Page 82 of Untempered
“If it’s the fish, then it’ll soon be stopped.” By the One, I hoped it was the fish. I could live without them for the rest of my life if needs must.
“But I’m not holding my breath, old friend.”
* * *
The next day,when I entered the bailey, I found a horse saddled and waiting for me. Ready to go already were a handful of guardsmen who’d offered to come along in exchange for their own families being provided with shelter and care.
To my shock, beside them was the lady herself on her dignified gray mare, and the missing Isolde on a pleasant piebald. Nearby, Chay stood holding their reins and those of his own warhorse.
“I need to travel to the city,” she told me, before I could ask. “I may need to go with a reduced escort at times, but today, I thought I could see you off and run my required errands.”
If I hadn’t known how regularly she flaunted her father’s rules, I’d have thought it a sensible way to navigate a difficult situation. But with Mortemon dead, she had limited choices.
I hefted myself into the saddle and barely even noticed the aches in my hips, in one knee where I’d broken my leg decades ago. Chay was already mounted, and as our group moved off, I caught a glimpse of a stableboy, his cap pulled low and a scarf pulled high over his face, watching from the shadows.
The upper level of the city was, if anything, busier than usual. People stood in groups, talking. Whilst expressions here weren’t grim, there was a strange intensity. Lady Audrey was hailed by a few friendly faces I didn’t recognize, but she didn’t stop and none of them tried overly hard to persuade her to. A cart heavy with food trundled past us.
We moved through the streets, and it felt odd. The hawkers were thin on the ground, foot traffic was thick. Twice, I saw groups of guardsmen moving together with carts, and the sight of the bags in the cart made my blood run cold. I called myself a fool. We weren’t at war.
Well, we were. But the war was far away, over fields and rivers. And I was safe, me and mine.
Lady Audrey and Isolde steered us through the city toward the docks. I didn’t realize their destination before I smelt the brine, though, too intent on the faces watching us from shadowed lanes and windows, from doorways and the side of the road. There wasn’t a war here—but itfeltlike there was.
A woman hauling wood stopped to look at us, a cat fled into the shadows at our approach. Children playing in the street went silent and hurried away. There was snow on the wind, and I couldn’t shake the thought that we were walking into an ambush.
The tension was heavy, and it had me by the throat.
To my relief, the main road to the docks was blocked. A makeshift barricade of repurposed carts and crates filled the street, with two green guards hastily stowing dice as soon as they saw us approaching.
“No passage, milady,” said one of them, with a bow that wobbled as much as his voice did. They were recruiting hard. I’d never seen the boy in my life.
Silence met this news. I glanced, from the corner of my eye, toward the little lady. She was looking past them, lost in thought. “On whose orders?” she eventually asked, bringing her gaze back to the young man who’d spoken.
His skin reddened under her gaze. “Th—The Master Steward, milady. ’Tis—’Tis to contain the plague.”
“I see.” Her tone said whatever it was that she saw wasn’t pleasing. “I spoke to the Master Steward this morning. I am checking on the situation for him. I thought he would have sent word to expect me.”
Her lie made my heart ache. There was no chance she’d had time to check in this morning and still been waiting for me. But at least she didn’t remind the lad there was no Master Steward in La’Angi, currently, only an unwell Acting Steward.
“My apologies, milady,” he said, stepping aside and waving us through, his eyes wide. “I never—I meant no?—”
“I respect you doing as you’ve been ordered,” she said crisply, as she led us past the barricade.
I waved on the guards I was taking with me to the hospital. “I’ll meet you at the lower market to gather the last of the supplies,” I told one who hesitated. “Or at the tourney grounds.” Whatever was coming, I couldn’t leave the lady to face it alone. Not without feeling the burn of my oath, and not without feeling like a fraud.
We rode on. The streets were empty of people. The buildings stood silent, crowding around us. “We shouldn’t be here,” Isolde said, as we turned yet another corner to leave the barricade behind us.
I silently agreed with her sentiments. I’d seen emptied parts of the city before, but never for a good reason.
“There are no ships,” the little lady said, her eyes fixed on the water behind me.
My gaze moved away from the open shutters on buildings, the doors hanging on their hinges, and went to the bay.
She was right. It was a sight I’d never before seen. Not a single vessel waited in the sheltered bay. Fishing craft lay smashed.
“If you’re thinking of investigating that smoke, so help me, Audrey,” Isolde said, the words threatening.
I raised my eyes again and found the pillar of smoke Isolde had mentioned. “I need to know,” the lady said, her words soft and full of pain. “Isolde—I need to.”
