Page 60 of Ashes of Gold
Blood oaths, unbreakable, punishable by death.
What secrets are you trying to erase, Chancellor?I glimpse Grag outside the windows. He could have left but hasn’t, because that would make him look guilty, I gather. And for whatever reason, he’s determined to make us trust him.
Zora’s hand is warm on mine.
“What else has he not told us, you think?” I ask.
“Mother Yakanna says identify the opponent’s vulnerability and use it. Watch me.” We meet him outside and she squats in front of him. He tries to shrink.
“Do you sleep alone?”
“Huh?”
“The bed at night when you are safe at home. Do you share it with anyone?”
“M-my sisters and I all bunk together because of space.”
“Ah, and what side do you sleep on? By the door, protecting them as they sleep? Or like a coward on the inside, hoping they protect you?”
“I-I…”
“Let me ask you, who is there to protect them now?”
He stops breathing.
“Jelani is not your enemy unless you make her so. It is your choice. If there isanything else you know… sharing it would be a show of good faith.”
“Uh… uhm…,” he stumbles over his words. “Okay, so, the Loyalists, they meet in the Web. But not the Chancellor. He keeps a distance for plausible deniability, I guess. This bookstore was at the top of the hit list, a high-priority item… when the City started coming apart. But he didn’t say why. So, a lot of guys took it on, hoping to get in good with him. This shop owner probably had twenty or more trying to get to her first, cash in the prize the Chancellor promised. That’s all I know. I swear.”
Zora winks at me. “Very good.”
“Nicely done,” I say. “I bet you regret not leaving when you could have.”
He smiles nervously.
“Get out of here, Grag,” I say. “Before I change my mind.”
He stumbles up and backs away, bowing in thanks before booking it down the street. Back inside, Bri’s lifted blood samples from the floor and is stuffing them in a vial in her bag.
“What are you…,” I start when a familiar locked closet door catches my eye. I rush over, remembering the costume trunks and prohibited books Totsi kept in there. The closet’s wood panels are polished, untouched. I grip the knob on the door, and it burns.
“Shit.”
Zora’s at my back. “What is in there?”
“I don’t know, but look around: It’s the only thing in here not burned. No doubt they tried to.” That must be what’s enchanted for protection. I grip the handle again and whisper, “Quitzi.” The door warms and my magic moves through me, my fingers tingling. Like… like it’s searching me? Deciding if I should be let in? The lock jiggles, then clicks open.
Inside the closet is like a trip back in time; a tower of trunks etched with filigree in varying colors sit one on top of another. A hook with a ring of odd-shaped keys hangs on the inside wall. I pull the top trunk off and toss Bri the keys.
“Help me get these open.”
Bri and Zora work as I pull the rest of the trunks out.
“Six… seven…” I lug another onto the floor, this one with a cluster of locks. Totsi’s voice is a ghost in my memory. “They will pay for what they did to her,” I say under my breath, tugging at the locks.
“Costumes in this one.” Bri pulls out a neatly folded stack of black costumes covered in golden-tipped scales.
“Nothing in this one.” Zora holds up a hollow trunk with blue swirls painted on its side.
