“No, you were perfect.” I sighed. “If you would have fought him, he would have killed you.”
“You really think so?”
I nodded. “He’s a professional duelist. I managed to surprise him, but I never really had a chance. He could have killed us both if he had wanted to.”
“In the middle of Elora’s house?”
I shrugged. “It would have been messy, but he probably could have gotten away with it. Don’t know.” I shook my head. “Either way, it’s better that you didn’t fight him. Still…thanks.”
“I’m your retainer, Corin. If I can’t do something like that, what good am I?”
I laughed. “You’re absurd, Patrick. You’re a great friend to me, even without throwing yourself in harm’s way. But the fact that you did…well, it matters.” I took a breath. “I’m not good at this kind of talk. Can we go do something else?”
“Sure. I think Cecily has been trying to find a chance to talk to you in private.”
Well, that was awkward in a different way, but at least it was the kind of awfulness that just had to do with political secrets and maneuvering. Nothing I wasn’t used to at this point.
“Okay. I’ll go talk to her.”
I found Cecily still in the dining area, then asked her to come with me to talk to me privately. We went back to the bedroom I’d been assigned. Sera had left by then, rejoining the others.
“You’re really going to go to the spire? That’s your plan?”
I nodded. “You know more than you’ve told me.”
“Obviously. You know more than you’ve been saying, too.”
That was true. “Let me fill you in on a few things.”
I spent a solid hour catching her up. Her eyes widened when I explained what had happened with Professor Orden, and again when I told her about my fight with Jin.
She was an engaged audience.
Better that than her being engaged to me, at least.
“Your turn.”
She blinked. “I…wow. You really fought Professor Orden? And a Child of the Tyrant?”
“Yeah. Neither experience was fun. I need to know, though — what’s your place in all this?”
She reached into a bag at her side and retrieved a book.
I didn’t even need to see the words to recognize it. The colors and dimensions were identical. “You’re kidding.”
“I found it during my Judgment. The Voice of the Tower started guiding me, giving me some directions,” she explained. “Then he told me he was Tristan Cadence, and that he was trapped inside the spire. I told Yunika. She already knew.”
There were multiple important bits of information there.
Especially the word “trapped”.
I had to know more about that. “Did he explain what he meant when he said he was trapped?”
She shook her head. “He implied there were things he couldn’t say. Maybe he has a mark like the one that Elora does?”
That wouldn’t be surprising. If Elora’s mark was real, then maybe all the members of their faction had one?
If so, it would mean that even finding Tristan might not get me the answers I wanted. But if it didn’t, getting inside the spire still gave me several other options. Especially with the team I was planning to bring with me.
“Okay. How did Yunika know about it?”
“She’s been climbing for the last couple years. Apparently, at one point, she was separated from her group…and Tristan appeared. He saved her from a monster. Like a hero.”
That was very interesting. It was the first thing I’d heard that implied that Tristan could physically appear in person in the sections of the tower that climbers explored.
I’d been assuming he was probably in the lower levels of the tower somewhere, in that administrative section that Researcher had alluded to.
It was possible that was still the case, though, and that he was simply able to move — or project illusions that looked like him, rather than just illusions that looked like a hovering cloak.
“And he, what, recruited her?”
Cecily shook her head. “No. He just warned her to stay away from the spire for a while, and to get her family out of the city before the end of the year. This was just a couple months ago. We’ve been preparing to leave, but Mom and Dad have been stubborn. They won’t believe Yunika, and she wouldn’t leave without them.”
That made sense, but it also raised the question of why Tristan didn’t recruit Yunika to whatever organization he was a part of.
Was he trying to keep her out of harm’s way?
Or did she simply lack the skills he needed to be useful tool?
I wasn’t sure I could believe what Cecily was telling me. She seemed genuine enough, but I’d been fooled before.
I also couldn’t guarantee that what Yunika had told Cecily was true. Maybe Yunika was working with Tristan, and simply wouldn’t tell her.
But for the moment, at least, Yunika sounded like a dead-end. I’d follow up with her directly for more information if I failed to find Tristan, but at the moment, Tristan and Elora were much more likely sources of information to pursue.
“Okay.” I nodded. “Do you want to come with us into the spire?”
Cecily gave me an awkward laugh. “Uh, I’m flattered, but I’m not really…” She shook her head. “I fought Mizuchi because I had to. But I don’t like fighting, Corin. I never have. And the spire? It’s terrifying in there. I don’t know how you can be so casual about going inside like this.”
“I prepare.” I tapped my head. “Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. And it’s still never enough. Not really. But if Tristan is in there? That’s where I need to be.”
“And I can’t convince you to wait a few months? Get those allies that your masked friend talked about?”
I shook my head. “Bringing Keras’ friends in on this would just introduce more people that I couldn’t necessarily trust. As much as I like Keras, I don’t know his true motives, or even what he is. I can trust that his primary goal right now seems to be to get in Katashi’s good graces, though, and that means he’s going to keep protecting me. With others, I can’t say the same. And I’m also just not willing to wait that long.”
Cecily sighed. “You’re still so stubborn.”
I nodded. “I know. Some things never change.”
She looked me straight in the eyes and said. “Yeah… You’re right. Some things never change.”
I’m pretty dense when it comes to things like that, but I’m pretty sure there was some sort of romantic implication in there.
So, I did the natural thing, said, “Okay, good talk. Bye for now,” and fled the room.
Chapter XXII – Unlikely Companions
It was only minutes after fleeing from Cecily that I remembered she’d been in my room, and that there was stuff I needed in there.
Awkward.
Either way, I had other preparations to do before going to the spire.
“Say, Keras. You don’t happen to have, hrm, infinite money?”
Keras chuckled. “No, Corin. And most of my money and equipment isn’t even in the country. I do have some money in an international bank, but it’s not a lot. Why?”
“If we’re serious about climbing the spire, we’re going to need equipment. I have more than last time, but we’re not going to have someone with us who can teleport. I’d rather we have a few ways of immediately escaping the spire if things go badly.”
He made a contemplative expression. “I can probably afford a couple little things. Let me hit the bank.”
I wasn’t sure what “little” meant, but I also didn’t want to impose further on Derek or Elora. I owed them enough as it was, and when you owed powerful people things, they eventually came to collect.