“I haven’t either,” I said. “The Guild stays away from them.”
“I don’t blame them.”
Shifting to make myself comfortable, I leaned against his chest, a warm, comfortable seat. Eleos wrapped an arm around me, carefully avoiding my wounds.
Stiffening, I fought a war in my head. I yearned to trust him, but couldn’t let foolish infatuation lead me to ruin again. Convincing myself the closeness was necessitated by my injuries, and we could return to simple friendship afterward, I relaxed.
Trying to be useful, I scanned the streets for Percy, hoping we’d find him alive and unharmed.
As a child, I’d run afoul of a crowd of panicked, angry people. Curious what might be happening, I’d strayed toward them. Ainwir had caught my hand and barked a harsh whisper:Stay away from the tainted.
A woman with snow-white hair had stood in the middle of the throng, her face buried in her hands, sobbing. The last I saw of the unhappy event was the guards arriving to drag her away.
Tainted were cast out, driven to the edge of the Empty by armed guards. Bound in shackles, they were left to die. If anyone caught wind of Percy’s condition. . .
We rode back to the markets, hoping he’d gone to search for us there. The streets had emptied since the first bell had chimed. In the shadows of night, the Maiden Brizo’s statue looked more ominous than holy; the black water trickling through her fingers bore an uncanny resemblance to the still water of the Empty.
Lonely lanterns shone down on us, guiding us through the market stalls towards a crowd gathered near the temple.
Whatever had drawn people here was already over. The throng broke up as a pair of guards marched through the promenade, torches held aloft, shouting for the crowd to disperse. Fear and anger painted the people’s faces as they fled.
Seth cursed under his breath. “What’s going on?”
Pulling out of Eleos’s grip, I dropped off the horse and caught up to a woman, who clutched a young child by the hand, desperately leading him away. Catching her arm, I spoke to her in a friendly, concerned tone.
“What happened? Is it safe that way?” I nodded my head toward the temple.
“You didn’t see?” She gasped, whirling around. “A tainted. Here!” Her hand trembled on her child’s.
Blonde hair flecked with gray fell to the woman’s shoulders, framing her sharp nose and soft eyes—the baker I’d been so fond of as a child.
Collecting myself, I shrank away in feigned fear. “Did-did theyget rid of it?”
“Yes, thank the Maiden.” Her bulging eyes darted around. “Get away from this place. It needs to be cleansed.”
She pulled from my grasp, and I let her go. First, she hadn’t remembered me; now, she condemned one of mine. Everything I’d once loved had lost its luster.
Eleos rode up beside me. “How did anyone notice?” He wondered. “Percy’s always exceptionally careful about concealing himself.”
“I doubt there’s another tainted in the city,” I accepted his hand back onto the saddle. “The guards are taking him to the Empty. They might’ve only just left.”
Yanking the reins, Eleos rode toward Seth, who’d paused on the bridge beneath the maiden’s left hand. Water trickled to either side of the passage, tumbling into the channels below.
Seth turned toward us, red eyes laced with concern. “If we’re lucky, they’ll leave him bound an inch from death. If we’re not-”
“The bounds of the Empty aren’t far.” Eleos interrupted. “We can catch them.”
“We’ll be branded heretics for trying to stop them.”
“Then wewon’tstop them,” I said. “Can Whisper track Percy? We’ll wait until the guards leave, and then untie him.”
Eleos’s eyes darted around. “Do you have a plan for getting out of the city? The guards aren’t going to let us saunter through the gates past curfew.”
“I know a way. It’s guarded, too, but members of the Guild are easier to bribe.”
Seth grinned. “Lead the way.”
Taking the reins from Eleos, I directed the horse south, fleeing the temple and traveling along thin roads pressed against the empty waterways, driving us into dark alleys. Retracing the path Ainwir and I had walked once before, I stopped outside an unassuming-looking wooden shack resting along a dirty channel.
