brought by Sir Ben Mahir, and certain documents provided by Professor Chandra, it is the
find
ing of this court
that Lord Manindra Bhandari was indeed in possession of materials that should have remained the sole purview of the Chamber of Foresight, without clear cause or remit.  For this matter,
he shall be censured, and his family's estates, titles, and privileges revoked, immediately and forthwith.
”