A Shade of Madness: The Ashes of Avarin Book 2 by Thiago Abdalla

Author:Thiago Abdalla [Abdalla, Thiago]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781957237091
Publisher: The Alterian Press
Published: 2023-01-23T13:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The bottom of a fall is always safer than the top.

— common saying in the Visslands

Kadmus worked all through the night and was ready when Bahar’s man walked into his store early the next day. Bahar had picked the afternoon the last time, but he’d said enough for Kadmus to predict he’d want to change that. Bahar thought he was strong enough to take the pain, and he likely thought an early start would give him time to heal from one wound and have Kadmus work on another the same day.

Kadmus might consider it if Bahar pushed him hard enough, but he was hoping what he had to show the emissary would direct his thoughts elsewhere. Kadmus had always steered clear of the upper city’s affairs, but that didn’t mean he was ignorant of how things worked. The council and Queen Lesraile had always followed the Church’s designations in days of the week. Each week started on Reflection-day. Resolution-day came four days later and was traditionally kept as a day for important meetings to be held. Accordingly, the council held its meetings on Resolution-day. And that was today.

Kadmus made sure the vials he’d worked on all night were safely packed, then set out after the messenger to find Bahar. He’d already checked on Nima, trusting his prediction that the messenger would come early. His calculations were one of the few things he placed a slight trust in. Unlike people, they rarely let him down. And when they did, they could always be analyzed and a reason determined.

Leaving his daughter behind in the state she was in still tugged at him, but staying by her side without advancing toward a cure would do nothing to help. He’d monitored her breathing, and she’d been steady since the last dose of the serum. She was strong; she would hold until his return.

The man led Kadmus into the upper city. They climbed higher this time, two levels below the palace. The roads were emptier here and the houses larger, some of them resembling miniature keeps with low, rounded towers rising into conical roofs. It was oddly quieter up here, but silence was something Pelaket never truly knew. Not on the streets, at least.

The messenger paused before a manor that would have looked like a castle to the people in the lower city. Here, though, it seemed small, with not nearly as many levels as the surrounding buildings, and a low gate not half the size of its neighbors. Kadmus understood why Bahar might have picked it. The messenger opened a gate and gestured for Kadmus to step in but didn’t move forward himself. Kadmus went through and strode up the wide walkway to the house. He opened the door without knocking.

The entrance hall was wide and tall, with a set of stairs that were almost as wide as the room, leading to a mezzanine. There were purposeless benches to the side of the stairway, facing doors that led to other parts of the house.

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