Swords and helmets. Killing things. Marith paid carefully, the money shaking in his hand.
They were walking back down a large, crowded street in one of the wealthier areas of the town when Alxine suddenly raised a hand to Tobias’s shoulder and said calmly, ‘Someone’s following us.’
‘What?’ Rate almost turned round before Tobias smacked him on his injured arm. He yelped in pain.
‘A woman. Wealthy-looking, with guards.’
Tobias frowned. ‘I haven’t seen her.’
‘She’s only been around a little while. We passed her as she was coming out of a shop a few streets back. She started after us a few moments later, she’s quite far behind us still.’
‘Coincidence. She’s just headed the same way we are.’
‘No. She’s not even trying to conceal it. Turn round a moment, like you’re looking at that girl back there. See?’
Tobias turned and caught a flash of expensive cloth, flanked by dark leather. The street was crowded, it was hard to see easily without being obvious. ‘If you say so,’ he said, confused and concerned. A woman. Why on earth would a woman be following them?
He thought for a moment. ‘We carry on a few paces, take the next turning, go into the nearest shop. She’s still a good way behind us, so if we’re quick she’ll be confused and have to show herself. No point in us being subtle if she’s not.’
The nearest shop down the next turning turned out to be a jeweller’s. A bell rang musically as Tobias opened the door, pretending to survey the wares inside. Gold and silver glittered on fat red cushions, illuminated by tall candles of yellow beeswax. Rate stared open-mouthed at the place. The shop-keeper bustled up from behind a curtained doorway, rubbing his hands as he caught sight of Marith.
‘Anything in particular you are looking for, young sir?’ he asked unctuously, waving his hand towards his display cases. ‘A ring for a special friend? A brooch for a cloak?’
Whatever Marith was about to say in reply was lost in the noise of the door being flung open, the bell ringing like mad. A woman’s voice cried out. A young woman stood in the doorway, flanked by two men with swords. Short and fair-haired and plain. From the east, by her dress. High-born, by her dress, too. A high-born young woman from the east, staring at a high-born young man from the east with her face full of grief and pain and shock. Oh hell.
Marith stared back at her. Went pale, a look on his face that was both horrified and laughing. ‘Landra?’ he said thickly. ‘What are you …? What are you doing here?’
‘You …’ Tears running down her face, her body trembling. ‘It is you … I thought … I was walking down the street … I saw … I saw you …’ She spat at his feet suddenly. Her lips curling back like an animal. ‘You’re dead! Dead! Your father swore … He swore on Carin’s grave. That you were dead. He swore!’
A choking sound came from Marith’s mouth. ‘He lied. The Altrersyr lie.’
‘He swore! He swore you were dead! Dead! I came out of a shop, you were there. In the street. I saw you! But your father swore! Swore you were dead!’ She moved towards Marith, her arms raised. Tobias felt for a strange moment that she was going to embrace the boy. She struck him, screaming, cursing, spittle frothing at her lips. ‘Dead!’ she screamed. ‘Dead! Dead! Dead!’ The two guards with her drew their swords. They were both staring at Marith too, the same puzzled revolted faces. The taller of them stepped forward, raised his blade towards the boy, came at him. Rate responded almost instantly, leaping sideways with his knife already drawn. There was a crash as a display case fell over in a shower of gems. Marith stood still and blank, like he was waiting for the man to kill him. Gold bracelets rolled at his feet.
Death and damnation. Of all the squalid ways to die: cut down in a tasteless trinket shop by a glorified footman.
‘Stop!’ Tobias shouted hopelessly, just as the woman shouted ‘Hold!’.
‘Hold, Mandle.’ Mandle froze, sword halfway to Marith’s chest, Rate’s knife halfway to his guts. The woman stood before Marith, staring up at him, hatred roaring off her. ‘Dying here like this is too good for you. Now I know you’re still alive, I want to plan your death. Do it properly. Not just see you die quickly now.’
No answer. Marith’s lips moved but nothing came out.
‘This means war, Marith. Between our House and yours. You should be dead. Dead and rotting, like he is. When my father learns of this … War. You’ll all be dead. We’ll kill you all slowly. We will. Your father will regret his lies. You’ll regret he didn’t kill you as he said.’
Marith finally came alive to her, and laughed.
‘Kill them, then,’ he said. His voice was bitter and cold, worse than it had been the previous night. A dead voice. Empty. ‘You think I care? You think I ever cared? But you won’t manage it. You’ll be the ones to die. Like he was.’
The woman crumpled. Like she might fall to the ground and break. She tried to say something but her voice faded away. ‘You’re vile …’ she whispered at last, breathing hard through her teeth. ‘Vile. Prince Ruin.’ Then she straightened herself and stumbled out of the shop, her men following her, still staring over their shoulders at Marith. Tobias stared back at them.
Silence. Rate bent down and began absent-mindedly picking up the scattered jewellery. The shop-keeper gave a low moan and slumped to the floor. Marith stood immobile, eyes bright.
Tobias let out a long, pent-up breath. Turned to the shop-keeper, shrugged his shoulders apologetically. ‘No idea either, mate. Crazy bint.’ Desperately trying to sound casual. Or at least not like he was about to scream the place down and wring Marith’s princely bloody neck. ‘But no harm done, eh?’ Gestured at Rate: ‘My friend here’s putting your shop back together, aren’t you?’
Rate quickly dropped the last of the jewellery onto a display table, added the gold brooch he’d palmed a moment previously. ‘See? All right as rain again. Nothing broken. We probably ought to leave now, though, yes?’
They fled out of the door and away, Marith trailing behind them, face blank, needing the occasional nudge from Rate to keep him going in the right direction.
Navala was sweeping the front step when they arrived back at the Five Corners. She looked at them – at Marith – curiously. In the last three days, she’d seen him arrive back injured and covered in blood, passed out drunk and covered in vomit and now trembling and barely able to speak. To Tobias’s profound irritation, she still cast him a long yearning smile when they came in.
‘You,’ he barked at Marith as soon as they were alone in the hallway outside their rooms. ‘Go in there, shut the door and stay there. Okay? Don’t even bloody move, for preference. You are confined there until given permission to leave. You,’ he turned to Rate, ‘go with him and make bloody certain he can’t get out.’