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  She alternated between training and resting, and as dawn lightened to noon the training sands stayed resolutely empty, with no sign of the other students and no sign of Captain Augustin. Once the bell tower rang the midday hour she switched strategies and practiced battle spells, doing her best to incorporate them into the smooth, flowing dance of her spear forms. But it was difficult to shift from fighting to reciting spells. As she panted through incantations she lost focus and her spear form went sloppy. Curse these Creshens and their needlessly complicated magic!

  As the bells rang one past midday, Yenni’s frustration reached its peak. She yelled, threw her spear down, and plopped onto the sand, resting her head between her knees.

  “Small wonder they don’t want me here,” she muttered to herself. Perhaps she should give up, as Professor Mainard suggested. Perhaps this was the work of the Sha—their way of punishing her for her arrogance. With her affinity for runes, she had been sure she’d master Creshen magic, too, but this was beyond anything she could have predicted.

  Perhaps she should give up, but . . . she opened her palms, staring at the twin runes painted there. “I can’t,” she whispered and gritted her teeth against her tears. “I can’t,” she ground out again.

  Yenni jumped to her feet. She could stay there all day, wasting her second last day at the academy, and still never find Captain Augustin. She hated this feeling, this waiting around. She needed to do something. Where was it Weysh said she might find Captain Augustin? Ah, in town at the pubs.

  What was a “pubs”?

  Yenni snatched her spear up from the sand. She was about to find out, because she was going into the city to locate Captain Augustin.

  15

  First, Yenni went back to her suite and studied for a few hours, as according to Weysh she wouldn’t find Captain Augustin at the pubs until nightfall. Besides, she must be fully prepared to start her next semester’s classes, as start them she would.

  The sun made its descent and one of the residence maids came and used some Creshen spell to fill her bathtub with warm water. Yenni took a quick bath and changed into her lecture uniform. Not only were the leggings and mage’s coat her best defense against the chill in the air, she’d learned that students often wore their uniforms into town as a sign of prestige. Her stomach rumbled as she slid on her long mage’s coat, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten all day. She grabbed her back-satchel, where she kept all her remaining Creshen money, and slid it on. She might as well buy something to eat while she was out.

  She was nervous about using up her stock of runepaint, but under her uniform she’d painted some small runes for speed, strength, and even pain ward, though she didn’t anticipate needing them—it was more a precaution than anything. She eyed her spear leaning against the wall beside her bed. Once, in her Basics of Battle Strategy class, General Sol had told them to avoid carrying weapons into town, or to do so discreetly if they did. It wasn’t illegal, but it was frowned upon, as it tended to make people nervous. Yenni could think of no way to carry her spear into town discreetly, so her knife would have to do. She strapped it to her thigh rather than her arm in order to hide it under the flaps of her mage’s coat.

  As she was checking herself over a knock sounded on her door. Yenni opened it to find Diedre, who lived one floor down in the same residence. Yenni held up her hand to give Diedre the Creshen palm touch, but instead Diedre wrapped her in a crushing hug.

  “Wha—” cried Yenni.

  “Oh, how are you holdin’ up, mams?” said Diedre, resting her chin on Yenni’s head. She let Yenni go and held her loosely by the wrists. “I came to ask if you feel to go for dinner with me in town before, you know . . .”

  “Before I leave the academy?” Yenni finished for her. “I am not going anywhere, Diedre, you will see. In fact, I was planning to go to the pubs to find Captain Augustin and yes, I would very much love your company.”

  Diedre looked confused. “Augustin? But what he could do about this?”

  “He has helped me before, perhaps he can help me again.”

  Diedre shrugged. “If you say so, mams. Come, if we run we could catch the next tram.”

  Diedre led her at a steady jog to a road at the north of the campus where two long, silvery tracks, stretching off toward a copse of trees, divided the dirt. Beside them was a row of stone benches covered with wooden awnings where a few students sat in their uniforms, likely waiting for the tram-cart too. As they approached the tracks glowed blue with ach’e.

  “Oh!” cried Yenni. Her skin tingled with the energy coming off the ground. As the other students stood from the benches Yenni heard a rumbling noise, then the ting of a bell, and a strange contraption came trundling along the tracks toward them. It looked something like a pleasure boat, with a red roof and rows of seats, but on land. It shuddered to a stop and students streamed off.

  “Incredible!” Yenni breathed.

  The other students filed onto the tram and Diedre and Yenni hurried to follow, but when it came Yenni’s turn to board the operator put out a white-gloved hand and stopped her.

  “Just a minute, where’s your fare, en?”

  “Pardon?”

  “Your fare for the tram, mam’selle. It’s a quarter duvvy.”

  Comprehension dawned on Yenni: she must pay to ride.

  “I see,” she said, and reached into her back-satchel. She pulled out a hundred duvvy note. “Will this do?”

  The man’s eyes went wide. “My dear, that’s far too much.”

  “But what . . .” said Diedre from behind her. She trailed off incredulous and, shaking her head, reached into her own hip bag and pulled out a duvvy note about half the size of any of the notes Yenni had.

  “Here you are, sir. Come on, mams,” she said, and linked her arm through Yenni’s. She guided Yenni over to one of the hard benches inside and down they sat. The interior echoed with the clop of shoes on the wooden floor as everyone else settled. Finally the bell dinged again and the tram was off. Yenni wobbled and clenched the underside of the bench.

  Diedre put a hand on her shoulder to steady her. “And jus’ what you tryin’ to do, Mam’selle Yenni Ajani? Pay the man’s salary for the year?”

  “What? Oh, oh yes. I must have reached for the wrong type of duvvy note. Thank you.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” said Diedre, watching her shrewdly.

  Yenni averted her gaze. It wasn’t exactly that she didn’t trust Diedre, but she didn’t want anyone to know she was of the Yirba chiefclan. It would raise too many questions.

  “Oh! Look at that view!” she said, drawing Diedre’s attention instead to the window on their right. The tram moved even faster than she did with speed runes, though not as fast as she did on her field sphinx, and certainly not as fast as Dragon. She could clearly see everything as they traveled from the greenery surrounding the academy to the city center, trundling between buildings taller than she could have imagined possible, like an ant among giants. Who could climb all those stairs? Some even had bridges overhead connecting one building to the other.

  And like on Sainte Ventas, the buildings came in every color imaginable—blues and pinks and oranges; rainbow-like structures surrounded them, blocking out the sky. In fact, a few made a bright barricade dead ahead. Yenni gasped as the tram quickly closed in, but as they crested a hill she saw that the track curved to the right, and they carried along without harm. People walked along the stone-paved streets on either side, paying no mind to the tram even though it passed by close enough that she could reach out and touch them if she wanted.

  Periodically the driver called out districts of the city. “Marshay Street” or “West Castle West” and the tram would stop, letting off a stream of riders. At last the driver called out “Pub Street.”

  “That’s us,” said Diedre. The tram slowed to stop and they made their exit. Once again Yenni marveled at how different Cresh was fro
m home. Tall metal lamps that curved like drooping flower stems lined the streets, and strong, meaty smells wafted on the mild breeze. The tram dinged, voices chatted everywhere in musical Creshen, and even the way people’s shoes hit the stone ground was foreign, a hard clip, clip.

  Yenni put her hands on her hips as she surveyed the area. “Where is the pubs?”

  “Well, take your pick,” said Diedre. She waved her hand to encompass the rows of buildings lining the streets, flush with light and vibrating with energy. Creshen music, high, quick, and cheerful, danced on the air.

  “Oh! Of course. Now, where can I find Captain Augustin?”

  Diedre bit her lip. “Is only magic I does study, you know—runelore and theory of spellcraft mostly, but—” Abruptly, she put two fingers in her mouth and blew a high, piercing whistle that had everyone looking in their direction, including a group of young Creshen men across the street who were wearing their school uniforms.

  “Hello!” Diedre called waving to them. She jogged over and Yenni had no choice but to follow. “Do you fine fellows know Captain Augustin?”

  “Augustin? What about him?” This was from a young man who wore his dark hair in a short tail, like Harth Duval’s.

  “Could you tell us where to find him?”

  Another student, this one with shaggy hair like wheat that fell into his eyes, spoke up. “I’d try Les Canards.” He pointed to a building with wooden cutout of three ducks hanging in front. The boys exchanged a knowing glance.

  “Thank you,” Diedre said sweetly, drawing Yenni away. They hurried toward the building with the hanging ducks. Stepping under a bright-green awning, they faced a door with peeling green paint. Diedre pushed it open and a dull roar of conversation assailed them. The place was dim and a bit run down in Yenni’s opinion, but there were quite a few people inside, filling almost all of the wooden tables and chairs. On closer inspection, she even recognized a few students from her classes. Serving men and women carrying trays full of food scurried between the tables, like at feasts back home. She supposed a pubs was something like a big feast where all the people were strangers.

  One of the servers in particular seemed to stand out like a very bright star in the night sky. Men constantly called out to her, and even reached for her. She tossed back her yellow hair and laughed along with the men at one table, and lightly slapped away the reaching fingers of a drunkard at another, wagging her finger at him. Yenni felt for the poor woman, but she seemed to know how to handle herself. Eventually she breezed past them, enveloping them in a flowery scent. “Just sit wherever there’s room, ladies, be with you in a moment.”

  Yenni stood on her toes, scanning the room for Captain Augustin, but she didn’t see anyone who looked remotely like him. She even led Diedre on an impromptu tour of the cramped pub, dodging pointy table ends and harried servers, but he was nowhere to be found.

  “If Augustin is not here now, is a good chance he will be,” said Diedre as her eyes trailed the woman who’d greeted them. “Is a reason this place is so popular, an’ is not the beef pie.” She smiled slightly, a similar smile to those of the boys they’d met outside. “I always did want to come here.”

  Before Yenni could ask why, Diedre had already taken her gently by the wrist. Yenni let her friend direct her to one of the very few tables left at the back of the pub, and eventually the pretty woman who’d greeted them glided up to their table, her face aglow with a warm smile.

  “All right, loves, sorry for the wait,” she said as she tucked stray strands of hair behind her ear. “My name is Celeste and it’s my pleasure to serve you. Today’s special is our famous beef and potato pie, with a pint of paradis blond and a strawberry tart for dessert. Will that do for you?”

  “Ah yes, that will be fine, thank you,” said Yenni. She liked the beef and potato pie at the academy well enough. She wasn’t sure what the other two things were, though strawberry sounded familiar.

  Diedre ordered the same. As they waited for their food, Yenni kept jumping up every time someone entered the pub to see if it was Captain Augustin. Eventually, her eyes fell on two Creshen men at the table across from her, who watched her with interest. She glared at them until they laughed and went back to their own conversation.

  “You have got to relax yourself, Yenni Ajani,” said Diedre.

  “I can’t, Diedre. I don’t have much time. Tomorrow is my last day here. I must find a way to stay.”

  “I know, I know, mams. An’ believe me, I want you to stay, but you’re ridin’ yourself to hell and takin’ me along with you. Come. Relax. Fill your belly, an’ if is no sign of Augustin by the time we finish, we’ll check every pub in the district until we find him. Good?”

  Yenni sighed. “All right.”

  Soon Celeste was back and placed their meals on their table. “Five duvvies each,” she said.

  “Oh, of course.” Yenni took off her satchel and reached inside, finding the same one-hundred duvvy note from before. This is likely too much, she thought, remembering the comments of the tram operator. She pulled out all her money and started going through it, trying to find something smaller.

  “Oh my,” breathed Celeste, blinking her large blue eyes.

  Diedre glanced up from her own bag and her mouth fell open. “Watch’Ahmighty! Mams!” she hissed, and gestured frantically at the money. “But why it is you have all that bank on you at once? Put it away!”

  “Bank? I don’t understand.”

  “Money,” she clarified and leaned in to stuff the duvvies back into Yenni’s satchel. She paid for both of them with a note of her own. “I don’t know how you all do on the Moonrise Isles, but is not smart to be traipsin’ around the city with all that. Suppose someone decides to help themselves to what you have?”

  “Oh!” That had not even occurred to Yenni. Back home she didn’t have much use for money. If she needed something she asked her mother for it, and more often than not things were gifted to her. Yenni shook her head and focused on her tray. The beef and potato pie looked delicious, the top crispy and brown. Beside that was a small, bowl-shaped crust with a red and sticky filling. Yenni took the smallest of bites. It was very sweet, but a bit sour, too, and salty besides. Altogether she found it pleasing. In a heavy metal cup with a handle was something foamy and white. She took a sip and made a face—some kind of Creshen beer. She’d never been a fan of beer, but it would have to do. She took up her Creshen fork and took a bite of the beef and potato pie. Maybe it was hunger, but it was far better than the pie at the academy. Despite the ravenous hunger in her belly she ate slowly, the result of years of ingrained etiquette lessons from her mother and stewards.

  Even so, by the time she’d finished everything, even the bitter beer, there was still no sign of Captain Augustin, and no matter what Diedre said, the panicky flutter in Yenni’s chest continued to grow, until at last she jumped up.

  “Let’s go.”

  Diedre stood slowly after her. “Listen, mams. I know you need to find Augustin, but do you really feel is wise to be prancin’ around with a small fortune on you? Maybe we should go back—”

  “There is no time,” said Yenni, shaking her head. She’d already lost so much, and she might well miss Augustin completely if she left the city. She had no idea if he could even do anything to help her, but right now the friendly captain was her only lead. “That’s all right, Diedre. I would not want you to be uncomfortable. I can continue on my own.”

  “Absolutely not!” cried Diedre. She threw up her hands. “Fine, let the hunt begin.”

  Stepping outside, Yenni saw the sky had gone dark, and the tall metal pole lanterns lining the streets glowed bright and blue-white. The city was transformed by sundown. The windows of the buildings glowed from within, and way up above, the tallest buildings were surrounded by rings of colored light. She craned her neck upward, her mouth open slightly as she regarded the twinkling illumination o
f the city. A tram rumbled past, bringing her back to reality. She had work to do.

  Mother and Father Ib-e-ji, watch over me.

  Yenni and Diedre spent the next two tolls of the clock ducking in and out of pubs, dodging servers and the grabbing hands of men with stale breath and staler compliments. Despite Diedre’s constant reassurances Yenni found herself getting more and more frustrated and panicked, until at last she rushed out of the latest pub like a rabbit smoked from its den, heedless of her friend.

  She gulped the night air as a deep bell somewhere in the heart of the city chimed the hour. Nine reverberating peals later she realized how little time she had left, but the thought of shoving her way through another noisy, sweaty crowd set her teeth on edge. Fighting back tears, she dragged herself to the alley beside the pub she’d just left, desperate for a few quiet seconds alone to think and regroup. She made her way to a pile of big wooden boxes at the back and sat down, grateful for the quiet and the shadows, soothing to her stressed and overstimulated nerves.

  “Yenni Ajani!” Diedre’s worried voice echoed on the night air.

  “Over here,” she called wearily. She sat with her head tipped back against the cool stone, listening to the screechy Creshen music leaking mutedly from the pub. Eventually the clip, clip of Creshen shoes echoed off the walls of the alley—two sets of footsteps.

  Yenni glanced up and saw two men coming toward her, side by side, blocking the alley entrance. They stopped about ten paces from her.

  “Hello, darling,” said the one on the right. He had limp hair and small cruel eyes, and Yenni recognized them as the two men who had been watching her at Les Canards.

  Yenni sprang to her feet. “What do you want?”

  “Now, now, no need for things to get messy, en? Give us your bag and you’ll be free to go.”