Chapter Eighteen

“I recognised the man you stabbed,” Charlotte said, once they were back in the office. “He’s one of Boss Hank’s thugs.”

Anastasia barely heard her. She’d killed. It wasn’t the first time she’d been responsible for someone’s death – she knew she’d killed the pirate crew, and she doubted Avitus had survived the blast she’d unleashed – but it was the first time she’d driven the blade in with her own two hands, the first time she’d felt someone die as she killed him. Her hands shook. She knew her father had ordered men executed, but she didn’t think he’d killed them himself. Or had he? It was silly to feel so guilty over the death of a man who had wanted to kill her, perhaps after raping her, yet …

“She’s in shock,” Peregrine said. “Give her a moment to recover.”

He cleared his throat. “Are you certain he worked for Boss Hank?”

“I saw him before, at the gathering.” Charlotte sounded faintly offended. “It was the same man.”

“Which means he set out to kill you,” Peregrine said. “And next time, he might get lucky and put a knife in you.”

“If someone is trying to kill us, it’s proof we’re getting somewhere,” Charlotte said. “And if we can trace it back to him …”

“I doubt we can, not easily,” Peregrine said. “We don’t have the body.”

He made a disgusted sound. “I’m sending you both to Alexis.”

Charlotte sounded shocked. “We can’t just run away!”

“You’re targets now,” Peregrine said. “And if you’re out of his reach, that’ll give the rest of us a chance to bring him down.”

“Yeah, right,” Charlotte said. “Old Grimy will take the fall. Boss Hank will survive.”

“We’ll see,” Peregrine said. “Go back to your apartment and get packed, then go down to the station. I want you on the first train out of the city. And go in disguise. We don’t know who can be trusted.”

There was a rustle as he passed Charlotte a stack of papers. “You can read these on the way,” he said. “Keep in touch.”

“Humph,” Charlotte said. She tapped Anastasia on the shoulder. “Come on. It’s time to go.”

Anastasia shook her head, numbly. She felt as if she were too tired to fall asleep, her entire body awake and yet unconscious. Her eyes were open, but she was seeing nothing … she wouldn’t have cared, not really, if a third knifeman put his blade in her back. She was slipping in and out of awareness, barely able to listen to a word Charlotte was saying …

Charlotte slapped her, hard.

Anastasia started awake, the pain jerking her sluggish thoughts into motion. Charlotte had slapped her! It was unthinkable … she’d never been slapped before, not by her parents or even her kidnapper! She knew masters were allowed to use corporal punishment and yet … it had never occurred to her that Charlotte would. Her eyes sharpened, focusing on the older woman. Charlotte was drawing back her hand for another slap.

“I …”

“I know how you feel,” Charlotte grated. She helped Anastasia to her feet. “But we have to move.”

“I killed him,” Anastasia said. “I …”

“Yes, and he would have raped and murdered you,” Charlotte snapped, echoing Anastasia’s earlier thoughts. “I know the feeling, but you had no choice. Now, come with me and get changed. We can’t go out looking like this!”

Anastasia forced herself to stumble after Charlotte as she led the way to the changing room and ordered Anastasia to get into male clothes. She looked like a young lout down on his luck, she reflected, which had the advantage of not looking anything like her. Charlotte changed too, then led the way back to the flat. Anastasia packed what little she had, taking care to collect the books and coins, and followed her back onto the streets. It was very early in the morning, but there were already hundreds of people in sight.

She swallowed, hard. “What happened to the body?”

Charlotte didn’t look back. “The Guard will probably have recovered the body – Perry’s going to check that, once the office opens for the day. The other guy might be in jail or he might have made it clear before the guardsmen arrived, in which case he might be able to testify against his master. I doubt he’ll stay there long enough to even give a statement – he’ll either be freed by some corrupt guardsman or he’d be murdered in his cell. Even if he doesn’t … he might not know who gave him the orders. I didn’t recognise that one.”

Anastasia scowled. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Charlotte said. “We’re damn lucky they were idiots. A smarter pair of thugs would have slit our throats the moment they laid eyes on us. I’m sure they had orders to make it look like a random crime, but given what we found out I’d be surprised if anyone believed it. Boss Hank isn’t known for letting the grass grow under his feet, when his power base is threatened.”

“Oh.” Anastasia glanced at her. “Is it wise to travel on a train, then?”

“As long as we are in disguise, no one should know who we are,” Charlotte said. “And it is the quickest way out of the city.”

Anastasia wasn’t convinced, but as they walked into the station she started to think Charlotte might have a point. The complex was larger than she’d thought, big enough to make her wonder if a sorcerer had somehow made it bigger on the inside, and heaving with people even though it was the early hours of the morning. A outdated locomotive sat on a plinth, a sign underneath identifying it as one of the first steam engines to make the transit between Beneficence and Zangaria. Anastasia stared at it for a long moment, admiring the simplicity of the design, then followed Charlotte as she purchased two tickets and then led the way to the platform. It was longer than she’d expected, staff in fancy uniforms helping passengers find their trains or pointing them towards the food and newspaper stands. Anastasia was amused to note that copies of the latest edition had already arrived. Boss Hank wouldn’t be pleased when he found out his staff were selling them.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Here we are,” Charlotte said. The wooden coach looked deceptively simple. “All aboard.”

She led the way onto the train. Anastasia followed, looking around with interest. There were rows of hard wooden seating, half-full of men and women heading out of the city, and small compartments for passengers who were prepared to pay a little more for privacy and a certain degree of comfort. Charlotte checked their tickets, then led the way into the compartment nearest the door. It was smaller than Anastasia had thought, when she’d looked in from the outside, but it looked comfortable enough to let her sleep. Charlotte slipped the lock into place and sat down, relieved. Anastasia followed, shaking her head. It had been a very long day.

“You’ll get over it.” Charlotte sounded more sympathetic now they were relatively safe. “It is never easy to cope, but you will get over it.”

Anastasia scowled at her. “How can you say that so easily?”

“I told you, those men intended to rape and murder us,” Charlotte said. “Our bodies would be violated before our throats were cut, what was left of us abandoned to rot. I have little sympathy for men who would do that, and nor should you. Your life has been far too sheltered for your own good.”

The train shuddered, then jerked into life. Anastasia felt a thrill of excitement as the line of carriages lurched forward, the motion making her stomach churn before the odd sensation settled down into a strange, but surprisingly pleasant sense of movement. The carriages glided out of the railway station, the air outside darkening rapidly as the engine left puffs of smoke in its wake, and into the city itself. Anastasia couldn’t help staring as the engine picked up speed. She’d seen a great deal of the city over the last two weeks, but this was a very different view. The city was just …

The train lurched as it glided through a set of walls and battlements, then onto a bridge covering the gorge. Anastasia swallowed hard as she saw the churning river down below, the white waters barely visible in the semi-darkness … her imagination filled out the rest of the details, jagged rocks and fast-flowing currents, ready to drag down and kill anyone foolish enough to swim in such dangerous waters. There’d been an article about a team of daredevils taking a handful of canoes down the gorge, two drowning … their bodies lost beneath the waves, never recovered despite everything magic could do. The idea of risking everything on one throw of the dice was just …

“Get some sleep,” Charlotte advised. “It’s going to be a long trip.”

Anastasia nodded, but kept her eyes open as Cockatrice came into view. Lady Emily’s city was a sprawling mass of old and new buildings, the latter expanding so rapidly it was clear the population was booming. It was brighter now; she could see men and women walking the streets, the latter largely unescorted by their menfolk. She wondered, idly, if that meant Cockatrice was safer than Beneficence. Lady Emily was reputed to be odd, with sympathies for the common folk that most aristocrats found absurd. It was unlikely she’d tolerate gropers, rapists and murderers and she had the magic to do something about it. Anastasia wished she could get off the train and walk to her castle, but … she felt the curse tighten the moment the thought took shape, a grim reminder she was trapped and bound. There was no easy way out of her predicament.

The train paused briefly in Cockatrice, then resumed its journey. Anastasia saw fields, bigger than anything she’d seen back home, and a number of small towns that seemed to be taken full advantage of the New Learning. They crossed a river that should have been blocked by a castle … it took her a moment to realise the castle had been reduced to rubble, an impressive degree of spite in a world where castles were the key to power over the surrounding area. But was that still true? The cannon she’d seen on the pirate ship were crude, yet they’d been capable of battering down walls and smashing wooden boats. Would bigger cannon mean an end to castles? Or was Queen Alassa merely determined to ensure no one blocked the river ever again.

She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew was it was late afternoon and the train was slipping into an city. Charlotte had been awake for some time, reading the notes Peregrine had given her … Anastasia wondered, idly, if they would be expected to do something, anything, other than keep their heads down and hide. She ground her teeth in silent frustration. If they had to stay out of Beneficence until the matter was resolved, one way or the other, would they be paid? Or would they have to spend their savings on accommodation here?

“Welcome to Alexis,” Charlotte said. “Capital of Zangaria, land of the free … which is true here, in a way it isn’t elsewhere. Slavery and serfdom were banned, once and for all, after Queen Alassa took the throne.”

Anastasia nodded, staring out of the window. Alexis reminded her of Caithness, although it was much larger. The original city had been surrounded by high walls, but the ever-expanding population had broken out of those long ago, creating a network of homes, factories and warehouses outside the walls. The population looked prosperous, she noted, although it was hard to be sure. A giant castle dominated the horizon … she stared, despite herself, as she saw the airship hovering overhead. It was … remarkable.

She glanced at Charlotte. “Is there anything I ought to know about the city?”

“The locals are much more formal than us,” Charlotte said, “and while the Sumptuary Laws were officially revoked long ago they’re still unofficially enforced. There’s a bunch of old ladies of both genders who don’t want to accept that the world has changed, so they harass anyone who appears to be dressing out of place or showing a hint of ankle or even – horror of horrors – wearing tight trousers. They’ll die off sooner or later, probably sooner, but …”

She shrugged, expressively. “You grew up in a noble household. You’ll get used to it.”

Anastasia cocked her head. “Why do they care?”

“They used to be in charge,” Charlotte said. “More accurately, their fathers and husbands used to be in charge. Everyone knew their place, and a man who wore something above his station would be roundly whipped for being uppity. And then the New Learning threw everything out of kilter, and the Civil War broke the backs of the major families … now, they’re mourning what they’ve lost, with little hope of ever recovering it. The smarter ones are kissing up to the queen and trying to build up newer power bases of their own, the idiots are pretending that nothing has changed.”

Her lips twisted. “It’s just projection. They harass men who wear fine clothes or girls who wear trousers because they can’t harass the people responsible for their decline.”

Anastasia said nothing. Rockfall was a kingdom, and she had a long-established nobility, but the kingdom had always been willing to absorb talented merchants and adventures, drawing their talents into the aristocracy by encouraging them to marry well. But then, much of the wealth of her kingdom came from the merchants. Zangaria was a different story. Land ownership had been the key to wealth, and now the kingdom had distributed much of the land to the people who actually worked it the aristocrats were finding themselves in a very weak spot indeed.

Her lips twisted. It was wrong to take land from its owners and hand it out and yet … she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. The huge farms she’d seen during the trip were almost unknown in Rockfall, where the land was harsher and it was harder to seed enough crops to ensure a bountiful harvest. It was difficult for the lords to push the peasants around and any who tried wouldn’t live to regret it. But here … she shook her head. It wasn’t her problem. She had to get back home before it was too late.

The train glided into the station and rattled to a halt. Charlotte stood, threw a knapsack over her shoulder, and led the way out of the compartment, down onto the platform. The station was as busy as the one they’d left behind, thousands of people making their way from the coaches and onto the streets. The air smelt different, she noted absently, although she could still taste the stench of fish. Alexis was on the coast, if she recalled correctly. The map hadn’t been clear just how close the city was to the water, but the smell suggested they were very close indeed. She shrugged and put the thought aside. Charlotte was walking as if she were in a hurry. Anastasia forced herself to hurry after her.

Alexis was different, she noted as they walked. The city appeared to be built on a set of rolling hills, the streets going up and down … one long road apparently leading all the way to the castle, which rested at the top of what had once been a hill. A sudden pang of homesickness shot through her as she realised the castle reminded her of her own home, a place she might never see again … she shut that thought down quickly as she told herself she’d make it home, whatever the cost. She was in a new city … she’d take the time to look around, to see if there was another way home. Who knew? Perhaps she could find a sorcerer willing to give her a lift. Or hitch a ride on an airship.

“The local office,” Charlotte said, as they stopped outside a smaller building. “If we got here in time …”

She pushed open the door and led the way inside. A secretary looked up, her eyes narrowing when she spotted Charlotte. Anastasia wondered, suddenly, if Peregrine had managed to send a message informing the locals they were coming. It wouldn’t be easy. Horses were faster than locomotives over short distances, from what she’d been told, but they couldn’t gallop at full speed forever. The furthest she’d even gone in a gallop had been two miles, nowhere near far enough to get from Beneficence to Alexis. No, it was quite possible the local office didn’t know they’d been sent to the city until they’d arrived.

“You’d better go in to see the editor,” the secretary said. She tapped on a door, opened it and spoke briefly to the person inside, then pushed it open wide. “Good luck.”

Charlotte walked inside as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Anastasia followed, a little more carefully. She’d expected a man like Peregrine, but the woman behind the desk looked more like an older version of Charlotte, with grey hair that gave her a matronly appearance and eyes that suggested her body might be old, yet there was nothing wrong with her mind.

“We’re from the city,” Charlotte said. She held out a letter. “Peregrine sent us.”

The editor read the letter thoughtfully. “So, you need somewhere to hide,” she mused. “Boss Hank doesn’t have any overt contacts here, but he works with others who do. Hum. And Perry wants us to find something for you to do.”

Her lips cracked into a smile. “And I have just the thing for a pair of visitors,” she said. “I think you’ll enjoy it.”

Anastasia felt cold. Somehow, she doubted it.