Coldmaker(49)

‘Come on,’ I said. ‘I’ll take you to my barracks.’

‘What’s there?’ he asked, his face twisted with pain.

‘You get a Jadan beating,’ I said, ‘you get a Jadan healing.’

The loose panel came away smoothly, and I slipped into Abb’s room. Cam waited outside, clutching the remains of his mystery box, the crank on the side bent out of place. I wanted to examine what he’d bought at the dome, but I didn’t have time.

‘Shirt,’ I said, uncapping the salve when I came back outside.

‘Can we go in?’ Cam asked, eagerly appraising the panel. ‘I’ve never actually been inside a Jadan barracks.’

I shook my head, scooping out a generous portion of the gel. ‘No. We— It’s not a good idea. My Barracksmaster sometimes walks through during the day, to make sure none of us are hiding from our duties.’

It was a lie, but it was the best I could come up with at the moment. Gramble either spent the day sleeping in his guardhouse or blowing his hefty salary at the Imbiberies. In truth, I wasn’t quite ready for Cam to see my tinker-wall, to reveal such a secret.

‘If he catches us, I’ll just tell him it was my idea,’ Cam said with a shrug.

‘This will only take a second.’ I gave a weak smile. ‘Shirt.’

Cam peeled up his shirt and I flinched at how pale his skin was. I wondered if the Sun had ever even tasted his flesh. The red was vibrant against his back, but I didn’t think he would need stitches. It looked worse because I wasn’t used to light skin, which showed everything more vividly.

I pushed aside his long blond hair and spread the salve across his back, and after a few moments, Cam’s body seemed to relax.

‘I’m really sorry,’ I said.

Cam shook his head. ‘No. This is good. All Nobles should know how this feels.’

This boy was irrational. I hoped no other Tavors heard him talking like that, or they might take away his crest.

I gestured at the box. ‘What is it?’

‘A music box,’ Cam said, turning the crank, which didn’t do anything. ‘It’s my cousin’s birthday. I was hoping this would be a good gift for her. She loves music.’

‘When is her birthday?’ I asked, knowing I should just shut up.

‘Tomorrow,’ Cam said with a sigh, wincing as I rubbed on some more of the salve.

I paused, taking a dangerous leap. ‘Leave it here.’

Cam spun, giving me a confused look.

‘There’s someone’ – I kept my eyes down – ‘one of my family. He might be able to fix it.’

‘Fix it?’ Cam raised a puzzled eyebrow, although I could have sworn an amused smile flashed across his face. ‘How would a Jadan know how to fix something from before the Great Drought?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said, already regretting my decision. ‘But he can try.’

Cam shrugged, and then winced. Then he spun the useless crank again. ‘Can’t hurt, I guess. Want me to put some of that salve on your back? Your lashes were worse than mine.’

‘I’m fine,’ I lied, wiping my fingers onto the inside of my shirt, greasing the cloth with a mixture of groan salve and High Noble blood. ‘I’m used to it.’

Cam gave a frustrated huff through his nose. ‘And that’s a damn shame.’

‘Let’s get back.’ I looked up at the Sun, its heat pulsing down strongly. I didn’t think it liked the idea of me getting my hands on something so precious as a music box.

But the Crier had kept me alive, letting me drink that Draft.

And Moussa was my friend again.

And a High Noble had even taken a whipping for me.

Things were different now. Changing.

I stowed the ancient treasure behind the panel and waved two knuckles at the sky, welcoming its blazing hate.





Chapter Sixteen


For the first time since we’d met, Cam was wearing dark colours.

His sun-robe was a deep shade of red, and the sight of it made my throat tense up. The colour reminded me of how Jadanmaster Geb dressed on Procession day.

Cam had two mugs of Oolong tea this time, steam billowing from the tops. I remembered how hard it was to sleep after my first bad whipping, and I wondered if he had been able to rest at all. My back was fiery to touch, but my slave skin was no longer surprised by the sting.

Still, I hadn’t slept much. Not because I was hurting, but because the night was one I hadn’t wanted to end.

Cam’s eyes had dark circles underneath them this morning, but still, he smiled brightly and greeted me with a little bow that every other Jadan around must have seen as a sign of insanity. I hoped Thoth didn’t catch sight of the movement.

‘Morning, Spout,’ Cam said, leaning against the wall beside me. ‘Sorry I’m late.’

I almost smiled at the thought of Cam being late. Like he owed me the debt of showing up at all. ‘Morning, Cam.’

Cam leaned in, eyebrow going up. ‘So how did the thing go?’

I cleared my throat, flicking my eyes in Thoth’s direction, who was glaring at us from the end of Arch Road, near the Temple. ‘Perhaps you can give me a token and I can show you,’ I said, ‘somewhere else.’

Cam moved both mugs to one hand and fished around in his pocket, his face lighting up with intrigue.