“You think so?”
“Well, you obviously know something I don’t, so are you going to share or not?”
“They were port guards, on the lookout for anyone suspicious. Do you think they’re unaware of the effects of some abilities? Do you think they wouldn’t know if they were being manipulated? Besides, they were wearing inhibitors.”
“What are inhibitors?”
Astrin looked at him incredulously. “Seriously? You don’t know?”
Feeling somewhat irritated, Rowan shook his head. Astrin sighed.
“Inhibitors are devices that generate enhanced magnetic shields around the wearer. They dampen the effects of most abilities and ring huge mental bells, warning that manipulation is being used. I could probably have got past the inhibitor, because I doubt they’ve been set high enough to intercept someone as powerful as I am, but the very fact I could do it would mark me out as something beyond the ordinary, and if the information got into the wrong hands, it wouldn’t take them too long to put two and two together. Trust me, we don’t want to be on the run here.”
Rowan stared at him, his mouth open. “Shit. You really do know what’s going on, don’t you?” He frowned in contemplation, then laughed. “I thought
you
were the spoiled and sheltered one.”
Astrin shook his head. “Do you know where we’re supposed to go?”
“No, but I have a chip.”
Taking a thin steel band from his pocket, Rowan snapped it onto his wrist. A square about an inch wide lit up on the surface. On the square were intersecting lines in blue, green, and yellow, with a tiny red flashing arrow pointing along one of them.
“This way.”
Astrin followed Rowan, and Rowan followed the arrow, until the whole screen flashed red and disappeared. Looking up, they found themselves standing outside a set of rather imposing gates.
“Hell. Is this the place? It looks a bit….”
“Yeah. How do we get in?”
A quick search revealed a small square box at the side of the gate with a button set into it. Tamping down on his nerves, Rowan pressed the button. There was a hissing noise before a voice spoke.
“This is the residence of Paulo Atrio. State your names and business.”
“Um… I am Ro—”
“My name is Cody, and my friend is Ansel. The names should be known to Mr. Atrio, and as for our business—that’s between us and him,” Astrin interjected smoothly.
“Please wait,” the voice replied. It sounded bored.
“Sorry,” Rowan said, but with less than good grace. If he were being honest, he’d admit he was getting pretty fed up with Astrin constantly stepping in to save the day.
Astrin grinned. “No problem.”
“How come you’re so good at this?”
“Bad friends,” he said cryptically. Rowan raised an eyebrow, but before he could say any more, there was a click and the gate swung open.
The house behind the gate was far less imposing than its entrance suggested. It was squat, gray, and not all that large. As they approached the front door, it was flung open, and a portly gentleman, who was rather red in the face and seemed somewhat flustered, emerged.
“Come in, come in,” he said breathlessly, looking around as if he expected vampire ninjas to leap from the bushes.
Exchanging glances, Astrin and Rowan followed him into a cool but unremarkable hall. As soon as the door closed, he started to bow. “It is such an honor, such a delight, my prince, to have you grace this humble home….”
Rowan seethed. Not only was he embarrassed, but he could practically feel Astrin’s smirk burn through his back.
“There’s no need for that, Mr. Atrio—”
“No, no, I am not he. Come… come….”
The man led them to a room, which appeared to be an office, where an older and far less rotund man was sitting behind a desk, tapping at a computer. He looked up when they entered and smiled warmly, although his eyes remained watchful and cautious.
This man
, Rowan thought,
would never willingly bow to anyone.
After blustering for a while, the fat man left, and Mr. Atrio came out from behind the desk. He was taller than either of the boys and well built, although not overly muscular. His appearance conveyed exactly what he was—a businessman, working on the borders of the law, in a place where the law is brutal and unpredictable. In different clothes he could have passed for a pirate.
“Well met, at last. I was becoming concerned you would not make it in time.” He didn’t hold out his hand as Rowan guessed he would ordinarily have done, the handshake being a typical greeting among men such as this. He was at least observing some of the courtesy owed to his prince—
monarch
, Rowan thought with a sinking heart.
“We were held up.”
“Do you have plans from here?”
“I understand there’s a train to Agavi tomorrow. We will be on it.”
“I could arrange for a car.”
“Thank you, but I think we would attract less attention on the train. We’re hoping to pick up more information about a demonstration that’s supposed to be happening the day after tomorrow.”
“Ah yes, I’ve heard rumors in the wind. Are you sure you are prepared for a train journey into the heart of the enemy?”
“As much as one can be,” Astrin replied smoothly, although Rowan was beginning to bristle. Was this man going to help them or not? Suddenly he laughed, thinking how ironic it was that he was supposed to be the born diplomat when it was Astrin who seemed to be more at home with grassroots diplomacy in the real world.
Both Astrin and Paulo looked at him in surprise. He simply smiled and shrugged.
“Forgive me if I presume too much, but I feel I am obliged to ask whether you have thought through this plan, which, to me, smacks of madness. Already House Michael is planning to use King Hersten and Lord Regent Charles in some grand scheme that will not be to the benefit of either of your Houses. You are the only hope for resistance. If you fall into his hands too—”
“We won’t.”
“But surely it is foolish.”
Astrin drew himself up and looked haughtily at Paulo. “It is not for you to comment whether or not we are foolish. It is neither your decision to make nor your place to question it.”
“Forgive me my forwardness, Your Majesty. What you do is, of course, for you to decide. However, as a prominent member of House Gabriel, the future of my House and safety of my king
are
my business. If it were not that I have such a close relationship with Lady Sophia and am under strict instructions from her, I would feel obliged to take whatever steps within my power to prevent my Lord King from accompanying you on this outrageous endeavor.”
“Prevent me? What do you think you could do to prevent me?”
“I have not inconsiderable resources at my disposal, not to mention a position of influence in the port. Do not underestimate my capabilities. I can help you on your way… or I can prevent it.”
Rowan stared at him, shocked. He didn’t doubt the man meant, or was capable of, what he said.
“But you are not going to… hinder us?”
“As I have indicated, I have a close relationship with your aunt Sophia, and she was most clear in her instructions. As much as I feel you are making a huge mistake, I am bound by oath to help you in any way I can. Therefore I will arrange passage for you on the train to Agavi tomorrow morning. It leaves at ten from the main station. I suggest you familiarize yourself with the location of the station this evening. Do you have plans for where you will stay?”
“No.”
“You are welcome to stay here if you wish. Otherwise, come back here at nine in the morning, and I will have the transport papers ready for you. Do you have enough money for tonight?”
“We have plenty.”
“Then I will arrange for a supply of House Michael currency to be included in the package. If you wish it, my house is your house.”
“Thank you, but we would prefer to stay in town. It would provide us with more opportunities to acquire information.”
Paulo smiled knowingly and nodded, clearly dismissing them. For a moment, Rowan froze—
they
were being dismissed? Astrin nudged him, so Rowan shrugged, and they left.
D
RUNK
AND
D
ISORDERLY
T
HAT
NIGHT
they slept in a seedy boarding house in a back street. They ate and drank in a little bar a few doors down the same street and managed to keep out of trouble, mainly thanks to Astrin. Rowan discovered their abilities blended well, and by the time they staggered back to the boarding house in the early hours of the morning, they were as comfortable speaking with their minds as their mouths—not that either mind or mouth was working very well at that point.
They’d been drinking the harsh local liqueur, which tasted like apples but took the skin off the back of the throat for the first few mouthfuls before it anesthetized it. Astrin leaned heavily on Rowan and giggled as they bumped together and almost knocked each other onto the ground.
Rowan tightened his arm around Astrin’s waist and tried to steady him, but Astrin was too playful and far too drunk. Throwing back his head to look at Rowan with eyes full of stars, he let his whole weight fall into his arms, and this time they
did
both go down.
Astrin sat on the ground looking surprised, and then he glanced at Rowan—who was slowly dragging himself up the wall—grinned broadly, and toppled sideways. Rowan was far from steady, but there was a voice in the back of his mind whispering they shouldn’t be displaying obvious signs of incapacity out here in the street. There was a steady stream of shady-looking people passing by. Some regarded them with curiosity, some with amusement, and some with far less savory expressions.
After trying unsuccessfully to rouse Astrin or to haul him to his feet, Rowan sat down and pondered. His mind was fogged with alcohol, but he was convinced he should get them both off the street as soon as he could.
He began to wonder whether any of his abilities might help. Could he do anything to make himself stronger or Astrin lighter? He could make people speak the truth, which was less than useless in these circumstances. He could speak directly into Astrin’s mind, but that was useless as well when the mind in question was switched off. He could speed up his atoms, but passing through Astrin was not going to help get him inside.
Idly he wondered if he could make other things vibrate faster too. Reaching out his hand to touch the ground, he was surprised when it began to ripple. A little shower of stones started to sink into it. When he took his hand away some of the stones were caught, half in and half out of the pavement. Okay… interesting, but how could it help?
He looked around and found a larger stone within arm’s reach. Holding it in his hand, he concentrated hard on increasing the vibrations of the stone’s makeup. Just a little to begin with. It shimmered and passed through his hand to fall onto the ground. Picking it up again, he glared at it.
“Why won’t you bloody well float?” The stone rose to hover half an inch above his hand. He looked at it in surprise. Curious he stared at it and thought it looked a little like a face. He jumped and drew back when, at the thought, the stone transformed into his uncle’s face. Gulping, he thrust the stone into his pocket and looked around again, but there was nothing obvious he could see that would help him get Astrin on his feet.
Growling with frustration, he slung Astrin’s arm over his shoulder and heaved. Stirring slightly, Astrin opened bleary eyes and grinned in an unfocused manner, then closed his eyes and started to get heavy again.
“Oh no, you don’t. We have to get inside. Stand up and walk.”
“Walk?” Astrin murmured indistinctly.
“Yes, walk, you drunken fool. One foot in front of the other.”
With more success, Rowan worked Astrin up the wall until he was upright, then he slung Astrin’s arm across his shoulder and hauled him onto his feet. They stumbled awkwardly along the street to the door of the boarding house. Scrabbling in his pocket, Rowan found the key and opened the door. Astrin fell across the threshold and sat on the floor giggling. By now Rowan had sobered up, so he found Astrin’s behavior infantile and irritating.
“Get up. We’re not there yet,” Rowan snapped. Astrin giggled again, with a goofy expression on his face. Rowan had never been more thankful to have a room on the ground floor, so he didn’t have to get Astrin up the stairs. Somehow he managed to drag him across the hall. A door opened, and the landlady stuck her head out.
“Everything all right, boys?”
“Kind of. My friend had a little too much to drink.”
“Well, keep the noise down.” She grinned. “Can I assume you won’t be early for breakfast in the morning?”
“Actually, I will. I don’t know about him. We have to be somewhere at nine.”
“I’ll get it ready for eight, then. How does that sound?”
“At the moment it sounds wonderful, but I’m not going to promise an appetite in the morning.”
The landlady shook her head with amusement, then withdrew and softly closed the door.
Rowan got Astrin into the room with some difficulty and closed the door behind them. Smiling blissfully, Astrin threw his arms around Rowan, knocking him off-balance so he fell backward onto the bed with Astrin on top of him.
Astrin paused, gazing down at Rowan, and Rowan froze, his eyes wide. With the light behind him, Astrin looked like an angel. His hair was brightened to liquid silver, and in the shadow his eyes were dark. He was so beautiful that he took Rowan’s breath away, and Rowan was afraid to move in case he did something stupid that might drive Astrin away.
Astrin looked thoughtful and brought his face closer to Rowan’s, his head tilted a little to one side. Rowan could feel his breath, and the thud of his heart was almost painful.
“Get off me, you fool.”
Astrin said nothing, still thoughtful.
“
What?
”
“You’re pretty.”
Rowan’s heart gave a huge thump and stuck in his throat. His hands were on Astrin’s waist, and he felt like pulling him down against him, throwing his arms around him, and just holding him.