The Hero Strikes Back Page 11

I’d never considered any of that. I hadn’t really thought about any of it, beyond the most superficial contemplation. The merchants wanted to be in the council. Representation for all was good. End of story. I never thought about whether it would actually work. Though, come to think of it, Karish had said he didn’t think it would accomplish anything, and I’d promptly forgotten. That was kind of bad, wasn’t it? Such a thorough lack of interest in politics.

  And yet, even knowing that, I still didn’t care.

  “If this is all for nothing, why are they even bothering?”

  “Well,” he conceded with a shrug, “It’s a first step. Probably. Hopefully. In a very long journey. Maybe. I don’t know that it’s the right step, though. And really, it’s not something I care terribly much about. Let the aristocrats spend their days mulling through incomprehensible bills if they wish. Better them than us, I say. I’d wager a lot of people would say the same, if they thought about it a little. I don’t think anyone has, though. I get the feeling the merchants are so desperate to get in only because they’ve been told they can’t.”

  “Hm.” I smiled.

  “You disagree?”

  “No.” Didn’t agree either. That wasn’t what I was thinking about. “I was just reminded of earlier today. Mother wanted to see what a shop purporting to cater solely to the High Landed was like. We were kicked out.”

  He looked stunned. “You were kicked out?”

  “With brisk efficiency.”

  “They can’t do that. It’s against the law.”

  “So what am I going to do? Sue them?”

  “It’s a criminal matter. You can have them arrested.”

  What a ridiculous idea. Getting someone arrested because they wouldn’t let me shop in their stores. “I don’t care about it, Erin. Let them keep their exclusive shops. I can find all I need elsewhere.” But my own words triggered a memory, and my mind veered off in another direction. “Do you know anything about those aristocratic clubs? The gentlemen’s clubs and the ladies societies?”

  He smiled a little, probably amused by my sudden shift in topics. But they were all connected in my head, really. “I’ve heard of them, of course,” he said. “Never been to one or anything. Why?”

  “A member of one came up to Karish when we were walking back from the stall and offered him a place. Or a membership. Whatever they’re called.”

  He frowned. “They tried to recruit him on the street?”

  “That was his reaction, too.”

  “I’ve never heard of it being done like that.” He rubbed his chin as he thought about it. “From what I understand, one member nominates someone to some kind of committee and they vote on it. But it’s like a sponsorship, and the reputation of the person who nominates the initiate rests on the behavior of the initiate. It’s not something they do for strangers.”

  “The person doing the recruiting said they were new. That the club was new, I mean. But the very odd thing about it is that in this aristocratic shop Mother and I went to, there were cards for a ladies society that had the same name as the club that was trying to recruit Karish. Are these things usually connected? I mean, like brother and sister clubs or something like that?”

  Erin swirled the wine around in his glass. “I’ve never heard of it, but that doesn’t mean much. I never really paid attention to that sort of thing. I only know what I do because a colleague of mine was involved in a trial concerning the murder of a member of Black’s in Erstwhile. The murderer turned out to be a member of the club, too. What’s the name of these clubs?”

  “The Raiborn Society or club.”

  “That’s an odd name,” he told me. “I’ve never heard of them. They’re certainly not among the established prestigious clubs. If they’re new, though, they may be desperate for members, and that might be why they’re recruiting in the street and in that shop.”

  It still sounded strange to me. Wouldn’t a new club, trying to get established, be even more careful to observe formal procedure, not less? “That may explain why they were trying to recruit Karish. He’s not an aristocrat anymore.”

  “Ah, but he’s a lord of the people, isn’t he?” Erin said sarcastically. “The people love him, regardless of his rank.”

  That was what I used to think, too. Until a week or so ago. They didn’t seem to be loving him too much right then, though.

  “So tell me,” said Erin, “How long did it take your Karish to accept this honor?”

  I frowned. I definitely didn’t like his tone. “He refused.”

  Why did that surprise him? “You’re kidding. Why?”

  “Why wouldn’t he?” I didn’t understand the appeal of those kinds of clubs myself. They seemed to dictate who the members could associate with. Why would anyone volunteer to have that kind of control imposed on them?

  “It’s pretty much his only chance to interact with his own class. None of the other Triple S members in High Scape are High Landed and Karish was probably dropped by all of his friends once he made it clear he wasn’t taking the title.”

  I opened my mouth to deny that and closed it as I realized I really had no idea. I was rather ignorant about Karish’s social life—hadn’t I once decided to do something about that? But if Karish had been experiencing any social isolation due to his new status I’d seen nothing of it. Which could mean nothing had changed for him, but could also mean I was just blind as usual. Damn it.

  Of course, he’d just spent months in the Empress’ court, but I knew he hadn’t enjoyed it. He’d said it was because everyone there was useless and superficial and because he wasn’t able to work, but maybe he’d been ostracized. And what were the chances of him telling me the truth if I asked him? None. Unless I got him drunk first.

  To Erin I said, “I’ve never noticed in Karish a craving to be among his own class. He said he wasn’t interested in being in a gentlemen’s club.” I shrugged.

  “Huh. More likely he wasn’t interested in joining that club. It wouldn’t give him the cache of the older clubs.”

  I wasn’t going to tell him that Karish had been offered membership in other clubs. It was none of Erin’s business. “I don’t think that’s it,” I said, and I let my voice be as flat as it wanted to be.

  Erin held up his hands in a gesture that was meant to pacify. “Hey, I’m not saying anything against Shintaro Karish. I barely know him. But he is by blood an aristocrat, and that sort have priorities that are different from the rest of us.”

  “Fortunately for all, the Triple S had more of an influence on Karish than did the members of the aristocratic class.” Although I didn’t know if that was actually true. He’d been so old when his family finally realized what he was and shipped him off to the Source academy. And he would have had time to study for only a handful of years before being sent out with veteran Pairs to practise what he’d learned. While over half of his life had been dedicated to training by the time I’d met him, one couldn’t deny that his aristocratic origins had left their mark. He even sounded like an aristocrat, with the more lyrical pitch to his voice and those rolling r’s.

  But I wasn’t going to delve into the nature of Karish’s character with a virtual stranger.

  The evening went well. I believed Erin never realized the whole affair had been sprung on me by my evil conniving mother, so at least I was able to fool some people some of the time. And Erin was a charming guest. Witty, well-mannered, surprisingly easy to talk to. I had no objection to looking at his face. He was a beautiful, beautiful man.

  But that, of course, was part of the problem. I couldn’t help wondering what a man that beautiful was doing spending what spare time a solicitor had with me. I also couldn’t help wondering who else he was spending his spare time with. None of my business, but I would never subject myself to being one of many. What I tolerated, was even entertained by, in a friend, I found unforgivable in a lover.

  In addition, he seemed to have a tendency to lecture. He really thought he knew everything about everything
. And he was always right. He didn’t push a point until I admitted he was right. Rather, he just let the discussion end, as though there was no point in going further with it. Because he was right and I just refused to admit it.

  So I had another item to add to the long list of reasons why having any kind of relationship with Erin was a bad idea. I didn’t like him.

  I would tell my mother that, right after Erin left.

  And right before I killed her.

  Chapter Nine

  That night a heat wave hit. A brutally hot, humid heat wave. I woke alone, my mother’s maneuvering notwithstanding, drenched with sweat. The room was dark. It was a bad sign when it was hot before the sun was up. I got up and looked through the window, into the densest fog I had ever seen in my life.

  Heat was good, in moderation. It was even normal, that time of year. But I knew that degree of heat and humidity was not natural in High Scape. Erstwhile, maybe, but not High Scape. I didn’t think anyone was going to be happy with this particular change. This was not what people were looking for.

  It was interesting how sheets and pillows could appear to be instruments of torture once the temperature rose high enough. I went to the water closet, where I stripped out of my sodden, heavy nightgown and pumped some nice cool water into a bucket and then into the tub. I soaked in the water for as long as I could without being late. I got up, I toweled off, and moments later a fresh sheen of sweat developed all over my body. I resisted the urge to dive back into the tub, reached into the back of my wardrobe for something light to wear, and cringed as I dragged it over damp flesh.

  I’d rather be cold than hot. Any day, any time, any place. And damn it was hot.

  I scraped something together for breakfast, but had little appetite. I knocked on Karish’s door to see if he was ready to go to the Stall, but he didn’t appear to be in. I headed out alone.

  Wasn’t fog supposed to be cool?

  It wasn’t so dense I couldn’t see where I was going, but I wouldn’t have wanted to try sending an arrow anywhere. And the fog gave everything a nice eerie glow, muffling every sound until I couldn’t really trust my ears at all. The snow had melted, leaving the roads slick. That didn’t keep the usual round of idiots from driving their carriages down the street. There would be some dead people, soon. I ran along as fast as I could, towards the ring road.

  I didn’t like this, didn’t like it at all. There was a strange feel to the air. Like something bad was going to happen. Which was just ridiculous. People couldn’t feel that sort of thing ahead of time. I was just letting the thick air and ghostly sounds get to me, imagining things. I was ashamed of myself, letting my emotions slide all over the place like that.

  Someone grabbed my arm. It startled me enough to make me almost scream. And that infuriated me. I turned on my assaulter and snarled, “What?”

  It was a young woman. Taller than me, of course. Very slim, dressed in a modest, almost drab gown, her light brown hair falling from a precise middle part. I didn’t remember ever seeing her before.

  “You are Shield Mallorough, aren’t you?” she asked.

  She was a stranger to me. But she had a sun tattooed in black over her left temple. That meant she was a Reanist. She believed gods existed, that they were responsible for natural disasters, and that all that was needed to appease the gods and stop the disasters was to sacrifice an aristocrat every once in a while. That was all I needed to know. I yanked my arm free and turned to continue on to the Stall.

  I heard her then, scampering after me. “No, please, Shield Mallorough. You must listen to me.”

  I must do nothing of the sort.

  “You must bring Lord Shintaro to us.”

  I hadn’t expected her to come right out and make that particular demand of me. From what I understood they were usually more circumspect. But perhaps she thought she didn’t need to waste subtlety on me. “He is not Lord Shintaro anymore.” Damn it, damn it. What was I doing? Don’t talk. Just keep right on walking. But my mouth opened again, all of its own accord. “He is now plain Shintaro Karish. Your ordinary everyday peasant. Sorry you wasted your time, but maybe if you stopped chanting to your gods long enough to see the light of day you might learn some facts that are, you know, current.”

  The sarcasm flew right over her head. Or she ignored it. Too smoked up to care. “It isn’t the name. The title is irrelevant. It’s the blood. His blood is pure.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Lucky him.”

  She was striding next to me and invading my personal space. A woman could get hurt doing that. “You must bring him to us.”

  I must do nothing. “You really think I’m going to try to get Karish to join one of your cults?” Could she really think all she had to do was tell me to bring Karish to her and I would?

  “It’s your duty.”

  Well, that was an angle I’d never heard before. “It’s my duty to deliver Karish to you so you can murder him.” Why was I talking to her?

  She looked shocked. “Not murder,” she protested. “We want to give him to the gods.”

  “By killing him. Intentionally. And not for the purposes of self-defence or to put him out of unceasing pain. Sounds an awful lot like murder to me.” Logic. You’re trying to argue logic with the inherently illogical, Lee. Stop it. Right now.

  “It will please the gods, and it will bring tranquility to our turbulent world.”

  Ech. What had she been reading? “As justifications for murder go, that is less than convincing.”

  “It is not murder,” the Reanist insisted. “Aristocrats have an ancient duty to protect those who serve them. That duty reaches throughout their lives and extends into death, if necessary.”

  “I’m sure they’d be surprised to hear that.” Maybe I would tell the Dowager Duchess.

  “Whether they are aware of this duty, whether they wish to carry it out, is irrelevant. It is a duty placed on them by the gods, and they are obliged to serve. And as a Source, Lord Shintaro’s duty is doubled. He is sworn to this duty both by birth and by calling. And it is your duty as a Shield to bring him to us.”

  Bring him to them. Like all I had to do was command him to go to the Ancient Order of Lunatics and he’d willingly go. I had no idea I wielded such power. “How dumb do you think I am?” I just had to ask. “Have you forgotten that when you murder Karish in the name of your religion, I die, too? Or do you merely hope I have?”

  “It is your duty, too, to do all you can to keep the world calm.”

  “I already do.”

  “Only temporarily. The gods would do it, and do it better than any mortal.” Oh, oy. Mortal. “That is their role. It is arrogant of you to attempt to assume it.”

  “You people are insane,” I said bluntly. And stupid. Why was she even in High Scape? All of the Reanists were pretty much exiled to Shina Lake. Wasn’t she afraid of being apprehended by the authorities? “You’ve killed aristocrats before and did it solve anything? No.”

  Like all illogical people, she had an answer for everything. “The odd one here and there isn’t enough. It must be a regular sacrifice, to keep the gods’ favor.”

  Ah. I see. “You’re going to run out of aristocrats awfully quickly if you make murdering them a regular occurrence.”

  “The gods can’t demand more if all those who are pure of blood have already gone to their service.”

  I stared at her. I felt my eyes going wide. I couldn’t help it. “You hope to eventually kill all the aristocrats?” I mean, sure, my collective family had sometimes fantasized about a world without the High Landed, but we weren’t serious about it. Not serious to the point of wanting to kill all of them.

  Although there was a certain final efficiency about it.

  Stop that.

  “It would finally appease the gods. That much blood will buy us years of stability.”

  “You’re insane.” I hated repeating myself that way, but I couldn’t help myself. It was so very true. I mean, believing in gods. Our ancestors ca
me to our world on ships that flew in the stars. Even the most uneducated idiot knew that. So what was this idea of gods somehow watching the planet? Where did they come from? And where were they supposed to be? Just floating around up there in the sky, invisible, spying on us?

  Creepy.

  “I’m late,” I told her. “And until those gods of yours decide to watch themselves and do something about keeping the world calm, you’ll just have to rely on us mere mortals.” Lengthen my stride, try to outdistance her.

  She let me go, that time, but she didn’t quite give up. “Bring Lord Shintaro to us!”

  “Oh, go to hell,” I muttered. Maybe I should have stayed at home long enough to brew some coffee. It wasn’t a good idea to endure this kind of encounter without fortification. And it might have delayed me long enough so that I wouldn’t have met the woman at all. Unless she had been looking for me, waiting for me. I hoped not. That would be too disturbing.

  And then I tripped and fell on my face. Looked at the ground and found nothing to trip over. Lovely.

  I was in a bad mood. And facing seven hours in a small roasting room. Just glorious.

  Karish was at the Stall before me. Firth was there, waiting to be relieved, passing the time by tormenting Karish. “—clings to him,” she was commenting as I walked through the door.

  She was gesturing at my Source, who was wearing a white cotton shirt unlaced as low as general decency allowed. And yes, in the humidity and with his own sweat, it was pretty much plastered to his body. His hair was kind of frizzing. And he’d kicked off his boots, his bare feet resting on the chair on the opposite side of the table.

  It was kind of shocking, actually. I’d seen Karish in various states of undress. But he was always appropriately dressed for the circumstances. It was one of his inbred rules. To see him in the Stall looking like he’d just stumbled out of a bed he’d barely rolled into after a night of debauchery surprised and concerned me.

  He was not in a good mood, either. He was slouched in his chair, resting his head on one hand, making no effort to respond to Firth’s raillery with even forced politeness. As she finished speaking his expression watched from that of complete disinterest to one of disgust, and he glared at her. I had never seen him do that, not with her, and it wasn’t a good sign for me and the rest of our watch. I stifled a groan. I was not in a fit state to be handling a temperamental Source and his death-defying leaps of emotion.