Chapter 10

Allies and enemiestempt us by different means but tempt us all the same.

~ Kar’ruk High Commander O’tak

As noon approached, Kaylina tipped the pot toward the funnel, carefully pouring the must for her first batch of mead into one of the scrupulously cleaned carboys. Once finished, she stifled a yawn as she set the pot aside and grabbed the airlock, pausing to rub her gritty eyes.

She and Frayvar had spent two nights in the castle and hadn’t been murdered yet, but they hadn’t slept much either. Each evening, Kaylina dreaded twilight’s approach and the return of nightmares, but she refused to leave. They couldn’t leave.

In her mind, she’d proven her bravery—or foolishness—to Vlerion, and they didn’t need to spend nights there because of him, but they’d sent five hundred liviti away with the signed lease, and they needed to buy so many things. They couldn’t afford to spend money sleeping at another inn when they had dozens of rooms here.

She kept having to remind herself that goals worth having weren’t easily achieved. They required sacrifice and work.

“So obnoxious.”

Frayvar walked into the kitchen, yawning as much as she. “Have you noticed cloaked people coming to watch us through the windows?”

“Yes. Just one though.” Kaylina looked at him to see if the numbers had increased. “How many are out there now?”

“One, but one’s enough to be concerning, isn’t it? Especially since she’s hiding her face. It’s not like we would know who she was if she showed it.” He shrugged. “We don’t know anyone.”

“Yeah.”

The words brought a pang of loneliness. It wasn’tsurprising that Kaylina would miss the rest of the family, and having more people around to talk with, but when she’d left, frustrated by being ordered around and unappreciated, she’d thought she would be happy once she had her freedom. Now… even though she was working toward her dream, she was more weary than happy.

“It’s probably someone curious about us for staying in the cursed castle,” she said.

“You think so?” The wariness in Frayvar’s eyes meant he thought it was more than that.

“Who else would care about us?”

“The rangers do.”

“Just the captain.”

“Vlerion seems okay.” Frayvar shrugged.

“But he doesn’t care.”

“Well, no, but it’s concerning that the captain does.”

“True.”

Frayvar lowered his voice and glanced around, as if spies might be lurking behind a counter. “I’m glad they haven’t been by for a few days. I don’t think… What did you mean the other night when you said we can’t leave? I don’t want to, because I’m here to help you and see us be successful… but you said it like it wouldn’t be an option.”

“Apparently, Captain Targon ordered the shipmasters in the harbor not to give us passage if we try to book it.”

“Oh.”

“There’s a highway along the coast,” Kaylina said, “but I’ve heard it’s rough because it goes over mountains that drop straight down to the water.”

“Yes. There’s a pass that way that will be blocked a while longer with snow. All freight comes in and out via the harbor. Can I send a letter? They’re not monitoring our mail, are they?”

“I doubt it. Who would you send a letter to?”

“Grandpa and Grandma. We’ll need more funds before long, and, if we’re going to set up a serious meadery, we’ll need a lot more honey. Each batch requires a substantial amount.”

“I know, but unless I was going to bring a horse and wagon, I was limited by what I could fit in those trunks. Besides, I…” Kaylina shrugged away her hesitancy. Her brother already knew most of the details of her departure. “I didn’t ask to take the honey I did bring. I wanted to be successful first, to proveI could do this, before asking for help.” She’d also been afraid their grandparents would have said no. If her sister had wanted to do this, they would have supported her, but Silana was older. And perfect. Kaylina… was not.

“That’s not logical. You didn’t bring enough honey or money to do anything but start a hobby. If I hadn’t come along with extra funds, you would already be scrubbing dishes in somebody’s inn for paltry wages. You wouldn’t be any happier doing that here than back home. Probably less.”

“I don’t need a lecture.”

“You need something.”

“Not from my seventeen-year-old brother.” Kaylina scowled at him.

Frayvar frowned back in confusion. “From someone older? Silana?”

“No.” Especially not her.

A thud came from the courtyard out front. Though it was probably something dire and ominous, Kaylina leaped at the chance to end the conversation.

She grabbed her sling and knife. As she padded through the dining room and great hall, the thud sounded again. Something striking the door?

Afraid to open it, lest a horde of murderers be poised to kill, Kaylina went to the window and pushed open a shutter. Two loaded wagons waited in the street out front, tarps covering their goods. Thick black letters were visible on one: Saybrook Industries.

A girl about Frayvar”s age held a rock in her hand, lifted to throw. She lowered it when she spotted Kaylina in the window and waved up to men in the drivers’ seats.

Several other rocks lay on the ground in front of the door.

“Is there a problem?” Kaylina asked.

“The name’s Milzy. I’ve got a delivery for this place.” The girl tilted a thumb toward the closest wagon.

“We didn’t order anything.”

“It’s from Lord Saybrook.”

Kaylina was on the verge of saying it had to be a mistake—if anything, Ghara Saybrook would have been the one to have something delivered—but Milzy was already peeling back one of the tarps.

The fading light revealed piles of pots and pans—brand new pots and pans—as well as chairs, tables, and all manner of kitchen appurtenances.

Mesmerized, Kaylina stepped outside.

Had Vlerion arranged this delivery? Requesting another favor from Ghara? He didn’t even want them to succeed.

The other wagon held a large crate that read professional wine-making kit. There probably wasn’t a mead-making kit in the city, but the fermentation buckets, auto siphons, bottle brushes, and other tools were the same. This would be wonderful.

When she reached the wagon, Kaylina touched the crate with reverence.

“There’s more stuff in the warehouse. And we’re to grab two loads of firewood for you too.” Milzy looked Kaylina over, as if silently asking who she was to be able to afford all this. “Once you unload the wagons, we’ll get it, but me and the boys aren’t going in that castle. No way.”

Kaylina eyed the full wagons but could hardly object to unloading them. She whistled for Frayvar and wasn’t surprised to find him peering out the window. He was far from being the muscle in the family, but together, they would be able to get the stuff inside. Eventually.

“Was this in the lease?” Kaylina whispered to Frayvar when he came out.

“No.”

Despite Milzy promising that her team wouldn’t help, the drivers climbed into the back of the first wagon and lowered tables and chairs down to the cobblestones.

“Are we going to get charged for it in the future?” Kaylina asked as she and Frayvar toted chairs through the gate. “What if the Saybrooks don’t realize how little seed money we have?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s things they own already? The warehouse the girl mentioned could be theirs.”

“I guess. After all, they have apartments in the city. You know, for when manor life on the estate gets too tedious.”

“Given the favors they’re doing for us, you probably shouldn’t mock the nobles.”

“Maybe not, but I’m afraid there’s going to be a catch. A big catch.”

Frayvar didn’t disagree. The castle moaned loudly as they carried equipment inside.

“Shit,” Milzy said, her gaze drawn to the tower window. With clouds darkening the sky, the red glow was visible. “You think people are going to come herefor food and drink?”

“Sure,” Kaylina said. “I’ve altered my vision a bit to add lots of tables and chairs in the courtyard. Maybe some warming tents so we can serve outdoors even in the winter. And for those who are brave, there’s plenty of seating inside.”

Still eyeing the glowing window, Milzy shook her head. When Kaylina returned for another load, the girl asked, “You get hired by the Saybrooks or what?”

“No, this is our own endeavor.” Kaylina pointed to herself and her brother.

“You have the money for all this?”

“We’re getting a good deal on account of the curse. And… our family back home has a successful eating house, so they’re helping out.” Sort of. If Frayvar sent that letter and convinced Grandma it wasn’t a waste of money, they might. At the least, Kaylina thought Grandpa would send honey.

“Are you nobles?”

“Not even close. There’s not much nobility in the Vamorka Islands. Our father was actually, uhm. He always told us he was a buccaneer and not a pirate.” Maybe Kaylina shouldn’t have admitted that, but Dad hadn’t come around since she’d been a little kid. He was probably dead. “Either way, he was the opposite of noble.”

“Oh, yeah? Good.” Milzy nodded toward the closest driver, who gave a single nod back.

What was thatabout? Kaylina hoped these people didn’t plan to swindle them, the way the supposed land agent had.

“We’ll check you out when you open up,” Milzy said as one of the now-empty wagons rolled away. In a softer voice, she asked, “Do you think you could get any intel on the Saybrooks?”

“Intel?” Kaylina asked.

“Like where their supervisors stay in the city, when the owners will visit their factories, and what the security is like on their warehouses. Anything that could be useful. We’ve learned a bit from doing this and a few other jobs for them, but we always need to know more. You know Old Geezer Saybrook orders his people worked until they’re half-dead, right? Kids too. They don’t get holidays off, and people get injured in his factories all the time, and nothing ever changes. The Saybrooks deserve for a couple of mishaps to happen. All the nobles do.”

For a long moment, Kaylina could do nothing but watch her breaths fog the air. This sounded like the kind of information the rangers wanted, but she didn’t want to be their spy. If she had to pick a side, she wouldn’t pick theirs. With numbness, she realized the mead-making equipment was a bribe.

“What do you think?” Milzy prompted into the silence.

“I don’t know any of that stuff yet, just—” Kaylina almost said that Ghara Saybrook would be staying in her apartment in town, but she caught herself as the voice in the back of her mind cried a warning. What would Vlerion do if cutthroats murdered his childhood friend? Someone who was more than a friend to him? If he found out Kaylina had been responsible…

“Yes?” Milzy asked.

“If I hear anything about our landlord’s operations…” Even that sentence, Kaylina struggled to finish. If she heard things, what would she do? Report to this girl she’d just met? This girl who wanted for mishaps to happen? “Maybe I can share the details,” Kaylina finished softly, sweat dampening her palms.

“Good. People like us gotta stick together.” Milzy thumped her on the shoulder and hopped in the second empty wagon. It drove away after the first, horse hooves clattering on the cobblestones in the quiet night.

“Huh.” Frayvar had come back out with a lantern. “Do you think Targon foresaw that?”

“I don’t know.”

Once the wagons rolled out of sight, Frayvar handed Kaylina a slip of paper and held the lantern up so she could read it.

I trust this will help get your meadery operational in a timely manner. ~T

“T?” Kaylina tried to remember if anyone had mentioned Lord Saybrook’s first name. Would he have signed something so casually though? Something for them?

“I’m guessing Targon,” Frayvar said.

“Oh.” Kaylina lowered the paper, admitting that made sense, that the Saybrook Industry wagons were a front for the rangers. Or maybe Targon had enough sway that he’d made a deal with the senior Saybrook to have the equipment lent to them. Or Vlerion had. That seemed more likely. “This is getting complicated quickly.”

“I noticed.”

Snuffling noises at the side of the castle made them jump. In the shadows of the courtyard, a taybarri stood, snout in the air, nostrils twitching.

Alarm lurched through Kaylina. Was that Vlerion’s mount? Crenoch? If the taybarri was here, Vlerion had to be nearby. What if he’d heard Milzy asking for intel?

Hand shaking, Kaylina rubbed her face. If she didn’t stepcarefully, she could be caught in the middle of a budding war and killed. She didn’t even want to be involved. All she wanted was to start a successful mead-making business.

After sniffing the air repeatedly, the taybarri turned and ambled toward the back of the castle.

“I think that’s Crenoch,” Frayvar whispered. “We might be in trouble.”

“We haven’t done anything wrong.” Kaylina had almost blathered what might be considered intelligence, but she’d caught herself.

“That hasn’t kept trouble from finding us so far.”