Chapter 20: Night Sounds
On the twentieth day after Water City began to rise, Violet discovered that the salt stores didn't match the ledger.
It wasn't Astrid's doing. She managed the granary well. Grain sacks stacked neat. Every sack in and out recorded clearly. What was missing was something else. Salt. The salt brought by the Frost Claw Tribe. Recorded at five hundred sacks when it entered storage. Yesterday's count showed only four hundred and ninety. Ten sacks of salt. Enough to feed a hundred people for a month.
Violet stood in the salt store, looking at the stacked sacks. Gray Bone stood behind her. "You're sure it's short?"
"I'm sure. Five hundred sacks in. Zero out. Now four hundred and ninety."
"Who touched it?"
"No one touched it. Astrid holds the key. The door shows no signs of being forced."
Gray Bone crouched down and checked the floor. Drag marks from salt sacks led from the store entrance all the way to the eastern wall. He stood and followed the marks. Violet followed him. The marks ended at the wall. Gray Bone knelt and felt the stones at the base. Loose.
He pulled a stone aside. Behind it was a hole. Not large. Just wide enough for a person to crawl through. On the other side lay the empty ground beyond the wall.
Gray Bone's face darkened. "Someone came in from outside. Stole salt. Crawled back out through here."
"Who?"
"Don't know. But this person knew where the salt is kept. Knew who holds the key. Knew where the wall is weakest."
Violet stared at the hole. "Silver Spring?"
"Not necessarily. Could be one of the water haulers. Hundreds of people move in and out of Water City every day. Anyone could have done it."
"Find out."
Gray Bone nodded and left.
Violet stood by the wall, looking at the hole. She was thinking. Whoever stole the salt didn't take it for personal use. Ten sacks was more than one person could consume. They took it to sell. Sell to who? North? South? Or Silver Spring?
Night fell. Everyone was asleep.
Violet sat by the fire, drawing maps. She marked the salt store. The granary. The wells. She was thinking. If she were the thief, what would she take next?
Leon walked out of his tent and sat beside her. "Gray Bone told me. The salt is short."
"Yes."
"Who do you suspect?"
"Not sure yet."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Watch. See who doesn't sleep at night."
Leon said nothing. He sat beside her, looking into the fire. From the east side of the city came the sound of Ulric's men snoring. From the west came the footsteps of Astrid's patrol. From the south came the sound of water flowing from the wells.
Then another sound. From behind the granary. Very soft. Like someone speaking.
Leon's ears twitched. He stood. His hand went to his blade.
Violet stood as well. "You heard it?"
"Behind the granary. Two people."
"Let's look."
Leon walked ahead. Violet followed. They moved along the base of the wall. Soft footsteps. Moonlight fell on the stones. Their shadows stretched long. At the corner of the granary, Leon stopped. He held out an arm to block Violet.
She heard it.
Not speaking. Something else. Soft breathing, mixed with stifled laughter. The rustle of fabric. The sound of skin against skin. And a woman's voice. Very soft. Half laughing, half gasping.
"Don't. Someone might come."
A man's voice. Low. "No one's here."
"What if—"
"No what if."
Violet recognized the woman's voice. Seraphina. The man's voice she didn't know. Low. Deep. A little rough. Not Leon. Not Darryl. Not Finn. Not Ulric. A stranger.
Leon recognized it too. He didn't move. He stood behind the corner, his arm still stretched before Violet. Moonlight fell on his face. His expression was unreadable.
Violet peered around the corner.
In the moonlight, on the empty ground behind the granary, two figures were pressed together. Seraphina's hair was loose. Golden, silver in the moonlight. She leaned against a man. His hand circled her waist. His face was hidden in shadow. But Violet saw his hand. Long fingers. Knuckles defined. Calluses on the fingertips. Not calluses from hard labor. Calluses from holding a blade.
The man's voice came again. "Your skin is so cool."
Seraphina laughed. "Your hands are so warm."
"Cold?"
"Not cold."
"Then why are you shaking?"
Seraphina didn't answer. Her hand slid down from his shoulder and stopped on his chest. Her fingers were undoing his buttons.
Leon grabbed Violet's wrist. He pulled her back. They retreated around the corner and pressed against the wall. The moonlight didn't reach here. It was dark. Violet could hear her own heartbeat. Leon's hand still gripped her wrist. He didn't let go.
"Let's go." His voice was very low.
"Wait."
"Don't look anymore."
"I want to know who it is."
Leon stared at her. Then he released her wrist and turned away. Violet didn't follow. She leaned against the wall, listening to the sounds from the other side of the corner. Buttons undone. The slide of fabric falling. Seraphina's laughter. Soft as wind.
"Aren't you afraid someone will see?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you're my mission."
The man's voice changed. "Mission?"
"A mission from my system. Get close to you. Bind you. Earn points."
Silence. A long silence. Violet held her breath.
Then the man laughed. Low. Deep. Rolling from his chest. "You're honest, at least."
"I don't like lying."
"Do you like me?"
Seraphina didn't answer. Her fingers stopped on his chest. In the moonlight, Violet saw that hand trembling.
"I do." Seraphina's voice was soft. "Not because of the mission."
"Then why?"
"Because you're handsome."
The man laughed. He took her hand and placed it against his own face. "You haven't even gotten a good look at me."
"I have. At the city gate. You were standing on a water cart. Your clothes were wet. Sticking to you."
"How long did you look?"
"A long time."
The man said nothing. He lowered his head and kissed her. Not gently. Deeply. Violet turned her head and looked at the stones of the wall. Gray. Uneven. Moonlight on them like broken silver. She shouldn't look. She shouldn't listen. But she didn't leave.
Leon's voice came from behind her. "You're still here?"
She turned. Leon stood several meters away. Moonlight on his face. Something in his amber slit pupils she couldn't read.
"I'm going." She said.
She walked past him. He caught her wrist. His hand was very warm.
"Stop looking." He said.
"I'm not looking anymore."
"You listened a long time."
"So did you."
Leon said nothing. He let go and turned away. This time Violet followed. They walked back to the fire, one after the other. Neither spoke. The fire had nearly died. Only a few dark red embers still glowed.
Leon sat down and stirred the fire. Sparks rose and faded.
"Do you know that man?" Violet asked.
"No."
"You've never heard his voice?"
"No."
"Who is he?"
"I don't know."
Violet was silent for a long moment. "Where did he come from?"
Leon looked up at her. "What are you thinking?"
"The salt. Ten sacks. Whoever took it knew the location of the salt store. Knew who holds the key. Knew where the wall is weakest. He's not here for the first time."
"You think it's him?"
"Not sure. But Water City has no strangers. Water haulers. Stone movers. Wall builders. Everyone is accounted for. Only him. We don't know him."
Leon stood. "I'll find out."
"No need. You won't find anything. He hides well."
"Then what?"
"Wait for him to steal again."
"And if he doesn't?"
Violet looked into the fire. "He will. Because he didn't come alone. He has companions. Companions need supplies. Supplies mean he'll steal again."
Leon stared at her. "You're using salt as bait."
"I'm using salt to find people."
Footsteps sounded from the east side of the city. Soft. Quick. Not Ulric's men. Someone else.
Leon's hand went to his blade. The footsteps came closer. Then stopped.
A man walked out of the dark. Not Seraphina. The man. Moonlight fell on his face. Dark brown hair. Gray-blue eyes. High cheekbones. Thin lips. He looked a great deal like Cecilia. But older. Harder. Colder.
He stood by the fire and looked at Violet.
"You're the woman who gives away water?"
"Who are you?"
"Cassian."
Violet's fingers tightened. Cassian. Within three months, someone would enter Gray Rock Tribe through that hidden passage. The one she had warned Leon about. Three months had passed. He was here.
"You know me?" Cassian asked.
"I've heard of you."
"From who?"
"From many people."
Cassian smiled. The same smile she had heard behind the granary. Low. Deep.
"Your sister is in Water City too. Aren't you going to see her?"
Violet's heartbeat skipped. Sister? Cecilia Winter had a sister? She searched her memory of the original book. Nothing. The original book had never written this.
Cassian saw the surprise on her face and smiled. "You didn't know? Cecilia didn't tell you?"
"Cecilia is dead." Violet's voice was calm. "I'm someone else."
Cassian's smile stopped. He stared at her. A long time.
"You look like her."
"Who?"
"My sister."
Violet stared at him. Cassian. Cecilia. The same surname. Winter. Silver Spring territory. Winter family. She calculated quickly. Cassian was Cecilia's brother. An exiled traitor. Someone Silver Spring didn't want. Just like her.
"You came through that passage?" She asked.
"Yes. The one you told Leon about. Eastern defense line. Beneath the dead giant tree."
"You know I'm the one who said it?"
"I know. Seraphina told me."
Violet's fingers clenched. Seraphina. System mission. Cassian. Three threads connected.
"Why did you come to Water City?"
"To see my sister. But she's dead. So I'll stay."
"Stay and do what?"
"Watch you. You look like her. But you're not her. You're more ruthless than her."
Violet said nothing.
Cassian turned to leave. After two steps, he stopped.
"The salt. I took it. Ten sacks. I'll repay it."
"Repay with what?"
"My life. Seraphina's mission requires her to bind five men. I'm the third. She bound me. I help her complete her mission. She helps me survive. Fair."
He walked into the dark.
The camp fell quiet. Violet sat by the fire, gripping the charcoal. Leon stood beside her.
"He's Cecilia's brother."
"Yes."
"You didn't expect that."
"No. It wasn't in the book."
"What else was in the book?"
"That you would come. That you would help Gray Rock Tribe. That you would—" She paused. "That you would win."
Leon stared at her. "Did the book say I would stand beside you?"
Violet looked up at him. The embers of the fire danced in his amber slit pupils.
"It did."
"What did it say?"
"It said you would stand half a step behind me."
The corner of Leon's mouth moved. He crouched down and placed the last piece of wood into the fire. The flames rose again. Orange light lit both their faces.
"Half a step. Is that enough?" He asked.
"Enough."
From the east side of the city came the sound of Ulric's men snoring. From the west came the footsteps of Astrid's patrol. From the south came the sound of water flowing from the wells.
And another sound. From behind the granary. Very soft. Seraphina laughing.
Violet didn't look back. She was looking at Leon. Leon was looking at the fire.
"How long did you watch just now?" She asked.
"What?"
"Behind the granary."
Leon didn't answer. His ears turned red. Violet saw it. She didn't say anything. She lowered her head and continued drawing her map. But the corner of her mouth lifted.
Cassian. Cecilia's brother. Traitor. Salt thief. Seraphina's third mission. A ticking bomb in Water City. She would open a page for him in her ledger.
Leon's voice came from across the fire. "What are you smiling about?"
"Not smiling."
"You were."
"You saw wrong."
Leon said nothing. But she saw it too. The corner of his mouth. Lifted.
In the distance, the laughter behind the granary stopped. Footsteps. Two people. Walking toward the east side of the city.
Violet rolled up her map and held it to her chest. She pulled her coat tighter. Leon's coat. Warm.
Cassian. Starting tomorrow, she would investigate him. Where he was before he came to Water City. Who he was with. What he wanted. Who he sold the stolen salt to. Who his companions were. What he was really planning. He hadn't come to find his sister. He had come to do business. Doing business in Water City required asking her first.
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End of Chapter Twenty
The salt stores are short. A secret meeting behind the granary. A mysterious man claiming to be Cecilia's brother. Cassian has arrived. He says he'll repay the stolen salt with his life. Violet doesn't believe him. She'll open a page for him in her ledger. Investigate him. Calculate him. Guard against him. Water City has no room for ticking bombs.