CHAPTER ELEVEN

They were almost done with their belated midday when Keth looked up to see Dema in the workshop door. he offered through a mouthful of flatbread and chickpea spread. something.

Glaki towed Dema over to the bench, where he sat abruptly and took the food Tris offered. A handful of olives and a wedge of cheese revived him a bit, as did the ladle of cold water Glaki fetched for him. he said to her, s your name?

Glaki, suddenly shy, stuck her thumb in her mouth and hid behind Tris.

s Glaki,Tris explained quietly. was her mother, Yali her foster-mother.

Dema said, dejected. s more ill luck than anyone should have in one lifetime.He looked at the globe that sparkled on a counter. one. Splendid. If the last two are any indication, hell strike toni ght. Any luck in getting the lightning to clear?

re going to work on that after we eat,Keth replied with a sidelong glance at Tris. turned you down, didnt they? The Keepers.

said they did,Tris murmured.

Dema looked at the hardboiled eggs and helped himself to two. said the city cant afford the loss of income from Khapik,he said, shoulders drooping as he peeled an egg. That the people would lose confidence in the Keepers, even the Assembly. That it would look as if they were admitting defeat at the hands of a lone madman. That all order is lost. In the audience chamber, while Niko asked about the cleansing, I heard someone whisper that if Khapik closed, the Ghost might come for respectable women. Chime clambered into Demas lap, purring musically. He smiled absently at her, ate half an egg, then continued, Keepers asked why they shouldn t replace me now and let my family deal with the loss of status. Thank the All-Seeing I had a fallback plan to give them. If I dont fin d the Ghost in ten days, Nomasdina Clan loses one of our Assembly seats as punishment for sending an idiot like me to work for Tharios. I asked how could I save our honour with Khapik open and my hands tied, but they were done with me. How can they not care?he burst out, looking from Keth to Tris. are dyingl Why wont they do whatever is necessary to save them? He stuffed the other half of his peeled egg into his mouth.

Tris laid a hand on Demas arm. are you up? You need sleep. Tired folk make mistakes.

Dema swallowed, drank some water, and sighed. m on my way back to Elya Street now. Theres a room in the back I can use.

About your fallback plan?Keth wanted to know, curious. s that?

Dema peeled his second egg. sergeants will find as many arurim as they can, particularly females, to bring into Khapik disguised as locals. I can do that if I pay for it myself, or rather Nomasdina Hall pays. With an Assembly seat at risk, Mother will let me spend the money.He looked at the globe. Come for me when that clears?

Keth nodded and squeezed Derms shoulder. some rest,he said. Dema nodded and left, eating his second egg.

They wont close Khapik,Tris mused, if he can find people to act the victim for him, and if he pays for their time, he can do that. This city doesnt make sense.

Does in a strange way,replied Keth as he gathered their leavings. you belong to a great family, your power is shown by what you give to the city that grants you greatness. The city gives to you, you give to the city. Its worked for Tharios until now.He dumped their rubbish in the barrel by the rear gate. And honestly, Tris, have you ever heard of anything like these murders? Women in the same line of work, killed the same way by one person, left out in public for everyone to see?

He. watched as she tugged her lower lip. - my foster-sister - wrote to me that some assassins worked like that in Summersea a few months ago,she replied slowly. they were killing the members of another family as part of a trade war, in a way that would frighten anyone who might think to cross them.

Dont think the Ghost does it for that,Keth said. arent exactly anyones rivals for anything. I think he likes it. A nd maybe he looks to shame Tharios, by showing that no one can stop him.

if you cant afford fountains or extra arurimi, like the yaskedasi and the Fifth Class, the city does nothing to help, Tris remarked tartly. She got to her feet and stretched to loosen her back. to work, Keth. Ive got an idea. Why don t you try to blend the lightning on the outside of the globe, so you can clear the surface. Maybe then you can look into it and see whats inside.

Keth tried to do as Tris suggested. First he tried to combine the outer lightnings into one large bolt he could peel away, but things distracted him from the task. Chime produced a shower of glass flames that rained on the laughing Glaki. The dog wriggled on the workshop floor to scratch his back . Street noise seemed louder than ever.

Only Tris didnt disturb Keth, though he wanted her to. He wanted her to thrust him aside and growl, here, Ill do it! Instead she read from a small, leatherbound volume. She seemed lost in it, though every time Keth glanced at her, she looked up, raising colourless brows over the brass rims of her spectacles.

Frustrated after what seemed like a dozen interruptions, Keth grabbed a hank of lightnings with thumb and forefinger, literally trying to jerk them off his globe. For a moment he saw its frosty white surface. An image grew there: long brown hair, large brown eyes, a full mouth with a wicked twist to the side. It was Yali.

Keth trembled; his eyes stung. After he rubbed them to make sure no unmanly tears fell, her image was gone. The lightnings hed yanked away escaped his hold to cover the globe again.

Keth set the globe down and covered his face with his hands, trembling with grief. He and Yali had only kissed once. For the most part they just talked, something Keth had never done with his betrothed in Namorn. They d discussed food, music, plays, even the customs of their countries. Something in Yali spoke to his heart. Shed had a restful quality unlike that of any girl hed ever known.