The soak proved amazingly refreshing. Jana the healer had ordered some more hot water brought in to refresh the small tub, and Mari just sat in it for a long time letting physical and emotional stresses drain off and out of her. Finally, she managed to drag herself out of the bath. After that, the chill gusts of air that found their way through the inn’s walls made it easy to dry off quickly and get dressed fast even though her muscles still protested mightily.
As she reached the door to their room, Alain opened it. “I sensed you coming.”
“Yeah. How did you—? The thread?”
“Yes. It is very strong now.”
That thread thing was a bit unsettling, but she would have to get used to it. Mari knelt by her pack, digging inside it again until she surfaced with her pistol and holster. “Can we be in the same dining hall with any Mages here without them knowing you’re a Mage?”
“As long as I maintain my control and do not cast any spells.”
“There’s no chance any of them will recognize you?” Mari asked.
Alain gave her a questioning look. “Why would a Mage look at the face of a common?”
“Good point.” Mari stood up, adjusting the holster and pulling on her common coat to hide it. “Hopefully the Mechanics at the inn will act the same way. We’ve got to eat.” Her stomach felt like a vast pit now. “When did we eat last? At least a day ago.”
The dining hall wasn’t too hard to find. They just had to follow the scent of food and the roar of conversation. Every table was filled, but Mari’s eyes went to two in particular. At the far side of the hall, a small group of Mages sat, anonymous in their robes with the hoods up, silent and ignoring everyone else. At a table as far away from the Mages as possible sat a larger group of Mechanics, talking loudly and dominating their half of the hall with their noisy arrogance just as the Mages dominated the other half with their mysterious menace.
Mari stood there a moment, uncertain what to do. As a Mechanic, she had grown used to commons quickly making room for her or simply joining a table with other Mechanics. But then a common woman at one of the tables closer to the Mechanics than to the Mages gestured to Mari and shoved her husband to one side on the bench to make room for Mari and Alain. “Thank you,” Mari said, letting Alain take the outside where he had less contact with the commons and less chance to betray that he was a Mage.
The husband nodded briefly at her as he swallowed a bite. “I helped carry you in when you got here,” he grunted. “Thought you were done for.”
“Thank you,” Mari repeated.
The woman shook her head. “What were you two doing out there on the plains?”
“Hiking,” Mari explained. “We’re students from Palandur.”
“Palandur!” The woman seemed awed. “Have you seen the emperor?”
“At a distance,” Mari admitted.
Before she could say more, a frazzled-looking server dumped a bowl of stew in front of her and another in front of Alain. “No more bread,” the server said before leaving as quickly as she had come.
Mari couldn’t help glancing at the Mechanics’ table, where fresh loaves were steaming. The woman spotted it and nodded ruefully. “They’re having to save what bread is left for the rulers of all creation over there.”
“Hope they choke on it,” her husband grunted.
“Hush! One of them might hear.”
The woman kept talking, something about the emperor and how grand Palandur must be, while Mari started eating as fast as she could ladle in the stew. It looked as though the inn, overrun with guests seeking shelter from the blizzard, had simply been dumping anything available into the cauldrons of stew to keep them topped off. Mari didn’t mind, though, since she was eating so fast she was barely tasting it.
Most of the way through her second bowl, Alain leaned close to whisper in her ear. “One of the Mechanics keeps taking quick looks toward you.”
Mari’s spoon froze in motion for a moment, then she managed to swallow and lower the spoon. “Man or woman?”
“It is a male Mechanic.”
“Can I take a look without him seeing me looking back at him?”
“It would be difficult, since his glances are growing longer.” Alain paused. “His companions have noticed. They are laughing and speaking loudly to him.”
Mari didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried. It sounded like the Mechanic had been watching her because he thought she was attractive, and his tablemates were now giving him a hard time. That was better than him recognizing her, but it could still be a problem.
The woman had noticed now, too. “Girl, one of them black jackets is looking at you. He’s starting to get up. You’d best leave quick. You know what they’re capable of doing.”
“Thanks.” Feeling shame at how the commons felt toward Mechanics mixed with worry now, Mari bolted to her feet, hauling Alain with her and walking quickly out of the dining hall. The roar of conversation had lowered considerably as the commons watched the little drama playing out, so Mari could hear the Mechanic’s boots coming on fast behind her, hear the Mechanic’s fellows urging him on with shouts of encouragement. She got through the door, shoving Alain ahead of her, then felt a hand on her shoulder as Mari reached for the pistol under her coat.
“Hold on,” the Mechanic said.
Mari stopped moving as she heard the voice. Can it really be him? She spun around and looked at the Mechanic. “Calu. It’s been a long time.”
Chapter Nine
Calu stared at her, then grinned. “Mari? It is you. I kept looking at this girl, thinking she sure looked like Mari, and it’s you. What’s it been, three years?”
“About that. You must be twenty-one now, right? Look at you. All grown into a man and a full Mechanic.” Mari smiled, letting her hand fall away from her weapon, then glanced at Alain. “Calu is all right. We were apprentices together at the Mechanics Guild Hall in Caer Lyn.”
Alain, who had been watching tensed for action, relaxed a little.
“Apprentices together?” Calu smiled wider. “More like uncaught conspirators together. I heard you made Master Mechanic. Everybody was talking about that a while back.” His smile turned wry. “Except the Senior Mechanics.”
“Same old story,” Mari said.
“Yeah. I’d wondered how you were doing, since I hadn’t heard anything in so long, then I noticed you eating in there and wondered if it could be you. The other Mechanics thought I was checking out some common girl, but I just wanted to know if it was you for real.”
“Oh?” Mari frowned at him. The Calu she had known never would have forced a woman, but that had been three years ago. “And if she hadn’t been me? What would you have done?”
Calu smiled crookedly. “Asked her if she was your twin sister.”
“I would have mentioned a twin sister if I had one, Calu.”
“Maybe not if she was an evil twin sister. Blazes, Mari, you know me. I wouldn’t have done anything, except maybe tell her I was sorry for scaring her.”
Mari smiled, too. “You’d apologize to a common?”
“They’re human, too, right? That’s what you always said. You were always big on treating everyone with respect, and I didn’t forget that.” He gave her a curious look. “Why is there an alert out for you? Why aren’t you wearing your jacket?”
Mari looked around. “I can’t talk about it here, Calu. It’s too dangerous.”
“Dangerous? How can I help?”
She smiled again, despite her worry. Calu might be wearing a Mechanic’s jacket now, but he hadn’t changed in other ways since he was an apprentice. “Alain is helping me. I don’t want you being in danger, too.”
“Alain?” Calu nodded to the Mage, who nodded back stiffly. “Just Alain? Is he a common?”