Empire of Ashes

Chapter LXII - How You Lose

The canal smelt like rotten fish and offal. And if that hadn't been enough to put me off, the water was murky green. I wouldn't have dipped my toes in, let alone gone swimming, even if there hadn't been boats passing through every few minutes. I sat on the bricks, my legs hanging over the water, trying not to wrinkle up my nose.

Temris, Melia and Anlai had gone with Ark to 'make arrangements.' They had left me behind because my face was still swollen and cut in places and they didn't want to draw attention. They had left Fendur and Saqui with me because the dock was full of shady characters and a pretty eighteen-year-old would command a small fortune on the black market.

But my bodyguards weren't even in sight. If I had screamed, they would have been there in seconds, but they had chosen the shade of an oak tree over the canal bank, and I could hardly blame them. I wasn't sure what had drawn me to the water in the first place, but with every second that passed, I was beginning to wonder if the view was worth the stench.

Lying back, I eyed the docks across the water. They were the junction between the river and the canal, and they were a maze of piers and floating platforms. There were fishing nets of all shapes and sizes scattered around, some home to seaweed or ivy because they had been there for years. And framing the mess was a dozen buildings, the leftmost of which was the dockmaster's office. That was where the others had gone.

The wind picked up, carrying the stench with it, and I stood up, stretching every stiff and aching muscle. My dilemma was resolved - it was not worth it. So I picked my way back to the oak tree with one hand shading my eyes.

Fendur and Saqui were sat cross-legged in the grass, staring at each other. It felt like I had interrupted something. Both of them were smiling, and both of them looked surprisingly at ease. There had been a very obvious division between the northerners and the assassins since Canton, bridged only by Melia's stubborn friendship with Saqui. The two of them chattered away in Sapphirean for hours at a time, but Saqui hardly spared two words for anyone else.

"If we're going by water, I'm going to have to keep a peg on my nose," I announced as I sprawled out on the grass.

Saqui stretched out like a cat. "It smells because there is a fish market here every other day, Lyra."

Well, he must have been in an excellent mood. A whole sentence, and voluntarily, too - I hadn't even addressed him directly.

"You come here often?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Once a year, maybe. When we were freelancing, we had to trawl for contracts, and that meant touring every major city in this godsforsaken country ... and sometimes your godsforsaken country, too."

"You have been to Cambria." It wasn't a question. Not really. I already knew they had been there when Temris had knelt to the king.

"Eh. The south has its fair share of bickering lords and cutthroats politicians." He shrugged carelessly. "Did you hear of the Saford alderman who drowned in his own bathtub?"

I hadn't, but I had lived under a rock until a few moons ago. I simply shook my head. Fendur nodded.

"Well, that was our work. The client wanted an up-and-comer appointed to the same office, one who shared his views on tax reform."

I made a face. "Should you be telling me this?"

And Saqui laughed, one of the richest, most entrancing sounds I ever heard. "You are an escaped slave travelling with a traitor to the crown. Who would you tell? Who would believe you?"

His mirth was infectious. I couldn't help smiling, even though the joke was at my expense. "Fair point."

"Did he deserve it? The alderman?" Fendur asked.