City of Towers_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [102]
“Sergeant, do you know who this man is?”
“No. Never saw him before.”
The chief servant looked back at Lei, and his expression was grim. “You have the apologies of the house, my lady, and I assure you that we will look into this matter immediately.”
“If you’d like my assistance, I—”
“You and your servant are to leave immediately. A skycoach is waiting at the foredeck, along with your belongings.”
“But—”
“This is a matter for the house. You must leave. Now.” The guards raised their weapons again, ready to act if ordered. It was clear she had no friends here. “Very well.”
The coachman was an unusually dour gnome who had no interest in conversation. He stayed completely silent, keeping his hand on the tiller as they sailed down through the night air to the glittering spires below.
This gave Lei the time to focus on Pierce. Laying her hands on his armor, she reached within, tracing the magical web that gave him life. The web was damaged, and in places it had snapped entirely. Physically, Pierce seemed perfectly healthy, but to the eyes of an artificer, it was clear how close he had come to being destroyed. Drawing on the energy of her own spirit, Lei reinforced the threads, patching those that had been cut.
“I don’t like this,” she said. “Only another artificer could do this much damage. He resisted my heating charm, as well.”
“But he did turn to his sword after the first attack, my lady,” Pierce said. “Perhaps the power had been placed within him by another and he was only releasing what he’d been given to hold.”
“All we really know is that we know nothing. The man who came after me had a glamour concealing his features, so we can assume that Lord Dantian didn’t know about it. He wasn’t a changeling, though, and nothing about him indicated any sort of connection to our friends in High Walls. As for the other one … given my recent experiences with Daine, while it’s possible he chose death over facing you, I imagine he had a feather charm.”
“Could this have been arranged by a member of your own house, my lady? Your cousin Dasei—”
“Doesn’t have the skill or the courage to do this on her own. I don’t know. We need to be careful, Pierce.”
“High Walls, lady. The Manticore.” The gnome’s voice was a mixture of boredom and despair. He brought the coach to a stop just outside the inn, and they clambered out. The instant they had cleared the boat, he rose back into the air.
“Eager to be on his way, I guess,” Lei said.
“Pierce! Lei!”
It was Daine. He came running down the street toward them, and before they could respond, he wrapped Lei in a powerful embrace.
“Daine?” she said.
Instantly, he let go and took a step back. Even in the dim light, she could see the flush rising on his cheeks.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s been … well, it’s been a strange few hours. Was that a skycoach? Where have you been?”
“That’s a long story,” she said.
“Then you can tell it inside. I don’t know about you, but I still haven’t had any sort of dinner. Let’s see what wonders Dassi has to offer.”
The common room of the Manticore was filled with the smell of the evening meal, and Lei thanked the sovereigns she’d been able to dine with the Lyrandars. Dassi was serving a thin stew with string meat that Lei guessed to be some sort of lizard—and none too fresh from the smell. Looking around the room, she saw no sign of Jode. But another tiny figure standing in a dark corner caught her eye.
“Rhazala?” said Daine, following Lei’s gaze.
“There you are,” the goblin girl said. “I thought I might have heards you wrong this morning when you said the place.” While it was difficult for her to avoid being adorable, her voice was level and grim. “You need to come with me. Now.”
“Why?” Obviously Daine had trouble placing his trust in a girl who’d picked his pocket just two days before.
“You must come and see.” Rhazala said. “It is about your friend. The little one.”
“What?” Lei broke in. “Where is he?”
“Come and see,” Rhazala said. She darted out the door of the inn and they followed.
Rhazala wouldn’t speak