Page 6 of The Spy

“They’ve realized I’m gone,” Ama said instead of whatever he had been about to say a moment earlier, glancing around with a frown.“Look, are you planning to take a caravan out in the morning?”He waited only long enough for Karl to nod before continuing.“Good.There’s one going into Toval—the one I was supposed to leave with if I hadn’t been caught.They’ll still be waiting for me.In the morning, find that caravan.I suspect it’s led by someone you’ll find familiar, so locating it shouldn’t be too hard.Pretend you don’t know him, but make sure to contract with that caravan.I promise I’ll find you outside the city tomorrow if you’re with them.Now, get back to your hotel room.The streets will be crawling with guards in a few minutes.”He nodded once, before turning and heading off, back into the depths of the city before Karl could voice any sort of protest.

Karl stared after Ama for a long moment, wishing he dared rush after Ama to bring him back, but a second eerie howl rang out, reminding Karl that time was limited.He didn’t have time to argue with Ama, and Ama had seemed confident they would be able to meet up again.All Karl could do at this point was trust him.

Instead, Karl wandered around the market a second time, letting the rotting scent fade as quickly as he dared as he shut off his magic.He made sure to go over the spot where Ama left when the rot was still strong and cancelled the magic completely only once he was on the opposite side of the market.A third eerie howl rang out as Karl finally left the market, the sound dogging his heels as he retraced his steps back to the hotel.

Thankfully, he didn’t see or hear any sign of the searchers being nearby.He arrived at the hotel faster than he probably should have, throwing caution away in return for expediency, but it paid off when he reached the tree beneath the window he had left unlocked.Climbing the tree, pushing open the window, and slithering into the empty room took mere seconds.Once the window was firmly closed and locked behind him, Karl could finally afford to breathe.

Yes, his scent was all over that market, but the rot would do a lot to mask it.Couple that with the fact that his scent was in no way associated with Ama’s, and that he had a solid alibi of being drugged and asleep, and Karl felt he had a fairly good chance at getting away with tonight’s activities.Only time would tell, but first he needed to be back in his room to ensure his alibi held up.

Karl headed to the doorway, listening at the jamb for a good minute for any sign someone was waiting, before unlocking the door and heading into the, thankfully, unoccupied hall.He relocked the door to number two and placed his feet carefully as he then crept to his own room.Karl remembered the shoe being in the way a millisecond before he bounced the door off it; instead, opening the door just enough so he could slip through the narrow opening.Locking the door behind him was the best feeling, almost better than realizing he had actually found Ama.

Karl stripped off his pants and dumped them on his bag, then went to the bed where he dug out his stinking clothes and added them to the pile.He unrolled the used extra comforter and draped it over the edge of the bed as if he had kicked it off in his sleep.Chores done, Karl crawled onto the mattress, curling up under the sheet and blanket.

He wanted to unpack everything that had just happened, and he knew worries over whether Ama had escaped their pursuers would be swirling through his head.Sleep would no doubt be hard coming.Karl closed his eyes, ready for a restless few hours, but was asleep moments later.

Chapter Four

BANG.BANG.“SIR, this is your morning wake up!Curfew ends in fifteen minutes!”Bang.Bang.“Good morning, sir!”

Karl groaned as he rolled over, and then a jolt of adrenaline flashed through him when he had to forcibly stop himself from rolling off the bed.He had gotten maybe two hours of sleep, and he felt like it.

Bang.Bang.“Sir, this is your morning wake up!”the woman called through the door a second time, repeating what sounded like her normal morning mantra.“Curfew ends in fifteen minutes!”Bang.Bang.“Good morning, sir!”

Karl coughed to clear his throat and replied, “I’m awake!Thanks!”The banging on his door stopped and a moment later more banging started farther away as she moved on to another door.

Getting out of bed basically required completing the epic flop to the floor he had stopped just a moment ago.He bumped his elbow on the edge of the bed and the thud was more dramatic than he intended, but quite frankly, he felt like he had actually been drugged.A long day of travel coupled with the night’s adventure and copious overuse of his magic was apparently too much to handle with only two hours’ sleep.

Karl dressed and stuffed his things into his bag, then went over to the washbasin to clean his face.He finally moved his shoes from the doorway, sitting on the edge of the bed to pull them on.A quick check around the room and he didn’t find anything he had left behind.Walking out into the hallway like a normal person with no need to be cautious was a nice change.Unlike last night, Karl didn’t have to feign exhaustion as he reached the foot of the stairs and the front desk.

“Hard night?”the young man sitting there asked.

Karl grimaced.“I slept like a log, and I still feel like I need a few hours more.The travel yesterday must have exhausted me more than I thought.”He shrugged.“Hopefully, I can hire on to a caravan that will have space for me to sit or today is going to be difficult.”

The young man laughed.“Let me get you some tea.On the house.”He went into the tavern area and returned a moment later with a steaming teacup.“You have about five minutes until curfew ends,” he added as he passed the cup over for Karl to take.“I can’t let you leave until then.”

Karl blew on the tea to cool it.He also sent a tendril of magic in to see if anything had been added and found some sort of caffeine additive was dissolved in there.While the caffeine was certainly welcome when he was this tired, it was calibrated to help him dissipate the last of the drugs.He zapped it with magic to decay some of the caffeine, weakening it, and then took a slow sip.

“It’s fine,” Karl replied.“I’m still waking up.Thanks for the tea.”He blew on the tea some more and took another sip.“Can you tell me the best way to get to where the caravans are staged to head to Toval?I’m traveling to the coast.”

The man grinned and nodded, going to the window next to the doorway.“Palace is right there, yeah?”He pointed to the looming building starting to reflect the edge of dawn sun peeking over the horizon.“Keep it to your right when you’re walking, and you can’t miss it.About a five-minute walk from here.”

“Thanks.”Karl finished his cup and was in the act of handing it back to the receptionist when bells began tolling.

“And curfew has ended for the day.Thanks for staying with us!”The receptionist grinned as he slipped past Karl to flip the lock on the front door.

“The bed was comfortable,” Karl replied with an answering smile.“I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to come back this way, but if I do, I’ll definitely stay here again.”

He walked into the street.The rising sun provided just enough morning light for the road to be visible, which was a nice change.Karl started walking, keeping the directions in mind as he went.He had to retrace part of his path from the previous night, walking toward the palace, but at the first cross street he turned left to ensure the palace was to his right side, then kept going.

Almost exactly five minutes later, Karl walked into some sort of massive parade grounds.Even rows of wagons, horses, or oxen picketed nearby filled the entire space.Thankfully, a sign at the entrance said to continue straight for Toval, so he had some idea of where to go in the morass he waded into.The noise was incredible, escalating louder and louder the farther Karl walked.People were shouting to be heard, buying and selling from the caravans and trying to attract attention of passersby.Animals brayed, children screamed as they played, and everything that could be making noise made as much noise as possible.Some of the caravans had erected tents and put out tables to sell and hung decorations that chimed and clacked in the breeze.

Karl didn’t stop to admire the organized chaos, or even to shop, which his sister Emily would razz him for when he told her.Somewhere in this mess was the caravan Ama had told him to find.Every few rows another sign pointed him onward, until he finally reached one that pointed to the right for Toval.

He slowed down as he walked, carefully studying each person he saw.Ama said Karl would recognize the caravan leader, but each group he passed were only strangers.

“Are you looking for a caravan to join to head to Toval, sir?”

Karl turned to look at the girl who had spoken and nearly yelped when he saw Emily standing there.She had tied her brown hair back in pigtail-style braids and wore the dress of a young girl, perfect for her age of ten.Her eyes were the exact same shade of golden brown as Karl’s, but that was the only feature they had in common from their shared father.Karl assumed they both looked like their mothers, who were different.Emily still needed to grow into her features, so it was hard to say exactly how they compared.Karl was tall at five foot eleven, and he knew his shoulders and arms were well-muscled from all the kneading he did, but otherwise he thought he was well-proportioned.His hair was brown, too, but a darker shade than Emily’s.His nose was a touch wide for his face, but above his full lips, he didn’t think that was too noticeable.Whereas, Emily had a cute little button of a nose and the fierce air she had learned from her adoptive mother that said what she looked like was irrelevant because she was powerful no matter what.

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