“But, why?” Wince fidgeted with his sword. “Sure, the Guild may have lost Melnora, but the king holds insurance on all the buildings, right? It’s in the pact. They could rebuild without much trouble, and the Guild members aren’t going anywhere.”
“I don’t know, Wince. But we need to get moving.”
“Back to Gemma? She may be walking into a trap.” Wince picked up the reins.
“No. We are going to the palace. Gemma’s a grown woman, and she made her choice. Iven might not have had a choice. I have to figure out a way to help him.” His voice trembled as he said, “I need to go home to the palace.”
CHAPTER NINE
GUILDHOUSE
As Gemma neared Guildhouse’s courtyard, she saw a hundred or more children standing outside the gate watching the flames rage. Several dozen Guild members, men and women she recognized but didn’t know by name, stood about, hats removed in respect. A whisper ran through the crowd as she approached. All around her, faces were streaked with tears and Gemma’s throat tightened with her own, left unshed. The looks on the faces of her people tugged at her, demanding her attention and forcing her to stand straighter and remember her position.
A little girl came racing toward her, and Gemma gasped with the swell of gratitude she felt when she recognized Katya’s white-streaked hair.
“Hey, mite,” she said, picking the girl up and swinging her into a hug. “I’m glad to see you’re safe.”
Katya looked at her in confusion. “Gemma, I thought you were asleep in Guildhouse. I … you should be asleep.”
“I was on an errand, Katy. I’m safe. Everything is going to be all right.” She squeezed the little girl tightly and looked into her sea-glass eyes. “I have to find someone. You stay safe. Listen to Lian, and keep the urchins in line.”
An odd look, serious and conflicted, crossed Katya’s face. She nodded. “Yes, Regency.” Gemma ruffled her hair and watched the girl scramble away then push through the crowd until she spotted the slight, stoic figure of Lian.
Gemma approached quietly, raking the crowd for signs of Devery. As she neared the maid, Lian looked up, eyes wide with fear. “Oh, thank the goddess, Gemma,” she sobbed, catching Gemma in an embrace. “We didn’t know where you were. Melnora’s gone.”
It was no more than she’d expected, but the words and the faces of the people she cared about took the razor coldness out of her. She felt the ice in her veins melt as she hugged Lian. “Have you seen Devery?” she managed to ask.
Lian released her. “He left with Master Fin a couple of hours ago. Not long before this all started. They said they were going to meet you somewhere safe.”
Gemma wanted to kick herself. She’d forgotten in her mad dash to escape the collapsing tunnel and the aftermath of Fin’s death that Devery had told her to meet him at the safe house. “I hate to ask it, but … were you able to get Melnora’s body out of the house, before …” Her gaze drifted to the fire.
Lian nodded. “The men argued with me, but I demanded that they get the mistress out or I’d leave them inside.”
Gemma grinned. Lian would have absolutely let them cook to a crisp while she watched if they’d refused to do her bidding. Gemma cupped the maid’s face in her palm and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re brilliant, Lian. I need to see her immediately.”
Melnora was laid out on a stone bench, a sheet covering her. Gemma knelt on the grass beside her. “We need to search her skin. I’m looking for a mark—any sort of odd character.”
The maid blanched but nodded, and the two of them set to checking over their mistress’s body. It didn’t take long to find what she was looking for. A mark—part brand, part tattoo—rested on the inside of her left forearm just below the elbow. Much smaller than Tollan’s mage mark, but it still left no doubt in her mind. Gemma placed her hand on the mark. She couldn’t help but notice that Melnora’s limp hand now rested nearly on the corresponding area of Gemma’s arm.
The air was thick in her lungs. The clasping of arms was the final step in signing a business arrangement. “Do you have any idea what Melnora did today, Lian? Who she met with? What business did she attend to?”
Lian shook her head. “I’m not sure. I went to the apothecary, and when I came back, Fin said she’d been called away. She arrived home a little after luncheon and said she had a headache and needed to lie down. I went to check on her an hour later, and she was …” A fresh wave of tears rolled down Lian’s cheeks. “I don’t know who did this, but I …” She hiccupped.
“I know,” Gemma said. “I’m going to find out who’s responsible.” She didn’t have the heart to tell Lian about Fin.
She covered Melnora, tucking in the edges of the sheet. “I have to go. Look after the children for me. Take them to Canticle Center, if need be, but beware the tunnels. The brambles have made them unsafe. I’ll be back when I can.”
“Yes, Regency. I’ll see them safe. But, Gemma … the palace. It’s happening there, too …”
“We’re not going to worry about what’s going on up the hill, Li. We take care of our own, and that’s all we do just now.” A flame of guilt flared within her as she thought of Tollan, but she pushed it aside and kissed Lian on the cheek once more, then turned and ran.
The streets surrounding Guildhouse, beyond the courtyard, were oddly deserted. The crackle and hiss of flame was the only sound. Gemma stopped, staring at the column of flame and smoke that was her former home. While a warm breeze ruffled her hair, no flames moved beyond Guildhouse. For all she knew, the people in the buildings nearby were still asleep in their beds. Truth be told, the only people she’d seen out and about were the people who’d been taking their night’s rest within the walls of Guildhouse proper. The hair on the back of her neck rose in alarm. There was mage work to blame.
Without warning, a palm was over her mouth and a body pressed against hers. She flung an elbow hard, but it was caught by a strong and dexterous hand.
“Shhh, Gem,” Devery whispered in her ear. “It’s just me. I didn’t want you to scream.”
She turned around, scanning his body for injury. His fitted jacket and tunic were spattered with blood, but he looked whole. She threw her arms around him, hot tears flooding her eyes.
“I thought you were dead. Aegos, when I saw Fin, I …” She couldn’t stop the sob that ripped its way out of her chest.
“You saw Fin?” he asked, pushing her out to arm’s length. His blue eyes went hard and cold. “Is he … is he all right?” There was a thread of fear in his words.
She shook her head, fresh tears filling her eyes. “Dead,” she whispered. “But he sent me for you. His last thoughts were of you. What happened?”
He pulled her close to him then. Years of keeping their relationship a secret dissolved in an instant as she leaned against his chest. He didn’t answer her, only sobbed against her as she cried against him.
“Dev,” she finally said, “there’s magery at work here. I saw the mark on Melnora. I’ve seen Tollan’s mark—a blasphemy of what it should have been. The fire is wrong, and I …”
His face did an odd sort of crumpling. “Where is Tollan?”
“Headed back to the palace, I think. We had a bit of a disagreement about tactics. He was none too thrilled with mine.”
Devery smiled, his eyes lit eerily by the flames. “That doesn’t make any sense. Did you tell him about the mage work? Why would he head to the only place we know for sure that there are mage women, if he even suspected they were responsible?”
She shook her head. “Of course I told him, but Tollan’s got some noble idea that he needs to rescue his brother. Honestly, he’s not our problem. He and Wince are big boys. They know what they’re walking into. Let them spring the trap. It keeps the mage women out of our hair. I had to find you, and no whining King of Above was going to talk me out of it.”