The Fire Eye Refugee Read online

  Kay kept her eyes peeled as she entered the Apex, Ban Terrel’s neighborhood. No sign of large men with white straps, doctors in dark glasses, or robed fire magicians. Just subtle displays of wealth and power, pressing in more aggressively with each step. The Apex was one of the oldest and most respected parts of Celest. It sat atop a hill and the expensive manors fought their way even higher up into the sky, several more than five or six stories tall. The neighborhood, which she had rarely set foot in before, was an important reminder of her status. Kay was often hired by nobility, but she never went in through the front door. There was a large part of Celest she rarely was exposed to. A deep pocket of culture one had to be born into to experience. Orphan mixed-bloods with no family name need not apply. Ban Terrel lived in that world. It was surprising that he had met her himself the night of the Opening. He probably had a skydeck which rivaled the Goet Overlook and was far more private. It was not surprising that every interaction since then had been through Yamar. A servant or soldier charged to freely speak with his master’s voice, but still a subject, not nobility. But Kay wanted to get past Yamar. She wanted to see Ban Terrel herself, see his face when she told him there was no Leah Jordene. The child he had set her on didn’t exist.

  A few inquiries among the servants wandering the streets led her to Ban Terrel’s estate. It had three major entrances. Front, servants, and business. After monitoring the foot traffic for a moment, Kay went in the business entrance. There was a chance they had left her name in case she came by. The man at the desk looked dubious when she gave him her name and asked to see Ban Terrel. He had her waiting for nearly an hour before telling her to get lost. Ban Terrel wouldn’t see her and they didn’t have the time to spare even a lower administrative type to converse with her. Given the hard way he looked at her, her mixed-blood was not helping her case. After a few moments of gentle argument, she gave up and headed outside.

  As she circled around to the servants’ entrance, she pondered possibilities. The message may have never reached Ban Terrel and she was just suffering the attitude of a lower level operative. Or Ban Terrel may be expressing his dissatisfaction with her visiting him rather than working through Yamar. A third possibility was he wished to speak with her but needed secrecy, in which case he would likely just send Yamar to her office with apologies.

  Kay ducked into the servants’ entrance. Security was either distracted or non-existent and she was able to get onto the grounds. She saw a servant with a tray loaded for a tea service and followed him out into the gardens. They were small but ornate, rows of hedges artfully decorated with bamboo shoots and orchids. A beautiful little oasis which had probably never seen a mixed-blood before. She ducked off the path as the servant delivered the tea to an old man with a shaved head and thin beard, dressed in a robe of dark grey and a flamboyantly dressed woman also of advanced age. At the sight of them, her mind started racing.

  She watched the servant begin the tea service. When he left the couple, Kay thought for a moment, choosing her phrasing carefully, and then caught the arm of the servant as he passed. He gave her an irritated look. “Who is that with Ban Terrel?” she asked.

  “Why are his guests your concern?”

  Kay’s heart sank.

  The servant was pressing on. “Who are you?” When she didn’t answer, “May I ask how you came to be in the gardens?” He looked ready to signal the guards.

  “I’m no one,” she said and turned to leave.

  The Ban Terrel she’d met on the Goet Overlook, the night of the Opening, wasn’t the same as the man in the garden. Which meant the man she’d met hadn’t been Ban Terrel. It had looked like him, same dress, hair, and beard. But it wasn’t him. It was an imposter claiming his name. There were minor, but unquestionable differences in his face. Yamar had been lying. Everyone on the Overlook had been lying. They had set her on the trail of a child who didn’t exist and a mother who did. But she didn’t know who they were, who had set her to the task.

  She beat security out of the manor and headed back towards the office. She wasn’t sure what the day would bring, but she knew she was looking forward to nightfall. When Yamar came by again. She had lots of questions for him. And maybe if she didn’t like the answers, she’d take a page from Amos’ book. Bloody him and see where he ran to for shelter.

  Chapter 19. The Unknown Client

  Kay looked out the window. “He’s here.”

  The sun was nearly down. Amos and Kay had passed the day playing cards, only poking their heads out to get some food around lunchtime. Joah had joined them a few hours ago, the past two days of trying to locate the Fire Creep unproductive. Low clouds, grey and fat, covered the Fire Eye and hinted at rain.

  Abi was out drinking in the bars near the Dynasty governance building where the refugee council was meeting. She’d done the same yesterday, slipping smoothly into the crowds which endlessly discussed the day’s happenings with the council meetings. There was no longer any need for Abi to disguise her interest in the proceedings. Half of Celest was watching, betting and hedging on the outcome, which was still anyone’s guess. The Dynasty hadn’t tipped their hand in either direction. Special interests were fighting tooth and nail to control the public narrative but were largely canceling each other out. People passionate for one side or the other fervently believed the story that they were winning. Anyone rational could see no one knew what the hell they were talking about. The brightest among them kept quiet, as Abi did, parked in a corner, carefully noting who said what while the ball was still in the air.

  The news of the massacre at the Coulet House was making its way around. Reagan was being referred to as a madman, no agenda attached to him. No talk of a mixed-blood survivor. Red Canopy’s ploy had been blunted but none of the fallout had washed back on them. She couldn’t help but wonder if they were in the planning stages of another stunt. At least Kay hadn’t heard from the Home Guard again about her suspicious presence at the House.

  Amos and Joah were rising from the sofa. They’d taken to each other well, tirelessly swapping insults during the long day. Kay turned back to the window. Yamar was looking up, standing in the same spot as a couple nights ago. She had the curtains pulled close so he couldn’t see the others. She gave him a nod and he turned and walked towards the bar.

  “Time to try and learn who we’ve been working for.”

  …

  Yamar was in the same spot. The Harbor Grey, with his belly to the bar, back to the door. A soldier’s clothes, sword under a light cloak. She should have been suspicious that he shed the uniform they’d been wearing on the Overlook so quickly. The sword made sense for an employee of Ban Terrel. Now that she knew Yamar wasn’t one, it spoke to a different source of wealth, his or a backer’s. Carrying a sword within the city limits required a Dynasty fee. More than Kay could ever afford for sure. She took the spot next to Yamar and ordered her usual.

  Yamar turned to her. “Have you found her?”

  “Why is Ban Terrel looking for her?”

  “I told you before, he’s told you as much as he’s gonna tell you. I didn’t think this job was too much for you.”

  “Well, I found her. Leah Jordene. Pretty little thing.”

  Yamar’s eyes were squinted, lips pursed. Kay pressed on. “Give me my wages, I’ll tell you where she is.”

  “And the mother?”

  “Oh, are you interested in the mother? She never turned up.”

  There was a long pause, Yamar sipping at his drink, looking straight ahead. “I’m interested in the mother,” he said.

  “That wasn’t the way it was presented to me. You brought me on to find the girl. I did. Now pay me.”

  “We both know you didn’t find the girl. What I’m trying to figure out is if you’d be so bold if you hadn’t found the mother.”

  “Which way increases my odds of walking out of here alive?”

  “No one’s threatened you yet. I came alone.”

  Something in the way he said it made Kay bel
ieve him. Alone but still confident in his safety. Who was he really? “I seem to recall you telling me I’d be begging for scraps with the Farrow scum or something to that effect.”

  “Ban Terrel is prepared to compensate you fairly if you found Maggie. Yes, we made up the girl. Your specialty is children. We thought it might be motivating.”

  “Who is we, Yamar?”

  Yamar reached down and pulled a purse off his belt. He laid it on the bar. “This is four times what we agreed to. Where’s Maggie?”

  “Who am I working for, Yamar? I know it’s not Ban Terrel. Were those all actors up on the Overlook? Or is there a different gang I need to be afraid of? I think actors. You know why?”

  “Why?” Yamar asked.

  “Because you’ve never asked me about Reagan. Did he come back to collect his pay? I think not. He tried to kidnap me and I put him down. Now his name is on everyone’s lips because he massacred the Coulet family. You didn’t know that, did you? You barely knew his name. He was just some mercenary you paid to stand around and put on a show for me. Why did you want me to think I was working for Ban Terrel? Who am I really working for?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t tell you.”

  “Then I can’t tell you where Maggie Jordene is. You want to know, you tell me.”

  “What do you want?” He gave a frustrated snort when she looked at him flatly, took another drink. “Besides that. I’m a private investigator, okay? I got paid to find Maggie Jordene. Thought I’d use you as a shortcut but knew you wouldn’t take the job without a credible client and a kid to find. I thought the mysterious Ban Terrel would lead to fewer questions than a fake set of parents. Yes, those were actors.”

  “Well, Reagan sucked, a little too focused on his moonlighting gig with the Red Canopy, but I’ve got to give some credit to the old man who played Ban Terrel.”

  Yamar smiled. “Yeah, he’s pretty good.”

  “So who’s your client?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  Joah walked up to the bar on the other side of Yamar. He was looking straight ahead, eyes on the bartender’s back. “Hey,” he shouted, then threw a coin off the bar. It skipped and hit the bartender. Kay wasn’t sure exactly what he was doing, but she gathered herself to move quickly. “There’s a bunch of assholes trying to burn down a building back there, all wearing white straps like a gang or something. There any Home Guard around?” Joah had affected the tone of someone concerned about the neighborhood, but his message was for Kay alone. “I’m not trying to get in anyone else’s business but don’t really want to see us all catch fire.”

  Yamar turned back to Kay in time to see her pocket the purse he’d left on the bar. “Looks like they found me,” she said.

  “That’s mine.”

  Joah slid up against Yamar, held a knife to his back. “She wants it, it’s hers.”

  “How do I find Maggie Jordene?” Yamar asked, ignoring the knife.

  “First find me alive tomorrow.” Kay finished her drink. In the corner of her eye she saw Amos opening the door that led to the bar’s kitchen. He looked at her then the front doors. The Straps must be closing in. “Then tell me who your client is.”

  “I can protect you. I have resources.”

  “But I don’t trust you. That’s the problem.” She moved to follow Amos, turned back. “Find a way. This one’s on you. Convince me you’re not gonna just kill her or somehow sway the refugee council against the Farrow with her. Otherwise you can come back with blades out but you’ll have to get in line. My enemies are thick this week. And I was supposed to be off.” Amos pulled the door shut behind them as she walked through.

  Chapter 20. Enemies at Heel

  Kay clustered with Amos and Joah in the well-lit bar kitchen. A couple of staff looked at them curiously but hadn’t spoken up against the intrusion yet. Joah said, “They’re trying to set the office on fire but it doesn’t seem to be catching. Maybe twenty of the Straps you described. They should know you’re not in there by now. They’re fanning out. They’ve got your description and are asking about you on the streets.”

  Kay looked at the back of the kitchen where there was another exit. “Joah, blend into the crowd. Stick behind. See what Yamar does, make sure he wasn’t with them. Then follow a couple of the Straps and see if you can figure out where they’re headquartered, if it’s someplace other than the House Renlan. Don’t let the doctor see you if he’s around.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “Not this time, Joah. If they don’t have the doctor, they don’t know what you look like.” Reagan had but he was dead. “They aren’t looking for you and we need someone to keep Abi from wandering back into their hands. Amos and I run because we have to. They’ve got my description and they’re not letting a Farrow walk away from this scene. Unless they’re idiots.” She pushed Joah. “Go. Stay safe. Make a noise if they come in the front.”

  He gave her a look, grabbed her hand, then turned back to the door. As he walked through it, loud voices drifted back from the bar. The Straps were inside. Kay grabbed Amos and they ran out the back exit.

  Outside they found a tight alley, just lit enough in the dying light that they could see a single Strap, faced the other direction. He turned at their footsteps but Amos closed the distance quickly and laid him out with a hard right. “They’re just big kittens,” he said, standing over the unconscious youth.

  “Can’t count on them all being that soft,” Kay said. “Plus they’ve got the numbers.” She was looking around, thinking. She didn’t want to go to the Home Guard. Once they held her they wouldn’t let go as easily as last time. She could maybe trust Sol but the rest could have been bought. Probably how the Straps got her address. Would they have gone to her apartment before the office?

  Amos took a few steps down the alley. “Follow me.”

  “Seriously? You know like two places in this city.”

  He looked back at her and gave a shrug. “They wanted to learn more about who I was working for.”

  He was talking about the Bosun. And he was right. They had muscle, if they could only be convinced to bring it to a fight that wasn’t theirs. She grunted in agreement. What other options did they have? “Fine. We go to The Bear and Flower.”

  A shout went up from the mouth of the alley. A pair of Straps were coming towards them, more behind them. Kay and Amos took off running in the other direction. They got to a wider street and ran down it, heading west. No Straps appeared from the sides to cut them off. The pursuit trailing behind them formed into a large pack. Maybe as many as the twenty Joah had mentioned earlier. None were any faster than Kay or Amos but they weren’t falling behind either. After the initial shouts to alert the rest of their gang, the Straps were quiet. The only sound was feet on the stones. Too many feet.

  Neither group bothered to hide during the half-mile run to the Bosun’s headquarters in the Lagoons. The chance of running into any of the Home Guard was slim in this poorer region of Celest. The streets sloped downhill, normally not all that noticeable. In this instance, with a pack of rabid Farrow and mixed-blood haters right behind them, Kay was grateful. She doubted she and Amos would survive if the Straps caught up to them, regardless of whether their orders had called for capture and interrogation. A quiet room with the doctor. That did nothing to put the mind at ease.

  Most of the wealthy neighborhoods in Celest made reference to elevation in their names: the Heights, Apex, High Street, Mansion Hill. Rougher neighborhoods went the other way. The Lagoons was the latter. The lighting became sporadic as they entered the area, though it was still not dark enough to slip away into an alley undetected. The streets were less cared for, loose stones threatening to turn underfoot. Most of the businesses had closed with the setting sun, and there were not many people about to gape at the passing runners.

  Kay hadn’t been to the Bosun’s base of operations, a bar called The Bear and Flower, for at least a couple years. She was relieved Amos knew the way well and guided th
em straight to the front of the well-lit joint, crowded with men in the Bosun sleeveless blues, tattoos on display. Amos slowed but still went in fast, looked around, and walked up to a table. Four men were playing dominos, one of whom Kay recognized as the lean Bosun who had been dealing with the Farrow at the fight the other night.

  “Micah,” Amos said in a rush. “Can I introduce my employer Kay?”

  Micah looked up from the dominoes slowly, calculating eyes scanning the pair. He had wild black hair which fanned out to one side and a mustache ending in sharp points at his cheekbones.

  Kay pulled the purse she’d taken from Yamar off her belt and tossed it onto the table in front of Micah. “It’s an honor,” she said. “I apologize about tracking dirt into your establishment but we have enemies on our heels.”

  Micah’s eyes slid past them towards the front of the restaurant. Kay turned to see several Straps walking in through the front door. They had the attention of all the Bosun scattered about, some eating, others dicing or playing dominoes.

  Micah rapped his knuckles twice on the table, then reached up and pulled a nearby bell cord, sending a small chime through the air. He calmly turned to the man next to him and said, “Tell them to wait a moment.” The man rose and hustled to the front. As Kay watched he stopped the forward progress of the Straps. More Bosun were filing into the room, alerted by the bell. The Straps had stopped but weren’t surrendering any ground.

  Micah was back to staring at Kay and Amos. Without looking down, he laid a domino tile, one last play in the game, before emptying the purse on the table in front of him. He stacked the coins neatly, still not taking his eyes off the pair of visitors. There was a shimmy from the curtain behind him, and a large woman, covered in jewelry, emerged. She was an aged beauty, thick around the middle, with sharp eyes and a tight bun of hair atop her head.