Page 62 of A Tribute of Fire

If anyone understood the situation we were in, what it was like to be at the mercy of men, I hoped it would be her. The woman considered my request.

I took the chance to press things further. “We weren’t supposed to enter the city in the middle of the day. We were supposed to be afforded the protection of night, and we haven’t even been given that. Please let us have a fighting chance.”

I held my breath and waited.

She was obviously someone well practiced in disguising her emotions, as I couldn’t guess at what she was thinking.

“All right. Until nightfall. Our clients will begin to arrive at that time, and it should be easy enough to sneak you out in the confusion.” She turned to the girl I’d pushed past. “Close the door.”

Relief flooded my body. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Come upstairs. There is a room you can use. I’m Mahtab.”

We followed along behind her with Quynh still making a small sound of pain with each step.

“I’m Lia, and this is my sister Quynh.”

Mahtab raised her eyebrows slightly, as if surprised at my declaration because we obviously weren’t blood-related, but she didn’t comment on it.

“Could we get some fresh water? And bandages? And brown or beige tunics? Something most women would wear so that we won’t be noticed,” I said. We obviously couldn’t go out in the bright yellows, pinks, and oranges the hetaerae downstairs were wearing. “We can pay you.”

Once we were upstairs, we walked down a long hallway to a small room they used for storage. It was too tiny for a bed or any other furniture. “I will bring you what I can,” she said. “Stay here and I’ll return.”

“Thank you,” I said again. She nodded before leaving, closing the door behind her.

Sunlight streamed into the room and I lifted Quynh’s ankle so that I could better examine it. She hissed as I gently touched it. It looked a little swollen, but it wasn’t bright red. I didn’t see any broken bones.

I also didn’t know how long it took a sprain to heal, but I suspected that it wouldn’t be quick enough for us to keep running.

Mahtab returned along with one of the women from downstairs and they carried all sorts of supplies, including a washing basin. I reached into my pack and gave them one of the bags of salt I’d brought. It was worth far more than they had given us, and I saw the other woman’s eyes widen when she realized what it was.

I again angrily thought of the wealth Locris might have if not for the tariffs imposed by the Ilionian blockade.

“We cannot tell you where the temple is,” Mahtab said, handing the bag of salt to her companion. “If we tell you, we would be put to death.”

“I think I know where it is,” I said. “We won’t ask. You’re doing so much for us and I wouldn’t be that ungrateful.”

“You will have to leave at nightfall,” she repeated. “They will organize a search and go house by house until they find you. I won’t let anyone who lives within these walls be put in danger. They’re all under my protection.”

“I understand.”

She nodded and left us alone again.

I helped Quynh to wash her face and change out of her tunic. She grimaced and grunted the entire time, and I could plainly see how much her ankle was hurting her.

You won’t be able to save her.

I pushed Demaratus’s words away, but they took up residence in my mind, repeating over and over again. After I changed into my own tunic, cutting it short, I washed up the best that I could, flinching when I ran the washcloth over my thigh. It throbbed with pain but it would be fine. At this point nearly every part of me ached with some kind of bruise or cut. I wrapped a bandage around my leg and another around Quynh’s ankle, as tightly as I dared.

We both went completely still when we heard a man’s voice outside yell, “Has anyone seen the Locrian maidens? You will be rewarded for information!”

No one answered him, but it took me several minutes to relax as I waited for the door to burst open or for one of the women to volunteer our location.

It didn’t happen.

Quynh leaned her head against the wall, clearly in a great deal of pain. I passed her the water, making sure she drank.

She barely took any.

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