“Isn’t that what I should be doing?”
“Not if that stupid thing is trying to kill you. Because mark my words: he will succeed. You can look into his eyes and see a man who doesn’t balk at murder.” Grandfather shrugged. “After all. This is Kez. And he’s a duke.”
“So are you.”
“Have I balked at murder?”
Erika tilted her head, taken aback. “I…don’t know.”
“I may be grandfather to you, my dear, but…well, men have learned to fear me. And they will learn to fear you, by the time you inherit my title and lands.”
Erika watched her grandfather-the wizened old man who used to bring her flowers and berries from his gardens-and wondered just of what he was capable. Was he as ruthless as Nikslaus? Had he learned to hide it better? Would she be that ruthless some day? The question bothered her all through the afternoon and into the evening to when they stopped to change horses before continuing on through the night.
They were joined the next morning by Santiole and Norrine. Erika couldn’t help but give a sigh of relief at the sight of the girl. Norrine wore an old pair of Erika’s riding boots and a white chemise with green trim under a long fox fur jacket. She also wore a scarf to cover the brand on her neck.
Their new additions brought the company up to seven. Lord Leora made it clear he did not like the idea of so many people with knowledge of the girl they were smuggling out of the country, but also that he trusted his two men-at-arms and the driver implicitly. Each had been with him longer than Erika had been alive.
They were in Norport just four days later. Santiole once again disappeared with Norrine, taking her to an inn where they could stay inconspicuously, and Erika proceeded to the hotel with her grandfather. Erika was able to get her first good night’s sleep in almost a week, and she woke up in the morning with a lightness to her step and the smell of fish and the damp odor of the Adsea in her nostrils.
She was almost there. Grandfather’s driver had booked her passage on a schooner heading to Adopest. Santiole would book herself and Norrine passage on the same schooner and in just two days they would be far beyond the reach of the Kez Longdogs. Norrine would be gone when Erika returned to Kez in a few months, and there would be no evidence to tie her to the fugitive powder mage. She couldn’t believe they had done it.
Grandfather asked her to join him for breakfast in the hotel dining room. Only one other pair dined in the large room, which suited Erika fine. They were seated and their breakfast of partridge eggs, toast, and calf liver was brought out to them just a few minutes later. Erika set into the meal, feeling like she hadn’t eaten in months. Grandfather lifted his fork and pointed it to the doorway behind Erika. “Your friend is here,” he said, his voice flat.
“My friend? Who?”
Erika turned in her seat. Several men stood speaking with the hotel owner in the grand hall. They wore the tan uniforms with green trim of Kez soldiers, with white sashes across their chests. Another member of the group wore a black suit and a pair of runed Privileged gloves.
Duke Nikslaus.
Erika felt the blood drain from her face and turned to face her breakfast. She stared at her plate for several moments, trying to control her breathing. He was here. And if he was here, it meant he was here for them. Within moments he and his Longdogs would come through the door and arrest her and grandfather.
She had brought grandfather in on this. It was all her fault. Maybe she could convince them he had nothing to do with it?
“Eat up,” grandfather said. “You’ll need your strength.” He was already sipping at his morning tea.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Eat,” he urged again.
“My lady! My Lord Leora! How good to see you both again!” Nikslaus entered the room and came around the side of the table. Grandfather stood to shake the duke’s hand, and Erika allowed him to kiss the back of hers.
Surely he could hear her heart pounding away. Surely the trap would spring any moment.
“What brings you to Norport?” Erika asked, her voice sounding faint even to her.
“Still hunting, still hunting,” Nikslaus made a motion like a wheel going around and fell into one of the chairs. “We have to range all over when we’re hunting like this. You know how it is. A fugitive could be anywhere.”
“Surely not here,” Erika said.
“We don’t know. I’ve sent men in every direction, of course.”
“Of course,” she echoed, waiting for the other shoe to fall. Was he toying with her?
“When I discovered you were here, I thought I’d come and give you the courtesy of telling you myself.”
“Oh?” Erika asked. She looked toward grandfather, but the old man sipped his tea and took a bite of his toast as if this conversation were perfectly ordinary.
Nikslaus went on. “I’ve had to close the port. I’m so sorry. I know you were returning to Adro today. But with the powder mage still loose I have to take every precaution.”
Erika set her fork beside her plate so that he wouldn’t see how it trembled. “Oh. I see. How long will the port be closed?”
“A week. Maybe two? A month at the longest, I’m sure. I’ve asked for reinforcements and we’re going to make a thorough search of the city before I can allow the port to open again.”
“That’ll be very poor for trade on the Adsea,” grandfather said after a bite of poached eggs. “The Adrans won’t be happy.”
“The king is worried not a whit as to the happiness of Adro when it concerns these damned powder mages. No offense, my lady,” Nikslaus lay a hand gently on Erika’s arm. “I know you’re half Adran yourself, but you must understand.”
And a powder mage. She swallowed hard. “Certainly, my lord.”
“I do have good news,” Nikslaus said. “I’ve just been sent something wonderful by the men at the royal armory. Duglas!”
The tall master mage hunter entered the room a moment later, wearing one of the green on tan uniforms with his long gray hair tied back and his mustache gleaming with wax. He had a long package slung over one shoulder, wrapped in oil cloth. At a gesture from Nikslaus, he thumped it on the table. Erika jumped as a plate shattered beneath it. Duglas didn’t seem to notice.
“It’s called an air musket,” Nikslaus said, unwrapping the oil cloth and lifting the item from the table. It looked much like a regular musket with a long barrel, but the wooden stock was wider than a musket’s and the firing mechanism quite unlike a flintlock. He pointed to the flared stock and said, “It fires bullets using compressed air from this cylinder. Good for several shots. The range is a little less than a flintlock, but it’s a magnificent weapon.”
“Fascinating,” grandfather muttered, taking his glasses from his breast pocket and leaning toward Nikslaus.
“We’ll be using these exclusively to hunt powder mages from now on,” Nikslaus said, locking eyes with Erika as he spoke. “No more risking a powder mage getting the better of us with their abominable sorcery.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Erika wanted to spit in the man’s face.
“Perhaps I could have one made for you, my lady. Then you’ll know the joy of shooting.”
Erika covered her face as if she were blushing. “You’re too kind.”
“It’s the least I could do. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go deal with the mayor. He’s most upset about me closing the port.”
Nikslaus was gone a moment later and Erika was left staring at her plate. He had ordered reinforcements. How many was that? A hundred? A thousand? Once they had reinforcements they would search the entire city. They would find Norrine in Santiole’s care, and then they would come for Erika.
“I have to leave,” she said.
Grandfather tapped his fork gently on his plate. “Oh?”
“I’ll take the high pass back over the mountains and make for Budwiel.” It was the closest Adran city by land. It would take over a week to get there, but she had no choice. “Nikslaus doesn’t have many men. He can’t be watching all the city gates. If I leave now, I can get ahead of him before he thinks to close the passes.”