She turned to look at the display of backs again; Billingtons was the broadest, and also, by about three inches, the shortest. Severn, however, was right. Margots voice could be heard clearly. It always could. But no one else seemed to be talking much, and that was unusual. They seemed, in fact, to be waiting.
Broken windowthat would get attention. The possibility of unrest in Elani would get attention. Whose?
Theirs. The Hawks.
She tightened her grip on her stick; Severn, however, unwound his chain. The blades at either end, he now took in each hand. He did not, however, start the chain spinning. She wondered, not for the first time, and no doubt not for the last, what he had been like as a hunting Wolf. Who he had killed? Why?
But this was not the time to ask, if there ever was one.
She took a deep breath and waded through the last of the sparse crowd until she was three yards from the closest of the backs. Lifting one handand her voice, because no normal speaking voice would cut through Margots outrageshe said, What seems to be the problem here?
The man standing closest to Billingtons back turned.
The world shifted. It wasnt a man. It was a stocky woman, with a scar across her upper lip, and a pierced left eyebrow. Her jaw was square, her hair cropped very shortbut Kaylin recognized her anyway. The others turned, as well; Kaylin was aware of both their movement and Margots sudden silence.
One of the men said something to Billington and handed him a small bag. He also handed a similar one to Margot, whose hands grasped it reflexively. Even at this distance the sound of coins was distinct and clear.
Apologies for the misunderstanding, the woman said to Margot. It was a dismissal. Margots lovely eyes narrowed; Kaylin saw that much before the woman turned to her.
Hello, Eli.
Words deserted Kaylin. She shifted her stance slightly, and her knuckles whitened.
You dont recognize me? No hello for an old friend?
Hello, Morse, Kaylin said. Morse. Here.
So, she said, as she met Kaylins widened eyes, its true. Youre a Hawk. You got out. Her smile was thin, and ugly. The scar didnt help.
Kaylin nodded slowly. Yeah. I got out.
Well, I didnt.
Youre not in Barren now.
No. But Im running a bit of a mission for the fieflord. You want to try to arrest me? She laughed. The laughter, like the smile, was ugly and sharply edged.
Kaylins hands shifted on the stick she carried. But she put it up. No. Drawing a deep breathwhich was hard, because her throat and her chest seemed suddenly tight and immobileshe added, Unless Margot wishes to press vandalism charges.
Margot, however, had opened the bag that had been placed in her hands.
Morse shrugged and turned, almost bored, to look at Margot. That should cover the cost of the window, and the inconvenience to your customers. Do you want to cause trouble for us? The words shaded into threat, even blandly delivered.
I will if you ever break another one of my windows, was the curt reply.
Fair enough, Morse said, and turned back to Kaylin. Well, Officer?
Kaylin walked up to Margot, trying to remember her intense dislike of the woman. It was gone; it had crumbled. Margot wouldnt cause trouble for Morse. No one with half a brain would. Margot?
It was probably a misunderstanding of some sort, the exotic charlatan replied. She took a second to cast a venomous glare at Billington who, with his lack of finesse and class, was standing in the street, openly counting his new money.
Kaylin was certain word of his ill-gotten gains would be spreading down the street and the bars and taverns would be opening conveniently early to take advantage of him. Couldnt happen to a nicer man.
Well, then, Morse said cheerfully. Well just be going.
Kaylin said nothing for a long moment. Then she turned. Morse.
I always wondered what had happened to you, Morse told her. I couldnt pass up the opportunity to confirm the rumors. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Kaylins face.
It took Kaylin a moment to realize what Morse was looking at: her mark. Nightshades mark. It was so much a part of her by this point she could forget it was there. But Morse had never seen it.
You havent changed much, Morse told her, her expression replacing the harsh edges with growing distance. Except for your cheek, you almost look the same.
Why did you come here, Morse?
The woman shrugged. I told you, Im running an errand.
Is it legal?
I live in Barren. You havent been gone so long that you dont remember the definition of law, there.
Youre not there now, Kaylin said, shading the words differently this time.
Morse hesitated, the way she sometimes did when she was about to say something serious. I am. In any way that counts. Youre not. She looked as if she would say more, but one of the men with her approached them, and the moment, which was so thin it might cut, broke. Yeah, legal. Unless running messages breaks Imperial Law these days.
Depends on whats in the message.
Judge for yourself, Eli. Morse shoved a hand into her shirt, and came up with a flattened, squished piece of paper. Or two. Its for you. Obb, she added, get your butt out of the damn glass. Were heading back. Were late.
Kaylin took the letter and stared at it. Then she glanced at Severn, whose hands were still on his blades. She flinched at his expression, but she didntquitelook away. She managed a shrug.
Ill come by later for the reply, Morse told her.
Dont bother, Kaylin almost said. But she couldnt force the words out of her mouth. What came out, instead, was Later.
Morse nodded, and walked away; the others trailed after her like a badly behaved shadow. Only when theyd turned a corner a few blocks down the street did Severn relax enough to approach her.
Kaylin?
She looked at him, and then shook her head. Bent down to pick up a small slab of glass.
Leave it, he told her, catching her wrist. Margot can clean it up. Shes got the money for it at the moment, and itll employ someone for a few hours. If she fails to clean it up, you can charge her with littering.
She nodded, stood and looked down the street. Morse. Here.
I knew her, she told Severn, without once looking up at his face, when I lived in Barren.
He was silent. He didnt ask her when that was; he wasnt an idiot, he could figure it out. What he said, instead, was Did you meet the fieflord of Barren while you were there?
She nodded, almost numb.
CHAPTER 3
For the rest of the dayadmittedly one shortened by two hours in the elemental gardenKaylin didnt bump into another offensive sandwich board. Severn assumed the street-side stretch of their patrol. He didnt speak, and as Kaylin didnt have much she wanted to say, the rest of their round was pretty damn quiet. By the end of it, she was mostly dry.
So was the letter she was carrying. She wanted to read it. At the same time, she wanted to burn it or toss it into the nearest garbage heap. Elani was fairly tidy, on the other hand, so the garbage heaps were not that close to their patrol route.
Morse, she thought. She glanced once at Severn, and remembered walking different streets, with an entirely different goal, beside Morse. Morse who could talk you deaf or cut you without blinking. She hadnt been so scarred, back then. She hadnt looked as old.
But shed always looked as dangerous.
Dinner? Severn asked, as they headed back to the Halls.
Will it come as much of a surprise if I say Im not hungry?
Actually, it would.
She grimaced, dredging a small smile out of somewhere. Where, given her mood, she honestly couldnt say.
Did you figure out what was bothering you?
Probably not. On the other hand, whatever it was couldnt be as bad as whats bothering me now. She hesitated. Glanced at him as they reached the steps that lead into the building. Severn
We can talk over dinner. We can not talk over dinner, as well. You did a pretty good job of that on patrol. His smile was slight, and it was shadowed, but he offered it anyway. I told you, the past is the past. I dont care to know what you dont care to tell me.
She nodded. She knew he meant it. But he didnt know what she knew. Shed tried to tell him, but only once. Now, she had no desire to even try. Telling him about the past was one thing; telling him about the past when it had crept, unwelcome and unexpected, into the present was another.
What had she expected?
When shed crossed the bridge over the Ablayne, when shed stepped foot on the cobbled and patrolled streets of the Emperors city, she had never truly expected to stay here. She hadnt come to escape.
Kaylin?
Sorry, did you say something?
He grimaced. Not much. Lockers. We can file a non-report in the morning.
She nodded and fell into step beside him; theyd managed to make it to the Aerie without any conscious awareness, on her part, of passing through the doors. She remembered the first time shed come in through the front doors. She remembered the first time shed arrived at the Halls of Law. They werent the same.
For a moment, the Halls of Law looked so insubstantial she could almost see the street through the stonework. But the streets she saw werent the streets of Nightshade; they werent the streets of the city whose laws she had vowed to give her life enforcing. They were darker, grayer, devoid of even the hope shed felt in Nightshade at Severns side.
Barren.
Okay, Severn told her. Stay here a minute.
She shook her head and dredged up what she hoped was a smile. Judging from his grimace, it was a pretty pathetic one. Ill go get changed, she told his retreating back.
She walked into the locker room, found her locker and leaned her forehead against its door for a minute.
Hey.
She jumped back from the locker door, wondering whether or not shed fallen asleep standing up. Having done it on one or two occasions, she didnt wonder if it were possible, but it was never anything like good sleep, and it usually ended abruptly with the unpleasant sensation of falling, and the even less pleasant sensation of landing.
Teela?
Teela grinned. Barrani didnt smile or laugh much as a general rule, and when they did, it was usually at someone elses expense. You look like crap, she told Kaylin. Come on, get changed. Were not going out if youre dressed like that. Iron Jaw would have our hides pinned to the dartboard by morning. If he waited that long.
Kaylins body started to obey; she stripped off her tabard and her armor, taking care to set Morses letter on the inside of her locker. But her brain caught up, and she stopped, tunic halfway over her upper body. What do you mean, were going out?
Severn seems to think you need a drink.
Im not going to get a drink if I go out with you!
Teelas shrug was lazy. Tains been bored all day.
Oh, no, you dont. I am not going out drinking with Tain. Not when hes bored.
Teela, stripping off her own gear, laughed. Were not going to cause too much trouble. Your Corporal is going with us.
Youve gone drinking with officers and youve managed to wreck half a tavern!
She shrugged, her lazy smile spreading across her full lips. They werent conscious for most of it.
Teela
And Im guessing your Corporal can hold his drinks a tad better. Which, all things considered, would be a pity.
Teela, dont even think it.
Last I heard, thinking wasnt illegal. Come on, Kaylin. Ive never gone drinking with Severn.
Obviously not, if this was his idea. Im going to kill him.
Can you kill him after Im finished?
No.
Teela laughed as someone started hammering on the door. That would be Tain, Kaylin thought. You get it, she told Teela, as she belted her tunic. Ive had a bad enough day already.
It had been several months since Kaylin had gone drinking with Teela and Tain. Several months, in fact, since she had appeared at work, slightly gray-faced, with dark circles under her eyes and a headache that she was certain at the time not even beheading would cure.
Teela had shrugged her way out of her regulation gear. Since Teela was tall and almost preternaturally beautifula characteristic she shared with all of her raceshe would look stunning in sack-cloth; the change of clothing did not actually make that much of a difference. The same could be said of Tain, although Tain had a chipped tooth. That single flaw had made him the first of the Barrani that Kaylin could easily distinguish; they all looked very similar when she had first joined the Hawks.
Severn, however, wore black and gray, and he looked very different. He had set aside his obvious weapons, although he still wore his chains; they were wrapped around his waist like a fashion statement. It was not exactly cold in Elantra at this time of year, but Kaylin wore the usual long-sleeved shirt. The marks on her arms made her self-conscious, and she could live more easily with sweat.
They approached the front doors. Clint was on guard duty. When he saw Kaylin beside Teela, he grimaced. Teela
Were off-duty, she told him cheerfully.
He rolled his eyes. Kaylin privately thought hed lost his mind if he expected responsibility from that quarter.
Severn, however, smiled at Clint. Ill stop them from trashing the tavern.
Clint grimaced. Youve clearly never gone drinking with Teela and Tain.
Severns idea of drinking was not Teelas idea of drinking; he led them to the Spotted Pig. Kaylin glanced at Teela; she was betting they had about fifteen minutes before Teela decided to go somewhere else. Only on a very lucky day would her go someplace else not involve dragging Kaylin with her when she stormed out.
Barrani clientele was always a mixed blessing, because about a quarter of the time, something ugly happened. The definition of ugly was a real-life lesson in cultural paradigms, because nothing had ever happened that Teela did not find amusing.
The fact that neither Teela nor Tain said a word when they entered the quiet and rather unpretentious environs of the Spotted Pig was a bit suspicious. Given they were Barrani, suspicion was only natural; Kaylin took a seatat a tablebeside Severn. Teela and Tain occupied the bench across from them. They seldom ate much when they went anywhere; human food was not generally to their taste, although Kaylin, having eaten with the Barrani in no less a place than the High Court, didnt really see why.