Unguilded (27 page)

When a man and woman passed them, Vook kept his head down and shuffled out of their way. Kara peeked at the basket the woman carried, hoping for a glimpse of what the market offered, but the woman kept it tucked under her arm as though she was afraid someone would take it from her.

The small road merged with another to create a wider thoroughfare. The houses were larger and set back from the road. Children in ragged clothes and bare feet played in front yards.

As they made their way east, people joined them on the road. Most were heading to the market with empty sacks and baskets and bottles slung over arms and shoulders, but a few looked like they were off on other, more dangerous business.

Kara clutched Vook’s shirt as she trailed him through the crowd at the crossroads. She looked around at the dilapidated houses that lined the streets. Harb’s people still lived here—to Kara it looked like a good place to get away from.

Once past the crowd and eastbound again, Vook steered them down a quiet side street.

“We can get to the market this way,” he said as he led the way through an alley. “The more honest sellers are away from the main road anyway.”

Vook helped her climb over the crumbled remains of a wall and into a small square. Water splashed in the large fountain in the centre of the square, and people thronged the edges, all manner of jugs and bottles and skins held out to catch the precious liquid as it spilled over the lip of the basin. As soon as one jug was filled and removed, another was thrust forward to take its place.

“Is this the only water source on this part of the island?” she asked. How many people relied on this one single fountain? Hundreds at least, maybe thousands, and every single one of them had to come here and fill up their water jugs. She and her small group had the luxury of the cabin with its kitchen pump and ready supply of water. They didn’t even have to go outside.

“Yeah,” Vook said. “It’s not so crowded at night, but you have to watch out for the banditos. They bring wagons and fill up barrels so they can make beer.”

“I hope to Gyda that these people don’t realize what we have,” Kara said.

“Don’t tell them,” Vook said. “Come on, I think I see a spice seller.”

Vook grabbed her hand and pulled her towards a row of ramshackle huts, their wooden exteriors grayed and weathered. A few had small wisps of mage mist swirling around, and she wondered if the spells had been attached to materials that had been scavenged to make the huts, or if someone had actually paid a Mage to protect their meager belongings.

The old woman who sold spices had what she needed, but when Kara showed her a guilder, she shook her head and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Kara dug around in her pack for her mother’s bracelet. She pulled it out and showed it to the spice merchant. The woman’s eyes lit up, and Kara hesitated. The bracelet was expensive—her mother would never own jewelry that wasn’t real gold—but preserving food for the winter was worth more. And it wasn’t as though her mother had given it to her out of love.

Resigned, Kara dropped the bracelet into the woman’s hand and stuffed the package into her pack. Besides the guilders, she only had her mother’s broach left, and she still wanted to get clothing and shoes for them all.

“What do they use instead of guilders?” she asked Vook as they walked away. “And who do I get that from?”

“Dunno,” Vook said. “It changes all the time. But only a Guildsman will touch the guilders.”

Kara perused the shops until she found one that was overflowing with clothing. Much of it was dirty and ripped, but some items looked like they could be repaired. The man in the stall was dressed in clothes little better than what was on display, but there was a faded Merchant Guild patch sewn onto the front of his shirt.

“Will you take guilders for trade?” she asked softly. The Merchant turned and sized her up with a frown.

“What guild are you?”

“I’m making a purchase for a friend,” she replied. “He’s ill and can’t travel here himself, but he gave me some guilders to purchase supplies with.” She showed him two guilders.

“What guild is your friend?” The merchant still frowned, but his eyes were locked onto the guilders.

“Guider,” she replied. “He travels between Rillidi and Villa Salvo, but his illness means he can’t work.” Kara hoped the Merchant would take pity on another struggling Guildsman. She tried not to show her relief when the Merchant finally nodded, slowly.

“Pick out your supplies, and I’ll let you know what’s too much.”

“Thank you, Guildsman,” Kara said. She waved Vook in, and the two of them rooted through the goods, piling their choices in a corner.

Finally done, Kara held the two guilders out to the Merchant. He snatched them from her and pocketed them, but when she stooped to pick up the goods, his booted foot stomped on the small pile.

“Leave them,” the Merchant said.

“But I paid for them.” Kara straightened to face him. “With two guilders.”

“You’re not a Guildsman, so you can’t pay for anything with guilders.” The man kicked the small pile of goods. “Now get on with ye before I get mad.”

“Before
you
get mad,” she said, furious. “You just stole from me.”

“What did you say to me, unguilded?” The Merchant took a step towards her. “You think you can call me a thief and get away with it? I’m Merchant Guild, and that’s an insult to my entire guild.”

“You’re the insult to your guild. You
stole
from me.” Kara knew she should stop, knew she was creating a bigger problem, but not only was the Merchant a thief, but he was a liar as well. It wasn’t right, it just wasn’t!

“Come on, Kara.” Vook took her arm and tried to pull her away, but she shook him off.

“Get out of here, Vook,” she said to him.

Vook slipped out of the stall while Kara kept her eyes on the Merchant.

“I want what I paid for,” she said. “Neither you nor the guilds make the rules on Old Rillidi. We had an agreement, and I expect you to fulfill your part of it.”

“You’ll get nothing from me,” the merchant said. “And if you try to take anything, I’ll name
you
a thief.”

“Will you?” Kara wasn’t sure who he
could
complain to. Santos owned the island, the guilds had no jurisdiction here, and no doubt this Merchant’s neighbours knew how he conducted business. She was not leaving without her purchases.

She reached down and grabbed as much of the bundle as she could. The Merchant slapped her, and she grunted in pain as her head snapped backwards. She clutched the clothing to her chest and stumbled out of the stall. The Merchant followed.

“Thief!” he shouted. “I’m being robbed.”

Kara continued to back out of the stall. A crowd gathered, but no one stepped in to grab her.

“I paid him, and now he won’t let me take my goods,” she called out.

A few faces nodded at her words, but none of them looked especially friendly.

The Merchant took a step towards her and raised his hand to strike her again. She ducked her head, and his hand smashed into her shoulder, throwing her to the ground. She scrambled away from him, and the crowd retreated to give her room.

“I would stop there, friend,” a voice said from behind her.

The Merchant scowled, but stopped moving, hands at his side and his fists clenched.

“This is not your business,” the Merchant said. “Foreigner.” He spat on the ground.

“It is when a friend is involved,” the voice said. “Kara is my friend.”

At the sound of her name, Kara looked up. Chal Honess stood behind her, a grim smile on his lips. The Seyoyan’s white-blond braids brushed her shoulder when he reached down to help her stand. A second man, plainer than Chal, assessed her from Chal’s side. A haze of lilac mage mist wafted around him, but Kara didn’t think he was a Mage. Chal’s companion turned his gaze to the Merchant.

“I would do as my Seyoyan friend suggests, Guildsman,” the man said in a low voice. “And stop.” He nodded in Kara’s direction. “I’ve a mind to trust the word of this one over you.”

“You’d take the word of an unguilded over me, a full Guildsman?” The Merchant’s eyes blazed. “How dare you! What guild are you?”

“I hope you’re not suggesting that you have truth on your side simply because you are guild?” the man asked. “You might give a thought to where you are before making such claims.” He gestured to the crowd.

A few in the crowd muttered angrily, and a couple of men stepped towards the Merchant. Those in the crowd with guild marks sewn to their clothing eased away.

“I’m sure that was not your intent,” the man continued.

Kara looked from him to Chal, who winked at her.

“Go back to work,” the man finished.

With one last glare at Kara, the Merchant returned to his stall, and the crowd, still muttering, started to wander away.

“Thank you,” Kara said. She rubbed her temple where the Merchant had struck her. “Both of you.” She turned from Chal and met the other man’s startling blue eyes.

“You are most welcome, Kara,” Chal said. “I told you we shared a destiny. This is Reo. I regret to tell you that he probably does not approve of my interference. Isn’t that right, Reo?”

“Approve of it, no,” Reo said. “Resigned to it, yes. Chal finds trouble wherever he goes.”

“In this case I am grateful,” Kara said.

“You are welcome,” Reo said. “Now tell the boy who’s trying to spy on us that it’s safe to come out now.”

Kara followed his gaze to where Vook was hiding behind a fruit wagon. She waved him over.

“I wasn’t able to get everything,” she said as she pushed some of the bundled goods into his arms. “We’ll just have to make do.”

Vook nodded and warily eyed the two men.

“Can we help?” Chal asked.

“Thank you, no,” Kara replied. “You’ve done enough. We must get going.” She wanted to be safe and secure in the cabin as soon as possible.

Reo relaxed slightly at her words, and the mage mist around him slowed as though reacting to his mood. Maybe he
was
a Mage? She fussed over the bundle in her arms, and kept her gaze off the mage mist.

Reo reached out and pushed the trailing sleeve of a coat into her arms. The mage mist retreated up his arm, away from her.

“Thank you,” she said and took a quick step away from him.

The mage mist settled back along his arm. Reo sent her a puzzled look, and she smiled weakly and turned away, only to meet Chal’s sharp gaze.

“What did you do?” he whispered. “To the magic?”

“Nothing,” Kara stammered. She nudged Vook’s arm. “We have to go.” The two of them started to walk away, quickly. “Get us away from here, fast,” she urged Vook, and she followed him as he plunged into the market crowd.

She thought she heard her name being called, but she ignored it, concentrating on getting as far away as quickly as possible. It was too dangerous for more people to know about her talent. On the ferry, Chal Honess had asked her what she saw because he saw it too, and knew what it was.
What did you do to the magic?
he’d asked.

Vook kept them off the road, leading them through laneways and alleys. They entered the burn out far from the main road. It was a tougher walk, and Kara stumbled a few times, once tripping over the stump of a tree covered in moss and grass, but they kept going.

THE SUN WAS
still high in the sky, and Kara could hardly believe it had only been a few hours since they’d set out from the safety of the cabin. She kept looking behind them, in case they’d been followed, but she never saw anyone.

“Want to tell me what that was about?” Vook asked.

They were in the woods that surrounded the estate.

“What do you mean?”

Vook whirled on her, and she stumbled into him.

“Don’t lie to me, Kara,” Vook said. “I’m not a stranger. I know some of what you can do.” He glared at her, and she looked away.

“Yes, you do,” she said quietly. She met his gaze. “The Seyoyan, Chal Honess? I think he sees magic, like me. But I don’t think he knew about undoing magic, at least not until now. His friend had a spell on him, and it reacted when he came near me.”

“And the Seyoyan noticed,” Vook said.

“Yes,” she agreed. “It’s not the first time he’s asked me about seeing spells.”

“All right,” he said and nodded. “We’ll make sure they can’t find us.” He turned and started walking north through the woods, away from the lane and gate that led up to Santos’ manor.

Kara settled her full pack across her shoulders, hugged the bundle of clothing to her chest, and followed.

An hour later, with the sun setting low over their shoulders, they reached the northern shore of the island.

“Does anyone live here?” Kara asked. She had no wish to meet a group like the clammers.