I was too shocked to speak. I couldn’t believe it either.
It was Amber, who was the most composed of all of us. “Why do you think that?” she asked softly.
He shook his head. “I don’t know for certain, but… I just can’t imagine this sort of thing getting very far without someone pretty high up being in on it. Trouble is, if the queen or any of the other House Leaders are involved, I couldn’t discern that when I was in the capital. I was there for months and saw no signs of deceit.” He looked into the fire then. “And neither did Midnight.”
“Midnight?” I asked. The mysterious member of our House, off on some secret mission. “Her mission was to spy on the other Nobles?” I guessed.
Maverick nodded. “But she’s found nothing so far. The trouble is… there are a lot of Nobles, and she can’t spy on all of them at once. And so far, whoever is behind all of this is being very careful. I’ve kept her in the capital for now, hoping she’ll find out something, but…” He shrugged and didn’t go on.
This is horrible, Auwei hissed, clearly still reeling from the news of the dead Lumani.
Ah, yeah. Our lives are in danger, both of us, so yeah, I’d say that’s pretty horrible!
“So, just to get this straight. A mistweaver is trying to kill me, but not hurt the rest of you because that would alert too many people, which makes us suspect Nobles are behind this. And some Nobles are killing off other Nobles, maybe using a mistweaver… oh, and they can see the future. That’s great…” Recapping things hadn’t made me feel any better. The real question was: “Why? Why do any of this?”
Maverick shook his head. “That I don’t know. There is something big going on here, but I have no clue what it is. I’m sorry, Legs.”
“They must have some larger plan,” Amber said. “Something that’s potentially already in motion. And… and those they killed either were getting in the way or would get in the way in the future… like Legs.”
Maverick nodded. “Sounds about right. Just wish I knew what it was.”
This is wrong,Auwei said firmly.If… if Nobles are behind this, that means their Lumani are complicit in the killing of other Lumani. That’s unheard of. That’s—
Horrible? Yeah, I’m beginning to understand the full depths of the horribleness of all this.
Spirits! Auwei cursed.
Exactly.
Chapter 21
I became a shut-in.More than that, I was limiting what our House could do, since one squad had to remain near me at all times. My training moved inside; they wouldn’t even let me out into the gardens. I’m afraid to say, I got a little morose and bitter, lashing out at people when I didn’t mean it. Sparrow stayed by me, even when I didn’t always treat her kindly. For that, I’ll always love her. Silence saw me when he could, but he was still very busy with his work. I wanted his company more than ever then, but I didn’t ask for it. I was concerned that if this mistweaver found out about the two of us she’d use my feelings for him against us, perhaps capture him or… worse. So I stayed away from him as my heart broke just a little more.
When Ant’s squad was away, taking both Ant and Jack, I’d train in combat with Amber. When I first started training with her, I didn’t think she’d have much to teach me. I was wrong.
I landed hard on my back, my head bouncing off the special mats stuffed with straw. They were a bit of padding between my aching body and the hard floor, but didn’t cushion that much. I groaned.
“What was that?” I asked, remaining flat on my back.
Nothing I have seen before, Auwei said, tone holding just a bit of awe.I’ve heard of men from distant lands who fight open hand and can manipulate the energies within their own bodies, as well as the bodies of others, but… never seen it before, if that is what this is.
Amber had no weapon. I’d lunged at her with my practice sword, only to find myself flat on my back, landing hard. We were in a long room in the east wing, which was specially designed for indoor combat practice. It was bare save for the mats on the floor and a few racks of weapons.
Amber sighed. “As I thought. Those idiot men have been teaching you all wrong.”
“Wrong?” I thought I’d been doing well. I was faster than Ant now and could land a hit on Jack occasionally; Spirits but he was quick as a fiend.
I sat up, rubbing the back of my head. “Go ahead, just tell me how wrong I am, that everything I’ve learned so far is for naught because of… something.” My bitterness was leaking out again. I didn’t try to restrain it.
Amber sighed, crouching next to me. She had her auburn hair tied back in a ponytail and was wearing a light set of buckskin leggings and a loose top. “If you think I’m going to take any lip from you, you’re wrong. So what if you’re a captive here? At least you’re alive. And the Boss and Crane will come up with some way to set you free.”
I grumbled a little but nodded.
“Now stand up and I’ll let you in on a little secret.”
You like secrets, Auwei said, trying to cheer me up.
I did like secrets.
