were dead. Lar himself had been bitten by a grunt; unless someone out there in the real world had devised a cure for him—which was extremely unlikely—he was either dead or a monster, which was practically the same thing.
However, her father was probably still alive in his tiny holdfast on the western frontier. It didn’t seem possible that the grunts could have gotten that far already.
She felt an inexplicable pang of regret that she hadn’t immediately set out to the west to join him. Maybe--probably--he would have thrown her in a dungeon or had her tortured for information, or... Or something. Something awful like in all the stories she’d grown up with.
But maybe he would have welcomed her. Maybe she would have been safe among people who didn’t treat her like an enemy of everything decent and honorable in the world. Maybe she wouldn’t have ended up here.
There was no hiding the fact that this daydreaming was a betrayal. Lar, his parents, and Doctor Twofin as well had been kind to her, and she had just denounced them to win a stupid argument with a girl from a herding clan. I’m not Peradaini ? Did she really believe that?
It suddenly occurred to her that Ivy was nowhere in sight and hadn’t been for a while. She had walked off with Cazia’s jacket and that butchered fish before the big argument and...
And she hadn’t come running toward them when the shouting had started. How could she not have heard them, unless she had left the tower?
Cazia raced up the stairs through the broad, open room full of beds, then through the other corridor into the stinking first tower. The sun wheel lay on the ground floor by the exit, but Ivy was not inside the buildings. Cazia crouched by the open tower door and peered out at the beach. The princess was nowhere to be seen, but there was a crude trail in the stones leading from the hill where they had first come in sight of the ocean to the tower. Someone else, maybe Kinz, would have been able to read the trail to know if there were three sets of footprints or if a fourth showed Ivy heading back out, but Cazia couldn’t do it.
Of course, Kinz was behind her, at the far end of the buildings, and she had their only weapon, that pointed stick. Was Cazia going to run all the way back there to ask her help in searching the beach for the princess?
She certainly was not. Cazia picked up a hefty sharp-edged stone and stepped out onto the exposed beach. She remembered all too well the sight of those servants, so long ago, dragged screaming out to sea. Of course, she and Kinz would have heard Ivy if that had happened to her, wouldn’t they? They would have heard over the sound of their stupid argument, right?
Every moment that passed convinced her even more that the girl had been killed and Cazia had let it happen. More, that venturing out in search of her was its own death sentence. She did it anyway, taking step after step away from the entrance.
First, she hurried to the left, checking behind the towers. Ivy wasn’t there, and she wasn’t on the oceanfront side, either. Cazia stalked up the beach, inwardly cringing at every crunch her footsteps made on the stony beach.
Before she was halfway up the hill, Ivy appeared over the crest. She was hunched over and walking backward as if dragging a body. “Ivy!” Cazia clamped her hand over her mouth and sprinted up the hill. The sun was low over the mountains in the west. Night would fall soon.
The little princess turned and waved briefly, then went back to what she was doing. As she came close, Cazia saw that she was trailing a tree branch behind her, obscuring her tracks. “Ivy,” she said, when she was close enough to be heard at a hiss. “What are you doing out here alone?”
“I thought we could throw the Tilkilit off our tracks,” she answered simply. “So I rubbed fish blood all over your jacket and left it near the lake shore. With luck--”
From the sea came the sound of a
However, her father was probably still alive in his tiny holdfast on the western frontier. It didn’t seem possible that the grunts could have gotten that far already.
She felt an inexplicable pang of regret that she hadn’t immediately set out to the west to join him. Maybe--probably--he would have thrown her in a dungeon or had her tortured for information, or... Or something. Something awful like in all the stories she’d grown up with.
But maybe he would have welcomed her. Maybe she would have been safe among people who didn’t treat her like an enemy of everything decent and honorable in the world. Maybe she wouldn’t have ended up here.
There was no hiding the fact that this daydreaming was a betrayal. Lar, his parents, and Doctor Twofin as well had been kind to her, and she had just denounced them to win a stupid argument with a girl from a herding clan. I’m not Peradaini ? Did she really believe that?
It suddenly occurred to her that Ivy was nowhere in sight and hadn’t been for a while. She had walked off with Cazia’s jacket and that butchered fish before the big argument and...
And she hadn’t come running toward them when the shouting had started. How could she not have heard them, unless she had left the tower?
Cazia raced up the stairs through the broad, open room full of beds, then through the other corridor into the stinking first tower. The sun wheel lay on the ground floor by the exit, but Ivy was not inside the buildings. Cazia crouched by the open tower door and peered out at the beach. The princess was nowhere to be seen, but there was a crude trail in the stones leading from the hill where they had first come in sight of the ocean to the tower. Someone else, maybe Kinz, would have been able to read the trail to know if there were three sets of footprints or if a fourth showed Ivy heading back out, but Cazia couldn’t do it.
Of course, Kinz was behind her, at the far end of the buildings, and she had their only weapon, that pointed stick. Was Cazia going to run all the way back there to ask her help in searching the beach for the princess?
She certainly was not. Cazia picked up a hefty sharp-edged stone and stepped out onto the exposed beach. She remembered all too well the sight of those servants, so long ago, dragged screaming out to sea. Of course, she and Kinz would have heard Ivy if that had happened to her, wouldn’t they? They would have heard over the sound of their stupid argument, right?
Every moment that passed convinced her even more that the girl had been killed and Cazia had let it happen. More, that venturing out in search of her was its own death sentence. She did it anyway, taking step after step away from the entrance.
First, she hurried to the left, checking behind the towers. Ivy wasn’t there, and she wasn’t on the oceanfront side, either. Cazia stalked up the beach, inwardly cringing at every crunch her footsteps made on the stony beach.
Before she was halfway up the hill, Ivy appeared over the crest. She was hunched over and walking backward as if dragging a body. “Ivy!” Cazia clamped her hand over her mouth and sprinted up the hill. The sun was low over the mountains in the west. Night would fall soon.
The little princess turned and waved briefly, then went back to what she was doing. As she came close, Cazia saw that she was trailing a tree branch behind her, obscuring her tracks. “Ivy,” she said, when she was close enough to be heard at a hiss. “What are you doing out here alone?”
“I thought we could throw the Tilkilit off our tracks,” she answered simply. “So I rubbed fish blood all over your jacket and left it near the lake shore. With luck--”
From the sea came the sound of a
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