Jov’s skin seemed to gray. My stomach rose to my throat. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out; Tain was equally mute, staring back at the Artist-Guilder. Marjeta regarded us calmly. She spread her lovely, long-fingered hands. “I didn’t come here to shock you,” she said. “But you should know I’m not the only one who knows who you are, Jovan, because I wasn’t the only one who knew who your Tashi was.”
“Who else?”
She shrugged. “Budua and I have known for years. And there will be others. Oh, Etan was good, but Caslav was always that bit too cautious whenever food or drink was involved, and once you’d seen that he didn’t ever take something directly from you, you started to notice how Etan was always there near him, so quick to try anything.” She reached out and touched Tain’s hand. “Honored Chancellor, I would have kept that secret forever. I have no interest in the intrigues of the Families, but I understand the dangers and the power shuffles, and I wouldn’t begrudge you this protection. But things are different now. There are people on the Council you shouldn’t trust.”
“Who?” I asked, at the same time as Tain said, “Why now?”
“Your uncle was working on something,” she said, addressing Tain. “Some of us supported him, but most didn’t. He wanted things to change—he wanted Sjona to change. Things out on the estates have fallen behind the cities. The Families have been taking advantages, too many—and we Guilders were letting it happen, too. Caslav was trying to change things, build relationships. But then he died. And you … well, forgive me, Honored Chancellor, but I didn’t know you well. You never seemed much interested in the ancient responsibilities of the chancellery, only its benefits. And almost immediately you started taking private meetings with Caslav’s biggest opposition.” I realized then that she’d answered both our questions after all.
“Bradomir,” Jov murmured. “Lazar…”
She nodded. “Along with others—Nara, Varina—they opposed the measures Caslav wanted to introduce. He and Etan were working in secret to build support. The common people have no reason to trust us, you know. But he was trying. Before he died he was supposed to meet with a large party of respected elders from the estates. But the meeting never happened, and I have speculated that someone was undermining his attempts. Probably the people with the most to lose. The richest Families, with the biggest estates.”
My chest felt heavy. I had searched for connections between Councilors and the rebels and too quickly dismissed the possibility of the poisoner operating for different reasons than the rebel cause.
Marjeta sat, looking between us. Her voice shook. “Budua and I hid the records. When you were asking about them before, we removed Council minutes and discussions. We weren’t sure who killed Caslav, and we thought…” She dropped her gaze to her hands on her lap.
“You thought I might have been involved,” Tain finished, sounding hollow. “That I might have…”
She nodded. “Whoever did this knew enough to get through Etan, which meant they knew what they were doing. You two turned up mysteriously and unexpectedly on the day the Chancellor died, and though you must have known it was poison you seemed unconcerned about your own safety. And everyone knew you and Caslav disagreed about a lot of things. He loved you, but he said you had a lot of your mother in you. Sometimes…”
“He despaired of me,” Tain finished again, a half-smile touching his lips. “He used to say that all the time.”
“He wouldn’t have been the first person to misplace their affection.”
“Well, he didn’t,” Tain said, the smile gone. “I loved my Tashi. And we never disagreed about the important things.”
“The Families have a lot to lose if the working people start having a voice on the Council, or even in the city,” Marjeta said. “The spice and gemstone mines make them rich, and Caslav was looking into their working conditions, and making noises.…” She pinched her nose. “At the time, of course we didn’t think anyone would do something like that. We thought there would be pressure and politics, not murder.”
“Etan must have thought the same, or he’d have told me,” Jov said. He still looked stricken. My own thoughts spun. Had Etan been ashamed of his own ignorance, too embarrassed to confess to us what was happening without first having taken steps to remedy it? Like Jovan, he had been a proud man, and one who viewed any failure of his duties harshly.
“And the army outside?” I asked. “What has that got to do with it? If Caslav was making changes, why would they attack us? That wasn’t a sudden decision after he died; this is an organized rebellion.”
“If I knew that, I’d have come forward sooner, suspicions or no,” Marjeta said. “We’re all in this together, aren’t we?”
“Maybe,” Jov said, and I knew he was thinking of the tunnels, and his dark pursuer.
Tain sighed. “At least tell us more about what was happening on the estates. I still don’t really understand how this relates to the Darfri. Kalina studied the records and we know the city lost control of the schools and lawkeeping out there decades ago. But what does it have to do with religion?”
“It’s all tied together,” Marjeta said. She ducked her head. “And I have shared in it as much as anyone. Disrespect of the way of life we once all shared. The contempt the cities hold for the Darfri—‘earthers,’ we call them, and treat them like they’re foolish, or diseased. They had complaints about the use of land, and the sites they consider sacred spirit places.”
One of Tain’s guards called in. “Messenger, Honored Chancellor.”
We turned to the doorway and a girl in a messenger’s sash came through. “Honored … Chancellor,” she gasped, panting. “You … you said to come…”
It took me a moment to recognize the long, chinless face and big eyes: the messenger we’d left in the tunnel.
“They’re coming, Honored Councilor—the rebels are breaking through.”
Art’s plainsrose
DESCRIPTION: Woody shrub found along dry creek beds, watercourses, gorges, and rocky slopes. Flowers range from pale pink to mauve and round leaves are strongly scented when crushed. Dried, powdered leaves form the main ingredient in Art’s tonic, a sedative used extensively in medical care.
SYMPTOMS: Pain relief and drowsiness, unconsciousness.
PROOFING CUES: Distinctive smell when dissolved in fluid.
11
Jovan
We returned briskly along the increasingly familiar route back to the tunnel entrance, my feet slipping in my sandals and my heart and head racing at equal pace. Anxiety strangled the logical part of my brain as I tried to balance the conflicting information we had gathered. I needed time, space, and good health to sort through it, and I had none of those things.
But despite that, through the various complaints my body threw at me as I ran, and all my doubts and fears, a tiny knot inside me had loosened. The possibility that Etan had willfully contributed to the oppression of our countryfolk had chipped away at my regard for him, tainting my memories. But now I knew he had become aware of his damaging ignorance and had tried to change things rather than cover them up, and that reenergized me. I saw the same thing in Tain, a brightness to his eyes that had been missing. Not even the grim purpose of our return to the lower city could take the new information from us, or stifle the hope it ignited within.