Paedrin gave him a long look. “I am not a fool, Annon. Let me examine it. I was cut by a blade recently, if you remember. I appreciate the danger.”
Annon withdrew it from his robe and felt the compulsion growing again. The blade did not want to be shown around. He felt a dark menace from it. Annon’s fingers twitched. The surge of emotions was stifling, and he felt sweat pop out on his forehead. Hettie shrank from him, her eyes widening with fear. Erasmus squinted, his face suddenly ashen.
“Put it away,” Paedrin whispered. His eyes were serious. “I could not control my thoughts looking at it, let alone risk handling it. Truly, it is an evil weapon. Put it away.”
Annon obliged, hiding it in his belt, beneath his cloak. The blade went still again.
Paedrin cocked his head, scratching his forehead. “Why would your uncle send you for it? The pretext was buying your freedom.” He nodded to Hettie. Her eyes were haunted. “What was his real motive?”
“Impossible to deduce,” Erasmus said. “He reveals nothing of his plans. He is very guarded.”
Paedrin frowned and shook his head. “The specific reason, perhaps. But we should not relax our thoughts because the riddle is difficult. First thought that comes to me. Did he expect we would be successful? Was it to test our craftiness or persistence? To see if we would quit?”
Annon thought a moment. “He gave us pieces of the riddle, but not the whole. He told us about Erasmus, who could lead us there. He gave me the words that would open the stone. So yes, I think he did want us to succeed.”
“I hate being manipulated,” Hettie said with an icy voice. “Why not tell us it was a blade and not a cask of ducats?”
“Another thought,” Annon said, touching his lip. “Let us suppose that Kiranrao was not lying. That he truly is looking for Tyrus now. Maybe there was an explosion in the tower, that Tyrus is a hunted man. Perhaps he knew the danger was coming and wanted to send us far away?”
Paedrin nodded vigorously. “I like your thinking. It would be pretty easy to confirm whether or not Kiranrao was lying. We could even discover that without crossing the lake into the city. If the boatmen confirm it, then we know that there was an explosion. He obviously did not want us to know about the danger.”
“That troubles me,” Hettie said softly. “While I hate being manipulated, I would feel even worse if he did this to spare us. I do not want to owe him anything.”
Annon put his arm around her. “He did not require anything from us. We seemed more like a nuisance to him anyway.”
Hettie shook her head. “I’m worried about him.”
Erasmus snorted. “Don’t be a fool, girl. He is quite capable of defending himself. Even the Arch-Rike fears him.”
At those words, Annon’s eyes opened wide. “I’m a fool.”
Paedrin looked curious. “What do you mean?”
He gritted his teeth and shook his head. “Maybe I am mistaken, but your words about the Uddhava make sense to me. How we are observed, and it triggers actions in others. When I came to Kenatos, I had to cross the gates. I told the Rike there that I was the nephew of Tyrus of Kenatos. I did not think of it until now, but the man started, surprised. He was shocked. Obviously his ring allowed him to know that I was not lying. He directed me to the Paracelsus Towers. No doubt I was followed.” He turned to Hettie. “Did you mention who you were visiting?”
Hettie shook her head, her brow crinkling with worry. “Of course not. What business is it of theirs?”
“The explosion happened after we left. It may have happened the very next day. My mentor, Reeder, warned me about trusting Tyrus. That he was involved in some matter dealing with the Scourgelands. My visit may have started the cycle of the Uddhava.”
Paedrin looked at him seriously. “No, it started before you arrived. It started when Hettie arrived in Kenatos, seeking her freedom. It may have started even earlier than that.”
“What do you mean?” Hettie asked, her voice defensive. “You think that I caused this?”
“No,” Paedrin answered, batting his hand at her. “When you were both infants.”
“Oh,” Hettie said. There was something in her voice, in her reaction. It made Paedrin pause. Was she hiding something? There was a growing pit of unease in Annon’s stomach, and it had nothing to do with the blade hidden in his cloak. There were forces at work that baffled him. But it was as Paedrin had taught them. An unseen current was pulling them all along, bouncing and bumping them into each other. He needed to know where the current was taking them before he decided whether or not he wanted to swim with it or against it.
“We need to find Tyrus,” Annon said resolutely.
Hettie touched his hand. Hers was warm. He glanced at her face and saw his concern mirrored in her eyes. Her look of defensiveness was gone now. It was probably his exhaustion and the effects of the weapon on his mind. Here they were together. A brother and sister, separated since birth. Was that even an accident?