Page 31 of A Forgery of Fate

I shook away the memories.

Right now we were trapped in the kitchen. Insects skittered from unseen hollows, their activity making the shadows dance. All four of us huddled together. We hated roaches.

Nomi blew at her bangs. “I wish I’d poisoned them,” she muttered, and it took me a moment to realize she was talking about Puhkan and his men. “Stupid firecrackers didn’t do anything.”

I inched closer to her. “It was brave of you,” I said, “and very clever. Did you make them yourself?”

Nomi nodded. “They were supposed to explode more, not just give off smoke.”

“Maybe it’s good they didn’t,” I reasoned. “We were still in the room.”

Nomi sighed. Her stomach growled loudly. “Do you think they’ll feed us? Or will they just kill us?”

“Hush,” hissed Mama. “I’m trying to pray.” Her hands were locked together, and she looked up, silently imploring the gods to save us.

I gazed up too, but for a different reason. Looking down meant I’d see the bloodstains from Gaari’s eye patch, still on my sleeve.

Heat pricked the corners of my eyes, tears on the verge of falling.I’m sorry, my friend,I thought.When I make it out of here, I’ll avenge you. I swear it.

“Tru,” Nomi whispered. “You all right?”

No, I wasn’t all right. But this wasn’t the time for me to mourn.

“Are there shards on the ground?” I asked, getting to business. I used my feet to shuffle through the debris. There were pieces of porcelain, dead roaches, and remains of other pests I wished I didn’t have to look at.

“Don’t bother,” said Fal. “The big pieces have all been swept clean.”

“So they have,” came a familiar silky voice.

Puhkan joined us in the kitchen. “My men and I took pains to smoke out the rats; we wanted the house to be in proper order for your arrival.” He sniffed. “I can still smell the fire, can you?”

Now that he said it, Idid.Shadows leapt from a brazier behind us, flames crackling.

“It’s just kindling for now,” said Puhkan. “But if you start taking too long…” He tapped Nomi’s nose with the end of a burnt matchstick. “Little alchemist, I, too, enjoy playing with fire.”

“Don’t you touch her,” I hissed.

“Or what?” Puhkan laughed. “You should be proud of your daughters, Weina. The youngest has a scholar’s mind; your second daughter, an exquisite beauty. And the oldest…”

He gave me a look I didn’t like.

“What are we doing here?” said Mama. A spark of her old strength ticked in her jaw. “I know Madam Yargui to be a fair woman. My daughter paid—”

“Which is much appreciated,” said Puhkan, fluttering his fingers to show off the ring. It shone spectacularly, but something else caught my eye. That cloudy red spot on the opal was back. And it was moving.

“Let us go,” I said. “A deal is a deal.”

“Don’t look so cross, Truyan. Your stay here has nothing to do with the sparklers your sister set off last night. If anything, any other day, we might have even offered her a job. You too, for your thievery. But…”

“But what?”

“But you said something interesting at the noodle house,” Puhkan said. “At first I thought it was the rambling of a foolish girl, but I haven’t been able to forget it. Remind me again.”

I bit down on my cheek. My big, stupid mouth.

“I said I could read fortunes,” I lied stoutly. “Like my mother.”

“No, no.” Puhkan rubbed his eyes, still bloodshot from the chili. “You said, specifically, ‘I can paint the future.’ ”

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