Four Roads Cross (Craft Sequence #5)(84)

“I’ll contact him,” Ms. Kevarian said. “I cannot guarantee it will help your cause.”

“I’ll take the chance.”

“I should go. The Imperial guard needs its monsters. It has been pleasant to see you both. I must visit Alt Coulumb soon, in peacetime.”

“I’d like that,” Tara said.

Ms. Kevarian turned to leave.

“Um,” Tara said, which stopped her. Stupid syllable, but she’d spent the entire conversation curious. “When we worked together, I called you Boss. I’m not sure what I should call you now.”

She blinked owl-slow. “Elayne, Ms. Abernathy.”

“Tara.”

“Tara.” She seemed to find that amusing. “Good luck.”

And as Elayne smiled, the glass world shattered into day.





42

Black cuts lined the lips of the man in the hospital bed. When he spoke, his skin pulled against fresh scabs. “Water.” His Kathic bore an accent Cat didn’t know.

She nodded to Lee, who poured him a cup and passed it over.

“You’re in Alt Coulumb,” she said. “In Blacksuit care.” She rested one hand on the rail at the foot of the bed. “We recovered you from an exploitative indenture two nights ago. I’m Officer Elle. This is Officer Zhang. You can call me Cat, if you like. What’s your name?”

The h in “Ko’hasim” had a rough edge Cat didn’t look forward to failing to imitate. “Call me Hasim.”

The name structure at least she could place. “Talbeg?”

“I am a Doctor of Divinity from Agdel Lex.” He finished the water. Lee poured him more. “Alt Coulumb. Are the others here?”

“A few went to intensive care. Most are unconscious. The girl, Ala”—she pointed to where the child lay asleep—“told us we should talk to you, or to the woman with the braids, who’s passed out. She’s fine,” she said when he opened his mouth, “just sleeping. You all had a long night.”

“What happened?”

“We hoped you could tell us,” Lee said.

“We found you in the hold of a smuggler ship called Demon’s Dream, captained by Maura Varg. That sound familiar?”

“I do not know either name.” Hasim seized the rails at the side of his bed. Muscle in his thin arms corded as he pulled himself upright. “If this is Alt Coulumb, we seek asylum.”

“We’ll get there,” she said. “But we need to know more about you. How you got into that hold, for example. You’re responsible for some confusion.”

“Last night,” Lee said, “when Officer Elle tried to wake you up, demons crawled out from inside you. Caused a lot of trouble before we stopped them.”

Hasim’s fingers trembled as they traced the scabs around his mouth. “What my partner’s trying to say”—Cat frowned at Lee, who crossed his massive arms, unconcerned—“is that we’re wondering how you got in that ship. I know this is hard, but if you think back—”

“There is war in the Gleb.”

“I heard.” She wished she’d heard more, or paid attention when she had. Even Criers mangled the names. “Didn’t realize it had reached Agdel Lex.”

“Refugees have,” he said. “I run a clinic for small gods. In the backcountry, desert spirits devour the bodies of gods fallen in the Wars. They claim one town at a time. They come to the villages to eat their gods, or bind them to service. Some survive. Some run, and many to our city. I take them in, if I find them.”

“When did you start using dreamdust?”

Cat made a mental note to talk with Lee about interviewing witnesses. Lee spent most of his shifts Suited.

“I have never taken dreamdust,” Hasim said. “It is a distraction.”

“How did a smuggler end up with your indenture, then?”

“I do not know.” Hasim peered around Lee’s shoulders to examine the rest of the room. Eight beds, each occupied. He relaxed—recognizing the others, Cat thought.

“The rest are nearby,” Cat said. “I have names of the ones who’ve woken up so far. I’ll give you that once we’re done here, but I need the whole story. You ran, what, a hostel?”

“A sanctuary. We took in those we found. Such an endeavor requires protection. To afford that protection I, ah, borrowed. The demand grew. One day, it struck me all at once. The children collapsed first. I tried to save them, but I was not strong enough. I remember nothing until I woke here.” He shook his head. “I have never dealt with demons.”

“Thank you, Doctor. The nurses will bring you the list. Could I have the name of the bank you worked with in Agdel Lex? The one that issued the loan?”

“Grimwald Savings.”

Cat kept her poker face, barely. The Grimwald Concerns dotted the world, shadowy presences with massive holding networks and questionable morality. She’d never heard of a Grimwald convicted of anything, but they hovered in the background when you read about Craftsmen going down in flames. Legitimate businessmen, people called them, with an emphasis on the first word that no one ever used when talking about, say, a bakery. “Thank you. As for asylum—you’re in Alt Coulumb under the protection of Seril Undying.” For whatever good that does you. “She’ll accept any thanks you offer.” And she needs it, Cat did not say.